Hockey season is once again upon us!!!!!!

[nolealum99]

I am really excited for this season to start. As a Bolts fan, I am just so ecstatic that Stammer is still in a Bolts sweater!!!! I know there were many of us who hoped, but not many who though this would be the case. Yzerman has done a good job locking guys like Stammer and Hedman into long term deals. Now is when his job really gets interesting as guys like Bishop and most likely maybe a guy like Johnson may be traded to free up some space. Kucherov is not signed yet (officially), but I have it on good authority that it is a done deal and that necessary items were taken care of this morning and press conference will be around noon. This team is set for another good run.

Should be interesting to see how teams like the Habs rebound from a disappointing year without Price, now that he is healthy again. Also saw Sid is again dealing with concussion issues. This could be a real problem for him as he has dealt with this before and it has kept him out for prolonged periods of time.

It all starts tomorrow!!!! Go Bolts

 

[Rishi]

Will be interesting on Bishop b/c iirc, he's a FA after the year. Yet there's an expansion draft this year, so if he had 1 more year left it would've been ideal as I'm sure he's the GK that the Bolts would've exposed.

re: Sidney Crosby, reports today (Wed) are that he practiced in a no-contact jersey. Hope that's a good sign that he won't miss months of action the way he has in the past with his prior concussions.

EDIT: also 4 goals from Auston Matthews in his 1st NHL game is a helluva start. Hope that that's the start of a great thing and not the first line in a "Whatever happened to the guy who got 4 goals in his first game ..." type joke/conversation in a few years.

 

[nolealum99]

Auston Matthews is ridiculous. He has potential to be a very special star. He has all the tools. 1st NHLer EVER to score 4 goals in a debut game....EVER!!! Too bad it was spoiled by another Toronto loss. That's the only issue, he still plays in Toronto.

Bishop will be gone as soon as the Bolts find someone who needs a goaltender. He will not be re-signed next year and you want t get something for him. Now that the Bolts are also up against the cap, they will also be looking to make some room. I honestly would like to see them trade Tyler Johnson as well. I have always liked the guy and I think he is a good player, but I think he has some value on the market and is also due to be re-upped at the end of the year. I do think he is a little too small to be a long term force in the NHL. He has been somewhat injury prone the last couple years. Should be interesting to see what Yzerman does.

Since my first post, Yzerman has also used his jedi mind tricks again to get Kucherov re-signed. Somehow getting him to take a 3-year deal worth $4.766 million a year when he is worth so much more. I guess the guy really wants to be a part of a winner.

 

[SeaPA]

I'm pleasantly stunned that the Lightning has somehow managed to keep that entire roster together & signed all of the key pieces to long-term deals. I'm sure that, at some point this season, they'll deal Bishop - can't see how there is any other choice. They'll lose one of the two goalies in the expansion draft anyway, and I'm sure it'll be the young guy that they decide to keep (both due to age and $).

 

[PazNole]

I was at game 5 in Pittsburgh to see my bolts win last year! This is either win the Cup or bust! This team will have to beat a tough Pitt or caps team at end of year

 

[SeaPA]

So Ben Bishop finally looks like an actual hockey player. Maybe he should've worn a mouthpiece in addition to the mask.

 

[nolealum99]

I haven't posted about it because I have been busy and truthfully I am a little despondent about it. It is most of another season without Stamkos. The fall looked so innocent, but obviously the knee got tweaked the right way for the meniscus to tear. I really hope this isn't something that is going to continue with that repaired leg. The only good news for the Bolts is that we have such a deep team that we should be able to keep it going even with this big loss. Good news is Bishop and Vasy are starting to get it together in net. Vasy with 2 straight shutouts.

 

[kooterridesagain]

Whelp another season for Penguins dictated by how much the worst goalie in the nhl plays.

After todays latest Fleury embarrassment
Murray 1.57
Fleury 3.3 about

Pens honestly need to cut him, he's single handidly gonna prevent them winning the East.

