Who else is pumped to kick off the NHL season tonight with that spectacular Ottawa-Toronto matchup?

Yep.


- jmatchett383

They all threw beers and we all threw bracelets!!!

Who else is pumped to kick off the NHL season tonight with that spectacular Ottawa-Toronto matchup?
- jmatchett383

me

For the record, I think calling AMac a top 4 defender is like calling Raffl a 1st line winger. Just because they play there doesn't make them good at it.

Who else is pumped to kick off the NHL season tonight with that spectacular Ottawa-Toronto matchup?
- jmatchett383

lol but it's still immeasurably better than WCoH

They all threw beers and we all threw bracelets!!!
- YuenglingJagr

Exactly.

And we all threw snowballs at Santa Clause.
And we all cheered when Irvin got paralyzed (umm.....yyyyyyeah...)
And we all wanted to throw threw batteries at JD Drew.

lol but it's still immeasurably better than WCoH
- Scoob

The Toronto Maple Leafs organization is a money grab,

lol but it's still immeasurably better than WCoH
- Scoob

I am not sure you're qualified to make that call

The Toronto Maple Leafs organization is a money grab,
- jmatchett383

Marner and Matthews alone are worth watching the game. Plus that Robby Byan from Cherry Hill guy can really place the rubber disk in the old twine. Barns will burn.

Besides shot blocking, MacDonald is solid in defensive coverage, a solid puck mover, and competent in the offensive zone. He sometimes plays too cautiously, but in my opinion the criticism of his neutral zone play is overblown. The value of MacDonald, which Bill has written about numerous times, is that while he is not great in any one area, he is a versatile player that can do a lot of things decently, and can eat up minutes in all situations. He is capable of playing 2nd pair minutes in the NHL, and giving solid play. He won't ever live up to his contract, but he's a significantly better player than given credit for. Hopefully, his excellent camp, which is reinforced by his coach saying exactly that, is a sign that he has gotten over the confidence issues he had, which I think originated from the pressure of the contract. We'll see. Pre season is one thing. Regular season is another.
- MJL

This isn't really directed at anyone here, but I shake my head at how many fans believe that any D-man from the Phantoms would be an upgrade over AMac. As if guys who have never taken a shift against a legit NHL roster would somehow play like an all-star by comparison.

To me, AMac is Matt Carle lite. Same deficiencies but more pronounced, same skill set but to a lesser degree. With Gudas and MDZ out for the next little while, however, I'm actually glad we have a guy who can eat 20 minutes a night if necessary. I don't love having him on the team, but look at some of the other NHL rosters, like Edmonton and Toronto for example. AMac would be an upgrade over anyone from D3 down (yeah, I know, those aren't playoff teams. Blah blah).

Popular players always get a longer leash from fans, of course. There was a goal scored against the Flyers this preseason that happened because Ghost phoned in his coverage and was headed the wrong way when the opposing player got behind him. The instant narrative: it was AMac's fault for allowing the puck to enter the zone in the first place.

I would jump for joy of Hexy unloaded that contract, but since that's unlikely to happen any time soon...

Who else is pumped to kick off the NHL season tonight with that spectacular Ottawa-Toronto matchup?
- jmatchett383

Calgary - Edmonton.



hahaha.


I'll be watching St. Louis and Chicago. Curious to see Yakupov on a legit team.

Marner and Matthews alone are worth watching the game. Plus that Robby Byan from Cherry Hill guy can really place the rubber disk in the old twine. Barns will burn.
- coffee junkie

Sadly, I see Bobby Ryan ending up as the next Marian Gaborik/Dany Heatley/Alex Semin as a player. A guy who was once a goal-scoring superstar, and then gradually becomes a bit of an afterthought and spends his last few years on short-term deals trying desperately to hang on.

i look forward to watching no games tonight as my crappy cable company and center ice are still negotiating

Sadly, I see Bobby Ryan ending up as the next Marian Gaborik/Dany Heatley/Alex Semin as a player. A guy who was once a goal-scoring superstar, and then gradually becomes a bit of an afterthought and spends his last few years on short-term deals trying desperately to hang on.
- jmatchett383

As long as he retires with his roller skates on and moves home to PA I think we will all be happy.

As long as he retires with his roller skates on and moves home to PA I think we will all be happy.
- coffee junkie

i look forward to watching no games tonight as my crappy cable company and center ice are still negotiating
- -davies-

gamecenter is superior to center ice

i look forward to watching no games tonight as my crappy cable company and center ice are still negotiating
- -davies-

you can watch it my house tonight if s2tp jr let's us watch the game instead of thomas the tank engine

you can watch it my house tonight if s2tp jr let's us watch the game instead of thomas the tank engine
- Streit2ThePoint

Good luck with that one.

Fun statistic...Toronto is paying 26 million in salary to people not playing

Who else is pumped to kick off the NHL season tonight with that spectacular Ottawa-Toronto matchup?
- jmatchett383

At this point, I'm so starved for actual NHL caliber games that mean something that I'll watch pretty much anybody. The fact that this is going to be the 1st game for both Marner and Matthews is icing on the cake.

In fact, when I first saw that this game was on TSN and not MSNBCSN&Y I was slightly irritated and many MFers were uttered.

Then it occurred to me that (like every year) NHL Center Ice is free for the first week, and I can watch it after all.

https://twitter.com/4TomM...status/786230192612278274

video of Jack Eichel getting hurt at practice....had to be helped off the ice

At this point, I'm so starved for actual NHL caliber games that mean something that I'll watch pretty much anybody. The fact that this is going to be the 1st game for both Marner and Matthews is icing on the cake.

In fact, when I first saw that this game was on TSN and not MSNBCSN&Y I was slightly irritated and many MFers were uttered.

Then it occurred to me that (like every year) NHL Center Ice is free for the first week, and I can watch it after all.
- Doc_Sarcasm

I posted a hype video to curb the urge

I posted a hype video to curb the urge
- YuenglingJagr

I know and I don't do hype videos. Thank you though. You're like a paragon of virtue and kindness or something.

I know and I don't do hype videos. Thank you though. You're like a paragon of virtue and kindness or something.
- Doc_Sarcasm

at least someone appreciates me

https://twitter.com/4TomM...status/786230192612278274

video of Jack Eichel getting hurt at practice....had to be helped off the ice
- YuenglingJagr

Def high ankle sprain.