UPDATE: Juju started a bracket challenge at http://bracketchallenge.nhl.com/#/league/97905 :D
So Unicorn suggested that I start a NHL playoffs topic. :P I normally don't do it on calc forums because not many people watch hockey here or even sports altogether (on Omnimaga a few years ago, some staff didn't even know their city had a NHL team O.O), but maybe some people will be interested, especially since it's the playoffs. Anyway, which team are you rooting for for 2015 and if your team isn't in the playoffs then what team do you follow normally?
I am personally rooting for the Winnipeg Jets in the west and Ottawa Senators in the east. Not sure how far those teams will go, especially Ottawa, but Winnipeg will most likely be hard to beat at home because their crowds are almost soccer-like during playoffs and Montreal choked real hard vs Ottawa two years ago. I guess we'll see. :)
(http://img.codewalr.us/LeafsInANutshell.png)
Vancouver Canucks FTW!
Though, they almost lost it in the regular season I think they'll beat Calgary!
[spoiler](http://i.imgur.com/OVwyEK0.jpg)[/spoiler]
What even is that game?
Yep, good idea here. The playoffs are gonna be pretty interesting this year. And probably unpredictable. Well, of course it will be one of the best teams this season who will make it to the finals, but, well, you never know... The first odd thing, the Kings, which are usually good and won 2 Cups recently (including last year), didn't made it this year, neither are the Bruins, winners of the President Cup last year. Same for the Islanders, who are unusually good, and the Jets, who clinched their first playoffs since forever?
Personally, I go for the Canadiens. They used to have very good goalers and Carey Price is no exception with his record 44 wins. I'm pretty sure he can singlehandedly take his team to the finals, unless one of the key players gets injuried (I think of Price during the association finals, or Max Pacioretty just before this year's playoffs started, but he's expecting to get back on the rink in time). The playoffs against the Senators are going to be a rough one, though, I think it might end in 6 or 7 games. Same against the Lightning and the Rangers, if they encounter them.
And at the end I'd just say Canadiens vs. Blues because why not.
Unicorn it's a screenshot from Ice Hockey 68K (TI-89). It's a clone of the NES game, but featuring NHL teams instead of the NES teams.
As for Canucks I am curious if this time they'll at least get past the first round. Calgary seems good, although they don't have much playoff experience, but it seems most years St-Louis and Vancouver either gets swept or have a first round exit even after good seasons. As for Habs vs Sens I have the feeling it could be a repeat of 2013, but in 6-7 games instead of 5. :P I think it will really depend of Carey Price and stuff, because if they try hard enough and don't get injuries then Habs could possibly reach the finals like they could have done last year. But I don't think Sens will get past the 2nd round if they get that far because they seem to be the type of team to suprise everyone with a late season push, but with barely any gas left in the tank.
To bad it is 2 canadien teams pitted against each other. I'd like to see all canadien teams win.
Yeah same. But I guess odds of such matchup happening were high with that many Canadian teams. On the other hand this means there will be at least 2 of them in 2nd round. :P
Yeah, every Canadian team made it. Except the Leafs.
Edit: Wait, Oilers too. They're even worse.
Well at least the Oilers improved quite a lot after the All Star break. They are starting to be promising for next season, unlike the Leafs and Hurricanes.
You guys should share your picks here before the playoffs begin tonight: http://bracketchallenge.nhl.com/#/league/97905
Oh yay! I'm happy they're doing the bracket challenge thing too. I added it to the first post. Now to figure out how it works, though, because I didn't with the NCAA basketball one >.<
EDIT: Ok I saved mine.
That will be pretty interesting, as I saw your picks are wildly different from mine. The picks will close tonight as the games will begin. One of us will definitely lose... but who?
Nooooo... I was too late. :(
Curse the extreme western time zone.
Yeah I wish I found this earlier. I would probably have posted about it then. >.<
Found about it earlier (like yesterday or so?), then forgot about it until the last minute. Blame me. ._.
So yeah last night the Habs vs Sens game was pretty intense and good. The only bad thing was PK Subban's stupid slashing. I don't think a suspension would have been deserved because it didn't look like he wanted to injure the other player but it was still stupid since it was intentional and he could have costed his teamates the game. They were very lucky to win because the Sens scored on the power play. If it wasn't for the Habs shorthanded goal then they would have went in overtime for sure. Game 2 will definitively be pretty intense. I didn't expect an offensive game from the Habs but it looks like I was wrong.
Also what the hell happened to Tampa Bay's goaltending tonight? O.O I kinda expected that Tampa would have some defense/goaltending issues but not this bad. I wonder if Detroit will end up having an easy series? :P
The next game I am looking forward (but can't watch in decent quality due to lack of paid TV) is Anaheim vs Jets. I hope Winnipeg is better on the power play and don't take stupid penalties like earlier this season. This should be a good series and I'm curious if Winnipeg fans will revive the (real) whiteout.
I can't believe the Canucks lost. I guess Calgary are the comback kids. :P
Tho thats what usually happens, they go up and loose the lead in the 3rd.
To be honest I kinda expected Calgary to have some chances, since Canucks tend to not play as well during playoffs since recent years. But it seemed like a good game, so I hope I can catch a few games on TV or streams.
And the Jets just learned what is playoff hockey tonight. I guess it was not bad considering they didn't make the playoffs since 2007 (as the Atlanta Thrashers). But darn they took so many bad penalties. The second half of the game was pretty much like earlier this season when they totally lacked any form of discipline. Power play wasn't great either and they seemed to have troubles keeping the puck. I guess we'll see if they do some adjusting for game 2.
Woo! That Canucks destroyed calgary 4-1! Also, that Winnipeg game, after watching the highlights it suprised me that the jets lost O.O
I prefer THIS (http://www.sbnation.com/breaking-madden)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8sEc9HOCiw#t=19
That is not hockey, though. :P
Quote from: Unicorn on April 18, 2015, 08:21:07 AM
Woo! That Canucks destroyed calgary 4-1! Also, that Winnipeg game, after watching the highlights it suprised me that the jets lost O.O
Yeah Winnipeg issue was that they collapsed during the second part of the game and started taking stupid penalties. Pavelec is not the type of goalie that can steal games if you leave him on his own.
Hm 1-0 Sens so far in 3rd but the game is a pretty intense contest so far so it could go both way. I hope Winnipeg comes back in their 3rd game tomorrow.
There was a game tonight? Oh nice. Well, 1-1 in OT so far. Apparently, Sens never won when the Habs leads the series 2-0.
Yep and I like the schedule this year. Game every two day. Last year had so many back to back games it was annoying for both fans and the teams. And still 1-1 in OT but Sens have a penalty. Darn. And price is a friggin wall
At least the Isles and (yesterday) Preds won, though ^.^ I wonder if Washington and Oveckin have gone back to their old playoff choking ways...
EDIT Ugh 2-1 Habs in OT >.<
There you go, Canadiens goaled. They now lead 3-0. Which was kind of unexpected. Again, playoffs leads to quite a ton of surprises. Now let's hope the Habs won't choke their lead.
That said I must say the goalies did a really good job during this game. Defense too. I mean 97% save percentage for both and players kept blocking so many shots. Also the intensity of the game was good at first, although it kinda died down after that 4 vs 4 late game.
Also
(https://img.ourl.ca/habsflight.png)
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on April 18, 2015, 11:28:34 AM
That is not hockey, though. :P
I don't remember reading about breaking NHL though. (But welp, I loved to play NHL 2003 with my uncle at his work, each time there was a break, we ended the game into melees, because hockey == melee! :p)
Haha yeah the fights are a big part of hockey culture, especially in North America. Although they are violent, I would take a fight over a cheap shot à la Matt Cooke anyday.
Also I can't wait for 9 PM. I hope streams work for Winnipeg.
EDIT Yes 1-0 so far and the crowd is sometimes so loud that I can't even hear the whistles lol. Apparently it peaked at 124 decibels once. Also https://twitter.com/DJOmnimaga/status/590331405344886784 they brought this back from the final game in 1996.
EDIT: Darn what a crazy game. 4-3 Jets but if it wasn't for Byfuglien's stupid mistakes (he's -3 now >.<) it would easily be 5-0 or 6-0 now. I hope they don't blow up their lead in the 3rd.
EDIT And the Jets lost with a late goal again (and another in overtime >.<)
YES! Sens won! 1-0 with a goal scored late. Hopefully they can continue stay away from elimination for a while. Now I am watching the Winnipeg Jets (and crowd) vs Ducks game to see if the Jets can do the same.
Well, that was too good to be true.
Fun fact:
Game 1: 4-3 Montreal
Game 2: 3-2 Montreal
Game 3: 2-1 Montreal
Game 4: 1-0 Ottawa
Wow that's some particularly odd scoring pattern lol. The 4th game breaks it due to Ottawa winning it but it's still close. And every game were won by 1 point.
Yeah, and half of the games (2 and 3 I think) were won in OT. Talk of a close playoff.
Also while the Jets were swept, most games were pretty close too. If they had done a bit less mistakes or had better goaltending I am betting that they would have won a few games. I am curious about what Maurice will do during the off-season. Also my Isles aren't doing well D:
And there you go, another Sens win by 5-1. Sounds like a revenge from all those 1-goal wins.
Edit: Let's look at this friendly challenge between your two favourite French Canadian staff, shall we? Looks like the only two matchups DJ and myself were agreeing on were the two firsts to end. Ducks swept DJ's favourite Jets 4 games to none a few days ago (so no point here) while Rangers (which DJ would see winning the Cup) finished off with Crosby's Penguins 4-1 tonight.
Score:
Juju: 10
DJ Omnimaga: 10
Also the rumors machine is going strong these days as the NHL is rumoured to expand to Las Vegas and Québec City. as soon as next year for the former and the year after for the latter. Gary Bettman himself would see the league expand from the current 16-14 to 17-15, but no team moving, though. Which would still be pretty cool.
Yay the Rangers won the series! :D And Sens now 2-3 (were facing elimination for the last two games). Not sure what happened tonight with the Habs lol.
And yeah apparently Bettman said that if the current 16-14 format is working well, then he wouldn't mind seeing 17-15. That would mean that expanding both West and East (eg Quebec) would be a possibility. I hear rumors that the NHL wants to wait until Seattle is ready before expanding, but seeing him says 17-15 is a possibility means he opens the door for an Eastern expansion. I'm not 100% convinced about Las Vegas success, but given that their season ticket drive was successful (11K deposits so far) that could at least help them for the first few years, and the tourists will most likely want to see their Wings/Habs/Kings/etc play while in vacations there. Also this would be the only major league team in the area so even if hockey isn't popular in the South, it would face no competition from the NFL, NBA and MLB.
Also fun, but shocking fact: The first color TV broadcast of Stanley Cup final arrived before the last time Toronto Maple Leafs won the trophy. :P I believe the first SCF color footage is from 1964 but maybe there were some earlier? https://youtube.com/watch?v=AiWz3nrySXU
WOOOHOOO!!! FLAMES WON!! And Isles 3-3 in the series, Red Wings also only have 1 game to go and same for Minnesota. *crosses fingers*
EDIT: LOL two empty net goals
Two empty net goals, seriously? Damn.
Yeah, when they had 1 minute to go they pulled the goalie to get a better chance at scoring, and then Calgary scored an empty-netter. But then, Canucks still tried hard to score so they decided to pull their goalie again just in case this time it works out better. And it failed again. To be honest, I would have been tempted to do the same too if I was down by 2 goals and saw that my team still had good chances to score. Remember when the Nordiques were down by two goals in Game 1 of 1993 quarter-finals? They pulled their goalie then scored twice, sending the game in overtime, then Scott Young scored in overtime and the Colisée root shattered literally (well not really but that gotta have been the second loudest crowd at the Colisée, behind 1987 Stastny OT goal against the Whalers).
DJ Omnimaga confirmed for CodeWalrus' Paul Houde. (If you know him he's very knowledgable in hockey stats.)
Also speaking of which, spotted this in yesterday's episode of My Little Pony:
(https://derpicdn.net/img/2015/4/25/882482/large.png)
Ironically enough, they lost that day.
Welp the Sens lost D:
Oh well, let's see how well the Habs do vs Detroit or whoever they'll play in round 2.
Also those ponies could easily beat the Leafs.
Yep, either Tampa or Detroit. Can't wait to see which one. And of course the Canucks would beat the Leafs anytime. As well as this one.
