“I Might Just Be A Hockey Fan In California” is a feature that will be posted every Saturday here at the View From My Seats. There are plenty of things going on in the hockey world (and even the sports world); and you know everyone has an opinion. This is a place for some quick hits of the week that was.
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I might just be a hockey fan in California, but:
- The NHL needs to convince Brett Favre to play hockey. It would be awesome to get coverage 24 hours a day.
- Even though the offseason seems like it takes forever, it’s all worth it on opening night.
- It’s a lot easier to save money when I’m not buying hockey tickets all over North America.
Rob Blake was announced as the new Captain of the Sharks. This sufficiently answers the question, "Is anyone at the wheel?"
- I STILL hate DirecTV and Versus equally. I feel like we’re going back to the old SportsChannel days. If the season starts and no one sees it, did it really start?
- The term “Hocktober” instantly makes October one of the coolest months of the year.
- Marian Hossa’s 12 year contract basically started on Friday. He, however, will start sometime in mid-November.
- When the Sharks named Rob Blake their new captain, most of Los Angeles erupted with laughter. Unfortunately, the residents of Northern California were not as euphoric.
- The NHL isn’t opening the season in Europe? Let me get this straight: 4 teams have to go to Europe for regular season games—and it’s not even a big NHL Kick-Off thing? I’m sure the players are thrilled.
- Workdays are a little easier to survive when you know you’re going to a hockey game that weekend.
- The Calgary Flames new-old jerseys are the opposite of a jersey foul. They remind me of the Smythe Division.
- If the Maple Leafs are intent on playing with grit and nastiness, they damn well better learn how to kill a penalty or its going to be a long, frustrating season.
I didn't know how much I missed these jerseys...
- Every single hockey fan should listen to a Florida Panthers game on the radio at least once in their life. Randy Moller is pure gold. Really, he’s that good.
- Joe Sakic is class. Even if you hated the Avalanche, it was hard to hate Burnaby Joe.
- Brooks Laich might be one of the most underrated/under appreciated players in the league. I guess that’s the downside of playing next to guys like Ovechkin, Semin and Green.
- You can have the best 18 skaters in any given game—but if your goaltending isn’t as good, none of that matters. Is Cristobal Huet a goaltender that is going to be able to perform at the level the Blackhawks need him to so they can take the next step?
- Dany Heatley started his Sharks career with a -3 (Minus) on Opening Night against the Avs. He’s currently on pace to be a -246 this season. Unfortunately, that seems to be yet another number that we won’t be able to reach.
- The Canucks and Flames don’t really like each other. I know there isn’t a fun little name like “Battle of Alberta” to go with this rivalry—but the hate level is certainly close to the Flames and Oilers. And I love it.
- The Islanders awful 2008-09 season may have been worth it. The league’s worst record earned the Isles both John Tavares (Draft) and Rob Schremp (Waiver Wire Priority). Yes, I just used Robby Schremp as a silver lining. It’s the Islanders.
- I give Gaborik 3 games. 3.
- Gary Bettman is a pompous little person that needs to be fired for the good of the game.
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So what were your thoughts from the NHL week that was?
Matt Reitz is the Editor-In-Chief here at ViewFromMySeats.com and former NHL Writer for ProHockeyTalk on NBCSports. When he’s not shoving a mic in the face of NHLers or explaining why home teams should wear white, he’s usually trying to figure out what song to play next on his iPod. It’s a never-ending job.
