Official NHL 2005-2006 Season Thread

[Malcolm]

Oct 5, 2005     Canadiens           Bruins            7:00 PM EDT     -     
Oct 5, 2005    Islanders          Sabres           7:00 PM EDT    -    
Oct 5, 2005    Rangers         Flyers            7:00 PM EDT    -    
Oct 5, 2005    Blue Jackets          Capitals          7:00 PM EDT    -    
Oct 5, 2005    Thrashers           Panthers    7:00 PM EDT    -    
Oct 5, 2005    Senators           Maple Leafs    7:30 PM EDT    -    
Oct 5, 2005    Penguins            Devils              7:30 PM EDT    -    
Oct 5, 2005    Hurricanes           Lightning      7:30 PM EDT    -    
Oct 5, 2005    Blues                    Red Wings       7:30 PM EDT    -    
Oct 5, 2005    Sharks                   Predators       8:00 PM EDT    -    
Oct 5, 2005    Mighty Ducks          Blackhawks      8:30 PM EDT    -    
Oct 5, 2005    Flames                   Wild                 8:30 PM EDT    -    
Oct 5, 2005    Kings                    Stars          8:30 PM EDT    -    
Oct 5, 2005    Avalanche           Oilers               9:30 PM EDT    -    
Oct 5, 2005    Coyotes        Canucks       10:00 PM EDT

[Rob]

Nice, Rangers vs. Flyers right off the bat.  Can't wait.  Let's Go Rangers!!!

[KeVoRkIaN]

Flyers are going to destroy all teams - Carter, Richards, Forsberg, Gagne, Primeau, Hatcher, Rathje, Desjardins, Pitkanen,

You are now all owned!

Philly in '06

[D]

Did Philly Get Peter Forsberg? or is that the other Forsberg?

[sandman]

Did Philly Get Peter Forsberg? or is that the other Forsberg?

yes, the flyers signed THE forsberg. i was driving home from work and almost crashed when i heard it.

they're gonna trade JR though, which sucks cause he's my all time favorite. but the goal is to win it all, and this gives them a much better chance.

2 months and a day til opening night. i can't fucking wait.

[Mal Brossard]

As far as I know, Peter is the only Forsberg in the NHL.  My girlfriend, who absolutely loves him, is REALLY pissed about this signing.

Bruins pick up Leetch, Murray, McEachern, and Isbister.  I wouldn't count them out in the East just yet.  Oh wait, it's the Bruins.  Shit, never mind.

Philly is looking good, but I'd consider them nowhere near a lock for the East.  Carter and Richards have yet to prove themselves at the pro level, Forsberg is a great player when he stays healthy and doesn't go diving every time someone looks at him the wrong way, Gagne will be good provided he can stay healthy (see 02-03... he'll probably keep up his "2 points every three games" kind of pace), Primeau however will be 34 this year and has seen his production tailing off a bit, Hatcher has health issues every couple of years (15 games in 03-04), Rathje is one of the most overrated d-men in the league (Iginla owned him in the 03-04 playoffs), Desjardins is 36 and is not the same player he was with Montreal and in his first years with Philly, Pitkanen is also young but at least now has a year of experience under his belt.

They also have a big question mark in goal with Esche and Niittymaki.  Esche's breakout year was 03-04, and he only played half the games.  Niittymaki lacks experience, but has put up good numbers in the AHL.

So we'll see.  They look good, but at the same time, I do have my questions.

I still hope Donald "Huggy Bear" Brashear falls off a cliff.

[D]

NO there is a lesser known Forsberg, cant remember who he plays for, he isnt a star or nothing, He may be a second line defensemen or something, not really sure.

JR is winding down, lets be honest, And Peter Forsberg is THE MAN, it sucks for my Colorado Avalanche however .

Did Colorado retain Joe Sakic at least?

I know they havent signed Tanguay yet and they lost Adam Foote, so this sucks.


I have moved almost to Atlanta so I am ecstatic cause ill get to drive down and watch some Atlanta Thrasher games, I dont like Atlanta's team but Ill catch them playin the Flyers or the Avs and its gonna be awesome

anyone know how much it usually costs to get a hockey ticket?

[Rob]

The Flyers look to have one of the more talented teams in the East.  But they're definitely old.  I so wanted to see Brian Leetch back in a Rangers jersey.  If they wanted him back he'd be back.  And I'm sure an Atlanta Thrashers ticket would be quite affordable.

[N.I.B]

Flyers had gone over the cap and now they had to get rid of Roenik.

Habs r gonna win the cup. Re-signed Kovalev, signed Dandenault, drafted the number one goalie. Oh yeah, go Habs, go!

