yeah, let's just get it out of the way. this particular entry will have a ton of horrible hockey jokes. shit happens. oh yeah, there will be swearing too. now to introduce this thing that most likely no one will read.
this is going to be a highly unprofessional and pseudo current blog about the greatest team sport on the planet. baseball is for mathletes, american football is boring as fuck, and real football....well no one cares about it in america. oh and basketball cuts in hockey season so it can suck a dick. there, glad to get that out of the way. I will be focusing on mainly giving my two cents about things going on in the world of the NHL and what not, and i may or may not dabble in some fantasy reccomendations. i'm relatively new to the game though, so my picks might not be sure things, but it's something else to think about. i'm not a journalist, nor am i a professional blogger (which let's face it, is a bullshit title). i'm just a dude who enjoys the game and feels like being an opinionated prick on the internet. but hey, who isn't.
So without further adieu (oohh french. i must really like hockey), let's get started. without diving into all the off season shenanigans like kovalchuk and the devils being idiots, and tomas kaberle not being traded...again, i figured i'd dive right into preditions and such for the 10-11 season.
Now a lot of people seemingly in the know are picking Vancouver to come out of the west right now. Now i will certainly give them the division title, past playoff performances have me wondering if they can really get over the hump. No doubt they have some potent offensive weapons in the Sedin brothers. Henrik certainly broke out of his shell last year with a 20+ add on to his previous personal high for points in a season, Daniel was sidelined with an injury that prevented him for possibly taking that leap as well last season. I'll go so far to say that Daniel getting hurt was actually good for Henrik because he got to show that he doesn't need his brother to be effective, and that he can carry the load if needed. I would expect them both to eclipse 90 points this coming season.
the Vancouver defense is also very strong, at least on paper, with the addition of Hamhuis (who is a raging douchebag by the way. as a flyers fan i thank you for the draft pick). The Kevin Bieska situation is interesting, as is where Willie Mitchell will end up, and Sammy Salo being accident prone, but it shouldn't be too much of a factor. my whole problem with the Canucks back end is Roberto Luongo. I know I know, I MUST be smoking crack to think roberto luongo is a weak link on this team, but hear me out. At this point, unless you live under a rock...or in the Vancouver front office, you have to see that he tends to flounder in big games. I present to you, the from 08-09 and 09-10 against the blackhawks where he got lit up more than a christmas tree. Sure, credit where it's due to chicago's offensive prowess, but he has to be better. We can also look at his performance in the gold medal game in Vancouver (lolinorite). While a deeper canadian squad walked away with the gold thanks to ryan miller falling asleep, Luongo looked incredibly shaky, but thankfully for his teammates he managed to hold out long enough not to shit a brick and let in a terrible goal and blow it for everyone who loves red and white. Am i being a bit hard on him? Absolutely. I don't care. the dude makes a boatload of money, and is the captain of his team. he needs to lead by example, not be a liability. I would rather see H. Sedin with a C on his chest than Luongo. Prove that you deserve it and get it back. There are other guys on that team to seem like they give a better effort night in and night out and deserve the responsibility of being a leader. Whatever, they're not my team, i don't give a fuck what they do. Just don't be surprised to see them choke again in April.
So in the west, obviously watch out for Vancouver, but also keep an eye on Detroit. It wouldn't be a season preview without detroit going for a division and/or conference title. they're like death and taxes at this point. Chicago should be fun to watch too. they're like a kid with hemophilia who just fell off the swingset. you don't know what's going to happen, but you're pretty sure it won't be pretty. I would also expect the kings to make more of a push to finish with a division title, but still are lacking in a few key spots to make it over the hump and be a true cup contender. Bernier and Quick will get the team as far as it can go though. maybe Kovy will come to his senses too and realize signing in NJ, who have an aging (albeit still very good) goaltender on the twilight of his career and a seemingly empty farm system replacement, isn't the best place to play out your career. you just left atlanta....why do it all over again. fuck the sharks because i can't say good things about them until they actually win when it matters. although, no Nocupov could be a big plus for that team.
Now we come to the east. This conference is pretty easy to pick, with seemingly the same 6 teams in the playoffs every year and then maybe one or two surprises for the bottom. It's going to be these teams come the end of the season, barring injuries or just shitastic regular season performances: Washington, Shittsburgh, NJ, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Ottawa, Boston. Then you have the "surprises". I'm banking on the islanders sneaking in at 8 this year. they have young talent and garth snow is slowly building a contender out there. If D(L)iPietro can stay healthy they have the chance to compete with any team in the league. Tavares and Okposo are good quality young players you can build around. Keep drafting smart, and with an owner who's willing to pay, it's a good place to be. Still, you play on lawn guyland, so that will always suck. part of me would like to see them move so they can demolish the coliseum and start fresh somewhere new. If Carolina can start better than they did last year they can challenge for a playoff spot. My true sleeper pick would be the maple leafs.....IF they can find a decent top six forward to play with Kessel and get consistent goaltending out of the Monster, who was incredibly inconsistent in his rookie campaign. JS Guigere (did i spell that ri....ah fuck it. who cares you know who i'm talking about) will be stable enough and with their D as deep as it is, they can definitely hang in close games, providing they can get some more guys to chip in and score some goals. Although, with the addition of Gagne, tampa bay has a deep front 6. Dan ellis was a terrific pick up for them, and i can see them making a move for a playoff spot too. should be interesting to see who will be the top line come the regular season.
If you didn't figure it out by now, i'm not focusing on a team for the east like i did for the west because, well....we all know what happens in the east. washington will run away with points, but lose in the playoffs because their D sucks. Gary Bettman will be jerking off Criesby all season long. Philadelphia will have goaltender issues. NJ will win the division, but lose after an exhausted brodeur can't keep playing at a high level when it matters. the rangers will continue to suck with redden's huge contract and glen sather being an incompetent douchebag. montreal is putting all their eggs in the carey price basket, and he's not that good. LES HABICANTS! fuck i can't wait for the regular season.
Fantasy pick: I'm gonna start with a goaltender. i drafted him last year, and while he struggled a bit early on, he came on strong towards the end. He won the starting position from a vezina winner and took a first round series from another vezina winner. Yeah, i'm talking about Tuuka Rask. This kid is legit. While tim thomas couldn't catch a cold last year, rask came in and really shined for the B's. His performance against buffalo was great. while i'm personally thankful he choked against philly, seriously how awesome were the pictures from game 7, i still like him. He's going to at the very least split the load with thomas, if not start outright. this is unless claude julien has a head on his shoulders and doesn't say "well tim thomas was our starter and will be again." make him earn it. in the meantime, go with rask, at least as a 2nd option.
Alright motherpuckers, until next time....if you decide to come back.
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