 

[nolealum99]

Whelp another season for Penguins dictated by how much the worst goalie in the nhl plays.

After todays latest Fleury embarrassment
Murray 1.57
Fleury 3.3 about

Pens honestly need to cut him, he's single handidly gonna prevent them winning the East.

I will say that if I remember correctly Fleury has gotten the harder of starts so far though. Not defending him because I think Murray is much better from what I have seen but there could be other reasons for stats disparity.

 

[Rishi]

For the Lightening fans on here, Team Canada Junior Team's invite list was announced today. Of the 32 players invited to camp, 6 are Tampa Bay prospects. Yzerman and co. have been doing a great job of keeping the cupboard stocked for years to come.

 

[nolealum99]

Bolts are really struggling right now. Things that they did easily early in the season and in past years are seeming difficult right now. One of their strengths has been the D-men moving the puck quickly and out of the zone. Right now they seem slow and are turning the puck over which is leading to goals the other way. Scoring has been hard to come by as well. Even with Stammer out we have enough weapons and they are just not scoring. Last night it seemed like every chance they had pucks were going wide of the net. You have to get those pucks on net. Wide never goes in, unless it hits a body or is redirected. They really need to right the ship no before it gets out of hand. I thought four days off would help, but obviously last night showed that was not the case.

 

[SeaPA]

In the big news of the day, the Lightning recalled Erik Condra from Syracuse. Again. I'm pretty sure there has not been a 3 day span this season in which he wasn't either called up or sent down (there've been several where he was called up one night & sent back down the next). Hell, they'll probably send him back down while he's on the plane today.

 

[NoleMoreTears]

In the big news of the day, the Lightning recalled Erik Condra from Syracuse. Again. I'm pretty sure there has not been a 3 day span this season in which he wasn't either called up or sent down (there've been several where he was called up one night & sent back down the next). Hell, they'll probably send him back down while he's on the plane today.

Newer CBAs place restrictions on who can get called up and down before certain other moves are required to be made. A lot of modern contracts have stipulations about who can move how many times and the implications.

My point is that who gets called up or sent down has as much to do with the contracts as the actual play of the player.

 

[hatsbo]

Bolts are really struggling right now. Things that they did easily early in the season and in past years are seeming difficult right now. One of their strengths has been the D-men moving the puck quickly and out of the zone. Right now they seem slow and are turning the puck over which is leading to goals the other way. Scoring has been hard to come by as well. Even with Stammer out we have enough weapons and they are just not scoring. Last night it seemed like every chance they had pucks were going wide of the net. You have to get those pucks on net. Wide never goes in, unless it hits a body or is redirected. They really need to right the ship no before it gets out of hand. I thought four days off would help, but obviously last night showed that was not the case.

I could have easily put "Bruins" in place of "Bolts" in your post, we have a lot of parallel issues. The injury gods have not been friendly to either team, Stamkos is now officially the Bolt's Gronk, both need to get new strength coaches, lol. At least TB has some semblance of a power play, Boston's sucks. Marchand, Kreji and Bergy are all underperforming right now, Pastrnck is one of the few bright spots. Killorn has looked good in the few Bolt's games I've watched, good production for his ice time. B's defense is struggling to get it out of the zone{sound familiar?} and our backup goaltender is suspect. We did little to bolster our lineup in the offseason and it shows. Playing better on the road again this year, bizarre. We just went on the road and played capably against the Caps, Habs and Pens, getting 4 points, then turn around and lose at home to the Leafs, Avs and Ducks, arg!

 

[kooterridesagain]

Still early but im pleasantly surprised by Penguins nice start. Murray is 1, Crosby will pass Mcdavid soon as he's playing great, if he doesn't miss another few weeks with injury, young D getting better.

Haven't seen much black hawks so far.

