Hellebuyck- only 21 aaves needed. Here he is as a college player at UMass-Lowell, where he won the inaugural award for top goalie in American hockey:
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2024-2025 NHL season
- Thread starter snakejack
- Start date
I hope the fans in Winnipeg appreciate this & start filling up their arena. Fan attendance has been a problem & if the trend keeps up Gary might find an American buyer to move the team either back to Atlanta or to KC.
Elsewhere the Sens blew a chance to claim the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference by losing against the lowly Sabres. Because of this the Bruins keep the 8th position even though they lost 4-0 to the Maple Leafs who were without captain Auston Matthews. Anthony Stolarz got the shutout in a masterful performance. The struggling Jeremy Swayman took the loss.
By the way i’m very surprised to see the Predators stuck in the basement in the Western Conference. It’s a veteran team who’s showing its age, just like Pittsburgh. With Washington playing great & Ottawa healthy & playing decent i think it’ll ne very difficult for the Penguins & the Islanders to return to the playoffs. Even Boston isn’t a sure thing of returning. Brad Marchand is showing his age & struggling & Pastrnak has also struggled. Coach Jim Montgomery is a lame-duck coach and might not make it to the end of the season if his team doesn’t dramatically improve. The pressure seems to be getting to him. Last night during a faceoff at center ice he could be seen gesturing & shouting at Ryan Reeves, who was minding his own business getting ready for the faceoff. The announcers mentioned that they didn’t remember such a thing ever happening during a game where a team’s head coach & a player from the other team are shouting at one another that far away from each other prior to a faceoff at center ice. Not exactly great optics.
Houston is definitely on the league’s radar along with Atlanta & KC. They hope it would create a great rivalry with Dallas. As for Atlanta i’m aware that the league wants to fo back there but I can’t understand the risk considering they’ve already failed twice with NHL hockey!
Houston has always been involved in pro hockey in the past. I remember NHL franchises having farm teams there. I also remember the Houston Aeros of the WHA in the 70’s when Gordie, Mark & Marty Howe played for them. I believe they also won the Avco Cup at least once. Houston probably makes the most sense of the bunch especially if you consider the potential of a rivalry with Dallas.
Atlanta has already had two NHL franchises in the past. The first one called the Flames eventually relocated to Calgary. I remember them having decent teams back in the 70’s with the likes of Pat Quinn, Guy Chouinard & goalie Dan Bouchard. Former NHL great Boom- Boom Geofrion also coached them before the move to Calgary. Then later they were granted an NHL franchise called the Trashers. I remember them drafting the likes of Ilya Kovalchuk, Danny Heatley & Patrick Stefan. I can’t remember if the reason for relocating to Winnipeg was poor fan support but i remember the owner having financial problems & he sold the team to an ownership group from Winnipeg. Maybe Gary thinks hockey is going to work there again if he can find a billionaire owner in the area with deep pockets.
Milwaukee would get consideration but i don’t believe they have an NHL calibre arena on site right now plus i haven’t heard about any billionaires looking at bringing NHL hockey to Milwaukee. Atlanta & KC already have NHL-ready arenas. Not sure about Houston. As for Portland they probably could be a valid option if they weren’t so close to Seattle, who has territorial rights for that area. Which is also the same reason why Houston may not yet be a valid option due to its close proximity to Dallas. However i have no doubt that the money is there if the NHL could coax Dallas to let them expand there. As for Buffalo it’s always been an NHL hockey-crazy franchise when they’re winning. But it’s currently been 12 years into their rebuild & their chances of making the playoffs this season are zero. They’re stick stuck in the basement of the league with the likes of Philly & Montreal. What keeps this franchise afloat are not only the die-hard local fans but also the many hockey fans from nearby south western Ontario who attend games from cities like Hamilton & St-Catherines where tickets are a fraction of what they cost in Toronto. Similar to the Bills. I attended a game a few weeks ago & during the tailgate party it seemed like half of the fans there were from Toronto & the rest of southwestern Ontario. However a buddy of mine goes to a Buffalo Sabres-Habs game at least omce a year & he said it’s a great place for a hockey game considering the arena is right downtown & he always stays at the Marriott which is located next to the arena. He’s hung out with some of the habs players a few times (they also stay there) and last year got to meet Martin St-Louis. Anyways the Sabres are fortunate that Terry Pegula also owns the team. The fans complain that he should run the team like he runs the Bills however i think the problem is he sticks too long with the management team in place.
