Hurricanes thread is here: http://thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=494146

Everything else goes in this thread.

Training camps and preseason are going on now, and will continue until Monday, September 31st. The season kicks off Saturday, September 29th at noon, live from London. Anaheim and Los Angeles will play at the O2 arena on Saturday and Sunday (Sunday's game is at noon televised on VS) as Brits try to figure out why the offsides line isn't moving and how they get the pitch to freeze up like that. It will probably look something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e9cxuMFHEw



Here in the States, Wednesday, October 3rd is opening day, with Carolina/Montreal and Anaheim/Detroit starting things off. Versus will have the Anaheim/Detroit game, and Colorado/Dallas later that night.

Another key date is January 1st, on which Pittsburgh and Buffalo will play in front of over 73,000 people (the largest audience in NHL history) at Ralph Wilson Stadium in the Winter Classic. The game will be televised on NBC at 1 PM. The entire stadium sold out in 11 minutes.



Television: Again the NHL is on regionally across the country on FSN, and has VS as its national cable broadcaster. NBC will again broadcast on weekends in the second half of the season, this year using a flex scheduling format with one game each week rather than regional coverage. VS will again broadcast a game on nearly every Monday and Tuesday night. Here is their schedule: http://www.versus.com/nw/article/view/1367/?tf=NHL_Schedule_ArticleWrapper.tpl



The NHL has also launched an online version of their Center Ice package, NHL.TV. The NHL Network will reportedly launch in the United States sometime this Fall.

Some of the bigger moves this offseason (just off the top of my head):
Chris Drury to NY Rangers
Daniel Briere to Philadelphia
Scott Gomez to NY Rangers
Tomas Vokoun to Florida
Ryan Smyth to Colorado
Vesa Toskala to Toronto
Jason Blake to Toronto
Kimmo Timmonen to Philadelphia
Sheldon Souray to Edmonton
Joni Pitkanen to Edmonton
Michael Nylander to Washington

Rookies to watch (again off the top of my head):
Nicklas Backstrom, C, Washington
Erik Johnson, D, St. Louis
Jack Johnson, D, Los Angeles
Jonathan Toews, C, Chicago
Patrick Kane, RW, Chicago
Derick Brassard, C, Columbus
Marc Staal, D, NY Rangers

Now I will think about my picks.

9/25/2007 1:07:15 PM

Carolina has a fun hockey team

9/25/2007 1:14:44 PM

this is the Caps' year

9/25/2007 1:18:14 PM

My picks in the West:

1 Detroit*
2 San Jose*
3 Minnesota*
4 Anaheim
5 Vancouver
6 Calgary
7 Los Angeles
8 Chicago
---
9 Colorado
10 Nashville
11 St. Louis
12 Dallas
13 Edmonton
14 Columbus
15 Phoenix

9/25/2007 1:59:24 PM

^^^

Something Something, if you know what I mean...

9/25/2007 2:09:46 PM

its, "The boys of winter are back on the scene"

9/25/2007 10:01:23 PM

how much fried chicken can you eat?

LET'S GO PENS

9/25/2007 10:23:37 PM

East picks:

1 Ottawa*
2 Pittsburgh*
3 Carolina*
4 NY Rangers
5 Tampa Bay
6 Buffalo
7 Philadelphia
8 Washington
---
9 New Jersey
10 Toronto
11 Atlanta
12 Boston
13 Florida
14 Montreal
15 NY Islanders

Wings and Rangers meet in the finals on the shoulders of miraculously healthy Hasek and Jagr and Gary Bettman dies of a heart attack with a smile on his face bigger than you'd ever imagine possible

9/25/2007 11:17:35 PM

Sadly, the Devils will make the playoffs.

It's just what they do.

9/26/2007 12:42:28 AM

"Dollar Bill" Wirtz, longtime owner of the Blackhawks, died last night.

This was the reaction of Blackhawks fans:

Quote :

"Is it wrong to be this excited?! YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! This is a most joyous day!"

9/26/2007 7:51:00 AM

Is it wrong that my immediate reaction was "Maybe they will get a TV contract now"?

9/26/2007 10:04:00 AM

[url]http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=keri/owners/070924[/url]

This article was published on espn.com Monday highlighting the worst owners and GMs in the four major American sports.

Quote :

"5. Bill Wirtz, Chicago Blackhawks: Estimated to be worth nearly $4 billion, "Dollar Bill" is the embodiment of the greedy, frugal owner who refuses to invest in his franchise and instead watches it fall into ruin. His refusal to pay Bobby Hull and Jeremy Roenick led to both players' leaving Chicago. He's also presided over the departures of Chris Chelios, Dominik Hasek, Phil Esposito, the Sears Tower, Wrigley Field and Lake Michigan. As a final slap in the face, Wirtz has blacked out Blackhawks home games for years."

