Fully Completely

In my early days of this blog, I used to fuse music with hockey, and in some cases, posted old interviews from online rags that no longer exist. For today at least, I return to my roots, though for reasons that I wish were better than this. From the moment that the world, and the country of Canada found out that The Tragically Hip's lead vocalist Gord Downie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, it was an inevitability. Rather than wait out the time until his departure from this world, Downie and company would embark on one last tour of Canada. The tour would happen last year, with their last show happening in their hometown of Kingston, ON in a sold out K-Rock Centre. Today, the news broke that Downie finally succumbed to the disease, yet a legacy will live on, as there are many things being done in the name of finding cures. Where the Tragically Hip really leaves a legacy is within their own country, as they have long been known as Canada's band, as they embodied everything about Canada, right down to some major junior hockey clubs, particularly with the Kingston Frontenacs, who wore Tragically Hip themed sweaters for a game last season.

Rest easy, Gord, and know that a country will remember you for all you done in the time you were on this planet.

I Watched This Game: All the Action You Can Handle

Last night, the Nashville Predators had their home opener in which they would raise their first banner as last year's Western Conference Champions. There was no shortage of excitement and suspense on the evening from beginning to end. I watched this game.

• Before the Predators took on the Philadelphia Flyers, there was the matter of raising a banner to rafters, with former captain Mike Fisher and current captain Roman Josi meeting at the banner to help raise it.
• Josi was scratched from the game due to injury, meaning Samuel Girard was making his NHL debut.
• The much maligned power play, at least to start the season, gets off the schneid for the Predators, as Craig Smith was able to put one away. He will need to return to 20-goal status if the Preds hope for something more than just a Conference title this season.
• Smith's goal was all the scoring in the first period, and he also took a two minute minor for slashing late in the period.
• The Predators look like they're going to pull away, as Scott Hartnell and Nick Bonino score to make it 3-0 midway through the second period.
• No, it isn't going to be a blowout, as before Yannick Weber's penalty gets killed off, the Flyers get on the board thanks to Andrew MacDonald.
• Nolan Patrick follows it up with his first NHL goal to cut the lead to one. I like Nolan Patrick and think he another great player from the Brandon Wheat Kings system.
• PK Subban goes to the box for two, but the Preds kill it off. Unfortunately, they're caught for having too many men on the ice, and have to kill that off, too. Valtteri Filppula ties it up, and with that, it is game on after two periods, with the teams tied at 3.
• Travis Konecny speeds down the ice and puts the Flyers ahead.
• A questionable Hartnell penalty leads to another Filppula goal to make it 5-3 Flyers.
• Don't look now, but the Predators just woke up, as Filip Forsberg scored to make it 5-4 Flyers. 
• Dale Weise and MacDonald get two minutes each, making it a 5 on 3 power play for Nashville. Hartnell takes full advantage, and ties it up, or does he?
• The Flyers challenge that the play was offside, but get victimized by the Mike Sullivan Rule, and not only have the goal count, thus tying the game at 5, but also have to deal with the indignity of taking a 2 minute delay of game penalty. It's still 5 on 3, though one of the original penalties gets taken off because of the goal.
• Forsberg plays hero, as he nets the final tally of the game, as Nashville caps off a momentous evening with a 6-5 win.

The Predators haven't made things easy in the first three games of the season thus far, but getting that win, particularly in the way they did, should serve as a confidence booster for the rest of the season. No Josi for the game, and no Ryan Ellis until January meant the Predators have to still figure out their blue line situation. The good news is that Girard looks like another potential keeper for a team that just comes out with quality blue liners left and right.

NHL Predictions

The NHL season kick off tomorrow, and because I did so well at predicting what would happen last season (note: I did not), I am back at it again. Like last year, these set of predictions will have nothing to do with the season preview and all to do with just going off the cuff. This time around, it's being posted here as opposed to just being on facebook, as I intend to go into detail as to why I think this way.

• I thought it would happen last year, and it didn't, but I am going to go with it once again and say Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will get traded. The Oilers are on the verge of salary cap hell, and Nugent-Hopkins' contract is the most logical one to get moved. Carolina has the prospects to offer and would appear to be the most logical choice. Nashville could be kicking the tires here, too, as their search for another center could lead them here. Plus, Nugent-Hopkins is under team control for four more years.
• Matt Duchene will remain in Colorado this season. The Avalanche have overplayed their hand on what they could get for Duchene and are more likely to either trade him after this season or watch him walk after next season. Either way, this is something that could make a bad situation in Colorado even worse. Oh, and Colorado still hasn't fixed their Titanic-sized holes on the blue line.
• Despite having the likes of Vancouver, Colorado, and Vegas breaking their fall in the standings, the Detroit Red Wings will win the draft lottery and like their baseball cousins in the Tigers, be able to expedite their rebuild with the first overall pick.
• Charlie McAvoy will win the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. He's in a good spot with the Bruins having a still serviceable Zdeno Chara leading the way and an emerging Brandon Carlo taking the pressure off of McAvoy. His playoff cameo showed promise, and that promise will turn to production by season's end, particularly when Adam McQuaid goes down to his annual injury.
• Carolina will finally end the league's longest current playoff drought this season. They've been building a solid blue line and their offense is starting to show, with Jeff Skinner and Sebastian Aho being viable options. Scott Darling will likely struggle a little, but he will find his footing eventually and be the answer in goal that they've needed.
• The Philadelphia Flyers will be the first team to fire their head coach during the season, as Dave Hakstol was put on notice when the Flyers plucked Kris Knoblauch from Erie of the OHL to be an assistant coach. The Flyers have a lot of talent on paper, but far too few actually doing anything on the ice, namely Jakub Voracek and Cladue Giroux. That must change.
• The New York Rangers are the most likely team that made the playoffs last year to miss the playoffs, as other than Kevin Shattenkirk, they did very little to change their roster. Now, they're planning on having 2017 first round pick Filip Chytil start the season with the team. That will not go over well. Remember how the Rangers almost screwed up Manny Malhotra's career by playing him before he was ready?
• Nashville will be a far better team this season, as last year was about figuring out who to pair PK Subban with plus dealing with injuries. This year, they will still have injuries to deal with, but they are better prepared this time around with the depth having had playoff experience. Don't underestimate the importance of the Alexei Emelin trade, as he will be a presence in his own end. 
• This is going to be the Blackhawks' last stand, as they prepare to enter their own version of cap hell. Anything short of a deep playoff run, and Joel Quennville is most likely walking away instead of being fired. 
• The Stanley Cup Final will be the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Edmonton Oilers, and Edmonton takes home the Stanley Cup, with Connor McDavid being named the Conn Smythe winner.