The Hockey Discussion Thread 2.0 | The 31st NHL franchise named the Vegas Golden Knights

Welcome

Hello! Welcome to The Hockey Discussion Thread 2.0!

Whether you're a hardcore fan or just being introduced to the sport of Ice Hockey, all are welcome to post. The NHL will probably be the most commonly discussed league in this thread but discussion is open to other levels of hockey such as the AHL, ECHL, KHL, AIHL, NCAA Hockey etc. This is not solely an NHL Discussion Thread.

I will do my best to maintain and keep this thread/OP as reasonably current and up-to-date as possible, much like the other respective sports/wrestling focused threads on Giant Bomb. That being said, I don't have all the free time in the world so if there's something newsworthy I've missed and should be noted then feel free to @ or DM me and I'll get to it asap.

Rules/Guidelines

Current Happenings in Hockey

Vegas Golden Knights official team name

Owner Bill Foley announces decision five months after being awarded expansion franchise

Phil Kessel is a Stanley Cup Champion.

At least Chicago's outdoor game makes sense this year. Looking at you Pittsburgh and Washington

I'm disappointed that Team North America lost to Russia yesterday, but damn if that isn't a fun roster.

This world cup has been nutso! It's been a great continuation of the playoffs, excellent hockey and stunning wins. I'm really excited for USA/Canada tonight, but at this point I can't help but root for Europe.

Regardless, I'm just glad it's the season to say "it's a great day for hockey!"

Oilers buddy. This is our year.

Well, new Preds fan here. I intend to go knee-deep in hockey this year, as watching it on and off last year was fun. Fav player was PK Subban, so used to be a Habs fan, until that trade, in which I decided to switch my allegiance with Subban and to the team whose AHL team is in my state.

Yes. Yes he is.

What a crazy finish between Team North America and Sweden. Check out the finish below:

Not sure whose idea it was to have Torts coach the US side, especially considering how they got stomped when his team of "grit" met the skill of Canada's best.

Also, let's go CAPS! Try not to choke again this year!

Yeah, Torts seems like the kinda guy for whom the solution to every problem is "compete harder!" as opposed to match-ups or roster composition. Which is how you end up with a team like the US - a lot of grinders and "character" guys on the older side who can't keep up with the faster, younger, more talented teams.

As far as the rest of the tournament goes, I'll be rooting for Finland tomorrow. I really, really want to see a Canada-Team NA match up in the knock-outs.

In other news, I'm excited to see how my Badgers look under new management. The word is they are practicing a very different style than the one they were running under Mike Eaves. Hopefully that translates into more than 7 or 8 wins this year.

It's mind-boggling to me that Torts was made head coach. The "grind more and block shots" style of play works okay(ish) when you're dealing with a seven-game playoff series and you can recover from bad luck, but his low-scoring style doesn't work well in a 3-game round-robin followed by one-and-done games.

And as a Devils fan, I look forward to having a good forward. Maybe this season won't be as much of as a disappointment as the 2013 season.

Man you know Crawford is going to hear about that Hossa goal all season. Might not come from Hoss himself but someone will be sure to remind him. He's probably really thankful that Shaw is gone now haha

The issue runs higher up the chain than the head coach for how Team USA performed. The overall player selection was baffling. It was far from a surpirse they couldn't get a win. They experimented with picking largely size instead of skill to counter Canada and it blew up in their face. The selection of Torts as head coach is a whole other issue entirely. Torts is like a half-step above Ron Wilson.

That said, they probably couldn't have built a more skilled team to beat Canada anyway given the amount of players recovering from injury (and the fact that Team Canada is ridiculously stacked even after injury replacements). They could've still did something different to at least beat Europe at least.

Russia ruins everything. I really wanted to see Canada vs TNA too. Every Canada game has been boring and mostly one sided. Ironically, for similar reasons TNA's games have been some of the best hockey in the tournament. Seeing 9-10 consecutive tape-to-tape passes before a goal was fascinating to watch. Auston Matthews scoring in the ACC too also helps. :)

I would be totally fine if next time they just make it a best of 7 series between only a Team NA 23 and a Team Europe 23.

Canada as really it is like a religion in the country. Hockey is big. Do not offend Canada about hockey from what I hear.

Real shitty situation for Sens fans today. Patrick Sieloff is a dumbass for blindsiding Mac in a skrimage. Not to mention public enemy no. 1 in the locker room now. Story: Fight Breaks Out At Senators Practice After Patrick Sieloff Hits Clarke MacArthur.

