I'm so glad to have hockey season again

I can't believe I neglected to post anything about this earlier, but I have to say I am happy beyond words that I will get to see NHL hockey this year. Looks like some of the financial woes should be eased and teams may not have to fold afterall. Thank goodness I still have my beloved Penguins (contraction was rumored here) and I'm not forced to become a diehard Maple Leafs fan. And Pittsburgh getting Sydney Crosby...HELL YEAH!!!

Anyone else excited to have the NHL back in action?

Hell yeah!!! Flyers fan here. Last winter was brutal after football season ended. I really cannot watch the NBA anymore. It's just a horrible game nowadays.

It will be an interesting season. Can't wait to see the new ice layout in action. The way it looks now, the teams makeup are getting an overhaul with the salary cap. Probably see a lot more of the younger guys, especially the first couple years.

I'm really excited too, should be a hell of a season with the salary cap and what not.

The Pens picked up Sidney Crosby in the draft and they just signed Sergei Gonchar the other day.

Think of the first line now, Lemieux, Recchi, and Crosby. Heh nice.

The salary cap should help teams like the Pens. It's a great hockey organization; just one of those small-market, cash-strapped organizations. Now, Mario can concentrate more on the game of hockey instead of trying to figure out how to keep the organization afloat financially.

Hey, I just noticed something. Posts from three guys; all from Pennsylvania-based teams. No other hockey fans here?

Go Flames Go!! I think the cap helped us keep Jarome Iginla for another 3 years. From Phialdelphia we also just signed Tony Amonte so that should be good news.

I don't think Canada could stand any more of the strike, look what happens...No hockey and all of a sudden we made gay marriages legal....probably wouldn't have happened if hockey was still on and guys could bond properly

RazedNegative said:

The Pens picked up Sidney Crosby in the draft and they just signed Sergei Gonchar the other day.

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My buddy was pissed about that, because supposedly Craig Patrick wanted Peter Forsberg and I guess Forsberg signed for just a little more than Gonchar. But I think Gonchar is huge given the Pens emphasis on skilled powerplay. Plus, Forsberg has sometimes had some off-ice baggage, to some degree. Every year he talks about retiring from the NHL and going back to finish his playing days in Sweden (where there is no money in hockey) and Patrick may not want to deal with having to constantly appease a player as he did with Jagr's bitchiness. Gonchar is excited about playing in Pittsburgh. We're two or three years away from being a serious Cup contender IMHO.

RazedNegative said:

The Pens picked up Sidney Crosby in the draft and they just signed Sergei Gonchar the other day.

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My buddy was pissed about that, because supposedly Craig Patrick wanted Peter Forsberg and I guess Forsberg signed for just a little more than Gonchar. But I think Gonchar is huge given the Pens emphasis on skilled powerplay. Plus, Forsberg has sometimes had some off-ice baggage, to some degree. Every year he talks about retiring from the NHL and going back to finish his playing days in Sweden (where there is no money in hockey) and Patrick may not want to deal with having to constantly appease a player as he did with Jagr's bitchiness. Gonchar is excited about playing in Pittsburgh. We're two or three years away from being a serious Cup contender IMHO.

However, we still need to get Malkin over here and it doesn't look like that will happen.

Yeah it seems like Malkin is stayin in Russia, but the Pens also just got Ziggy Palfy the other day, and he can score man.

With the new rules on obstruction/hooking being enforced, I think the Pens will be pretty damn good now.

I hope some of those guys down in Wilkes Barre can actually come back up to the NHL and do something finally tho, how many times do we need to see Kris Beech and Shane Endicott come up for 3 games then get sent back down? Heh.

You know lads Hockey is the most violent game on the tube. I never watch that shit, give me a good game of Cricket, Rugby, or British football any time. Hockey is the game voilence.

RazedNegative said:

With the new rules on obstruction/hooking being enforced, I think the Pens will be pretty damn good now.

I hope some of those guys down in Wilkes Barre can actually come back up to the NHL and do something finally tho, how many times do we need to see Kris Beech and Shane Endicott come up for 3 games then get sent back down? Heh.

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Well, I'll believe it when I see it, as far as enforcing the obstruction. We've been promised that one every season for the past few years.

Honestly, I'm not familiar with Endicott's play. With my work schedule, I miss most games unless I catch them on the radio and that annoys my coworkers, who think I'm sick for actually enjoying hockey on the radio. So, if it's a hectic night, I don't bother to listen. Beech has never impressed me. I'm not convinced he is NHL material and he reminds of the nightmare of the Jagr trade. Don't get me wrong--Jagr was being a bitch and he had to go, but they should have gotten way more for him. A fair trade at that time would have been Sergei Gonchar, Chris Simon, and a couple of prospects or two. I understand that the trade was also based on finances, but not one of those guys ever even proved to be a consistent NHL caliber player. Craig Patrick is regarded as a great GM and he probably does well, given the bankroll he is given to gamble with, but that trade was Patrick at his worst.

