The NHL Is Back

11 years ago, in the midst of a great playoff race & home run chase, major league baseball went on strike. The rest of the season, including the World Series, was wiped out. By opening day the next season, everything was resolved, and baseball was back. It's fans, myself included, on the other hand, were not back. Many of us had lost interest in the game, shocked it did what it did. Personally, it wasn't until the Great Home Run Chase of 1998 that I began to get re-interested in baseball.

Why then, on the verge of the first hockey games in 15 months, am I so excited to have hockey back? Why are so many fans excited to have it back? Why do hockey fans not feel betrayed, as baseball fans did 11 years ago? What has hockey done right (nothing) in the last 15 months that makes us all so eager to watch our teams season openers tonight?

For me, the answer is simple: I have no idea.

I'm glad we got that out of the way. Because hockey is indeed back. And I'm beyond excited. There was a major void in my life last winter that the NBA & College B-Ball couldn't replace. A part of me was missing, and now I have it back. Maybe that's why I'm running back to the NHL, so easily willing to forgive & forget. I just missed it, plain & simple.

So now it's back, and it's completely different then anything we've witnessed in the last decade. It's a better game, supposedly. The jury is definitely still out on that. But it is a better game then the NFL, NBA or MLB offers, so at least it's got that going for it.

There are dozens of new rules in place this year. I could take up my time & yours and explain all those rules to you, but if you're reading this, there is one of two things going on. Either 1) you are just as excited for the return of hockey as I am, so you know the new rules, and don't need me to explain them, or 2) you don't care that hockey is back, and therefore don't care about the new rules. And if it's the second option that describes you, chances are you aren't even reading this, and I'm just talking to the "1" folk.

So we'll skip the rules, and just talk about the game. When last we saw, the Lightning & Flames finished a great 7 game series with the Tampa Bay Lightning skating Lord Stanley's Cup. Since then, everything has changed for everyone.

Mark Messier, Scott Stevens, Ron Francis & Al MacInnis, four of the greatest players to ever lace them up have retired, as have dozen of other greats. In three years, these players will head the greatest NHL Hall of Fame class ever, and it will be a grand ceremony to make up for the grand exits all these greats were deprived of.

Nikolai Khabibulin, Jeremy Roenick, Peter Forsberg, Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, Dany Heatley, Teemu Selanne, Paul Kariya, Brett Hull, Eric Lindros, Alexander Mogilny, Marian Hossa, John Leclair, Sergei Gonchar and a slew of other "slightly above average" players all have different mailing addresses.

And the Minnesota Wild have a patch on their jersey's commemorating their "5th" NHL Season, 6 years after they played their first game. Just goes to prove that sports teams will make any change necessary to their jerseys, sweaters, uniforms, whatever, in order to get fans to buy them. It all boils down to money.

And for me, the biggest change is my beloved New Jersey Devils are no longer the power house that they have been for the last decade. This is a completely different team then we last saw. Scott Stevens retired. Scott Niedermayer joined his brother Rob in Anaheim (signing that contract only with the guarantee, in writing, that Rob would be on the team for all four years, as well. Apparently that's the only way Rob can get NHL work, that's how good he is). Patrik Elias got Hep A in Moscow, and is still out indefinitely (supposedly back in November, my money is on February, or October, 2006). Scott Gomez broke his hip playing in Anchorage, although he says he's back to 100%, and has been for awhile. Pat Burns, the coach, has had recurring bouts with cancer, and is no longer behind the bench. Larry Robinson replaces him, oddly enough, since Pat Burns replaced Larry Robinson (basically). So the Devils are no longer a powerhouse, and many people have them struggling to even get into the playoffs. I have so much I can say about the Devils, that I'll save it for another post in a few days, after I get to see them play a few games. But I'll just say this, with the things Brodeur has been doing this preseason (getting around all the new rules put in place to prohibit a goaltender like him from changing a game), this team is still in the class of the eastern conference, and will challenge for the division, the conference, and the cup.

Without further adieu, here are the sharkey's 15 bold predictions for the 2005-2006 season.

15. Sidney Crosby will not win rookie of the year, but he will score 55 points.
14. John Grahame will do better in Tampa Bay then Nikolai Khabibulin does in Chicago.
13. Peter Forsberg & Derian Hatcher will combine to miss at least 45 games for the Flyers.
12. Martin Brodeur will win his 3rd straight Vezina Trophy.
11. Scott Niedermayer will lead all defensemen in scoring, and finish in the Top 10 in scoring in the entire NHL.
10. The Nashville Predators will win their division.
9. The Colorado Avalanche will miss the playoffs.
8. So will Montreal, Buffalo, New York, New York, Washington, Carolina, Florida, Chicago, Columbus, St. Louis, Minnesota, Los Angeles & Phoenix.
7. Todd Bertuzzi will put everything behind him and win the Art Ross Trophy, while his linemate Markus Naslund wins the Rocket Richard & Hart Trophies.
6. The New Jersey Devils & Pittsburgh Penguins will face each other in the first round of the playoffs in the East's 4-5 matchup, and it will go down to 7 games. The Mario Lemieux vs Martin Brodeur battle will go down as one of the best shooters vs goalie matchups in history.
5. The Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Nashville Predators, Calgary Flames & San Jose Sharks will be division champs.
4. The Senators, Flyers, Lightning, Flames & Sharks will be joined by the Devils, Oilers & Canucks in the second round of the playoffs.
3. The Senators, Lightning, Flames & Oilers will face off in the two conference championships.
2. The Calgary Flames will finally bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada after they dispose of Ottawa in 6 games.
1. Scoring will be up less then one goal per game, in comparison with the 2003-2004 season.

Can't wait for tonight.