That’s right. ThatDamnDoubleC and the man known as G talk hockey once again. On this episode, we talk the Sharks and whether they can make a decent playoff run, how long can the Flames and Avalanche go before they fade, and G tells a story about the Oilers Stanley Cup finals run.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLFJowKDn_8[/youtube]
BoredHockeyFan Podcast Episode 2 (MP3, 41:04)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Buffalo, Buffalo, Buffalo. Can someone explain to me just what their goals are for this season? Are they trying to make the playoffs? Are they re-building? I can’t tell.
Nobody knows what Tyler Myers is going to be, after being drafted as a potential Chara 2.0, and winning the Calder Trophy for the 2009-10 season. But since then, his points per season has decreased, and nobody really know what he’ll turn into as a hockey player. He was drafted 12th overall in 2008, before players such as Erik Karlsson (15th) and Jordan Eberle (22nd), so the expectation to push to the next level is there, it’s all up to Myers to get there, and at 23, he and Ristolainen look to be the future defense.
But the big news is revolving around Thomas Vanek and Ryan Miller. Both have contracts up at the end of this season, and the Sabres are apparently looking to ship them both off before the trade deadline. Vanek is 29 and Miller is 33, but both have contract in excess on 6 million, with Vanek’s contract over 7 million. If the Sabres are ‘re-building’, then they need to dump the pair of them for youth, which is a lot easier said than done, considering there are only 6 teams which have more cap space available than the Sabres, so it seems they need to get some cap in return.
In Miller’s case, he has 8 teams on his no-trade list, which includes the Edmonton Oilers, who were linked to both he and Vanek in a deal that could send Nail Yakupov to Buffalo, and even though the Oilers have more cap space than the Sabres, it isn’t by much, so the Oilers would probably have to send Ales Hemsky and his $5mil contract to Buffalo, which I’m sure they wouldn’t mind considering Hemsky’s contract is also up at the end of this season.
The problem with dealing Miller however, and not getting a goaltender in return, means that the Sabres are left with Jhonas Enroth and Matt Hackett as their goalies. Hackett was picked up from the Wild in the Jason Pominville trade, whereas Enroth, along with Jacob Markstrom, Henrik Lundqvist and Jonas Gustafsson, are in contention to represent Team Sweden as their goalie core for the Sochi Olympics. Hackett is only 20, and hasn’t really proven anything, but Enroth is 25, and could be a starting goalie in the National Hockey League, but that can only be questionable at best, leaving the Sabres with a rapidly declining Ryan Miller.
Maybe the Sabres need to re-sign Miller, or make a massive play for a goaltender before the trade deadline or in the off-season. Otherwise, unless Enroth or Hackett can set up, it won’t matter who else they have in their roster, because if the goalie can’t stop goals, then they’re always going to be in contention for the number one pick come draft time.
I have a Twitter for some unknown reason, it’s @ThatDamnDoubleC. Also, go visit BoredWrestlingFan.com, as we’re like brothers or something. You like the little icon in the top left corner where the title of this blog is? I found that here.
On Tuesday, October 15, 2013, Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets came face-to-face with Montreal’s Carey Price. Price would have none of it, and would also go on to lead his team to a 3-0 win against Winnipeg.
I got bored, and since this the site for it, I made this gif.
EA SPORTS NHL 14 is partnering up with the NHL and the NHLPA with the common goal of driving awareness to the Hockey Fights Cancer initiative.
NHL 14 will be doing its part by integrating a Hockey Fights Cancer collection into the Hockey Ultimate Team (HUT) game mode. Exclusively throughout the month of October, gamers will have the opportunity to show their support by collecting rare Hockey Fights Cancer player items in HUT.
Most importantly, EA SPORTS NHL 14 will be donating $10,000 to the Hockey Fights Cancer cause.