British prick said:

You know lads Hockey is the most violent game on the tube. I never watch that shit, give me a good game of Cricket, Rugby, or British football any time. Hockey is the game voilence.

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When's the last time a riot broke out at a hockey game and a multitude of people died? That's pretty much a regular occurence at soccer matches.

Back to the subject. I really hope they're serious about the obstruction rules this time. Like penguinsfan said, they have been promising us that for more than a few years now. We'll see.

As far as Jagr, they didn't really have too many choices when they traded him. I don't remember too many teams having an interest in him. They just took whatever they could get for him.

RazedNegative said:

Yeah it seems like Malkin is stayin in Russia, but the Pens also just got Ziggy Palfy the other day, and he can score man.

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We can thank that Bob Goodenow prick that that shit. I am rejoicing at that asshole being gone and I hope nothing like this ever happens again. Malkin was expecting a lockout that could last almost two years, so my understanding is he signed a two-year deal in Russia.

I remember reading how when Goodenow took over in 1990 the average player was making around 300K and now it's more like 1.8M. Well, that is the problem. The game got out of hand with the money aspect of it. I definitely sided more with the owners than the players on this labor dispute. Hockey is my favorite sport, but I realize full well that I am in a very small minority that feels that way. It's not like baseball, let alone football or basketball. Nobody wants to watch hockey on TV, even if you and I do. There is no TV revenue in it and the reality is one cannot expect to get paid anything remotely comparable to the figures in other sports. All it takes is some greedy players and owners to fuck it all up.

What can I say? If you play in the NHL, reflect on where you fucked up in life and teach your kid to throw a football.

I'm a hockey fan myself. Hell, I'm Finnish, so that goes without saying!
I only watch the world championship games, though, since I'm not that interested in the national league matches of Finland, and I don't want to pay for the sports channels to see the NHL games, either.

All sports should have a salary cap. Keeps all the teams competitive. NFL has had it for a long time and they are not doing to bad And some players (only really good ones!!!!!!!) make big bucks 6+ million a year. NHL will become a better sport because of it.

The fault for the strike was on both sides. It's a no-brainer that NHL players cannot make as much as the other leagues. But if an owner is willing to sign someone for $10 million a year, should the player turn around and say, "Oh, no, that's way too much money"?

Both Goodenow and Bettman should have been fired the second after it was annnounced that the year was cancelled. If anybody would have fucked up as much as they did (have the season cancelled) at their normal, everyday job, they would be fired in a heartbeat.

And on the subject of Bettman, isn't he the Commissioner of Hockey? If so, why is he on the owners' side? Shouldn't the Commissioner be a third-party in a labor dispute? Shouldn't his main concern be the game of hockey? He should be the guy locked in a room with the players' and owners' reps, telling them they don't leave the room until a deal is done. I cannot for the life of me know how this clown still has a job.

He has his job because it is all about politics. I bet hes sucked some proverbial dick in his time.

I just started watching hockey full time in 2000 and became a fan instantly when I moved to Ohio that year. Bluejackets all the way for me. Nash, Zherdev, Marchant, Sanderson, Vyborny, Wright, Malholtra, Klesla, now Foote, hopefully Svitov can turn himself into a player as well, a few young rookies in Picard, Frische, and hopefully LeClaire will get his crack at the starting job at goal this year. Brule probably won't make it to the big club this year, but when he does it'll be great to hear Brule to Zherdev, Zherdev shimmies by the defender, Nash is waiting , waiting, oh my what a sensational pass right through two defenders right on Nash's back, and Nash puts it past the goaltender! All 3 of those forwards are pretty amazing. Nash has speed, size, and limitless talent. Zherdev is just mesmorizing and as far as I can tell the Bluejackets will be a very talented high octane and fast team. And they can choose to continue setting up Nash in front of the net if they'd like too, but I feel like they could let them open up the offense a bit and funnel things a bit less. I mean even without Brule this year (he's good enough to make it this year though I'm not sure what the team will do) Picard should have an outstanding rookie year. That guy is probably better than Zherdev and Brule overall and just a notch or two (hey I said or two) below Crosby. Not sure what line he'll play on, but hopefully they can find a way to put Nash and Zherdev with him occasionally. He'll most likely end up with Marchant and Letowski. I was thinking though that Zherdev should be able to play center on that line if the 3 studs ever did get on a line together.

