NHL Franchise Boys

The NHL season kicks-off  Tuesday October 1^st  and our draft weekend getaway is set for September 27^th thru 29^th, with the draft taking place on Saturday September 28^th at  9am.

Other notable dates:

Friday Sept. 6^th … lottery to determine draft order

Friday Sept. 13^th … preliminary protect list

Friday Sept. 20^th … final protect list

New…  as of this season, points for traded players and/or free agents will only start counting as of the day the player is acquired by the new franchise. Any points accumulated from the last published standings up to the trade day will be considered as inactive points, regardless whether the player is active or farm status. For example, Vinny Lecavalier has accumulated 3 points after playing two 2 games for the week and gets traded on Thursday morning. Neither franchise will benefit from those 3 points as they are deemed inactive due to the trade. However, Vinny plays Thursday night and gets 2 points. Those 2 points will be accumulated and count for the franchise that recently acquired Lecavalier, provided the owner sets him as active for the week. Similarly, signed FA players automatically start on your roster at zero active points irrespective of the NHL points acquired prior to the FA signing. Points will start accumulating only as of the day the FA player is acquired by the franchise and count provided the owner sets him as active for the week.

Boys… let’s enjoy ourselves silly!

Classic matchup

The final, the first to feature Original Six teams since the Montreal Canadiens defeated the New York Rangers in 1979, did not disappoint. After a painful lockout, a memorable final series was just what the doctor ordered with three overtime games and plenty of drama as Chicago’s speed and skill was matched against the hard-hitting Bruins.

The Blackhawks become the first team in the salary cap era to win the Cup twice. Chicago also won the Cup in 2010, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2. Given the Blackhawks’ recent success, it is easy to forget that the 2010 championship was Chicago’s first since 1961 — at the time the league’s longest active Stanley Cup drought. Congrats Chicago!

There used to be a time when playing for Les Glorieux meant something. From smoking cigarettes between periods, to walking across the bench to tell Ronald Corey that you’ve played your last game for the organization, it meant something to play for the Bleu, Blanc, et Rouge. Habs players used to be rock stars but those days no longer exist.

The Canadiens were one of the biggest surprises in the NHL this season, going from last in the Eastern Conference to winning the Northeast Division, a turnaround orchestrated by general manager Marc Bergevin and coach Michel Therrien that centered around a young core comprised of Price, P.K. Subban, Max Pacioretty and newcomers Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher.

In spite of the five-game loss, that future remains bright for the Canadiens. The team has a core of outstanding young players, a solid front office and a head coach that did an excellent job. There weren’t that many fans remaining at Bell Centre by the time the teams shook hands, but those who remained cheered throughout the final minute of the game and acknowledged what the Canadiens accomplished as the team saluted them one last time. Despite the playoff setback, the Canadiens looked to have taken a step forward this season and should take another if, as expected, Galchenyuk emerges as a top points producer at centre and other young players like Gallagher and Eller continue to progress. And with Subban’s flash and dash rushing the puck and firing rockets from the point, they should be entertaining as well. Hey, it was an amazing season. Our Canadiens delivered more thrills than any of us could have hoped for. The glass is half full. See you in September.