(https://derpicdn.net/img/2015/4/25/882357/large.png)
(Dat pun it's almost incredible.)
Wait, were they really wearing Canucks jerseys in the first pic? O.O
Looks like it. The resemblance is uncanny. And Rainbow Dash is sporting a Philadelphia Flyers jersey because, get it, she's a skilled flyer? Also note that the show is animated in Vancouver, so that would explain everything.
Oh that could explain it, although maybe they just used the same colors as a nod to the existing teams, but without necessarily naming them nor using the logos, since that would require a license from the NHL. Kinda like how hockey video games need the NHL license to use the official NHL teams and the NHLPA license to use the player names (which is why Stanley Cup for the SNES only uses player numbers)
On an unrelated note, I played NHL 2014 on the 360 with a friend a few times in the last few months and the last time I did it became a check-fest lol, but the funny thing is that when we were hitting players they were sent flying a bit like the SNES game. Just not as bad, though (since in Stanley Cup you basically fly halfway across the rink)
Yeah, that's pretty much a well-thought easter egg for those who knows hockey. Using the logos and names would not only require a license from the NHL (which would be overkill for like 2 seconds of screen time) but it would also probably be kind of out of place, although you could say they're from Fillydelphia and Vanhoover to add some horse puns in there.
I feel so sad, do you think the flames will get passed Anaheim m tho?
I don't know. I hope, though.
EDIT 46 points in the NHL Bracket Challenge so far.
So my nhl bracket challenge was epic fail it seems >.< I only got two series right (Minnesota and Washington)
So the 1st round just ended with the Lightning winning against the Red Wings. Bracket challenge is now 46 to 43 for DJ (because you correctly predicted the number of games for one more matchup than me lol.) We both have 4 predictions right. We also both have one correct matchup in the 2nd round, gotta be interesting.
Darn I wished we could have gotten a Wings vs Habs series. It would be epic. I am surprised I predicted number of games that accurately for some matchups though. Hopefully I do better in the 2nd round. >.<
Hopefully. Habs just lost to the Lightning 2-1 in 2OT. If they manage to win it'll be most likely in 7.
I agree. Tampa has more chances than Detroit but I wish that Detriot was still in since I like them more.
Nice game vs Tampa tonight
@Juju , eh? :trollface:
Yay the Flames won! But still down 2-1. I hope they can come back.
So yep, although the Lightning lost, I am glad that most series ended up going in the opposite direction in the last few days. At first it looked like every losing team would get swept in 4 games, which kinda made the 2nd round less interesting to me compared to the 1st, but now it's getting more interesting. :) I'm thinking Lightning in 6 and Caps in 7. Still undecided about the Flames, but my bracket challenge said Calgary would win in 2nd round vs Winnipeg (who never came close to the 2nd)
Yep, the playoffs sure are interesting this year. Also, blimey, Canadiens won again. Will they win another 2 games? If they do they're definitely Stanley Cup-worthy.
If they win the series that will be a miracle, considering that so few teams did it before.
Only four teams were able to pull a 3-0 comeback off in the entire NHL history.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings - 1942 Stanley Cup Final
New York Islanders vs. Pittsburgh Penguins - 1975 Quarterfinals
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Boston Bruins - 2010 Eastern Conference Final
Los Angeles Kings vs. San Jose Sharks - 2014 Western Conference Quarterfinals
I thought that the Canucks or Sharks blew a 3-0 lead too in 2012 or 2013? ???
I don't think so...
Nope, don't think so either.
We all don't think so, so it must b true! :trollface:
Actually I just checked wikipedia and Canucks didn't blew a 3-0 lead. They actually got swept in 4 games by San Jose. And lol, during the next round vs LA, every game were won on home ice.
And there you go, Canadiens lost 4-1. Summer is now officially inaugurated.
Now I'm off watching some Miyazaki movies.
But how will they play golf if we still have 2 months of snow left? O.O
Anyway I am curious about how Tampa Bay will do in 3rd round. They sucked so bad in the two previous games, as well as the one they won at the very last minute and were kinda lucky to win some they did. Could they manage to pull a miracle and win their 2nd cup?
Dun dun dun! I hope the team with the least amount of cups win, is that Tampa? I think so...
I think it's Anaheim and Tampa. Of all the teams that were in the playoffs, here are the cups they won:
Habs: 24
Wings: 11
Bruins: 6
Hawks: 5
Rangers: 4
Isles: 4
Pens: 3
Bolts: 1
Flames: 1
Ducks: 1
Canucks: 0
Sens: 0
Preds: 0
Wild: 0
Jets: 0
Blues: 0 (the oldest NHL team still active in its original city to never have won a cup)
I would prefer Tampa, though.
I agree with you on that one, I generally don't like Anaheim.
Yeah I don't know why myself I don't like them. I liked them back when they were still the Mighty Ducks with the old purple jerseys. I guess the 2007 cup win against Ottawa, which is my 2nd favorite team, didn't help. I prefer the Kings and Flames except when they play vs Winnipeg.
Ugh, I hate the kings even more. Flames are ok, as they are canadien and my dad worked in calgary for a few years.
I think I like the Kings more because of how they eliminated the Coyotes in 2012 and perhaps because I disliked both the other two California teams. :P As for Flames I liked them as kid. I liked the Oilers more but in the last decade the Oilers and Leafs have done everything to make people hate them. And nice. :D
In order of preferences this would be my teams by the way:
Jets
Senators
Red Wings
Avalanche (because they used to be the Quebec Nordiques, but I liked them more when Sakic was still playing)
Lightning
And the ones I hate the most:
Coyotes
Canadiens
Penguins
Why the canadiens? Aren't they in quebec?
You are probably too young to understand, but here's why:
From 1979 to 1995, there used to be two NHL teams located in Quebec province: The Montreal Canadiens and the Quebec Nordiques. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_Nordiques
In the 80's the rivalry between both teams was even bigger than Boston vs Montreal, Calgary vs Edmonton, Toronto vs Ottawa, Phidalelphia vs Pittsburg or even Rangers vs Islanders, and by far. So much that sometimes fights would break out between TV commentators. Most Canadiens fans hated the Nordiques with a passion, while Nordiques fans hated the Canadiens. More info about this rivalry can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Quebec_(ice_hockey) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Quebec_(ice_hockey)) (the most notable event being the Good Friday massacre)
But basically, after the Nordiques were sold and moved to Colorado (as the Avalanche), many people remained Avalanche fans (although some were mad that the team won the Stanley Cup just 1 year after leaving Quebec) or switched to Boston, Detroit, Pittsburg or Ottawa. Nowadays there are also many Tampa Bay fans here. Most have since became bandwagon Canadiens fans until the Nordiques come back (I hope), though, and many younger people who never knew the Nordiques are Habs fans.
Oh wow. O.O
I was 3 when the Nordiques moved in Colorado, that was way before I started caring about hockey, and the medias nowadays are all about the Canadiens, so, well, I grew up to be a Habs fan. Especially when they started being good. And of course I'll support a team in Québec City as soon as one is announced, whether it's a move or an expansion.
Otherwise, my favourite teams would be the Canadiens, Penguins, some other selected teams, and mostly every Canadian team. Except Toronto.
Oh, by the way, it's been 20 years today since the last Nordiques game.
That will be akward if they come back, because I think some younger fans who missed the old rivalry will cheer for both teams. I am fine with it, although it will kinda suck during Habs vs Nords games since Habs fans will outnumber Nords fans in Videotron Center x.x (kinda like Leafs @ Sens)
In other semi-unrelated news, Canada just won the gold medal and there will be a Game 7 for Remparts vs Oceanic.
Beat me to it. My dad and I watched the game a few minutes ago. Dang, 6-1. O.O
Not really NHL-related, but for those who also follow Canadian Junior hockey from which NHL players get drafted, the Remparts won their first Memorial Cup game (the one vs Kewlona Rockets). It was scary at the end because they ended up playing with 3 players against 6 after their empty net goal.
EDIT: Also relevant to the new coach of the Leafs:
(https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/t31.0-8/11263108_983414615002774_5959137593184295826_o.jpg)
O.O
http://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/boxscore?id=2014030316
If the Bolts continue losing games like this I don't think they will last long in the final round (if they even win Game 7 vs Rangers).
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on May 23, 2015, 02:57:10 AM
Not really NHL-related, but for those who also follow Canadian Junior hockey from which NHL players get drafted, the Remparts won their first Memorial Cup game (the one vs Kewlona Rockets). It was scary at the end because they ended up playing with 3 players against 6 after their empty net goal.
Boooo Kewlona shoulda won.
And they finally did, but I personally cheered for Quebec due to being my favorite junior team and now for some reasons I prefered Oshawa style of play after the Remparts got eliminated.
To be honest, though, referees were quite controversial during this tournament, even the final. While many calls were deserved, the referees let a lot of bad stuff slip away plus it was pretty stupid for the CHL to choose two QMJHL referees for games involving two QMJHL teams, as they might have been biased. In any case, Kewlona and Oshawa were the better teams and battled to the end. That said, if Quebec hadn't put themselves into the trouble of playing 3 games in 3 nights, then maybe they would have done better during semi-final.
Now back to the NHL, I am curious if Tampa will be able to beat Chicago despite some inconsistent play in the previous round.
Tampa FTW! :D r:3=
Fun fact: Tampa Bay is the first team in history to face four of the Original Six teams in playoffs. So go them I guess?
Wow I didn't know that. It's surprising, considering they only existed since 1992.
Yeah, it's pretty much a nice coincidence. First, since they're the only one of the Six to be in the Western Conference, the Chicago Blackhawks would obviously have to make it to the Stanley Cup finals. The other teams (except for Toronto) are usually good enough to make it to the playoffs, although the Bruins barely missed it this year. The chances for the remaining three teams to lose to the same team were pretty slim indeed, although I wonder if last year's changes to the conference format could have helped.
I wish that the realignment didn't happen. It's almost like if they did it intentionally like that to ensure that Quebec never gets an NHL team again. Also it sucks that they ruined the Chicago vs Detroit rivalry.
Dang, Tampa lost tonight. Also the Coyotes saga is restarting again. X.x
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on June 11, 2015, 03:25:11 AM
Dang, Tampa lost tonight.
Welp.
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on June 11, 2015, 03:25:11 AM
Also the Coyotes saga is restarting again. X.x
Yeah, I saw, Glendale voted to cancel the lease for the arena. Kind of stupid but... Imma tell you, the Nordiques are back for next season. :P
Well, to be honest, I am not surprised that the Coyotes situation would fall apart again within the next few years. I just didn't expect it to end up being this bad. I doubt they are gonna move East, though, but if they are forced out of Glendebt, they'll have to go somewhere and Bettman won't have any choice, so the only short term options are the following:
-Downtown Phoenix, where they played until 2003. Crappy arena sightlines like the new Islanders arena, but most Coyotes fans on Twitter seems thrilled about the idea, because they stopped going to games after the team moved in the middle of nowhere.
-Scottsdale: Would require a new arena (team could play in downtown Phoenix until then, though)
-Las Vegas: MGM Arena until the new arena is finished. That's of course if the MGM Arena owners are willing to let the team play there, though.
-Quebec City: Arena almost ready. The problem is that the Nordiques would play in the Pacific division for a few years until they figure out how to realign, because that would be 17-13 otherwise.
-Seattle: No viable arena to play in in the short terms.
It would be funny if the team moved late June or even in July, then as a result lacked the time to switch names and uniforms, and in ended up having to play in Quebec City as the Arizona Coyotes for one season before changing names.
Now comes the expansion issue: If the Coyotes relocate and the NHL decides to expand anyway, let's say that the Coyotes end up in Vegas and that Quebec and Seattle gets a NHL expansion team. What happens if the Panthers or Hurricanes get in troubles and have to move? Where do they go? I'M kinda worried that the Coyotes fiasco might delay expansion x.x
Well I hope there'll be a quebec team. :)
Also, they should have the Oahu Pueos (Ows) if they expand :P
Is Oahu a town in Hawaii?
Its the capital. Is canada on planet earth? :P
Though thats probably not fair as you grew up in Canada
That would indeed make sense to move the team somewhere else in the Phoenix region, or even somewhere in Arizona as they wouldn't need any name and uniform change or anything.
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on June 11, 2015, 05:41:54 AM
It would be funny if the team moved late June or even in July, then as a result lacked the time to switch names and uniforms, and in ended up having to play in Quebec City as the Arizona Coyotes for one season before changing names.