[Edited on September 26, 2007 at 11:58 AM. Reason : .]

9/26/2007 11:57:54 AM

Steve Downie suspended 20 games for the hit on Dean McAmmond. 5th longest suspension ever. Guess they are trying to send a message.

9/28/2007 2:31:47 PM

The hit didn't look so bad, yes he left his feet but I don't think it merits 20 games. I think his reputation caught up with him.

9/28/2007 2:38:18 PM

i think it's also since he speared him at head level

9/28/2007 5:20:07 PM

london: WHY?

9/28/2007 5:55:14 PM

that hit was brutal...completely uncalled for

9/28/2007 6:16:10 PM

it's still nothing like what Bertuzzi did to Moore for the same suspension. Maybe I'm biased because I'm a flyers fan.

9/28/2007 9:46:05 PM

I think the suspension was a matter of setting precedent, the league has to cut out deliberate hits to the head

9/29/2007 1:51:57 AM

I gotta say I never expected to hear God Save the Queen sung before a NHL game, but there it is.

FYI, if you have Time Warner Digital Cable, the game is on channel 731

[Edited on September 29, 2007 at 12:18 PM. Reason : cable]

9/29/2007 12:13:38 PM

game is available in HD on HDNet (293)

[Edited on September 29, 2007 at 1:16 PM. Reason : ]

[Edited on September 29, 2007 at 1:17 PM. Reason : according to the guide anyway]

[Edited on September 29, 2007 at 1:18 PM. Reason : not the FSN feed though]

9/29/2007 1:16:44 PM

Yeah I forgot to point that out. No HD here.

9/29/2007 1:20:11 PM

sooooo close to hockey time... sooooooo close

9/29/2007 1:39:30 PM

What are you talking about it IS hockey time

9/29/2007 1:48:37 PM

This is a good read: http://www.brandweek.com/bw/news/spotlight/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003649143

Quote :

" JC: We are a $2.3 billion business, and a lot of that revenue is through the gates. We have 22 million people at our arenas every year. We have 53 million avid fans in North America. But the big insight we came to after the lockout is that our fans say they love hockey, but they don't behave like they love hockey. They behave like a million fans of the New York Rangers, a million fans of the Chicago Blackhawks. The passion they have is at a local level, but that doesn't translate to passion at a league level. If you are a fan of the NFL's New York Giants, you'll still watch Monday Night Football even if the Giants aren't playing. You'll watch the playoffs and Super Bowl even if the Giants don't make it. But according to the traditional metrics that tell you about the health and vitality of broadcast ratings, we're not able to scale at the national level of the NFL, MLB or Nascar. So we don't feel like a $2.3 billion business; we feel like a $300 million business, like a niche sport like Major League Soccer or AVP [professional volleyball]."

Glad they've finally got somebody in there who is recognizing this.

10/2/2007 3:14:40 PM

Quote :

"london: WHY? "

A bit late, but I'll answer.

Phil Anschultz, owner of the L.A. Kings, owns the O2 Arena in London.

10/2/2007 3:17:48 PM

^^ true in every way, this is exactly my thoughts

10/2/2007 4:06:55 PM

Jason Blake has the cancer http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=220161&hubname=



EDIT: Also, hopefully Time Warner here will add the NHL Network

Quote :

"NEW YORK (October 8, 2007) – NHL Network, the first national network dedicated entirely to hockey, is being launched in the United States, beginning this month, through carriage agreements with Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications, DIRECTV, DISH Network and Time Warner Cable. Based on the carriage arrangements, NHL Network will be accessible to 75 million homes. "

[Edited on October 8, 2007 at 12:45 PM. Reason : nhl network]

10/8/2007 12:36:27 PM

my dish network gets installed tomorrow evening. /profit

10/8/2007 3:49:40 PM

that has to be like a record for a launched network being on TWC.. assuming it comes true

10/8/2007 3:59:45 PM

Well, I'm at my parents' house for a couple days and Center Ice seems to be working here even though they don't have it.

10/12/2007 1:38:51 PM

Last weekend I went to Minnesota and saw the Wild play Columbus at the Xcel Energy Center. They've got an amazing building there in a great location. Here are some pictures (hockey pics are about halfway down the page): http://flickr.com/photos/jhawkins/sets/72157602364880931/

[Edited on October 15, 2007 at 11:26 AM. Reason : .]