But now that Foote joins the team along with Suchy and Berard maybe Klesla and Westcott can learn a thing or two and develop into the players particularly Rusty they were envisioned.

All in all I am VERY STOKED INDEED Penguinsfan! Congrats on landing Crosby too. That must have been fuckin sweet to hear that the Pens' got the number on pick.

badbal said:

All sports should have a salary cap. Keeps all the teams competitive. NFL has had it for a long time and they are not doing to bad And some players (only really good ones!!!!!!!) make big bucks 6+ million a year. NHL will become a better sport because of it.

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Yeah, but the salary cap in the NHL is not going to be as effective as it is in the NFL. If the goal is to keep all teams competitive, the salary cap should be low enough that most any viable market can be there. The purpose is that every spends the same. If I'm not mistaken, I think the top payroll in the NHL were around 55M give or take a little and I think the lowest teams was around 28M. Well, even with the cap being set near 40M how is the bottom team going to scrape up an extra 12M and stay financially sound? It won't happen. Don't get me wrong--it's nice that the bottom teams will face a Red Wings or Avalanche team with a 40M payroll, rather than a 50M payroll, giving them a little less star power to overcome. I guess I'm trying to say it's a huge step in the right direction, but I'm not sure everything has been solved long-term. Either way, I'm glad to have my hockey back.

As for that NFL and the cap, I thought years ago when it was enacted that it would dramatically alter the game and it really hasn't done so. Look at the teams that have made the playoffs several times since the cap went into action: Philadelphia, Green Bay, San Francisco, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Denver, Minnesota, and other teams that have historically been pretty successful more often than not over the last 20-25 years. On the contrary, teams like Arizona and Cincinnati have been unable to escape the bottom ranks, despite a cap. To me, it goes to show that great organizational leadership cannot be overstated.

jGman said:

The fault for the strike was on both sides. It's a no-brainer that NHL players cannot make as much as the other leagues. But if an owner is willing to sign someone for $10 million a year, should the player turn around and say, "Oh, no, that's way too much money"?

Both Goodenow and Bettman should have been fired the second after it was annnounced that the year was cancelled. If anybody would have fucked up as much as they did (have the season cancelled) at their normal, everyday job, they would be fired in a heartbeat.

And on the subject of Bettman, isn't he the Commissioner of Hockey? If so, why is he on the owners' side? Shouldn't the Commissioner be a third-party in a labor dispute? Shouldn't his main concern be the game of hockey? He should be the guy locked in a room with the players' and owners' reps, telling them they don't leave the room until a deal is done. I cannot for the life of me know how this clown still has a job.

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Well, Goodenow had the sole job of protecting player interests whereas Bettman was looking out for the stability of the league. I guess I can see where he would be inclined to take the owners' position, all things be equal. That being said, Bettman is an ASSHOLE. I have never liked the guy. He has failed, IMHO, to bring any substantial new fan base to the game and I think that is damn-near mission impossible. Hockey will never be what the other sports are, no matter how much is invested in marketing the game.

Some of what I have read in the past from Bettman suggested his thinking was making the game a little more family friendly, in other words cracking down on the amount of fighting. It definitely has been reduced over the years. Now, a true fan like myself has come to love hockey enough that if they did away with all fighting, I'd still watch every game I could. But fighting truly does market the game to new fans. Who isn't intrigued by this sport that typically tolerates a couple of guys getting their aggression out on each other in such a manner? I know I found it fascinating and so different from the other sports. I wouldn't exactly call fighting "family unfriendly". It is up to parents and coaches to curb it with the kids leagues, as far as setting an example. I could tell Bettman in 30 seconds what turns the "I could take it or leave it" fan away from the game completely. It's the obstruction. People get tired of seeing their favorite superstar deke by the defenseman that has a fraction of the talent, only to see the defenseman grab a huge handful of jersey...right in front of the referee that seldom makes the call. The game has changed so much. Teams like the Broad Street Bullies would look for tough guys and fighters and hone their skating skills. These days, the skates are lightyears better than the old skates and power skating has really become such a science and discipline studied among players. Todays players are twice the skaters they were 20 or 30 years ago, in terms of skill. Gone are the days when a young superstar can step up in the NHL and simply blow-by some veteran, 70's relic goon for an easy scoring chance. Somewhere along the line, scouts learned to look for good skaters and work on making them into the physical role players, rather than the other way around. When Sydney Crosby starts playing, he is going to find that even the third line defensemen, while they may not have his finesse skills, will pretty much hang with him stride for stride and will not be easily duped. Wayne and Mario didn't necessarily have that early in their careers and that is why many of their records will never be broken.

I am pleased the Pens signed Ziggy Palffy Monday and got Jocelyn Thibeault through a trade today.