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Roughly ten games into the NHL season: what are your thoughts on the season so far? How is your team doing? Any surprises?
And most importantly: which is your favourite Hughes brother?
And most importantly: which is your favourite Hughes brother?
Thanks for posting this. I really miss my sports fix from Reddit and don't get to often see my hometown teams since I don't live in the area any more.
Prepares for screeching and downvotes Since I'm originally from New England, I've been pleasantly surprised by the B's this year, although expectations are tempered because Boston teams have had several good teams the last few years that couldn't quite get over the hump. I love hockey and wish I had a chance to watch more. A few weeks ago I was on a family vacay and my dad and I settled in to finally watch a hockey game together. He got up to use the restroom and the Bruins scored twice in fifty seconds. You've got to be grateful for seasons like that, no matter what sport it is.
During the offseason I think most of us fans thought “let’s try and squeeze into the playoffs and maybe we can go on a Florida like run”. But so far this team just is very solid, and should compete all season. I’m happy with the emergence of Poitras which will solve our lack of centers after Bergeron and Krejci retired. And the offseason moves seem reasonable. I’m especially happy with JVR who has a real knack for the puck.
The Bruins are one of the most remarkably consistent franchises in the NHL.
Every time fans say they're going to fall off, they go on another winning streak. Probably one of the best examples of "winning culture" out there.
I thought they'd be fighting for a wild-card spot without Bergeron captaining the ship. Instead, they're top of the division. I knew the defence and goaltending were elite, but apparently "elite" was an understatement.
I just finished watching the Wings beat the Bruins 5-4 tonight.
For the first time in years, we have a winning record, and it feels good. There are still some holes, and they appear often, but when they start rolling, it's like a smowball down a hill.
That Walman goal was a thing of beauty. Definitely you guys look good and in a crowded east should be able to get a playoff spot and cause some havoc.
My team is... the Ottawa Senators (4-6-0) …
I'll say this: our season has not been boring.
On the bright side, Chychrun, Sanderson, Joseph, Tarasenko, and Ridley Greg (prior to his injury…) all look great. Josh Norris has also returned and seems fairly healthy! (Albeit rusty after nearly a full year away from the game). It's amazing to have a real top 9 for the first time in years.
However, Stutzle, Batherson, and Chabot (prior to injury) are all looking off to start the year. Stutzle has been putting up points but is not driving play the way the team needs him to. Chabot is now this team's third best defenceman after the arrival of Chychrun and Sanderson. He's in danger of being surpassed by Zub.
The reign of Pierre Dorion is at an end, and thank god--I don't dislike Dorion but do feel he was promoted beyond his abilities. He was also stupidly loyal to DJ Smith. I don't think we'll know the real state of the team until DJ Smith and the rest of the coaching staff are (finally) fired and we can see the team with a real structure in place. Currently there seems to be almost no system.
Andlauer is a beauty. At least you can cheer for an amazing new owner, it's a beautiful worst-to-first story.
Your biggest problems:
DJ Smith should have been fired a year ago, but the team has been in a holding pattern. Staios having to back him for stability reasons has doomed your season.
Brady turning on the fans, calling them bullshit and expecting their unconditional support is a problem. He may have been the right choice for inside the dressing room, but that's a terrible way to represent the players to your fanbase.
Andlauer and the young talent are the only reason I have any hope in the future of this team.
I'm not sure if it was Andlauer's decision to not can Dorion/DJ at the beginning of the summer or if they were kept on because the sale of the team didn't officially go through till the end of the summer, but either way it hasn't panned out.
Last season was DJ's "prove it" year and he failed. This year should have been a fresh start.
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I honestly don't mind Brady going to war against the fanbase on behalf of the guys in the room. If he wants to tell us to STFU about the coach and his teammates, good on him, hahaha. Doesn't mean the booing will stop, though ;)
I hate what Brady said because it's objectively the wrong thing to say. It does nothing to help stop the booing, and all he's done is antagonize the fans. The lack of insight is what bothers me, not the fact that he said what he did.