10/15/2007 11:26:42 AM

that place looks amazing

10/15/2007 12:25:11 PM

Awesome game tonight between Buffalo and Toronto.

10/15/2007 10:20:13 PM

that's awesome.

i hope we get a jumbotron like that

and im calling it now that it'll be in HD or at least widescreen-- seems like virtually all the state stuff during pregames and just the logo spinning stuff is in 16:9 already. and it seems like canesvision likes working in 16:9

the main thing i can think of is the state exploding logo thing





haha oh and by the way are they way louder than us?


and the placement of that organ is fucking awesome

[Edited on October 15, 2007 at 10:52 PM. Reason : ]

10/15/2007 10:51:22 PM

Hell no. I was actually going to mention that but didn't want to type a bunch. Minnesota has great, knowledgeable fans, make no mistake about it. They've sold out every game in their history, many of them to well over capacity. The ticket holders get to the game, and they get there on time. It's a fantastic place to go to a game. BUT, there is something missing. Maybe it's just sentimentalism, but I have much more fun going to the RBC Center. The crowd there cheers at the right moments, but only a couple times did it ever get really loud, and even then it wasn't that loud. Part of that is because the roof is so high in the arena (one of the reasons why it looks so amazing), and the RBC Center roof is low which helps the huge noise. It's more of a wine and cheese crowd there from what I can tell (understandable with those ticket prices), and also the in-arena stuff isn't as fun as what CanesVision does.

They have some cool traditions, though, like the kid who plants the flag at center ice at the beginning of the game, the "LET'S. PLAY. HOCKEY." chant to start the game, the lighthouse, and the cheesy anthem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT4KQMrH67w&eurl=

I'm still jealous of downtown arenas, but it might get tiring after a while if I was a regular there with the hassle of getting downtown and the expense of parking and all that. Can't beat all the restaurants and bars and all the activity before games, though.

10/15/2007 11:09:38 PM

yeah i do wish everyone would or could get to canes games on time, though sometimes that is hard

but for the people that can help it, get there when it starts

not at the end of the 1st period

10/15/2007 11:14:00 PM

wow VSHD sucks giant donkey dick


DEAR TWC or VS, whoevers problem it is: FIX THE FUCKING SOUND and GLITCHY PICTURE

10/16/2007 8:48:55 PM

Atlanta fires Bob Hartley

10/17/2007 1:45:20 PM

lol

10/17/2007 3:57:41 PM

hahahaha

Atlanta 3
NYR 0
2nd INT

10/18/2007 9:01:27 PM

haha atlanta wins

10/18/2007 9:38:23 PM

My Devils got destroyed by the P. Flyers tonight.
Fuck the Flyers.

10/18/2007 10:15:49 PM

ya. HDNet FTW


more stations should start doing the "sights & sounds" segments like they do on HDNet

i love it especially for hockey but every sport would be cool. i know ESPN does it for nascar


but sometimes i just want to hear everything going on in the arena before during and after the goals without hearing the volume in the background turned way down so the announcers can talk

10/18/2007 10:19:18 PM

http://youtube.com/watch?v=obp8G2JFgkM

Jonathan Toews = second coming of Christ

10/19/2007 10:05:44 PM

Whats that make the hawks poor mans version of crobsy?

10/19/2007 10:12:01 PM

The Kings defied math tonight by scoring 1 goal on 0 shots in the third period. Dustin Brown was tripped going to take a shot on the empty net, and was awarded a goal (which I had no idea was even possible).

10/20/2007 12:52:30 AM

rofl

10/20/2007 2:30:41 AM

lol

by the way can sportscenter be any more one sided with the pens?

10/20/2007 6:55:22 AM

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071020/SPORTS04/110200065/1005/SPORTS

Quote :

"Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins are in town tonight at Verizon Center, so Alex Ovechkin stood in his team's dressing room at Kettler Capitals Iceplex yesterday and fielded plenty of questions about the "rivalry" between the two phenoms. Do you know who you are playing tomorrow? "Uh ... probably Minnesota, no?" Why does everyone ask about [you and Crosby] so much? "Because they like us — we are cute and we have good smile." Did you run into Crosby at any point this summer? "Yeah, I call him every day," he said before rolling his eyes. "He's Crosby, I'm Ovechkin. I am here. He's over there. Why I have to call him in the summer and say, 'Hey, what's up buddy? What are you doing?' " Ovechkin's smugness about the subject underscored the general theme from members of the Washington Capitals organization at practice yesterday. This will mark the ninth time Crosby and Ovechkin have faced each other and it is probably their ninth time answering some of the same questions. "

10/20/2007 4:09:42 PM