The Boys are back

 There is a song that usually gets played right after thanksgiving and right up until new years. However the timing of it is all wrong. Right now it is "The most wonderful time of the year". ITSSSSS HOCKEY SEASONNNNN!!!!!!! Time for family fights about who is better. Friendly wars about which play from last night was the silkiest. From 10/12 until sometime in mid June we will have hockey at least 4 nights a week! I promised and NHL Preview and this is where I've come to shatter dreams, piss people off, and find a few random hills to die on. So without further dudes (name the reference) in the words of Joker. HERE WE GO. 

Eastern Conference

Metropolitan Division

Pittsburgh, Carolina, Columbus, New Jersey, Rangers, Islanders, Philadelphia

Finally the return of normal divisions. Last year the make shift divisions made no sense and eventually the cup final ended up being 2 eastern conference teams. But that's in the past and now we are back to 82 games and normal divisions. 

This one is always tough because there really is only 3 teams that ever make any real noise in terms of a playoff push. Pittsburgh for as much as you hate them always seems to find its way to the top of this division or at least in the playoffs. I don't expect much to change their. They didn't loose anyone of real value in the expansion draft and they have a healthy Malkin and Crosby for at least the start of the season. Goaltending may be an issue for them but again they are really fighting off 2-3 other teams. The hurricanes are a joke and ROD the BOD cant fix them. The Blue jackets fired Torettela in the offseason and frankly that's stupid because he may not have made them a cup contender but he made them relevant even after the whole Patrik Laine fiasco. New Jersey is attempting to re tool by signing Dougie Hamilton to a monster deal this off season and they didn't trade Subban. At least not yet. I don't think they sniff a playoff spot but they could be heading in the right direction. The rangers didn't get worse but they certainly didn't get better. They signed Ryan Reeves in the off season for some added muscle which will be good but he's going to be out some time after that injury in the pre season. They also have refused to name a captain instead naming 6 alternates. Come on boys you need one vocal leader and Krider is it. I think im just going to skip right over the flyers because well come on really? I saw an article the other day about how the Capitols are trending down and so many people lost their mind. But why? That's not wrong. They did not get any younger and they didn't add anything of note in the off season. Ovi is getting older, Oshie is heading towards the back 9 and Backstrom is well, He hasn't been good for a while now. That's not to say ovechkin isn't going to compete for the scoring title but that alone will not put them in the playoffs. Finally, The islanders. Arguably the best team coming out of last year with so much talent and poise. They signed Zdeno Chara which will add a lot to that back end. While they did lose eberle to the Kraken they didn't get worse. I look for them to lead or at least compete with Pittsburgh for this division crown.

Atlantic Division

Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Florida, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Tampa Bay

Its always fun writing about this division because unless something drastic happens there are 2 teams from it that make the playoffs anyone else just barley will sneak in to that third spot. Ill save the obvious for last. Buffalo will be lucky to win 20 games this year. That entire franchise should be relegated to the AHL maybe even lower. All the way from ownership right on down to the team it is the definition of a dumpster fire. They have one of the best players in the world in their building and they essentially ran him out of town. Eichel will not play another game for the Sabers. Read my post about training camp to understand why. Detroit won fair much better. They have a budding superstar who is refusing to get the Covid vaccine and will most likely be deemed in eligible. I have thoughts on that but this isn't the post for it. The panthers are getting back Aaron Ekblad after a horrific injury last year and even though they lost the NHL's raining iron man in Keith Yandle, they did sign Jumbo Joe which will for nothing else add much needed veteran leadership to a slightly younger team. Montreal made the cup finals last year (god that hurt to type). That was the biggest fluke of the season. They were not a cup contender, they had the benefit of not playing the American teams until the third round of the playoffs so yea they shocked some people. Once Tampa figured out their game it was very quick work for them to repeat as cup champions. Ottawa is probably going to be near the bottom again as well, They have a lot to figure out. Toronto should be decent this year at least until the first round of the playoffs. They have so much talent but like the oilers they just cant seem to put it all together. Tampa Bay will no doubt be top in the league again. They have a full year from Stamkos and Kucherov and they have added Corey Perry who should make them a little better then that bottom 9. Boston didn't lose a single important piece to the kraken. They did lose David Krejci. Now some might say that's fine. I think we will miss him more then we know come playoffs. They signed Hall which is already in the cards when he came here and for the first time in a long time someone other then Tuukka Rask will be the starting goalie. Again this isn't the post for the conversation but ill just leave it at its the right choice. 

Western Conference

Central Division

Arizona, Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis, Winnipeg

As we move on to the West, there are a number of good teams in this conference that just need to find someone that can get them over that hump weather it be a player, coach, GM. Most of the teams in this conference have 1 of the 3 but need that additional piece. Arizona is the exception. They are so bad that their own arena decided that they are not going to renew the lease for the team making them essentially homeless after this season. Now before everyone thinks this means they are going to move the team, there is already plans in place to move the team back to Scottsdale where they played before moving to the Gala River arena. So don't get your hopes up of seeing them move. I think however they saw the dwindling fan base and decided that they needed to make a splash. They did this by bringing back the best logo and jersey in NHL History. The Kachina!!! Its back full time as the home and away sweater. They will wear the old red coyote logo for 9 games as an alternate jersey. Chicago gets their captain back this season after he missed all of last year with a rare and random disease. That's going to help the offense a lot. They also went out and got them selves a Vezna winning goalie. Marc-Andre Flury. If you haven't heard this story yet the cliff notes version is he was traded and never told about it. He found out on the 12th green when he phone started blowing up cuz he was trending on twitter. If i were him im firing everyone on my PR team. Also shame on Vegas for not giving him  heads up either after he led you to 2 conference finals, 1 cup final and is the reigning vezna winner. One more interesting factoid. The Blackhawks have missed the playoffs in 3 of the last 4 seasons and have not made it past the first round since they won the cup in 2015. Marc-Andre Flury has never missed the playoffs in his entire NHL Career. So they have that going for them. Colorado will once again be a top contender in the west. They have a great lineup top to bottom and with Cale Makar on the back end they have one of the top defenses in the league. They may very well win the west. Dallas is one of those teams that should be good every year but somehow they cant string together consecutive years of good teams. They made the cup finals 2 years ago and were a favorite to go back last year but they stumbled a bit. Hopefully this year they can get back on track. Minnesota deserves a better hockey team. The Wild are just bad. Not buffalo bad but just bad. They don't have a decent goalie, Coach isn't great and the team needs top 6 help. I see them in the bottom of the league again. Nashville, is also one of those up and down teams. But even in their down years they still manage to squeak out a good season and sneak into the playoffs. I can see them doing that again this year. St. Louis' window for being good has been shut firmly. After winning the cup they have done nothing to show the same resurgence.  I expect they will make the playoffs but look for an early exit from them. Winnipeg is the most frustrating team in this division. They are loaded with talent and they win. They win a lot. But they cant seem to win when it matters. They swept the oilers last year and they got pounded by Montreal. They should have steam rolled them. Im not sure how to predict where they will end up but i suspect they will be in the playoffs again. How far they go will be anyone's guess.

Pacific Division

Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles, San Jose, Seattle, Vancouver, Vegas

As i wrap up this NHL Preview i want to say that i hope everyone who reads this will comment on the blogs Facebook page with who they think will win the cup and if you have anything to add to the conversation leave that as well.

Anaheim has not been good since Gordon Bombay led the team. Im not kidding with the exception of 2007 the ducks have not really been a factor in the NHL playoff picture. I don't see them making the playoffs or really having any kind of decent season. If they win more then 30 games i will be shocked. Calgary is another one of those teams that i want to be good. I really do. They have talent, No not lucic. They have decent coaching and they seem to be right on that cusp of putting it all together. Then they implode. Bottom of the barrel in the all Canadian division last year and i suspect same thing this year with divisions back to normal. Edmonton. What to say about the Oilers. On paper and on the stat sheet they are hands down the best team in the NHL. They have the best player in the world in McDavid and his line mate Leon Draisaitl knows how to get him the puck as well as finish on his own. Those 2 guys alone should be able to win them a few playoff rounds. But for some reason that i cant figure out they never can string together anything. I know they will make the playoffs this year and i can only hope they make it past the first round. Id hate to have to compare them to Toronto in terms of not making it past round 1. Los Angeles lost their prestige long ago and I don't see them getting it back anytime soon. They have some up and coming guys but still need a few pieces to make them good again. The Sharks are a raging mess. When they signed Karlsson it was supposed to put them over that hump and get them into cup contention. But since they brought him in its been nothing short of a disaster. Now you throw in the added distraction of Evander Kane who is probably your best forward. They obviously didnt replace him in the line up but now they are left with attempting to do so until that all gets figured out. I don't see them having a good season. Vancouver tried to get better this year by signing Oliver Ekman-Larson. Will that one new guy help a team who has done next to nothing since losing to the Bruins in 2011? Maybe not but i think they wont be as bad as in years past. They might be 9-10 in the conference but will miss the playoffs for at least a few more years. I saved the 2 newest teams for last. Vegas decided to put all their eggs into to Robin Lenher basket. Not a bad thing but when your other guy wins you the vezna and you trade him without even informing him that just sets you up for bad juju. I think Vegas will compete and be good as normal this season. They should be in the top 4-5 of the conference. Finally we end with the newest NHL team. The Seattle Kraken. They didn't get as loaded of a roster as Vegas did when they came into the league but still they have a few guys with some real talent. They did also did something Vegas didn't do in its inaugural season. They named a captain. Mark Giordano. Good choice as he's probably the guy with the most experience on the team. Its always fun watching new teams and see how the rest of the league responds to them. I don't think they will have near the amount of success as Vegas did but none the less they will be fun to watch. 

Well there you have it. My NHL preview. I hope you like it and agree with it. If you don't or have suggestions please comment on the Facebook page. Also if you read this could you share it to your page. Let people know what I have. I would like to get more followers. For those that do read it all the time I appreciate your support.  