 

[nolealum99]

Crosby is ridiculous right now. The goal he had a few days ago where he skated across the crease, flipped the puck over the poke check of the goaltender to himself and then batted it out of the air into the net was ridiculous. I cannot stand the guy, but he is the best player in the league right now. Bolts should have had them last week if not for a horrible call/no call by the ref, but that is in the past. Bolts got Kucherov, Palat, and Drouin back last night and played a great third period to steal the game from the Habs. I have no doubt the Bolts can go on a run, even without Stammer if we can get all of our other key guys healthy. Callahan is obviously still bothered by the hip that he had operated on in offseason. I like the way he was playing before the injury, we could really use him in the lineup.

 

[Rishi]

Went to the Canada/Latvia game last (Thursday) night. Was a bucket list thing for me (wanted to go to a WJHC game) and wasn't able to go 2 years ago when the tourney was also in Toronto/Montreal. Took a while for Canada to get outta 1st gear (and never really got out of 2nd) but got the job done. 10-2.

U.S. do their job and beat Russia to set up a battle for 1st in the group on Saturday afternoon. Not only huge to get the edge mentally if they meet again in the medal round, but winner also guaranteed not to play Sweden (pre-tourney favs this year) until the medal round.

Also, how about those Danes' ? 2 wins in a row! Finland now need Denmark to win a 3rd in a row (regulation or OT doesn't matter) against the Swiss or Finland is out of the quarters. Defending champs could be no better than 9th. If the Swiss beat Denmark (regulation or OT doesn't matter), Finland finishes dead last in their group regardless of their last game vs Switzerland. Also the possibility of being relegated to the B level. I'd still pick Finland to beat Latvia or Slovakia to avoid relegation, but the way Slovakia's goalie is going and how bad Finland's goaltending has been, that's far from a sure thing.

 

[NoleMoreTears]

WJ is a fantastic tournament. Glad you got to see game. USA is starting to see some consistent dividends from their development models. There's a lot of good things happening in USA Hockey, obviously a long way to go to dethrone Canada but what was once a muddled pack of the second tier is becoming more and more clear that USA and Sweden are separating from Russia, Czechia, and so forth.

 

[nolealum99]

That's awesome that you got to go the Juniors. I have always said that is something I want to get to one of these years. The excitement level is great for those games. It was great to see the U.S. get the win over Russia. Canadians are next. I give Canada the slight edge with forwards and D, but if those areas can step up and make it about goaltending, I would give a slight edge to the U.S. in that department. Should be fun to watch at least a little of it before I head down to Tampa for the Bolts game.

 

[nolealum99]

Well we got the USA/Canada we all wanted and now we get to see some OT. Looked like Canada had sewn it up with two quick goals in third then US turns right around and gets two quick ones to tie. Should be good OT. Either way these two were best teams and either deserves it.

 

[nolealum99]

U...S....A!!!! Gold for the good guys!!! It's a shame that it had to go to the shootout to decide this final. I could have watched that go on all night. Happy that the good ole Americans brought it home though. Parsons was really solid in goal.

 

[Rishi]

U...S....A!!!! Gold for the good guys!!! It's a shame that it had to go to the shootout to decide this final. I could have watched that go on all night. Happy that the good ole Americans brought it home though. Parsons was really solid in goal.

Where's the thumbs down button again?

Heartbreak for me (Canadian), but a very entertaining game. Not sure I'm going to have much of a voice the next couple of days.

Turning point to me (and no one on TV will mention this) was early in the 2nd period - like the 2nd shift - when the U.S. finally got a cycle going. From then on, I knew it was going to be a last chance of the game to win type of game.

I agree that Charlie McAvoy (Bruins' prospect) was the top player for the U.S., but even though he didn't figure in the scoring (1 assist), I thought Chad Greenway (Wild prospect) was their 2nd best. He played his 2 best games against Canada.

Not sure anyone will remember that the U.S. Head Coach Bob Motzko had a full head of hair at the start of the game.