That would indeed be funny, although it's not the first time this happened. Back in 1968, during their first season in the NHL, the roof of Philadelphia Flyers' arena was swept up by the wind, so they played their last five home games in Québec City.
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on June 11, 2015, 05:41:54 AM
Now comes the expansion issue: If the Coyotes relocate and the NHL decides to expand anyway, let's say that the Coyotes end up in Vegas and that Quebec and Seattle gets a NHL expansion team. What happens if the Panthers or Hurricanes get in troubles and have to move? Where do they go? I'M kinda worried that the Coyotes fiasco might delay expansion x.x
That's a good question, they probably wouldn't expand right away next year. Bettman is against it anyway. Québec is ready for a team, Vegas is almost ready as well, and Seattle, we have no idea if they want a team or not, so they can indeed wait for an expansion and for the Panthers and Hurricanes' situation to get more stable.
Edit: Welp, that post took forever to write. (Yay fact checking?) I doubt Hawaii would have any team other than local ones, not because of the tropical weather (hey, if they manage to have a team in Arizona, which is pretty much the hottest place in the continental US, they could as well have a team in Hawaii), but that would be pretty expensive to make all the trips from and to the continent. That would work if Hawaii was big enough to host an entire division, though. Same for a possible expansion in Europe, they would have to create quite a few teams there to be realistically manageable.
Well they could have a team for each island (7). But right now the only hockey is street hockey, and thats rare. Also, there would have to be pretty rich owners to pay for arenas and such.
Indeed, a team costs quite a few hundred million dollars, not counting the cost to build a NHL-grade arena which is also in the hundred million dollars.
Quote from: Unicorn on June 11, 2015, 06:02:11 AM
Is canada on planet earth?
We're not sure either :P
There we go, this just in: the NHL officially announced an expansion processus. Québec City and Las Vegas will obviously try to apply and try to get a team for 2017. Which is pretty much good news.
Among another stuff announced, overtime is now a 5-minute 3v3 and coaches can now contest a referee.
Awesome to hear. It was about time! Not that it is a good idea to do it when three teams are somewhat in trouble, but I'm thinking that the NHL could do like New Jersey and Phoenix and just buy teams in trouble until a new owner is found. Coyotes should get the hell out of Glendale, though, and move to Phoenix (or Quebec/Seattle/etc). I'm glad they are now giving new cities the opportunity to have a NHL team, though.
The overtime changes seems interesting. At least we will see less shootouts. I just hope that players don't go on strike again in 2018 and start bickering about the extra minutes of play to get 50% salary increase, though. Same for the referee contesting changes. I hate when a referee pretty much decides the outcome of a game.
Bettman will definitely do everything to keep a team in Arizona.
Also, this just in, Québécor is applying for a team in Québec. That was fast but it was definitely to be expected.
Yeah. IIRC we have Markham and Quebec applying right now. Vegas will most likely submit a bid too.
I hope Quebec gets a team :)
Necrobump:
Now that the NHL playoffs are underway, the NHL Playoff Bracket Challenge is back! If you want to try to guess which team will win each round and the cup, you can participate at http://bracketchallenge.nhl.com/ :)
Personally I picked the following:
Dallas in 6
Chicago in 5
Anaheim in 6
San Jose in 7
Washington in 6
Pittsburgh in 7
Florida in 7
Detroit in 6
And I picked Anaheim to win the cup against Washington. I would have put Detroit in 4 against Tampa in 1st round because of how Tampa Bay has many injuries (like always during playoffs), but the Red Wings aren't all that great compared to previous years. :P I hope Detroit can get far but I won't get my hopes up lol.
Kinda sad no Canadian team made it to the playoffs. Especially with the Montreal Canadiens, who weren't that bad those past few years, they had a terrible season this year after Carey Price got injured and a few other key elements as well, it just went downhill from there.
Speaking of which, we know Québec and Las Vegas both applied for an expansion team that might be announced this summer for 2017, but rumors are going strong Québec might see the Hurricanes get moved there. The NHL denies everything and Peter Karmanos, current owner of the Hurricanes, still says he won't leave anytime soon. People are divided between pessimists and optimists, but, eh, who knows what will really happen this summer? Let's just hope for the best.
Anyway. Go, I dunno, Pittsburgh?
Yeah I won't hold my hopes up on expansion, though. There are several rumors since the last month or so saying that Quebec's expansion bid was turned down or that Québécor secretly backed out until the Canadian dollar rises again (which could take a decade), and now the denying of Hurricanes relocation. I think the Canes are less likely to move now than the Thrashers were likely to move in 2011, though, since they don't lose as much money, but we never know. I'm still hoping the rumors about our expansion bid are false.
While adding a team in Quebec won't grow the game that much, it increases the chances of seeing Canadian teams in the playoffs, which means more people watch games on TV, more ad revenues and extra revenues for the NHL.And I am sure they will increase popularity because many people in Quebec don't care about the Habs, so having two teams in Quebec would mean more people watching games on TV. Quebec City is not an Habs market.
Eh, I'm not so sure the dollar is that much of an issue, Québécor can probably still afford it. In any case, the dollar being low or not, a new team in Canada will definitely benefit the NHL. Québécor is a strong company with some good TV deals already and it will only be good for everyone.
Yeah many people are overreacting about the dollar. I am 100% sure that the NHL will not block a bid solely based on the dollar, especially considering the team would break even even with a $0.70 dollar. However, a low dollar means that buying a franchise is much more expensive for them, so it's entirely possible that they decide to wait until the dollar goes up so that the price goes down. After all, they just spent $1.2 billion on a TV deal.
We'll see I guess. We won't know until June and that's if they don't delay expansion discussions again (the Las Vegas owner will be pissed, lol)
As for Las Vegas viability, some people question it but I think it could work. The reason why is that unlike Phoenix and Florida, Las Vegas doesn't have a single major league team (not even the NFL). It's a smaller market than Arizona, yes, and people in the desert don't care as much about hockey, but I'm thinking they would be more like San Jose or Nashville in terms of viability because they have no competition from any other major league sport. The main danger with las Vegas is if the NBA and NFL both expands there before the NHL team manages to take off. I wish that Seattle would have submitted a bid and started a new arena instead, though, because there would be more hockey fans there.
Yeah, Seattle would definitely like a team there, being not far from Vancouver, unlike Las Vegas, I think they would have to somehow make it as big as Céline Dion and the casinos. For Seattle, the main issue is they still can't decide whether to have an arena for hockey or for basketball. There was even two groups in Seattle who were interested to bid for the expansion, sadly they both backed out.
Yeah and the worst part about Seattle is that one of the arena project was in the suburbs. Look at what's happening with Ottawa, Sunrise (Florida) and Glendebt (Arizona) with their arenas located in the middle of nowhere. And trust me, I went to Ottawa Sens twice and when the game ends, the highway jams completely and the arena is very far from downtown.
Detroit is out :(
Oh well, I guess it was to be expected, considering they barely even managed to make the playoffs in the first place. At least there are still the Islanders and Panthers (I prefer the Isles but the Panthers have Jagr) and Stars/Wild that I'll surely be following a lot. The Caps vs Flyers series is interesting too, but darn the amount of shots on goal was one-sided tonight O.O
On a side note, I love those Dallas Stars home jerseys *.*
Yeah, I'd like to see the Islanders (aren't they supposed to be bad?) or the Panthers (with Jagr, I think he's pretty much on his last seasons if he isn't keeping playing forever). (Drat, they're playing each other on first round, let's see who wins...)
THe Isles were pretty much irrelevant most seasons since 1988 except a few, but in recent years they got better. THey haven't won a playoff series since 1993, though, and they now have an arena with horrible sight lines on one end of the ice (there are seats where you can't even see one of the goal).
As for Jagr I guess it depends. I bet he will retire if his performances decrease in the next seasons or so or if he gets injured. Maybe he will retire immediately after winning a cup like many players do, but again Gordie Howe played until he was 53 or so.
Yeah, Jagr might just play as long as Howe, if he's not getting a serious injury that will end his career, with 26 seasons under his belt with the NHL and KHL he's not that far from Howe's legendary 32 seasons in the NHL and WHA.
THe issue with injuries is that once a player suffers from certain of them, then they always come back later. Eg Carey Price's future might be uncertain if his injury starts coming back even after surgeries.. Also I didn't know that Jagr played for the KHL? ??? I guess I missed out on that part.
Yeah, most injuries are easily recoverable, but some are kinda long to recover. Price took most of the season off, that was the problem with the Canadiens this season, they were playing well before he got injuried and other key players got injuried too. But I'm pretty sure once those players are back on track they'll play like before. And Jagr played 3 seasons in 2008-2011 in Russia before going back to the NHL.
But sometimes, some injuries just re-appears over and over, like with Markov knee a while back.
https://www.facebook.com/St.LouisBlues/videos/10153748554133661/
Damn, that was pretty close. That double post, though.
Holy hell! That was close!
Also while I don't care much about St-Louis, I am kinda happy that both them and the Sharks won. For the last 5 years, only Chicago and LA won the cup. Some changes is always good, especially with so many good teams around.
Now I hope the Isles can get past 2nd round. I won't hold my breath about the Preds but that's another team I would like to move past the 2nd round if they manage to beat Anaheim.
Draft lottery results are out!
1. Toronto Maple Leafs
2. Winnipeg Jets
3. Columbus Blue Jackets
4. Edmonton Oilers
5. Vancouver Canucks
6. Calgary Flames
7. Arizona Coyotes
8. Buffalo Sabres
9. Montréal Canadiens
10. Colorado Avalanche
11. New Jersey Devils
12. Ottawa Senators
13. Caroline Hurricanes
14. Boston Bruins
Yes! The leafs finally get first. Not that I particularly care about them that much, but they were very unlucky with the draft in the last decade or so. Hopefully they don't ruin their first choice like the Oilers kept doing. I'm also glad that Oilers didn't win. They won like 4 of the 6th last 1st picks. Also good to see the Jets up there. As for the Habs, I think they will be fine if Price comes back in healthy shape, otherwise their low drafting position could be costly for them.
Also this is off-topic, but still sports-related, the Can-Am baseball season starts soon.
@Juju should come with me to one of the games vs the Japan team. :D
Yep, looks like a nice draft order so far. We just hope no one messes up with their picks. For the record, Toronto drafted first only once in 1985 (Wendel Clark, who had a good career with the Leafs and also played for the Nordiques, among others).
Also I never really went to baseball and I'm not really a fan of this, but that would be pretty nice to come see one such game. The Japan team is coming to visit again this year?
Yep they come back this year (June 21 to 23)r, and now we also get Cuba team.
Oh, nice.
Of course, I bet I'll work on June 23rd night or have a party so if I decide to go there it will most likely be June 21st or 22nd (providing the game isn't rained out) :P . IIRC last year Fanamanga did stuff there but I couldn't go.
Ah yeah, National Day on June 24th, mostly everyone is on the party that day. But yeah, last year IIRC they offered free tickets and other stuff if you were in cosplay or in a kimono or something.
Oh right, it was a cosplay thing.
Wow, Preds won in 3rd overtime O.O.
3rd overtime? Welp, those games gonna be long since shootouts are not allowed during playoffs. Now try to beat 5OT (2 games back in the 2000s) or even 6OT (2 games in the 30s, both ended 1-0).
Long games can be bad because the teams involved can run out of gas faster and it's harder to win the next round x.x
Woohoo Nashville won \o/ so they're still alive. Unfortunately NYI lost though. If Nashville wins game 7 that will be the first time they advance to the 3rd round.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7fNJnNSSpk
And lol Nashville's goal siren almost got drowned out by fans.
The Blues trying to appeal to Canadians, lol.
https://www.nhl.com/blues/video/welcome-canada/t-277437432/c-43956303
Lol nice. Meanwhile Tampa Bay is banning Penguins apparel from some of their arena sections. I wonder if the Nordiques will do that when Habs are in town lol?
Also I really hope the west wins the cup this year. St-Louis and San Jose would definitively deserve one since they never won it, although I kinda have a penchant for St-Louis, now that they finally got out of their choking spree.
Also not NHL-related, but I lol'ed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivYvLA0Ev9Q
Haha nice! The Canada-Finland finals are going to be pretty interesting, can't wait to see who wins. Go Canada!
Yeah same. Also I hope the Jets have success with Laine (if they pick him) :)
So this is still not NHL related, but Canada won the IIHF world hockey championship :D
NHL-wise I have a feeling that putting Fleury in the net during last Penguins game was a mistake.