Want to know where the perfect location for an NHL would be? North of Toronto in the Markham area. The population & fan interest would be there. Billionaire owners also wouldn’t be a problem. But the reason there isn’t yet a second team in the hockey crazy Toronto area is that the Leafs would never allow another NHL franchise to invade it’s territory. This is the same reason why Jim Balsilie could never bring a team to Hamilton even though the city had just built a brand new NHL calibre arena at the time (the Copps Centre). Hamilton was located between Toronto & Buffalo. There’s no way these teams (especially Buffalo) would have allowed Balsillie to set up a franchise there & Gary agreed with them.
OUPS.....BUF 6 NYR 1...BUT WOW again...JETS 1 COL 0.....and another bagel...exceptionnel....and 13-1.....what a team!!!!!
Unbelievable that the Sabres beat the Rangers by such a score! Shesterkin had to be yanked halfway in the second! Unreal! But it happens. But if starts happening too often the owner may panic again & fire everybody like he did a few years ago. However i think the Rangers will use this loss to re-focus & get back in the win column.
The Jets are the real deal! However the Avs have underperformed this season although if you look at their roster other than McKinnon, Makar & Rantanen they look very ordinary. Nothing to be scared of. If the goalie doesn’t play brilliant every night & win games on his own then the team plays like it’s supposed to play if on paper the team appears average.
Yup, it happens! That’s hockey, the only sport where momentum can play a major part in the issue of a given game. That’s the beauty of it imo. Now I don’t think the Rangers will be affected by that. Shesterkin will be back at being Shesterkin and the team will still be a serious contender when spring comes. No doubt about that.
As previsible NYR bounce back with a bagel......ça c'est du caractère........and wow.....WASH 8-1 /OVI with 2 g.....he is really back.......EDM 7- VAN 3......CONNOR is back too......
Vancouver looks totally lost without Thatcher Demko. If he doesn’t return soon they’re likely out of the playoffs picture. Teams that appear very good are often exposed to be frauds when their great goalies are out.
VAN not doing the playoffs would b une énorme surprise...... was watching LEAFS yesterday......TAVARES is hot.....surtout quand MATTHEWS is not playing he is again on the first trio......sinon he is now playing on the third one.....he is still a great player
toujours une menace devant le net......SO DOC WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH HIM et son prochain contrat.????.....i really believe qu 'il va partir de TORONTO vers une équipe ou son talent et expérience seront mis à profit...and why not the SENS ???...lolllll
toujours une menace devant le net......SO DOC WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH HIM et son prochain contrat.????.....i really believe qu 'il va partir de TORONTO vers une équipe ou son talent et expérience seront mis à profit...and why not the SENS ???...lolllll
John Tavares hasn’t slowed down much since he first joined Toronto 7 years ago. He’s still one of the best faceoff men in hockey & last season i’d tell people there aren’t many 2nd line centers better than him & on many teams in the league he’d be centering the #1 line. He’s still produces offensively & contributes defensive & in a leadership role. He centers the #1 powerplay unot, he rarely gets injured & never takes a game off.
He’s made it known that his #1 choice would be to remain in Toronto. He likely only will play a couple more years & he has no intention of relocating his young family. He also lives in the Toronto area where he was raised & loves living close to his parents & the rest of his family. However the Leafs need considerable cap relief & also would like to re-sign Mitch Marner. They’d be willing to do a short deal with Tavares on a team-friendly contract with player bonuses. Tavares will likely get better offers out there on the free market but like i said his #1 preference would be to remain in Toronto. My gut-feeling is that he’ll likely walk since he’ll likely get much better offers elsewhere.
Big game tonight- Winnipeg takes their 14-1 record into Madison Square Garden to play the NY Rangers. Hellebuyck vs. Shesterkin. In just 18 days, the Habs will be in MSG and I now got my ticket for that game, which cost me $377.78 on SeatGeek. Keeping fingers crossed that the weather will be good that day because we plan on having dinner afer the game at an Italian restaurant that is 15 blocks from MSG..
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