2-4-T's Preseason Prognosis: Atlantic Division Part 2

In anticipation of the coming season, the staff at Two Minutes for Typing will be breaking out our scalpels, slicing the divisions in half, and dissecting each team to see what will be making them tick this year. Of course some appear to be more ready for the rigors of a full 82-game compliment than others. With that in mind, we will be looking through the microscope at who will perish on the operating table, who has a fighting chance under the knife, and who will be sewn, stitched, and sipping ginger ale come playoff time. I present to you 2-4-T's Preseason Prognosis.

The Miss:

Tampa Bay Lightning

Last Season's Result: 14th in the East

Additions: Valtteri Filppula, F (Detroit); Ben Bishop, G (Ottawa); Jonathan Drouin, F (Drafted 3rd Overall)

Subtractions: Vincent Lecavalier, F (Philadelphia, Buyout); Benoit Pouliot, F (N. Y. Rangers); Marc Andre Bergeron, D (Carolina); Adam Hall, D (Philadelphia); Cory Conacher, F (Ottawa); Mathieu Garon, G (UFA)

Available Cap Space: $2.609 million

2-4-T's Preseason Prognosis: Atlantic Division Part 1

In anticipation of the coming season, the staff at Two Minutes for Typing will be breaking out our scalpels, slicing the divisions in half, and dissecting each team to see what will be making them tick this year. Of course some appear to be more ready for the rigors of a full 82-game compliment than others. With that in mind, we will be looking through the microscope at who will perish on the operating table, who has a fighting chance under the knife, and who will be sewn, stitched, and sipping ginger ale come playoff time. I present to you 2-4-T's Preseason Prognosis.

The Miss:

Buffalo Sabres

Last Season's Result: 12th in the East

Additions: Henrik Tallinder, D (New Jersey); Jamie McBain, D (Carolina); Matt Hackett, G (Minnesota)

Subtractions: Nathan Gerbe, F (Carolina, Buyout); Jason Pomminville, F (Minnesota); Robyn Regehr, D (Los Angeles); Jordan Leopold, D (St. Louis); Lindy Ruff, Coach (Dallas)

Available Cap Space: $10.505 million

On the Notion of European Expansion

I recently read an article by Huw Wales on the blog Defending Big D which reiterated the now 5-year-old question of whether the NHL should consider expansion into Europe but with the twist of considering this before looking into more North American cities. For those unaware, there are quite a handful of popular destinations for new NHL franchises in the Western Hemisphere. Among the list are Quebec City, Quebec; Markham, Ontario (roughly 30 km/20 miles from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto); Seattle, Washington; Kansas City, Missouri; and Houston, Texas.

Now the article did a fairly good job of outlining the ups and downs of such a proposition but I couldn't help but read this with an "are you serious?" attitude. I mean we just realigned the league, sure because Winnipeg was a couple villages too far from being realistically "Southeast", but also because Detroit has been bitching and moaning about playing games past their bed time when making Pacific Coast road trips in the past. I'm sure the organization would be thrilled about making a visit to Stockholm, Sweden once a year.

An Alternate Way to Bet on Sports

Like most people, I enjoy a good sports bet every once in a while. But not like most, I try to make it fun while not basing bets on monetary rewards. For example, A friend of mine (R.I.P Cesar Pichardo) and I would make "hat bets". I have an uglier than sin Blackhawks trucker hat and the stakes would revolve around the loser wearing said hat for a full 24-hour period . I guess you could call it a "hat of shame".

2-4-T Exclusive: A Visit to Day 4 of the Blackhawks Prospect Camp

When I was commissioned by the higher-ups here at Two Minutes for Typing to cover the 2013 Prospect Camp for the Chicago Blackhawks I did what any upstanding journalist would do: not show up until the fourth day and be two hours late. But it was a great experience to see a few of the future Blackhawks and a bunch of other hacks who will never crack the roster. It made me feel better about how bad I am at the sport even though those low on the totem pole in the mix could embarrass the hell out of me with little to no effort.

But all attempts at comedy aside, this was absolutely a new experience for me as I do not get the chance to witness many of the up-and-comers prior to service in the big boys' league. Watching hockey in this sort of environment also helps put in perspective the level of difficulty involved in attaining a job at the professional level in any sport. While I do believe that all involved in the camp are still a far cry away from graduating to the NHL, I did make a few mental notes on some players who quite possibly are a little closer than others.

It Was Nice Knowing You, Northwest and Southeast Divisions

With the start of Free Agency last Friday it appears that the calendar in the NHL has turned to the 2013-2014 season. It's an exciting time before the first puck drops sometime in October when you have the chance to look at the moves your respective teams has made, over-analyze things, pull your hair out, and ball up into the fetal position until the boys win a game and you tell your friends you knew they would turn things around this year.

What the Hell Is Philly Doing?

It’s a good thing we have a new Collective Bargaining Agreement in the NHL, even though we sacrificed half of a season to get there. The aftermath of the 2004-05 lockout birthed those laughable long-term deals that dove into salary-minimum territory towards the tail end of the deals when the player who signed probably wasn’t expected to actually be playing anymore. Free Agency makes General Managers go crazy I guess.