2009/2010 NHL Season & Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Well, it's almost here hockey fans: the start of the 2009-2010 NHL regular season!
There was some amazing hockey last season, and it looks like we're in store for some great action this season too.


Lots of questions to answer and interesting story-lines to follow, including:

• Can Sid the Kid and the Penguins repeat as Stanley Cup Champions?
• Will we see the Red Wings back in the finals again?
• How will Boston recover from losing one of their best goal scorers? (thanks for Kessel, Chiarelli!)
• How will the new-look Maple Leafs fair this season? Will they actually make the playoffs for the first time in 5 years?
• Will Theoren Fleury be able to make the Calgary Flames at 41 years of age and after being out of the league for six years?
• Will Jason Allison make the Maple Leafs after taking a couple of years off?
• How will Dany Heatley fit in on the Sharks?
• Will the Senators be the able to get back on track?
• What the hell has Bob Gainey done to the Canadiens?
• Will John Tavares be able to lead the Islanders out of the wilderness?
• What will happen with the Phoenix Coyotes? Will Balsillie be able to buy them? Will they be playing in Hamilton in the near future? What is Gretzky going to do next?
• Where will Mats Sundin sign? (Okay...... I don't really want to hear about that story anymore. )
• Will the Oilers be an improved team now that Pat Quinn has taken over as head coach?
• Will the Capitals take it to the next level? How about the Black Hawks?
• Will the NHLPA be able to recover from firing Paul Kelly?

So much to talk about! I think it's going to be one hell of a season.



I'm really excited to follow the much improved Maple Leafs. Go Leafs Go!

MasterDev said:

My predictions...

1. Ducks will win the Stanley Cup
2. Red Wings will Fail Fail Fail.
3. Jason Alison will also fail.
4. I will most likely get the s*** kicked out of me in Detroit when I see the Ducks play the Red Wings this year.

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Responses:

1. The Ducks?! Well, I suppose that any guess at this time of year is as accurate as any other guess. I just don't see it though. It remains to be seen how well the Ducks will play this year. They've made a lot of changes. How badly will the loss of Pronger and Beauchemin affect their D?

2. Yeah right they'll fail......

3. Why will Allison fail? What are you basing this on? He's having a good camp considering how rusty he should be from not playing for so long.

4. Just don't make eye contact with anyone at the Joe, and maybe you'll survive........

NathanCH said:

Go Canucks! I sure hope a Canadian teams the cup this year. The fans deserve it. Especially here in Vancouver - GM place has been sold out for like 350 games in a row. How many seasons is that?

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So I guess that means you'd be happy if the Leafs win the Cup

However, it will be harder than any other season for us because we're facing the longest road trip in NHL history, it will span 14 games and 6 weeks and is a result of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Yikes

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Yeah, that will definitely be a hard stretch for the 'Nucks.

Oh, I hope that Luongo can live long enough to play out his ridiculously long contract......

^^^^^ Maybe you guys should pick up some more goalies? The Isles can ice a team of all goalies. I guess that's what happens when your GM is an ex-goalie, eh? And maybe Snow should sign them all to 20 year contracts.......

The Leafs may not do anything spectacular this season, but they'll finish ahead of the Islanders.

I'm pumped for the Leafs- Burke has made some interesting changes. The team is bigger and tougher, we have a really good defence, there is competition in goal between Toskala and Gustavsson (once he recovers), and he signed a top notch young scorer in Kessel. Toskala played his best hockey in San Jose when he had to compete with Nabokov for playing time.

Wang is losing $20 million a year, the Coyotes are losing $30 million a year...... craziness. I guess we'll have to wait and see what the NHL allows Wang to do. Will they even allow him to move the team? They sure are giving Moyes a hard time in Phoenix. Instead of allowing him to sell the team to Balsillie and actually make some money back, they've decided to step in and make an offer themselves. The NHL isn't looking too good these days.

NathanCH said:

Well, actually yeah! As long as it's not over the Canucks in final series

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It's nice to see that there is a Canucks fan in Vancouver who isn't a Leafs hater!

So whaddaya think, TDD? Can Robbie Schremp turn it around in Long Island? If he can, that's one hell of a waiver pick-up by the Isles!

I guess we'll have to wait and see though: if Pat Quinn didn't see anything in him, that could be a bad sign.

Check out these moves. <-You Tube link.

bruinsrme said:

Kessel was a whining spoiled kid and didn't seem to put the team first. He didn't want to be part of the system.
As talented as he is, I am glad to see him go and like how the B's blocked him out.
Maybe in Toronto he won't have to be bothered in back checking.

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He's a 21 year old 36 goal scorer. Plenty of time to develop the defensive side of his game. I'm sure that Ron Wilson will be able to coach him into being a better back-checker. This kid has amazing potential, and has the ability to become a 50 goal scorer in the league.

The B's didn't have the cap room to sign him. If they had the room, I think they would have signed him.

That being said, the winner of this trade won't be determined for 5-7 years. We'll have to wait and see how:

1. Kessel develops, and
2. Who the Bruins choose with the 2 first rounders and the second rounder they got in return, and how those players develop.

NathanCH said:

Tonight is the night

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Yeah it is!

Four games tonight.

Leafs vs. Habs to open the season.


Go Leafs Go!

bruinsrme said:

Surely,
Has Kesel hit the ice yet? I haven't seen any stats. Any news on him?

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Kessel had shoulder surgery in the off-season, and isn't expected to be in the line-up until November. He's on the IR right now.

I saw some of the Caps/Bruins game..... the Bruins got the Ovechkin treatment tonight.....

Leafs lost in OT.... boo........ from what I heard (I listened to the game on my iPhone using the Corus Radio app), it was a good game, and the Leafs played well.