The 2013 NHL Season Thread

[The_Admiral]

Signed with the Hawks, already reporting to the team. Well then.

[charger77]

Hey -Dan, Foote's getting his number retired by the Avs.

Yeah, saw that, pretty cool!

[Kramerica Industries]

This Columbus story continues to be remarkable.

As of this post, only one point in the back of Detroit for the #8. Wow.

[crashcarson15]

Seriously. This is certainly my favorite Jackets team ever, regardless of whether or not they can sneak in the playoffs. I'm resigned to the fact that they won't but this team just doesn't :censored:ing give up.

[Sport]

Remarkable is a good word to describe it and yesterday was one of my favorite CBJ games ever. (Didn't get to watch it live, was at my girlfriend's friend's wedding rehearsal dinner ("rehearsal dinner? Who need to rehearse how to eat dinner? What are you, two?") had to watch it on dumb dvr, not the same as live TV).

They have a tough hill to climb though. Their next 6 are on the road, they haven't proven they can win on the road, and they have 3 teams to pass, and they have to pass them because for some reason if they end up tied with Detroit they lose the tiebreaker despite going 4-0-1 against them. Hockey makes no sense. Also, they're relying heavily on Bobrovsky and at some point he's gonna have another bad game. It might be a good idea to start Leighton for a game or two.

BTW, Gaborik has 6 points in 5 games plus he brings a presence that creates open room for other players. Good trade.

[Eye]

Remarkable is a good word to describe it and yesterday was one of my favorite CBJ games ever. (Didn't get to watch it live, was at my girlfriend's friend's wedding rehearsal dinner ("rehearsal dinner? Who need to rehearse how to eat dinner? What are you, two?") had to watch it on dumb dvr, not the same as live TV).

This has nothing to do with the game last night, but I'm the opposite, most of the time anyway, because I actually prefer DVR. Provided of course I can avoid hearing about any game before I go to watch it, that is. I like avoiding anything unnecessary that I can, because I'm there to watch sports. I usually work nights so if I want to watch something, I have to wait until I get home or until the next day.

Anyone else feel this way?

[njmeadowlanders]

Even if I've avoided the score, I don't like DVR just because I know it isn't live, and I can FF through stoppages, etc. It's weird, I know, but just merely knowing that it's recorded kind of takes the drama out. I can't really explain why though, to me it just does.

[cmm]

Even if I've avoided the score, I don't like DVR just because I know it isn't live, and I can FF through stoppages, etc. It's weird, I know, but just merely knowing that it's recorded kind of takes the drama out. I can't really explain why though, to me it just does.

I'm the same way except I don't try to avoid the score. If I can't watch a game live, I still try to get updates. And if my team wins, I'll just catch the highlights later.

[Kramerica Industries]

In general, many of us are multi-taskers. If we aren't at the game or at a bar or something, there's a good chance we're still perusing the inter-webs during games.

Given that, to watch something on tape delay means we can't really go online, because the chances of an inadvertent spoiler is lurking everywhere. I don't even bother trying to DVR anything. If I'm a period late to a Lightning game, so be it. Just hope the damage isn't too bad when I finally arrive.

[Magnus]

About the soon-to-be-minimized Wings-Hawks divisional rivalry:

Since they will be playing less often against each other in the new setup, I think it makes each occasion more special. The Wings and Hawks should mark each future meeting as special by holding the games against each other at Wrigley or Comerica Park every season during this realignment. It could have all the majesty of the Winter Classic because it's the one (or two) times per year you get to see that old 'friend'. Won't interfere with bowl season either if they schedule it right.

[The_Admiral]

But that just makes outdoor games less special.

Even without suggesting two Chicago-Detroit outdoor games every year, the whole "now the Hawks will play the Original Six home and away every year" thing is such a "it's not a glitch, it's a feature" that it makes my head spin. Yes, we will. So will the Nashville Predators, but the rest of the Original Six doesn't have to be burdened with playing the Predators five or six times.