Stories from camp

 The 2021 NHL season is finally upon us. Training camps all around the league are now open with Preseason games having been played yesterday. There are so many different story lines this year that i wanted to do a training camp post before i do an NHL Preview post. Lets dive in. 

The Seattle Kraken are the leagues newest team. Having been added 2 years ago as the leagues 32nd franchise they now finally have a roster and are working hard to find the right lines and such. They opened up their camp with all the buzz a new team should have. They packed their practice facility with fans eager to see their new home town boys. Nothing crazy has happened yet at their camp but one notable thing is they played their first ever NHL contest on Sunday. It started off rocky but they battled back and ended up winning 6-4. Not a bad way to start your franchise off. Even if it was just the first pre season game. 

Buffalo. Oh sweet Buffalo. You have a generational talent in your building. Someone who has very quickly become one of the faces of the NHL and it seems like your doing everything possible to push him out the door. This whole saga with Jack Eichel started sometime last year when it was reveled he would need an operation. I don't remember all of the details but it pretty much comes down to Eichel wants to have a certain type of surgery and the Sabers want him to have a different kind. Eichel has become very vocal about it as well as vocal about the direction of the team. Fast forward to this offseason. It was all but decided that he was going to be traded away, but buffalo holding all the cards balked at the offers they were getting and requested a kings ransom for the superstar. Now with the season fast approaching Eichel still has not received the surgery he needs which has caused him to fail his entry physical and causing the Sabers to have to put him on IR. Where the sabers messed up and made this even more of a mess was after this they came out and said they were taking the C of his jersey stating that the captain "should be the heart beat of the team" Not a great choice of words for a guy who can score 60 goals with his eyes closed. When Eichel does eventually get the surgery he needs he will be out for a bit of time but i think its entirely possible that he will never play for the Sabers again and that is just sad for an organization that is trying to get out from under the black cloud that currently encircles the franchise. 

Now, I'm going to make a lot of people angry with my next take. But this needs to be said and if you don't agree well oh well. GET YOUR COVID SHOT!!!!

Detroit Red Wings Tyler Bertuzzi has come out and said he will not get his Covid shot. That he feels it violates his personal choice. Now, I don't have an issue with the reasoning. My issue lies with the general principal. You have a job in which you make millions of dollars. Your employer, in this case the NHL has decided that to further protect its league, Players, fans they are requiring everyone to be vaccinated prior to the season. That is 100% their right as a private company. If Bertuzzi or any other player decides they don't want to get it then great your contract is now void and you no longer are employed in the NHL until such a time where the vaccine is either no longer required or you decide to get the shot. If he wants to put up a stink about it the Red Wings should say fine we are suspending you without pay for conduct detrimental to the team. They have used that line for far less and in this case i don't think the NHLPA would put up much of a fight. 

Bruins camp. My favorite time of year. New guys coming in. Old guys getting comfortable and usually 1-2 good battles to watch. Jake DeBrusk is one of those battles. He had a horrible year last year that found him spending some time at the end of the bench and even on the 9th floor. He is looking to bounce back. He looks good so far and was instrumental in the win Sunday against Washington. Personally i think he is honestly on showcase mode for Boston. They are gonna play him during the pre season, show other teams what he can offer and then trade him. In my opinion he is just not the right fit for his style of play. He's gritty but not gritty enough, He's skilled but not skilled enough. Hes just not a good fit. Ill be interested to see how that turns out. 

Tuukka Rask. Boy where do i start, I don't wanna have a long drawn out thing on him so i'll just say this. Don't come back. Thank you for your service but don't come back. The Bruins signed Ullmark in the off season and with the amazing season Swayman had last year the goaltending room is all set. If they want to bring him back on that league minimum deal and stick him upstairs to consult fine. But he doesn't touch the ice. Its been too close to many times with him. It's time for him to move on. 

My next post will be a funny one about which 90's/00's Jerseys i think the NHL should bring back full time. With Arizona announcing that they are going back full time to the kachina, I think that's a great topic to discuss while camps are going on. If you have a favorite please comment and let me know. Maybe your pick will make my list. 

NFL Preview 2021

 Last night the 2021 NFL season kicked off. The Cowboys took on the defending champion Bucs. The game was actually very good. It was a shootout which i did not expect. Both Brady and Dak threw for close to 400 yards each and both threw 3 TDs with Brady getting 4 on the night. I must say i did not think the cowboys were going to make that a game but i was shockingly surprised with how well Prescott played. Brady who entered his 22nd NFL season last night looked really bad on the first drive of 3 and out. After that it was if time never moved for him. On the Bucs second drive of the night he took them about 94 yards and boom into the end zone. He spread the ball around to everyone, Gronk got a TD pass, His 100th catch from TB12. Antonio Brown had a TD score as well. Overall Last night gave me zero reason to not think that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wont be the NFC representative in the super bowl this year. Which brings me to the overall point of this post. My 2021 NFL Preview and predictions. Ill go division by division instead of team by team to make the reading a little easier. So without further ado here we go.

AFC EAST

Patriots, Dolphins, Jets, Bills 

For 20 years the Pats dominated this division from start to finish. Last year with out TB12 and with Cam Newton at the helm the pats missed the playoffs. This year they have turned to rookie Mac Jones. I think their time as a dominant team in the division is winding down. However this year could see them as the AFC east champs. As normal the Jets are trash. They let Sam Darnold  go Carolina and have already named Zach Wilson the week 1 starter. Without a decent offense and with no defense to speak of id look to see the jets maybe win 4 games and finish last in the division. The Bills and Dolphins will be the 2 teams that are going to give the pats a run for their money this year. Defending AFC champion Bills are back and ready for another successful season behind QB Josh Allen. Add a healthy Stefon Diggs to his arsenal of weapons and i can see the bills winning 11-12 games and being top in the division for most of the year. Those 2 games against New England might actually have some meaning to it. The Dolphins have decided to go all in on second year QB Tua Tagovailoa. They really are putting all their eggs in his basket too as they let Ryan Fitzpatrick walk away to the Washington Football Team. I don't see the Dolphins winning much more then 6 or 7 games but as i mentioned they could be a thorn in the side of the Bills and Pats. I would say that 2-4 of those wins will come against the Pats and Bills making it much harder to pick whos going to take the division crown.

Prediction- Pats win division

AFC NORTH

Ravens, Bengals, Browns, Steelers

This In my opinion will be the most fun division to watch. The Steelers just re signed defensive star TJ Watt and Big Ben came into camp looking much slimmer and much more agile. Keep in mind they did go 11-0 to start the year last season before epically falling off a cliff. Baltimore seems like the favorite to win this division and with the continued success of Lamar Jackson they should have no problem keeping up with Pittsburgh early on. The Browns are the dark horse of this division. 3 years ago the city of Cleveland was just hoping for the team to win a game. My how far they have come. Baker Mayfield who i think most thought was just going to be another cog in the revolving QB door in Cleveland has emerged as one of the premier QB in the league and he will lead the browns to great things but unfortunately for him those great things may be capped off at winning records rather then playoff appearances. That leaves the cross state Bengals left on this list. Coming off an Torn ACL 2nd year QB Joe Burrow is looking to bounce back and led the Bengals back to the 8-8 record they have come to know and love. They improved the O-line a little bit to hopefully keep Burrow off his back as much this year but they forgot to go get him decent targets or even a fraction of a defense. I see them winning about 5 games all year. 

Prediction-Steelers win division

AFC SOUTH

Texans, Colts, Jaguars, Titans

The AFC South is in my opinion the second worst division in the NFL. There is just nothing of value here. The Titans ran away with the division last year behind a career resurgence from Ryan Tannehill. Add to that the freakish strength of Derek Henry and i see no reason why the Titans don't run away early with this one. The Colts are still trying to find a new identity after Andrew Luck retired. They went out this off season and signed Carson Wentz. Knowing his history with injuries i don't see this working as a long term option for them.  Jacksonville is on my crap list simply for bringing in and then cutting Tim Tebow. I'm still bitter. But they have a great future with Trevor Lawrence having let Gardner Minshew walk away this off season. There will be some learning curves and I'm sure some bumps in the road but i think in 2 years the Jags will be competing for the division. Houston is almost not worth mentioning because they are such a train wreck. JJ Watt did all he could on that defense and it still wasn't enough so he had no choice but to leave. Tyrod Taylor was named the starter which seems like a step in the right direction but without Deandre Hopkins or really anyone to throw to this may just be a season long work out for him to show the other NFL teams he can still play.

Prediction-Tennessee wins division 

AFC WEST

Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders, Chargers

Rounding out the AFC i think i may have misspoke when i said earlier that the AFC south is the second worst division. This one would give it a run for its money. The Broncos have the feel good story with Teddy Bridgewater assuming duties under center this year. Jon Gruden and the raiders get a new stadium this year and a name change as they have moved the Las Vegas And the chargers are still playing in a converted soccer stadium. The chiefs are the best team in the entire AFC and are going to have this division wrapped up by Thanksgiving. 

Prediction- Kansas City and its not even close. 

NFC EAST

Cowboys, Giants, Eagles, Redskins

This is hands down the worst division in all of pro football. Which is sad because i think the Cowboys have at least on paper one of the best teams in football. How they cant string it together is just beyond me. The opening night loss to the Bucs may be an L but damn they took Tampa to the brink. One or two calls the other way and Brady has his first ever loss to Dallas. The Giants only news worthy story of this season is going to be when they retire Strahan's number later in the season. Philadelphia is an interesting story. They have 2 solid Quarterbacks. Jalen Hurts who no doubt will be the starter but he is being backed up by Gardner Minshew. Jalen has a history of injuries so it wouldn't surprise me if  Minshew sees a bit more time then originally planned. Washington Football Team signed journeyman and resident beard god of the NFL Ryan Fitzpatrick in the off season. This makes the 276th NFL team he has played for. Fitzmagic is always good for a fast start and maybe a 4-4 split before the season goes off the rails. Id say look to see something similar. 

