The 2013 NHL Season Thread

[Kramerica Industries]

I didn't think it was possible to write a dirtbag column and not have a single mention of Tie Domi.

[Brendan]

I know hindsight is 20/20 but does any one else think that Edmonton wishes they took Seguin and Landeskog over Hall and Nugent-Hopkins?

I know I would. Hall is looking like he'll be a 70 point guy at best and Nugent-Hopkins is already becoming injury prone.

[Kramerica Industries]

Sure they should've taken Seguin now, but was there any way to craft something like this with Tyler Seguin?

I mean, really, what the hell rhymes with Seguin, and what is a seguin, anyway?

[zpqmaowl]

Club Penguin, but made for a late 80s console.

[NEW.ERA]

Hall and RNH are fine. What they really should have done is draft Alex Galchenyuk over Nail Yakupov, hell even Griffin Reinhart, he plays in the same building as you.

[Sport]

Nobody would like to see the Oilers' 3 #1's bust more than me, but I think it's a little too early . Yakupov is in his 25th game, RNH is still only 19, and Taylor Hall hasn't been able to stay healthy long enough to really find his groove.

I think they'll be fine.

[Maz]

Yeah, Pittsburgh would definitely want a defensemen. /cough Bouwmeester..

Bouwmeester rumors have surfaced here every year ever since Gill and Scuderi left. So basically, it won't happen. Shero seems to like to sign guys nobody expects. I would love to see him on the Pens, though. I believe their big weakness at this point is the lack of a large, reliable, experienced defenseman to keep guys out of the crease as well as other things the younger/smaller guys on the Pens' D seem to be unable to do. I always like to reference back to the Gill/Scuderi pair from 09. Without that pair, they do not win that cup, and I still believe they should have kept one of those two guys.

The only thing is, I like what the Penguins have right now as well. To sacrifice what would be necessary to bring in a Bouwmeester or a Iginla (we don't need a forward. Anyone can play with Sid. How else is Chris freaking Kunitz third in the league? We have enough offense.) isn't something I'm too thrilled about depending on who it is. Then again Calgary could use a few future picks these days...

But in the end, I wouldn't be too surprised if Shero did nothing.

[dbadefense1990]

Apparently, I found the cause of the Blackhawks' streak ending and their 2-game woes:

And the SI Cover Curse strikes again...

[Kramerica Industries]

Daniel Carcillo is right there with Roman Cechmanek among my irrationally liked players.

I don't get it. He fits right in with the dirt bag discussion of the previous page.

[The_Admiral]

The thing about Carcillo is that he's so stupid and reckless that he ends up hurting himself as much as--or more than--his intended target, which kind of mitigates the ill will you can hold for him. He put a dirty hit on Tom Gilbert last year and missed more time on the hit than Gilbert did, so it's not as if he can go around laying one dirty hit after another after another like Patrick Kaleta or Shane Doan. He's more a spaz than someone who is outright malicious, I guess. To wit:

[Sport]

I approve of that check on Jeff Carter.

Also, that subtitle on the SI cover story is somewhat annoying.

[The_Admiral]

Yeah, I think it's a little much. The Blackhawks created some decent buzz, but let's not pretend that they singlehandedly saved the NHL here. People were looking for a story of the NHL succeeding in spite of itself and some team being good enough to make fans stifle their bad feelings about everything. If it hadn't been the Blackhawks, it would have been the Penguins or the Kings or the Red Wings or Bruins. Not the Canadiens, though, who are quietly having an amazing worst-to-first year, because Canada Doesn't Count.

[Kramerica Industries]

Does anyone remember that article before the season about how the Lightning and Panthers, with their solid drafts of the past few seasons, were poised to take Florida hockey to heights never seen before? As in, both teams actually being in the playoffs and being contenders once they got there?

Because all I'm getting out of tonight's affair is that they are the bottom turds of the NHL, which is nothing new for either franchise.

EDIT - ah, here we go.

[Sport]

How come a hockey story can never just be about hockey simply because hockey is great?

It seems like some greater meaning always has to be attached to everything good that happens in hockey. Even the Miracle on Ice had the (probably overstated) narrative of a hockey team saving the country from Jimmy Carter.

[Eye]

How come a hockey story can never just be about hockey simply because hockey is great?

It seems like some greater meaning always has to be attached to everything good that happens in hockey. Even the Miracle on Ice had the (probably overstated) narrative of a hockey team saving the country from Jimmy Carter.

Which is why I didn't like comparing the Blackhawks and Heat, which was not just pointless for the reasons you mentioned, but also because they were two different things, a point, and a win streak.

[Kevin W.]

How come a hockey story can never just be about hockey simply because hockey is great?

Hockey needed this. The lockout was another gut-punch and the sport needed a story like the Blackhawks to revive fan interest. If salvaging at least part of the season has helped to save the sport then the Blackhawks forcing everyone to take notice of the league has continued the process.

OK, in retrospect that made the Blackhawks sound vaguely messianic but my point still stands.

[Still MIGHTY]

How come a hockey story can never just be about hockey simply because hockey is great?

Hockey needed this. The lockout was another gut-punch and the sport needed a story like the Blackhawks to revive fan interest. If salvaging at least part of the season has helped to save the sport then the Blackhawks forcing everyone to take notice of the league has continued the process.

OK, in retrospect that made the Blackhawks sound vaguely messianic but my point still stands.

No it didn't. It did none of these things.

Might it have piqued the interest of hockey fans in Chicago of forgiving the lockout or give national outlets something to talk about? Sure. But to say the Blackhawks streak revived hockey from the dead is ridiculous. (Especially considering attendance and ratings are up around the league, even from the start of the season. Not the Blackhawks doing.)

[FGM13]

I know hindsight is 20/20 but does any one else think that Edmonton wishes they took Seguin and Landeskog over Hall and Nugent-Hopkins?

I know I would. Hall is looking like he'll be a 70 point guy at best and Nugent-Hopkins is already becoming injury prone.

Don't forget, Hall is ridiculously injury prone. I think they should have picked Seguin in 2010, Larsson or Landeskog in 2011, and then Yakupov in 2012.

[JackieMoon]

Wow, no penalty on that. Sedin was trying to carve Bobs a new face.

[Sodboy13]

Mason Raymond had an absolutely stunning spin move to win it for the Canucks in the shootout. However, it was also illegal, given that he stopped and stepped back to pull it off.