NHL 2014-2015 regular season running thread

Having done both radio and television in the past, I suppose I'm somewhat reticent to be overly critical of broadcasters due to knowing how difficult it can be. I cut most quite a bit of slack. I've only recently started watching Hockey Central and have enjoyed what I've seen so far.

 

Fair enough. But you'd probably like TSN coverage better.

 

For a while a few years back, the Flyers' AHL team played at the Spectrum. I used to imagine how the AHL players must have felt knowing they literally were just a parking lot away from the Show.

 

Hockey Central would be a million times better if they dropped Kypreos

 

I think I've reached the point where the All-Star Game needs to go away. Any sport where the players don't try is ridiculous. With all the international competition now happening, dump this farce. Hockey's biggest attributes are speed and physical play. After the first period, I told my wife that this is boring. They were mostly skating in slo-mo. They knew they weren't going to get hit so they were standing straight up. Why do they even invite defensemen? or referees? Crawford was the only goalie who seemed to be trying. Why didn't they give Johansen the MVP car before the game? Or he and Foligno could have flipped a coin for it.

 

My wife was casually watching and wondering why there were so many scores when there was a goal where Doughty stood straight up and backed away as the shooter neared. Not even a half-assed poke check. I said "that, honey, is why there are so many goals."

 

It seems strange to go away from East-West All-Star teams when so much emphasis is being placed on divisions in the playoffs.

My All-Star solution: Each division has a team of nine skaters, six defensemen and a goalie. Atlantic plays Metropolitan for a period and Pacific plays Central in the other with the winners playing the third period for some sort of reward.

Home ice in the Final isn't good, but perhaps there could be a winner-take-all cash pot or a new car for everyone on the winning team

 

And it looks like Calgary will have its affiliate in Stockton to round out the California quintet. AHL will apparently make it official on Thursday:

AHL to make ‘major announcement’ tomorrow; will be about new California division | ProHockeyTalk

As someone who liked to go see the Gulls games when I was in San Diego in the '90s, this is a welcome development.

 

I think it's going to be fun. We saw some games at the Orleans in Vegas a couple of years ago when the Wranglers were in the ECHL. In fact, we made a weekend trip when they played Friday, Saturday and Sunday. (It was weird that they played the same opponent Friday and Sunday, and a different opponent Saturday.) All the seats were good seats at the 9,000-seat arena.
My daughter was talking to a member of the Ducks booster club recently. The club takes a trip each year and tries to go to two games. This year the trip is to Washington and the organizer was trying to decide which other city to visit. He was leaning toward Tampa. Some of the members told him they should go to Norfolk to see the Baby Ducks instead. And that's what they're doing.

 

With the exception of San Jose, of course, all have been in the ECHL or another circuit in the last few years, so its not like they're breaking into new markets, either.

 

Evander Kane decides to have shoulder surgery and will be out a minimum of four months, maybe six. Next stop? Don't know, but he's going to draw a whole bunch of interest.

When St. Louis makes a transaction with its AHL club, I spin nostalgic reminded that the Blackhawks once had their AHL team in St. Louis.

 

I was listening to the Ducks-Predators on the radio last night and during an intermission they were talking about Kane being on the outs in Winnipeg (healthy scratch after a road dress code violation or something like that) and how he might fit on left wing with Getzlaf and Perry. The Ducks announcers (Steve Carroll and Dan Wood) initially said he would be a terrific addition to that line, then proceeded from there to label Kane as a bad guy, bad teammate, bad whatever else. He wouldn't fit in with a team that has all good guys and great team chemistry. That was before the announcement of the surgery for Kane.