Prediction- Cowboys win division

NFC NORTH

Bears, Lions, Packers, Vikings

For some reason this one has been oddly competitive over the years in terms of second place. The packers are once again set up to win the division seeing as that Aaron Rogers is back and hes got the team to sign some of his favorite people to shut him up. They wont compete for the super bowl by a long shot but they will win the division. Chicago has a very good QB battle on their hands. Do they go with and stick with Andy Dalton? Or do they go to Justin Fields? Fans in Chi-Town seems to have made it clear that they want the rookie. That is gonna be fun to watch. The Lions are...well the Lions. They will play on thanksgiving but that will be the highlight of their season. 

Prediction-Packers win division

NFC SOUTH

Falcons, Panthers, Saints, Buccaneers

Tampa Bay returned all 22 starters from the Super Bowl. They went out on opening night and somehow looked even better then last year. With a full year for Antonio Brown and if Gronk stays healthy i would be shocked if they don't repeat as Super Bowl Champs. Atlanta is once again going to be the train wreck of this division. I said it last year and ill say it again this year. Its time to move on from Matt Ryan. Carolina went out and got a shiny new QB in Sam Darnold. Just kidding he came from the Jets and hes going to be horrible. McCaffrey needs to jump ship fast before he wastes all his talent on a team going no where fast. New Orleans will have to start a season for the first time in almost 20 years without Drew Brees under center. Last year the thinking was that Taysom Hill would fill that role while they looked for someone better. Then they signed Jameis Winston. Once the Bucs got Brady there wasn't a snowballs chance in hell that Winston would ever touch the field for Tampa again. He signed on with New Orleans and shocked many by his quick learning of the playbook. He fought and won the starting role this year. He could lead them to a wild card spot but probably no further.

Prediction-Tampa Bay wins it all! 

NFC WEST

Cardinals, 49ers, Seahawks, Rams

Finishing up my 2021 NFL Preview we end with the NFC west. I remember years ago the Seahawks one this division with an 8-8 record. Long gone are those days. Arizona signed JJ Watt and Deandre Hopkins in the off season to give Kyler Murray help on both sides of the ball. Adding Watt to Chandler Jones sounds like a great idea but remember, Houston's defense at one point had JJ Watt, Jadeveon Clowney and Vince Wilfork, they still couldn't win. Perhaps this will be different but i think you need more then just really good edge rushers to have a successful season. San Francisco spent most of the off season quashing rumors that it was sending Jimmy G back to New England. They did not do much in terms of upgrading the team and will most likely miss the playoffs this season. Seattle will always be a tough team to determine their season because they are very streaky. If Wilson can string together a few good games in a row they can be a very dangerous team. But that hasn't happened in a while. They will get their home wins as usual because i do believe they have the hardest stadium to play in even when the team isn't doing good. Finally the Rams are the Rams. They caught a little fire the year they made the super bowl but have since fizzled out and will stay that way for a while. Jalen Ramsey thinks hes the best corner in the game but when your team is giving up 25-30-40 points each week it doesn't matter how good you think you are. 

Prediction-Arizona wins division

Hopefully you have stuck with me through this prediction blog. I'm planning on doing one for each sport as they start so look forward to those. If you disagree with any of my predictions or think i hit the nail on the head leave a comment on the blogs Facebook page and let me know. 

As always i appreciate the support. Thanks 

Opening weekend

 This is the last weekend for a while with out some sort of football game going on. Weather it be High school, College or Pro. This is the best time of year before hockey season. This weekend kicks off the full slate of college football games. Headlining at least my watching will be the Alabama VS. Miami game tomorrow. Everyone knows that Bama is slated to be in the playoff again and will continue to dominate the NCAA for years to come. What i don't think people realize is that the Miami Hurricanes are finally back to what some experts are saying the golden days of the U. They start the season in the top 25 again for the 3rd year in a row. Alabama being a heavy favorite may have their work cut out for them. Season openers are always hit or miss for teams. Years ago they were treated as pre season with D1 power houses playing the Umass and the Old dominions of the world. Now with the push for more money and sponsorships the first game of the year for some of the teams is the highlight of their season. Alabama is by far the toughest opponent at least on paper that Miami will face all season being that they play in the ACC. They wont see Clemson until maybe the ACC title game and that is only if the tigers continue their current success having lost Trevor Lawrence. Its looking like the Hurricanes are poised to once again climb to the top of the ACC. It should be a great game Saturday and if all the experts are to be believed it will be a high scoring shootout. 

Moving on to the NFL now, HOLY SHIT WHAT HAPPENED IN FOXBORO? I had a few people who thought Mac Jones was gonna beat out Cam Newton for the job but no one and i mean noooboddyyy thought they were going to out right cut him. That being said, I understand it and i accept it. Newton was going to cost to much to be a back up, They still need to re structure Gilmore's deal so from a money perspective it made sense. It also makes sense for them to keep Brain Hoyer as the back up. For as bad as he is on the field he has been in the system for so long that he is a great second coach for Mac to learn the play book. Horrible NFL QBs make decent QB coaches. The Mac Jones Era may have started a bit sooner then most people hoped but that doesn't mean it was the wrong choice. Do the Pats make the super bowl because of it? Probably not but i think it does put them in the post season. It definitely makes that week 4 game against TB12 a lot more interesting. The past vs the future. I still think Tampa wins by a land slide but at least the story lines will be fun leading up to it. 

I really haven't been paying to much attention to the other teams around the NFL this pre season. Sometimes ill flip on a game or ill read a story or two but nothing crazy this year. I think ill wait til week 1 to make my assessments on the teams. 

In closing i want to send out my heart felt condolences and sympathy's to the families of Jimmy Hayes and David Patton. 2 amazing athletes and great people that were taken way to soon. May they Rest in Peace.

Jimmy Hayes 11-21-1989/08-23-2021

David Patten 08-19-1974/09-02-2021

Football is back

 With the touch football game in Canton Ohio done with the NFL season can finally begin. The first pre season game for the Patriots is tonight! The conversation of how good is Mac Jones can finally be talked about for real. For the last few months its been whos better him or Cam? Is he ready? My only thoughts on this are that do people really think if Mac Jones is not ready for the bright lights of Gillette that Bill would consider starting him over Newton? Yes newton is no more then a band aid at this point until Jones is ready but he is still a very capable QB. A lot will be decided in the next few weeks but pay close attention to the number of snaps both take and who is out there with them for those snaps. This will be the first time in a very very long time that the patriots will have an honest battle for QB1. My money is on the rookie. ROLL TIDE.

There has also been quite a lot of stories coming out of different NFL camps this pre season already. Once again the cowboys look awful. Also Carson Wentz is once again hurt although he may be ready for week one which gives him enough time to get hurt again and be out for the season.  Its hard to make any sort of real prediction on my part without seeing any pre season highlights so for now i will reserve judgement. 

I did see the very very sexy video that was put out by the Jacksonville Jaguars that showed Trevor Lawrence throwing a TD into 2 defenders and hitting this great 6'5 tight end named Tebow! That's not something that can be taught, Its just pure talent from a stud TE. That story and combination is sure to have more air time as the season gets closer. 

On the hockey front, Holy crap what a whirlwind free agency so far. First I want to start with how bad Vegas bent over their once franchise goalie. They traded him and didn't even tell him. Marc Andre Flurey found out he was now a member of the Chicago Blackhawks on twitter because he name was trending. This man just won a vezna! He led you to the Stanley Cup finals and 2 western conference finals in the 4 years you've been a team, At least give the man a phone call. 

To my shock and surprise the Bruins were not quiet on day one. I put out one Facebook status about them being asleep at the wheel and not 10 minutes later they signed Nick Foligno, Linus Ullmark and Derek Fobort. 3 Big name players who will definitely help fill various roles. 

Not so much to my surprise 14 year veteran David Krejci decided to go back to his home country and continue his career. I don't think this was a very big surprise but it still leaves a big void on the bruins second line. As critical as I've been of Krejci and his play as of late he is a very solid second line center and one of the best faceoff men in the game. Ideally id like to see the second line now become Coyle, Hall, and Smith. But that seems more like wishful thinking.

I will have a post soon with my preview for the full NFL season as well as some talk of my fantasy football teams. I have some drafts coming up soon.

As always thanks for reading and for the continued support. I've decided I'm going to start leaving trivia questions or something of the like in these posts and ask that people answer them on the blog Facebook page. I need to get more interactions on that platform if i want this to take off more then it has. 

That being said here is the first one just to see who pays attention. What is the team motto of the Dillon Panthers? Please submit your answers at Facebook.com/beantownbanterpodcast

You voted for this

Yesterday I put a poll up on our Facebook page asking what you the readers and followers would like to read about since hockey season is coming to an end. You voted on a general what's going on in the wide world of sports so here we go.

Starting with hockey obviously, The Stanley Cup final is under way with the lightning holding a 2-0 lead on the (take deep breath) Montreal Canadians. Ugh i almost couldn't type that. This is not coming from a bruins fan the Montreal has zero business being in the final. This is already showing signs of the giant mismatch that it is. Tampa is one of the most dynamic teams and can beat you in any number of ways. Yes I am in the group who thinks they are breaking the rules by being 18 million over the cap. But as long as they sweep Montreal and make it look embarrassing then I'm ok with it for this season. 

The NHL did have their award night a few days ago and i was shocked to see Marc Andre Fleury receive his first vezna trophy. I could have sworn that a man with 3 cups 1 conn smythe and just a ridiculous overall save and GAA% that he would have more then one. But alas he finally got it and it is much deserved. The league MVP was no shock Connor McDavid. He was only the second player in NHL history to be the unanimous Choice. Anyone know the other? If you know it leave a comment on this post and tell me who it was. First right answer will get a shout out. After he won though I did find it funny during a conversation with my neighbor we recapped his 2021 playoffs. How many games did he help his team win? How many points did he get in the post season? This is why hockey doesn't have an overall MVP and they have a regular season one and then a playoff one. Who knows maybe next season he will make it out of the first round. 