Not related to the current playoffs, but I just found this piece of history on Youtube: Montreal Canadiens @ Quebec Nordiques, Game 1 overtime (1st round):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2Z4L7_9408
Unreal
A 31th team in Las Vegas is about to be confirmed, apparently. "According to a very close and reliable source", according to RDS.
Meanwhile, in San Jose... http://www.rds.ca/videos/hockey/lnh-james-hetfield-et-kirk-hammett-de-metallica-interpretent-l-hymne-national-avant-le-quatrieme-match-de-la-finale-de-la-coupe-stanley-3.1186895
I checked the Lapresse news article that claims Quebec is out and there is nothing in the article that says that it was officially confirmed. All speculations so far seems like the rumors we have heard so far and the articles' speculations seems based on what has already been heard. It looks more and more like Vegas is done deal, but no official indications yet.
Another thing to note is that RDS is owned by Bell, who owns shares of Montreal Canadiens, and since they're Quebecor's archrivals, this might explain why they always talk negatively about Quebec City.
Unless someone leaks the entire info for real and is legitimate, I don't think we will know where and if they expand until June 22nd. I think that for Quebec it will be 2018-19, though, because I doubt that NHL teams want to lose so many players to two expansions in one off-season. Imagine the mess this could cause when it comes to trying to stay under the salary cap with a double expansion draft.
Also, there are possibilities of a boycott if Quebec gets the boot or has no guarantee of a team, but what would be boycotted is uncertain yet (the NHL, the Habs, Bruins, companies that are affiliated with the NHL?)
Up until an official confirmation, either those sources are legitimate, or they just tell what people want to hear... No one knows for sure. The Canadiens might actually benefit from a second team in the province, though. Another Bell vs. Vidéotron rivalry? They should be delighted.
The whole deal with Peter Karmanos (and other on-the=brim-to-be-relocated teams) are just shuffling the cards even further. Who knows what will happen? No one knows for sure but the NHL and the owners, but for me if one of those teams are going to be relocated they know and they won't award an expansion team to Québec, citing problems with the Canadian dollar instead.
The NHL hates rumors and especially hate when a potential franchise owner talks too much. Example: Look at what happened to Jim Balsillie. They want you to follow their rules and one of the main rule is "be quiet and don't say anything". They don't want to give false hopes to fans in those cities.
However, Las Vegas is not an hockey market, so in order to make it one, that silence rule needs to be broken. This is why Bill Foley can talk so much about how he wants to get a team and why medias talk so much about Vegas being done deal, yet still manages to get away with it. This is a good way to market hockey in Las Vegas: Creating hype about it.
So this could be why they rarely ever say anything about Quebec. It might have caused many newspapers to think Quebec bid was flushed down the toilet. But it's still kinda scary, especially with Jeremy Jacobs seemingly thinking Quebec cannot support hockey.
People only seem to think about population size... yeah, nope. Many small towns have their teams, like Winnipeg, Green Bay, etc. and they do well.
Also Pens vs. Sharks tonight, it might end tonight with a Pens win...
Yeah I think Pens have good chances. They surprise me this year.
2-2 after 5 minutes, damn it's crazy so far.
Darn. Is it the defense/goaltending or did players went all-out attack rampage? I can't watch the game because I'm at a Cuba National Team vs Capitales baseball game.
Dunno, probably both. They just went crazy.
So here we are for game 6 Sunday. I thought Pittsburgh was gonna win it all last night but it seems I was wrong. Maybe San Jose finally got used to Pens' style of play (which is kinda hard when East vs West only play each other teams twice per season)
Well, Pittsburgh won it, again :|
Yeah D:. But at least it's not Chicago or LA yet again lol. It was always the same teams for a while. I kinda wish the Sharks did it, though (or one of my favorite teams). And I hope next year there are Canadian teams in the playoffs.
Eh, I do think the Penguins are one of the best teams in the NHL and one of my favourites.
Personally I don't like them as much for a few reasons. I used to do, but that was until the 2012 playoffs vs Phidalelphia where I discovered Crosby's bad habit of whining about every friggin stupid little things on the ice to draw penalties on the other team. Plus that was around that time where some of their star players started tanking every playoff year (eg Crosby and Fleury) and the management either didn't do much to improve those issues or failed to spend their salary cap properly for years, ending up in constant danger or being forced to trade star players and decimating their roster just to stay under the salary cap.
But of course that might just be me and it's not because I like the Flyers because I don't care about them. My main teams in order are the Jets, Sens, Red Wings and Avalanche right now. There are others such as the Oilers, Preds and Flames that I like, but I don't follow them as much.
Juju I don't know if this guy is legit, but if he's right then that's what I predict as well.
http://www.zonenordiques.com/chroniques.php?no_chronique=383
Keyword: The 30 teams don't want to lose 2 players in a single year.
That's what I thought since a while, and this bluebird guy gives good arguments in favor of it. Since the market is rather small, Las Vegas can afford to leak the info, everyone knows the league wants to try there and add yet another team in the desert, but for Québec City, Québécor and the NHL definitely want to make it a surprise and feed the rumor machine to the max (and, if you read their newspapers, you know Québécor is quite good at that), and if that's the case, so far the secret is surprisingly well guarded. If it's not an expansion, we'll likely have a team move announced next Wednesday. Québécor can easily afford both scenarios, they're more than ready for those and the NHL knows it.
During one of the lasts Vegas-is-getting-a-team-and-only-Vegas leaks, it was mentioned that Québec was barely mentioned once during the meeting... maybe because they know the Hurricanes move was already a done deal? That or they're good at hiding their cards. Anyway, that's the scenario I'm expecting, an expansion and a move will give both towns their teams but will only add one team, and thus, less player losses for the other teams, and in bonus we'll get the Nordiques back as early as next season with an already established roster. (They weren't that good last season, but eh, it's probably better than what Las Vegas will get. Except if one of the teams like the Penguins forgot to protect one of their best players, that's very unlikely, but eh, we never know, maybe one of the teams will give out a good player about to retire like Jagr, just to help out during the first year? If you remember, the Nordiques pulled that stunt in 1991 with Guy Lafleur, but he was traded back to Québec and he retired before the season began.)
Anyway, I can't wait to see what will happen on that day. Will Québécor spectacularly get the bunny out of their hat? Tune in next Wednesday for the grand finale of Expansion Team Academy!
My only issue with Bluebird is that in the past 5 years, there were people on ZN and in the medias that looked like they were very legit, but finally we discovered they were trolling us all along. Bluebird, IIRC, visited the site a few years ago and seemed close to some sources, but that site has so many members that I lost track of which ones are the most credible. If Bluebird is one of the credible guys, then we're probably on a good path.
As for Quebecor, they're the masters of clickbait and sensationalism. I bet that Bettman gave them the job to not give false hopes to people in Quebec, so now it's entirely possible that they try to make it sound like we will never get a team, just so that they can keep the surprise until the very last minute.
As for Vegas, well, Vegas is not an hockey market, so they need to market the game there much harder. I'm sure this is why they are allowed to talk so much about it in a positive manner.
As for Quebec City, the fact is that yes, we would be the smallest market in the league overall, and by far. But we can't just look at the market size. Our corporate support is limited, but our fans are so passionate that they'll rent luxury boxes themselves if there are any left. The fan support and the Canadian TV deal would offset the low corporate revenues. Also, back when the Nordiques were around, they drew higher than the Winnipeg Jets and Boston Bruins almost every season. I think we will be between Winnipeg and Ottawa, which would put us in the middle of the league and still make profits (at least unless the Canadian dollar drops to $0.60).
As for the Hurricanes I don't think they can move in 2016. The lawsuit just started a few weeks ago, so I'm sure they need to know if they win or not before deciding what to do with the team.
Regarding players who always dreamed of playing in Quebec before retiring, I think it might be a bit too late for that, though, because many who did, such as Simon Gagné, already retired. But I wouldn't be surprised if that happened during the first season or so.
ANyway, we'll see Wednesday. I think if we don't get a team at all then Rogers will be pissed, because they lost so many revenues due to the lack of any Canadian teams in the playoffs
For the Hurricanes, eh, Karmanos looked for selling his team and the rumors started way before the lawsuit, so we never know. When they say the lawsuit would not affect a possible move, it's kind of true, either way.
Also I'm pretty sure every Canadian team is for Québec, alongs with Rogers and every other Canadian actor involved with the NHL, which gives a good weight against Jeremy Jacobs, owner of the Bruins, and his followers. The Habs want a good competition, amirite?
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on June 18, 2016, 06:09:48 AM
Regarding players who always dreamed of playing in Quebec before retiring, I think it might be a bit too late for that, though, because many who did, such as Simon Gagné, already retired. But I wouldn't be surprised if that happened during the first season or so.
I was talking abut Vegas (and Québec if it's an expansion), but eh, trades to Québec (even if it's a relocation) will definitely happen.
Karmanos is too greedy IMHO. I know he owes money but I doubt anyone in Carolina will spend $450 millions or so on a team, especially when the Coyotes sold for about half that amount in 2013 or so.
I am really impatient to see how this whole thing turns out on June 22nd. Hopefully they won't just say "we haven't taken a decision yet on expansion". People in Vegas would be pissed.
Only 17 hours left before the press conference about NHL expansion in Las Vegas. Hopefully they make expansion official and announce a team in Quebec for a specific year not too far in the future. I can't seem to figure out how they would rule out Quebec City completely. Hopefully it won't just be another "We still have no news on expansion other than that we made progress" or crap like that.
Haaaa~
As stated before, Vegas is pretty much confirmed for an announcement at this press conference, for Québec, though, anything can happen, to the expansion, relocation, nothing at all, or worse, no decision for the town yet, and this is why this conference will be pretty interesting.
Anyway, this is the big day, and no matter what's announced I can easily imagine the riots in town.
A lot of people are so tired of waiting that they would rather be told no than be told that no decision was taken yet. Of course a no answer would cause a massive uproar as well, but people would probably move on and switch to the Remparts or something. On the other hand, I hope they don't say no to Vegas either because that would be kinda a c move to people there who have been told for 1 year that it's done deal.
Something to note is that some QMI people are gonna be in Las Vegas, but whether it's for TV stuff or an announcement is unclear. Also Labeaume mayor has postponed his trip to Europe by a few hours tomorrow so he can watch the conference and do his own press conference. Some people are worried that it will be damage control in the event of an expansion denial, but we never know. I really hope for the best, but we have been disappointed so often in the last few years that I am not getting my hopes up.
As for if a team doesn't come ever, I'll probably just support the Capitales baseball team, while casually following the Remparts, Sens and Jets. It would be a good lesson to the NHL if as a response to not selling an expansion team to QC if they failed to negociate a new TV deal in 2026 or so when the Canadian deal expires and if many Canadian sponsors ended/voided their NHL contracts in direct response to the announcement.
Also I wonder if the TV deal Sportsnet is part of had a 8 Canadian team clause? Maybe if the NHL denies a 8th team then SPortsnet could just threaten to cancel the TV rights agreement.
In any case tho
@Juju , if for example we are guaranteed a team for 2018-19 or 2019-20 then we should maybe party somewhere tomorrow night :P (I'll take a 2020-21 one too but that's starting to be quite far. I mean, I'll be 34 then >.<)
Eh, to me QMI would probably be there no matter what the decision is, because, well, they're candidates, it's kinda like you're part of the finals and you're not there to see if you win (even if you'd know the results since a while). And yeah, it's been one year it's on the burner, it's about time to announce the results.
It would suck if they sat next to Bettman and Foley only to be told "NHL is proud to award a new franchise for the 2017-18 season to the city of Las Vegas, Nevada. Quebec City we love you too but merci bonsoir." The look on his face would be priceless.
Also NHL stop teasing us D:
https://twitter.com/NHL/status/745635753913257985
Haha, way to tease us, NHL. (the maybe ;) at the end holy c)
Those marron/white uniforms with the husky, though... eeew... but Quebecor probably has something in store if they win a team. :P
(http://orig03.deviantart.net/f069/f/2012/139/4/b/profile_picture_by_juju2143-d50czfu.png)
Like this? >.>
No thanks O.O
Also ZN is down so I have to rely on Twitter for news. I'm in Quebec right now so I can't watch live on Sportsnet website
I'm watching it and I'm livetweeting it.
EDIT: Las Vegas has their team, the decision for Québec has been differed, they aren't closing the door just yet.