I'm positive Andlauer didn't have the authority to make front office moves until the sale was finalized. But he also seemed content with the idea that bringing in Staios to oversee the front office was better than cleaning house immediately. I think he was right about that, but DJ should have still been canned. Andlauer and Staios are well connected enough that they could have had a new coach and staff ready to go on the back burner as soon as the sale finalized.
I've gotta say, this team never fails to find creative new ways to disappoint me. At least we don't have to worry about fitting Pinto under the salary cap.
After Brady's comments about the fans booing the team, I get the feeling that the players are just as frustrated as the fans. Everything I've heard about the team lately says that they're trying to foster a winning culture in the team, but that's got to be tough if you don't have the right person behind the bench and you've dug yourself into hole early in the season once again.
Problem is the players, after Brady's comments, are perceived to be taking it out on the fans instead of management.
I get that Brady, especially as a younger guy, isn't going to come out and rip management — especially since by all accounts DJ is well-liked. But the response there should be "I get why the fans are frustrated, we are too. They expect better from us, but that's nothing compared to how much more we expect from ourselves."
If you aren't the brightest bulb in the box you probably shouldn't be Captain in a Canadian market.
I hear you. Being the Captain of a Canadian team, especially a struggling one, is no easy job. He may have chosen his words poorly, the fans have every right to be angry after all. I think we're one more loss away from seeing jerseys being thrown on the ice. Calling the booing 'bullshit' is a step too far, but I kind of expect Brady to speak the same way he plays hockey.
I will say that I'm impressed with Andlauer for having Pinto's back and calling out the league for sending mixed messages to players about gambling. He has a point about being kept out of the loop about Dadonov's situation as well. He's brought Alfie back into the fold in a player development role as well which is a big win in my books.
Andlauer is amazing. I've never cared for Ottawa, but this might be the first time I've ever cheered for an owner to be successful. I doubt he'll keep it up with the amazing press conferences, but I really hope he does.
Not a good year to be a Sharks fan…
… and they’ve now given up 10 goals in two straight games. I understand rebuilding, but there’s no extra credit for being this bad.
BUT, that Penguins pick is looking like it could be real decent.
Top 10 protected, but if the Pens suck two years in a row...
yeah... i'm reconsidering my birthday tickets in the spring already.
My Penguins are 3-6 and dead last in their division, so that's been a fun start. At least Malkin and Crosby are playing okay.
So far the Dubas era isn't the most impressive but hey, at least they lead the league in shots on goal, so that's something.
I'm an Oilers fan. Kill me.
It seems like everything except the top 6 is struggling in Edmonton--is that about right? And from the sounds of it, even McDavid/Draisaitl aren't up to their usual standard?
Leafs should really try and get a goalie one of these days...
I'm giving this season a miss, to be honest. I watched through all the really awful years since the early 90s but last year's post season has convinced me that there's something screwy going on with officiating. It seemed pretty clear that the games were going in a particular direction, even after a calm retrospect in the months since. It doesn't seem to matter how well they play or how good the players are, it can all be undone with just a couple bad calls, or a couple blatant missed calls the other way.
Between that, the goon in charge of DoPS, the league turning a blind eye to issues like what happened in Chicago, their refusal to adequately ensure players of colour aren't the subject of discrimination, and the whole banning Pride tape thing, the league is junk and I'm tapping out for a bit. Can't support the nonsense, no matter how much I've supported the Leafs.
Looking forward to the women's league starting up. Last I heard their camp starts on the 15th and they still don't have so much as a roll of hockey tape, but at least they still have integrity.
To me it was the poor treatment of Quebec City vs Vegas and Seattle. Bettman just wants US growth and money. Then throw on ads as much as possible. It's just crappy.
The Leafs and all the Canadian teams are at a disadvantage every post season. It is really shitty.
I didn't even think about the ads, but you're absolutely right, it's gotten out of control. The ad boards they put in last year have some serious uncanny valley vibes, and I don't usually get motion sick but they made the games tough to watch.