The expansion draft is a few short weeks away. That's always a fun time to see what teams put up what players and who Seattle will ultimately end up with. I'm hoping that they come out with a jersey for the Kraken before at least the main NHL draft. Mainly because daddy needs a new jersey.

Baseball is always going to be a third rate sport to me. Once the sox won in 04 i really haven't fully invested in a season since. But there are a few things this season that have made me look up a few more highlights then i normally would. First lets talk about this whole Sticky Tack stuff with the pitchers. At first i thought it was a joke. But then i realized its baseball. How much more of a joke could it be. Then i watched Phillies manager Joe Girardi ask for Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer to be checked 3 times in 6 innings for sticky stuff and he (Girardi) was promptly tossed after the third time of max coming up clean. The next thing that is causing me to watch a little more of America's past time this year is Shohei Ohtani.  Now you wanna talk about MVPs? This guy is the literal definition of MVP. As of this post he had 28 home runs to lead baseball he also leads the AL with 4 triples. Oh and did i mention he also pitches? Because that's kind of important. In 12 games on the bump he is 3-1 with a 3.60 ERA and 83 strikeouts. So that means not only does he rake at the plate and plays the field he can also throw lights out baseball. These type of numbers have not been seen since some guy named George Herman Ruth did it close to 100 years ago and from I've read that Ruth guy was pretty good at baseball as well. If i watch any baseball this season it will be the Halos of Los Angeles. 

Basketball will be entering their finals this coming week and so far the first team in is the Phoenix suns. From what i hear they haven't made it since 1993. Which also happens to be the last time the Canadians won the cup so history may not be on my side on this one. 

Finally Football is gearing up for training camps and most of the Pats camp will be open to the public. finally some sense of normal life for the upcoming NFL season. My eyes will be on the Mac Jones vs Cam Newton battle for Pats QB and I will also be paying very close attention to the Jaguars camp, No not for Trevor Lawrence but for the one and only Timothy Tebow. 

Thank you again to all who voted and all who continue to read this blog and the links to your own personal pages. Any exposure is very helpful to me and i will eventually get the podcast side of this back up and running. In the mean time if you haven't already and you just read from someone else's status share then please leave a comment on the blogs Facebook page and please hit the follow and like button!  

End of an era

 The Bruins season came to an end on Wednesday night. Having watched the game i can say with confidence they did not deserve to win that game. I think fans knew that going into Uniondale and trying to win a pivotal game with that crowd was going to be a hard task. Add to that the goalie situation, It was almost doomed before the puck dropped. But now that the season is over we can take a look at somethings that i think need to change and things that need to be explored. 

Lets start with the aforementioned goaltending issue. I whole heartedly hope that Bruins fans have watched Tuukka Rask play his last game for the bruins. People always talk about Elite goaltending. Funny thing though the ones who are actually Elite are never talked about. I knew after the 2013 season that the bruins would never win a cup with Rask in net. I don't blame the loss that year on him at all but just watching how he played you could tell he would always get you right there and then implode. Another example is Carey Price. He has been regarded as one of the best goalies in the league or even of his generation. Let me ask you, What has he won? How many conference finals has he been to? Tuukka at least has been to 3 cup finals and a few conference finals in his time here. But as the saying goes Always the brides maid never the bride. The bruins "window" has always been attached to the core guys of Bergeron, Marchand, Krejci, Rask but no one every took a longer look at Rask because of his regular season success. Now lets go over his excuses. This season it was "well I wasn't 100% I had a torn labrum and other nagging injuries." Last year it was "I have to leave the bubble for a family emergency" And in the loss to St. Louis it was the lack of shots faced in each game made him ill prepared for the on slot of shots in game 7. Again I'm gonna ask you the readers to think, When has someone who is supposed to be elite made so many excuses for why he cant get over the hump. I hear it a lot out of Lebron James. Heard it a lot from Payton Manning. But you never hear much from the guys who know how to win. As i said at the beginning of this I whole heartedly hope and believe that Tuukka has played his last game for the bruins. His current injury has him pegged for a January/February return next season. So lets say he resigns with Boston. We start the year with Swayman and whoever at backup. Are the bruins just supposed to push him aside when Rask comes back? Yea I'm good. Rask said today in his exit interview that he only wants to play for Boston and that he wont play for another team. Well it looks like its retirement for you then bud. Might be for the best since your body is very fragile. Need to keep it healthy for all those family emergencies. 

The second elephant in the room for Boston this offseason is David Krejci. Long has he been labeled as one our core guys but its long past time we moved on from him. He cost to much money for the little production he has when its needed. Yes he regularly scores 20-30 goals. But anyone can do that against the Sabers, and coyotes. We need him in the playoffs and recently hes been missing. The expansion draft is on July 21st. I cant see a valid reason why Krejci's  name isn't on the unprotected list. The market for high impact low risk second line players is going to be huge this year. Boston can find someone much cheaper for a higher value. 

Jake DeBrusk. he was drafted 3 spots ahead of the islanders Matt Barzal. As you saw in this series who do you think won that draft? DeBrusk had a very good first year. He was tough, fast, smart with the puck. Recently and most notably this post season he has been one of the worst bruins on the ice. He was on the 9th floor for a few games and that's honestly where he should have been all year. He is another guy who I wouldn't mind seeing on the unprotected list. 

Last thing on the bruins. Hall and the defense. The Bruins finally got Taylor Hall this trade deadline. He made an immediate impact. While he wasn't as productive as most would have liked in the post season he is someone the bruins need to lock up for the future. He is not far removed from the being the league MVP. under the right coaching and on a team with much more ambition then the Sabers I think he can thrive. As for the defense. I think this season there was just a rash of injuries. Miller started the season on a tear and was easily the best defenseman we had. Injuries caught up to him and he missed a lot of time. I think with a solid off season of rehab he will come back and be the Defensive leader the bruins need. Brandan Carlo will no doubt come back stronger and ready. Having been knocked out of the season by Wilson WHO ONLY GOT A 5K FINE i think he has a lot to prove coming back. All in all the defense for the bruins is not as big a question as this post season may have led us to believe. 

Ok, Now lets get into the final 4. Montreal, Vegas, Tampa, Islanders.

First off, Holy crap! Who would have ever thought the Canadians would sweep Winnipeg? Not me that's for sure. Is it possible that Cary Price finally leads them to a cup final? I'm not sure they will get past Vegas but after what they have pulled off so far I'm not sure anyone can predict what they are going to do. 

Montreal Vs. Vegas

As I eluded to, what Montreal is doing right now is so far beyond comprehension that i dont have the words for it. They took Toronto a team everyone picked as a heavy favorite to win the cup to 7 games and then beat them. Then they faced Winnipeg who just swept the Oilers and shut down Connor McDavid and promptly swept them out of the playoffs. They came in as a team that under the previous playoff format would not have even qualified and they have so far been the best story in the whole post season. Vegas on the other hand, Has also done some amazing things this post season. They got past a tough high flying Minnesota team and then they took out the heavily favored Colorado Avalanche after being down 2-0. Led by energetic Captain Mark Stone and flanked by offensive threats Riley Smith and William Karlson the golden knights are a force to be reckoned with. This series will be the better of the 2 to watch in my opinion. Putting personal feelings and my Black and Gold blood stream. I think Montreal takes this series in 7.

Tampa vs. New York Islanders

The Islanders took care of the Bruins last round. They did it behind some solid goaltending in Semyon Varlmov. And the goal scoring of Matt Barzal and Kyle Palmari. Add to them the Defense and shot blocking of JG Pageau and the shut down blueline play by defenseman Adam Pelech, the islanders made it look easy against Boston even though it went 6. Tampa on the other hand took care of the hurricanes rather easily. Carolina defenseman Dougie Hamilton said "we lost to team that was 18 million over the cap". While this is true it doesn't really matter. Those salaries aren't what beat you, it was your lack of ability to score when needed and your terrible clearing of the puck from your zone. The NHL has not had a repeat Stanley Cup champ since the Penguins in 2016-2017. But if anyone has a good shot at it its going to the the lightning. I think they win this series in 5.

One last note on the Bruins. There were a number of things they did wrong against the islanders that ultimately led to their demise. One of the main things I can say is that for the first time since hes been here Bruce Cassidy plain and simple got out coached. Barry Trotz had the better matchups, He made the better play calls. Cassidy made the mistake of starting a whiny and hurt Rask over Swayman and I truly believe that if Swayman had started game 6, Boston would be playing game 7 tonight at the garden instead of making tee times for this weekend. I don't put all the blame on the coach. He can only do so much with what is given to him. This idea that Don Sweeny and Cam Neely make a great front office has been debunked for good. Sweeny had a great trade deadline this year but it was his only good one since hes been the GM. He whiffed on the draft that cost us Matt Barzal and left us with Jake DeBrusk and 2 other guys who have yet to make a decent impact at the NHL level. I think that his short comings are starting to pile up against his successes and its not looking good. I think a shake up in management might be the key to what Boston needs in order to cash in on this "window" that seems to closing a lot faster then anyone hoped. 

Comically Bad

 The Toronto Maple Leafs are the funniest losing team I have ever seen in my short 32 years on the planet. On Monday night they once again blew a 3-1 series lead and were eliminated in the playoffs. I would rather be a fan of the Sabers then the Leafs. At least with Buffalo you know your out before Christmas. The Leafs had the best record in the north divison this season and everyone had them pegged as a cup favorite. I even said on this very blog that they would easily beat the Canadians in 5. I was so close to being right. Then I realized oh yea, Toronto doesn't ever finish a 3-1 lead. It is seriously comical at this point. What makes it even better and more hilarious is that once it hit 3-1 everyone wrote them off. It would have probably been better if they went down 2-1. But in any event the leafs are done in round one again. Now that the second round is underway and we know all the matchups I am going to share my predictions for round 2.

