NHL 2015/16

[HoofedInTheChest]

Opening night is October 7th, and some teams have made substantial changes this off season. Who in your opinion will be a surprize in 2015/16?

My money is on Dallas and Calgary becoming contenders, and per usual the West will dominate for the foreseeable future as far as Cups are concerned.

Can Kessel elevate the Pens to the next level? Knowing what i know about him, i would have to say no.

[Stillriledup]

Any thoughts on Bieksa to the Ducks? Has that guy lost a step or will he be rejuvenated playing w his pal Kessler on a cup contender ?

[HoofedInTheChest]

Originally Posted by Stillriledup

Any thoughts on Bieksa to the Ducks? Has that guy lost a step or will he be rejuvenated playing w his pal Kessler on a cup contender ?

I think Anaheim may have shot themselves in the foot by signing Kessler to a $41.25 Million 6 year deal, with a full no-movement clause in the first 5 years. That means you are stuck with him until he is 36, good luck with that.

Having said that, you have a quality defense core and a solid group of young forwards that are very cap friendly, but here is the rub, the majority of them are restricted free agents next summer. The likelihood of you keeping this lineup together after this season is slim, which means you have to win this year. Your veterans are in the latter part of their primes, and from what i saw they didn’t exactly impress me against a quality opposition.

You dumped ol man Beauchemin and replaced him with Kevin Bieksa, who is a hard–nosed, defensive-minded defenseman. He won’t get you many points and i wouldn’t call him a game changer by any means. He is 34 and well seasoned but i question his foot speed in the contemporary NHL.

My biggest concern is with your goaltending, they picked up Anton Khudobin from Carolina who is a back-up at best. This deal was a head scratcher seeing that the team has to win now, and you already have two guys that have yet to prove themselves, you better pray that Gibson elevates his game next season because Anderson has some serious flaws, there are rumors of Gibson starting next season in the AHL, that should make him really happy.

And lastly, the Ducks hired Dave Nonis? WTF? The only smart move the Ducks have made was hiring Paul MacLean as an assistant, he worked under Babcock in Detroit and was coach of the year in Ottawa, and i would make a sizeable wager that he will replace Boudreau when they finally realize that this guy is a stiff.

Keep your fingers crossed, it’s this year or bust, and i have already bet against them, at least you brought back Brian McGrattan.

[OTM Al]

Originally Posted by HoofedInTheChest

Opening night is October 7th, and some teams have made substantial changes this off season. Who in your opinion will be a surprize in 2015/16?

My money is on Dallas and Calgary becoming contenders, and per usual the West will dominate for the foreseeable future as far as Cups are concerned.

Can Kessel elevate the Pens to the next level? Knowing what i know about him, i would have to say no.

Can see Calgary finishing 2nd in the Pacific as Ducks will probably win it again and fade in playoffs. Dallas is the tougher call. The worst team in the Central had 90 pts last year and that was the poor starting Avs. Everyone in that division is going to be competitive and can see that one not shaking out til the final week. Key injury is unpredictable and could do a team in there. No way I'd try to predict that division though could see Calgary playing whoever comes out of there (and getting beat) in the conference finals.

In the East if I had to make a call I'd have to go with Tampa coming out of the Atlantic since Montreal did nothing to improve offence as of yet and the Metropolitan should come down to the Isles and Caps, so I'll go homer and put the Isles into the conference finals, but losing to Tampa. If there was any depth in the Metro I'd take a stab at both Pens and Rangers missing playoffs, but one is sure to make it because the rest just isn't that good.

[MutuelClerk]

I also like the Stars and Flames. Have a friend going to Vegas an just sent money out on those two teams. I think Valeri Nichushkin is the real deal and will explode this season and hopefully be injury free.

[HoofedInTheChest]

Originally Posted by OTM Al

In the East if I had to make a call I'd have to go with Tampa coming out of the Atlantic since Montreal did nothing to improve offence as of yet and the Metropolitan should come down to the Isles and Caps, so I'll go homer and put the Isles into the conference finals, but losing to Tampa. If there was any depth in the Metro I'd take a stab at both Pens and Rangers missing playoffs, but one is sure to make it because the rest just isn't that good.

I agree, my money is on Tampa and the Islanders in the East. I had to laugh today when i read that Braden Holtby is asking for $8 Mill for next season, is this guy for real? I know there isn't enough quality goaltending to go around but to be the second highest paid goalie next to Hank is ludicrous. I wouldn't have this guy in my top 10, wtf has he accomplished to be asking for that kind of dough?

