NHL 2012-2013 thread

[O-tacular]

I'm becoming a Pittsburgh fan these playoffs. Damn I'll miss Jarome but it needed to happen and I wish him the best and to be able to hoist the Stanley Cup.

[Calgarian]

Originally Posted by easy as pie

as a staunch habs fan, i'm very pleased that iginla didn't land with boston. despise that team with an irrational passion, but i can't help but keep a soft spot for pittsburgh.

the other interesting news of the morning is that there could well be an announcement out of quebec this summer, after all: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-d...-consider-relocation-033351286--nhl.html

I hope Quebec gets the Nordiques back, would be fantastic for hockey. What would this do to the proposed realignment?

[freeweed]

Iggy didn't cry, I guess that's an Oilers thing.

Really looking forward to what happens in Phoenix. Quebec will likely play in our division, if it happens (just like Winnipeg currently) - so we'll see plenty of the Nords. Re-alignment will happen in 3 years.

[easy as pie]

the alignment problem does look pretty pressing, i can't really see any situation in which it made sense of columbus to play in the west, so i guess it would be detroit going back. i don't know that it's reasonable for the nhl to scuttle a quebec move on that basis, but i think it's fair to speculate that quebec is the only possibility right now for a quick move (kc + vegas? uh, no. seattle hasn't an arena for a team and the basketball one is still up in the air), so in the event that a move was approved, it would probably mean detroit stayed in the west.

[feepa]

Originally Posted by freeweed

Iggy didn't cry, I guess that's an Oilers thing.

Ya, Smyth was devastated to leave the Oilers. Can't blame the guy. The Oilers are a storied franchise that he loved playing for.
Iggy on the other hand seems relieved to be gone from the Flames. Delighted to play for a real team.

[The Chemist]

Originally Posted by feepa

Ya, Smyth was devastated to leave the Oilers. Can't blame the guy. The Oilers are a storied franchise that he loved playing for.
Iggy on the other hand seems relieved to be gone from the Flames. Delighted to play for a real team.

You think Iggy didn't love playing for the Flames?

[jawagord]

Originally Posted by feepa

Ya, Smyth was devastated to leave the Oilers. Can't blame the guy. The Oilers are a storied franchise that he loved playing for.
Iggy on the other hand seems relieved to be gone from the Flames. Delighted to play for a real team.

Smyth was devastated as he knew oilers management would dump all over him and the lapdog Edmonton media would skewer him and the fan base would boo him and threaten to burn his furniture!

[Nicko999]

So Iginla refused the initial trade to the Bruins...

Just gained big respect for him.

Meanwhile the Bruins organization is going to make March 28, 2013 the darkest day in their history.

They lose to the Habs AND lose Iginla as well.

Chiarelli was ready to cry in his press conference LOL!!!

[JHikka]

A Phoenix move to Quebec seems to be imminent at this point. Seattle would be a great market but the arena issue persists. One potential market that not many people point to is Houston. They've had a solid IHL and AHL franchise for a while which is rumoured to be moving to Iowa for next season. Rumblings are that the team is moving at the end of their lease to open up room for a potential replacement. Houston is a strong hockey market (stronger than Dallas) and has more adult and youth competitive hockey. I don't see a new team playing in Houston in the near future, but it's a market to keep an eye out for.



If Quebec were to enter the league it would be difficult to change the alignment without upsetting a lot of teams. Adding new teams would make the west a bit more stable (Seattle in the Pacific division, for starters). It's difficult to move Colorado back into the Pacific after giving them a much better division under this formula, and this formula is based off of time zones more than anything else. The NE division would have too many teams and the obvious teams to move would be Tampa Bay and Florida. You can't really split them up but you can't add them to either the Midwest or Atlantic without creating divisions with too many teams. Two teams that really should have been placed together are Nashville and Carolina and presumably they would have created a very strong rivalry. Having Columbus in the same division as Pittsburgh is going to make for a strong Ohio/Pennsylvania rivalry and of course having Detroit with the NE is a great move. Putting Winnipeg into a proper division with Minnesota is a no-loss situation and obviously much more ideal than their current situation.

I really like the current 2013-2014 alignment with Phoenix included, although I can't deny that moving them to Quebec would be a wise decision. At this point it's just a matter of how to deal with the division alignments moving forward once/if Quebec receives the Coyotes.

[Nicko999]

Congrats to Subban for his 100th career point in the NHL. To do it in 187 games as a defenseman is pretty impressive.

Now with 10 goals on the season... the second closest D is Brian Campbell with 7.

The guy is GOOD!!! He is on another level this year.
• Video Link


We have 5 players with 10+ goals this season: Ryder, Plekanec, Subban, Gallagher (what a rookie... wow kid is only 20) and Gionta. Pacioretty and Desharnais are about to hit the mark as well.
New Jersery and Pittsburgh are right after with 4 players

Our depth is incredible this year.

[ZeDgE]

Will miss Iggy, but its for the best. I think the Flames got the most they could for him, a first rounder was a must. Will be cheering on the Pens in the playoffs! Go get a cup Iggy.

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by feepa

Ya, Smyth was devastated to leave the Oilers. Can't blame the guy. The Oilers are a storied franchise that he loved playing for.
Iggy on the other hand seems relieved to be gone from the Flames. Delighted to play for a real team.

Oh man, time to nuke feepa from orbit again. It's been a few years...

[theman23]

Are the flames looking to trade Bouwmeester?

[You Need A Thneed]

Originally Posted by theman23

Are the flames looking to trade Bouwmeester?

Probably.

[theman23]

I think a lot of teams would benefit from a guy like that, but the price may be too high (both in terms of cap hit and trade assets).

[You Need A Thneed]

Originally Posted by theman23

I think a lot of teams would benefit from a guy like that, but the price may be too high (both in terms of cap hit and trade assets).

Apparently there has been interest from a number of teams.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by feepa

Ya, Smyth was devastated to leave the Oilers. Can't blame the guy. The Oilers are a storied franchise that he loved playing for.
Iggy on the other hand seems relieved to be gone from the Flames. Delighted to play for a real team.

Kids today. It was a Gretzky reference. Smyth, while a great guy, was never quite the franchise player Iggy was.

But it's true that multiple Oilers cry.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by theman23

I think a lot of teams would benefit from a guy like that, but the price may be too high (both in terms of cap hit and trade assets).

I'd trade him to the Oilers for their first round pick this year. And I'm completely serious - it would be an improvement for both teams. Calgary finally gets a high pick, and Edmonton vastly improves their D.

Unfortunately GMs are stupid about this and never trade within their division, even if it makes total sense.

[freeweed]

Oh, and the forecast for Calgary today: minus 12.

[Coldrsx]

We want the cup