Player items featured:
HUT in NHL 14 invites gamers to build their own on-ice fantasy squad from a stable of international players and superstars before putting their teams to the test against others online. Teams grow and improve as gamers find and collect their favorite stars and enlist them for in-game action.
For more information on EA SPORTS NHL 14 Fights Cancer, CLICK HERE. For more information on the NHL’s Hockey Fights Cancer initiative, CLICK HERE.
Returning Hockey Ultimate Team (HUT) 13 users who create a team in HUT 14 will be eligible for a one-time bonus of up to 150,000 EA Pucks in NHL 14. Learn how your EA Puck Bonus will be calculated.
NHL 14 is now available in stores, only on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Order your copy today.
Stay in the conversation of all things NHL 14 and follow us on Facebook and Twitter
Who said it was going to be tough for first round draft picks this year? Because whomever said that.. well you were right with third overall pick Jonathan Drouin of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who was sent back to juniors, but in the case of the top 2 overall picks, Nathan MacKinnon and Alexsander Barkov? Well you are foolish! Foolish I tells ya.
MacKinnon, drafted first by the Colorado Avalanche, provided two assists for Jamie McGinn’s pair of goals, in their 6-1 victory of the Anaheim Ducks. MacKinnon had 15 shifts for 15:31 ice time. There was also a bit of a ruckus between new Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy, and several Anaheim Ducks, including head coach Bruce Boudreau and star player Corey Perry.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y2OOc6WTrg[/youtube]
Aleksander Barkov, drafted second by the Florida Panthers, scored the Game-Tying Goal in their 4-2 victory over the Dallas Stars. Assisted by Tom Gilbert and Jonathan Huberdeau, Barkov had more shifts than MacKinnon with 21, but only played three more seconds (15:34) of ice time.
Other notables include fourth overall pick Seth Jones had a +2 in Nashville’s 4-2 defeat by St. Louis, eighth overall Rasmus Ristolainen ended with a -1 in Buffalo’s 2-1 defeat by the Detroit Red Wings, and tenth overall Valeri Nichuskin played on Dallas’ third-line with Shawn Horcoff and Vernon Fiddler, also ended with a -1 in their 4-2 loss by the Florida Panthers.
Florida has a new goalie! Many expected the Jacob Markstrom era to begin in Florida this season, but that will be put on hold for one year, as long-time Boston Bruin, and guy who took last year off, Tim Thomas, has signed a 1-year, $2.5 million deal, with a $3.75 million cap hit with the franchise.
After making the playoffs in the 2011-12 season, being knocked out by the New Jersey Devils in the first round in seven games, the Panthers ended up with the worst record in the National Hockey League last season, on the back of Markstrom, Scott Clemmensen and Jose Theodore.
All smiles now Timmy T
What does Tim Thomas bring to Florida? He joins Kris Versteeg (one) Brian Campbell (one) and Tomas Kopecky (two), as holders of Stanley Cup rings. However, Thomas is the only one with a Conn Smythe as playoff MVP. A two-time Vezina winner, one-time William M. Jennings trophy, and the first player since Bernie Parent to win the Stanley Cup, Vezina and Conn Smythe in the same season.
The resume is plentiful, but Thomas is 39 years old. He didn’t play anywhere last season, so whether or not he’ll even make it out the year is a gamble for the Panthers, especially considering they seem to be outside playoff contenders at best. Perhaps he’s bought in to provide tutelage for Markstrom, but the latter will more than likely end up in the AHL when Clemmensen returns from injury.
For those wondering, Florida play Thomas’ former team, the Boston Bruins (I don’t count the Islanders, even though he was on their roster, he never played a game for them, not even as backup) five times next season. Mark these dates on your hockey calendar!
October 17, 2013, November 7, 2013, January 28, 2014, March 4, 2014 and March 9, 2014
The media will be all over it, especially for the first game I feel. Even Bruins starter, and Thomas’ backup in Boston, Tuukka Rask, joked that it’s going to be a “media debacle”. Fun times to be had in Florida for the year ahead.
