It’s the first MMS of the 2013 season! And since it’s the superbowl lets make some predictions…the coin toss will be heads, the anthem will be over 1:34, 49ers will score first and will win the game. Please note I lost all of my bets last year, so what you do with those predictions is on you.

Anyways, 15% of the way through the season, and we are in February, and the Oilers are currently in a playoff position!!! Holy shit!

All in all, the team looks as was expected, with the top 2 lines providing offense, bottom 6 looking a little weak and the defense looking…challenged. Dubnyk has been a pleasant surprise however, and has held us in a couple games already.

Powerplay looks to be a killer, and the PK outside of the one sharks game looks to be solid.

Oiler News

- Gagner and Hall lead the team in scoring at over a ppg (23rd and 26th in league scoring).
- Dubnyk is at a 0.925 sv% even after that one Sharks game!
- Yakupov has awesome celebrations.

League News

- Stamkos has 16 fucking points in 8 games…jesus. Kid’s pretty good.
- Coyotes are still as shit-show ownership-wise.
- Luongo is now awesome in my books based solely on his twitter, and cause he’s making shit all weird in Canucks-town.
- Spezza out 2 months for back surgery.

Anyways, on to the standings (and fight video, and Oil Kings):
Continue reading 'Monday Morning Standings – Superbowl Edition'»

Question 1: why am I still up?
Question 2:

Are you happy the lockout is over? Yes, thank god.. hockey finally! No, these guys don't deserve a season I really don't care one way or the other. I've got very mixed feelings on this. View Results  Loading ...

So with the owners asking the players to take a big pay cut, and the players asking the owners to put more emphasis on revenue sharing to keep the dead teams afloat, and both teams refusing to budge… who is losing out here? Well, I believe both sides are, but more so it is the fans.

What a slap in the face this is that for the 3rd time under Gary Bettman’s rule, we are again in another lockout (well, it is expected we will be, with no negotiations happening on the deadline day). The owners/managers are asking for the players to protect them (the owners/managers) from themselves. The owners dished out lavish contracts knowing full well the implications of doing so. It seems that under 7 years of the previous CBA (formed in 2005), the GMs just have not learned, so here we are again today.

But wait.. there has to be more to this. Teams like Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, New York, and even Edmonton are paying players the big money because they CAN do so, right? Well… quite simply, yes. These teams have been loving the new CBA more than any team out there (although for the most part this has little to do with the CBA, in my opinion). 6 teams have consistently been reaping the spoils of the NHL quite consistently since 2005 (when the new CBA came in to effect) – the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks, Detroit Red Wings and the Edmonton Oilers.

It’s pretty clear why Toronto has been at the top of the heap year after year… last year they Continue reading 'Fans Locked Out'»

Looks like the division just got a whole lot tougher.

As per TSN:

Not sure about the dollars, but I imagine the cap hits won’t be terrible (I’m guessing 5/6 mil per for each). Considering the Wild had over 14mil in space, I’m sure it’ll be easy for them to work it in.

Edit: Yikes. As per TSN again: Both deals are worth $98 million over 13 years, carrying an average annual value of $7.538 million.

As for the rest of the division, looks like this year will be a doozy. With the Canucks being the perennial winner (last few years) and the Wild getting instantly better it’ll be interesting to see how the Avs, Oil and Flames end up in the standings. Hopefully the Oilers are ready to take that next step…otherwise it just got harder for them.

Next up…Matt Carle.