Don't forget, the Wild made incredible moves bringing in Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. |
I will be completely honest with you, I had not an ounce of faith in the NHL owners nor the players to get a deal done before January 11th. There was so much animosity, the most childish of attitudes, between the players and the owners that I believed they didn't want to get a deal done, just to spite each other. But something magical happened last night and it sent every hockey fan into hysterics when they woke up this morning.
You can guarantee that this season will be like no other. Hopefully, these 48 games will be played only within the respective conferences and if so, every game will matter. There will be no waiting around to get the team chemistry going. Rivalries will explode almost immediately. The playoffs won't start in April this year, they'll start in a couple weeks, and we will get some of the most exciting hockey ever witnessed.
But with all the good, passionate hockey we'll see this season we may see some wild injuries and completely altered playoff races. The compressed schedule, I'm sure with back-to-backs all over the place, will put so much physical onus on these players' bodies that some will break down. Some teams will get their hopes dashed because a star was lost to a major injury. This will open up the gates for darkhorse teams and for those teams that can magically stay healthy.
Either way, hockey returning is a phenomenal thing both for us fans and the league as a whole. Another fully locked out season would be an absolute disaster for the NHL's image and I'm not sure it would have survived. Thankfully both sides put away their childish sentiments for the greater good of the sport. Hockey was truly on the upswing and it should get back on that path with one of the most fast-paced, electric seasons we've ever seen.
And just in case you forgot, the Rangers robbed Columbus blind for Rick Nash, the Wild locked up studs Suter and Parise and Carolina bolstered their roster with the additions of Alexander Semin and Jordan Staal. Big moves were made this offseason before Bettman locked everyone out and it should make the season even better. We'll see what type of magic the surging Rangers can conjure up or how the Wild and Hurricanes will bounce back from miserable seasons, but even more ridiculous story lines will unfold right in front of our eyes real soon. No one likes a lockout, but a beautiful rose can grow out of the ashes of this ugly work stoppage.
Hockey's back, should be a wild time.
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