Official Hockey discussion thread

LooseCannon said:
Toews is proving he's a clutch guy. Sure, he's not a PPG guy in the regular season, but 9 points in 9 games and +9 in the Olympics, and now 23 points in 14 games for the Hawks in the playoffs. Hard to believe he's only 21.

Also, a Swede will crack the all US/Canadian NHL official roster next year:

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=529684
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Toews is definitely proving that. He reminds me a lot of Joe Sakic, although he'll likely never play like Sakic did in the regular season.

I didn't realize there weren't any foreign (non-US/Canadian) officials. Good for the NHL. For a league that's full of players from all around the world it's great to see this.
 
I just watched Russia put out Canada in the World Championships (First time watching a game from this tournament in recent memory) and it was a good game to watch but in my opinion this type of hockey doesn't match up to the NHL playoffs going on right now.
 
We've been having that debate a lot recently. Which hockey is best? Olympic/World or NHL playoffs. NHL playoffs are WAY more intense, which in my opinion doesn't translate to "better." They are much more physical, again... not necessarily better. What I like about NHL playoffs is the smaller ice which makes it grittier and more emotionally charged. International tournaments (prior to the Vancouver Olympics) were played on Larger Ice with "all-star" casts which allowed for more finnese hockey, pretty plays, crisp passes, etc... I like that too. It comes down to taste.
 
Prisoner Of Maiden said:
I just watched Russia put out Canada in the World Championships (First time watching a game from this tournament in recent memory) and it was a good game to watch but in my opinion this type of hockey doesn't match up to the NHL playoffs going on right now.
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The World Championships lack NHL players right? I am still glad someone noticed the other tournament hehe.
Europe rules it.
 
No, Russia is FULL of NHL players, Varlamov, Semin and Ovechkin play for Washington, Gonchar for Pittsburgh and Kovalchuk for New Jersey, and thats just naming a few. Players go to the tournament they can/want to go to.
 
Then it's like this: Not only Europe rules the tournament: European players rule this tournament as well.
So the level is high, but not the Canadian and USA level.
 
Ya its mostly a European dominated tournament because the NHL playoffs are still going on, so most people and media end up ignoring it. It works out well for the European players that get knocked out of the playoffs because there going back to Europe anyway for the off season so why not make a "pit stop" at this tournament.
 
I think its possible and it would create positive results for the tournament. They could place it at the end of June and this would give players that lost in the NHL play offs time to physically and mentally heal, so they would probably get a better turnout and better T.V ratings. I'm guessing the reason why this hasn't been done already is the stubbornness of the IIHF committee to work around the NHL (just an assumption).
 
Canada has a ton of medals in the tournament, Foro. Usually our roster is packed with quality NHL players. It's just that with the Olympics a lot of them didn't want to come. It's a great tournament, I love watching it every year, but this year I often worked during Team Canada games.
 
It's really less the time zone, an dmore the fact that the guys we would normally ask to go already went this year. After you win a gold medal at the Olympics the World Championships probably seem a chore. Sad but there you have it.
 
Playing the Worlds after the Stanley Cup would mean playing them in late June/early July. I personally find it difficult to get excited about winter sports in the summer.

Really, I don't understand why the SC playoffs have to be played this late either. Cut the number of games in the regular season and finish the playoffs in April/May. (I'm allowed to have radical opinions about the NHL despite not following it much, right?).
 
You crazy Europeans are too used to your "major" leagues only playing 38 games and have the balls to call it a season :p. There is a reason the NHL is the best in the world and the amount of games is a big part of it, it is not for the faint of heart. A lot of European players fizzle out because of  that. Even Malkin had a transition season where the second half he was just not there, he responded the next season by winning the points race...
 
There's too many teams, Shadow. I'm not opposed to a 70-75 game season, but overall, I'd prefer to see the season move a month back - start in September, finish in May, preseason in August.
 
Onhell said:
You crazy Europeans are too used to your "major" leagues only playing 38 games and have the balls to call it a season :p. There is a reason the NHL is the best in the world and the amount of games is a big part of it, it is not for the faint of heart. A lot of European players fizzle out because of  that. Even Malkin had a transition season where the second half he was just not there, he responded the next season by winning the points race...
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Do you really need 82 rounds though? I've always thought that overlong seasons make each game feel less important, and matches between rival teams aren't as special when they happen six times a year.
 
Or a Pens vs. Philly Game, or Bos vs. Mtl. Col vs Det. is still priceless...

Shadow said:
Do you really need 82 rounds though? I've always thought that overlong seasons make each game feel less important, and matches between rival teams aren't as special when they happen six times a year.
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And as LC said, there are a lot of teams and you'd think  an 82 season makes games matter less, but EVERY game counts. Just this season Mtl and Philly (the 7th and 8th seed) clinched a playoff spot THE LAST DAY OF THE SEASON, and are currently fighting to reach the final.
 
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