[Rob]

Roenick to the Kings.  Damn they didn't give up anything to get him.

[N.I.B]

Roenick to the Kings.? Damn they didn't give up anything to get him.

Ronenick and 3rd Pick for a Conditional Choice

[Rob]

This off-season has been insane so far.  Its basically like a fantasy draft with players goin' all over the place.  I think this rapid player movement alone has brought some excitement back to the NHL.

[sandman]

the flyers were one of the top 5 teams BEFORE free agency started. and they are the only good team that improved themselves significantly. and the other two top teams lost their best players.....the top G (the bulin wall) and D (neidermayer) in the east both moved to the west.

the flyers are the HEAVY favorite to win the east. 

[Mal Brossard]

I don't know that I'd call Khabibulin the beat goalie in the East.  You mean to tell me he's better than Brodeur, Theodore, Raycroft, Kolzig, and Luongo?

As for Niedermayer going over to the west, it's a big loss for the Devils, but they still have probably the best defensive corps in the East, if not the entire NHL-- Stevens, Matvichuk, Rafalski, Malakhov, White, Martin, McGillis, and Brown.

And once again, Philly's D is full of big guys with almost no mobility-- not good for what's about to become a high-flying offensive game across the whole league.  Don't go giving yourselves the Eastern Conference crown just yet, Flyers fans.

[sandman]

I don't know that I'd call Khabibulin the beat goalie in the East.? You mean to tell me he's better than Brodeur, Theodore, Raycroft, Kolzig, and Luongo?

As for Niedermayer going over to the west, it's a big loss for the Devils, but they still have probably the best defensive corps in the East, if not the entire NHL-- Stevens, Matvichuk, Rafalski, Malakhov, White, Martin, McGillis, and Brown.

And once again, Philly's D is full of big guys with almost no mobility-- not good for what's about to become a high-flying offensive game across the whole league.? Don't go giving yourselves the Eastern Conference crown just yet, Flyers fans.

right now, yes, without a doubt, khabibulin in the best goalie in the league. he did win the cup (while brodeur lost in round 1 - to the flyers).

and you obviously are not familiar with the flyers D. their other 4 defensemen are all mobile "offensive" type defensemen.

[Neemo]

edmonton made a couple cool aquisitons IMO. Philly kinda went overboard, they still need to sign Gagne and Esche!!! Mr. Clarke needs a brain examination! lol. I'm jealous that Pilly signed Forsberg, kudos to them though.

My team is Detroit, they haven't done SHIT!! well Stevey Y is back so that's cool that he will retire playing instead of sitting 

The whole free agent thingy this year is quite bizarre, but cool, I can't wait for the puck to drop. if the new rules changes are all implimented properly (Obstruction especially!! ) it should make for a faster, more exciting game. 

The shootout in regular season to settle ties will be fun. 

[Mal Brossard]

I don't know that I'd call Khabibulin the beat goalie in the East.? You mean to tell me he's better than Brodeur, Theodore, Raycroft, Kolzig, and Luongo?

As for Niedermayer going over to the west, it's a big loss for the Devils, but they still have probably the best defensive corps in the East, if not the entire NHL-- Stevens, Matvichuk, Rafalski, Malakhov, White, Martin, McGillis, and Brown.

And once again, Philly's D is full of big guys with almost no mobility-- not good for what's about to become a high-flying offensive game across the whole league.? Don't go giving yourselves the Eastern Conference crown just yet, Flyers fans.

right now, yes, without a doubt, khabibulin in the best goalie in the league. he did win the cup (while brodeur lost in round 1 - to the flyers).

and you obviously are not familiar with the flyers D. their other 4 defensemen are all mobile "offensive" type defensemen.

So just winning a cup makes you the best goalie in the league?  If you want to go by that reasoning, then Esa Tikkanen and Claude Lemieux are both better players than Mario Lemieux.  I'd love to see you try to defend that one.

As for Khabibulin, in the regular season in 2003-04, he wasn't even top 10 in GAA among goalies appearing in at least 40 games (Roloson, Turco, Brodeur, Esche, Raycroft, Aebischer, Legace, Belfour, Nabokov, and Osgood all had lower GAA).  He wasn't even top 15 out of those with more than 27 games.  Khabibulin was 11th in the NHL in wins.  Missed the top 10 in Save Percentage (behind Roloson, Luongo, Raycroft, Aebischer, Nabokov, Legace, Theodore, Belfour, Denis, and Brodeur among those to play in 40 or more games).  He also had fewer than 5 shutouts, putting him out of the top 15 for the NHL.  Best goalie in the league?  Not even close.