I agree too with the overall treatment of Canadian teams. They'll put more teams in the desert before they put one in another Canadian market. AND the way they're handling that is outrageous too, thinking of the Coyotes and their change room situation last year... the league should be ashamed but Bettman is just as haughty as ever.
There's a LOT going on with the Leafs, and almost none of it is positive.
I feel like the upper mismanagement is more apparent this year than ever. Dubas saw consistent improvement for 3 seasons coming out of Covid, and then poof, Brad Treliving. And we're no further ahead.
10 games in, and I put my jersey at the back of the closet. Where it lives most seasons.
My friend is a Bruins, Avalanche, Knights fan, so my understanding is it has been an unreasonably good year for him.
Grew up around Chicago area so been a Blackhawks fan most of my life. With a lot of the ownership decisions over the last few years and especially the Kyle Beech situation, was getting ready to jump ship. Then they got Bedard....
Dude is a stud. I'm not expecting a winning team this year but man has he been electric. Exciting to start a new era. The youngins are looking good so far.
Kraken fan here. Knew there might be some regression after the playoff run, but did not expect this. Injuries have hit early, especially off of a few dirty plays. Players aren't standing up for each other. Players look flat footed. I watched a game last night where it felt like an entire period and a half there wasn't a shot on goal and the crowd was getting audibly frustrated. Matty Beniers needs a goal.
Kings fan. Things seem to be going pretty well so far. Goaltending might be an issue but Talbot has stepped up. The big positive is how good Byfield looks, he’s really taken huge strides since last year.
Also, playing LA is no longer a defensive, low-scoring affair. LA leads the league in goals scored (and we haven’t even played San Jose)! It’s a lot of fun watching this team.
Finally, shout out to Thousand Oaks native Trevor Moore! What a year he’s having so far.
Wild fan here.
Expectations were great to start. Sure, we had a heap of dead cap weighing us down, but we have the best prospect pool. We have a great goalie tandem with maybe the best goalie prospect maturing in the AHL.
Okay, so we've got our top D and one of our best wingers out on IR. Let's see what our prospects can do, and the rest of our team can step up.
Reality hit hard. D is piss poor, hoping that the goalie will be miraculous. It was not so. Offense couldn't keep up with our porous D and goalies. We always suspected the season would be a bust because we're trying to shed dead cap.
Then we beat the Rangers. What even is this team?
Stars are on the positive side but I know better than to be hopeful or anything. We'll see how they fare against the Bruins.
Also, Bruins are doing well which is sure to be good for the Boston fans in the house.
So, I'll have a house divided on Monday but at least it'll be entertaining.
Canes fan here. Not the season start I was expecting given how we looked at this point last season, combined with the moves we made in the off-season. We're scoring lots of goals, but our defense and goaltending are both struggling.
It's getting better, though. One of our beat reporters said it well: Some teams build a game. Seems like the Canes are building a season.
I was hoping for the Canucks to be in the hunt for a wildcard spot in the beginning of the season. Did not expect them to be third in the standings.
So far the team looks legit and I'm just enjoying watching good hockey. Quinn Hughes is having a Norris-caliber season and Pettersson is tied for first in scoring. Haven't been this excited to watch games since the peak of the Sedin era!
Bolts: Defensive lapses plague the team. Hedman isn't as shutdown as he needs to be. This was evident with Bedard absolutely smoking him twice. Serge shows flares of being able to shoulder that load but for now, he's mainly a blue line offensive generation tool Perbix and Cernak are looking okay but they cannot be on the ice 60 minutes a game and their block numbers just lead me to believe there will be mid season injuries occured. Vasy clearly covers up these defensive lapses but who knows what form his return from injury will take.
Offensively, I have no worries. Kucherovs production is fine and Stamkos and point will find their grooves. Mikey Essymont has been a pleasant addition. Cirelli needs to get on the board with some bigger point shares.