EDI-Flyer

It might look pricey now but in three or four years when the cap goes up that 8 mill will look cheap... Welcome to the new NHL.

Yeah, I'd kinda seen that from TripAdvisor on the hotel front. Will certainly keep you posted.

Downie has always had it in him IMO, he has certainly matured over the last few years. As long as he avoids the dumb suspensions he will be a force for them. I remember one of the scouting reports on him prior to the draft quoting a scout as saying "you win with guys like this on your team, with his grit he belongs in the W(HL)" Definitely those are all factors but for me I think the addition of Roy has been the key differentiator. His experience of working in the Q with young kids seems to translate well to a young team and he seems to have imbued them with confidence above all else, as well as the attitude that Yave mentioned.

Well, here we are four games into the season and the Aves sit at 4-0, joint top of the West with San Jose. Moreover, whilst they have been more or less as billed on the offensive front, the real surprise so far has come on the blue line. Thus far they have conceded three goals in those four games, three of which have come against pretty good offensive teams (Toronto, Boston and Anaheim). Indeed they pitched a shutout against Boston last night with Giguere stoning all attempts by Boston. While I don't think they will remain atop the standings for the rest of the season I think they could well make the play offs if they continue to buy into Patrick Roy's game plan. Any way you cut it they are a very entertaining team to watch and I will certainly be making the effort to watch a fair few of their games.

Vancouver Giants traded a conditional 2nd round pick to the Saskatoon Blades for Dalton Thrower. The condition was that they would receive the pick if Thrower was returned to junior hockey. Well, he has been, and as a result is a Vancouver Giant. Moreover he has been named captain of a still relatively young and inexperienced squad. Overall a pretty good move to provide veteran leadership and a solid presence on the blue line. This from Vancouvergiants.com

Old school, and I like it...!!!

Again, I don't think they are cheering because there is a shootout. They aren't going "yay, we have a shootout", more they are cheering for their respective teams and trying to put the other team off. Secondly, international crowds are usually far more lively than any crowd you will see in the NHL...

@Samifan Thanks for the update! Still not certain of my plans but would love to take in a game if possible. I enjoy watching junior hockey in Canada and it sounds like the same kind of set up, lot more reasonable prices and a chance to see the stars of tomorrow in action.

Ed? Is that you???

+1 on all the above points...

Sorry hf but on this I couldn't disagree with you more. Horsecrap! They play OT now, don't they? Just play 5 minutes of OT and if it is a tie then so be it! That is their prerogative... and when they miss the playoffs by 1 point then doubtless they will regret it. But I have seen plenty of games where both sides have played well and didn't deserve to lose. The need for a winner and loser is a very North American trait IMO, the rest of the world seems to get along just fine with ties in their sports... While they may cheer during shootouts, I don't see fans cheering because there is a shootout. That is my experience anyway, YMMV. Sadly, I fear you are correct on this.

Indeed he has looked good, Howie, light's out so far.

@activestick "Why all the Ed Snider hate?" Because the man is living in the past with no concept of how the organisation needs to change to be successful. Never a patient guy at the best of times but now as he approaches the end of his time on earth his short term-ism is killing the franchise. There are many other reasons but I don't have the time to fit them into one post! I don't doubt his commitment to winning, just his ability to contribute to that happening in any meaningful way.

@ruxpin I do think you have forgotten one of the more basic actions needed... Announce on TSN and NBC that ALL players are available for trade, and indeed that we don't necessarily seek value in return (See Sharp, P and Bobrovsky, S)

@Spider-Man NL Like what you've done for the preview there, nice mix of stats and photos.

@Samifan Just wondered if you did go to the game you were talking about above? May be in upstate New York in February and in a position to take in a game. Just wondered what your overall impressions were. Thanks

Gabriel Landeskog sat out Friday night's 3-1 win over the Nashville Predators with what is reported to be a leg injury. Per SBNation Patrick Roy believes he will be available to travel with the Avalanche on their road trip next week. While they seemed to manage okay without him against Nashville you better believe the Av's would like to have their captain back and fit as soon as possible. http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2013/10/4/4803400/gabriel-landeskog-injury-avalanche

