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nashvillwill

By nashvillwill
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mod134 Whistle-Stop

mod134

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I have talked with some of the old-timers and some of the fans of that era from the AHL RI Reds and said that the AHL back in the day was really good because there were so few NHL teams. You had a lot of good players in the AHL their entire careers and it was tougher to get into the NHL due to the lack of teams. Imnot advocating slashing half the expansion teams off, by any means. Heck, the Boston Bruins an hour North of here have struggled as an organization for awhile, and as one of the original teams in the league and its "hockey friendly" geographic location, they aren't getting the job done in terms of fan turnout at the Garden.

That being said, give the new teams a chance. I've read that some cities go in cycles as far as which season it is and for what sport. Depending on one's interest in the stick-and-ball sports compared to hockey, they may not afford (I'm a hockey fan but never been to an NHL game, for instance) or have the interest level to fork over $ for tickets. Plus the TV package the NHL currently has is a joke.

Once the league straightens out its affairs in terms of the league's profile as well as its feasibility to be a stronger league with things like a TV package before teams are potentially put on the chopping block. Fix the league first before moving towards team realignment/contraction. Some of the new markets may not be ideal, but in order to be a national entity it is important to be in a growing market like Phoenix. Give them some time to have hockey grow in the cities.

Winnepeg and Hartford were dumped for new markets in Phoenix and Denver, IIRC. Pittsburgh was saved from moving to Kansas City, which may be a good expansion or place to move, given the brand new arena, called the Sprint Center and with the history of being an important Midwest market that once had the KC Scouts in the 1970s. Hamilton and even sometimes Hartford have been floated as "new" places, but without a team to move (ie: Nashville being bought and the franchise moved to Hamilton) or Hartford getting a new arena for starters, the NHL and its team numbers should remain status quo.

Congrats to Anaheim on the win.

Edited by mod134
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dgreco City

dgreco

Posted
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I must say I really like the new Bruins' uniforms. They had a nice design the past few years, but with the changes in the basic uniform design they picked a good time to go "old school".

The new Wild unis look nice too.

the bruins are making a little surge this year also. They are almost living up to their counterparts in other Boston sports.

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Justadude Burg

Justadude

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It's about time... they've had a million top-10 draft picks to make something happen.

But seriously, the difference is in the coaching. The Devils made a huge mistake when they dropped Julien, so no big surprise that his new team is cruising right along -- and making guys like Tim Thomas and Alex Auld look like superstars.

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Justadude Burg

Justadude

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No doubt. Sucks that they'll probably have the 4th seed due to their division, which means they'll likely have only one series at home in the playoffs.

But the Bruins-Sens game is being broadcast on Versus tonight, so that'll be a good opportunity to see who's really the big dog in the division. The gap will only be 4 points if the Bruins win.

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Justadude Burg

Justadude

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^ I feel the same way. That was a pretty close game and really hinged on a freak double-minor. Take away that PP goal and it would've been an OT affair. Considering the Sens are the league's "hot" team right now and the Bruins were playing without their top playmaker and starting goalie, I'm feeling pretty good about Boston's chances in the playoffs. The key is going to be getting Bergeron healthy again, and keeping the goalies on fire. If they can do that, and not have any other major injuries, they'll be a real nasty team in the playoffs.

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dgreco City

dgreco

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If the Bruins weren't in the same division as the Senators, they'd be a sure force to be reckoned with...

Being in the division is also going to hurt them come playoff time if they keep up the play. Being stuck in the 4 seed might hurt them. I hate this top records don't get the seeds.

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Mobuchu Burg

Mobuchu

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But seriously, the difference is in the coaching. The Devils made a huge mistake when they dropped Julien, so no big surprise that his new team is cruising right along -- and making guys like Tim Thomas and Alex Auld look like superstars.

Julien is the only time I've questioned Lou Lamorielo's judgement. Who knows what would have happened with the Devs in the playoffs under him, but things were not going well heading in. Either way, I think Lou is one of the best GM's in all of sports so I respect his decisions. Brent Sutter turned out to be a great fit and I'm surprised he didn't move to the NHL a long time ago.

I'm glad the Bruins are competetive again, and would love to see them go deep in the playoffs. Same with St. Louis, what a great turnaround they are having.

One more thing, I think the playoff race is going to be fun to watch this year. Other then Detroit and Ottawa running away, both conferences are in such a tight race. One bad week and a team can go from 2nd to 10th fast...

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Mobuchu Burg

Mobuchu

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Oh, and did anyone catch the Penguins - Bruins game last night. Crosby had a Gordie Howe hat trick with the first fight of his NHL career. He did pretty good too, and I would say he won the fight, connecting more punches then Ferrance(sp?). I went back and forth between that game and watching Gaborik light up the Rangers. It was a good night in the NHL..... :)

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