[Kramerica Industries]

Still easily my least favorite thing about realignment; Chicago got absolutely screwed.

There's no excuse to leave one O6 team to fend for itself while the other five all get to wank each other off in what was already the much-more-marketable conference anyway. It's a damn shame.

[Maz]

Why is there such an obsession with keeping the Original Six together? It's a misnomer anyway.

[The_Admiral]

I don't care about it that much. Buttshook expansion fans hate it more than I like it. Games with the Rangers and Bruins don't mean much to me and I suspect they don't mean much to Rangers and Bruins fans. I'd like games with Detroit, of course, and Toronto because of all the Hawks-Leafs games that were on ESPN Classic when I was younger and painted the picture of a pretty awesome rivalry, but that's it. More than anything I just resent the divide into "NBC-Approved NHL" and "Blackhawks And The Gimps."

[IceCap]

Why is there such an obsession with keeping the Original Six together? It's a misnomer anyway.

Yes, the term isn't accurate. That doesn't take away the fact that these six teams have a history with each other that no other set of teams have. There's a reason why there are people upset that the Original Six are being broken up while no one really cares that the Expansion Six are scattered across the league.

[Kramerica Industries]

Why is there such an obsession with keeping the Original Six together? It's a misnomer anyway.

It's not keeping them all together, because I don't consider Chicago an "eastern" team in any way, shape, or form.

It's more like giving the Blackhawks at least one other historic rival like, gee, the Red Wings, to still play on a regular basis. As it is, the Blackhawks are completely isolated from the rest of their historic rivals. And for a sport that embraces its roots like hockey does, that really kinda sucks.

The Lightning and Panthers certainly aren't worthy of being in a division with four O6 teams, that's for certain. 29 games a year against O6 teams for two '90s expansion teams, while the Blackhawks get, what, 10? Even the Rangers, to a smaller extent, get a poor end of the spectrum, with 17 games. Maybe it's odd for a present Floridian and fan of a '90s expansion team to care so much about it, but I don't like it, plain and simple.

[rams80]

About the soon-to-be-minimized Wings-Hawks divisional rivalry:

Since they will be playing less often against each other in the new setup, I think it makes each occasion more special. The Wings and Hawks should mark each future meeting as special by holding the games against each other at Wrigley or Comerica Park every season during this realignment. It could have all the majesty of the Winter Classic because it's the one (or two) times per year you get to see that old 'friend'. Won't interfere with bowl season either if they schedule it right.

It already doesn't interfere with the Bowl Season because neither Chicago or Detroit are stupid enough to have bowl games in a flippin' baseball stadium.

That said, Wrigley is a craphole and this fact alone should rule out that idea.

[Maz]

I've just always felt the whole original six thing was a bit overdone. Yeah, they have history, but if I'm not mistaken wasn't that because the NHL just didn't want any additional teams for a while? Even then I'm all for honoring the history, but it seems to me a lot of people want to make them out to be the literal founding fathers of hockey and therefore shouldn't be touched when there were plenty of teams before them in the NHL and beyond that were just as or more important.

I just never understood why there are people who want to make them into something they're not. Not saying you guys are, but it's an observation I've made. Personally, I see no problem mixing old with new. It's happened in baseball and football and everything was fine. I'd rather have divisions of classics mixed with new teams so it's more even all around than abominations like the NASCAR Division.

[The_Admiral]

Oh no, I agree. An "Original Six Division" would be dumb. I'd rather have games with St. Louis and Minnesota than New York and Boston, but I'd rather have anything than games with Nashville. But this is silly when you consider Detroit is in a division with Chicago in the AL, NFL, NBA, and NCAA. What Detroit is not is in a division with Fort Lauderdale and Ottawa. How does the geography work for everything but hockey, which it worked fine in for years?

[CS85]

So what's the contract situation with LeBlanc joining the Blackhawks? Gotta feel somewhat bad for a guy like Pirri, but LeBlanc seems like a cool guy based on my extremely limited research.