Like you (and probably most others), hate that it had to end in a shootout, but to be honest, most of the players looked like they were on empty for much of the OT and even the latter half of the 3rd. They gave everything they had and then some. Effort not lacking on either side.

If pro sports had that kind of passion and effort by everyone involved I'd probably still watch, but I've pretty much given up on watching all pro sports (on the regular). Getting off my soapbox now.

CGs to the Americans.

P.S. Rematch in an outdoor game on Dec. 29th in Buffalo (Rich Stadium/Ralph Wilson Field or whatever the Bills' stadium is now called). Even though normally the 1st and 2nd place teams would be opposite pools, b/c of the outdoor game they will be in the same pool.

9 Canadians are eligible to return and 8 Americans. Let's hope a lot of them do return.

Still my favourite annual sporting event as the tourney rarely fails to deliver (even when Canada doesn't play well like last year when Canada was 6th).

 

[NoleMoreTears]

I'm really glad you got to see this action and more fans are getting into it. IMO it's one of the 3 best events in hockey with the Cup finals and Olympics. Pros can and do play in WJ so many will come back. Greenway is a stud.

I have watched almost no hockey lately but saw Columbus had their winning streak end. I hope the NHL gets their heads out of their arse and renews the Olympic commitment. It's just ridiculous and drastically hampers the preparation.

 

[hatsbo]

Great game, finished the championships on a strong note! It will be good to see Mr. McAvoy in the black and gold, one of the few front office moves lately that might pan out, lol.

 

[nolealum99]

Rishi, completely agree on Greenway. He was a beast.

NMT, I am really torn on the Olympic issue. I am usually 100% with you on Olympic hockey. I love it and I know most of the NHL guys do to. The issue (and it is really the next two winter games) is the time issue. There will be absolutely zero viewership in North America with the games being in Asia and the time difference. I for one wish they would take the next two Olympics and get it back to what it used to be, and should be, and amateur sport. I really wish they would do this with all sports across the board. The Olympics should be amateur sport not a bunch of pros. Whether they say it or not, it is extremely hard on the players that go. It seems to me the schedule this year, from the WCH, has taken its toll on quite a few players as well. Seems like I am seeing more injuries than normal across the league. I may be wrong, it just seems that way.

 

[NoleMoreTears]

I get where you're coming from on the ratings - that's a good point I hadn't considered. The solution IMO is not a return to amateurism. It won't happen and totally biases us against most other nations. China or other places won't ever own up to what they do...The solution is to have the IOC pay the NHL owners some of their bribery $$, the owners drop the regular season to 74 games and we all enjoy the action.

It's a simple fix to adjust the player contracts and incentives for the Olympic years and the owners won't lose out.

IMO we should drop some of the other tournaments because they aren't getting the proper participation to really identify the best teams.

 

[nolealum99]

I get where you're coming from on the ratings - that's a good point I hadn't considered. The solution IMO is not a return to amateurism. It won't happen and totally biases us against most other nations. China or other places won't ever own up to what they do...The solution is to have the IOC pay the NHL owners some of their bribery $$, the owners drop the regular season to 74 games and we all enjoy the action.

It's a simple fix to adjust the player contracts and incentives for the Olympic years and the owners won't lose out.

IMO we should drop some of the other tournaments because they aren't getting the proper participation to really identify the best teams.

If you drop the number of games in a season to do this, then I am okay with it. I really do think it is too hard to fit in an 82 game schedule and the Olympics though.

 

[NoleMoreTears]

If you drop the number of games in a season to do this, then I am okay with it. I really do think it is too hard to fit in an 82 game schedule and the Olympics though.

It can be done, the owners have to get theirs and then adjust contracts. It's funny this is such a roadblock when

1) there are millions of slush fund $$ going around Olympic bribery schemes; and
2) the NHL has been able to piece together truncated regular seasons with almost no notice in the lockout years.

