Skip to main content

Time to break out the Magic 8-Ball...

We're less than a week away from Opening Night of the 2006-7 NHL Regular Season, so it's time to start laying some predictions out there. Today's dose - your division winners:

Atlantic: I'll take the New York Rangers in
a typically tight race. They've made some nice additions, and if Henrik Lundqvist can avoid a sophomore slump, the Rangers should fare well.

Northeast: This division is a bit of a mess, as Ottawa and Buffalo have each lost key components from last season. Boston and Montreal have some encouraging new faces, but plenty of holes yet to fill. Toronto is a bit of a basket case, so not much different there. In the end, I'll go with the Ottawa Senators to repeat, based on their superior offensive production, which over the course of a regular season should gain them consistent points.

Southeast: I keep waiting for the Thrashers to make that great step forward, but until their defense steps up, it's just not going to happen. Signing Vitaly Vishnevski was a positive, but I like the Carolina Hurricanes to take this division again.

Central: The times, they are a changin' in the Central. I'm going to stick my neck out and say that the Nashville Predators will take the division over Detroit, ending a run of five straight division titles for the Red Wings. Nashville has (for them) unprecedented offensive depth this year, and elite goaltender Tomas Vokoun has a clean bill of health after an unusual blod clot condition that popped up last spring.

Northwest: This one should belong to the Calgary Flames in a relative cakewalk - their elite defensive numbers will now be nicely balanced by the acquisition of Alex Tanguay, who is just entering the prime of his career.

Pacific: This may well be the toughest division of all, with Dallas, San Jose, and Anaheim all potentially contending for Western Conference supremacy. In a tight three-horse race, I'll take the Anaheim Ducks to win it. Dallas is going to miss Jason Arnott, and San Jose has to prove that last year's remarkable stretch run can carry over to a new season.

Next up - the individual awards... 

Popular posts from this blog

Celebrating a milestone month

I've been remiss in providing regular updates on my quest to turn this whole sports-blogging hobby into at least something of a significant side income, if not a career, but good news has a way of prompting action. That, and I've been heads-down busy working on a few different fronts to push things forward...

Social Media, Internet Marketing, and Real, Paying Customers - it really works!

Applying the basic tenets of internet marketing (SEO best practices and social media network building) have helped me grow the readership and engagement over at On The Forecheck tremendously in recent years, but lately I've been wondering if those same techniques could be applied to small- or medium-sized local businesses, to help them drive real, tangible business results. I'm talking about not just drawing idle hockey fans looking to a blog so they can muse over line combinations, but helping businesses connect with potential customers in ways that otherwise wouldn't occur. Recently, I was able to help make just such a thing happen, and it shows just how great the opportunities are for small, local businesses which may not have the resources or skills available to extend their brand effectively on the internet.

How I'm Trying To Make Money Sports Blogging

To kick off this series of articles general sports-blogging articles here at OTF Classic, I think it's best to start with a comment that Brad left here last week, after I shared my goals for 2012 , which include specific revenue targets: I considered diving into the world of internet marketing myself, but I felt that my friends would hate me for bugging them about stuff. I mean, it's pretty low-risk high-reward, so it's tempting. I wouldn't mind reading about tips on how to maximize impact of blogging in general to make it a legitimate income source. Trying to make money at sports blogging can be a very touchy subject - for the vast majority of us, this is an activity we pursue to both exercise our creativity and share our love of the game, whether it's hockey, football, badminton, whatever, with fellow fans. Mixing that personal conversation with a commercial message can turn people off, especially if it becomes too intrusive for the reader. It's not unrea...