NHL 2017-2018 Season Preview
With the 2017-2018 NHL season right around the corner, there are many need to knows and I will be here to explain them.
The new NHL team. On June 22nd, 2016 the NHL announced that they will be expanding for the first time since 2000 with the expanding of the Vegas Golden Knights. This marks the 31st team in the NHL and possibly more to come. The Vegas Golden Knights have already had a bunch of their firsts for their franchise. They have already had their first NHL entry draft, their first trade, first signing, first rookie practice and their first veteran practice. With the team fully made, and their first game happening in just a few weeks, many fans, not just of Vegas, but of the whole league are excited to see this team play in their first season.
Another reason that this season is big is we could a three-peat champion for the first time since the 1980-1983 season. The Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup the past 2 years and it is a possibility that they can win yet again. The Pittsburgh Penguins have seen the Stanley Cup finals 6 times, winning the cup 5 out of those 6 times. The Penguins are in one of the toughest divisions in the NHL, but they always find a way to beat everyone out for the Stanley Cup.
This NHL season will have many interesting games happening. The Los Angeles Kings and the Vancouver Canucks will play two NHL pre-season games in China. This is the first set of NHL games to ever be played in China, and the first games to be played internationally since 2011. There will also be regular season games played in Stockholm, Sweden as the Ottawa Senators will play the Colorado Avalanche in two games in a new type of games called the NHL Global Series. With games being played around the world this year, the NHL will also have their share of games to be played outdoors. The NHL will hold it’s annual Winter Classic when the New York Rangers will take on the Buffalo Sabers. This marks both the Rangers and the Sabers 2nd Winter Classic as the Sabers played in the first Winter Classic game in 2008 and the Rangers played in the 2012 Winter Classic. This will also mark the Rangers 4th outdoor game as the Rangers have played in stadium series games in the 2014. There will also be two other games that will be played outdoors this year. The 100 year classic will be played between the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators. The last game to be played outdoors this year will be the stadium series game that will be played between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Washington Capitals. These 2 teams have played each other in last years NHL playoffs where the Capitals edged out the Maple Leafs in 6 games.
The last major thing that is the important thing with the new season are the new arenas and name changes. The Detroit Red Wings played their last season at the famous Joe Louis Arena last year, an arena full of many sports memories. The Red Wings will be playing at the Little Caesars Arena from now on. This now marks Madison Square Garden the oldest NHL arena still in use today. The second new arena this year is T-Mobile Arena which will be the home of the Vegas Golden Knights. This arena has been in use for many different occasions, and this is the first time that a professional team will call it home. There have also been arena name changes. The Washington Capitals changed their arena name from The Verizon Center to Capital One Arena and the Winnipeg Jets changed their arena name from the MTS Centre to the Bell MTS Place.