Jamie Benn and Mark Giordano have been named Captains of the Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames respectively. They replace Brenden Morrow and Jarome Iginla, who were both traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins toward trade deadline last season.
Giordano, 29, becomes the 19th Captain in Calgary Flames franchise history, and will have Mike Cammalleri and Curtis Glencross as his Assistants, whereas Benn, 24, will be the sixth Captain since the Stars moved to Dallas in 1993, where Ray Whitney and Stephane Robidas will be the Assistant Captains.
How do you make pre-season exciting? Have a line brawl.
How do you welcome your brand new 5.5 million dollar contract with your new team? Get yourself suspended for ten games.
The Buffalo Sabres and the Toronto Maple Leafs decided that pre-season games were boring, and decided that an all-in brawl was the best way. It started when John Scott of the Sabres decided that he needed to stand up for his team-mate, Corey Tropp, was mis-matched in a fight with Leaf Jamie Devane and was going to fight the first person he saw after the faceoff. The Maple Leafs countered this, by trying to move the game on, by sending out their big guns, leaving franchise forward Phil Kessel to fight Scott. This started the brawl, which ended with Kessel showing off his wedge skills on Scott’s shin, Goalies Ryan Miller (Sabres) and Jonathan Bernier (Leafs) having a fight of their own, and David Clarkson, who signed from New Jersey in the off-season, came off the bench to get involved. This is a no-no, and coming off the bench in that nature, leads to an automatic 10-game suspension. Way to go Clarkson, way to gooooooo.
Oh, here’s the fight in question..
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frrFsXdhKZ8[/youtube]
Brenden Morrow has signed a 1-year, 1.5 million dollar deal with Dallas Stars 2.0, the St. Louis Blues. Morrow joins former head coach Ken Hitchcock, former GM Doug Armstrong, VP of Business Operations Brett Hull, who scored the cup winning goal for the Stars’ 1999 Stanley Cup victory, and fellow off-season Free Agent signing Derek Roy, as former Dallas Stars applying their trade in St. Louis. Morrow looks like being a third-fourth liner for his new franchise.
Rivalries. You know you’re going to have an intense game when two teams who genuinely don’t like each other face off.
The Sabres and the Maple Leafs are rivals. Only about a 90 minute drive separate First Niagara Center from Air Canada Center, and there are generally just as many Leafs fans at the FNC when the teams play each other there as there are Sabres fans. So, you expect a fierce game when these two teams meet – but you generally don’t expect it in a pre-season game.
Jaime Devane and Corey Tropp decided to drop the gloves in the third period of Sunday night’s exhibition, which led to Tropp smashing the back of his head against the ice. The Sabres sent out enforcer John Scott on the next play, who threatened to “jump” Phil Kessel – at least, that’s what Kessel says.
Here’s the video, I’ll update you on any discipline handed down by the NHL if I hear anything.
[iframe src=”http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/embed?playlist=446674″ frameborder=”0″ width=”640″ height=”395″]
It feels a little weird to be honest. This time last year, every hockey fan knew that there wasn’t going to be any hockey, because we knew that there was going to be a lockout, and we knew it was going to last awhile, so a proper season start seems like heaven. I know there’s an Olympic break in the middle and that’ll make things interesting in terms of how one plays in an attempt to make the Olympic rosters, and with a proper pre-season, the start of the season will see the best players at full stride, as opposed to taking the first month of last season to find their rhythm.
So enjoy pre-season action, cheer your team on. Hockey’s back, and that’s always a good thing.
In 1991, EA Sports brought the NHL to life in video game form with the release of NHL Hockey for the Sega Genesis. In 1993, the company released what is still widely considered to be the best sports game of all time, NHL ’94. Twenty years later, the company is still churning out one of – if not the – best sports games of the year with the NHL series, and this Tuesday they release the latest edition, NHL ’14.
