NHL 2021

[Jim at Gentex]

OK...here is our first official NHL thread!

The league was scheduled for a January 1st start, but that has been pushed out to the 13th.
Training camps are scheduled to start January 3rd, so they will be abbreviated for sure.
Hopefully most of the players will report to camp healthy and in playing shape, or close to it.
They won't have much time to get into rhythm, so the teams who gel the quickest will probably have an advantage.

The really weird part will be geographic realignment of the divisions to accommodate COVID restrictions.
A new Canadian division will be formed so that teams will not have to cross the border while restrictions are still in place.
So 4 divisions; Canadian Division with all 8 Canadian teams, An Eastern US Division, a combined Central and South US Division, and a Western US Division.

I think the plan is for everyone to play inter-divisional games only for the regular season (shortened to 56 games), then enter the playoffs in a 'bubble' as they did in 2020, with all teams under lock-down and playing all playoff games in one arena.  

None of these plans are finalized yet, so some things may still change.
But anyway, we will have NHL hockey in some form, so that's the important thing!  

So let the smack talk begin right here and now!

LET'S GO PENS!!  
LET'S GO PENS!!  
LET'S GO PENS!!  

 

[marshal]

I don't think they've finalized the division alignment yet, but I really hope they don't throw the Wild in the Western division.  9pm games suck.

[Jim at Gentex]

I don't think they've finalized the division alignment yet, but I really hope they don't throw the Wild in the Western division.  9pm games suck.

Yeah, some things can still change.
They originally had Pittsburgh in that Central / South division, which would have sucked for us missing out on our rivalries with the Flyers and Rangers.

Earlier I made a mistake...there are 7 Canadian teams, not 8.  
Playing everyone in your division 7 or 8 times, I think that Montreal vs. Vancouver travel will get very old very quickly for the players, but everyone will just have to suck it up and keep playing.  

[Dan_AKA_ROY23]

Go Jackets!  8-)

[Tim Johnson]

Chicago and Detroit are in the same division this year so the rivalry is back for at least one year.  

[Jim at Gentex]

[quote="Tim Johnson" post_id=400 time=1608195416 user_id=68]
Chicago and Detroit are in the same division this year so the rivalry is back for at least one year.  
[/quote]

Yeah it must have been weird for long-time fans when they changed that to begin with.
Some rivalries are just meant to be!

Well the players' union agreed to the terms of the new season, so I guess the NHL Board of Governors just has to give final approval.  
I think they are still trying to come up with a way to reduce travel for the Canadian division.
I think they are considering just playing all of their games at a central location like Winnipeg, which really does make sense.
Since the arenas are empty anyway, it shouldn't make too much difference to the fans as long as the tv schedule can be worked out.

[Jim at Gentex]

Well the training camps are under way, and the boys will hit the ice next Wednesday to start the season with no exhibition games.
First game out of the gate will be Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia @ 5:30 PM ET on Wednesday, so there's nothing like starting with your cross-state rival!
 

Prolly will take a few games for the boys to really get their legs under them and start clicking, but with the compressed 56 game schedule there won't be much room for error.  The first few games might not be too pretty, but everybody is starting cold with a record of 0-0 so we'll see what happens.

Either way, me and my Mrs. will have some cold brews and hot popcorn ready to go on Wednesday night!  

LET'S GO PENS!!  
LET'S GO PENS!!  
LET'S GO PENS!!  

[Jim at Gentex]

Three games on tonight, boys!!

Pittsburgh / Philly
Montreal / Toronto
Chicago / Tampa Bay

It might not be pretty, but it sure will be fun to watch hockey again!      

[Dan_AKA_ROY23]

:HIJACK ALERT:

Cavs involved in a blockbuster trade (Rockets trade James Harden to Nets in a deal that ultimately involved 4 teams).

I guess we got two pretty good players and didn't give up much. Jarrett Allen a talented 22 year old 6'11 center from the Nets was the big catch for us.

[Dan_AKA_ROY23]

[hijack]

[media]https://twitter.com/i/status/1349468818612084738">https://twitter.com/i/status/1349468818612084738[/media]
Sums up Cavs getting Jarrett Allen from blockbuster trade. LOL

[/hijack]

[Jim at Gentex]

HEY!!!
Get that NBA crap outta here!  

Meh Pens played well for about 45 minutes, but unfortunately the games are 60 minutes long.  
Looked to me like they just ran out of gas at the end.
Philly looks very good, and should be in contention for the Stanley Cup this year.

Rematch Friday.
I hope our boys do better the second time...

[Dan_AKA_ROY23]

How do the Blue Jackets look this year?

Oh, and the Vegas Golden Knights?

My brother lives in Vegas so those are my two favorite teams.

[Jim at Gentex]

Columbus got bumped to the Central / South division, so the Pens won't see them unless they both get into the playoffs.
Every team made moves in the off season, so I'm not sure if Columbus got better or worse.

Defenseman Deryk Engelland retired from Vegas, but they went out and signed Alex Pietrangelo from St. Louis, who was probably the best defenseman available.  

Sad to see Deryk go because my wife and I watched him play his whole minor league career and some of his NHL career in the Penguins organization before landing in Vegas as an original member of the expansion team. He was a hard-nosed player on the ice, and just an all-around great guy both inside and outside of the locker room.

We wish Deryk all the best as he will be continuing to work in the Knights system in some capacity.
Vegas and Colorado are definitely the teams to beat in the West division as of now.

[marshal]

it's too bad I can't actually watch any of the games since there's no streaming service outside of AT&T that has Fox Sports, and blackout restrictions are idiotic.  I need to get a VPN set up...

[marshal]

yup, definitely need to get a way to watch this team.  Kaprizov is going to be fun to watch.