NHL 2014-15 Season Thread

Araxen

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Hawks first pre-season game is tonight against the Wings! It's going to be a fun season for us! Go Hawks!
 

Eomer

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I refuse to be optimistic about the Oilers' prospects this year, because that's just lead to heartbreak and sadness the past 8 years. I'll settle for incremental improvements overall and some good bounce back seasons for guys like Yakupov and Schultz. Hopefully Hall continues to be a fucking beast as he has been for the past 3 years and stays healthy, RNH makes another step and puts up 60+ points, Eberle does the same, and the several signings we made don't blow the fuck up in our faces.

Maybe this will be the year that Hall gets his due in terms of recognition around the league. I don't think there's a lot of people aware of shit like this:

Hall's 130 points over the past two seasons are the 6th most the NHL, trailing only Crosby (160), Ryan Getzlaf (136), Ovechkin (135), Claude Giroux (134) and Phil Kessel (132).

During those two years Hall is 5th in points-per-game at 1.08/game, behind Crosby (1.38), Evgeni Malkin (1.15), Steven Stamkos (1.14) and Getzlaf (1.12).
Source:http://oilersnation.com/2014/9/16/ha...nished-product
 

Merrith

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Trotz in DC, big FA blueline signings...Kuznetsov for a full season. Some reasons for optimism I guess with the Caps, but I don't think we'll be a contender. Still holes in the lineup. The blueline should be a lot better overall though. At least should get back to the playoffs.
 

Arch

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I refuse to be optimistic about the Oilers' prospects this year, because that's just lead to heartbreak and sadness the past 8 years. I'll settle for incremental improvements overall and some good bounce back seasons for guys like Yakupov and Schultz. Hopefully Hall continues to be a fucking beast as he has been for the past 3 years and stays healthy, RNH makes another step and puts up 60+ points, Eberle does the same, and the several signings we made don't blow the fuck up in our faces.

Maybe this will be the year that Hall gets his due in terms of recognition around the league. I don't think there's a lot of people aware of shit like this:



Source:http://oilersnation.com/2014/9/16/ha...nished-product
The Oilers minor league team is where I live now, was going to check them out. Always been an Avs fan myself but worth a look I figure. Any up and coming talent to watch out for?
 

Miguex

The lad himself
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Fat chance of the caps doing anything worth noticing but Trotz is great and will start turning it around for them. The problem is Ovechkin, and that's not going to get fixed. Kings looked really solid already in their preseason games, will probably have a great shot at it again but every team seems to tune their coach out after a while so who knows if this is that year,
Although I'd like to think with all the success the last three years they are smart enough to keep paying attention.
 

Eomer

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The Oilers minor league team is where I live now, was going to check them out. Always been an Avs fan myself but worth a look I figure. Any up and coming talent to watch out for?
Bogdan Yakimov is looking like he might be a pretty good player in a couple years, once he adjusts to the North American style of play. He turns 20 in a couple weeks, but he's already 6'5" and apparently 230lbs. Most of the prospect website list him as 205 or so, but the Oilers website has said 232:Bogdan Yakimov Edmonton Oilers - 2013-2014 Stats - Edmonton Oilers - Team

I don't know that there's a lot of "high-end" type prospects on the farm, though. There's a lot of "meat" coming, big guys who probably won't be more than 20-30 point guys if they manage to make the NHL. Jujhar Khaira is another big center, but every indication is that he's going to be fairly limited offensively. There's a bunch of strong D prospects like Oscar Klefbom, Dillon Simpson, Martin Gernat, and David Musil that will be on the farm this year. Only Gernat out of those is expected to put up a lot of offense.

One guy that might light things up is Vladimir Tkachev, if he's signed by the team. He went undrafted last year because he's a fucking midget, but he's unbelievably talented. If he doesn't get signed, he'll go back in to the draft for next year. edit: whoops, my bad, even if the club does sign him, he'd have to go back to junior this year, as he's underage. It's either junior or the NHL for him, he can't go to the AHL, and there's no chance he makes the big team.

Most of the Oiler's high end draft picks are either in the NHL now, or they're going back to junior (Nurse and Chase). And most of their mid-round picks from the last few years have been D. So there's not going to be a lot of flashy forwards down on the farm.
 

Grimmlokk

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Pens are going to shock the world. Bennett, Crosby, Malkin, Dupuis, and Letang will stay healthy. Fleury will build on his competent playoffs and finally become the elite goalie he was always supposed to be. All the offseason moves I was worried about will pan out. Spalling gets 20+ goals anchoring the 4th line and playing some winger. Hornqvist scores 35 playing with Geno. Downie and Carcillo get no suspensions and play well.

82-0, 16-0 playoffs. Best player in the world finally gets his well deserved 2nd Cup.
 

Merrith

Golden Baronet of the Realm
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Fat chance of the caps doing anything worth noticing but Trotz is great and will start turning it around for them. The problem is Ovechkin, and that's not going to get fixed. Kings looked really solid already in their preseason games, will probably have a great shot at it again but every team seems to tune their coach out after a while so who knows if this is that year,
Although I'd like to think with all the success the last three years they are smart enough to keep paying attention.
Good to see the Canadian media has bashed the Ovechkin is the problem thing into everyone's heads. He's been a concern, but certainly not THE concern, especially not last year. Finally having an NHL blueline will solve the #1 issue from last season.

Grimm...don't be an ass. The East is weak as shit, Caps can easily make playoffs in that shitshow.
 

lurkingdirk

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This is Toronto's year. That's right. I believe.


k8cjqda.gif
 

Ishad

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datsyuk is out for a month and mantha is injured too. Season off to a great start already.
 

Grimmlokk

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Grimm...don't be an ass. The East is weak as shit, Caps can easily make playoffs in that shitshow.
If I closed my eyes and threw random shit at the keyboard while in an NHL thread it would make an anti-Caps post. It's not something either of us have control over.
 

Slaythe

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Excited again for the Wild this year. Vanek is declining, but we signed him to such a friendly contract. He'll help in the short term. Questions on the bottom of our blue line and in goal.

Seriously though...

Parise-Granlund-Pominville
Vanek-Koivu-Nino
Cooke-Haula-Coyle

Those are 3 lines that can compete with any team in the league. Minnesota has NEVER had that much depth.
 

Eomer

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+/-? Really? You realize that it's been pretty much abandoned as a useful stat right? I mean I'm not disagreeing that Slaythe is very much overvaluing the Wild's top 3 lines, but using +/- to do so is fucking stupid.