The NHL Regular Season is almost upon us, so time for another round of plussing and minusing with your host, me.
PLUS: The Return on Max Paccioretty. The Canadiens have a terrible GM by pretty much all accounts, but he deserves credit for getting more for a guy with six 5v5 goals last year than Ottawa got for Karlsson.
MINUS: The Sharks. Even with Karlsson, I think they're too old to compete.
MINUS: The Oilers. I can't believe they still have the same coach and GM. I can't believe they didn't do anything this past offseason.
The best thing that could happen to them is a brutal October that gets them a new coach and GM. I hate to brag, but back in early 2015 I said the Oilers were on the right track and that they had just fluked into McDavid, but that their main problem was just injuries and bad luck.
They did not listen, and instead they panicked. The rest is history.
I still think they'll manage to do OK this year, but it's tough to think of what could have been.
PLUS: Taylor Hall won the Hart Trophy and Adam Larsson is a third pairing defenseman.
I've been wrong about a lot of stuff, but I didn't even need Miss Cleo to nail this.
MINUS: The Coyotes injury situation is a little concerning given last year's disaster.
PLUS: I've been really enjoying Final Fantasy VI lately, as well as the show Mr. Mercedes.
PLUS: I never really was into Westerns, but my wife and I have been going through this list of the Greatest Movies (I bought her a scratch off poster last year for Christmas and it turned out to be the best thing ever) and there were three Westerns on it.
The Searchers, High Noon and Shane. I would never have watched these movies if not for the list, and they all turned out to be amazing.
The Searchers is a mindblowing take on the racism of the genre (still pretty racist itself, but given the time it came out, it's fascinating).
Shane looks at the idolatry of a gunslinger through a child's naivety and is also 100% amazing, while High Noon is maybe less deep and self-aware, but incredibly intense.
Overall, I thought Westerns were lame, but now I am a huge fan.
PLUS: I also really like Country Music. Maybe not old Dierks Bently, but I do love me some Steve Earle and some Kacey Musgraves.
MINUS: Trampolines. Whoever thought trampolines were a good idea is a moron. Why not just give your kid a power saw and tell him to go find an extension cord?
PLUS: I am calling the Montreal Canadiens to surprise everyone and ice a team that stays alive until Weber is back, and then makes a late run for the playoffs.
MINUS: How is Ron Hainsey still in the NHL?
PLUS: I wrote a book and while it's too NSFW to sell very many copies, the reviews have been incredible, and my dad cried actual tears (of laughter, not sadness) while reading it, which was the best review of all.
MINUS: I met a guy who was so excited to see me he jumped into my booth and put his arm around me and I had no clue who he was. It turned out he was from high school, and I faked it pretty good, but damn, why is this always happening to me? Face Blindness? Bad memory? I dunno playa!
MINUS: Max Domi. Make sucker punches great again. I guess. Potential great player, but if character matters as much as hockey people say it does.........
PLUS: The NHL is about to start, I have two hockey drafts this week and one a week Saturday. (A live one). I am pumped. I love this time of year.
PLUS: Recently watched the Mask with the kids. As you can probably guess, it was Smoooooooooooooooooookin!
Washington Capitals Blogger • 
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