UglyJimStudly 0 Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 NHL released their full schedule today. Here's one of many places you can find it:http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/schedule.htmlLots of good rivalries on opening night. Except in my neighbourhood, where the Vancouver Canucks are lacing up the skates for their ultimate rivals... the Phoenix Coyotes? Heh. Well, I guess you can't please all the teams. Link to post Share on other sites
InsanityCubed 0 Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 Sid the kid begins his career against the best goalie in the league, nice. Maybe for once I'll actually get to see a Devils seas0n opener. Link to post Share on other sites
WestcoastCanuck 0 Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 Eight games against division oppenents is going to be nuts. I am going to go from disliking the Flames to REALLY disliking the Flames.It also sucks if you have a team in the North East division. Imagine being Buffalo and having to play Montreal, Boston, Toronto and Ottawa eight times a year. That is assuming all of those teams are as good as they were in 2004. Link to post Share on other sites
thecamelot 0 Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 Eight games against division oppenents is going to be nuts. I am going to go from disliking the Flames to REALLY disliking the Flames.It also sucks if you have a team in the North East division. Imagine being Buffalo and having to play Montreal, Boston, Toronto and Ottawa eight times a year. That is assuming all of those teams are as good as they were in 2004.Yeah, I'm with you on that one. Same thing with the wild... At least it's more nap time! Link to post Share on other sites
Stiles2004 0 Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 Thank God for us Leafs fans... 8 chances to beat Ottawa a year! Link to post Share on other sites
thecamelot 0 Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 Thank God for us Leafs fans... 8 chances to beat Ottawa a year!And another year to not get a cup and talk about the good ol' days Link to post Share on other sites
vonteego3 0 Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 Sid the kid begins his career against the best goalie in the league, nice. Maybe for once I'll actually get to see a Devils seas0n opener.rumor has it, Brodeur wore himself out over the long offseason sleeping with the rest of his in-laws. Link to post Share on other sites
Thunderwolf19 0 Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 For only one ball, the Montreal Canadiens sure lucked out. Being from Montreal, it actually makes me feel good that (1) Patrick Breeze-by is gone, and (2) we have a top 5 pick with Bob Gainey at the helm. Link to post Share on other sites
UglyJimStudly 0 Posted July 27, 2005 Author Share Posted July 27, 2005 It also sucks if you have a team in the North East division. Imagine being Buffalo and having to play Montreal, Boston, Toronto and Ottawa eight times a year. That is assuming all of those teams are as good as they were in 2004.OTOH, Buffalo loves playing Toronto because it means their building actually sells out. Admittedly it turns a home game into a road game, but think of the cash!Then again, I kinda figure the Leafs will be a much softer touch this year. A lot of their recent success is due to getting timely scoring from the second and third lines to back up Sundin and company, and I just don't know if they're going to be able to put together a decent supporting cast this time around. Or more specifically, I dunno if JF jr. is up the right GM for the brave new salary capped world. Guess we'll see.Ottawa looks like they'll be much the same team as before, which means a great regular season but no heart in the playoffs. Montreal is in really good shape, lots of good young guys and on the rebound revenue-wise. Boston has had some inconsistent management in the past, like Toronto it'll be interesting to see how they handle the post-cap NHL. Link to post Share on other sites
WestcoastCanuck 0 Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 It also sucks if you have a team in the North East division. Imagine being Buffalo and having to play Montreal, Boston, Toronto and Ottawa eight times a year. That is assuming all of those teams are as good as they were in 2004.OTOH, Buffalo loves playing Toronto because it means their building actually sells out. Admittedly it turns a home game into a road game, but think of the cash!Then again, I kinda figure the Leafs will be a much softer touch this year. A lot of their recent success is due to getting timely scoring from the second and third lines to back up Sundin and company, and I just don't know if they're going to be able to put together a decent supporting cast this time around. Or more specifically, I dunno if JF jr. is up the right GM for the brave new salary capped world. Guess we'll see.Ottawa looks like they'll be much the same team as before, which means a great regular season but no heart in the playoffs. Montreal is in really good shape, lots of good young guys and on the rebound revenue-wise. Boston has had some inconsistent management in the past, like Toronto it'll be interesting to see how they handle the post-cap NHL.You are right about Buffalo, I didn't even think of that. They apperently sell tickets to all games against Canadian teams in Canadian dollars. My friends brother (who is from Vancouver) saw the Canucks play the Sabres for something like 15 bucks Canadian. It still sucks, from a competitive stand point, if you are in a tough division. Tampa Bay must be loving the new schedule.Ottawa is apperently going to take a run at signing Gary Roberts, which would be classic. "If you can't beat them, make them join you!" Link to post Share on other sites