Boston vs New York Islanders

This one is interesting. Through 2 games it it still tough to call. Game 1 was all Boston start to finish minus a fluke goal early by the Isles. Game 2 seemed to be going in the same direction with Coyle just having his way with the D on that sweet opening goal. But from there it kind of went down hill. The Bruins did battle back and eventually tie the game and send it to over time but a freak bounce of Lauzon sent Cizikas on a break away and he buried the game winner. Overall after 2 games I do think the bruins have the better team and they will get passed the islanders. Bruins in 6.

Carolina vs. Tampa Bay

The Lightning are healthy for the first time all season and it has shown so far in the playoffs. Getting back Kucherov and Stamkos was exactly what they needed. I had them losing to the Panthers but I wrote that blog before they announced Kucherov and Stamkos were back. Had I known that I would have said no problem for them. Carolina made fairly easy work of the Predators in the first round. But they are gonna need a lot more out of Aho and Stall if they hope to get past Tampa. I don't think they have it. Lightning in 5.

Winnipeg vs Montreal

Ok this series I never imagined would happen. Winnipeg swept the oilers and did it with ease. McDavid and Drastial were completely irrelevant in the series. The jets exploited that and marched easily to the sweep. Montreal as I stated in the opening paragraph didn't have a chance in hell of getting past the Leafs. Until the leafs went up 3-1. But even though they took them to 7 games I didn't really see much that would make me think they will catch fire here and take out Winnipeg. I just don't think Carey Price is that good. People ay hes one of the best but he has only made it out of the first round once in his career. I could entertain the conversation if he even lost a few conference finals but hes never been there. So I don't think this year is going to be any different. Jets in 5.

Colorado vs Vegas

Tom Wilson only got a 5 thousand dollar suspension for slamming someone's head into the ice causing him to miss the remainder of the season. Ryan Reeves pulled someone down and had a knee on their face until he realized it and moved it and he gets 2 games. The NHL Safety department is a bigger joke then the leafs in the playoffs. Not only did they get this one wrong they basically told the league that Wilson in untouchable. For Vegas to lose a guy like Reeves for 2 very important games in the second round is gonna be tough. He may only get 8-12 minutes a night but hes the emotional leader more teams need. Colorado on the other hand is playing at a pace I have never seen before. Nathan McKinnon has to be one of if not the fastest player in the league. He just moves through defenses like nothing. I'm sure McDavid would do the same if he ever got out of the first round. Cale Makar is becoming one of the best shut down defenseman in the NHL. Those 2 guys alone are gonna take this team very far in the future. As much as it pains me to type this. I think Avalanche in 6.

Those are my round 2 predictions. In round 1 I went 4-4 so not to bad. I just didn't count on Toronto crapping them selves again and for Edmonton to get bent over like they did. Hopefully I do a little better this time around.

Last little note. I love all the support I'm getting and i appreciate everyone who texts me that they read this or that they liked a point I made. I'm asking you readers to do me a favor. Please Comment on the page. I put the link onto my Facebook, The blogs Facebook, Instagram, and twitter. I get all the likes but i need comments and shares and follows if i want this to get bigger. So if you could please when you read this. Maybe share it to your own social media. Give the blogs Facebook page a follow. Or Leave a comment on one of the social medias. I appreciate it.  

Playoff Time

 The time is finally upon us. The NHL playoffs start tomorrow. This year has already been an odd year for the NHL with the teams only playing in their own division. But the playoffs is going to be a horse of a different color. The first 2 rounds will be divisional meaning 1 plays 4 and 2 plays 3, Then the two winners meet. That's where things get fun. After the second round teams will finally play someone they have not played against since last season. And with the way the divisions were made its very possible that 2 teams from the same conference could end up playing for the cup. Im gonna give my prediction on each of the first round games and i will also give you who i think will be the Stanley Cup Champion.

East Division

1.Pittsburgh vs. 4. New York Islanders

This year I really think the numbers of where teams finished the regular season matter. The islanders have been a solid team all season as have the penguins. The playoffs have become a yearly thing for Pittsburgh and the Islanders have been making some noise over the last few years. This series as with all of them will be tough but i think Pittsburgh takes it in 6.

2.Washington vs. 3. Boston

This series obviously has more to look forward to for readers of this blog. The main story line being our former 14 year captain Zdeno Chara being on the Capitols back end instead of ours. The bruins played very well against Washington in the 8 games they played. The smaller stories that will no doubt take a back seat at least for game 1 would be Tom Wilson and the bruins opting for Jeremy Swayman over Jaro Halak as back up. Tom Wilson writes his own obituary with league but putting all that aside Wilson has done his job. Hes in the minds of teams and he is definitely on the mind of the bruins after he put Carlo into the boards causing him to miss a lot of time. Playoff hockey is always harder and tougher. Much more physical. With the way the season was drawn up the first 2 rounds look to be some really intense hockey. Based on depth and skill on defense I think Boston wins in 5.

Central Division 

1.Carolina vs.4.Nashville 

This series is the only one that actually played out as east vs west. All the other first round match ups have stayed inter conference as is tradition. Carolina has built on the enormous success it had last season and channeled that into a first place finish and almost a presidents trophy. Nashville has shown continued success over the last few years but this may be their last shot at a winner. With the news that longtime goalie Pekka Renee planning to leave after the season the predators might be heading into the dreaded rebuild. I think the Hurricanes take this series in 6.

2.Florida vs. 3. Tampa Bay

The battle of the sunshine state. who would have ever thought we would see 2 Florida teams going head to head in the post season. Defending champs Tampa have a lot of work to do if they want to overtake the much quicker Panthers. The lightning have been with out Nikita Kucherov all season and he looks to make his debut in game 1. How will he gel with the flow of the team. these happen to be 2 of the more physical teams with their last game posting around 150 penalty minutes. The goaltending on both ends is vezna caliber so i would assume goals will be at a premium and the first team to blink will lose. I predict Florida wins this in 7.

North Division

1.Tornoto vs.4.Montreal

The north division was the oddest of the 4 that were made. It consisted of all 6 Canadian teams because travel outside of Canada was restricted because of the pandemic. Montreal started the season 11-5. then lost something like 6 in a row and the team parted ways with Claude Julien. They got worse after he left and almost were out of the playoffs. Had it not been for Vancouver missing 7 games I believe they would have been on the outside looking in. All of the major sports people have been saying that Toronto is the best team in the league this year having added Joe Thornton and with Auston Matthews scoring over 40 goals. But I just don't see it. Every year the leafs find a way to choke and this year having not played an American team and most likely having to get past Edmonton to do so, I just don't see the leafs having a real shot once the second round is over. They will however dispose of Montreal in 5 games.

2. Edmonton vs. 3. Winnipeg

It seems like every year since they have been back in the league the jets find a way to make things interesting. This year was no different. They played very solid hockey all season and they hung in there with Toronto all year long. Their downfall is going to be they lack the defense to stop Connor McDavid. As some of you know I have been a closet Oilers fan since 2006 when Fernando Pisani scored 2 goals in game 7 to put the Oilers up on the ducks. Everyone knows about Gretzky and how the oilers have only had one cup since he left. But Connor McDavid is the hands down best athlete at his sport. Its not even a close conversation. Which is why I said I don't think Winnipeg has the defense to stop him. Because in reality Edmonton only need him and someone to feed him the puck. Edmonton sweeps this series 4-0.

West Division

1.Colorado vs. 4. St. Louis

If you listen to or follow anything that talks about the NHL then you would have definitely heard that the Avalanche are the hottest team in the league this year. So much young talent mixed with veterans like McKinnon and Landeskog who have finally came into their own its hard to find a match up that doesn't favor them. The Blues are a very physical team and they play a very good game in the corners. But they are a team of veterans. Not a lot of youth. I think with the way Colorado has played this year they will handle the Avalanche with out much fuss and take the series in 5.

2.Vegas vs.3.Minnesota

The Vegas Golden Knights are the best story in hockey over the last 10 years. Upstart team makes the cup final the first year and really hasn't fallen off since. They are ultra competitive and always right in the mix. Add to that the William Jennings winning goaltending tandem of Marc-Andre Fleury and Robin Lehner Vegas is a team that is poised to do great things. Minnesota on the other hand is having one of their best season that i can remember. They have to be hands down the best 5-5 team this year as well as one of the most solid defensive teams. They are physical and aren't afraid to mix it up but they are also disciplined enough to make sure they stay out of the box. This is going to be a fun series to keep your eye on. I think Vegas takes it in 7 hard fought and close games.

Those are my predictions for the first round of the playoffs I will put out my second round once things play out. I did say I would give you my prediction for cup winner. But honestly i cant decide yet. I really wanna wait until teams are out of the second round and we can see them play teams they haven't played all year. 

Some quick football news. TEBOW IS BACK!!!!!!! After being out of the NFL for close to 5 years now and failing at playing pro baseball the Jacksonville Jaguars have signed him to a one year deal as a tight end. Obviously having drafted Trevor Lawrence there was no chance in hell Tebow would ever take a single snap under center. But the prospect of seeing him at tight end is intriguing. Hes got the body for it. Hes got the height. But can he catch? Can he block? This could all just be a PR stunt for Urban Myer to drum up some ticket sales in his first season at the hem of the jags but i think with the drive that Tebow has to want to stay relevant he will no doubt put in the work and who knows maybe he make sit and does well for a few games and can go out the way he wanted to.

Soft punishment

 Once again I find my self questioning the NHL. On the one hand they constantly say how much they want a safer game. How much they want to clean up the sport for the TV audience. On the other hand guys like Tom Wilson are allowed to bully and wreak havoc on the league with absolutely no repercussion. Last night he was up to the same old bull shit that he always is. During a scrum after the whistle he has Pavel Buchnevich  down on the ice and just proceeds to throw a punch thinking no one is looking. Well it caught the eye of Artemi Panarin. He jumped right onto Wilson to defend his teammate. Now Wilson the more rugged player easily gets out of that and instead of skating away and it ending he decides to further his candidacy for douche bag of the year but dragging Panarin down by his hair. Who pulls hair? With all that hes now in the box and hes flexing on the caps bench like he just won some great fight. After the game Everyone around the league was talking about how many games he would get. Would it be 2? 5? Rest of this season? Nope. The brain trust of the NHL decide that his on going antics and his reputation as one of the dirtiest players of this generation only merits a 5 thousand dollar fine. Are you kidding me? The best part is George Parros is the head of the NHLs development and player safety. George Parros! The man was one of the most feared enforcers in the league. He never got suspended. Not once in his career. You would think that a guy who knows the difference between being a tough player and being a complete dick would easily see Tom Wilson as a cancer in the league and act accordingly. I guess what is gonna have to happen is Wilson is going to have to go after one of the faces of the league before anything will happen to him. That is a bad precedent to set.

