Back To The World Of Hockey...

I admit I let the elections take center focus in my mind lately. And, I kind of let hockey drop down on my priorities list for a week or so. Translated…this will be a fairly short post. And, with that…I’ll jump back on the ice…

I found an amusing—and interesting piece that looks at the NHL in terms of finance. I thought the stock market analogy was particularly interesting. One thought that rings a little too true was:

”…for a hard-cap league that has guaranteed contracts like the NHL, we could see a string of non-traditional, smaller-market champions, which virtually prevents any chance for a lucrative national television deal in the United States. This means ticket prices will remain high and new fans will be hard to find.”

Oh, here’s the link to check out SI’s take on trade rumors. Some of them actually make sense, too. And some of them are just deep speculation.
(…personally, I enjoyed the breakdown of the Flyers…I’ve been expecting them to move a few players since Hitch got canned as coach…)

I did notice that Hockey’s Future has posted the final CSS player rankings for skaters and goalies. It’s available in PDF for North American and European players. I haven’t had a chance to dig into it, yet. But I am looking forward to it.

Finally, just to use up some space and ramble for a bit, here are some brief thoughts and observations for what they’re worth. The Sabers and the Ducks are in a run for the early season lead. But, everyone else seems to be cooling off. As I said before the season, the Penguins finally have the talent to make a serious playoff bid. Now, having decided to keep their rookies up, they have an even stronger chance. And, Chicago, as I pretty much expected, hasn’t solved their D problems. And, with Khabibulin on IR…well…they will probably end up owning the basement this season.
(…after the Flyers move out of it, of course…)

I guess that’s it for now…‘till I get my head back in the game.

Keep your stick on the ice.