2023-24 NHL Season

[Doc Holliday]

The new NHL regular season is still a couple of weeks away. But today was the start of the preseason & the Leafs had a very easy time with the visiting Ottawa Senators in their first game of a scheduled doubleheader. Their next game is at 7pm tonight & Auston Mathews is expected to make his preseason debut in that game. Go Leafs Go!

 

[EagerBeaver]

NHL Preseason Power Rankings:

NHL preview: Rankings from 1 to 32 and what to know about every team

Get all of the key intel you need on every team ahead of opening night.

www.espn.com

Notable teams:
- NYR #5
- Montreal Canadiens #29 (Philadephia, Chicago, and Arizona all ranked lower, which tells you how bad these teams are going to suck in the competition for Conor Bedard)
- Edmonton #3 (to me the big surprise on this list, although Soup Campbell is a big improvement over the dogshit they had in nets last year

 

[gaby]

What a start....T.BAY---NYR...VASI vs SHESTERKIN.....big win for the NYR....perfect game....ZIBA and SHESTERKIN are really ready.....BLUESHIRTS are in serious business.

 

[gaby]

WOW....crazy start for McDAVID with a hat trick......always fun to watch.....will---with DRAISAITL---make OILERS serious contenders...BUT agree...goalie ???????

 

[Doc Holliday]

The Oilers are once again a one-line team with a questionable defence. I believe Campbell is a very good goalie as long as he remains healthy. He’s been injury-prone in the past & way too hard on himself when he let’s in a bad goal. I think it’ll be a struggle for them to make the playoffs but my feeling is that they’ll squeak in & may cause surprises in the playoffs.

 

[gaby]

Wow....another big evening for NYR and PANARIN......not a good start for the SENS....FLAMES did much better----big win--- vs the AVS 5-3......KADRY---HUBERDEAU could make a big difference and they have good goalie.....will look at them closely....

 

[EagerBeaver]

Man Proposes and Is Rejected at Islanders game:

Man proposes at Islanders game, gets heart ripped directly out of his chest in front of 17,000 people

To add insult to injury, the Isles lost their home opener 3-1 to the Florida Panthers.

www.golfdigest.com

 

[gaby]

Battle of ALBERTA.....FLAMES 4 EDM 3.....what a goal by KADRI......Battle of ONTARIO...LEAFS 3 SENS 2.....2 good games.

 

[gaby]

FLYERS are on fire....big win over TBAY....they are 3-0.....est-ce l'effet TORTO ???...really believe so .....one of my fav.

 

[EagerBeaver]

FLYERS are on fire....big win over TBAY....they are 3-0.....est-ce l'effet TORTO ???...really believe so .....one of my fav.

It's called the Tortorella Effect. It's real and it's happened every single place he has coached. Unfortunately he will eventually wear out his welcome as he did at all his other coaching stops. He is very much like Mike Keenan. A great coach but a taskmaster and in the case of Tortorella he emphasizes defense over offense and his teams often struggle to score playing his style. I think the better offensive players get upset because it hurts their stats, and their stats is what determines their pay in free agency. So agents basically poison the players against him. He has won a Stanley Cup (like Keenan) implementing his system, so he will always find work in professional hockey, and likely always get fired eventually for reasons noted above. Keenan eventually was Forced to take his act overseas and won a championship in the KHL before also wearing out his welcome there. Tortorella is having the same coaching career as Keenan did. You want these guys and like these guys, until you don't. LOL.

 

[gaby]

So here we are.....who will b the first coach fired???? BOUDREAU---TOURIGNY---QUINN.....would bet on BOUDREAU....

 

[EagerBeaver]

So here we are.....who will b the first coach fired???? BOUDREAU---TOURIGNY---QUINN.....would bet on BOUDREAU....

Gaby good question. I am going to say NO on Tourigny because Arizona is in tank mode and their expectations aren't high and in fact are very low.

Although coaches have been fired in October in the past 5 years, I personally think it's a bit early. I would wait another few weeks to see what happens. However Quinn and Bourdreau are feeling the heat and might even be feeling or sensing the blades of the axe on their necks. Between those two, Quinn is the less accomplished coach and I never really understood why the Rangers hired him or why the Sharks did. Teams think he is a good developmental coach who can work with younger players as he was a college coach in the NCAA. Boudreau has a much more developed resume as NHL head coach.

