I watched the opening night ceremonies last week and I did see most of the televised performance by Def Leppard.

I remember the moment that Joe Elliot puts the cup upside down.... and just kinda shrugged his shoulders after someone put it right side up... he said something like "what do we know, we're soccer boys".

I was shocked to see this.

Alexei Cherepanov collapsed during a KHL game and later died...

Cherepanov had slid down to 17th in the 2007 draft, where the New York Rangers wasted no time in choosing him. He was a young player with a very promising future in pro hockey.

(TSN article)

Here's a great article from the Hockey News..... this article touches how some markets in the US have been struggling on selling the sport, and how the passion for hockey in Canada has always burned....

The Nordiques and the Jets were obvious casualties of the NHL's moves towards expanding in the US... it's time to bring some teams back.

Et voici l'article:
The Hockey News
Mark Moore's Blog: Time overdue for more NHL teams in Canada
http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/17747-Mark-Moores-Blog-Time-overdue-for-more-NHL-teams-in-Canada.html

Well, I had followed this a bit... and it looked like a bit of a double standard.

Pronger kicks Kesler (Vancouver Canucks player) with his skate on the shin..... the league decides no suspension...

While months ago, the NHL had handed down a suspension on Chris Simon for the same infraction.

The NHL has announced after another review, that they will infact suspend Pronger for 8 games.

I think Pronger's actions need a stiff penalty. He took out Mcammond and Holmstrom last year....

For anyone who hasn't seen it and would like to... check it out.

Just watched the Canadiens and Penguins play and I liked what I saw for the most part.

This was both Carey Price and Kyle Chipchura's first NHL game.

Both played a great game. Price was VERY good. He is big, pretty much always well positioned and very calm. He is making believers out of many in the media and in the hockey world.

Price has dominated every level that he has played. Last year, after finishing his Junior career, he was thrown into the fire of the AHL about 3 games before the playoffs.... and lead the Hamilton Bulldogs to a championship while winning himself the playoff MVP.

NOT BAD.

He played super tonight. What better way to start his NHL career then to play against some other great young stars like Crosby, Malkin and Staal.

I also like that 4th line.... Dandenault on the 4th line... I never would have guessed, but he's doing a great job.

Kovalev is playing well... he's always so strong on the puck. I think that Kovalev will really try to have a strong year this season.

There were a few mistakes tonight.

One guy who was a bit invisible tonight was Kostopoulos.

All in all.... good stuff.

GO HABS!

It wasn't a perfect game. Lot's of really bad penalties in the first period and even first half of the second.... you just don't take bad penalties in the offensive zone. It was just that kind of a start.

After the 2nd period, I really thought they upped the pressure. Montreal had many chances in the second period and going into the 3rd.

There were some mistakes made by both teams that may be categorized as caused by some "rust" as this is just the first game of the season.

I thought over all, Huet was very well positioned. Not sure if he gets alot of respect by all the analysts in "Media Land".. but Huet played a game that was very well positioned. At first, I thought maybe he was a little shaky, but as the game went on, he really made some hard saves.

The Kovalev - Grabovski - Kostitsyn line wasn't to bad... at times I thought they played really strong. They all made some nice plays to keep the puck in the offensive zone, and being so early in the season, these guys showed promise. Kovalev showed his special touch with the puck.

Hope that line plays well this year.

Hamrlik played pretty good. He made a couple of plays to take the opposing team's chances away. I think he'll be a bit invisble, meaning that he won't dazzle, but he'll be a solid defensive force.

Brisebois was used alot.

Interesting.

Habs Win!

Congrats to Nathan McIver who comes from this area on PEI.

He's managed to crack the Vancouver Canucks roster.

Best of luck on the upcoming season Nathan.... from some people back on PEI.

Montreal announced their cuts today and I was not very surprised with the results... although I suppose one cut did surprise me. I am happy that some more of the young guys are getting a solid shot in Montreal this year.

So, Maxim Lapierre was cut. We had heard some rumblings, and though we had heard those rumblings I did believe that Max would make the team. It is kind of ironic that so much advertising has his face on it, Max is an popular player in Montreal. I'm really hopeful that Max works very hard in Hamilton because he will get his chance again soon. Max's energy will be needed at some point this season.

Mikhail Grabovski made the team. We saw a glimpse of him last year. Small body very quick and has great offensive skills. I'm happy he made the team, I think he's got a great upside. I've read that he will more then likely be 2nd line center with Andrei Kostitsyn and Alex Kovalev. That could have some punch.

Kyle Chipchura made the team. I liked what I saw from him during the pre-season. Chipchura has a bit of size, he's gritty and plays a good 2 way game. He'll be a good edition to this team for sure.

Carey Price..... all the hype pointing towards him. Everyone knows he's got talent. Lot's of talent. He was great in the juniors, thrown into the mix in the AHL playoffs about 3 games left in the season and aided the team in winning the Calder Cup. Much expectation is riding on Price's shoulders. He seems calm and mature and I really think that the habs had to give him this shot. He's risen in every level. He needs some experience in the NHL. Welcome Carey!

Ryan O'Byrne was cut. I thought O'Byrne played well in pre-season. I think O'Byrne will see some play with the Habs soon.

I really can't wait to see this season begin.