In other news, The Bruins have clinched their spot in the playoffs. Currently they sit 4th in their division but with a couple games left and if they get a little luck they could easily slip into second place. They have been playing very well as of late. The addition of Taylor Hall, Curtis Lazar and Mike Reilly has been probably the best thing Don Sweeney has done as GM of the team. Hopefully they resign Hall next year. 

Teams around the league have some decisions to make with the upcoming expansion draft. When Vegas had theirs teams did not protect certain players whos contracts were expiring or the cap hit was too high. They got a steal with Marc-Andre Fleury and have since built around him to become a decent contender every year. Now can Seattle do the same? Its possible. Lots of top notch players should be on the unprotected list this time around. For the Bruins i think the most notable will be Tuukka Rask. With the emergence of Jeremey Swayman who has proved he is more then NHL ready, i think now is the time to move on from Rask. Only time will tell. 

The NFL draft also took place this past week and i only wanna talk about the Pats first round pick. QB Mac Jones. Now the reports on him are amazing. Couple national titles at BAMA. Great pocket presence. Good arm strength. He checks all the right boxes. But if you have watched any combination of College and Pro football over the last say 10 years you will already know that while Alabama is a very dominant and successful program. Their QBs don't tend to pan out in the NFL. Other positions sure. Dont'a Hightower is arguably one of the best linebackers we have had since Bruschi and Mayo. But in terms of the most important position on the field, Bama is not exactly turning out the Joe Burrows or the Trevor Lawrence's of the world.  

A tradition unlike any other

 Well, after everything that has gone on this year this week starts the best week in sports. Its Master's Week. The yearly time when golfers descend on to the most beautiful course in the world. Augusta National. Where terms like Amen Corner and Ike's Pond are known by only the truest of fans. Spectators can marvel at the Dogwood trees that line the course or they can take in the aroma of the beautiful azaleas that are planted throughout the course. Don't forget the cheap food. Yes, the Master's really is the crowing jewel of golf. Unfortunately  for most people they will never step foot inside the hallowed grounds of Augusta national. Those tickets are harder to come by then the Super bowl. There is a raffle every year and every year people show pictures of the rejection letters they get like some kind of reverse college acceptance trend. But thanks modern times and television we can all sit back and watch almost every hole played from Thursday thru Sunday. 

This years tournament is going to have a different look then in years past. Tiger woods will not be playing. The crowd will be small and ESPN isn't starting coverage til the afternoons. But that shouldn't deter anyone from watching it. The field is still full of amazing players. Dustin Johnson, Rory Mcllroy, Jordan Spieth. There's someone for everyone to root for. This year will im sure be filled with crazy shots, unlikely leaders and at the end of it all someone will be given the famous green jacket, oh and 11.5 Million dollars.

Now that I've got that out of my system lets address the elephant in the room. What is going on on Causeway St. I haven't posted in a little while because i wanted to sit back and take in a few games instead of blogging after almost everyone. I wanted to see if patterns or trends emerged. Well they did. But not good ones. The Bruins are still struggling to score 5-5. They had some very sloppy play over the last few weeks. Coupled with guys being hurt and guys having false positive tests for Covid. Tonight will be another test of depth and character for the Bruins. Both Rask and Halak are out. Rask out with some type of injury. Probably a case of the sniffles. And Halak tested positive for Covid. So that leave them with both of their AHL goalies. Tonight Dan Vldar will get the nod and most likely Jeremy Swayman will get the call later this week. They did get Brandon Carlo back from injury so there's that. But they are still missing Kevan Miller. Their defense is a little banged up so its gonna be interesting to see how they respond to the pressure of not having an NHL ready goalie in net. 

Speaking of elephant in the room. How about the Buffalo Sabers. Holy crap what a dumpster fire. I saw something on NHL network that said the sabers have something like 48% of their team salary tied up in 4 players and those 4 players have a combined 7 points. Yikes. Growing up i always remembered the Sabers being at least competitive. They were never really great but at least they weren't a laughing stock. With all that talent on the roster you would think they should be successful. But then again you look at the Oilers and you say oh ok that's why. 

The Patriots went a little nuts on the first day of free agency a couple weeks ago. Spending close to 220 Million dollars. I guess Belichick just really didn't want to spend money while Brady was here. funny thing is They really didn't get much. They got a decent Tight End. But that's about it. They didn't address the need for an outside receiver threat. They didn't sure up the QB spot. I mean newton is fine but hes not a long term plan. I know people always say trust in Bill. But after seeing Brady go to Tampa and they way they played and won the super bowl im starting to think maybe it wasn't bill who had all that success. Maybe it was Tom and his skill who made bill's plans look good. I know that's crazy but its just a thought. 

Lastly the Red Sox started this week and promptly got swept by the Orioles. That's gonna happen when you let your entire team walk. I know Jackie Bradley Jr wasn't the best hitter but you let arguably the best over all player in baseball walk 2 years ago and have not been able to replace him. Your pitching is terrible and your only real threat at the plate is Martinez. It might be a long long season for the Fenway faithful this year. 0-3 is not a great start.

Dirty players and Bad deals

 Tom Wilson. If your a hockey fan you should know the name. He is in my opinion one of if not the dirtiest players currently in the NHL. He has more questionable hits and incidents then anyone I can think of and that includes Matt Cooke. When you have guys like Tie Domi and Kevin Stevens saying your should be banned then you have a problem right? Well not according to the NHL. Apparently a repeat offender who put someone head first into the glass only warrants a 7 game suspension. Not to mention no penalty was assed on the play so while Branden Carlo is being taken to a hospital Tom Wilson stuck around to get his 22 minutes of ice time. Now I'm all for good tough physical hockey, Its why I love the sport. But what he does is not that. And the thing that really pisses me off about it. Hes actually a decent hockey player. Hes not just a goon who fights. At least then I could understand why hes such a prick. But no. Hes actually a decent player. I mean he plays on a line with Ovechkin. Granted hes probably out there to protect him or whatnot but as we have seen. Ovi don't need protection. I liked that Tinordi and Frederic fought him in the game. But come on. Tinordi is gonna be on the 9th floor as soon as some D get healthy. But none the less he was the first one to throw down so sticks taps to him. 

What is the Bruins issue on long island this year? I know the islanders are doing pretty good and they have a lot of young hungry talent, but really? They have not beaten them all season and frankly it hasn't really even looked like the Bruins are in the same class as them which is shocking. Travel into the city however and the Bruins are having a very easy time with the old blue shirts. In 5 games so far Boston is 4-1 and a couple of those wins were pretty decisive. Maybe they can channel some of that energy into their team when they play the islanders again. 

The patriots signed a quarterback this week. Paid him 14 million dollars. Oh...wait...It was Cam Newton. I'm not as down on newton as everyone else seems to be. I actually think he could keep us afloat until they find a real QB. The big knock on newton is that he cant throw. Well fine hes got no one to throw to anyways. If Edelman comes back healthy then that's one target and that's a slot target so no need to throw more then 10-15 yards. I do agree with the national media that Its only March and pats fans should relax, that another QB signing is coming. But its always fun to watch the city burn before spring practice kicks off. 

Lastly, I'm gonna call it now. Tampa Bay will repeat as Super bowl Champs. Tom Brady signed a new deal this week that will essentially void his remaining year on his current deal and keep him signed until 2022. The move frees up money for Tampa so that can keep most of their title team in tact. they may loose guys who want more then 1-2 year deals. But Brown, Evans, Godwin, Gronk? Yea I'm gonna go out on a limb and say they will be back. And if Antonio Brown can come into the season healthy and out of trouble and give Brady a full season with him as a target. OHHHHH BOY!!! Its gonna be a fun year in Tampa.

Shot in the pills

 If Alex Ovechkin wasn't one of the faces of the NHL he would easily be looking at a 2-4 game suspension. He speared Trent Frederic in the jollies last night and I actually took hold of my own berries because it looked that bad. I understand Ovechkin isn't a fighter. And I get that Frederic was being a douche like he has been. But come on? Slamming your stick into his nuts. Not good. There was no call during the game as the ref who was right next it must have forgot he had a whistle. But the NHL did fine Ovechkin 5 grand. Which for a guy with his contract is the equivalent of me finding a penny in my couch cushion. Before all this took place near the end of the third period there was almost 55 minutes of hockey that was played. The Bruins did not look good. Their first registered shot on net didn't come until almost 13 minutes into the first. They did have some chances but nothing official. They played slow, finished slow, and for the love of Christ who is picking their shootout line up? I don't know the answer but I can assure you they should be fired from their job. Anyone other then 88 shooting first is wrong for the simple fact when he scores you now have the lead. The bruins overall these last few games have not looked good. 2 blow out losses in New York and 1 decent little victory on the back end of that NY trip. With the beat up D core I'm inclined to give them a little leeway but they need to figure it out fast. Speaking of the D. Whos bright idea was it to bring in Jarod Tinordi? Hes got 1 goal and 10 assists in his entire NHL career. Which is 87 games over the course of 7 years. Sorry but don't we have guys in providence that can do those numbers? They had to go out and sign him? That leads to my final point of this post. I wonder where people think the disconnect is between management and their scouting staff? Aside from signing this JV superstar I'm talking mainly about drafting. Since sweeny has been GM His only notable draft pics in my opinion are Carlo, DeBrusk, McAvoy, Maybe Studnicka (maybe not enough sample size yet). That's 4 picks out of 32 not counting the 2020 draft. I know every pick doesn't pan out. That would be great. But your telling me that in 6 years as GM he has only hit on 4 picks? Now there are guys who are getting their shots now so we will see but I'm going just based off what had been there. Don't forget the complete dumpster fire that was the 2015 draft. Sweeney and company had 3 picks in a row in the first round and only have DeBrusk to show. Some of the names who went after him were Barzal (NYI) Boeser (VAN) Beauvillier (NYI) Connor (WPG). So does the disconnect lie within the scouting staff to not find these players? Or in Sweeney for not taking their advice? Three picks in a row. I've heard the rumor that the plan was to trade some or all of those to move up and get Hanifin. But come on you didn't have a back up plan? That is just poor all around. Hopefully things get better going forward but they need to either start hitting on some picks or trading some of these assets for better players. 

