A QUICK TRIP AROUND THE RINK

Since I’m battling a cold today and feeling less than sharp, I will just take a quick trip around the rink to put in my 2 cents worth of the happenings so far this pre-season and call it a day.

First off, I want to jump for joy (I won’t due to feeling dizzy and will most likely end up on my ass) over the news coming out of the board of governors meeting suggesting a possible change to the “unbalanced” NHL schedule as early as next season. There should be cheering in the streets by hockey fans everywhere over this decision as I have yet to hear any fan proclaim their love for the current set up. The current schedule is nothing more than a failed attempt at forcing rivalries within a division while at the same time robbing fans of the opportunity to see the leagues top talent visit their city and its demise can’t come fast enough.

Sean Burke announced his retirement from the NHL after an almost 20 year career. I want to extend best wishes to Sean as he moves forward in his life. I have had the opportunity to met and talked with Sean on many occasions and I can truly say that I would be hard pressed to find a nicer guy than him. He has had the misfortune of being a solid goaltender on some pretty week teams throughout his career and never once has he let that become an excuse or distraction to his game or his professionalism. He would embrace the fans and the community of every city in which he played be it an NHL city or a minor league town. He would talk with fans before each game and stay as long as he could after games regardless if he posted a shutout or saw 40+ shots in a loss. A true class act who will be missed by many. Good luck to you Sean.

I want to be happy about the outdoor game scheduled for January 1st being sold out in less than 30 minutes, but knowing that Ticketmaster failed to restrict the amount of tickets sold to each customer makes me sad. What that does is force fans who came up empty when trying to buy tickets to pay insane amounts of money from scalpers if they want to attend the event. It’s great that the league can wave the flag on selling out, but it really ends up being the true fans that they sold out.

The Kings, Bruins and Blackhawks all want to show that they can better their records over last season, but questions still remain for these teams as they enter the season. The Kings are hoping the right mix of vets and kids will do the trick, but shaky goaltending will be the issue of concern. The Bruins will want to make a statement by using tenacity and tightened up defensive system, but may just find it hard to put pucks in the opposing net. The Hawks are hoping their kids excel and bring plenty of speed as they continue to rebuild, but they look very small and might get pushed around in the process.