Hull pulling for Forsberg

I do have a lot of respect for The Hockey News, but I still can't help but laugh a little when thinking about their advice to Peter Forsberg, that he should hang up the skates. I admit that I shared in the frustration with his recurring injuries over the last couple of seasons, but my disappointment was purely selfish. I felt robbed of seeing one of the greatest players ever displaying his skills on the ice. If he feels he is fit enough to play (which by his own definition is at least 100%) of course he should do so. I mean it's not like he's Eric Lindros, who last season skated around pretending to play hockey.

It seem like pretty much all of the NHL teams agree with me (why don't THN I wonder), since they all want him. The most recent team to enter the fight for his signature is the Dallas Stars. GM Doug Armstrong and his advisor Brett Hull apparently flew to Sweden just to talk to Forsberg. Not so sure he wants to end his career in Texas, but I do know that he's not done with the game.

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The Chicago Blackhawks are 2-0 against the Detroit Red Wings this season, and it looks like they could really stir things up in a Central division that looks to be closer than ever.

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Ottawa Senators-New York Rangers and New York Islanders-Philadelphia Flyers. Two great games, I'm sure. I wouldn't be surprised if the Rangers will keep their momentum at the Garden, but I suspect that the Islanders will bounce back to beat the homecoming Flyers who just had a tough trip out west.

Sundin makes history in T.O.

Mats Sundin made franchise history last night, as the Toronto Maple Leafs smashed the, so far, overperforming New York Islanders by 8-1. With 390 goals and 917 points he now holds both records, held by Darryl Sittler for so long. For his efforts he recieved all three stars of the game, and was also offered the larger media centre for his post-game interviews, which he declined. He would much rather stay in the looker room with his teammates. I guess, true to his usual gentleman manors he didn't want to make a fuss.
It has been almost twenty years since I first saw the Stockholm native play for the first time, and it's hard to imagine this is the same guy. He always had enough skill to compete with the best, but I think what has made the biggest impression on me over the years is how his leader ship has developed. He has an incredible work ethic and he leads his team by it, following such greats as Steve Yzerman and Mark Messier. Way to go Mats!

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Has anyone missed Paul Stastny's sensational start of this season? In case you have, here's a recap. He has 4 goals and 4 assists for 8 points and a +4 rating in only three games. All of the goals, of which one was a game winner, have come at even strength, and he has a shot percentage of 66.67 (6 shots). I can't wait to see what happens when this kid starts to shoot more.

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Before last night there where three winless teams, Calgary, Buffalo, and Atlanta. Since the Sabres, and epecially Ryan Miller, woke up and shut out the Thrashers 6-0, they have now left this unflattering club. The Calgary Flames will get a chance to do the same tonight as they face the Dallas Stars. My prediction is it will still be a club of two tomorrow.

Wasting talent in New York?

I can understand why a guy like Henrik Lundqvist enjoys playing for the New York Rangers, he thrives in the Manhattan lifestyle. Sure the Rangers, like the other original six teams, have tons of tradition and history going back to the latest ice age. But they are not cup material, at least not this season. And until Glen Sather realizes the importance of a solid yet speedy defense, they never will be. They are good enough to make the post season, and once there, win a few games before being ousted by a team like Carolina or Ottawa. Without Lundqvist, however, they would, while scoring a bunch of goals but allowing ever more, sink like a stone in the East River. So maybe the best carreer move for the puckstopping Swede would be to sacrifice the Big Apple party scene and relocate to a team with a somewhat brighter future, like Washington or Chicago. I would say that maybe even Edmonton might have a more exciting core of young players, but I guess he wouldn't exactly thrive out on the prairie.

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Young Carey Price made his NHL debut last night, and what a way to do it. He shut down the Pittsburgh Penguins, looked really confident (according to Habs captain Saku Koivu), and already has people in Montreal dreaming of a new Patrick Roy. No pressure, Carey.

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The Vancouver Canucks were totally humiliated in a 8-2 blowout at home against the roadtrippin' Philadelphia Flyers. Granted it's only been three games, but it seems like the Philadelphia Flyers won't be this years "Philadelphia Flyers".

Early check-up

So far all predictions have been made based on the preseason performances. Now, a few games into the regular season we can finally take a look at how the teams are doing in real competition. Yes, I know a handful of games don't really give you any real indication where the teams are heading, but still, it's been a week of games that matter. So here are a few thoughts on a couple of teams.