UglyJimStudly 0 Posted July 28, 2005 Author Share Posted July 28, 2005 Ottawa is apperently going to take a run at signing Gary Roberts, which would be classic. "If you can't beat them, make them join you!"I'm guessing both Roberts and Nieuwendyk will re-sign with the Leafs. They came to Toronto to retire, after all, and they're huge fan favourites (especially Roberts) which has influenced Leafs ownership in the past. Not to say they couldn't be tempted to go elsewhere, but the money would likely have to be significantly better, and Ottawa at least can't afford to throw their salary structure too far out of whack. Link to post Share on other sites
QWithATray 0 Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 What's up with the "away and away" games - playing two games in a row against the same opponent at the same arena?Also the Canucks play the Oilers 3 games in a row! Link to post Share on other sites
cortanpeter 0 Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 Eight games against division oppenents is going to be nuts. I am going to go from disliking the Flames to REALLY disliking the Flames.It also sucks if you have a team in the North East division. Imagine being Buffalo and having to play Montreal, Boston, Toronto and Ottawa eight times a year. That is assuming all of those teams are as good as they were in 2004.Is that dislike or jeleousy. Seeing how the nucks are a bunch of underachivers with a good REGULAR SEASON goalie. I am looking forward to watching the nucks choke again in the playoffs, if they make it. GO FLAMES GO!!!!!!!!!! Link to post Share on other sites
InsanityCubed 0 Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 Eight games against division oppenents is going to be nuts. I am going to go from disliking the Flames to REALLY disliking the Flames.It also sucks if you have a team in the North East division. Imagine being Buffalo and having to play Montreal, Boston, Toronto and Ottawa eight times a year. That is assuming all of those teams are as good as they were in 2004.Is that dislike or jeleousy. Seeing how the nucks are a bunch of underachivers with a good REGULAR SEASON goalie. I am looking forward to watching the nucks choke again in the playoffs, if they make it. GO FLAMES GO!!!!!!!!!!I love it when the fans of a one-shot finals team get all cocky the next season. Look at the last few cinderella teams to make the finals (and lose). Anaheim, Carolina, Buffalo, Washington, Florida. What have they done since then? It's almost as good as when Leafs fans claim their team is the sheit because they have a good regular season and make it to the 2nd or 3rd round. If that's how you measure your team's success then enjoy mediocrity for the rest of your life. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest XXEddie Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 NHL released their full schedule today. Here's one of many places you can find it:http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/schedule.htmlLots of good rivalries on opening night. Except in my neighbourhood, where the Vancouver Canucks are lacing up the skates for their ultimate rivals... the Colorado Avalanche ? Heh. Well, I guess you can't please all the teams.FYPafter their last game, this will be one of the most intense rivalries ever[/b] Link to post Share on other sites
WestcoastCanuck 0 Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 Eight games against division oppenents is going to be nuts. I am going to go from disliking the Flames to REALLY disliking the Flames.It also sucks if you have a team in the North East division. Imagine being Buffalo and having to play Montreal, Boston, Toronto and Ottawa eight times a year. That is assuming all of those teams are as good as they were in 2004.Is that dislike or jeleousy. Seeing how the nucks are a bunch of underachivers with a good REGULAR SEASON goalie. I am looking forward to watching the nucks choke again in the playoffs, if they make it. GO FLAMES GO!!!!!!!!!!Yes, our regular season goalie sure chocked in games 4-7..... oh wait. No. He was injured. Gongradulations on all of your impressive seasons from 1996-2003 though, you guys were the envy of the league :wink: .On a non trash talk note, I do think the flames are set up to be a contender next year. As long as Mikko doesn't pull a Weeks/Giguere on you guys. Our goalie and team have been good for more than one regular season... Link to post Share on other sites
WildWin7 0 Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 Being a Flyers fan I can't wait for this. 8 games against the Devils/Rangers/Isles/and well the Pens gonna be fierce in the Atlantic. Link to post Share on other sites
CJHunt 0 Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 NHL released their full schedule today. Here's one of many places you can find it:http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/schedule.htmlLots of good rivalries on opening night. Except in my neighbourhood, where the Vancouver Canucks are lacing up the skates for their ultimate rivals... the Phoenix Coyotes? Heh. Well, I guess you can't please all the teams.You see when the Nucks play the Oilers 3 games in a row over 5 days? I think we could see some bad blood by the time the third game comes around. I don't like this new setup. Should be playing all the Eastern teams once at home and once away and then work out the Western Conference for the remaining 50? games. Seems kind of excesive to be playing division rivals 8 times a season. Anyone else agree or am I on my own here? Link to post Share on other sites
