The NHL lockout has come to an end. I guess we will see the effects south of the border during the course of the shortened season, but every Canadian city will be fine. We're gonna have to see which American market will be hurt the most, maybe Anaheim? Dallas? Or Phoenix, if they can be hurt anymore? I don't think the American markets will be affected as much as analysts are thinking. Some of the league's loudest fans are in hockey crazed markets in the US. If you don't believe me, check out a game in Chicago or Madison Square Garden, home of the Rangers. I know, obviously original 6 teams (add the crazy Red Wings and Bruins fans to the mix) will be fine, but what about non-traditional hockey markets? Los Angeles, the defending champs should have no problem selling seats, while their Bay Area neighbours to the North in San Jose have notoriously been some of the most passionate fans in the league. Nashville and more recently St. Louis have been icing some great, competitive teams, and in turn fan interest has been extremely high. The Minnesota Wild made a huge splash landing the best defenceman and forward on the free agent market, Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, respectively, immediately vaulting them from the middle of the pack to the elite of the Western Conference. Philly and Pittsburgh have a rabid, menacing (ok, just Flyers fans are menacing) groups of fans, who are as loud and knowledgeable as any in the league. Anyways, point being, a few markets will suffer, but I wouldn't worry about the stability of the league in the United States. Bottom line is, if you like hockey, it is the best league in the World with the best players, and you will be back.
The Toronto Maple Leafs. Alright, so game on. We all know the playoff drought and the franchise mediocrity since 2004's lockout (and the terrible Leaf teams of the 80s). How will this Leaf season be any different you might ask. Well, who knows? If the first 42 games of last season are a sample, they look pretty good. The last half on the other hand, was an epic collapse of a team that was in contention for the better part of a season. Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul were incredible during the first half, and still good in the second, with Kessel netting a team leading 37 goals, adding 45 assist for 82 points (6th in the NHL). The Leafs were able to acquire an impact forward, former Flyer James Van Riemsdyk. Coach Randy Carlyle said he was going to try hit new winger at centre, presumably between Kessel and Lupul, who tucked in 25 goals himself in an injury shortened 66 game season. The second line should be interesting. The Clarke MacArthur-Nik Kulemin-Mikhail Grabovski unit was the Leafs best two seasons ago, but last year Kulemin and MacArthur regressed. I would imagine Matt Frattin will put some pressure on Leafs coaches to be promoted to the second line. He is a great young player who probably deserves to start the season on the second line and hopefully will. Matt Frattin has got 16 points in 20 games with the Marlies this season, and last season he had 10 goals in 13 playoff games.
The defence is looking pretty sharp, despite dispatching Luke Schenn to Philly for Van Riemsdyk. Captain Dion Phaneuf had a great season last year, making significantly less bonehead plays. By the end of the season, holes in his game were beginning to show and finished with a -10 plus/minus rating. However, the captain got more points last year than his first season and a half in Toronto, setting up or scoring much bigger goals. The shortened season may actually play pretty well in Phaneuf's favour, since he was one of the first half's best defencemen. THe captain netted 12 goals and 32 assists over a full 82 game campaign. His partner is Jake Gardiner, who Don Cherry recently called him the best player he has ever seen play in the AHL. Not that Don's opinion really matters, but he could be right. He has scored 9 goals in 22 games this season with the Marlies with a mere 6 penalty minutes. He isn't the toughest guy on the team, but he certainly isn't a pushover. Jake also tallied 11 points in 17 playoff games last season in the Marlies run to the Calder Cup Finals. The second pair of Carl Gunnerson and John-Michael Liles will probably play a lot of minutes against their opponents top lines, with Liles, a power play specialist set to anchor the team's attack on the man advantage. Having Mike Komisarek, his contract aside, on your bottom pairing means you have some depth on D, and is paired with Cody Franson - who is still actually unsigned, and with Mark Fraser, Mike Kostka and Korbinian Holzer breathing down his neck, the sixth d-man could be anyone of the above bodies. Franson's first season in Toronto was painful. He wasn't horrible or anything, but with his skill set he should have been a whole lot better. 
Goaltending is still Toronto's biggest area of concern. James Reimer had a stellar rookie campaign going 20-10 with a .921 save percentage and 2.60 goals against average. Last season, his first full season as the starter, Reims save percentage dropped to .900 and his goals against jumped to over 3 a game. Marlies goaltender Ben Scrivens is 14-7 this season with the farm team, but has yet to establish himself at an NHL level. Luongo to Toronto still a possibility? Let's hope not, but it is no guff that the Leafs want/need a goalie, and Luongo/the Canucks want to break up. Hopefully the Leafs will continue to explore the possibility of the Kings excellent backup Jonathan Bernier, who would be a starter on almost any other team, but plays behind Jonathan Quick, one of the best in the biz. Quick just got off minor back surgery, and although he is cleared to play, the Kings are going to hold on to both of them.
Whatever the length of the season happens to be, at least it promises to be exciting right from the start, with each game being crucial in the shortened season. Let's play some puck!
[didn't proofread.. tired. sorry for typos and autocorrects!]
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