The Official 2017-18 NHL thread

[Doc Holliday]

Gaby, Bettman works for the billionaire NHL owners: Jacobs, Rogers, Melnyk, Wirtz, Molson and all the others. He works under THEIR orders. People complain about & attack Bettman but the real culprits who are to blame are the billionaire owners. Bettman is simply doing what he is told and when he won't they'll fire him. It's no different than in the NFL with Roger Goodell and MLB with Rob Mandred, among other sports commissioners.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Manfred has more autonomy than the others. He isn't a total lackey for the owners like Bettman is. Manfred has been forced to deal with labor issues and has addressed them. Also the pace of play rules are all Manfred. Owners want longer games. Manfred doesn't.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Manfred has more autonomy than the others. He isn't a total lackey for the owners like Bettman is. Manfred has been forced to deal with labor issues and has addressed them. Also the pace of play rules are all Manfred. Owners want longer games. Manfred doesn't.

I'll agree to that. Same thing with commissioner Adam Silver of the NBA. He & Mandred have more independence than the other commissioners have. Bettman & Goodell are literally puppets of the majority of owners. And they are both very well compensated for this.

 

[Doc Holliday]

I just learned that Vegas has the Leafs as 14-1 favorites to win the Stanley Cup. They are tied with six other teams for this. Personally i'm a huge Leafs fan but i'm surprised to see this. Of course, they had a great second half which in a regular season would give them about 101 or 102 points overall, so if you consider this and the fact they've improved their team since last season i understand the oddsmakers' reasoning.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Here are the odds: http://www.espn.com/chalk/story/_/i...stanley-cup-odds-westgate-las-vegas-superbook

Rangers and Canadiens also 14-1 in opening odds now 16-1

The Leafs are just a field horse. They are not ready yet. The Oilers might be, due to the ascension of McDavid. The Leafs need some of their younger players to step up this year and then they can play the Oilers, maybe, in 2019 Cup Finals.

 

[Doc Holliday]

The Leafs are just a field horse. They are not ready yet. The Oilers might be, due to the ascension of McDavid. The Leafs need some of their younger players to step up this year and then they can play the Oilers, maybe, in 2019 Cup Finals.

I honestly don't know why people believe the Oilers are ready to contend for the Cup. Because of two players: McDavid & Draisaitl? Milan Lucic isn't getting any younger, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has never fullfilled his potential and keeps getting hurt....and i find their defence to be very ordinary. Plus the fact they don't have a great goalie....they have a very good goalie, but not a great one.

I don't believe the Leafs are contenders yet, but if you'd ask me which of the two teams is more ready to contend for a Cup for years to come i'd say it's the Leafs.

Allow me to make a prediction: the Edmonton Oilers will miss the playoffs.

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

Allow me to make a prediction: the Edmonton Oilers will miss the playoffs.

And how much are you willing to wager on your prediction? From what I recall your hockey and political predictions usually tank.
I will give you 2 to 1 odds that the Oilers finish with more points than the Leafs.

 

[EagerBeaver]

The Oilers will be in the finals against Pittsburgh.

 

[Doc Holliday]

The Oilers will be in the finals against Pittsburgh.

Which year???

 

[gaby]

Yesterday i kept swithching from Habs to Sens...so boring....at least Sens had fun and a good practice.

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

The Oilers will be in the finals against Pittsburgh.

You guys also were against his comment last year that McDavid would get the scoring title. Way to pick em EB.

 

[Doc Holliday]

I will give you 2 to 1 odds that the Oilers finish with more points than the Leafs.

The Oilers could very well finish with more points than the Leafs yet still wind up missing the playoffs. And it's not set in stone that the Leafs will even make the playoffs. Personally i'm not sold on them making the playoffs without having Joffrey Lupul in their lineup.

 

[gaby]

Was watching this morning Canucks--Kings in SHANGHAI......there was more enthousiasm there than in Florida or Carolina....surprenamment they were in the game, cheering et faisaient même la vague...

 

[EagerBeaver]

Defensemen Now NHL's Most Valued Asset

In the years since Bobby Orr ruled the NHL with his rare offensive game, the big, slow, plodding defenseman was the NHL's gold standard and every team had a pair. Times have changed. It is now the era of the skilled defenseman!

http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/20765361/nhl-how-defensemen-became-league-most-valuable-asset

Bobby Orr is smiling somewhere up in Boston, although he probably wishes the Bruins had a few of these guys, or someone like him!

 

[gaby]

TORONTO---HABS tonite......avec des formations assez complètes....ca commence à sentir le début de saison....should b good appetiser........enjoy.

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

Was watching this morning Canucks--Kings in SHANGHAI......there was more enthousiasm there than in Florida or Carolina....surprenamment they were in the game, cheering et faisaient même la vague...

I must have been watching from a different angle than you, saw a very quite crowd.

 

[gaby]

D'ont know if you r referring to Shangai or Pekin.....did not see the one in Pekin.....so....BUT yes there was some good ambiance in Shangai... so probably right we did not look from the same angle.....

 

[gaby]

5-1 Leafs....Matthews 3 goals.....spectacular player and team.....nous ont bien démontré toute la distance qui les séparent de leurs rivaux......comme si on avait besoin d'une telle démonstration......

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

Gaby, I was watching the Peking game.. Ooooops.
Finished watching the Oilers game, Ouch, out played and out refed.

 

[gaby]

Ok got it.......i even saw Cheerleaders in Shanghai......not bad......do we have Cheerleaders here in some arenas ...not sure that the league is in favor......