With Anaheim off to a terrible start, I don't think that pr-stunt in London gained any supporters in southern California. Since splitting the series against the Kings in London they have lost three straight, including one against the Blue Jackets, and starting goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere has yet to play, same goes for top blueliner Mathieu Schneider. Los Angeles aren't far behind with two straight losses.

I have to admit that the Edmonton Oilers, out of the blocks with two straight wins, are off to a better start than I thought they would. I am, however, predicting the Oilers will cash in their first loss against Detroit at the Joe tonight.

Washington, one of the teams I picked as a positive surprise this season, has yet to prove me, or all the others who have them as the dark horse, wrong. They are impressive, having rolled over both Atlanta and Carolina.

So far Ottawa is heading the pack out west. Daniel Alfredsson and Dany Heatley have seven out of nine goals so far, which could raise the question of their scoring depth , but with the scoring talent available on the roster I doubt this is a concern for coach John Paddock.

The New York Islanders are also steaming full ahead. With Mike Comrie on fire they have shut down the Buffalo Sabres twice already. Pretty good for a bunch of left-overs. This leads me to think about the Sabres losing both Chris Drury and Daniel Briere before this season. Is this an indication on how big the impact of those moves will be?

Let's get a few more games under our belt and then maybe we will get a clearer picture of it all.

Forsberg a Red Wing?

I was asked recently what I thought of the chances of Peter Forsberg playing for Detroit later this season, and I have to say chances are slim to none. Personally, I think it would be cool to see him play on a line with Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom, and I know some of the Swedish players (Zetterberg included) have tried to convince him to come. However, it seems unlikely he would ever play for another Western conference team except Colorado, should he ever return at all. Considering the now somewhat dormant rivalry between those two teams, Detroit is more likely the last team out west he would chose if he had to. According to The Hockey News, Forsberg should hang up the skates for good, as they believe he is way past his best before date. And yes, he is certainly past his prime, though that doesn't mean he's not better than most on a good day. Unfortunately the good days are dependent on him being healthy, which gets rarer by the season.

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Things were really looking up in Chicago coming into this season, and I was also a little excited about those Blackhawks. I guess Martin Havlat getting injured right away was not the start they were hoping for.

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The Ottawa Senators dropped Toronto in two straight to hold to the title as the best team in Ontario. Both the team and captain Daniel Alfredsson seem to have put the loss to Anaheim in the final behind them and instead preserved the form they showed in the rest of the playoffs.

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Although the Colorado Avalanche were held scoreless in Tampa, I am still convinced they will, along with the Flyers, be the come-back team of this season.

A sweaty business

Some players around the league aren't too happy with the way the new jerseys repell water. Apparently the sweat is funneled down the arms and legs, ending up in various places such as the skates. Some of the Red Wing players are now wearing wristbands, and they also change their undershirts and socks between each period.

I am curious about what sort of tests were performed by Rbk to see how the new jerseys would work. Did they just let Sid the Kid (who seems to be leading the new NHL) try it on and say: "Yeah, this fits me much better.. it's snug."
And since they season is already on the way, and it's too late to do anything about it, I guess the players just have to keep a sweat bucket in the locker room for now.

Here we go!

Finally! With this stupid PR-stunt out of the way, the real NHL season can start. Of course I am talking about the Los Angeles Kings-Anaheim Ducks match-up in London (where most people don't know hockey from curling). I am no fan of missionary games like this, where they are trying to spread the NHL to the rest of the world. Hockey is struggling to keep up with the far bigger sports like football (even college football), baseball and basketball. Why don't they just focus on trying to gain ground in the US (can't really see that problem in Canada)? Who wants one world league anyway? Enough about that.

I guess I should say something about the Steve Downie incident, since I haven't written any articles since that happened. I think 20 games is more than fair, and it sends a pretty clear message. It's sad that the season hasn't even started before something like this happens. On top of that, the perpetrator is a rookie who has yet to play a regular game in the NHL. Well, now he has to wait for 20 games, and I'm guessing he won't be greeted with applauds where ever his debut may be played. Some people though a fair punishment for Downie would be to ban him from pro-hockey for life, and maybe it would be. It certainly would send a real clear message that the league does not tolerate that kind of misconduct.