It’s called…

To be honest, the most attention I paid to the NHL offseason was grousing over the fact that OLN, which was once the valuable Outdoor Life Network, changed its name to the ridiculous “Versus.” How long until burgeoning rival network “Up Against” tries to put a dent into Comcast’s action?

But another NHL season is upon us beginning tonight when Canada’s Game opens its doors to rabid fans in a handful of cities, and folks who couldn’t care less in far too many others. Here in Boston, you can just feel the anticipation building in the streets, can’t you? Just last night at the bar, I tried to raise the subject of Ellis Hobb’s broken wrist, when the guy next to me told me to shut up and answer his question about Garnet Exelby’s possible breakout season.

So, how long until we get to watch the always smiling Mike Sullivan behind the Bruins bench?
You’re kidding. How about that roster building wizard Mike O’Connell? Him too? What did he do so wrong? Give away the MVP?
Oh, right then.
Speaking of former Bruins, is this what Blaine Lacher is up to these days?

“It’s called Bruins” was a far too easy tagline to make fun of last year, a campaign that yes, the team actually paid money for (and very likely drove thousands into the field of advertising after they realized just how ridiculously easy it apparently is), only to watch it be ridiculed into “It’s called Ruins” fame. This season, the team swiped Kevin Paul Dupont’s “Hub of Hockey” as its slogan, although the more apt proclamation might have been, “Bruins, we’re trying yet again.” I find it highly unlikely the Red Sox will come knocking anytime soon to adopt my slogan for 2007, “What a mess. Join Red Sox Nation.”
Coming soon, the new NESN spot introducing you to this year’s team:
“They’ve got a whole new lineup. Who isn’t excited about this team?
Bergeron and Boyes on the same line? Come on.
Throw Marco Sturm in there, and they’re unstoppable.
I just love…Petr Kalus.
Did you see that check that Zdeno made?
Jurcina? He’s so intense on the blue line.”
OK, yes, Zdeno Chara, Paul Mara, Shean Donovan were all nifty additions for a franchise that quite obviously needed to make some changes if it didn’t want to be on par with the Cannons in the New England sports attention span. Not the Revolution, people, the Cannons. Bruins fever wasn’t rampant. It wasn’t flickering. It was dead. Joe Thornton going and winning the league’s MVP didn’t help matters. Season tickets on sale now.
There’s hope, sure, and not just because the yellow “Pooh” jerseys are a thing of the past. Dave Lewis may have the worst mustache in professional sports, but by most accounts he’ll be a damn fine coach, and maybe even a little more personable than the bag of fun Sullivan was. Peter Chiarelli has plenty of time on his hands now that he’s not drafting players for the Ottawa Senators to beat the Boston Bruins. Although, we hear the New York Rangers are interested in him taking the reins on their draft next June. Stay tuned.
But really, there is only one thing, and one thing only that is going to bring the Bruins back into the hearts of the far-too-busy Boston fan. Going to the playoffs should be a given. Winning a series is a must. And while we can’t quite sit here and demand a parade next summer, I think we have to universally understand that on the whole, this town won’t care too much about the Bruins until they finally get back to the Finals. That’s what it will take. Anything else will be seen as yet another shortcoming for a team whose owner is generally thought of as more interested in his company’s new paper cups than his team’s new right wing.
The other night, as the Chicago Bears were manhandling the Seattle Seahawks, John Madden explained how coach Lovie Smith insisted that his team be built upon the defensive tradition of Chicago football. In a way, that’s what the Bruins are trying to do now, with Chara and Mara at the forefront of the new, big, bad Bruins, a description that die-hard fans weren’t going to fall for with Hal Gill back there.
The Bruins are better heading into this season, of course. But there’s still question in net, where Hannu Toivonen is the 43rd Bruins goalie prospect of the past eight years. The team hopes he cements the slot as his own, or he could become the 43rd Bruins goalie prospect to become a trivia answer a season later. Tim Thomas busted out last season at the age of 31, and was one of few bright spots on that disaster, but one has to wonder if his magical ride can extend into another season.
It’s a wait and see attitude with this year’s team. The product looks good from afar, but fans are still likely to stay away until they’re convinced, a process that will take more than a few months. Another first-round playoff loss will be just as debilitating as if this team entered the season with Brian Leetch and Alexi Zhamnov on the roster and tried to preach change. Until that happens, the B’s risk remaining Z’s on this sports landscape.
But wait ’til you see the cups.
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Vegas odds: 35-1 to win the Stanley Cup.
Canadians think that all six of their teams might make the playoffs this season, perhaps the immediate benefit of a lockout that probably resulted in the highest number of suicides in any one winter north of the border. With that in mind, here’s how Canadians see the Bruins this season. Hum to the sound of your favorite (sorry, favourite) Bryan Adams tune as you peruse.
TSN: Seventh, Eastern Conference
Toronto Globe and Mail: 74 points
Toronto Star: They’re digging Andrew Raycroft.
Ottawa Sun: Mourning the loss of Chara.
Edmonton Sun: Tenth, Eastern Conference
Montreal Gazette: In the same boat, but they’ve got Sergei Samsonov.