WildWin7 0 Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 NHL released their full schedule today. Here's one of many places you can find it:http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/schedule.htmlLots of good rivalries on opening night. Except in my neighbourhood, where the Vancouver Canucks are lacing up the skates for their ultimate rivals... the Phoenix Coyotes? Heh. Well, I guess you can't please all the teams.You see when the Nucks play the Oilers 3 games in a row over 5 days? I think we could see some bad blood by the time the third game comes around. I don't like this new setup. Should be playing all the Eastern teams once at home and once away and then work out the Western Conference for the remaining 50? games. Seems kind of excesive to be playing division rivals 8 times a season. Anyone else agree or am I on my own here?I really think a lot of East vs West Hockey is kinda boring. I love the divison rivals 8 times a year. Bad blood is great for hockey. Hockey use to thrive on great rivalries. And a lot of those rivalrys have slowly gone away. This should reestablish old rivalries and probably create a few new ones. Link to post Share on other sites
MoLeafsMo 0 Posted August 1, 2005 Share Posted August 1, 2005 At first I was unsure how I felt about each team playing their division 8 times. I think rivalries are made in the playoffs rather than the season, and I would like to have seen the other conference a bit more.But I'm slowly coming around to the new format. For one thing, it will reduce travel, so the season won't wear the players down quite as much, and the level of play will stay higher during the middle months of the year. (The season has been dreadfully long and boring in the middle in recent years) So the season overall should be better for teams, players, and fans alike.But there's an even bigger factor at play. It's not talked about often, but one symptom of the increased games within the division is that it actually minimizes the differences between the teams. I know it seems counter-intuitive, but the fact remains that no matter how much better the other team is than yours, the more you face them the better you'll do against them. I was taking a look at the stats from the last season, and Tampa, who was had 106 pts in 82 games, got only 29 pts in 24 games against their division, which was slightly worse than their record against the rest of the league. Apparently, their record was not inflated by being in a lousy division. In fact, Washington, who was dreadful, was only one game below .500 against their division.It's true in any sport, really. In the NFL they always say how hard it is to beat a team three times in a season, so even if a team beats their divisional rival twice during the season, the other team is just as likely to win if they met in the playoffs. When they changed the baseball schedule from its format of 13 games against your division and 12 against the rest of the league to its present format of 19 games against your division, everyone thought that the Yankees and Red Sox would finish 30 games ahead of the rest of the AL East. But Toronto, Baltimore, and even Tampa have played them better than the rest of the AL.So what this will do is even out the standings so that overall point totals will remain much more even, seeing as how each team is now playing 60% more games against teams that have a better shot at beating them. And that means the playoff races will be even more frenetic at season's end.I'm all for anything that makes the season more interesting and exciting, and the new schedule should accomplish just that. Link to post Share on other sites
aadams_22 3 Posted August 1, 2005 Share Posted August 1, 2005 I love the unbalanced schedule that has each team playing their division rivals 8 times a piece. That means we get more chances at the Red Wings and the Blackhawks. :twisted: If we can hold on to Pronger I will be even happier. Link to post Share on other sites
MoLeafsMo 0 Posted August 1, 2005 Share Posted August 1, 2005 I don't think St. Louis will be holding on to him. They qualified him with the intention of trading him, since they're keeping Tkachuk. That's what I heard anyway, but it seemed like more than just an idle rumour. If I remember correctly, it was pretty concrete. For your sake, I hope I'm wrong though Link to post Share on other sites
aadams_22 3 Posted August 1, 2005 Share Posted August 1, 2005 What I heard was that they want to hang on to Pronger and that Tkachuk and Weight are out the door. But, who knows...there are way too many rumors flying about. Link to post Share on other sites
dEv~ 19 Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 Sid the kid begins his career against the best goalie in the league, nice. Maybe for once I'll actually get to see a Devils seas0n opener.What are you talking about? Sid plays with the best goalie in the league. Well, maybe not yet but Fleury is gonna be a beast. Link to post Share on other sites
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