Chris Pronger is awesome. Don't question it.
We’re finally getting to that point of the summer when preseason rankings start to come out. ESPN of course, ever the one to ignore convention, did theirs a couple weeks ago, but who cares? It’s not like anyone listens to them right? Actually, I forgot that they are the “world’s leader in sports.” I guess they forgot to get the memo about being good at their job. The one thing that helps me sleep at night is even though some football analyst got the short straw to do the NHL preseason rankings for ESPN and butchered it in the same manner beer-thrower guy would be if he stepped into Philly or, if you prefer, in the same way that virtually every female Eagles fan jumped ship the moment Vick was signed (not judging because I have my reservations too), is that Chris Pronger is going to wreak havoc whether Mr. Terry Frei wants him to or not. After all when Pittsburgh wins the media wins; when Philadelphia wins 28 teams outside of Pennsylvania win. Pronger has the public duty of cleaning up this mess that league commissioner Gary Bettman left over in the western half of the state, and when Pronger goes to work you might want to hide the women and children.
So when we left off with the preseason power rankings a bit ago ESPN’s football analyst Terry Frei had just done his best impression of a fourth grader taking the SATs. Needless to say he was in a little over his head. The Flyers got fourth place in the East. We’re not even talking about the entire NHL. Granted I understand the philosophy that the previous year’s winner gets 1st place automatically, but the Flyers, who only made the biggest move of the offseason to better themselves for the playoffs, were dropped below a Washington Capitals team with a defensive deficiency that makes Randy Jones look like a solid NHL blueliner and a Boston Bruins team that has no cap space to get Phil Kessel under contract. Go figure right? Their top sniper is still sitting around at home as a restricted free agent, and camp is less than a month away. Even if Kessel is re-signed the Bruins are going to have to give up a sizable piece or their team to do it. Also don’t forget that there are salary cap issues elsewhere. The Penguins are still short two top six wingers with no money left to sign anyone.
Anyway, that’s the end of my rant. Here are your power rankings:
ESPN (Eastern Conference only)
- Pittsburgh Penguins
- Washington Capitals
- Boston Bruins
- Philadelphia Flyers – Chris Pronger had yet to take an ill-advised penalty for the Flyers when they signed him to a seven-year extension. His lack of discipline and unpredictability certainly is part of his game and thus his effectiveness, whether against the Penguins or Capitals or anyone else, and it’s not as if the Ducks’ approach was anything close to passive the past few years. John Stevens’ challenge is to keep Pronger — who knows the main reason he has been brought in is to harass the conference’s young superstars (well, except for Jeff Carter and Mike Richards), and probably already is taking Russian lessons to pick up a few terms for Army boots and worse — from getting too caught up in the Broad Street atmosphere and doing at least as much harm as good. But if Ray Emery indeed is a changed man, there will be a lot of general managers deservedly getting heat for not taking a shot at him — and we’re talking about a wrister from the slot.
- Carolina Hurricanes
The Hockey News (Eastern Conference only)
- To Be Determined: The Flyers are not up yet and will likely be within 4 to 5 days. We’re at least in the top six in the East, but THN is a good outlet. Expect 1st, 2nd, or 3rd.
TSN (Eastern Conference only)
- To Be Determined: The Canadians do hockey right. They’re waiting until closer to the opening of camps to determine who gets ranked where. It’s still the offseason right now and anything can happen.
Yahoo! Sports (entire NHL)
- Pittsburgh Penguins
- Chicago Blackhawks
- Boston Bruins
- Vancouver Canucks
- Philadelphia Flyers – Chris Pronger in a Flyers sweater? Even if he’s getting a little long in the tooth, something just feels very right about this. It should be fun.
- Detroit Red Wings
- Washington Capitals
- Calgary Flames
- Anaheim Ducks
- San Jose Sharks
Sports Illustrated (entire NHL)
- Pittsburgh Penguins
- San Jose Sharks
- Detroit Red Wings
- Philadelphia Flyers – Chris Pronger might be the most ideal late-career signing since Denis Savard joined the Canadiens. Pronger’s snarl and skill, even in decline, give Philly a top-shelf blueline to match a deep group of forwards. Together, they might just be good enough to cover up for the new and unimproved netminding tandem of Ray Emery and Brian Boucher.
- Boston Bruins
- Chicago Blackhawks
- Calgary Flames
- Carolina Hurricanes
- Anaheim Ducks
- Vancouver Canucks
And there you have it. Sports Illustrated has proven they have competent journalism compared to ESPN’s crap. Maybe I should get myself a subscription.
And as promised, Winter Classic Ticket Information as reported by Timmy P.:
Flyers fans bleed orange ‘n black, even during the summer.
One of the most requested things we’ve been asked via e-mail since July, is when the NHL is going to release ticket information for the Winter Classic.
The answer is, noon this coming Monday, when the league is expected to announce a limited lottery system for the New Year’s Day game between the Flyers and Bruins at Boston’s Fenway Park.
The league’s official announcement will be posted at www.nhl.com/winterclassic.
There you have it. On Monday at noon the NHL will release how, when, and where you can get your Winter Classic tickets, but here’s a run down on your odds:
- Wrigley Field Capacity: 41,118
- 2008 Winter Classic Demand: 240,000+
- Fenway Park Capacity: 37,400
- 2009 Winter Classic Demand: A lot more than last year.
So there you go. Demand has gone up quite a bit. Two gigantic hockey markets are battling it out at historic Fenway Park. Basically, unless your a season ticket holder you’re odds of getting a seat are slim to none. There’s always hope though.
