This thread is dedicated to the upcoming 2011-2012 NHL season.

Any and all discussion about the season and news, trades, injuries, etc can be dicussed here.

*fixes title of thread to say NHL instead of NFL*

So, yeah, I for one am looking forward to this season for several reasons. Firstly, it will be the first season that I actually get to see all the games that I want (I love satellite tv), the Winnepeg Jets are a team again (I really want to see how the move and fanbase alters the former Thrashers), and Crosby will be back at some point in the season. Hopefully not too far in.

Buffalo Sabres are going all the way this year!!!! Haha, not really, but I would be very happy if they did.

Elara : They are actually saying there is a good chance Crosby may not be back at all this season. 
geeogree : So who are you a fan of Geeo?

there is a chance he may not play this year.... he may not play again... and he might play in 3-4 weeks when the season starts.... it all depends on how his progress goes.

trouble982 : I'm a Calgary Flames fan. Born and raised in Calgary.... it's who I cheer for I'm a fan of other teams though. I like hockey enough that I don't too much who is playing.... I'll watch a game any time.

geeogree : Hockey would be kind of low on my list of sports I'd choose to watch, but if there are no good Football or Baseball games on count me in . Also, I love watching Alexander Ovechkin play. He is the greatest player in my generation.

second greatest....

I'm not a big fan of baseball or football so I'd take hockey over either of those. In fact there aren't any other sports I would watch over hockey unless it was a big playoff game or something.

I would like to see the Chicago Blackhawks win again.  They are an above average team, and if they get the right playoff parings, it is possible they win it all.

mlb789 : while I agree with you on the fact that they have a good chance.... i don't want to see them win again. I want a new team to win. I would rather see a new team win the cup every year for the most part.

geeogree :   I would also like to see that, but I think the Blackhawks deserve it more.  They had to let go of good players to meet the salary cap, and they still made the playoffs.  That is definitely a case for the cup.  Also, does Vizzed have a fantasy hockey league every year?

no, we've never had one because this is a mostly American board so very few people care enough about hockey with baseball and football going on at the same time.

They've said that he (Crosby) is definitely coming back, though it will be whenever he is 100% but they are hopeful that it will be during this season given his progress.

I don't understand how the fantasy league thing works at all anyway, but I would be interested to learn for hockey.

geeogree : Who would you put above Ovechkin? Not Crosby...
mlb789 : And I'd like to see the Sabres win it all, but we can't both get what we want
Elara : Fantasy Hockey is not one of the more popular ones, but I have played it a couple of times. You draft players to your team, and those players score you points every week by getting goals/assists/defensive plays and such.

I would. Look at last year alone. Crosby almost had more points than Ovi and he didn't even play the entire season.... and he took his team to a championship. Ovi hasn't. To call Ovi the best right now is ridiculous. Top 5, or top 3? For sure... but not #1.

I agree with Geeogree 100% on that.

Points per game

Crosby - 1.388

Ovi - 1.292


- Ovi is the "flashier" player.... but I think Crosby is the better leader and is more likely (if/when he gets healthy) to be the better player overall. But hey, Ovi as #1 and Sid as #2 is still pretty realistic.

geeogree :
Elara :

Haha, I guess I just really don't like Crosby. Idk if it's an extended hatred from hating the Steelers in football that I hate the penguins....but I like the Pittsburgh Pirates in Baseball so I really don't know. Also remember, Pittsburgh has put a REALLY good team around Crosby, where Ovechkin has had alright guys and high expectations. If you switched Ovi and Crosby, I bet Ovi would have Lord Stanley's Cup.

uh... I think they've had comparable teams for the last 3-4 years. Maybe Pittsburgh has had a better team... but Washington has had better regular seasons so it's a tough call.

geeogree : Pittsburgh just seems to have a better all around team than Washington has. And a MUCH better goalie.

Two really good goalies actually. Fleury is amazing, and so is Johnson.

The only problem with Fleury is when he loses his confidence, then it's just really bad. But normally when he is out there it is just amazing to watch him.

here is a question:

do you think the Bruins can repeat? They've managed to keep their team together for the most part.

The parts they lost - Recchi, Ryder and Kaberle

Added - Pouliot, Corvo

Corvo is better than Kaberle in my opinion. Kaberle was a non-factor. Recchi was getting older and it was hard to know if he would have had the same impact. Ryder will be replaced by Pouliot. Obviously won't have quite the same production but with a new team he might break 30 points this year.

And then add on to that Marchand and Seguin who will both improve next year....

I think they have a better shot than most teams considering they've only replaced 2-3 players. I think the competition in the East will be as tough as ever though. And since I saw Boston's run as more of a luck thing than a skill thing I don't know if they'll have what it takes 2 years in a row.