Depending on what team you cheer for, this summer may or may not have been an eventful one, but fall is finally here and it is the month of fresh starts.
Quite a lot has happened in the NHL since the Boston Bruins starred in their very own version of Miracle On Ice against the Vancouver Canucks during the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals. From triumph (the city of Winnipeg finally has its hockey team back after 15 years) to tragedy (the deaths of Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien, Wade Belak and the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl KHL team made this an unbelievably sad summer for the sport) the drama that unfolded around the league in the offseason made life pretty riveting for any hockey buff.
But with only 1 more day until the official start of the season, the attention is now shifting from what happened to what is about to happen.
The Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens are the only Canadian teams to play on opening night, with the Calgary Flames making their on-ice debut on October 8 and the Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers on October 9.
There is a lot to look forward to, with the return of the Jets to Winnipeg being the main storyline. There's also the tale of the Oilers' young guns. Magnus Pajaarvi, Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle are now more comfortable playing in the big league in their sophomore season, and no doubt the world is anxious to see what they can do this time around.
The Calgary Flames, who were very optimistic this summer about being playoff-bound, are suffering a few setbacks just weeks before the season opener. Jarome Iginla missed all of the preseason games due to a back injury, Rene Bourque was also out since training camp due to an undisclosed "mystery" injury, and most recently, young forward Mikael Backlund broke a finger and will be out for approximately 6 weeks.
Carey Price, coming off of a remarkable breakout season, is coming into the next one with the entire weight of Montreal on his shoulders. He proved to thousands of Habs fans that he had what it took, and now he needs to prove that he will have it for years to come.
And perhaps no other Canadian team will be as finely scrutinized as the Canucks, who rose up the ranks to become the NHL's most formidable team only to be cut down slowly and surely by the resilient Bruins in the finals.
Unlike history, hockey seasons rarely repeat themselves, so it's tough to gauge what will happen in the next seven months. The only guarantee is that it's going to be a nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat, eyes-wide-shut winter. So let's get this show on the ice!
Saturday nights are just not the same without Don Cherry and Ron Maclean
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