Last point Everyone always give Chiarelli crap for how it ended for him here in Boston. And yes he made some dumb deals. But i wanna list the guys he at least targeted and went out and got in the draft. 

Kessel, Lucic, Marchand, Seguin (no brainer), Hamilton, Grzelcyk, Pasta, Henion (great role player) Bjork. 

He may not have been great at managing them but boy did he hit on quite a few of the key pieces of the bruins core. So don't tell me the talent isn't there because He found some diamonds in the rough. And so far Sweeny is finding horse apples in the mud.

Outdoor hockey

Last weekend the NHL tried to give fans some sense of normalcy when they played 2 games outside in Lake Tahoe. At first I thought why? The lake never freezes enough. But then I smartened up and waited for the plan. Build the rink on the 18th green of the Lake Tahoe country club. Ok I'm sold. Things did not start out great for the NHL when things kicked off. First the temps in Tahoe were slightly higher then they hoped for. Secondly over 2 days there was almost zero cloud coverage to stop the sun from beating down on the ice. So the first game got underway between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Colorado Avalanche. I want to break down the game but honestly it was a week ago so ill just stick to my overall point of this post. First can we take a minute as sports fans to smile at the Nordiques jerseys that graced an NHL game for the first time since 1994. Even with the purple avs colors they looked fresh. Ok moving on. Remember that lack of cloud coverage I mentioned, Yea well with a 3pm puck drop for game 1. The ice melted by the end of the first. You read that right, IT MELTED! The NHL tried all they could to fix it but in the end had to wait for the sun to go away. Total intermission time...6 hours! Game resumed at 9pm EST. One fun and kind of cool thing that occurred because of this time gap was Vegas captain Mark Stone was serving a penalty at the end of the first. Normally you get 2 minutes for tripping. This time he set an NHL record for longest penalized player at 6 hours 1 minute and 17 seconds. Now in game time it was still 2 minutes but that is just a funny antidote I thought you would like to hear. So game resumes after sun goes away and the reminder of the game is actually a decent hockey game after having to sit for that long in between shifts. Now moving on to the Bruins. Boston came into the rink dressed in 90s attire and i have to say they should have been awarded the 2 points right there. From fanny packs to might ducks jerseys and even Pastrnak wearing the Macho Man glasses. Game time was moved back a few times for this one due once again to the lack of clouds. 7pm Puck drop for this one. Boston scored early when pasta buried the games first goal 34 seconds into the game. They did not look back. Wining 7-3 and improving their outdoor record to 3-1-0. The best part of this game however was some of the picturesque views shown. Sunset with the mountains behind it, Dark skies with just the generator lights on the rink.  It really felt like pond hockey more so then the winter classics we have come to love. Going forward now the bruins have some injuries they need to address including Kevan Miller who got all our collective hopes up by playing out of his mind. So hopefully his injury isn't anything to bad. its getting close to playoff time and the bruins will need every bit of his early season play if they hope to make a good cup run this year. 

I don't post much on here about basketball because as you all know I'm not very well versed in the sport. But I do pay enough attention to see when things aren't right. Currently the Celtics sit at 15-17. 2 games under .500 and tied for the 8th playoff spot. As you know things aren't looking good for the Celtics. I think from what I can see their problems are simple yet not easily fixed. 1st they are trying to build this entire franchise around 2 players. Which is not the problem in its self but these players aren't Michal and Scottie. They need help. They need defense, they need a bench, they need depth. Something they currently don't have. People are calling for Brad Stevens to be fired and you know what that is not the problem either. This man has got the Celtics to 3 of the last 4 eastern conference finals. Hes not the issue. If  had the media credentials I bet not a single player would say its him. Players are never shy about wanting to get a coach out of town if they feel he just isn't working out but Stevens is loved by everyone in that room. They need to add some bench and depth to the roster. 

The Celtics other issue is more of a cosmetic issue that ultimately doesn't effect the team at all. At the end of last year NBC sports Boston had to make some budget cuts because of the effect Covid-19 was having on ad sales and so much more. Long time analyst Kyle Draper was let go and that spelled the demise of the Celtics in 2021. Yes this is a shameless push to get the people I've become friends their to retweet this blog and this is not a knock on the current crew of Abby, Forsberg, Scal and Perk. I'm just a firm believer that once a staple and fan favorite leaves town things don't go well for a little bit. So while I'm happy Drapes is doing good out in Cali, He needs to know the hole he left back here. 

Greatest of all time

 Jordan, Lemieux, Ruth, These are 3 names that to me signify the best to have ever played their respective sports. Guys who did there best to win at any level and any age. Guys who are immortal in the eyes of sports fans. Going into this football season we already knew how the football world felt about their choice. Manning, Rodgers, Brees, Montana, Aikman. Just a few of the names football fans go back and forth about. Last night they saw the definitive answer. BRADY. 43 years old. 7 super bowl titles. 5 super bowl MVP awards. Last night  he went against a kid who most believe is the next big thing. Tom Brady walked into Raymond James stadium last  night with one purpose. ok maybe 2 but one actual purpose. To stuff the idea that anyone is on his level right down the collective throats of all who say other wise. Until last night Patrick Mahomes had not lost by double digits since college. He had not lost a game in 8 weeks. Him and his team were picked to win the game. This was supposed to be the final dance in a long and lustrous career for TB12. One problem. No one seemed to ask Brady if he was ready to come off the mountain top. I've been a pats fan my whole life and one thing I've noticed is that if you count out Thomas Edward Brady, you will very swiftly regret it. Brady methodically and deliberately embarrassed the chiefs last night. In the first half the chiefs shot them selves in the foot by giving brady and second chance after a failed 3rd down attempt. Then as if that wasn't enough right before half time they essentially gave him 2 extra time outs to do what he does best. Brady threw 3 TD passes last night. All 3 in the first half and All 3 to former Patriots team mates. Which me personally i think that was a big middle finger to Bob Kraft and company. But that's for a different time. Last night solidified the conversation for who is the greatest to ever play. Success is measured in championships, that's why the Yankees will always be considered the greatest franchise in baseball. Why the Lakers and Celtics will always be the best in basketball. There 2 NFL franchises with 6 super bowl wins. Brady played for one of them. There is only 1 person ever to have played the game of football who has won 7 super bowl championships. That's Tom Brady. There is only 1 person who has won 5 super bowl MVP awards. That's Tom Brady. When Brady left New England everyone thought he was going to LA to the chargers or even to San Francisco where he grew up watching his home town niners. But he shocked everyone. he went to the franchise that had the worst overall winning % in all of pro sports. A team who for a stretch of time couldn't even win a game. He went there, got his favorite target to come out of retirement and recruited his new best friend whom New England was quick to walk away from after some bad off field antics. Rightfully so by the way. But he got these 2 guys and him self down to Tampa, Which honestly was already pretty solid on the offensive side of the football. Having guys like Evans, and Godwin and a very reliable back in Fournette. He went there by choice and i fully believe he did it on purpose. To show everyone that they were wrong. He hasn't fallen. he hasn't taken a step back. He can still play and play at a high level. Tom Brady played this whole season with the biggest chip on his shoulder. He proved to everyone why the only name you should be saying when talking about the greatest to ever play football should be Thomas Edward Brady. Science has shown us that the earth has been around for millions and millions of years. I think everyone should give a little nod to the sky to whatever higher power has decided that we should get to live in the time of Tom Brady and his remarkable reign over the NFL.

Great start

 The bruins wrapped up the first home stand of the season a perfect 4-0. The game them self weren't perfect but nevertheless here we are. A few bright spots I noticed were the play of Kevan Miller. I was very very skeptical about how he would preform, After the first 2 games i was a bit at ease. then this home stand hit. Oh my dear lord. That man is back with a vengeance. He is strong on the puck, First to come out of the corner with it. Laying the body all over the place. Id like to see him shoot it a bit more but ill take what I've seen so far. Another happy spot so far has been the play of the role players. Guys like DeBrusk, Coyle, Wagner and Nick freaking Ritchie. who would have ever thought after what we saw last season that anyone would be saying that Ritchie is an asset? Certainly not this sports blogger that's for damn sure. You have your always reliable first liners. Marchand and Bergeron have been top notch as usual. Marchand even adding to his league leading total for short hand goals. The Bruins PK currently sits at 96% efficiency which is good for tops in the league. With all that being said the brightest spot I've seen so far has been Trent Frederic. Not only are his chirping skills ruthless (just ask PK Subban) but he has been playing like a man that wants nothing to do with going back to the farm. Only 1 point so far but hes been right there in the thick of it all season. Now some questions are gonna come up this weekend. David Pastrnak is slated to return from his off season hip surgery and will no doubt occupy his normal spot on the first line. That begs the question of who goes where. The bruins have had a few different guys rotate through that spot in the line up and all have done fairly well. I think the logical choice is to put Studnika on second line with Krejci and DeBrusk. Move Ritchie to third with Coyle and Smith and let Bjork watch a few games. Its not that Bjork has been playing bad. in fact last night was probably his best game so far this season. But I seem to be leaning towards him being more trade bait then anything. Just from what I've seen and what I've read over the last few days from the real bruins beat writers, I don't think he will be around much longer. Moving on to the goalies. Tuukka Rask is in top form already minus the small set back against Pittsburgh. I don't think hes really hurt but he does have a history of hip issues and giving him the full days off leading into the road trip was smart. Halak is very capable of carrying the load for a bit early in the season. 

