I know there aren't many on this site who care (and don't let me stop you from posting about it) but NHL teams are changing in a BIG way right now.

Chris Pronger is an Edmonton Oiler? (GREAT trade for St. Louis IMO - Eric Brewer is only going to get better, while Pronger appears to be on the downside of his career)

Sergei Gonchar is a Pittsburgh Penguin? (I think that's a great fit - between him, Sidney Crosby, and Lemiuex this team is starting to look dangerous... or, at least, not a joke anymore)

Tony Amonte and Darren McCarty are Calgary Flames? (another good fit. I despise the Flames - and this one worries me)

And so far Colorado has lost Martin Skoula, Adam Foote, and Paul Kariya - is that team going to be the same regular season powerhouse, or will that depend on Forsberg?

And Toronto is looking to sign Jason Allison? (Holy shit. I hate the Leafs more than the Flames and so this could be bad news. At least they lost Gary Roberts and Joe Niewendyk)

So what else is going on out there? Whose favorite team is starting to look like a winner? A loser? Same old same old?

not enough energy to even respond with a quip

The Flyers signed Darien Hatcher and Mike Rathje. They needed big tough defensemen. I like those signings.

Lost to who? To age or another team?

I'm curious to see where John LeClair will land.

They both went to the Florida Panthers. Keenan also got Martin Gelinas from the Flames.

You should see a doctor about that.

Saw Sportscenter this morning and these signings really make me more than a little excited about hockey this year.

Yeh, you Atlanta folk should be pretty excited about the Thrashers. That team is facking LOADED with young talent.

Also signed Coach Sutter's son, but he along with Amonte & McCarty won't be enough fire power to get Iginla & Co. as close to the Cup two years back. I'll root for 'em still.

How can anybody hate the Flames, Lanny MacDonald &/or his ginger beard? Why do you hate Canada?

Plus we just signed Bobby Holik. Expensive but dude is a winner. The Thrahers are about to come on in a BIG way.

I'm stoked as shit.

Does this mean the Caps still suck?

It's the Flyers year. Mark it down.

I definitely like the addition of Holik to the Thrashers. He was a bust in NY, but they expected too much out of him. He's a hard-nosed, mean mofo - and he'll be perfect for making some room for the likes of Heatley and Kovalchuk.

Yeah I was actually pretty stoked about this. I've only been to 2 Thrasher games and had a blast at both. It was pretty disappointing last year when there was this feeling of optimism about the team and then all the shit with Dany Heatley went down pretty much taking the wind out of the sails.


The Bobby Holik sigining combined with Kovalchuk and Heatley should make for a possible playoff team. If so, it will be the first playoff game held in Phillips Arena.......EVER. Lord knows the Hawks still won't make the playoffs.

I think Atlanta will embrace this team if they can start playing like a contender. So far, we haven't had much to cheer for. Hell if they are talking about hockey around here at the cusp of football season then the Thrashers are doing something right.

The Flyers have lost Recchi, Amonte, a couple of their stalwart defencemen, and probably John LeClair. So far their only move has been to reaquire Therien and pick up Derrian Hatcher - and let's face it, if the NHL makes good on their zero-tolerance policy on obstruction, it's gonna hurt a big, slow goof like Hatcher in a serious way. I think the Flyers blew their chance for a cup two years ago.

Yeah Kovalchuk needs a strong centreman to make room for him to run his game (which is nothing short of amazing). Holik will light a fire under his ass on the defensive side as well because he can check out from time to time (Hartley benched him for not playing D at one point)

Heatley can pretty much do what he wants on any part of the ice. I think though that he really needs a big brother type figure who has been a winner to keep him mentally on track. I worry about that whole "incident" in the car still fucking with Dany's head.

Naw, mang. Heatley was great at the World Cup. I suspect he's one of those guys that finds sanctuary once he's on the ice - it's like he can forget about all the other shit and just focus on the game. My predicition is he's gonna be #1 in the scoring race this year.

And good point about the "big brother" aspect of Holik. I think that's exactly the sort of intangible that Holik brings to a team of youngsters.

Yzerman and Shanahan are back for one more year, and the new rules are going to favor Datsuk and his amazing stick handling and speed... Otherwise, my Wings are not looking that great.

Keenan got Nieuwe, Gelinas & Roberts because Stephan Matteau, Brian Noonan & Adam Creighton weren't available. Come on you know he called all 3 of em. On paper they might have the worst blueline in the league. Other than Bouwmeester, Van Ryn & Hill it gets ugly. I'm sure they were in the bidding for Pronger. There's talk they're after Thornton since Keenan loves him so much. But that won't happen for awhile.

Skoula was a Duck. The Av's traded him for Sauer last summer. Av's are in huge trouble. They're suppossed to have the weakest group of prospects of all 30 teams, they have big money tied in 2 great but 35 year old players, Forsberg & Damph still aren't signed -which makes Tanguay useless unless he's paired with Sakic & it's not the playoffs. And Lacroix inherited a lot when he took over & hasn't kept it up. They traded away a lot over the years & lost a lot of inhouse free agents. DET on the other hand has at least done a very solid job of drafting & will re-adjust to the CBA quicker.

