With the NHL season underway in few days, here are just a few of my thoughts for the upcoming season:

Love the idea of the Columbus Blue Jackets hanging up Johnny Gaudreau’s jersey in the locker room. I can only imagine what each of those players are going through, especially since this was the case just three years ago with goalie Matiss Kivlenieks’ untimely death. One idea shared around the league which this writer actually liked: let Sean Monahan wear Gaudreau’s number. Gaudreau, who played with Monahan in Calgary, was instrumental in getting his former teammate to sign with Columbus this past summer. What better way to honor his friend and former teammate?

Intrigued with how the New York Islanders respond to a full season with coach Patrick Roy. They suffered a first round defeat after making the in-season coaching change. One thing is for sure, his fiery personality will liven up games. Games between the Islanders and Rangers just got a whole lot more interesting this season.

Speaking of the Rangers, how do they come back after getting defeated in the conference final?  The team that won the President’s Trophy last year returns much of the same team that set team records in wins and points. Will it be enough to get them over the hump and finally claim the Stanley Cup?

While there were several coaching changes this offseason, two in particular stand out to me. Let’s start with the Buffalo Sabres. They brought back Lindy Ruff, who coached the team from 1997 to 2013. Buffalo has not made the playoffs since 2011, meaning Ruff was the last man to do it. Can he put all the pieces together to make it happen?  The second one is in Toronto. The Maple Leafs got rid of Sheldon Keefe after close to five years, 212 regular season wins, and only one playoff series win to show for it. They’ll now turn to Craig Berube, who famously came in mid-season for the struggling Blues and took them to the championship in 2019. Toronto is certainly hoping for more of that from Berube.

Finally, I have no idea what the Boston Bruins are doing. First, they trade away their starting goalie to free up cap space. Then, they spent quite well in free agency, signing center Elias Lindholm and defenseman Nikita Zadorov. With these moves, many thought the next step would be to sign goalie Jeremy Swayman to a long term contract after his masterful job in the playoffs. However, Swayman remains unsigned and was not going to report to camp until a deal was done. It now appears he may not join the Bruins, but rather a new team. After Bruins president Cam Neely said, “I know there are 64 million reasons for him to be playing now.” One can’t blame Swayman if he wishes to leave.

Predictions:

Eastern Conference Playoffs- Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils

Western Conference- Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Vegas Golden Knights, Minnesota Wild, Vancouver Canucks

Stanley Cup Prediction: Oilers over the Rangers

Brewin In Bethel

Each column, I’ll highlight a new beverage. For this edition, I thought I’d highlight the Oktoberfest beers. If you can find it, I’d recommend the Oktoberfest from von Trapp Brewing. Located in Stowe, Vermont, this is from the same family that gave us “The Sound of Music.” Rich and flavorful, it is a perfect fall beer for festivals or just watching football. If the Mother Superior had this beer, she’d know how “to solve a problem like Maria.”  She’d be “16 going on 17” beers deep. Prost!