Official NHL Season 2015-2016 Thread

[batdad]

It is funny, and it is also somewhat sad how that was edited by the NHL when they posted it on twitter.... it causes some Van fans pains...

Why? Because when he does this...take the video back further...and you will see he has a high dump in coming at him and he jumps. Yeah the bench part is funny. But....the NHL made it appear as though it was phantom jumping out of the way and dive like...and with Alex's history with the NHL this makes him look bad and like diving or being ridiculous. He missed his jump landing for sure.

But..should this be something posted by NHL twitter? Especially the way they edited it...and especially when dealing with a player everyone knows has some deserved and some not deserved issues with the league. It makes them look bad and unprofessional to many.

To me...I laugh myself silly. But for many, this is league bias showing again.

[A9L3E]

This is too funny..

Did he jump to the wrong box? He was clearly not pulled there.

[Lazion]

This is too funny..

Did he jump to the wrong box? He was clearly not pulled there.

No it was Gary Bettman and his telekinetic fillip.

[batdad]

Vancouver trades John Tortorella (keeping some of his salary, which counts against nothing) to Columbus for a 2nd round pick in 2016,17 or 18. LOL. Canucks got more for Torts than they did for Lack.

Anyway...Torts hired to exact remainder of his deal in Vancouver by Columbus.

[CJ]

Vancouver trades John Tortorella (keeping some of his salary, which counts against nothing) to Columbus for a 2nd round pick in 2016,17 or 18. LOL. Canucks got more for Torts than they did for Lack.

Anyway...Torts hired to exact remainder of his deal in Vancouver by Columbus.

Oh no..

[philou21]

Can't believe Torts is going there! PoorJackets.

[Peter_Doherty]

Torts style should fit well in CBJ though, their forward core especially if they can all buy into the shot blocking team first mentality.

[CJ]

Calgary places Karri Rämö on waiver. I would have gone with Hiller.. but whatever. Pretty sure he's gonna be picked.

[Peter_Doherty]

I'm not sure, not alot of teams in need of a goalie that can spare $3.8m towards the cap. He's a solid goalie but he might not get picked up actually.

[batdad]

I bet Ramo clears. But you never know...people out there like to overpay for average players....yeah not this season hey Curtis?

Torts is going to convince Ryan Johansen that shot blocking is more important than points? Yeah...no.

[Peter_Doherty]

Even if i like Torts and it's fun to have him back in the league i think it's a bad decision by Kekeläinen to fire Richards, it's not the coachs fault that their goaltending has been horrible. Saw some stat on twitter which said that CBJ had over 10% worse Even strength Sv% then their opponents so far. In more or less every stat except goaltending and wins CBJ is atleast OK, but sure, fire the coach.

[Prowl]

Bob has been awful this year and if they had won even 2 games, I don't think Richards would have been fired. I'm glad one of Ramo or Hiller was placed on waivers. The defense has been bad, but they both have given up some rubbish goals. I still have no idea why Hartley hasn't given Ortio a chance. I mean, our team is off to a bad start anyway. It can't hurt to start him.

[CJ]

I still have no idea why Hartley hasn't given Ortio a chance. I mean, our team is off to a bad start anyway. It can't hurt to start him.

He probably wanted to see who of those two he'd put on waiver. Now that one is gone, Ortio will be given a chance. Might outperform Hiller, who knows...

No idea what's going on with Flames defense this year... they should be doing good with the guys they have there.

[Peter_Doherty]

In a season or two it's probably Ortio and Gillies in net for Flames, Hiller and Rämö were just there until they are ready.

[Prowl]

I still have no idea why Hartley hasn't given Ortio a chance. I mean, our team is off to a bad start anyway. It can't hurt to start him.

He probably wanted to see who of those two he'd put on waiver. Now that one is gone, Ortio will be given a chance. Might outperform Hiller, who knows...

No idea what's going on with Flames defense this year... they should be doing good with the guys they have there.

I'm a huge TJ Brodie fan and he's a big loss. As good as Gio was, Brodie was excellent too. I also think Dougie is trying to do too much and getting caught out of position and taking bad penalties. As he gets more suited to the system, he'll get better...at least I hope so.

I've never been a big Wideman fan and his defensive struggles are hurting. I hope he gets dealt. His contract hurts and he's not as good as a lot of people in Calgary thought last season.

In terms of offense, only Johnny and Frolik have been consistent. The others have all started slowly so that needs to pick up

[batdad]

Gio is a very very good dman who had a bad injury, after he played well well above what he is capable of (Which is still darn good) for quite awhile. I am hardly shocked that he is not looking like the Bobby Orr/Al MaCinnis cross he was looking like prior to his major injury last year. He will take some time to get back to being a very good dman...however he will never be that ridiculously amazing player he was for the part of last season he played again. THat was a hot streak that turned into a career year, derailed by injury.

Wiedman--also played well above his head especially after GIo went out.

