The Official 2011-12 Regular Season Talk Thread

[TheMatrix31]

It is with great pleasure that I start this thread!

[SPTO]

Re: The Official 2011-12 Regular Season Talk Thread

Leafs should battle for the 8th spot if James Reimer can repeat what he did last year. I'm also going to be following Matt Frattin very carefully as a friend of mine is a huge fan of his.

[ImTellinTim]

Re: The Official 2011-12 Regular Season Talk Thread

The Wild will have to get off to a better start than they did under Richards if they hope to battle for a lower playoff spot. Right now they're staying somewhere north of here and practicing at the rink where UMD plays. They've had some team-building exercises including spending the day with a drill instructor in the woods south of Superior. They had camoflouge shirts that said "Operation Urgent Fury".

I'm all for whatever they think helps them not lose about a bunch of games out of the gate again.

Leafs should battle for the 8th spot if James Reimer can repeat what he did last year. I'm also going to be following Matt Frattin very carefully as a friend of mine is a huge fan of his.

Those UND guys are usually pretty solid players.

[DrJones]

Re: The Official 2011-12 Regular Season Talk Thread

Western Conference

1. San Jose
2. Vancouver
3. Detroit
4. LA
5. Anaheim
6. Chicago
7. St. Louis
8. Minnesota
9-15. Nashville, Calgary, Phoenix, Dallas, Edmonton, Colorado, Columbus

Eastern Conference

1. Washington
2. Buffalo
3. Philadelphia
4. Boston
5. Pittsburgh
6. NY Rangers
7. Tampa Bay
8. New Jersey
9-15. Winnipeg, Montreal, NY Islanders, Carolina, Toronto, Florida, Ottawa

Awards

Hart: Ovechkin, WSH
Art Ross: H. Sedin, VAN
Richard: Stamkos, TB
Vezina: Miller, BUF
Norris: Edler, VAN
Calder: Niederreiter, NYI
Selke: Toews, CHI
Lady Byng: Lidstrom, DET
Jack Adams: Murray, LA

Playoffs

West Final: Ducks over Sharks
East Final: Capitals over Flyers
Stanley Cup Final: Capitals over Ducks
Conn Smythe: Ovechkin, WSH

[DrJones]

Re: The Official 2011-12 Regular Season Talk Thread

Supposedly, the Rangers are waiving Avery today.

This is terrible, terrible news... for HBO's 24/7. I guess we'll have to settle for the Torts n' Pronger Show.

[Kobalt]

Re: The Official 2011-12 Regular Season Talk Thread

Avs are making the playoffs....

Spoiler

If they stay healthy

[Rancid Radio]

Re: The Official 2011-12 Regular Season Talk Thread

I've been a casual on-and-off viewer of Hockey for a while, but am really excited for this season. I didn't watch most of last season until the Stanley Cup, and that kind of sparked my interest in Hockey again.

Go Lightning!

[SPTO]

Re: The Official 2011-12 Regular Season Talk Thread

Supposedly, the Rangers are waiving Avery today.

This is terrible, terrible news... for HBO's 24/7. I guess we'll have to settle for the Torts n' Pronger Show.

Don't forget Larry Brooks!

This isn't really surprising in some ways as Avery strikes me as the kind of guy who wears his welcome out pretty easily. It'll be interesting to see who picks him up if any team indeed does.

[DrJones]

Re: The Official 2011-12 Regular Season Talk Thread

It is with great pleasure that I start this thread!

Off topic, but am I correct in gathering that you're a Sabres/Suns/Braves/Texans fan living in LA? That's... unusual.

[ImTellinTim]

Re: The Official 2011-12 Regular Season Talk Thread

Off topic, but am I correct in gathering that you're a Sabres/Suns/Braves/Texans fan living in LA? That's... unusual.

If you really want to gain insight, follow the man on Twitter. Only then will it all make sense.

[BunnyHardaway]

Re: The Official 2011-12 Regular Season Talk Thread

I saw the so-called analyst John Buccigross picked the Flyers to miss the playoffs entirely (he picked the Bruins, Sabres, Devils, Rangers, Pens, Lightning, Capitals, and Jets). I obviously hope the Jets do well, but if they make the playoffs over the Flyers, I'll cut my leg off.

