vagg
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What teams do you think will be on top this year?
Best Teams....
- Thread starter vagg
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Hello, Vagg. It'sgreat to have another Canadian posting here.
No one seemed to forecast how the "new" NHL would turn out very accurately last year. What were the odds before the season of an Edmonton-Carolina Cup final? Now scouts and coaches have a better idea of the pluses and minuses of the rules changes so it wouldn't surprise me if the new hierarchy stays pretty much the same in '06-07. I like the Hurricanes again in the East. The Devils always seem to be in the hunt and I expect the Flyers to be tougher in the playoffs. In the West I'm always partial to the Red Wings, though they won't be the same without Steve Yzermanand there's a lot of good teams in that conference.
No one seemed to forecast how the "new" NHL would turn out very accurately last year. What were the odds before the season of an Edmonton-Carolina Cup final? Now scouts and coaches have a better idea of the pluses and minuses of the rules changes so it wouldn't surprise me if the new hierarchy stays pretty much the same in '06-07. I like the Hurricanes again in the East. The Devils always seem to be in the hunt and I expect the Flyers to be tougher in the playoffs. In the West I'm always partial to the Red Wings, though they won't be the same without Steve Yzermanand there's a lot of good teams in that conference.
Realgeorge
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Howdy Vagg! Hello Don!
Well of course, it's got to be VANCOUVER to win it all this year!! We love their new uniforms ... and they roll four excellent lines. This year the Ohlund brothers will turn into savage carnivores and rack up 300 penalty minutes each! ... lost it there for a minute guys. No really, I like the Canucks and Avalanche, Detroit and Chicago (yesss the Hawks are back), Philly and Pittsburgh (Pens most improved team this year), and the Rangers and Boston. Carolina's miracle season was wonderful. Let's see if they can hold it together. I'm a suffering Caps fan, so we just want to see Ovechkin night after night. Thank Cheevers for the NHL! The only white enclave left in the Western World
Well of course, it's got to be VANCOUVER to win it all this year!! We love their new uniforms ... and they roll four excellent lines. This year the Ohlund brothers will turn into savage carnivores and rack up 300 penalty minutes each! ... lost it there for a minute guys. No really, I like the Canucks and Avalanche, Detroit and Chicago (yesss the Hawks are back), Philly and Pittsburgh (Pens most improved team this year), and the Rangers and Boston. Carolina's miracle season was wonderful. Let's see if they can hold it together. I'm a suffering Caps fan, so we just want to see Ovechkin night after night. Thank Cheevers for the NHL! The only white enclave left in the Western World
Bear-Arms
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Nashville - The Preds will probably top the Red Wings in the central. San Jose - has a real nice team. I think they'll be tops in their division. Philly - they'll make the playoff and they'll do what they always do in the playoffs. Florida - Just because I'm an Ed Belfour fan.
-realgeorge
The Hawks are not back. They have a nice young defense but the only position they have any real depth at is the goaltending position. The Hawks lack a true first line center. Handzus is more like a second line center but he's an upgrade at the position for them. Ruutu is their only unsigned player. He was once considered a franchise player before all the injuries. They traded for Havlat who wasn't getting much playing time in Ottawa. He's going to be awesome in Chicago playing on the first line.
At this point I'm not sure what the lines are going to look like. Tallon said Brian Smolinski would play wing. I would think he'd be the 2nd line center.
-realgeorge
The Hawks are not back. They have a nice young defense but the only position they have any real depth at is the goaltending position. The Hawks lack a true first line center. Handzus is more like a second line center but he's an upgrade at the position for them. Ruutu is their only unsigned player. He was once considered a franchise player before all the injuries. They traded for Havlat who wasn't getting much playing time in Ottawa. He's going to be awesome in Chicago playing on the first line.
At this point I'm not sure what the lines are going to look like. Tallon said Brian Smolinski would play wing. I would think he'd be the 2nd line center.
The most significant losses for the Sabres were; JP Dumont -- Signed w/ Nashville (8/30), Rory Fitzpatrick -- Signed w/ Vancouver (8/18), Mike Grier (African-American)-- Signed w/ San Jose (7/3), Jay McKee -- Signed w/ St. Louis (7/2). However they did sign Jaroslav Spacek to add to a shallow core of solid blue liners. Many people are also anticipating the addition of Drew Stafford from UND. He is a muck digging role player type which is always appreciated in Upstate NY. The Sabres also have two top notch goaltenders. Ryan Miller is arguably the best goaltender from the US.
If the Sabres stay healthy, I predict that they will go deep into the playoffs.
Edited by: C Darwin
If the Sabres stay healthy, I predict that they will go deep into the playoffs.
Realgeorge
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Hi Darwin
I like the Sabres too. And I hold the heretical view that -- hold your breath -- the new Sabres uniform is stupid-looking and the franchise should go back to the EXELLENT Blue and Gold crossed sabres uniform. If it was good enough for Danny Gare, it's good enough for me!
I like the Sabres too. And I hold the heretical view that -- hold your breath -- the new Sabres uniform is stupid-looking and the franchise should go back to the EXELLENT Blue and Gold crossed sabres uniform. If it was good enough for Danny Gare, it's good enough for me!
The rumor is that the third jersey for the Sabres will be the OLD yellow on blue classic. They are scheduled to play 15 home games with their third jersey. The buzz is to have fans boycott the Barney Rubble hairpiece logo merchandise, and only buy retro merchandise. The hope is to have the market dictate the prominence of the classic style jersey.