Hamilton--Great skater, good with puck, not sure about hockey IQ and defensive play...too little a sample size where I see him regularly play. I think there was a lot of hype about this guy coming out of junior, that made people think he would be a superstar. I think he is going to be a very good and offensive #2 dman. Not going to be a super stud, that leading to his draft and after the trade press he was getting.


But...with all that being said...with Russell, Gio, Wiedman and Hamilton...Calgary d needs to be better than it has been.

When BRODIE comes back and these guys all slide back a slot on their depth chart...and Brodie has time to get his timing and everything back...Wow! Scary D. Gio should get up to speed by mid November to be at top of his game. Wiedman will slot to #5. Hamilton to 3. That is going to be insane.


But...the Flames were the team that played above their development level last year, because they had a bunch of young guys who just went hard and did some great things for them. Opponents will pay more attention to Gaudreau, Monahan and even Bennett...so they will have to be MUCH better than they were last year, just to get close to achieving the levels the team did last season. They could also just as easily...be the Colorado Avalanche.

[Prowl]

Gio is a very very good dman who had a bad injury, after he played well well above what he is capable of (Which is still darn good) for quite awhile. I am hardly shocked that he is not looking like the Bobby Orr/Al MaCinnis cross he was looking like prior to his major injury last year. He will take some time to get back to being a very good dman...however he will never be that ridiculously amazing player he was for the part of last season he played again. THat was a hot streak that turned into a career year, derailed by injury.

Wiedman--also played well above his head especially after GIo went out.

Hamilton--Great skater, good with puck, not sure about hockey IQ and defensive play...too little a sample size where I see him regularly play. I think there was a lot of hype about this guy coming out of junior, that made people think he would be a superstar. I think he is going to be a very good and offensive #2 dman. Not going to be a super stud, that leading to his draft and after the trade press he was getting.


But...with all that being said...with Russell, Gio, Wiedman and Hamilton...Calgary d needs to be better than it has been.

When BRODIE comes back and these guys all slide back a slot on their depth chart...and Brodie has time to get his timing and everything back...Wow! Scary D. Gio should get up to speed by mid November to be at top of his game. Wiedman will slot to #5. Hamilton to 3. That is going to be insane.


But...the Flames were the team that played above their development level last year, because they had a bunch of young guys who just went hard and did some great things for them. Opponents will pay more attention to Gaudreau, Monahan and even Bennett...so they will have to be MUCH better than they were last year, just to get close to achieving the levels the team did last season. They could also just as easily...be the Colorado Avalanche.

I couldn't agree with you more on our D-corps. People here are polarized on Dougie and overreacting either for or against him. As you say, once Brodie comes back and rounds into mid-season form, the defense will improve. To me, Brodie is going to be the best d-man for the Flames down the road if he isn't already. I said that last season and say it again now. It also helps that his contract is cap-friendly.

[philou21]

Thought the Habs would fall in a trap against Buffalo but no!

[philou21]

New record for MTL now. Wasn't as easy this time Toronto gave a nice opposition. Luckily for them Price saved their ass with 49 saves I think.

[batdad]

Yeah, Montreal played bad and Toronto played really well in that one. Much of the game was in Habs zone.

Which leaves us with a huge battle coming shortly. 9 game win streak vs 5 game losing streak. LOL.

[m0fownz0r]

The Red Wings are playin pretty bad so far, being outshot every other game. Luckly, we stole a few games we had no business winning!

Blashil doesn;t appear to be anywhere near Babcock's level, sadly..

PS: we really miss Datsyuk

[philou21]

Which leaves us with a huge battle coming shortly. 9 game win streak vs 5 game losing streak. LOL.

I'm sure Vcr will be pretty motivated. They could end their losing streak at the same time they could stop MTL's winning streak. I hope it's gonna be a good game.

[Prowl]

Another day, another bad performance from our goaltending. Thing is, Flames were actually playing pretty well in the early part of the 2nd period. Just couldn't finish and Rangers made them pay. Ortio should start tonight I hope

[Peter_Doherty]

Another day, another bad performance from our goaltending. Thing is, Flames were actually playing pretty well in the early part of the 2nd period. Just couldn't finish and Rangers made them pay. Ortio should start tonight I hope

Yeah, that was an even game where goaltending was the deciding factor. With that said i just think Flames fans should be patient, you over performed last season, a reaction this season was expected. In a few seasons your goaltending problems will be completely gone with Ortio, Gillies and McDonald developing, i feel pretty sure that one of them will become a really solid #1. The future is looking bright for Flames with that d corpse and those goalie prospects along with some game changers among your forwards aswell.

[CJ]

Jesus Calgary was bad yesterday. Ortio had a solid game I thought even though his numbers suggest otherwise (his team didn't really help him out that much).

Ducks really tried to score in the game against Chicago but somehow they can't manage to get the puck into the net.