The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

Have you had a chance to see the "My NHL" commercial on TV? It has one major flaw, and that is the decision to use actors instead of the actual NHL players we pay to say. This would have been a perfect time to showcase crowd pleasers like Sidney Crosby or Jarome Iginla...After a hard check on the LA Kings' Jeremy Roenick by Phoenix Coyote Denis Gauthier in pre-season action, Roenick's teammate Sean Avery was forced to apologize after commenting the hit, "..was typical of most French guys in our league with a visor on, running around and playing tough and not backing anything up." Hmm, wonder what fellow King Luc Robitaille thought about that statement...Keith Tkachuk is back in camp and passed his physical. Way to earn your $7.6 million Keith! Here's a hardy Ric Flair "WOOOOOOO!" for you...There were too many weird picks at my traditional hockey draft with my friends. I picked a Maple Leaf (McCabe), I only managed to get one Senator (Heatley), I chose Peter Forsberg, and in the very late rounds of the draft, despite all my trash talk, grabbed Keith Tkachuk. Obviously I wasn't the only one who thought his worth declined since his suspension, but for such a late round pick for value, hey, had to be done. Also picked up a Russian, rookie sensation Alexander Ovechkin. We'll see if my new strategy flies or not...I also entered another pool which had an auction format. 14 of us each started with $1100 in funny money and 155 players were available for purchase. For the record, Jason Spezza sold for $200 and was the most expensive player to be had. My most expensive choice was Dany Heatley @ $175 (I probably overpaid considering what other players went for) with Todd Bertuzzi being a close 2nd @ $160. With my last $50 I snagged perennial underperformer Martin Rucinsky and ended up with 12 players total, one above the average...The Habs returned 18 year-old phenom Guillaume Latendresse to the QMJHL. I have no problems with this. He's just a kid and playing for Team Canada at the World Juniors this year will give him tremendous experience that Montreal will benefit from in the near future...Sports Illustrated listed the Calgary Flames as the #1 favourite to win the Stanley Cup, followed by the Flyers, Senators, Lightning and Predators. Although I may not pick Nashville so high, they have quietly established themselves as a serious threat and should not be taken lightly. The can score, have one of the best D in the league (Marek Zidlicky) and Tomas Vokoun is no slouch in goal...A Flames-Senators final would be an absolute dream. The end result: The Cup in Canada...With the pre-season at an end and with all 30 teams playing in the season opener this Wednesday, thought it would be fun to pass on my predictions for winners and losers if you're one of those gambling sorts (home team listed second):

1. Montreal Canadiens v. Boston Bruins: Boston didn't forget their playoff losses to the Habs and Joey Joe Joe Thornton should have the crowd in hysterics to give Boston the win.
2. NY Islanders v. Buffalo Sabres: Buffalo was dormant during free agency and should not make the playoffs. At least the Isles have a few players you've heard of. Edge: Islanders
3. NY Rangers v. Philadelphia Flyers: Rangers 1 - Flyers 27
4. Columbus Blue Jackets v. Washington Capitals: Washington will probably finish dead last in the NHL this year. The only thing Caps fans have to look forward to is witnessing the development of rookie Alexander Ovechkin. Edge: Columbus
5. Atlanta Thrashers v. Florida Panthers: Tough call here, both teams made moves to improve their squads to contend. I'll give this one to Florida since Atlanta is still waiting for Ilya Kovalchuk to show up and I like G Roberto Luongo over Kari Lehtonen.
6. Pittsburgh Penguins v. New Jersey Devils: Pittsburgh is loaded and ready to go, New Jersey has had to let go of key personnel such as Scott Niedermayer, Jeff Friesen and Scott Stevens. Not to mention Patrik Elias will be out for a few weeks. Edge: Pittsburgh.
7. Carolina Hurricanes v. Tampa Bay Lightning: Carolina won't make the playoffs, again. Tampa Bay should be ok despite losing G Nikolai Khabibulin to free agency. Edge: Tampa Bay.
8. St Louis Blues v. Detroit Red Wings: Detroit has more depth and a better goaltender. And all their players passed their physicals the first time. Edge: Detroit.
9. Ottawa Senators v. Toronto Maple Leafs: Biases aside, Toronto might MIGHT squeeze an eighth place finish, but I doubt it. Too many injuries up front, a weak defensive corps, while Ottawa has now perhaps the best all-round roster in their team history. Edge: Ottawa.
10. San Jose Sharks v. Nashville Predators: Nashville is the Western Conference darkhorse. Edge: Nashville.
11. Calgary Flames v. Minnesota Wild: If Alexandre Daigle led your team in scoring the last time you played, you're in trouble. Despite losing D Robyn Regehr for a month, Calgary should be ok and it will also give rookie Dion Phaneuf a chance to strut his stuff. Edge: Calgary.
12. Anaheim Mighty Ducks v. Chicago Blackhawks: Chicago fans should be excited with the signings of Adrian Aucoin & Nikolai Khabibulin and what should be a breakthrough year for Tuomu Ruutu. Edge: Chicago.
13. L.A. Kings v. Dallas Stars: I like the additions in L.A. with Demitra, Roenick and Garon. I'm not sure what Dallas has done. Edge: L.A.
14. Colorado Avalanche v. Edmonton Oilers: This should be pretty sweet. The crowd will be buzzed with Mike Peca and Chris Pronger in their first real game in an Oilers' uniform. Edge to Edmonton since they're on home ice.
15. Phoenix Coyotes v. Vancouver Canucks: Even with Wayne Gretzky behind the bench, Phoneix hasn't looked good pre-season. And I also suspect Canucks' Todd Bertuzzi will be playing full throttle in his first game back. Edge: Vancouver.

Only two days away to the start of a season that was taken away from fans what seems like eons ago. "You never know what you got 'till it's gone." Amen to that!