Congrats to the Florida Panthers [again] on their 2nd Stanley Cup victory, putting them into a rare group of now 9 teams who’ve won the Cup in back-to-back years. They now try to become the 4th team in NHL history to win back-to-back-to-back titles, which would put them in company with Montreal, Toronto and the NY Islanders.
Things to know:
- The season starts on October 7. End date is TBA.
- The New York Rangers celebrate their 100th anniversary this season. If last year was any sign, it’ll be occasional glimmers of joy in a season of despair and dreadfulness.
- The Winnipeg Jets Phoenix Coyotes Arizona Coyotes Utah Hockey Club is now the Utah Mammoth. Same franchise, tweaked jerseys, … will be the same results as usual?
- 8 new coaches already, with a 9th to be named yet in Dallas.
- Two arena name changes, unless you’re a purist and like using the original arena names.
- Pittsburgh and Nashville go play two overseas games in November in Stockholm, Sweden. Given their performance last year, they should probably play somewhere out in the distant woods in Sweden to protect hockey fans everywhere.
- The Winter Classic goes off in an area known for its prodigious amounts of cold and snow, Miami Florida, as the Panthers take on the Rangers.
- The other outdoor game goes off the next day in Tampa as the Lightning play the Bruins.
- No All-Star Game, since we have the Winter Olympics this year. No clue what we’ll have, other than some vague mention of a “send off” event. Maybe we can have the players do celebratory laps and irrelevant skills stuff so no one gets hurt.
- And yes, Corey Perry goes for that 6th Finals loss in 7th years. Good side of having him on your roster: that Finals appearance and all that sweet, sweet home playoff revenue. Bad side: you’ll spend weeks telling people “no, we’re not going to have a Cup parade, prepare for disappointment.”
