Summer Recap

Well the summer is almost over and thats good news to us hockey fans. In only a couple of months the NHL comes out of hibernation and the potentially very interesting 2008-09 season will begin. It's been a very interesting summer in the NHL with a lot of player movement. Some teams are looking a lot better- Others, not so much. Here are the winners and losers of the 2008 NHL offseason.


Winners:

Detroit Red Wings

The Stanley Cup champions look like a safe bet to repeat after signing Marian Hossa and Ty Conklin. Hossa adds even more firepower to this already scary team while Conklin can take the pressure off Chris Osgood during the regular season. What amazes me is that this team still has cap room to add someone else through a trade if need be.

Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers are coming off two straight season without playing a playoff game. That streak could end soon though after a couple of key offseason additions. Eric Cole is a solid player who doesn't necessarily put up big numbers but will provide great leadership for the kids. The Oil also get another solid prospect in Marc-Antoine Pouliot.

Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks came within a few points of finally ending their post-season drought last year, and a couple of offseason pickups should provide those few points and possibly many more this season. Puck-mover Brian Campbell gives the 'Hawks the powerplay quaterback Defenseman they've been looking for for years. Cristobal Huet Will likely split time with Khabibulin during the season giving Chicago a solid goaltending tandem.

Dallas Stars

Dallas Came so close to winning it all last season. It seemed all they needed was that one player who could put them over the hump. The Stars got that player in Sean Avery. Anybody who knows me knows that I'am a big fan of this guy. Does he cross the line sometimes? absolutely. Would I want him on my team with the cup on the line? absolutely. Avery has such a well-rounded game. He can grind it out, he can fight, he can score, and most importantly, other players hate playing against him. Can you imagine getting your head around facing Avery and Steve Ott possibly on the same line in a big playoff game?


Losers:

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Leafs really sent a message to their fans this year. They serious about taking the big prize in June. Of course the prize I'm talking about is teen phenom John Tavares, set to go 1st overall in this years draft. Toronto did make some progress though. Jeff Finger Gives the team a nice way to get rid of excess money from all the sellouts while Curtis Joseph comes back to Toronto probably just to say goodbye.

Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks made a ridiculously big offer to Mats Sundin and in the process lost one of the faces of the franchise in Markus Naslund. If Sundin does decide to don the blue and green or black and orange or whatever it is the Canucks are wearing right now it might pay off, but 20 million over two years is an awful lot to pay for a player who could very well be past his prime.

Los Angeles Kings

The Kings needed to do something, anything. but they didn't. Gabe Gauthier, Erik Ersberg, Matt Moulson, and Peter Harrold were among their biggest signings. Drew Doughty provides a lot of hope for Kings fans for the future, but this season will be another long one in Hollywood.

New name and Third Jersey News

I've got some interesting stuff today. First off, the name change/tweak. I felt that Ben Talks Hockey was too unoriginal so I changed it to include my nickname instead.

Anyway, as most of you know, several teams in the league will be introducing alternate uniforms this year and now we know what many of them will look like. Chris from Icethetics has been able to locate a list of the teams that will have third jerseys and a short discription of what they will look like. Here's a link http://icethetics.blogspot.com/2008/07/all-18-third-jerseys-described.html.

Be sure to check out the rest of his blog too. This guy has quite the phenomenon going. Some of the artwork and the ideas he gets for the blog are nothing short of spectacular.

Anyway thats all for now, next up will be a look back at the offseason and who the winners and losers were this past summer.

Regular Features for 08-09

I announced earlier in the summer that I would be adding some regular features to the blog for the upcoming season. I finally decided on a few and I made up a list. I'm still going to post random stuff sometimes but I felt that this thing really needed some structure and I think these features will make it much better.

1. Changing The Game. this will be a once a week feature about the history of the game. each week I'll post a hockey story from some point in hockey history that, in any way, changed the game.

2. Jersey Gallery. The Hockey News discarded their "Jersey Hound" feature and I'm bringing it back. Each week I'll post a picture of a jersey from any point in history and basically just analyze it.

3. Players of the Week. Obviously this is another weekly feature that pretty much speaks for itself. each week I'll post (in my opinion) the top forward, top defenseman, and top goalie of the week.

4. Player Profiles. This monthly feature will be dedicated to the less-recognized players in the league. It will include their stats, personal info, and a small write up. this is another one I'm really looking forward to doing.

So thats it. These features will all start up around October 1st (of course the season-related ones like players of the week will start when the season starts). hope you guys enjoy this.

New Faces in New Places

Well it's been a while since my last post. Now that the free agent frenzy has calmed down a little, i have some pictures of some of the players who have signed with new clubs. This will also serve as a sneak peek at EA Sports' NHL 09. Enjoy.