Even with bad ratings I can't imagine the Olympics wouldn't be more valuable than a few regular season games in February. That's almost always the worst month of hockey in the league anyways.

 

[PazNole]

Congrats Marty St Louis! The best in my book

 

[nolealum99]

Congrats Marty St Louis! The best in my book

I sold my tickets to that game as I am not 100% over it yet. I will admit I watched the ceremony on TV though. I really do appreciate what he did for the Bolts for so long. My season ticket member jersey was a MSL #26. For that I love the guy. The thing I hated was how a guy who wears the "C" for my team bailed and wanted out, all because he was butthurt that he was not invited to an Olympic team by a guy who happened to be our GM. I'm sorry, your the captain, suck it up and be an example to the rest of the team. So I was and am still torn over my feelings for MSL. I'm sure one day I will get over it and appreciate only the first part, just not yet.

 

[NoleMoreTears]

99 - I can understand that. We all have our favorites and it hurts more when things go awry with them. It is possible St. Louis felt like he gave it everything and set a great example (you'd probably agree). That wasn't acknowledged in the selection, at least in Marty's mind. Yzerman is a GREAT front office person but even he makes mistakes.

Mistake or not, there are times in the elite athlete when it is time to move on because the line between playing well and poorly is actually very small. There are many many times when trying harder or "sucking it up" is actually counter-productive because the mentality is so far off the rails it just spirals the wrong way.

I bet if you ask both of them they'd both wish they handled it a bit different.

 

[nolealum99]

99 - I can understand that. We all have our favorites and it hurts more when things go awry with them. It is possible St. Louis felt like he gave it everything and set a great example (you'd probably agree). That wasn't acknowledged in the selection, at least in Marty's mind. Yzerman is a GREAT front office person but even he makes mistakes.

Mistake or not, there are times in the elite athlete when it is time to move on because the line between playing well and poorly is actually very small. There are many many times when trying harder or "sucking it up" is actually counter-productive because the mentality is so far off the rails it just spirals the wrong way.

I bet if you ask both of them they'd both wish they handled it a bit different.

I agree, there are two sides to everything and I have actually heard Marty's side of the story from a friend in Tampa who golfed with Marty often. Even though I have heard that it doesn't change my opinion. I will definitely get over it at some point. He did a lot for the organization and he was the heart and soul for along time. For that I am grateful.

 

[NoleMoreTears]

Def a tough spot for the fans. Tampa has a great front office so most deals will go your way.

 

[nolealum99]

I hope I am wrong, but I think the loss to Arizona the other night rang the death knell for the Bolts this season. Nothing is in sync right now. The games the D/goaltenders play well, there is no scoring. Games we score a few, the goaltending is horrible. The first portion of the latest road trip spells this our perfectly. In the first 3 games, against the California teams the Bolts give up 5 goals total and lose two of those games. In the game against Arizona, the Bolt score 3 and Bishop gives up 2 of the worst goals I have ever seen him let in to lose 5-3. We just can't put it all together on the same nights. One of the big problems I see on the scoring end is no net front presence on offense. Only guy who want to go in there is Boyle. Passes that are thrown out in front just slide right through the middle as no one is there. It is frustrating to watch them right now after knowing that this same team has been deep in the playoffs the last couple years. In my opinion it is time for Yzerman to pull the trigger on some changes. I think Johnson would be a perfect person to go as we will likely not have any money to sign him in offseason. It wouldn't hurt my feeling to lose Bishop either while he still can bring us a piece for the future. He will be an UFA at end of season and we can't afford him either.

 

[SeaPA]

Man what a crap season this has been for the Lightning; from preseason favorite to hoist the cup, to most likely not even making the playoffs. They've had some injuries, but not enough to explain away this poor of a performance.