So, following in the footsteps of Bobby Ryan and Mikhail Grabovski, Clarke McArthur shares that he too wouldn't piss on Randy Carlyle if he was on fire. Okay, he doesn't actually say that, he actually says that he wouldn't speak to him if he passed him in the hallway. It all seems to be going well for Randy at the moment in TO but long term you have to wonder what his shelf life is before the players start to tune him out. Just hypothesizing here, but suppose you get Kessel, Clarkson, Lupul, Bozak and Reemer (all players on long term contracts) and they essentially stop playing for Carlyle. You can pretty much guarantee in this situation that the coach is the one leaving, not the players. Does Randy Carlyle need to re-evaluate his approach to players? I would say that if he wants a longer term future in the NHL that yes he needs to, and be open to change. The day of Mike Keenan has passed... Full article can be found here: http://www.senatorsextra.com/main/macarthur-rips-former-coach-carlyle

So it's two games in to the season but already Nathan MacKinnon is looking like the real deal and a worthy no 1 overall pick. He had 2 assists in the his first game (a 6-1 blowout of the Anaheim Ducks), the first of which was a lovely backhanded no look pass from behind the net to Jamie McGinn. The second, whilst not quite as pretty, was still a nice move. http://youtu.be/M_d1ej0nGJQ Having watched a replay of the 1st game and highlights of the 2nd (where he also had 1 assist) I thought his hockey IQ shone through brightly with his vision and overall head up play. He looked very fast to me, cutting past several d-men like they just weren't there (albeit the first game was against the Ducks, whose defensive issues are such that they are allegedly looking towards the Flyers for help ). From what I can see the only area of real weakness is his face-off skill (18.2% through 2 games according to NHL.com) which is something that should improve with a little more experience. Win or lose, the Avalanche are going to be a fun team to watch this year - the offensive style of Roy and his passion for the game + a juiced up offence should make for some interesting hockey. If MacKinnon stays on his line I reckon Jamie McGinn would be a pretty good sleeper fantasy pick (albeit my fantasy hockey history is not the strongest ).

Per Frank Seravalli - Frank Seravalli ‏@DNFlyers5mFlyers announce they've sent Scott Laughton back to OHL Oshawa without playing a game. Kris Newbury is recalled from AHL to be 13th forward. What the heck was the point in keeping him in the first place then? Presumably cap related...

I do agree with the general premise of the article - that no one knows what we are going to get this season. Whilst many familiar flaws were on display (zone entry, lack of cohesion between D and the forwards to name but two) I take issue with his statement that the Flyers came out flat. The first half of the game they were flying, swarming the Leafs and restricting their opportunities. I couldn't really fault the effort either. I also thought Mason played a strong game and VLC showed enough to suggest that he could really help the second line guys. I would also say that I agree with his point that "there has to be some “uh-oh” feeling inside", although maybe that's just my inner Chicken Little coming to the fore...

Here is a few reasons why. During the 80's when teams like the Islanders and Oilers dominated everybody the game was so much more focused on offense than it is today. Teams like New York and Edmonton who had completely stacked offensive lines took control because that's how the game was played. The team with the best offense was usually going to win, defense wasn't exactly prioritized and goaltending wasn't as perfected into an art as it is today. The game was just played so much more different then than it was now. On top of all of that, there are more teams in the NHL than there were in the 80's and 70's. The game now is much more perfected and the gap between putting emphasis on Offense vs. Defense vs. Goaltending is much, much narrower today than it use to be. I would say that the salary cap also plays a large part in this... Good teams that win can't afford to keep all their players. How many teams have you seen the last few years that won and then lost key members of their squad to FA or trades? Chicago managed to keep their core intact but lost Ladd, Byfuglien and later Campbell to name but three. The 09 Pens lost Rob Scuderi. In addition to this the sheer volume of hockey that is played now takes it's toll. Back in the 70's and 80's training was far less punishing than it is today and that also has an impact. Agreed.

Yep, hence my comment about him getting plenty of ice time... Not like they need to relegate him to the fourth line with 6 minutes a game...

@flyercanuck The rationale for the Domi suspension according to the OHL Blow to the head Left feet Injury on play 4 games And yet Owen Sound's Stefano Pezzetta gets suspended 8 games for this hit against Barrie http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/video/index/id/da81a5a2770c30ec7a4049237fafee74 citing Player in danger zone Not in possession of puck Unsuspecting player Check from behind Injury on play IMO points 2,3 and 5 apply to Domi as well. I mean in the normal scheme of things you don't expect a player to physically launch himself at you elbow first when you don't have possession of the puck... Inconsistent would seem to be a charitable description!

I didn't see much of the Belleville series so I'll take your word for it. But for a guy who has handed out what can only be described as draconian punishments elsewhere he sure seems to be looking at this case with rose tinted spectacles. Or should that be green black and gold tinted spectacles...?