It's going to be hard to beat last season

Sure, the 24-25 season is about to get going, but it's going to be really tough to beat the 23-24 season, right? It was, top to bottom, one of the better seasons of hockey we've been able to appreciate in a while, ending with the best player in hockey, Connor McDavid, playing in a classic Stanley Cup Final that was nearly squandered by the Panthers in a potentially cataclysmic loss. But it wasn't, and the whole thing was tremendous. How do you get any better than that?

I'll tell you how: Be a fan of nearly every team aside from the Panthers. There is hope to start the season, and it will carry us through the winter. For a couple of teams, about half of the league, the record, their voyage into the postseason, and overall performance will match or best their season last year. That is how it gets better. It will be better for many fans. 

After the Sabres and Devils played in Prague earlier today, we can now also pin another thing in the 24-25 season's favor. This season is here now, and the best possible season is whatever season we get to enjoy right now. So yeah, this is going to be the best season ever. 

Tweet if the Moment

We have made the following roster moves:@Shift4 | #TexasHockey pic.twitter.com/kQ7RR6bP0Z

— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) September 30, 2024

The NHL season starts in a little more than a week, and teams are right sizing their roster. This may end up being the final Tweet of the Moment before the season begins. The Stars project to be one of the best teams in the league (again) and the real intrigue is that this high octane team still has young Lian Bichsel among the defensive ranks. OK intrigue may have been too strong a word.

Training camp is not a try out

 Preseason games are a yawner for me. Not only are they not intended to be competitive, but they are also designed to get players their skating legs, and not even a time to show off. Strategy is minimal, because coaches don't want to give anything away. Hockey is hockey, but this, just barely. 

There is always some conversation about a player getting hot in training camp and having some good games in the preseason. Will that player make the opening night roster? I would venture to guess the answer is no. Organizations knew who they had because of years of scouting of players previous seasons with the team, or with juniors or with minor league franchises. Sure, Andrew Cristall is "making things tough" for the Capitals, but he was never making the team. Keep it up in the AHL for a couple of weeks, then welcome aboard. It was already written in the stars. 

Training camp doesn't start until September

Photo from the Dan Hamilton, USA Today, via CBC

 I'm sure many of you Canadians checking the CBC website for hockey news are trying to get your heads to stop spinning at the news that Nick Robertson re-signed with the Maple Leafs this year. If I am to judge by his picture used on the site, he will also need to learn how to hold a stick and not be afraid of it. Fortunately for Robertson and many other stick averse hockey players out there, the other part of the headline is that training camp is starting as soon as TODAY for some organizations. In my head, I KNOW that training camp always starts in September, but I rarely have the awareness that it actually is September. 

Utah should learn a lesson from the PWHL

The PWHL went without nicknames for the entirety of their 2023-24 season, and going into year two, they announced nicknames for all 6 franchises. Remarkably, all 6 are not found anywhere else that immediately comes to mind, and none of them are particularly bothersome for being too kitschy, too cute or attempting to be too cool.

If you haven't heard, the team names are the Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost, Montreal Victoire, New York Sirens, Ottawa Charge, and Toronto Sceptres. I like that Montreal's team is in French, and Toronto's is in Canadian English. I'm not sure that "Frost" or "Charge" reflect the culture of a place, but since when has that ever mattered in naming a team?

Women's hockey is on the rise in North America, and it is hard to drum up support for a league from scratch. All of these things are true, and against all odds, the PWHL found a marketing team to, at the very least, come up with some solid nicknames.

Sure, the NHL has named a couple of teams lately - the Kraken and Golden Knights. But these teams aren't going to do what the Utah Hockey Club is about to - Play an entire season without a nickname. There is time to hire the PWHL consultants!

Since I myself am not able to hire this group, but do have laziness and access to ChatGPT, I decided to take things into my own hands. I asked our future robot overlord to come up with a team name for Utah that would fit with the PWHL names. 

For a Utah-based hockey team that fits the theme of the league, you might consider the Utah Spires. This nickname references the iconic spires found in Utah's mountain ranges and natural formations, evoking strength and grandeur. It also ties into the rugged, elevated nature of the state while fitting well with the other team names in your league.

Well, shoot. I like that better than any of the other 5 names (or the 6th choice, Utah HC) that are finalists: Blizzard, Mammoth, Outlaws, Venom, or Yeti. I'm not going to be happy with any of those names.

That just means that the PWHL is going to have to expand to Salt Lake City.

It's not fair

 It seems that the hockey community is perpetually bonded by common traumas. For as much as we love it, hockey is the smallest of the North American sports, and it seems celestially unfair that this small group keeps undergoing heartache, seemingly at a steady rhythm. Yaroslavl, Humboldt, Adam Johnson and now, the Gaudreaus. I've left out too many, but for now, I offer condolences to the Gaudreau family, both the blood relatives, and those that loved them through the game. 

It seems gauche for the hockey world wo move on so quickly, and turn the collective attention to things like Leon Draisatl's record breaking contract extension, but this is where the tighter community comes in handy. We're still all supporting one another. Matthew Gaudreau's family has had $500,000 raised on their behalf, and neither Gaudreau will ever be forgotten, even as we celebrate the good fortune of the Draisatl team. Hockey and life continue on, even with pain in our hearts. Hockey has learned the hard lesson that with grief, the only way out is through.

Tweet of the Moment

 

Happy #NHLGoalieWeek!!! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/17onG5udv1

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) August 26, 2024

When I started college, I spent the lonelier times on my PC, playing NHL '02, tearing through entire seasons in a couple of days. Meanwhile, my freshman roomate was very into Marilyn Manson, and as a result, whenever I think of that time of my life, I think of Evgeni Nabokov, but sing his name to the tune of "The Beautiful People" And that is my contribution to NHL Goalie Week