 

[nolealum99]

I was hoping for a run to get back in this thing as we are only 8 points out of division and 6 out of the wild card but I am throwing in the towel on this season. I saw all I needed to see in person Tuesday night when Tyler Johnson, one of the most skilled forwards on the team, passed up a shot on a breakaway to drop it to a covered defenseman. I honestly believe this one is on the players. These guys are not playing with enough desperation. You see this desperation from the 4th line, but you don't see it from anywhere else. Injuries have played a big part as well, but this team is a player or two from being the same team that went to the Cup finals two years ago and was one game from going back to those same finals last year. This team needs some changes. They need to get something for Bishop while they can. Next on the block are Johnson, Garrison, and Coburn. They need to re-sign Palat and get Boyle back on a team friendly deal. We need some grit. We need to sign someone who is willing to be in front of the net. I cannot count the number of passes that we perfect to open space right in front of the net with no one going there. Now is time for Yzerman to earn his keep. It was easy to make the decisions he has the past couple of years. Now it is time to make the hard ones.

 

[SeaPA]

Jeez, that drop pass from Johnson left me dumbfounded. Was watching on tv with my 13 y/o, who blurted out "what are you DOING."

At first I thought he'd just lost it off his stick or gotten poke checked; couldn't believe my eyes when I watched the replay.

 

[NoleMoreTears]

I was hoping for a run to get back in this thing as we are only 8 points out of division and 6 out of the wild card but I am throwing in the towel on this season. I saw all I needed to see in person Tuesday night when Tyler Johnson, one of the most skilled forwards on the team, passed up a shot on a breakaway to drop it to a covered defenseman. I honestly believe this one is on the players. These guys are not playing with enough desperation. You see this desperation from the 4th line, but you don't see it from anywhere else. Injuries have played a big part as well, but this team is a player or two from being the same team that went to the Cup finals two years ago and was one game from going back to those same finals last year. This team needs some changes. They need to get something for Bishop while they can. Next on the block are Johnson, Garrison, and Coburn. They need to re-sign Palat and get Boyle back on a team friendly deal. We need some grit. We need to sign someone who is willing to be in front of the net. I cannot count the number of passes that we perfect to open space right in front of the net with no one going there. Now is time for Yzerman to earn his keep. It was easy to make the decisions he has the past couple of years. Now it is time to make the hard ones.

I confess to not seeing much of them but this makes a lot of sense and was frankly showing in the playoffs. Though successful, you could spot the areas they needed to shore up. IMO the overall defensive corps has too many lapses and that taxes the forwards excessively.

The end result is one of your best advantages (team speed and depth at forward) is neutralized. A guy like Tyler Johnson won't thrive in that scenario, same with Drouin as these guys ride momentum. It's never as simple as grit.

 

[nolealum99]

Jeez, that drop pass from Johnson left me dumbfounded. Was watching on tv with my 13 y/o, who blurted out "what are you DOING."

At first I thought he'd just lost it off his stick or gotten poke checked; couldn't believe my eyes when I watched the replay.

As I was sitting in my seats to a person that is what was said. I said the same thing with a F-bomb dropped in the middle of that sentence!!!

 

[nolealum99]

I confess to not seeing much of them but this makes a lot of sense and was frankly showing in the playoffs. Though successful, you could spot the areas they needed to shore up. IMO the overall defensive corps has too many lapses and that taxes the forwards excessively.

The end result is one of your best advantages (team speed and depth at forward) is neutralized. A guy like Tyler Johnson won't thrive in that scenario, same with Drouin as these guys ride momentum. It's never as simple as grit.

You are absolutely right on neutralizing the speed. When you cant get the puck out of the zone, speed is worthless. Hedman and Stralman do this well, but Garrison and Coburn have struggled, especially this season to move the puck well. They are much slower than Hedman and Stralman. We have a kid up from Syracuse right now that I REALLY like. Jake Dotchin. He played over 20 minutes the other night and does a lot of things right and he has speed. He has quickly gained favor of the coaches.