Well, given the excuses they gave and the fact the CDN dollar is slated to stay under 80 for the long term, I think they might as well start a KHL division in North America with Hartford, Quebec, Halifax, Saskatoon, Hamilton, Houston, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Atlanta and maybe Markham.
Bring the WHA back while you're at it. Then it'll merge back with the NHL after a few years...
But yeah, the only 2 things keeping the NHL to expand to Québec is the dollar, the number of teams difference between the East and the West conferences and the fact they don't want to add too much teams at the same time. Every other argument was impressive to the NHL and, barring the tthree other things I mentioned, the NHL would expand right now in Québec if possible.
Well, what I think is maybe if a WHA or American KHL division looks like a serious attempt at competing against the NHL, in terms of management and financing, and that the main founding teams steal some potential NHL markets, then perhaps that could cause the NHL to hastily award NHL franchises to block WHA expansion like they did with Atlanta and Long Island. The WHA owners would need to plan their league in a way that can be easily shut down without much financial damage but not be in constant danger of folding like the WHA was. Just the potential scary thought of seeing the WHA expand into Seattle and Quebec could be enough for the NHL to quickly change their mind about Quebec and try to get Seattle to build a new arena faster.
Also my worry is I hope that the three things they mentioned must not all go away before expanding to QC, else QC will never get a team again:
1) The Canadian dollar remained under $0.80 for 2 decades back in the days. On the other hand, it seems that the NHL is more worried about the big fluctuations than it being low. For example, Bettman mentioned that it went under $0.70 for a while, so perhaps if it remains at $0.78 all the time they might be more inclined to expand?
2) Quebec City cannot be moved to the west physically.
3) Other teams don't want to lose 2 players in one go.
#3 is a very valid point and #1 can be worked around via relocation or by getting QMI to pay their $500M check as soon as the dollar goes above a certain value. But #2 will inevitably require a re-alignement. I hope they aren't using those as excuse to stay out of Qc.
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on June 23, 2016, 01:14:13 AM
1) The Canadian dollar remained under $0.80 for 2 decades back in the days. On the other hand, it seems that the NHL is more worried about the big fluctuations than it being low. For example, Bettman mentioned that it went under $0.70 for a while, so perhaps if it remains at $0.78 all the time they might be more inclined to expand?
Pierre Dion, head of Québécor, mentioned today that during the negociations, the dollar were in the $0.70s, and they were afraid it will go as low as $0.60.
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on June 23, 2016, 01:14:13 AM
2) Quebec City cannot be moved to the west physically.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9RuaB3c9FQ
In all seriousness, the league can definitely move teams between conferences, especially those close to Central US/Canada, like St. Louis or Minnesota. If you remember, before the Thrashers moved to Winnipeg, it was a good 15-15, the then new Jets even played in the East for at least a season before the NHL remade all the divisions and made the conferences 16-14.
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on June 23, 2016, 01:14:13 AM
3) Other teams don't want to lose 2 players in one go.
Could easily be avoided with a relocation, or to a letter extent, not expanding at the same time as Las Vegas.
National Hockey League = A challenge! I take you on! = "A nice goal, Lee! (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Lee_(ice_hockey))" "Thank you!"
@Juju the issue about the dollar is that couldn't they just sign some agreement about how as soon as the dollar is high enough for QMI's liking, they pony up the $500M USD and get awarded a team the next semester (IIRC they award expansion teams in January and June)? I mean, if the dollar is at $0.85 at some point and they know it's gonna go back down, then they could do it as fast as possible before it starts dropping again.
As for the conference balancing BS I don't buy it. I know Detroit and Columbus wanted to be in the East but weren't the Leafs and Lightning in the West for a while? Also if conferences are such an issue, then what will the NHL do if Seattle arena project is truly dead for 20 years and the Coyotes fail to get a new arena and lease with Glendebt? If they rule out any Eastern relocation sites then the NHL is in deep serious trouble. Also, some people thinks the new alignment was set up purposely to keep Quebec out of the league.
Hopefully QMI do a press conference explaining where the decision to postpone Quebec bid came from. They have a lot of damage control to do, though, on both sides, in order to not lose Quebec market. A lot of people already canceled their Vidéotron or TVA Sports/RDS subscriptions following the announcement and when the Nordiques left in 1995, many people stopped following hockey entirely. The latter could easily happen again now to a lower extent, although people will probably move on. I know that for now I am not following the NHL anymore, though (I already stopped following anything except the last few games of the season and playoffs since the 2013 Coyotes deal fiasco). Among my favorite teams, I had the Winnipeg Jets, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Capitales (baseball) and Quebec Remparts (junior hockey) in order. It looks like the Capitales baseball team might be first now (I already went to two games this season and I normally go to one every two year)
Yeah, there's a few technicalities and inconsistencies I don't buy either. Québécor can and will pony up the amount needed for a team. Bettman said the Canadian dollar is a problem, yet Dion said they never went to that point yet. And if conference balancing is a problem, just redo them, FFS. Bettman said 16-14 and 17-15 conferences are a different deal, why not move a team over the other conference? Seems no one brought this question up, ever. Probably because the travel problems or something, it's pretty delicate as I understand. Yet the teams in Florida are in the same division as those in Northeast, oh well, I could rant a whole lot on that.
Anyway. Pierre Dion and his team are going back to Québec as of right now, go through every media tomorrow and answer any question about that. Let's see what Dion have to say.
I have the feeling that either Dion was scared that the dollar would go too low and asked the NHL to wait, or someone among the 10 owners who voted quebec down used the dollar excuse. Most likely Jeremy Jacobs. I also don't buy the travel issues, because if western teams are forced to play within 3 different timezones so often, then why would Eastern teams get a free pass?
Anyway this is an idea of what could a new WHA look like at its peak, if done well and if enough wealthy owners are found:
WHA West:
-Seattle
-Portland
-Saskatoon
-Milwaukee
-Houston
-Kansas City
-Cleveland
WHA East:
-Quebec
-Hartford
-Hamilton
-Toronto
-Halifax
-Atlanta
Of course they would need a large enough arena to play in, ideally with 10K seats minimum like in the KHL with a few larger arenas, revenue sharing, a lower salary cap/floor, lower expansion fees. But the most important thing would be TV/advertising revenues. It would be a setback from the NHL, but at this point I wouldn't mind supporting a brand of hockey that is inferior to the NHL, but superior to the AHL (the AHL is annoying because your favorite team players always get recalled by their NHL teams). Some markets above are underserved NHL markets, former NHL markets or markets that are too small for NHL but could potentially support a WHA team.
To save on travel costs, they could do like in baseball and play series of two games against the same team at the same venue each time. New team names would have to be found, though, since the NHL owns the rights to the Nordiques, Whalers, Barons, Scouts, Thrashers, Tigers and Quebec Bulldogs/Athletic Club names, while the AHL most likely owns the Aces, Citadelles, Whale and a few other names.
A new league who does things a bit different than the NHL could work, although they'd have to make sure it works. Leagues that competes with the NHL rarely worked in recent times. There's indeed a bunch of towns we would want a NHL franchise in, but couldn't because the NHL's rules are rather stringent and they probably don't want 45 teams at the same time. (Well, at the same time, the major league of baseball works as 2 leagues of 30 teams each...) Look at the last NHL expansion, only 5 groups applied, 3 of them backed down by themselves, one got delayed and only the other got their team. If the new league's requirements are less stringent, pretty sure most of the towns you named would apply and get a team.
Yeah, the issue with the WHA is that they often awarded cheap franchises to people who had no money to pay players and they also did the mistake to expand in existing NHL markets. While expanding in big NHL cities gave the league credibility, they had serious attendance issues since people there already had a better hockey brand. Toronto had good attendance in the WHA (even better than Quebec for a while) but the Leafs owner charged them so much for leasing Maple Leafs Gardens that they went out of business.
They would need to get good arena deals/leases, good ownership, revenue sharing and a good base to start. And if some of the aforementioned cities can't provide that then at least if they can start with 8 teams then it would be amazing. But only as long as they start with Seattle, Hartford and Quebec IMHO.
Wait what?? O.O
@Juju http://www.tsn.ca/blueliner-blockbuster-habs-trade-subban-to-predators-for-weber-1.517918
Well, it's been a while there's been rumors about Subban... I was liking him. Oh well, Weber is a good choice, let's see if this transaction was worth it.
I'm thinking this is a very risky move. While Weber is good, what if it does like Gomez, Brière, Smith-Pelly and Vanek? I'm thinking that if this trade fails on Montréal's end then bergevin will be fired. Also lol now some Habs fans are rooting for the return of the Nordiques because of the trade. I bet they'll still sellout the Bell Center every night next season, though.
So I know the NHL season hasn't started yet, but the World Cup of Hockey is ran by the NHL so I'm rooting for Canada and Team North America (the latter only has players under 23 years old). Seems like USA will have better luck next time, though, as they're already out. Is anyone else following the WCH2016?
Also not related to hockey nor NHL, but I read somewhere that several St-Louis Rams are e-mailing the Canadian Football League to convince them to expand in St-Louis and other American cities like they did in 1993.
I'm rooting for the same teams, though I want NA to win more than canada, as canada has kind of one every international event in the past few years.
But that NA game today :D
Yeah lol. As for Team NA the reason I also root for them is because of how many prospects they have and they're really fun to watch.
That said, I did not attend the WCH exhibition game in Quebec because I was kinda boycotting NHL preseason gimmicks due to the expansion outcome for Quebec and the fact they only use us for exhibition games, but I wouldn't have minded attending one of the round-robin matches if they were held here. That said, though, the pre-season games were much better than the NHL pre-season games overall.
Yeah, Team NA is pretty interesting, Team Canada kicks butts as usual like in pretty much every event, I'd say the final will be between both of them.
Since when both teams pull out their goalie at the same time in the NHL? O.O
(http://img.codewalr.us/emptynetfest.png)
HAHAHAH WOW. Are they trying something? Are they planning to remove the goaler position altogether? Who knows.
Not sure. That what a wtf moment, though, unless that didn't actually happens in the game and that a bug occurred on the NHL site.
Game 2 of the World Cup finals, Canada came back from 1-0 in the last 5 minutes of the 3rd to epically win 2-1 and the World Cup. Well, what a game. That I only watched the last 10 minutes, lol.
Canada obliterates butts at hockey and you can't deny it.
Awesome! I heard Canada wasn't as much into the game overall than game 1, though, and that Europe played very well. In any case, from the highlights this seemed more fun than Olympics, but again it might be because I am used to NHL-size rinks.
Still disappointed at USA, though. I was hoping for a big clash between Canada and USA during semis or final.
Heh, yeah, USA used to be good normally, but now it looks like they didn't even tried. Weird.
Edit: Oh. Yeah. I forgot to mention. Canada's winning goal was in a powerplay. For Team Europe. That was badass.
Even better then :D. Anyway, at least I am glad the tournament quality was good. It sure wasn't as intense as NHL playoffs since the season just started but I liked it. My main worry, though, was about injuries. >.<
So according to EA Sports' NHL 17 simulation, P. K. Subban will raise the Stanley Cup in Montréal, of all cities, after 6 games.
Reminder that the Montréal Canadiens traded Subban to the Nashville Predators, in exchange of Shea Weber, which is probably one of the biggest trades to happen in the NHL this summer.
Take that, Montréal. What an ironic plot twist, if it were to happen for real.
If the Preds are gonna win the cup I wish they would do it at home. Their crowds are gonna go batc insane lol (I still wish Nordiques Nation did a trip there). Also yeah Subban is very popular. Nashville sold out a pre-season game for the first time in their history. That said, I hope his unpredictable style of play won't ruin the Preds chances, especially since they lost Weber.
Also have you seen what the Coyotes did? THeir salary payroll includes players that are not even in the team. What a mess this team is. The NHL should have kept ownership of the team and promised the fans it's staying there no matter if another owner is found or not. At least under NHL ownership the on-ice product was decent. We're gonna hear about the Coyotes fiasco for 3-4 more years >.<. Or they could just move the team to Quebec but I'm unsure if the NHL wants to go with 17 teams East and 14 West (although they could just re-align or keep the new team in the Pacific division.)
Is it me or the Toronto Maple Leafs are a bit weird this year? Probably their centennial celebration. Must be why.
- Brendan Shanahan finally decided to retire every number honored in the last 100 years all at once
- They got Deadmau5 to write their anthem
- They have an unusually good first choice on the team
- They're actually getting good?