As it turns out Markham did not put in an application for expansion yesterday, i guess his financing backed out which is probably a good idea seeing the $500 Mill price tag. When you add up the cost to build a new arena as well as an operating budget you are looking at $1.2 Billion. I would wait until one of the southern teams bottoms out and has to relocate, you would save yourself about $300 Mill going that route. As well, Seattle was scared away with the $2 Mill non refundable deposit, that and they don't have an arena deal yet so it looks like it's only Vegas and Quebec City.

My Leafs keep raiding the Red Wings cupboard, yesterday the Leafs hired Ari Vuori as the head of European scouting. Ari was second in command with the Red Wings and is very well respected for some of his key finds in Europe, Shanny continues to impress.

[Greyfox]

The NHL sent out 16 applications for new franchises.
Apparently they were disappointed that only 2 came back - Quebec City and Las Vegas.
As Hoofedinthechest pointed out in the old thread, most franchises are nowhere near worth the 500 million that Bettman and the owners want.
Any smart group would wait four or five years and see what franchises might fold. Then offer them a chance to relocate to a place like Seattle or wherever.
A smart businessman might pick up a failing franchise for a third what the NHL is asking.

[HoofedInTheChest]

Lou Lamoriello is the new GM in Toronto and i'm kind of stunned by this, i will need some time to digest this.

[Greyfox]

Originally Posted by HoofedInTheChest

Lou Lamoriello is the new GM in Toronto and i'm kind of stunned by this, i will need some time to digest this.

What is also amazing about this development is that this appointment flew under the hockey pundits radar without detection until it was announced.
There were no leaks. I wonder how long this has been cooking?

[OTM Al]

Originally Posted by HoofedInTheChest

Lou Lamoriello is the new GM in Toronto and i'm kind of stunned by this, i will need some time to digest this.

The question I have is, what does this mean for New Jersey? Going to Toronto means he didn't not want to do a rebuilding job. Not much a team there except for a very nice young goalie I'd love to have.

[HoofedInTheChest]

Originally Posted by Greyfox

What is also amazing about this development is that this appointment flew under the hockey pundits radar without detection until it was announced.
There were no leaks. I wonder how long this has been cooking?

Everything Shanny has done has flown under the radar, i love it. He fired the entire PR department on Black Sunday because there was too much dirty laundry being aired in public, and the Toronto vulture’s always had the goods before it actually happened. The media are being kept at arms length these days, and rightfully so, this is the first step in protecting the players. The assistant coach's are off limits, if you have a question it all goes through Babcock, the same can be said about upper management, if you have a question go see Lou, lol, and you might want to get out your crowbar because he is fairly tight lipped.

Shanny was the very first player Lou ever drafted in NJ, and once again past relationships are coming into to play. I’m starting to think this is a good idea, a little old school thinking mixed with some progressive thinking and having a HOF GM mentoring Kyle Dubas, for he will be the successor some day. The Leafs have to give NJ a third round pick in compensation for Lou, and he signed a 3 year deal in the Big Smoke. Things are unfolding nicely...

The new ownership in New Jersey handcuffed Lou with a cheap budget seeing that the team is a money loser, and he admitted it was tough to build a competitive hockey team on a ten cent budget. They’re doomed in NJ.

[HoofedInTheChest]

For those needing a fix.

Canada's U20 Program of Excellence Summer Showcase team will play four exhibition games this week, all of which will be broadcast on TSN. Toronto's Mitch Marner and Travis Dermott are both attending the camp.

The schedule:

Monday, August 3 at 8 pm: Canada vs. Russia
Tuesday, August 4 at 5:30 pm: Canada vs. Czech Republic
Wednesday, August 5 at 8 pm: Canada vs. Russia
Thursday, August 6 at 5 pm: Canada vs. Czech Republic

[MutuelClerk]

My friend is back from Vegas. 40-1 on the Stars (30 bucks). 28-1 on the Flames (20 bucks). Good luck to me....

[OTM Al]

To quote the crowd...YESYESYES!!!!!!

[Stillriledup]

Originally Posted by OTM Al

To quote the crowd...YESYESYES!!!!!!

Ducks v Isles in the finals.

Buckle up!!