I have some good news and some bad news; the bad news is that this is officially the last post in the history of this blog. It's been fun but it hasn't really seemed to generate as much interest as I would've liked. I just feel that this isn't very original (there are tons of hockey blogs out there) and I'm never really going to get much of an audience. The good news is that I am planning to start a new blog. I am not completely sure yet what it'll be about but I'd like it to have something to do with hockey. When I do decide I'll post a link to the new blog on here.
It's been fun; hopefully the new blog will have more success.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
2008-09 predictions
Well it's been a while since my last post. and after this it could be a while before my next one. It seems now that my life is only gonna get busier and I'm not sure at the moment whether or not I'm going to continue this blog. I won't be deleting it or anything just yet, it will just sit here until I know what I want to do with it. Anyway, here's my predictions for the upcoming hockey season.
Eastern Conference
1. Montreal Canadiens
The biggest question is can Carrey Price carry the load by himself?
2. Pittsburgh Penguins
They lost some players but the core is still in place.
3. Washington Capitals
Young guns Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Green will only get better.
4. Philadelphia Flyers
5. New York Rangers
6. New Jersey Devils
7. Carolina Hurricanes
8. Boston Bruins
9. Ottawa Senators
10. Tampa Bay Lightning
11. Buffalo Sabres
12. Atlanta Thrashers
13. Florida Panthers
14. New York Islanders
15. Toronto Maple Leafs
Western Conference
1. Detroit Red Wings
Defending champs have only gotten better
2. Dallas Stars
One step away last year, one step closer this year.
3. Calgary Flames
Bertuzzi adds both more toughness and more scoring up front
4. Anaheim Ducks
5. San Jose Sharks
6. Minnesota Wild
7. Chicago Blackhawks
8. Edmonton Oilers
9. Columbus Blue Jackets
10. Nashville Predators
11. Vancouver Canucks
12. Phoenix Coyotes
13. Colorado Avalanche
14. St. Louis Blues
15. Los Angeles Kings
Eastern Conference
1. Montreal Canadiens
The biggest question is can Carrey Price carry the load by himself?
2. Pittsburgh Penguins
They lost some players but the core is still in place.
3. Washington Capitals
Young guns Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Green will only get better.
4. Philadelphia Flyers
5. New York Rangers
6. New Jersey Devils
7. Carolina Hurricanes
8. Boston Bruins
9. Ottawa Senators
10. Tampa Bay Lightning
11. Buffalo Sabres
12. Atlanta Thrashers
13. Florida Panthers
14. New York Islanders
15. Toronto Maple Leafs
Western Conference
1. Detroit Red Wings
Defending champs have only gotten better
2. Dallas Stars
One step away last year, one step closer this year.
3. Calgary Flames
Bertuzzi adds both more toughness and more scoring up front
4. Anaheim Ducks
5. San Jose Sharks
6. Minnesota Wild
7. Chicago Blackhawks
8. Edmonton Oilers
9. Columbus Blue Jackets
10. Nashville Predators
11. Vancouver Canucks
12. Phoenix Coyotes
13. Colorado Avalanche
14. St. Louis Blues
15. Los Angeles Kings
Thursday, August 14, 2008
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.
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 BlackhawksThe 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.
Monday, July 28, 2008
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.
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.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
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.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
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.
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.
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