Pronger/Brewer deal: An All-Star/Olympic calibre Defenceman & 2 prospects is a steep price. Considering everyone knew STL had to dump Pronger, they got a great package in return. There must've been a pretty entertaining bidding war. STL needed help in thier system they're woefully thin so getting Brewer (4 years younger than Pronger) & 2 prospects in their early 20's helps.

But this will help EDM a lot too. Pronger has more offensive up swing than Brewer which suits the Oilers up tempo style & they might have a replacement for Brewer in Matthew Greene a season or 2 away. They had to get a 24 minute a night guy who can score, plus EDM is loaded with prospects they could afford a deal like this. Pronger just signed a Five-year, $31.25 million deal this afternoon.

Demitra to Kings: This is a great signing. Other than Forsberg I don't think there was another forward out there as a UFA who has a better combination of youth, versatility, offensive talent & defensive know how. He doesn't hit 31 till November, he can play RW or C, he's a point a game guy & is very solid in his own end. He's not physical & he's had concussion problems but the talent & hockey sense make him well worth it.

Satan, Palffy & Valeri Bure are still out there to fill out the right side. I'd love to see 2 of em here in LA with Demitra slotted as a Center. But if this Kariya talk is real then I gotta believe they're thinking of Cammalari as a C & not a LW which means maybe they're thinking of Demitra as a RW or Belanger on his way out. I hope they pass on Kariya. They need a young stud in the defensive end to get ready to inherit the job Norstrom & Miller are doing.

Bruins: I love the idea of Murray back, along with an old returnee McEachern. And I'll take my chances on Isbister over Knuble. Scratchard is 29, mean, strong defensively & has two 20 goal seasons. He's not much of a playmaker which makes him an odd Center but he's replacing Rolston who wasn't a playmaker either. He's not as dangerous as Rolston but he's stronger 5 on 5 & grittier. Gonchar gone scares me esp if the replacement is Leetch. That's like the B-Hawks getting Orr. I want them to go after Hamrlik. And this talk of Thorton unhappy troubles me too. But the idea of Modano is intruging even if he's 35. Dallas would really regret Guerin then.

Flyers: if Rathje plays like he did last season it's a great signing. If Hatcher plays like he did last season it's a horrible signing. But you never know season to season with these 2. But when they're on look out... this blueline is gonna be feared. I think a lot of this teams success might be leaning on if Carter & Richards can make the jump. After the blueline signings I don't see much money for forwards & are they even 100% Roenick is gonna be ready to go? As much as I hate the Flyers I hope JR can play.

Kovalev just signed in MTL

I shocked ANA hasn't been more active. I expected big things from Burke, they have to make moves to get back fans. All this silence = Bertuzzi.

Allison left BOS & LA in a bad situations he created & made enemies along the way. He's a concussion away from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest territory & he's a liability 5 on 5. With all that said he will kick the living shit out of the other teams penalty kill if he's healthy. TOR would be a good fit because they have a #1 & maybe #2 in Antropov so Allison as a possible #2 & PP specialist is scary.

I doubt Holik will skate with Kovalchuk. The Rangers miscast him & put him with Jagr after they established a great grindline without him. If Holik skated with Barnaby & Simon it would've been more suited to his game. I think he's gonna have Mellanby & Kozlov as his wings. But that leaves ATL with 2 solid scoring centers (Stefan came on late last year I think he's coming into his own finally) so they can split Heatly & Kovalchuk & have great depth. We'll see

And with the additions FLA made + Loungo, Stillman in CAR. Tampa isn't gonna get the division as easily this year.

Recchi, Amonte and LecLair all came up extra small through every playoff in the last 4 years.

they won the clader cup on the back of a core group of young awesome players. and young players have a history of starting great with the flyers (and then dissapearing after two years)

I do think that Hartley will split Heatley and K.

Stefan (having watched his entire career and IMHO) will never be a great scorer but is finally developing into a very solid NHL player. That dude just straight up could not handle being "the man" on a team. The Holik acquisition will help him as well.

It will also be interesting to see what young Mr. Laetnin (sp?) can do in goal.

And I wouldnt mind picking up a decent veteran defensemen.

Other than that, lets roll the cup down Peachtree!

Yup, that's my prediction. I don't think it'll happen right away, but probably before Christmas. Burke has a history of picking the pockets of his previous teams. Plus I imagine Bertuzzi will be able to parlay his infamy into a fair bit of celebrity in a market like Anaheim.

As long as the kids (Richards, Carter and maybe Umberger) step up..The Flyers won't miss Lecalir and Amonte much at all...Recchi, on the other hand was a fan favoirte and I think he still had a little left in the gas tank..But we'll see..

The Flyers additions on D will make a big difference compared to the heads that left...Mahlakov and Timander for Hatcher and Rathje..I'll take that any day..I will miss the Markov running around like a mad man though...But overall a big improvement...


I'm interested to see how the Pens do this year. They were a horrible team last season, but they have made some really big acquisitions for this year...Even though Lemiex has killed the Flyers over the years, IMHO I think he is the most naturally gifted offensive player I have ever seen...