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U8xGDWkqHg
I wouldn't say the Leafs are that great so far. They still managed to lose a game in which Matthew scored four times in his first NHL regular season game ever. We'll see as the season progress I guess. I'm also curious about the Sens, Predators, Habs and Oilers. Panthers were also pretty good last year so I am curious if they'll continue that way.
As for the Jets, I have the feeling this year will be as bad as last year for some reasons. Also what's up with the Senators attendance at tonight game? That gotta have been the smallest crowd in Canadian Tire Center history O.O
Lol does anyone remember this game?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VV1PrbkK3E
So this is not hockey-related, but congrats to the Chicago Cubs for winning the World Series :D
Also while the Habs are good right now, it seems they still have coaching issues related to weird decisions and they still have some offense issues. Even if they have 9 wins out of 10 I think they could have issues during playoffs if no improvements are made. Also darn Nashville is just terrible this season so far.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cwdk0cvWgAAhOG6.jpg)
@Juju :trollface:
O.O
wait, is that a count of goals? most nhl games the winning team gets like max 5 or so goals, from my experience. (Unless the other team replaces their goalie with a sixth player, in which case they get a ton more goals scored on them)
Yes, the Columbus Blue Jackets are winning 10-0 against Montreal right now. That's a feat, considering how Columbus only made the playoffs twice in their existence and finished last every other year.
Looks like they knew the Habs had not lost a game since this season started and since the Blue Jackets are barely playing for .500 they took no chance. But I didn't think it would turn into a blowout like this O.O
10-0, man, seriously? Wow. Been a while I saw such an epic fail, excluding Team Canada in preliminary rounds of international events where it's actually important whether your team scored the most goals in their group. It happens the winning team goes over 5 goals, in which case the local sports restaurant usually gives out chicken wings, but it's very rare the score goes in the double digits. At least in the NHL and most pro leagues.
And here begins the downward spiral that usually happens after a 10-game perfect season start, anything can happen from here. Even with a 9-1-1 record so far and such a good team, it's definitely not guarenteed the Canadiens will even make the playoffs. Just look at it, it eerily looks like a repeat of last year, except everyone important's still there.
Rouge et Or lost 13-12 once I think at college football. Last night when the score was 8-0 people were joking about how habs could come back with a touchdown
In football, a touchdown is worth 6 points (plus 1 or 2 extra points) while a field goal is worth 3. 13-12 is not a lot by football standards, but it would definitely break records in hockey.
EDIT:
Quote from: Juju on November 05, 2016, 02:03:23 AM
except everyone important's still there.
Well, I didn't really checked who was goaling yesterday, but it came to my attention it was Al Montoya. I don't know if Carey Price is still on the injured's list, if not, Therrien should definitely had pulled Montoya off way before. Also sounds like a repeat of that infamous night of December 2, 1995 where the Canadiens lost 11-1 to the Red Wings, except Montoya didn't threw a tantrum leading him to get sent to Colorado, as far as I know.
They used Montoya and kept him in the net despite the score because they're playing two games in two days. Tonight game is against Phidalelphia and they probably decided to sit out of last night game in order to give everything tonight. We'll see, though. If they lose too much I bet they'll fire Therrien in December.
Canadiens at Chicago tonight, they lost 3-2, but the Blackhawks brought Hall of Famer Denis Savard back (not related to me as far as I know) and the guy who sings the national hymns sang in French. Nice.
Lol at that goal:
https://www.nhl.com/video/larsson-scores-from-long-way-out/t-283197562/c-46918603 (Buffalo scored 18 seconds into the game but from very far and the puck bounced)
Wow, Henrik Lundqvist must be like, what the heck just happened?
Also Wayne Gretsky in the next episode of The Simpsons. Gonna be interesting.
Remember Canadiens' 10-0 loss of last month? Well, they won 10-1 today against the Colorado Avalanche, with Max Pacioretty scoring no less than 4 times. Well then, guess it evens out.
And of course Pacioretty still never talks about his individual performances no matter how hard the journalists try.
Now Jagr tied Messier for 2nd most points in NHL carreer.
Well, players who survived past 20 years of playing, are still playing good (as in, an average of >1 point/game (PPG)) and are still in good health are a bit of a rarity in the NHL, so seeing him to the top of players that aren't Wayne Gretsky is a pretty nice feat, especially as he played less games than Messier. Speaking of which, had Mario Lemieux played longer (he didn't made it to 1000 games), he probably would have rivaled with Gretsky. Similarly, if Sidney Crosby is still in good health by 2025, he might also make the list rather high.
Yeah Lemieux could have done it. If only he was in good health when he played. :(
Anyway Jagr has done it now. :D He got a golden stick commemorating his achievement. It reminds me when they stopped the 1993 game between Jets and Nordiques when Selanne beat Mike Bossy's rookie record for most goal in his first NHL season ever:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2qjLAaRL54
Yeah, Mike Bossy, another one who might have broken some more records had he played longer than 10 seasons. Heh, you have to be pretty solid to play hockey.
But yeah, Teemu Selänne is another one who got a pretty good career, I'd see him being inducted into the Hall of Fame as soon as he's eligible. Also what the hell was the Nordiques goaler doing?
Oh, and Roberto Luongo tying with Terry Sawchuk in 5th place for most wins for a goaltender.
Not sure what the Nordiques goalie was doing in the vid but the Jets lost 8-3 if I remember :trollface:
Wow, the Blue Jackets not only lost just 5 games in regulation this season (and four in overtime/shootout), but they also have 16 wins in a row and they might soon tie the NHL all-time record (I think it's 17) from the 1992 Penguins. Who would have thought this would happen with a team that only made the playoffs twice in 16 years?
Anyone noticed that there seems to be more and more high-scoring games in the NHL lately? People kept complaining before about how few goals there are in NHL games nowadays, but this year I keep seeing games finishing 7-1, 6-2, 10-0, 8-7 and so on. While I bet those must be games with poor defense, I personally prefer higher scoring. I also wish they did not go as hard against fighting because I prefer players releasing their agression in a fight than via cheap shots. Normally if an high-scoring player from a team gets bodychecked too hard, one of his teamate confronts the player who did it. Fights can also change the momentum of a game.
Also what teams do you follow this year? (For me it's mostly the Jets and Sens)
I do agree. I dunno what they did this year, but it seems to work. Quite a lot of 10+ goals games happening. Even the Canadiens had not one but two of those 10-goal-by-one-team games this year.
Anyway, following the Canadiens, as usual. They keep showing up in my newsfeed with those pesky clickbait titles. Well, in all seriousness, Carey Price is one of the best goalers of the league and, unless he messes up again, he'll bring his team to at least the playoffs. Second goaler is not this good though, but it's better than nothing. Also following whatever happening with the Hurricanes with some popcorn, always interesting. Other than that, I generally follow the other teams, but not that much.
Next year, gonna be interesting to follow the Vegas Golden Knights if they're as good as they promised and the Nordiques if Karmanos and Bettman finally decides to do the thing with the Hurricanes.
This is kinda funny and odd
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wr3lYJME3WY
From what I remember, if the play isn't stopped by the referee and they later realize that there was a goal, then they cannot stop it until something causes it to stop such as a penalty or icing call. Then once it's stopped, they can review the goal and reset the time as if the extra time played never happened. Now imagine if no call happened for 20 minutes and they had to play an extra period O.O
Oooh, that's a pretty interesting rule we have here. Now imagine if someone scored during that time, the point will be taken away?
I would really need to look more into it, but I swear I saw something similar happen before, where a goal was missed by the refs and play continued for a minute, then when it finally stopped they said there was a goal. Basically if the other team had scored in the meantime the new goal would not have counted.
Also goddamn, the Colorado Avalanche are really bad this year... (they remind me of when they were in Quebec City in 1987-92). They actually make the Coyotes look like a skilled team.
Also I hope to see Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto in the playoffs. While I think none of them will go past the 2nd round, those will be fun series to watch, especially if Toronto plays Montreal or Ottawa. I feel bad for Ottawa fans who will be outnumbered by Leafs fans at their home games, though. <_<
Yeah, that was a bit boring last year, none of the Canadian teams made it to the playoffs and that was a bit weird.
Yeah, I watched the playoffs even less. I usually watched Nashville, Islanders, Detroit and Colorado when they made the playoffs too, but it wasn't the same, although now that Subban is with Nashville I might keep an eye on them more if they make the playoffs. :P I'm still rooting for Ottawa no matter what, though.
The NHL just revealed the list of the best 100 players of all time for their centenarial celebrations:
http://www.tvasports.ca/2017/01/27/le-top-100-de-la-lnh-a-tva-sports
I'm glad to see Peter Stastny, Forsberg, Joe Sakic and Sundin on there. Some of the others were inevitable but it's good to see some former Nordiques there :)
Bye Bye Michel Therrien?
Apparently. The rumours about him getting fired keeps getting stronger, although I don't really believe those until it's confirmed. Anything can happen with transactions and coaches and such, it's kinda easy to speculate on that.
The Bruins fired Claude Julien, though. That was a bit unexpected.
Well, my personal guess since last weekend is that if the Habs lost both games vs Avalanche and the Coyotes (the two worst teams in the NHL right now), then Therrien would be fired somewhere from Friday to Monday. Now they seems about to lose both games and it seems like a bunch of other people speculated that if they lost vs Arizona then he was done, especially after Claude Julien got fired despite the Bruins playing somewhat better.
I hope the Habs, Sens, Leafs and Oilers at least keep it up until the end of the season. It would suck to have 4 Canadian teams at the head of their divisions, only to see all of them collapse at the end of the season and miss the playoffs again. Even the Oilers are at risk because their lead vs wildcard teams is very low.
EDIT: Looks like Habs won? But again still not sure if Therrien will last very long <.<. That said, last Summer they claimed he would not even last past holidays and he did.
The Canadiens just won 5-4 in OT against the Coyotes. Guess it's a bit of a relief.
Of course you might lose against the worst teams sometimes, but at least they're not going completely downhill like last year when they lost Carey Price. Or that year when they also lost Price but in the middle of the playoffs. That's a team that could definitely go far in the playoffs, maybe even the finals, but they can't make it without Price.
For the other teams, this is also getting pretty interesting. The Leafs are good, as I heard.
Am I allowed to post in this topic?
or do I have to start watching ice hockey first?
never watched it 9_9
You can post but yeah I hope eventually you take a look at ice hockey because it's fun to watch sometimes :3= (although olympic hockey isn't as fun sometimes)
Quote from: p2 on February 10, 2017, 10:15:13 AM
Am I allowed to post in this topic?
or do I have to start watching ice hockey first?
never watched it 9_9
Well, you should at least know what we are talking about. Ice hockey is indeed pretty fun, as well as looking at the stats.
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on February 10, 2017, 05:30:06 PM
(although olympic hockey isn't as fun sometimes)
The best games are Canada against the US, Russia (or anything that was part of former URSS), or one of the Scandinavian countries.
Detroit Red Wings owner just died D: (Mike Ilitch). IMHO he was one of the best owner in sports and he will be greatly missed.
Quote from: Juju on February 10, 2017, 11:54:44 PM
Quote from: p2 on February 10, 2017, 10:15:13 AM
Am I allowed to post in this topic?
or do I have to start watching ice hockey first?
never watched it 9_9
Well, you should at least know what we are talking about. Ice hockey is indeed pretty fun, as well as looking at the stats.
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on February 10, 2017, 05:30:06 PM
(although olympic hockey isn't as fun sometimes)
The best games are Canada against the US, Russia (or anything that was part of former URSS), or one of the Scandinavian countries.
Yeah the two main issues in the olympics is that most games are one-sided unless they involve Finland, Czech Republic, Canada, Russia or USA, and in addition to that, physical contact is minimal compared to NHL, which seems to make games less intense.
Leagues like the NHL have things in place to ensure all the teams are more or less on the same level. You can't really do that with countries. So olympic games will naturally be pretty much one-sided until the quarterfinals or the semifinals where all the 6 countries who actually have a hockey program to regularly produce players for top-class leagues will meet each other and the other countries who probably sent their only 20 players will fail spectacularly in the preliminaries they don't even bother showing you. Of course, some of these countries, with some determination, will field a few players into the NHL or the KHL, but you don't see that often. Like France, they will be able to make it to the playoffs, but there's something like 2 French players total in the NHL.
