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The Top Four Teams in the East Will Be ...plus the NHL going to Asia. |
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Well now that the dust has settled and the entire state of Texas hates me, (hey I could be VERY wrong) I boldy step into the Eastern Conference. The East remains not on par with the West in my opinion, although I do admit that the East is gaining momentum as some new teams are rising to power quite rapidly.
As I said before, I hate making these picks, because you are destined to piss people off, so take faith that no pundit is ever 100% right about anything.
#1-Pittsburgh Penguins: Ok you can talk all you want about what they lost, but what they kept is so much more important. The Penguins have the two best players in all of hockey, and I am still not certain which of them is the absolute best. The Penguins young defense is only going to improve. I am very concerned about Gonchar's current injury. Last I heard, as of last night, the swelling still hadn't subsided to the point where Gonchar's shoulder could even been examined fully. However, unless he is gone for several months I am still putting the Pens at #1. I think that Satan will easily take the Malone points and perhaps even better them, and keeping Orpik was huge to me and I admit completely surprising. MAF is only going to get better as well. And we could easily see Gaborik here at the deadline.
#2-Washington: The Caps will finish with more points than Montreal only due to the division in which they play. So note that although I put them here, I still feel the Canadiens are the better team...All that aside, the Caps are for real and they are oh so impressive to watch. OV is obvious, but Semin, Backstrom, and Green are going to be hard to keep off the All-Star team this year as well. I like Jose in goal as well because his style is custom made for this run and gun team. Much more so than Huet.
#3-Montreal Canadiens: The Habs are the fastest team in the East, maybe the NHL. I think Tanguay will be a real serious addition and I also think that we haven't seen all we can see yet from the Canadiens. I do have some concerns about a sophomore slump from Price, but those concerns are minor at best. The Habs are just too strong in the transition game and it will make for one crazy fun Centennial celebration. I will say this however: If the Canadien's power play goes south they could be caught in the division by a team that will return to greatness this year and took these same Habs to 7 games last we saw them.
#4-Philadelphia Flyers: The Flyers are stacked this year. Carter will lead this team in scoring with 40+goals and 100+ points. Mark that one down. Holmgren has built a team that could win any division in the NHL that didn't have the Pittsburgh Penguins in it. The defense is solid, the goaltending is extremely solid. Biron was a monster in the playoffs (Habs fans?) and you can see that he now knows deep down that he deserves the #1 title. There is a sincere confidence in Marty right now in Camp and on the ice...I also expect a huge year from Briere and Richards as they both are more comfortable in their roles. And remember, although the Flyers didn't go out and get a UFA they are adding a former 50 goal scorer who as a UFA would have been a great pickup in Gagne. Coburn and Timonen are a great pair. Could the Flyers overtake the Pens? Yes, but it won't be easy and it will require a consistency that they battled to maintain last year.
ASN SECURES NHL BROADCAST RIGHTS FOR ASIA
HONG KONG/NEW YORK (September 25, 2008) – The National Hockey League
(NHL) and All Sports Network (ASN) of Hong Kong today announced the signing
of a multi-year deal giving ASN rights to broadcast the NHL via all forms
of television including HDTV and IPTV throughout much of Asia, including
the Indian sub-continent. The content will be a key part of the offering
on ASN, a new channel Yes TV has launched across Asia.
NHL programming, which will broadcast on ASN at the start of the
NHL’s 2008-09 season, will include more than 130 NHL regular-season games,
the NHL All-Star game, NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and Stanley Cup Final, as
well as NHL highlight programs.
“Hockey is such a dynamic sport with relatively simple rules and the
National Hockey League has great potential for development in Asia,” said
Thomas Kressner, Yes TV CEO. “We are thrilled to be able to bring another
big American sport to Asian sports fans.”
“We are very pleased with the growing number of partners broadcasting
ASN, especially in China with our distribution and equity partner XFMedia,”
added Mr. Kressner. “Ice hockey is quite popular in the northern parts of
China and its popularity is growing. The NHL represents the pinnacle of
professional ice hockey and we are proud to be bringing the best of this
exciting sport to the fans in China through the strong, nationwide platform
of XFMedia."
"We have been very impressed by ASN’s aggressive rollout plans and
their commitment to a growing roster of sports programming," said Ken
Yaffe, NHL Senior Vice President, International. “Partnering with ASN
represents a significant step in expanding our broadcast footprint
internationally, and we are excited to begin offering our fans in Asia a
comprehensive, season-long game schedule.”
Korean distribution of NHL games through ASN will begin during the
second year of the deal. This deal does not extend to Japan, Australia and
New Zealand.
Ek's Note: This is very interesting on several levels and is a great move by this very progressive NHL...and goes along with a rumour we have been following here...a high-ranking official says that an NHL team will be heading to either China or South Korea for an exhibition game before next season.
more to come
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