Now the fun part of this blog. The Bruins will play Washington this weekend for a pair of games one on Saturday and one on Monday. Now some of you readers might be thinking why is this interesting. The caps are without Ovechkin, Samsonov, and few other key players due to Covid protocol. Well boys and girls its interesting because this is the first time in 16 years the bruins will be playing against Zdeno Chara. Talk about awkward right. Now I know guys change teams all the time and its a business and blah blah. Spare me. The impact Big Z had on 90% of this bruins team will be felt all weekend. He molded guys like McAvoy, and Carlo. Hes best friends with Bergeron and Marchand. Him and Pasta are from the same country. This isn't a normal guy goes to play somewhere else kind of  game. Chara has been known although admittedly not much the last few years as one of the toughest more feared guys in the league. I know guys are supposed to check that at the door and go out and do their job, but if you think for one second that Chara is gonna go hard in the corner against Bergeron, or hes gonna very physically chop down on Marchand in front of the net well then you haven't been paying attention. I'm not saying Chara is gonna play soft or let up a goal just because. No that's not hockey. But in terms of how players normally approach a game I don't think the choppiness will be the same level as it normally would be. At least for the game on Saturday. Its very rare in todays sports that anyone plays for a team for 16 years and then leaves to play elsewhere. Normally its off into the sunset so these are new times. I really hope its a great game and that its physical but I just think that if the caps goalie makes a save and 37 or 63 is in front don't expect you to see Big Z tossing anyone out of there, it will be a gentle glide and pat on the ass as they skate away.

This week was also supposed to be Media week for the Super bowl. The lovely time of year where a convention center somewhere near the stadium is filled with a hundred different radio and tv stations all sharing interview guests and not actually talking much about the current game. Just ask my cousin Josh who is missing his 10 consecutive Radio row. But I did want to break from that tradition and talk about the game for just a second. Tom Brady is the G.O.A.T. if you think for a second that he is going to lose this super bowl then you are very very wrong. Yes the Chiefs have a better team on paper. Yes the Chiefs defense might look better. But Thomas Edward Brady has more magic in his left nut then Mahomes or Andy Reid have in their entire body. It was no mistake that Brady wanted to go to the NFC. That's where the only 2 QBs in which have been in the conversation of greatest ever have been. And he beat them both! Brees and Rodgers had to bow down to superiority. Think about this just for a moment. In the time Brady has been in the league he has had guys like Favre, Manning, Brees, Rodgers. Yes they have all one a super bowl during Brady's career. But brady has 6! SIX!!! He has been more consistent, more successful and did it with much less. The whole Brady Belichick conversation is about to put to rest on February 7th when brady is handed his 7th Lombardi trophy. Bill had the chance this year even if the pats didn't win the super bowl to at least make it an interesting conversation. He went out and got a former league MVP and number one overall draft pick at QB. Cam Newton. He still couldn't win. All the people who say Brady built a super team down in Tampa, Well Brown didn't play till week 8, Gronk didn't do very much all season. He had Evans and Godin who were already there and a mediocre defense. Tom is the best hands down. He will win Sunday. 

Stop me if you have heard this before

 The bruins have 3 points through their first 3 games. A shootout win vs the devils. An overtime loss to the devils and yesterday a loss in regulation to the islanders. However that is not the bad part. The bruins have now gone 3 full games with out a 5-5 goal. That is not good. But wait, I'm having dejavu because I swear that's been said before...ohhh wait it has! Every year. the bulk of the people who were upset over losing Krug and Chara seem to have forgot the fact that both of them were primarily special teams guys. Our special teams seems not to have skipped a beat as the bruins have 2 Powerplay goals and one short handed goal so far. But zero 5-5. Pastrnak is coming back in February but if you think that is gonna be an immediate fix, well then we have more to discuss. The bruins are about to enter a home stretch with 4 games against Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. They are going to need more then special teams goals if they are going to be successful against those teams. On the other hand, Tuukka and Jaro have been very good so far. Tuukka getting the second start. Both look good and are controlling the pace of play very well. The brightest spot I've seen so far through 3 game is Kevan Miller. He looks fantastic. If he can keep this up he may prove wrong all the nay sayers who said he wouldn't be able to anchor the D this season. The bruins are going to need strong play on the back end if they are gonna be snake bitten 5-5. I heard an interesting factoid during the first broadcast. In game 1 of the season David Krejci for the first time in 4 years started a season with the same line mates that he had at the end of the previous season. Wanna guess what happened in game 2? YUP, Cassidy and company changed his line paring. Now yes Kase was hurt and they needed to find someone obviously. My fear is that when Kase comes back he will not be put with Krejci and therefore it will mess up his line once again.  They moved Jack Studnika back to the Krejci line and moved up Jake DeBrusk. I think this was a better choice then giving the unproven rookie first crack at top line while Pastrnak is out. DeBrusk brings a fire and toughness that is matched by Marchand and Bergeron fills in perfectly. When the season started I said I didn't like that Trent Frederic was on the roster and not a healthy scratch. I'm happy to say i was only a little wrong. He does have that fire and poise of a kid who knows this could be his one shot this season. That being said he is making bad plays and is out of position more often then not because hes trying to run around and be "that guy" I think if he just stays solid and plays his position he should be fine. Hes got a great shot and his puck awareness is right there with the best of them. He just needs to calm down a bit and play hockey. 

All in all id say I'm right around 40% happy with how the bruins have started out. They are doing the right things in terms of toughness, Defense and solid goal tending. Now they just need to score some 5-5 goals. 

Hockey is back!!

 The NHL finally returned last night. 3 games were played and all of them were amazing. Ok, I honestly didn't watch the blues avs but I did watch the highlights this morning. Quick side comment, I don't like the blue trim on the avs uniforms and helmets and gloves. I don't know just doesn't look right. Ok, back to business. Tonight there is 16 games scheduled to be played and if anyone reads this and knows me, well you know ill really only be watching one game and just checking in on the others. Lets get to that game. The Bruins are finally back. They start tonight against the Devils. This will be the first time in 14 years that the Bruins defense is a legit question mark on the season. I know for the last few years everyone was on Chara for being old or slow. Me included. But it was always a small comfort knowing that he will at least able to move people from in front of the net. Now the longest tenured defenseman the bruins have is Kevan Miller. He has not played in a game since the 2018-2019 season. When he did play he was a solid player who brought more then enough physicality to the back end. But leaving most of your defense up to a guy who hasn't played a game in that long is a very risky move. The rest of the defense is made up of some very good up and coming talent that also has Charlie McAvoy. Tuukka and Halak will have their work cut out for them early on i think with the relative inexperience in front of them. The offense for the bruins stayed pretty much in tact. They lost some role players from 3rd and 4th line, but they can be replaced. The Bruins will start the year however without David Pastrnak. From what I've been reading and hearing he will be out until maybe February. Marchand is still recovering from his off season surgery but I've read he is a go for tonight. The bruins are giving Jack Studnika another shot on the top line while pasta is out. He did decent last year but at times he showed his young age. He will be good and he is a good option to bridge the gap until pasta is back. The rest of the bruins lines seem to be set up for success. Krejci is anchoring the second line, and after what we saw last year I think they have finally fund their 3rd line center in Coyle. They will only play 56 games 1 of those games being outdoors at Lake Tahoe and all of those games will be in a new division for this crazy season. They play each team 8 times and have quite a few back to backs. Those divisions however are really interesting. One division is just the teams in Canada. So 8 times this season we will get to see the battle of Alberta. which in my opinion is the best rivalry going right now. Yea there's Vegas and the sharks but that's new and might not even be a thing if Evander Kane sits out the season. I wanna talk about that for a minute. Kane has filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Now I don't know all the different forms of bankruptcy but i know the basic idea is that you owe more money then you have and you want creditors to leave you alone. Well from what i dug up on this whole thing is that Kane took out loans secured by his contracts and the team was required to pay the bank based on an agreement. Well they didn't and now Kane is on the hook for right around 26 million. In order to file bankruptcy, Kane needs to show that de does not have the income required to make these payments. Which means that he might have to sit out the season and not be paid in order for the filing to go through. So the sharks lose Thornton to free agency and now are losing probable their second best player left behind Brent Burns. If I'm San Jose I cut Kane, just for the embarrassment he has caused. 

Couple more things I want to mention since hockey is back. I saw more then a few people on social media complain about the ads on the ice and the ads on the helmets. First the ads on the inside of the blue lines are just on TV they don't exist on the actual ice. Second they help the NHL recoup some of the money lost by last season. The ads on the helmets do the same thing and lets be totally honest right now, If those ads weren't there could the average fan tell me what was there before? times up, it was the team name. So it doesn't matter that they have these tiny little ads on their helmets. it could be worse. Have you veer seen a European game? Those poor bastards are billboards on ice. 

My last point I saved for last because it is a slightly hot topic, but hear me out before you judge me.

On February 18th the bruins are going to retire number 22 in honor of Willie O'ree. i think that is a great thing and a very big honor for him. The man was the first black person to play in the NHL and no doubt shaped the careers of countless young kids. But here is my issue. in his entire bruins career he scored 4 goals. He was not that great of a player, mainly due to an eye injury he suffered. When a team retires a number it should be someone who had a major impact on the individual team. I think what should really be done is for the NHL to retire 22 league wide like baseball did for Jackie Robinson. The man broke the color barrier in hockey. He has his own day for the NHL. His number should be retired league wide. They did it for Gretzky. Why not someone who had more of a cultural impact rather then an impact on the ice. That is just my opinion. I'm not saying the bruins shouldn't be doing it I'm saying the NHL missed the chance to do it when they put him in the hall of fame.