NHL fans have waited quite some time, as patiently as they could, for the moment Professional Hockey would return to their television screens and ice arenas near them.
After several months of meetings, discussions, high emotions, and talks between the Players Union and the NHL, both parties have decided on a new 10-year Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), in which the Owners and Players will share Hockey Related Revenues (HHR) 50%-50%. Since the establishment of the new CBA has cut into the Regular Season, the 2012-2013 NHL season will now consist of 720-regular games, which gives each team 48 regular season games. This also cuts the normal regular season count (82 games) right in half.
Although having NHL hockey back is nothing short of a blessing, there is now a huge sense of urgency among the teams. The race for points this season is going to be far more stressful given that there are only half as many games to earn the needed points to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. For those who are not familiar with the point system, in order to earn points in the NHL a team must win games. More specifically, each game that is won is worth 2 points and every Overtime or Shootout loss is worth 1 point. The top 8 teams in each conference (Eastern Conference & Western Conference) with the most points will enter into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
This creates the argument of which teams will make the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year. Many fans have disputed that some teams, who have struggled in past seasons, may now have a legit chance to make an impact this shortened season.
For example, the Toronto Maple Leafs, Minnesota Wild, Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Edmonton Oilers have struggled for quite some time to generate a Playoff berth or a credible Playoff streak at that. Now with fewer games to play, although it may be a doubled-edged sword, there is a possibility of taking an early lead over the powerhouse teams of the NHL.
Last season the Oilers, Maple Leafs, and the Minnesota Wild had a great start to the season and were among the top teams in the NHL at that point. This season, if these teams repeat a solid winning streak, they can very well be a legitimate threat in the NHL.
If Columbus can do the same thing maybe they can turn their notorious losing record around and show the NHL that they can still be considered a threat.
Blackhawks Update
The Chicago Blackhawks started their 2012-2013 season on the right foot Saturday January 19th.
Their opening opponent was the previous Stanley Cup Champions, the Los Angeles Kings.
The Hawks opened up the 1st Period with a total of 3 goals scored in order by Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, and Michael Frolik. The Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews also started his season with a goal and an assist. Marian Hossa totaled 2 goals and an assist making his performance a 3-point night. The game final was a 5-2 Hawks victory.
I was quite impressed with Coach Joel Quenneville’s choice in his lineups for opening night. The first line consisted of (listed from: Left Wing-Center-Right Wing) Hossa, Toews, and Carcillo. This line consisted of pure scoring talent between Hossa and Toews, but also complimented by Carcillo’s physical play and also his offensive capabilities.
Although the first victory of the year yielded a lot of positives, there are also a few things the Hawks need to work on and manage.
First, it was so awesome to have Carcillo back on the ice in a Blackhawks uniform. However, late in the game after a hard hip-check delivered by a Kings player, Daniel went to the dressing room after appearing to be in some pain. This is not good news since this was Daniel Carcillo’s return after a season ending knee injury last season. The Blackhawks’ medical staff needs to get Danny back on the ice as soon as possible. Without him, the Hawks are going to miss his physicality and his experience. Now the Hawks will call on 20-year-old Brandon Saad to fill Carcillo’s position. Although Saad is a most impressive young forward, he will lack experience of a veteran forward such as Carcillo.
The Blackhawks must also work on not taking unnecessary penalties while they have a big lead to secure the victory.
Finally, the Hawks should make a better effort to stay focused while having a big lead in a game this season, instead of letting the opposing team slowly comeback like in the Los Angeles game.
Who to Watch
This season, NHL fans should keep an eye out for a few players and their performances.
Some players that I think you should keep an eye out for are: Taylor Hall (EDM), Marian Hossa (CHI), Steven Stamkos (TBL), Rick Nash (NYR), Jeff Skinner (CAR), James van Riemsdyk (TOR), Tyler Seguin (BOS), Claude Giroux (PHI), John Tavares (NYI), Jamie Benn (DAL), Matt Duchene (COL), Jason Pominville (BUF), Zach Parise (MIN), Pavel Datsyuk (DET), T.J. Oshie (STL), Braden Holtby (WSH), Erik Karlsson (OTT), Antoine Vermette (PHX), Logan Couture (SJ), Dustin Brown (LAK), Curtis Glencross (CGY), Adam Henrique (NJD), Tomas Fleischmann (FLA), Erik Cole (MTL), Bobby Ryan (ANA), Daniel Sedin (VAN), Andrew Ladd (WPG), Mike Fisher (NASH), James Neal (PIT) and Artem Anismov (CBJ).
Upcoming Rookies
While the veterans run the ice this season, NHL fans must be mindful of the rookies, some may catch your eye! Some rookies this season might just make a significant difference!
Here are some rookies I think will turn some heads this season: Vladimir Tarasenko (STL), Jonathan Huberdeau (FLA), Nazem Kadri (TOR), Mikael Granlund (MIN), Alex Galchenyuk (MTL), Nail Yakupov (EDM), Malcom Subban & Dougie Hamilton (BOS), Chris Krieder (NYR) and Cory Conacher (TBL).