New Features for 08-09

Well the entry draft is friday and unfortunately I'm gonna be busy with a lot of stuff between now and then so I'm gonna have to cancel my draft preview post. However I would like to anounce that I'll be adding some regular features to the blog once the season gets going again.
Most of them will probably be weekly features. I have several ideas but i have to narrow it down to about 3 or 4. If anyone reading this has any ideas let me know, I'll make my decision and anounce it around mid-july.

Top Ten Stories of the 2007-08 Hockey Season

10. Golden Boys

Team Canada defeats Sweden in the gold medal game to take gold at the World Junior Hockey Championships for the fourth straight year. Brad Marchand and Shawn Matthias lead the way on offense with defenceman Drew Doughty taking tournament MVP honours.

9. Gaining an Edge

The newly designed RBK Edge jerseys make their debut with mixed reaction from the fans. For many teams, (Nashville, Tampa, Ottawa) the changes were generally welcomed, while other teams (Edmonton, Pittsburgh, Toronto) not so much.

8. Comeback Kids

The Washington Capitals appeared to be well out of the playoffs at the beginning of the year until about the trade deadline. The Caps picked up goaltender Cristobal Huet and Sergei Fedorov and went on a surge that got them in the playoffs and ended in overtime in game 7 against the Philadelphia Flyers.

7. Falling Apart

The Ottawa Senators started off the season at the top of the league at the beginning of the year until about the trade deadline.Then goaltender Ray Emery decided to go his own way and the Sens went into a slump that almost put them out of the playoffs until the Pittsburgh Penguins put them out of their misery in 5 games

6. Rising to the Occasion

With Sidney Crosby out for a month during a critical point in the season, Evgeni Malkin picked a perfect time to step up. Finishing the season with 47 goals and 106 points, Malkin makes an interesting argument, who is the Pen's Franchise player, Crosby or Malkin?

5. Hawks Soar Again

As a diehard Chicago Blackhawks fan since, well, the Jeff Hackett and Chris Chelios days, maybe I'm a little biased on this one, but any hockey fan has to admit that it's exciting to see an original 6 team climb back to respectability. With two of the most exciting young players in the game in Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, the Hawks are finally on their way to being contenders once again.

4. Passing on the Torch

Most of the fans who attended the Rangers/Devils series this year likely came to see future hall of famer Marty Broduer preform. in the end however, they had their eye on the goaltender at the other end, Henrik Lundqvist of the Rangers. Lundqvist turned out a great preformance against the Devils, helping the Rangers take the "Seinfeld series" in 5 games.

3. The Price is Right

Many experts picked the Montreal Canadiens to finish well out of the playoffs at the beginning of the year. However, they didn't count on a 20-year-old kid carrying the team on his back all the way to a first place finish in the eastern conference. This budding Patrick Roy/Marty Brodeur/ Terry Sawchuk/ etc. blew everyone away with his preformance late in the season. He played so well that GM Bob Gainey decided to trade Cristobal Huet at the trade deadline. this was no simple flash of brilliance though, this is a kid with Stanley Cups in his future.

2. From Least to Beast

The Philadelphia Flyers entered the 2007-08 season coming off a nightmare 2006-07 campaign. Many people thought thing would be better this season, but not many believed that the Flyers would make it to the eastern conference finals. Marty Biron, having never played an NHL playoff game, played the best hockey of his career in the spring of '08 against Montreal and Washington. Summer acquisition Daniel Briere had a very good season, and players like Mike Richards and Scotty Upshall finally arrived as NHL stars, putting the Flyers back into cup contention from close to last place in only one year.

1. Penguins learn to Fly

This one started back in the summer of 2005. The Pittsburgh Penguins were the joke of the league, the only time they were ever talked about was speculation about what city would get them. When they won the draft lottery and the right to draft Sidney Crosby, that started a buzz in the city that eventually lead to the team getting a new building and remaining in Pittsburgh. Just as importantly, it lead to the Pens coming within two games of bringing home the cup for the first time since 1992. In the end the Detroit Red Wings were just to big and experienced for the team that many were comparing to the young Oilers team of the early 80s. The concern is that in a salary cap world a team normally can't support more than one world-class player on the roster (just ask the Tampa Bay Lightning). This again raises the question: do the Pens keep Crosby or Malkin?

That concludes the top Stories of an exciting year. Lets hope 2008-09 is even more exciting! Next up is a quick look at some of the prospects in the upcoming draft.

Congratulations to the 2008 Stanley Cup champions, the Detroit Red Wings

Next week will be a post on the most significant stories of the 2007-08 season.