The Official 2024-25 Season Talk Thread

[DrJones]

How many teams have traded their captain midseason and made the playoffs, period?*

*The Rangers and Lightning both did in 2014, but that was a captain-for-captain trade (Callahan for St. Louis) so I'm not sure if that counts

[l3ulvl]

Quote: Originally Posted by DrJones

Mid-season? Hmm, no I don't think so. Pre-season? I can think of at least one very famous example. Personal anecdote: Game 7 of Oilers/Kings was April 15, 1989 and was joined in progress on HNIC immediately following the end of Canucks/Flames (the Stan Smyl breakaway/Joel Otto kick-in game). 16-year-old me was absolutely traumatized/furious and I let out my frustrations while watching EDM/LA (I was cheering for the Kings because f*** Albertan teams, especially back then). So I let loose during that game with a nonstop stream of profanity that would've made Andrew Dice Clay blush (a very dated but era-appropriate reference). Of course, this was the 80s and my parents weren't rich, so we only had one TV and my cursing barrage was directed at the "family" set. Now my Dad had threatened to kick my *** before (he never did), but this was the only night where I was threatened with institutionalization if I didn't shut the f*** up! Good times.

Little Miss Muffet, licking ears no gay (not that there's anything wrong with that)

[DrJones]

Is... is Pettersson finally beginning to emerge from his 13-month slump? Is it possible?
Can he escape his dark destiny of being hockey's answer to Ben Simmons?

[Majingir]

https://twitter.com/SNstats/status/1...3NT03kFKg&s=19

Fastest goal in NHL history.

Although....did he start skating past the line before the puck was dropped?

[Majingir]

Good news, Leafs will avoid Panthers in rd1 of the playoffs.

Bad news, they're playing themselves into a 3rd division spot against Tampa.

[Majingir]

Good old NHL.

Bettman asked about ever changing the playoff format and he's adamant it won't/doesn't need to change.

I don't get how the league thinks it's good for the game to make 3/4 your league irrelevant to most fans.

Another year where the top 3 in the Atlantic only care about the top 3 in the Atlantic. If this was the 1-8 format, the Canes and Devils would also be teams cared about by Leafs, Lightning, Panthers fans as you could face one of 6 different teams right now, finishing anywhere from 2-6.

Other divisions are a similar way where top 3 are mostly decided, it's just a matter of who finished 1, 2, 3 (the central is currently the only division where 5 or less points separates 3 and 4).

This is not fun or good for the league. Scoreboard watching this time of the year is part of the fun. I don't care one bit about a Devils vs Flames game in March, but I'd be hoping the Flames win if it was a 1-8 format since the Leafs/Devils could be anywhere from 1-5 points apart going in to the weekend. But under this current format, that game means literally nothing to me, therefore I'm not watching it, scoreboard watching, or even following talk about it online.

[Kobalt]

Actual proof the refs like the Leafs

https://x.com/BR_OpenIce/status/1902527715917418921

[DrJones]

The Oilers letting the Kings sign 28-year-old Foegele and the Blues offer sheet 23-year-olds Holloway and Broberg (combined 49G/115P/+56/10.4M cap hit) so they could give NMC deals to 30-something bums Arvidsson, Skinner, Henrique (who cost a 1st rounder!) (combined 31G/62P/+4/10M cap hit) is a perfect encapsulation of why Canadian teams don't win Cups. Absolutely criminal pro scouting on Edmonton's part.