Weber to Philly is huge.. they're gonna be top runners for the Cup this season.

Nashville should match... they can't let Weber go, but they will have trouble affording him. I feel bad for Preds fans.

 

But hooray Minnesota has Parise and Suter! Next year will be awesome.

Apparently Nash to NYR for Erixion, Dubinsky, Anisimov and a first...

Nashville was able to match Philly's offer for Weber. Nashville may take a few seasons to rebuild around him and Rinne, but this is a positive long term move for the organization.

 

Sucks for Philly as they could have really used a defender like him to save Bryzgalov from another embarrassing playoff performance.

Weber alone isn't enough to save Bryz lol.

Nashville matches and thanks Philly for locking up Weber longterm without having to give up an NTC/NMC. Lol.

Looking forward to the new season.

 

Oh... wait. :wall:

Lolz.

 

Bettman vs. Fehr - the most epic hockey scrap in the last decade.

Heh ...

 

I really wanted to go to that Winter Classic too :(.

^ There's still the GLI (which State may or may not be playing in this year, I forget) and the Griffins, you live close enough (~1.5hours) to make a trip every once in a while. That's the only reason I regret going to Tech, too far from my beloved Griffins. But we put the beat down on LSSU last night, so I'm cool with it.

I don't have my car on campus, so going to see the Griffins isn't really an option. I can watch the Plymouth Whalers in the OHL and my old high school when I go home, though. If all else fails, I have season tickets for the hockey games at State at least. We will be playing in the GLI during my Christmas break, so I will go to that if I have the chance.

Did you actually get a WC ticket? I think it would be nice to go, but I imagine people who will be buying those tickets will be the mature crowd.

That crowd is probably the only crowd that can afford them...

I don't have tickets to the Winter Classic. I haven't looked at the prices either, but I just assumed they'd be around $75 since it's at such a huge stadium and they want to set an attendance record.

 

Edit: I could probably manage the $89 tickets, but nothing more than $130. Probably won't find cheap tickets even if there is a game.

Sorry to double post, but this thread's been dead for a while thanks to the lockout. However, the thread is for ice hockey, not just the NHL.

 

Anyway, I went to my first college hockey game last night and had the opportunity to watch Michigan State rout Michigan 7-2. The atmosphere was great and the student section was really passionate. I saw one of my brother's friends score a goal, which was ironic because he was at a Plymouth Whalers game where he watched one of my friends play.

 

Most importantly, it was really nice getting my hockey fix.

The only game I have ever been to was OHL, London Knights vs Kitchener Rangers. I only went to that because my aunt won the tickets. I did have a ticket to the pre-season Leafs/Flyers game in London, but since it was cancelled... Last I checked, the arena was still holding out hope the game will happen. I can still get my money back any time, though. I'll wait until I really need it,or they start refunding all tickets.

There are rumors floating around that the lockout will be over by Sunday night and we will see the first puck drop of a 50-56 game season on the 20th. Let's hope for the best. I'll start off with my playoff predictions:

 

West:

1. St. Louis

2. Minnesota

3. San Jose

4. Vancouver

5. LA

6. Phoenix

7. Detroit

8. Chicago

 

East:

1. New York (Rangers)

2. Boston

3. Tampa Bay

4. Pittsburgh

5. Philadelphia

6. Washington

7. New Jersey

8. Toronto

 

New York and Minnesota probably improved the most in the off season while Nashville will need to begin to rebuild. Without Lidstrom, Detroit will have to creep into the playoffs at a low spot and, if they make it at all, should expect an early exit. LA is returning most of the important players on their roster. I don't see them winning their division, but I wouldn't count them out to repeat. Toronto seemingly started losing games on purpose near the end of last season, presumably for better draft picks. I don't see their rookies making much of an impact, but I would be surprised if they didn't contend for a playoff spot when the East is so weak outside of the Atlantic division.

I hope so, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

I'm going to wait until the inevitable pre-season trade frenzy is over before making any standings predictions.

Anybody else looking forward to the World Juniors?

Canada is going to kick some ass this year and take back the gold :razz:

Good thing I didn't get my hopes up eh? What a mess....

Yep, I got my hopes up too soon. They took everything off the table last night. I have never heard anyone so mad as the small man last night. The guys on TSN didn't really know what to say after that speech so they practically just cut straight to Thursday Night Football. Unbelievable.

...not even going to comment on the lockout.

 

 

BUT World Juniors are coming up and it should be pretty awesome this year, especially with the addition of a bunch of players who'd normally be playing in the NHL instead. I'm not even bothered about the fact that most of Canada's games are on at 4am since my sleep schedule is already pushed so late.

Psyched because this is probably the first time in 20 years Tech has someone on the world juniors roster, Blake Pietila will probably be representing the US this year.

Juniors this year should be great. Goaltending is still going to be a weakness for Canada though...