As for the Flyers defensive mobility, Hatcher is getting old and coming off an injury.  Desjardins is also getting up there in age.  Pitkanen is still young, so we'll let him slide.  Rathje stood like a post in the playoffs while Iginla skated all over him.  Therien is no better than Rathje.  Seidenberg is still inexperienced, but has potential.  Johnsson is underrated on the blueline.  But with the two-line pass rule being opened up, they're going to need faster d-men than guys like Hatcher, Desjardins, Rathje, and Therien.  Teams just have to exploit the home run pass to ruin them.

[Neemo]

As for the Flyers defensive mobility, Hatcher is getting old and coming off an injury.? Desjardins is also getting up there in age.? Pitkanen is still young, so we'll let him slide.? Rathje stood like a post in the playoffs while Iginla skated all over him.? Therien is no better than Rathje.? Seidenberg is still inexperienced, but has potential.? Johnsson is underrated on the blueline.? But with the two-line pass rule being opened up, they're going to need faster d-men than guys like Hatcher, Desjardins, Rathje, and Therien.? Teams just have to exploit the home run pass to ruin them.

Very very good point. I was quite glad detroit got rid of hatcher, he was brutal in the playoffs. verrrrrrrrrrrrrry slow. that is another aspect of the new rules i'm looking forward to. the long bomb 

i'm afraid there won't many more defensemen racking up points, and less point shots too

[sandman]

I don't know that I'd call Khabibulin the beat goalie in the East.? You mean to tell me he's better than Brodeur, Theodore, Raycroft, Kolzig, and Luongo?

As for Niedermayer going over to the west, it's a big loss for the Devils, but they still have probably the best defensive corps in the East, if not the entire NHL-- Stevens, Matvichuk, Rafalski, Malakhov, White, Martin, McGillis, and Brown.

And once again, Philly's D is full of big guys with almost no mobility-- not good for what's about to become a high-flying offensive game across the whole league.? Don't go giving yourselves the Eastern Conference crown just yet, Flyers fans.

right now, yes, without a doubt, khabibulin in the best goalie in the league. he did win the cup (while brodeur lost in round 1 - to the flyers).

and you obviously are not familiar with the flyers D. their other 4 defensemen are all mobile "offensive" type defensemen.

So just winning a cup makes you the best goalie in the league?? If you want to go by that reasoning, then Esa Tikkanen and Claude Lemieux are both better players than Mario Lemieux.? I'd love to see you try to defend that one.

As for Khabibulin, in the regular season in 2003-04, he wasn't even top 10 in GAA among goalies appearing in at least 40 games (Roloson, Turco, Brodeur, Esche, Raycroft, Aebischer, Legace, Belfour, Nabokov, and Osgood all had lower GAA).? He wasn't even top 15 out of those with more than 27 games.? Khabibulin was 11th in the NHL in wins.? Missed the top 10 in Save Percentage (behind Roloson, Luongo, Raycroft, Aebischer, Nabokov, Legace, Theodore, Belfour, Denis, and Brodeur among those to play in 40 or more games).? He also had fewer than 5 shutouts, putting him out of the top 15 for the NHL.? Best goalie in the league?? Not even close.

As for the Flyers defensive mobility, Hatcher is getting old and coming off an injury.? Desjardins is also getting up there in age.? Pitkanen is still young, so we'll let him slide.? Rathje stood like a post in the playoffs while Iginla skated all over him.? Therien is no better than Rathje.? Seidenberg is still inexperienced, but has potential.? Johnsson is underrated on the blueline.? But with the two-line pass rule being opened up, they're going to need faster d-men than guys like Hatcher, Desjardins, Rathje, and Therien.? Teams just have to exploit the home run pass to ruin them.

your first comment makes no sense since you're taking what i said about goalies and applying it to forwards. little bit of a different position. and you're also putting way too much into the regular (aka pre-) season.

the fact is khabibulin is one of the best goalies in the league, and he'd probably be listed in the top 3 by every GM in the nhl.

three of the flyers top defensemen (johnsson, pitkanen and seidenberg) can skate with anyone in the leage. all are very fast and mobile. as is desjardins (even in his old age).

the flyers NEEDED some size cause they had little. and although the rules are changing, someone still needs to stop the joe thorton's of the league in front of the net.

[Rob]

The Flyers will be one of the top two teams in the East, but in no way are they a lock.  And with Khabibulin, he's good...but he's definitely not the best in the league.  I think letting him go was a bad move for Tampa, but simply winning the cup doesn't make you the best in the league.  Were Mike Vernon or Chris Osgood the best goalies in the league when they won their Cups in Detroit?  The answer is no they weren't...not even close.  Although the move probably will be a plus for the NHL if Chicago can become a contender.  Its always good to have an original 6, big market team in the mix.