EDIT:
[spoiler=whaaaat]
(https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16711572_1290596170997021_4937026033706930504_n.jpg?oh=ac0779aaf60319d938df15cf2859c6c0&oe=5909575B)
This is Eric Lindros with a Nordiques jersey for the first time on Tout le monde en parle.
[/spoiler]
Well, the NHL works with a franchise model, with each team being owned by separate owners. So inevitably, there will always be a few bad apples (like this year with Colorado and Arizona and last year with Toronto and Winnipeg). But yeah overall each team are the same caliber. Revenue sharing and the salary cap also helps, although MLB doesn't have much of an hard cap (a luxury tax is in place), yet small teams still compete from time to time. The NBA and NFL, on the other hand...
Quote from: Juju on February 11, 2017, 12:44:07 AMEDIT:
[spoiler=whaaaat]
(https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16711572_1290596170997021_4937026033706930504_n.jpg?oh=ac0779aaf60319d938df15cf2859c6c0&oe=5909575B)
This is Eric Lindros with a Nordiques jersey for the first time on Tout le monde en parle.
[/spoiler]
Lol, Lindros is sure a great contributor to the Quebec Nordiques. Look at the massive trade he got involved in in 1992. He literally turned our team into a stanley cup contender overnight (although the Habs had Patrick Roy... ugh x.x). I don't hate him as much now that we have learned the true story about why he refused to play for Quebec (Marcel Aubut sucks). I just wish he had told the truth much longer ago, but again, if he did it too early (eg before the team was sold), then maybe he would have gotten at the wrong end of a lawsuit. >.<
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on February 11, 2017, 02:31:35 AM
Marcel Aubut sucks
Reminds me, speaking of Olympics, remember his time at the head of the Canadian Olympic Commitee? Of course, that didn't really impacted athletes' performance, but he also got his fair share of controversies there.
Wasn't the controversy when he was at the head of the COC related to the sexual harrassment thing?
Exactly.
Apparently Lindros mom had problems with Aubut and this could have explained part of why he didn't play for Quebec. Sure, back then maybe he was not willing to learn French this fast and wanted to play for a winning team at good salary, but his mom seemed to play a big role and he later said Aubut was one of the reasons. Not that we liked Aubut either anyway, after he sold the team and allowed it to be moved despite not losing this much money
I'm 6th cousins once removed with Johnathon Toews, apparently.
Really? O.O If you're related to him or family then that's awesome. I knew some people who eventually became hockey player or had friends that played in minor leagues but that's it.
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on February 12, 2017, 06:55:07 PM
Apparently Lindros mom had problems with Aubut and this could have explained part of why he didn't play for Quebec. Sure, back then maybe he was not willing to learn French this fast and wanted to play for a winning team at good salary, but his mom seemed to play a big role and he later said Aubut was one of the reasons. Not that we liked Aubut either anyway, after he sold the team and allowed it to be moved despite not losing this much money
That's pretty much what the legends says.
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on February 12, 2017, 10:37:17 PM
Really? O.O If you're related to him or family then that's awesome. I knew some people who eventually became hockey player or had friends that played in minor leagues but that's it.
I think my brother has a friend who plays in the QMJHL. Wouldn't be surprised I knew someone related to Antoine Vermette back in high school, either. I went to high school in his hometown and it's a pretty small town.
GUYS
IT HAPPENED
Claude Julien replaces Michel Therrien as Canadiens coach.
Well, I hope it works.
I knew it lol. I forgot to post earlier XD
Glad Claude Julien is back, though, even if I don't like the Habs that much. What the hell was Bob Gainey thinking in 2006 when he fired him? Yes Théodore was not that great at the time but he had personal problems and the team was not this much in trouble. Claude Julien was a good coach. Also if Koivu did not get injured during the 2006 playoffs I think the Habs would have gone very far.
We'll see now if it works out. I think Therrien system did not fit well with the players. Also notice how the team starts sucking as soon as he changes the lineup for no reason.
They still need to do something with some players, though. Deharnais is so inconsistent, Plekanec is nonexistent, etc
someone needs to teach everyone how to do magic spells!
not
I don't think that will work with ice hockey unless you are the 1991 Minnesota North Stars or the 1980 Olympics US Men Hockey Team. <_<
it works for all genders
I was more refering to how that particular hockey team and the 1991 North Stars pretty much accomplished the impossible during their respective tournaments :P (in the case of the North Stars it's refered to as a cinderella run, although they did not win the championship)
that's because i taught them how to use magic spells dude
Yeah, well, I hope it's for the better. The big problem is that right now, they're no longer able to win 2 games in a row where at the beginning of the season they weren't able to lose 2 games in a row. Same thing happened last year, and you know where it's going. I hope the change will make them not miss the playoffs and solve some problems with the players.
rip canucks.
next year!
:ninja:
Quote from: Juju on February 15, 2017, 05:47:28 AM
Yeah, well, I hope it's for the better. The big problem is that right now, they're no longer able to win 2 games in a row where at the beginning of the season they weren't able to lose 2 games in a row. Same thing happened last year, and you know where it's going. I hope the change will make them not miss the playoffs and solve some problems with the players.
This reminds me the Winnipeg Jets. They only won 3 in a row once this season. >.<
https://www.facebook.com/LNH/videos/1288205304550421/
THE PUCK WENT IN THE JERSEY INSTEAD OF THE GOAL
Is that considered as a goal?
wow
I'd give them like 2 bonus points lol
I remember when the puck went between the goalie helmet and his jersey or something, once. Crazy stuff O.O
Also it's funny when it goed in their.pants and the referree can't find it.
https://www.nhl.com/news/stanley-cup-coin-produced-by-canadian-mint/c-287767368
The Royal Canadian Mint is producing a Stanley Cup quarter :D
Check this out, for those in Canada. Or near the border, who knows.
I kinda want to buy one, but at the same time I'm sure that one day someone will be dumb enough to buy one, only to mix it up with his regular money by accident or leave it unnatended, then buy ramens at Walmart with it or his kids will use it to buy ramen. So who knows? Maybe I'll eventually get one for "free". :P
Also, I have the feeling that the Senators will finish first in their division but I guess it depends if they win at least one game against Montreal this weekend. Also I really can't wait for the final standings and the playoffs.
EDMONTON OILERS ARE IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :w00t:
First time in 11 years that they make the playoffs. Hope that Sens clinches too. I think the Leafs and Flames got some good chances too but I'm definitively rooting for Sens and Oilers. I think Habs only need like 1 point or 2 to clinch.
Yeah, we'll probably have up to 5 Canadian teams who will make the playoffs, as opposed as last year, which is a pretty nice thing. Also talk about the Red Wings, who missed for the first time since 1990. I wasn't even born, and the NHL was completely different back then!
Yeah it's a good turnaround from last year. It was weird to see the Red Wings out, but it was a long time coming. For the past 4 years or so I always thought it was over for them, yet they still managed to sneak in. It's weird to know that the last time they missed the playoffs, the San Jose Sharks, Ottawa Senators, Anaheim Ducks, Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers didn't exist yet.
And don't forget the Atlanta Thrashers.
EDIT: The Canadiens clinched a spot!
Yeah true, although I was mainly talking about the early 90's expansion.
OMG! The Sens have now clinched! I was getting worried because of all their injuries and resulting losing streak. I hope they can last for a while in the playoffs. :)
Also this is back, in case you are interested
@Unicorn and
@Juju https://bracketchallenge.nhl.com/
Aw yeah, let's do this. Join the league! https://bracketchallenge.nhl.com/leagues/codewalrus
By the way, I think leagues are reset every year, because I swear we had a CW league before and it was gone...
Toronto won vs Pittsburgh, so all five are in! (https://img.codewalr.us/walriichuoncaffeine.gif)
Hopefully Columbus can wear down the Pens during playoffs, after that goalie hit earlier. Anyway both teams played well and Penguins look very dangerous when they're in the other team zone. Can't wait for playoffs now
Yeah, I think they redo the site every year.
Anyway, with tonight's Leafs 5-3 win against the Penguins, we know who makes it to the playoffs. I think teams are still going to switch places a bit, but it's gonna be interesting.
Personally, I wanna see Montréal vs. Toronto and Montréal vs. Pittsburgh.
Well I think MTL is guaranteed to play NY first, right?
Oh lol, I'd forgotten about his :D. I'll submit a bracket, though it'll be the teams I want to win, not the ones I think can win because I haven't followed hockey much this year. :/
I mostly voted teams I think that will win. I would like to see one of the Canadian teams win it all but I still have some doubts this year, especially because of Pittsburgh and Chicago <_<
Wow, the Habs outshot the Rangers 58-38 in game 2 O.O
And I just learned that Milan Lucic is now with the Oilers.
Woohoo, Sens and Leafs won!
Habs, Leafs, Sens and Oilers now have tied their respective series.
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on April 15, 2017, 02:33:39 AM
Wow, the Habs outshot the Rangers 58-38 in game 2 O.O
Aw yeah, what a game. Plekanec tied the game at 17 seconds of the end of 3rd and forced overtime. Sens also won in OT, tends to happen quite a lot in playoffs.
Other than that, Yeah, Pens might win, but forget about the Hawks: it's been two games so far and they haven't goaled yet. Plus EA predicted (again) Subban and his new team would win the Cup in Montréal, so yeah. That would be the most ironic thing to ever happen. (That or Weber winning the Cup in Nashville, would equally be ironic. Kinda why I want Habs vs. Preds in finals :P)
Lol the Hawks were so bad they're good
Just happened now:
>mom looks for some song to put in her video for school
>me sends deadmau5 - 2448 (aka Maple Leafs Anthem 2016-17)
>mom listens to it
>Habs goals
>the irony
EDIT: 3-1 Canadiens, they now lead 2-1 in the series :D
Also that Habs player plunging head first in the Rangers' bench 30 seconds towards the end it was completely hilarious.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKoSQTWFMwY
Lol I should listen to that song. Also I thought she wanted to use one of my songs D:
And yay a Canadian team won again. Also what the heck is happening with Columbus? O.O
Yeah, she's taking hours to choose the right song x.x
And yeah, Columbus, aren't they playing against the Penguins?
Yeah. Also Yay the oilers lead 2-1
Ducks won their series 4-0, as well as the Penguins (4-1). Nice.
EDIT: 3-2 Rangers. Well.
Darn, I was way off the track it seems D:
(https://tg.codewalr.us/file_722.jpg)
Oh well, at least the Sens are doing good and the Leafs and Oilers are still kinda in it.
Seriously, though, What the hell happened to Chicago? O.O
eyyy i was rite!
You got yours right? O.O
Bruins just won 3-2 after 30 minutes of OT and saved themselves from elimination. Welp.
Damnit Boston D:<
Aaaand Rangers win their series 4-2. Dammit New York, wanted to see MTL vs OTT.
Goddamn, what happened? They choked hard x.x
Oh well at least Edmonton did it
Well, although the Canadiens clearly dominated on number of shots, each game have been won by one goal, or two if the last goal was in an empty net. So they were more or less equal.
Yeah true. It did not help that certain players were particularly unreliable or screwed up during the last few games, though. X.x
Anyway Sens won :3= . Now to see if Leafs will win.
Awe rip. there goes my entire bracket :P
Damnit caps D:, I was hoping to have at least Toronto in. That's definitively not gonna make me like the Caps more (I still prefer them to the Penguins tho). Oh well:
Preds in 6
Oilers in 6
Sens in 7
Capitals in 6
Glad to see Ottawa, Nashville and Edmonton got the lead. Hopefully they can do it. Would be nice also for Nashville to finally get past the 2nd round.
Ottawa!!!!! :O
It was 4-2 NY I swear earlier. Ottawa won 6-5 in double OT. Amazing
THE DRAFT LOTTERY IS RIGGED
NO TOP 3 TEAM GOT IN THE TOP 3
RIGGED
https://video.twimg.com/tweet_video/C-npUdWUMAEUbRR.mp4
Of course it's rigged, more or less. Each team's odds to win this lottery is inversely proportional to the rankings they got this season, with the top 15 being reserved to the teams who didn't made the playoffs and the new Golden Knights expansion team being given the same odds as the team who ranked 28th. Similarly, the Stanley Cup winner will likely get the 31st pick.
Of course, this can always change as some teams already traded their picks with each other since years ago and will do so until the last minute.
well yeah ofc. I meant rigged in a joking way :P
But it still is kinda wrong when the bottom 3 teams don't even get the top 3 picks. I mean, Philly in 2nd? come on.