Edit: apparently Sieloff has had a history of pulling off shit like that in Calgary. Wasn't liked very much among Flames' veterans, now same deal with Sens' vets.

Meet Edmonton's newest mascot! He promises not to eat your children while the team fights for a high draft pick! Probably!

Meth Head Bubsy is their new mascot?

That's terrifyingly accurate.

Do Bobcats have some sort of association with Edmonton I don't know about? Because I don't really draw a connection between cats and a team called the "Oilers." That things looks like it should be in Friday Nights at Freddy's.

@lawgamer: according to Petchesky:

Hunter is named after “Wild” Bill Hunter, the franchise’s founder, and he’s a lynx—perhaps because the Oilers are so used to being among the first teams to hit them each spring. (That joke only works if you say it out loud. Give me a break here.)

In other news, the upcoming South Korean Olympics seems to be a sore spot between the NHL and IOC, especially since the WCH didn't raise as much money as the IIHF hoped. Ovechkin in general seems a bit grumpy about it.

Okay... let's put aside the fact that both Bruins players that played a key part in the Game 7 collapse at the ACC vs the Leafs a few years ago, also contributed to the last minute heartbreak at the ACC tonight for many Team Europe fans. That was an outstanding comeback for Team Canada! The SH goal at the end was filthy. Of course Canada was gonna win but Team Europe proved to a lot of people that they were more than just a gimmick team for this tournament.

EDIT: Highlight video of the game posted in OP.

This season looked like it would be the opposite of last season for the Blackhawks with the loss of even more offense while fortifying their defense.

The addition of Soupy finally gives them the top four they needed, so they could drop TVR down to the third pair. Kempny has transitioned well, that I don't expect to see Rozsival on the ice much this season. Pokka still needs a bit more time in Rockford, but I wouldn't be too surprised to see him called up sometime this season. The big surprise has been Forsling. He's been better than TVR, and I would like the Hawks to keep him instead of sending him back to Sweden. I wouldn't be surprised if they traded TVR sometime this year.

A handful of their prospects have played very well, that the offense might actually be better than expected this year. They only seemed to struggle when none of the regulars are on the top two lines. Schmaltz and Motte look good coming out of college, that I wouldn't be surprised if one or both of them make the team. That may cause Q to break up Panarin and Kane, since I don't see Toews centering for two rookies. Hinostroza looks like he improved over last year too; it probably helped getting some international play. Hartman finally getting a chance that will hopefully mean the end of Mashinter. The rest still need more seasoning.

The big surprise has been Alexandre Fortin. Undrafted (twice), invited to prospect camp, invited to rookie tourney, invited to training camp, signs a 3yr ELC, and played on a line with Kane tonight, getting a goal and assist. Unfortunately, I think he will have to go back to the QMJHL with Toews and Hossa coming back. Luckily his ELC slides if he goes back down.

I was so disinterested in the World Cup to a degree that surprised even myself. Besides acknowledging that the tournament had started, and the addition of the mishmash teams, that was it for me. Congratulations Canada! I really hope I get into international games later down the line, though, because I remember having a blast watching them in the past.

I am, however, getting excited for the beginning of the NHL season. We stared a fantasy league with the gf and a few friends last season which was a lot of fun and got me back into hockey after a few years of separation. I'll not go into detail about last season, but needless to say, banking on Bishop and Colorado's youngsters on bringing me success was either a very bold or very stupid plan (...it was stupid). We'll be travelling in the states (around Washington DC and down to NC) during late October, but we'll just miss out on either the Caps' or Canes' games, which is a bit of a bummer.

Well, this happened today. The Oilers did it again. Another trade involving a 1st overall pick from Edmonton that's on the losing end of the return imo.

@rotnac: Seems like the Blues jumped at the chance once word got out the Blackhawks might trade for him. Word was they wanted an NHL-ready player. I don't know the Blues prospects, but it sounds like the Oilers made a terrible trade, given who they got back. My guess is Chicago wanting them to retain salary was a deal-breaker.

Got mixed feelings from tonight's Leafs/Sens game. Happy to see Auston Matthews make history tonight but crushed to have it end with a big OTL. Leafs really let him down defensively.

