TheHockeyHub.com Blog

As promised, we at TheHockeyHub.com decided to downsize a bit in order to better focus our considerable insight on the things we love: The New York Rangers, Boston Bruins and hockey in and around Connecticut.

It was a bit daunting to try and cover the NHL, the AHL, College and International hockey so Jay and I thought that returning to our "roots" would serve us and you, our loyal readers, better.

So welcome, once again, all hockey fans great and small, far and wide. TheHockeyHub.com Blog is back and badder than ever. Just ask Jay.

TheHockeyHub.com -- Open for Business!

TheHockeyHub.com is finally finished. Jay and I have spent the last 5 weeks slaving over words and images and the like. We've created, reviewed and modified over one million lines of code. And we have watched very little hockey.

But it is done and we can now all rejoice. Please take a moment to peruse the site, send us some feedback and make some suggestions on what you'd like to see on the site.

And don't worry... I'll have pictures of the two of us up soon so you can all decide who is the fairest one of all.

Home stretch!

Not much going on. Camps open in a couple of weeks and first NHL game is this month in London. Who's ready for the B's to make a Cup run?! Ok, I'm bored without hockey and delirious. Enjoy your last couple of weeks of an NHL-less life.

2 minutes for diving,
Jason Eselunas

Happy Birthday to me!

I turned the big 3-2 yesterday (Mike, I'm STILL waiting for my present but won't hold my breath). With some of the money I got I'm going to do what any normal hockey fan would do with it; re-up my Hockey News subscription and pay Cox cable in advance for my Center Ice package.

Mike is probably all bummed out by Peca signing with the Blue Jackets over the Rangers. Bottom line is...who cares? Peca is well passed his prime and tried to muscle the Rangers into committing to him. This is after he threw out that he would welcome the opportunity to head back to Buffalo. Seeing that the Sabres had one of the worst off-season's by any NHL team and didn't even bite to take him back shows what they think of him. Not to mention how he screwed the team over years ago by trying to get more money and sitting out. Now he's a Blue Jacket. Wow. A team that pretty much is going nowhere and were clearly desperate to make some kind of splash. Signing Peca is more like a trickle though.

Seeing what's going on with the NBA Donaghy situation and closer to home, Tochett's situation, why would the NHL ponder going to Vegas? Bettman is a moron (hi Nashville) if he's even considering this.

2 minutes for diving,
Jason Eselunas

Alive and Kicking

My apologies for having been silent these last few weeks. As Jay indicated, we've been hard at work developing our new site, http://www.thehockeyhub.com. It's coming together but we're still a few weeks away from our launch. But fret not, we'll be up and ready in time for the new season.

A few thoughts:

• The Rangers and Flyers really improved their lot in life; the Islanders did not.
• Brian Burke most know something about Todd Bertuzzi that escapes the rest of the hockey-loving world.
• No one on the Devils is going to shoot a puck at Brent Sutter during practice as was rumored to have been done to Mr. Julien before he was let go.
• I'm not crazy about Peca joining the Rangers. Yes, he was one of the best defensive forwards in the game but he is a shell of his former self. His body has broken down and he is one hit away from retirement.
• I think you have to watch Detroit this year. Picking up Brian Rafalski was a master stroke and if The Dominator can stay healthy again, this team is a Stanley Cup contender.
• This is Brendan Shanahan's last year. He'll end it on a high note by scoring 40 and getting the Rangers to the Cup Finals.
• Jason Spezza disappeared during the Finals against Anaheim. It's a shame since he is one of the best young forwards in this league that no one really knows about. Great hands, great vision. Would love to see him shoot a bit more.
• Dany Heatley is going to continue his streak of 50 goal seasons. Nice teeth Dany!

That's enough for now. Time for bed.

By the way ... ask Jay about the autograph I gave him from my collection. Was feeling a bit generous the other day and thought he deserved something nice since the B's won't make the playoffs again.

Until tomorrow lover.

MLS is no NHL but...

-With the Sox off tonight, I watched Beckham's MLS debut. I have to admit soccer is growing on me. Having said that, I'm just buying time until my true love returns...HOCKEY!

-If you already didn't have enough reasons to watch the Bruins on NESN, here's another; Mike Milbury is joining the broadcast team for pre-game, intermission, and post-game analysis. I'm psyched!

-Just want to give you all an update on our website. Mike and I have been hard at work (more so Mike as he's the technical brains of this operation). We have a lot of great ideas and the format looks fantastic. We are still on target to launch by training camp. We'll keep you posted. Remember to add www.thehockeyhub.com to your favorites.

2 minutes for diving,
Jason Eselunas

About a month away from training camp!

-If the Predators stay in Nashville...I don't even want to think about it. Actually, it may be quite entertaining because they gutted their team and will absolutely suck.

-Who wants to bet if Rick Tocchet ever coaches in the NHL again? Any takers?

-The Bruins are falling even further off the Boston sports landscape. Today reason #10 for Top Ten Reasons It's Great To Be a Boston Sports Fan on bostonglobe.com was The Bruins Aren't Playing. Ouch!

2 minutes for diving,
Jason Eselunas