Hockey Update

Hockey season is almost here with training camp now in full swing.  The Pittsburgh Penguins will open the regular season at home on 5 Oct against state rival Philadelphia Flyers.  Pre-season Penguins hockey starts tomorrow with a game against the Ottowa Senators in Halifax, Nova Scotia. 

A recent article by Shelly Anderson in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette indicates that native Vermonter John LeClair will be playing in some of Pittsburgh’s pre-season games, despite his age and veteran status.  “Guys like John know what they have to do to get in good shape,” Penguins coach Michel Therrien said. “He told us that he wants to play some exhibition games. He’s a true professional, and he does a terrific job as a leader.”  While some older players are routinely held out of most preseason games, LeClair won’t be.  I expect this will augment his pre-season conditioning.

 

     

 

Last year, LeClair had a slow start after the extended season long lockout and recovery from his 3rd back surgery.  However, he finished the season third on the team in points (51), scoring 25 points in just the last 27 games.  This was a great sign that his conditioning and gameplay were recovering from the long layoff.  Also, he attained three career milestones last year…scoring his 400th goal, 400th assist and 800th point.  Hopefully he can start this season where he left off last season.  If he can do so, he should be able to score 30+ goals and 70-80 points. 

At 37, LeClair is entering the final year of his 2-year contract with Pittsburgh and could be playing his last season in the NHL.  I suppose that decision will depend a lot on his production this year and his health.  If his health stays intact, I hope we will continue to see LeClair for the next couple of years until he hits 1000 points, although I think this will be highly unlikely.  Interestingly, at 37 he is old enough to be sophomore Sid “The Kid” Crosby’s father!  He is set to earn $1.5M this year (a significant decrease from his career peak 5-year $45M contract with the Philadelphia Flyers).

Tonight I tried unsuccesfully to order the NHL Center Ice package on Comcast Cable.  They said the package won’t be available to order for a couple more weeks.  When I was with DirecTV, I was able to pre-order the package throughout the summer months.  I am hoping that I don’t have any issues getting Comcast to set it up prior to the start of the season.  This hockey fanatic can’t miss a moment of action…thanks to the DVR, I won’t have to! 

Dates to watch: 

• Saturday, 28 Oct – Penguins vs Flyers in Philly – Possible family road trip?
• Monday, 11 Dec – Penguins vs Capitals – I’m there!
• Saturday, 13 Jan – Penguins vs Flyers in Philly – Possible family road trip?
• Tuesday, 27 Mar – Penguins vs Capitals – I’m there!

“A good hockey player plays where the puck is.  A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.”

- Wayne Gretzky