I am probably only one of 12 people south of the 37th Parallel in North America that cares, but I'm happy that the NHL is back.

I dabble, but if you're a Flyers fan, I'll just go ahead and escort myself out.  

It's been a while since the Bruins humiliated themselves in the postseason.
Hopefully they can return to Championship form this year.
Let the Post-Thomas Age begin!

Oh yeah, and slapping around the Rangers is a good start to the shortened season!

E.D.

I am happy it's back, though I can't comment too specifically since I have not followed the off season. There are 4 big sports in my world view, hockey being the 4th, so my knowledge of it is limited. In the late 70s I hardly missed a game of the Big Bad Bruins(they could fight better than they could play). Now I wait til the playoffs to watch.

Soccer seems like a good way to stay in shape. But then so is a treadmill!!

I started following the Red Wings back in 1989, simply because I liked their name, lol

Quoted from stevie I started following the Red Wings back in 1989, simply because I liked their name, lol

1989? Man, my childhood was boring lol!

I've followed the St. Louis Blues since childhood. It's been a tortured existence. For personal reasons, I'm also an Ottawa fan right now.

I'm just glad the league is back. A 48-game season is almost like the playoffs starting from get-go, but I get you, leitskev, the REAL season starts in late April.

As long as your childhood could fit in Sega Genesis, Johnny, it was probably OK. EA Sports' NHL series are still all classics.

Quoted from CrusaderVoice As long as your childhood could fit in Sega Genesis, Johnny, it was probably OK. EA Sports' NHL series are still all classics.

Lol, I think Sega Genesis was my problem! I spent too much time playin video games and not talkin shop with the good ol boys!

I still have my Sega Genesis...I suppose that's a place I need to start assigning blame to for a variety of things.

Well, I got what I wanted last year (The Kings winning the Cup and, more specifically, Luc Robitaille getting some form of a Cup win with them) so this year doesn't pack nearly the same punch as it did last year. But, I am a hockey fan through and through and will watch whenever I can.

Mild anecdote (I fucking hate that word): During the '04 lockout, I was kind of desperate so I tuned into college hockey on NESN the whole season. It was fine, but I missed the pros.

That said, fuck Gary Bettman. Anybody at any job in the world would've been out on their ass the first time they let their business shut down in its entirety. The guy's done it three times in 20 years. I mean, a person could rant forever about how cancerous this guy is for hockey, but I kind of felt that was warranted.

I understood the '04 lockout and the league did a good job in rebooting. What lost me about Bettman was his determined effort to have teams that were clearly failing in some markets stay put. If they couldn't make it under the new post-lockout rules of '04, then they never were (with the exception of Buffalo or St. Louis). Seeing him block franchise moves that made sense seemed crazy. I think he was even reluctant on Atlanta's move to Winnipeg. Putting teams in places where people care about the sport shouldn't seem like an out-of-the-box idea but the league seems to think 12,000 people in Phoenix is a better deal than a million+ in Hamilton, Ont.

And this lockout was stupid, dragged on way too long and was not handled well. You're right. For the sake of the sport, he needs to go.