[kapenn90]

Re: The Official 2011-12 Regular Season Talk Thread

I saw the so-called analyst John Buccigross picked the Flyers to miss the playoffs entirely (he picked the Bruins, Sabres, Devils, Rangers, Pens, Lightning, Capitals, and Jets). I obviously hope the Jets do well, but if they make the playoffs over the Flyers, I'll cut my leg off.

I don't see how the Jets make the playoffs. It's ridiculous how badly people are overrating the Sabres. Erhoff and Regehr are solid pickups, but $4.5m for Leino is asinine. He's a solid player, but he's not a differene maker. I think the Flyers will be the 4 or 5 seed come playoff time.

[BunnyHardaway]

Re: The Official 2011-12 Regular Season Talk Thread

I don't see how the Jets make the playoffs. It's ridiculous how badly people are overrating the Sabres. Erhoff and Regehr are solid pickups, but $4.5m for Leino is asinine. He's a solid player, but he's not a differene maker. I think the Flyers will be the 4 or 5 seed come playoff time.

Sounds about right...could potentially finish higher if Pronger stays healthy and the young guys (Couturier, Schenn, Voracek, Read) give us something. I actually wouldn't mind trading Schenn and someone else for Shea Weber, but I don't see that happening.

[kapenn90]

Re: The Official 2011-12 Regular Season Talk Thread

Sounds about right...could potentially finish higher if Pronger stays healthy and the young guys (Couturier, Schenn, Voracek, Read) give us something. I actually wouldn't mind trading Schenn and someone else for Shea Weber, but I don't see that happening.

Both Weber and Suter of the Preds are UFA's after the season I believe. I bet the Flyers will make a run at one of them, probably Suter is more likely

[TheMatrix31]

Re: The Official 2011-12 Regular Season Talk Thread

Off topic, but am I correct in gathering that you're a Sabres/Suns/Braves/Texans fan living in LA? That's... unusual.

Yep.

From an old post;

I was born in 1987:

I'm a Suns fan because my older brother was. He became a Suns fan because he was given the jersey #24 for his elementary basketball team. When he asked if there were any famous basketball players who wore #24, someone said Tom Chambers. Chambers was on the Suns, so that stuck with him. My earliest memory of the NBA came in 1993, which was the year we made it to the Finals. Obviously my bro was riled up so I picked up on it. I remember bawling (in a Chicago Bulls shirt, interestingly enough) after Paxson hit the shot to end it. Obviously, the rest is history.

I'm a Braves fan because, again, my older brother was. It was the TBS factor. Coming home every day and relying on a game to be on, taking a small wooden bat and imitating the stances, the amazing pitching, Chipper Jones....they captivated me (and so many others) and I haven't looked back.

I'm a Texans fan because I never really had a true favorite NFL team. I used to root for the 49ers as a kid, but it never really stuck. They were always on TV since we lived in Fresno, and they had many fans at school. Either way, it didn't stick after 1996, 1997 or so. I ended up teamless until the Texans were announced. I figured start from the beginning and see where I'd end up. Loved the team name, colors, stadium, etc. Then when it became apparent that David Carr (Fresno State) was going to be the #1 pick, it kinda cemented it. 9 years later, Carr proved to blow and is long gone, and I'm a Texans fan for life because it fits.

I'm a Sabres fan because I never really had a true favorite hockey team. It was never one of my favorite sports and that's because no one I was close to cared about it too much. I followed it loosely, but whatever. Back a few years ago, I decided to just try it out. I needed a new addiction and passion. I was sick of the heartbreak from my other teams. The criteria was that they don't be an established superpower, and that they don't be a southern team, because hockey is synonymous with winter and cold.
I used to love using Buffalo in old hockey games. Watched a few Buffalo games and liked what I saw. Fast-paced offense, good goaltending, etc. I saw a bit of parallel to the Suns so that helped. 40 year history, been screwed a few times, poor management at the moment (until St. Pegula came along), etc. Now, they've stuck.