It was a terrible trade, much like the Hall one with the Devils. I could be remembering wrong since it's been a while now but I think I read something about Yakupov was gonna go to NJ instead but it ended up being Hall that was moved. I could be 100% wrong about that though.

We didn't get the Sens/Leafs game in the US, so I only saw the highlights :(. Hopefully he keeps it up and the hype results in more of his games getting slotted on NBC down here.

Although I have to say, having a rookie score four goals in his first game and then having the team lose in OT anyway might be the most Leafs-y thing I've heard in a long, long time. Maybe the Browns should move to Toronto. Put all the misery in one spot.

@lawgamer: good god, no thanks! The Browns can stay where they are. The city of Toronto is finally getting long overdue success with their major sports teams after decades of suffering. Blue Jays are playing good baseball still, Raptors keep getting better, and the Leafs get a first overall pick in Auston Matthews since Wendel Clark in 1985. The Toronto Marlies have also consistently gone deep in the Calder Cup Playoffs in the AHL too which is a positive sign in Leaf Land. It would be a major stretch at this point to see the Leafs win a cup this season but after last season, the only way to go is up.

You're not wrong though, despite it only being one game. Last night was a pretty "Leaf-y" outcome.

Speaking of NBC and Matthews hype, looks like it's happening:

Would not surprise me one bit if he makes the USA Olympic team if the NHL decides to let players go to South Korea. Him and Eichel on the same team sounds terrifying.

Let's go Canucks! (not gonna be a good year...)

The scheduling on the Western Conference is insane. Every team on the EC has 1 game played before tonight, while there are 3 teams in the WC with an opener tonight with some teams scheduled to play their 3rd game as well. Can't even imagine the scheduling nightmare next season when the WC has an ODD number of teams.

Rough day being a Toronto sports fan tonight with the Jays and Leafs loss.

LFRs are of the few things that get me through a Leafs season.

Man the Sabres look completely lost on offense most nights.

Richard Panik leads the Blackhawks and NHL in goals. Richard. Panik.

The Blackhawks PK is still terrible. I'm still waiting for Toews to earn what he's being paid.

The Blackhawks need to fire Mike Kitchen. It might not fix the PK right away, but maybe it would wake these idiots up.

@sergio: as long as the Hawks continue to do well, I wouldn't hold your breath on anyone getting fired.

@sergio: The PK is absolutely abysmal this year.

I really feel like this is the year that the "yearly roster changes" due to the salary cap will finally hit the Hawks square in the jaw. That being said, I feel they could still snag a 7th or 8th seed. Fingers crossed...and this is coming from a huge Hawks fan.

I totally agree, he's a bum.

I'd send him to Toronto on the cheap.

You can tell without watching the game that Price isn't in net for the Habs tonight. That score! Woof!

Looks like we're finally gonna get to know more about the Las Vegas team soon.

@rotnac: It's about time!

@mightyduck: no kidding.

A bunch of the rumored names with _______ Knights just sounds awful. I've seen other names thrown around on r/hockey and twitter that are way better.

@rotnac: I saw someone do a mockup for "Aces" on SportsLogos utilizing planes relating to the nearby Nellis Air Force base.. Looked amazing! From what've I've read though, the league wants no association with gambling regardless if the logo was different. Quite a shame!

@mightyduck:

I agree that it looks pretty cool. Also, if the league didn't want any association with gambling maybe, I dunno, don't have a team in Las Vegas? As long as they're there, they may as well lean into it.

@lawgamer: Completely agree. It's the gigantic elephant in the room that the NHL realizes, but doesn't want to acknowledge I guess. I mean, I get it...but still.

There is something that I find awesome anytime there is expansion or relocation. Obviously, with relocation, it's a bummer for the fans that are losing their team. Still holding out to someday see the Nordiques make a return though.

@mightyduck: Ah, if not for the NHL, they could have been the Las Vegas Craps!

But seriously, looking forward to seeing how that team shapes up, and how the fanbase shapes up, too.

Well, this is just silly.

http://www.secondcityhockey.com/2016/11/11/13602816/bryan-bickell-multiple-sclerosis-injury-health-blackhawks-hurricanes-2016

Sad to hear that Bickell was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. This explains the drop in his production with the Blackhawks that led to his demotion to the Ice Hogs and eventual trade.

Filthy.

https://www.nhl.com/video/kanes-spectacular-deke-and-goal/t-283069690/c-46330503

(Yes, the goal should have counted.)