Eh, they wanted to make it fair for everyone and so the Oilers won't take the first pick 4 times in 6 years, so yeah.
Yeah the lottery is really screwed up. Of course it still favors the worst teams but it's too much luck-based. That said, it helps preventing teams from tanking on purpose for 6 years in a row just to stock up in star players.
I dunno but...
Nashville in 5
Anaheim in 7
Ottawa in 6
Pittsburgh in 6
I have the feeling Ottawa is choking just as hard as the Habs did now and that Edmonton is running out of gas. D:
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on May 05, 2017, 02:47:17 AM
Edmonton is running out of gas. D:
what are you even talking about. psh, I don't see this as a lack of gas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3BPlidYN-I
Yeah I dunno, it looked like they were running out of gas the game before, but as it turns out, they just had one crappy game. Glad they bounced back. I still hope the Sens and Oilers can do it. Nashville did, thankfully,.
EDIT: WWWWOOOOOHOOOO AWESOME COME BACK BY THE SENS IN THIS SERIES (https://img.codewalr.us/hypergarfield.gif)
Nooooooooo :'(, the oilers are eliminated. :(
Oh no.
Also, Penguins vs. Senators, gotta be interesting.
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on May 11, 2017, 04:57:38 AM
the oilers are eliminated. :(
Quote from: Juju on May 11, 2017, 04:59:25 AM
Also, Penguins vs. Senators, gotta be interesting.
Is that the names of hockey teams...? :ninja: It sounds so weird x.x
Edmonton Oilers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Ottawa Senators
Nashville Predators
Montréal Canadiens (aka Habs)
Anaheim Ducks (blame Disney for this one, they used to be the Mighty Ducks and they have the craziest backstory ever)
Yeah, pretty nice names for hockey teams, if you ask me.
Quote from: p2 on May 15, 2017, 09:15:46 AM
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on May 11, 2017, 04:57:38 AM
the oilers are eliminated. :(
Quote from: Juju on May 11, 2017, 04:59:25 AM
Also, Penguins vs. Senators, gotta be interesting.
Is that the names of hockey teams...? :ninja: It sounds so weird x.x
Montreal Hockey Club or Montreal United would not sound attractive to us North Americans, name-wise, compared to Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes and such names.
Also go Preds and Sens
Fun fact: the official name is "Club de hockey Canadien", or in English, something along the lines of "Canadien HC". There's a lot of things North America isn't doing like Europe, like teams named Someplace HC (although the Florida Panthers switched their logo to something that looks like a soccer team) and a relegation system, that is, switching leagues based on performance, if we had this here the Oilers and a few other teams would probably had fallen to the depths of the ECHL, lol. North Americans prefers their teams to be fixed in place and the NHL tries things so all teams will be equal with each other as much as possible so the worst teams have a chance against the best.
Yeah true, the official team names are often not used lol, same for official company names, which are often some sort of weird name with numbers. Also I don't like the new Panthers logo >.<
ANyway go Nashville/Ottawa
By the way, for those who don't follow hockey as much, both Nashville and Ottawa lead their series 2-1. Can't wait to see what's next
Im hopin otowa can pull away tomorrow... :D
Yeah same. Nashville seems to be doing it. One more game win and the Preds are in
Today on the news, Ottawa got rekt 7-0 by the Penguins for a 3-2 lead in their series, Canada was defeated by Sweden in the gold medal game at the world championships and rumour persists to say the end is near for the Hurricanes.
Speaking of which, I wanna see how Jamaica will fare at ice hockey in Korea in 2018. As well as the South Korea team.
Quote from: Juju on May 21, 2017, 10:57:33 PM
rumour persists to say the end is near for the Hurricanes.
Howso?
Right now, it's still at the stage of conspiracy theory and I know everyone in Québec is fed up with this story, but yeah, it's obvious by now Peter Karmanos, owner of the Hurricanes, is completely broke, is getting old and wants to sell the team to whoever wants it. We also know Québécor has the pockets full of money and have everything to sustain a team, really, the only reason why Québec's expansion bid wasn't accepted nor denied last June, the NHL knows there's teams on the brim of a move (even though they will deny everything and say they'll do anything to keep a team from moving) and it's probably pretty much the only town right now who could sustain being on the recieving end of a move right now. The move to Québec was probably even been a done deal since months, who knows, but of course, the NHL, Québécor and Karmanos will prefer keeping it a surprise until the very end, or at least, after the Stanley Cup Finals. Well, this story happened a few years ago with Atlanta/Winnipeg and looks like the same thing will happen again...
Of course, it's only rumors, so everything I said might probably be bullc, but I stay hopeful all the stars are aligned so this would happen. If it's not this summer, it will surely be in the next few summers as we know the NHL never formally said no to Québec.
Oooh fun :P
Nashville did it!!!!!!!!!!
Ottawa now! Here comes game 7 (thursday?)
Can't wait but Pens will be hard to beat. Also I dunno what are the playoff ticket prices but the empty seats at playoff games are starting to get embarrassing (thankfully in Ottawa most unsold seats were in the nosebleeds, but one of the Anaheim games was a disaster)
Nooooooo :'(
Oh well it was a good run by the Sens. Go Nashville then
:(
Ya think nashville can beat pittsburg?
I doubt it, but again I didn't think they could beat Chicago and Anaheim either.
Guys, for only $1032, you can attend game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. If you want to sit close to the ice, though, you'll have to pay $10205. That's in US dollars, by the way.
http://www.tvasports.ca/2017/05/30/finale-de-la-coupe-stanley-des-billets-a-10-000
Damnit D:
(And yeah Pens won the cup again)
The good news though is that Bettman was booed again, even thought it's a Southern USA hockey market
Woo :D
(Damn, it was tonight? Missed that D:)
Yeah for some reasons they spaced out each game by 3 days instead of 2.
Yeah, it was a bit confusing.
But yeah, I ain't gonna lie, the Penguins are one of my favourite teams and they're without any doubt one of the best teams in recent years. Winning more than a cup in a row is probably no longer the same deal as in the 70s, so gg guys. Also Crosby winning his 2nd Conn Smythe in a row, which happened only 3 times in history of the NHL. Coincidentally, last time it was Mario Lemieux in 91-92...
I never liked the Pens much personally. I always found Crosby to be sort of a crybaby >.<. If the Nordiques ever return before he retires I bet one of those days the fans will do like during Eric Lindros' first game at Quebec Colisée with the Flyers and wear baby costumes and throw hundreds of pacifiers on the ice.
I kinda like Nashville mostly because of Subban but since Nashville seems to be essentially a Montreal Canadiens player dumping ground, I like them less whenever they acquire crappy Habs players like the Kostityn brothers a few years ago.
Well, im bummed. Pittsburg is jst too good. They don't deserve to win another cup in a while imo. :P
I need answers.
Oh, and expansion draft explained. (https://www.nhl.com/video/expansion-draft-explained/t-278308694/c-52237603)
I would more like to know exactly where those pictures are from. Are they just from some old 2012-13 expansion realignment ideas that were suggested on HFBoards or was this posted today on some site?
Since the dollar doesn't look like it's gonna go back to parity anytime soon, if TVA absolutely wants to stop losing money on TVA Sports TV channel then they probably need a team of their own as soon as possible, but on the other hand it depends how much money they lose per season.
Plus the NHL might be starting to see the negative effects of the Canadian dollar:
-Less revenue sharing for the Arizona Coyotes, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, New York Islanders, etc
-Considerable decrease in Canadian revenues (including the TV contract, which is paid in CAD$)
-Attendance decline in Canadian arenas because of the increased life costs (since most of our goods are imported from USA and paid in US dollars)
I'll probably believe it when I see it, though (the return of a team here), because I noticed in the last year or so that most article sharing on hockey websites related to relocation rumors are just reposts of old articles from 1-5 years ago or clickbait.
2 seconds into the expansion draft video on NHL.com I linked in the above post where they explain what's happening with the Vegas Golden Knights. I dunno where they took that map but, as coming directly from the NHL an/or Sportsnet, this is quite weird.
Of course, an expansion isn't quite ruled out yet, but the most plausible and popular theory is a relocation, especially if they want a team for this year.
Apparently it's an old map that Sportsnet took and for whatever reason the NHL put it on their site without removingvQuebec
So Las Vegas played their first pre-season game last night. I wonder how well will they do this year.
Yeah, I'm really curious about that. They have a Stanley Cup-winning lead goalie from arguably one of the best teams in the NHL and quite a few good players on their roster.
Also, watched that pre-season game, that was ridiculous, tons of goals, power plays and power play goals. I mean, both teams probably scored half of their goals in power play (or in the case of Vancouver, half of them on 5-on-3 plays, literally). Gotta watch this new guy playing for Vegas though, Tyler Wong, he did a hat trick on his first game. Nice.
So the Arizona Coyotes beat an NHL record: They became the first team to not win a single game at their first 20 attempts in regulation time.
Their first ever regulation win this season came against Montreal :trollface:
Winnipeg is on fire this season so far *.* (https://img.codewalr.us/hypergarfield.gif)
(They're like 4th overall in the entire league and 2nd or so in their division)
What about vegas tho!
Vegas vent from not even existing to completely on fire.
Quote from: Juju on February 27, 2018, 08:51:36 AM
Vegas vent from not even existing to completely on fire.
If you are on an ice rink, isn't that bad?
Quote from: _iPhoenix_ on February 28, 2018, 10:15:01 PM
Quote from: Juju on February 27, 2018, 08:51:36 AM
Vegas vent from not even existing to completely on fire.
If you are on an ice rink, isn't that bad?
I dunno, they're probably defying the laws of physics. Blame Gary Bettman for that, I guess.
Well, this is definitely a weird way to score. Coyotes vs. Hurricanes, of all teams, just tonight.
It looks like your usual dump the puck behind the net and the goalie comes clear it move, a play that happens like a million times every game. But there's a twist. Cam Ward lost sight of the puck. Must have missed it. Assumed someone else got it, so he came back to his net and assumed a defense position as the Coyotes come to his net, likely with the puck. But the puck is nowhere to be found. Realizes it was stuck in his skate all this time. The puck got stuck while he was behind the net, and accidentally scored in his own goal as his feet went behind the red line, without anyone noticing or the referees stopping the game. And it's a valid goal, albeit an unusual one. What a lucky goal.
And the Hurricanes still won 6-5.
https://www.rds.ca/videos/hockey/lnh-le-but-le-plus-bizarre-de-l-histoire-3.1267816
https://www.nhl.com/news/carolina-goalie-cam-ward-has-unfortunate-blooper/c-297222042?tid=281396148
ROFL, nice one XD
Also the Jets got 100 pts. Woohoo!
Another weird one: Carey Price makes a save from the bench. Would be nice if he would be in front of the goal, though.
https://www.nhl.com/canadiens/video/price-snags-a-puck-on-the-bench/t-277437414/c-59464103
GO
JETS
GO!
Quote from: xlibman on April 10, 2018, 05:42:55 PM
GO
JETS
GO!
I don't think you made your point clear enough. Do you want the Jets to lose :P
(http://storage.tvasports.ca/v1/dynamic_resize/sws_path/tvasports_prod/cd65bb43-f9f5-41af-a6c5-a799f867dbef_TVASPORTS_WEB.jpg?quality=80&size=1080x607,5x&version=1)
wait what
more updates later tonight
EDIT: Canadiens 3rd, Hurricanes 2nd, Sabres 1st. Not bad. So the order is more or less the same as before except the Canadiens jumped by one place up and the Hurricanes got ridiculously lucky.
The Winnipeg Jets are one game away from reaching the 3rd round for the first time in Jets history (including the 1972-1996 team)
Woohoo Jets leads Vegas Golden Knights 1-0 in the 3rd round!
So it's NHL playoffs and my Jets are leading 2-0 in game 5.
@Juju how is your team doing in the playoffs this year? :trollface:
Eh, I've been out of the loop about hockey these days, the Canadiens being woefully average, but the Penguins losing to the Islanders certainly was something, as well as the Lightning losing to the Blue Jackets, both 4-0. Kinda hopeful for the Leafs these days.
I kinda wish for a Leafs vs. Jets in finals, why not.
it's bracket time (https://bracketchallenge.nhl.com/)
It's been crazy this year so far xD
I tried doing it right now but it won't let me enter the goals for the final ???
EDIT NVM, I found out how:
(https://img.ourl.ca/nhl2020.png)