Although Columbus isn't off to a terrible start, I am a little disappointed by their play so far as well.

Will be interested to see who gets fired first. My prediction is we will have our first firings before November 15. So Quinn and Boudreau really need to get their teams jump started if they wish to remain employed.

 

[EagerBeaver]

As far as the case to fire Boudreau soon: fans throwing their jerseys (which they probably paid a lot of money for) on the ice is NOT a good look or a good sign:

"Just totally embarrassing": Boudreau on Canucks after fans toss jerseys | Offside

Nothing is going right for the Vancouver Canucks these days, with jerseys hitting the ice on Saturday night at Rogers Arena.

dailyhive.com

 

[Doc Holliday]

Gabby Boudreau will likely be the first coach fired however it may also be Paul Maurice, who inherited a weaker team when he took over this season. Now his #1 defenceman is out of the lineup for the next couple of months & last year's #2 defenceman was traded to Calgary in the Mathew Tkachuk deal. I think it's still too early into the season for teams to panic and i expect the first coach to be fired will happen sometimes after the 20 game mark.

Andre Tourigny's job in Arizona is safe since he's doing everything that management wants him to do, which is tanking in order for them to be able to draft Connor Bedard or another top talent in the upcoming entry draft. Tourigny also has a reputation of being great in working with young promising players. One coach who's job may end up being in jeopardy if his team continues to underperform is Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft. But like i said it's still way too early into the season & there are over 75 games left to play.

 

[gaby]

I watched VEGAS--JETS....wow....what a goal by EICHEL in 0/T....spectacular......is he back?????......not that good again for the LEAFS....really going wrong way....IMHO SHELDON is on the line.....

 

[EagerBeaver]

I watched VEGAS--JETS....wow....what a goal by EICHEL in 0/T....spectacular......is he back?????......

Jack Eichel pulls off winning OT goal with seconds left - ESPN Video

Jack Eichel finds the back of the net with just seven seconds left in overtime to give the Golden Knights the victory.

www.espn.com

 

[EagerBeaver]

not that good again for the LEAFS....really going wrong way....IMHO SHELDON is on the line.....

Keefe is a punk. He is the same guy who won the OHL championship and refused to shake hands with the OHL Commissioner. Was a punk then and is still a punk and always will be. The Leafs probably need to get rid of their GM as well. Does anyone look at their team and say they have a championship calibre defense?

 

[gaby]

LEAFS...finally a win 5-2.....TAVARES with a hat trick...his second was a beauty....

 

[Doc Holliday]

Keefe is a punk. He is the same guy who won the OHL championship and refused to shake hands with the OHL Commissioner. Was a punk then and is still a punk and always will be. The Leafs probably need to get rid of their GM as well. Does anyone look at their team and say they have a championship calibre defense?

Keefe made many mistakes as a youngster & he acknowledged them. Back in the days when he captained the Barrie Colts he was rumoured to be under the influence of the controversial David Frost & he was good friends with teammate Mike Jefferson a.k.a. Mike Danton, who later served time for hiring an undercover agent posing as a hitman whom Jefferson had paid to assassinate Frost.

I’ve met Keefe on a couple of occasions & i doubt you could find a nicer guy. He’s respected among the hockey community & has succeeded at every level he’s coached. Kyle Dubas is also extremely well-regarded as one of the youngest GMs in the league. The teams he’s built were among the most successful in Toronto Maple Leafs history. The problem wasn’t the defence, which actually is very good when healthy. It’s been goaltending. He’s had a knack of ending up with goaltenders which simply have been unable to stay healthy (Andersen, Campbell, Murray). However he may have finally struck gold with Ilya Samsonov.

 

[Doc Holliday]

LEAFS...finally a win 5-2.....TAVARES with a hat trick...his second was a beauty....

John Tavares has been the Leafs best player (along with Ilya Samsonov) so far for the Leafs in this early NHL season. William Nylander has also played extremely well. Although the Leafs have struggled early on they are playing .500 hockey and on pace for an 82 pts season. Once they start playing better & eliminating silly mistakes i expect them to once again finish with over 100 pts.

Teams like Pittsburgh, St-Louis, Florida, Tampa & even Colorado have struggled early on. But i expect them to start playing better hockey by the 20-game mark & teams like Seattle & New Jersey will start losing momentum by then. Same with Montreal, which has been playing better than expected.