OTT #7: NHL Opening Night Is Here...Who's The Star Gonna Be?

Hey guys,

Welcome to On the Take, article No. 7. Hope the people who are reading are enjoying my work. Please comment if you feel the need—anything you want to say about the article or my writing ability is welcome.

Let's get right into it. I have decided, in order to shorten these columns a bit—and possibly increase readership—there will be no dual-sport columns for a while...only in special situations where I have something worth saying about both where they warrant inclusion in the same piece. This is the NHL look at things for this week.

Detroit have raised their 11th Stanley Cup banner and are ready for the defense. Their first opponent? The Toronto Maple Leafs.

Now, some may be saying this will be an easy two points. However, in looking back at recent years, the Leafs—not world-beaters by any stretch over the last four decades—have had remarkable success against the previous year's Cup winners. Let's take a short look:

1999 Cup winner: Dallas Stars

Toronto vs Dallas, 1999-00: Leafs win, 4-0.

2000 Cup Winner: New Jersey Devils

Toronto vs Devils, 2000-01: Leafs win, 5-3.

2001 Cup winner: Colorado Avalanche

Toronto vs Colorado, 2001-02: Leafs win, 4-1.

2003 Cup winner: New Jersey Devils

Toronto vs Devils, 2003-04: Leafs win, 3-0.

2004 Cup winner: Calgary (but Tampa Bay are recognized as such...okay, fine)

Toronto vs Tampa, 2005-06: Leafs win, 5-3.

2006 Cup winner: Carolina Hurricanes

Toronto vs 'Canes, 2006-07: Leafs win, 4-3.

As you can see, six of the last eight Cup winners have fallen to Toronto at least once the following regular season. Actually, since the lockout year of 1994-95, Toronto is 11 for 13 against the previous year's Cup champions. They didn't play the Rangers during the shortened season, but went on to defeat the next seven Cup winners.

One team who didn't fall was Anaheim, who played the Leafs only once and shut them out 5-0. The other? The 2002 winners—the Detroit Red Wings. As a matter of fact, Detroit beat Toronto both times they met in the 2002-03 season, including a humiliating 7-2 drubbing in early 2003.

Will history repeat itself, and if so, what trend will continue tonight—the Leafs' mastery of the defending champs, or the Wings' dominance of Toronto in regular-season play?

Well, don't look now, but a Toronto rookie just scored the Leafs' third goal. And then, a buzzer sounds as I'm typing—lo and behold, Detroit has notched a power-play goal to close the gap, and are trailing 3-2. Half of the third has been played, and the question on my mind now isn't who'll win the game, but what will this season mean to the two teams in question.

Toronto has been written off by many, it's true. But that's the great thing about sports. Every now and then there are surprises. Think of Carolina's trip to the Cup Finals in 2002, or Washington being saved last season. The Caps went from eating dirt on Thanksgiving to serving crow to Carolina on the last day of the season.

Perhaps all the talk about Toronto is true. Then again, tonight's only the first night. But what of Detroit?

The Red Wings of 1997-98 were the last team to repeat as Cup champions in the NHL and in the new-look NHL, with parity everywhere, a good signing here and a smart trade there could mean the difference between the basement or the penthouse within a season.

I agree Detroit has the best chance of any team of winning the Cup and thus repeating. But there's another team everybody's watching, and they aren't based in the States. For the first time in the last decade and a half or so, the Montreal Canadiens are a powerhouse—and are expected to be dominant this year as they celebrate their 100th year.

Can the Wings repeat? Can the Habs win Cup no. 25 in 100 years?? These questions will be answered over the next nine months, and millions will be watching as they do.

Congratulations are an order for two of the 15,000 entries in the contest to find a new HNIC theme song. "Canadian Gold" and "Sticks to the Ice" are the two finalists. Remember, you can vote online, by text or by tollfree call.

My pick? Canadian Gold. I love the passion and the guts the "Sticks to the Ice" kid had to enter his piece, but I have to say his theme is second to the pipes and the feel of Colin Oberst's entry. Tell me after you watching the 20-second piece of the theme, from seconds prior to the Bruin fan hitting the glass to the end, you don't smile and think, "yeah, that says passion for hockey."

We'll all find out Thursday with the Leafs-Habs, Flames-Canucks doubleheader, starting with the pregame at 6:30 ET.

Another thing I want to talk about when it comes to the NHL. Roberto Luongo has found his way around NHL rules after being named Vancouver's Captain, an honour no goaltender has had in 60 years.

The rule is that no goalie can wear the "C" on their jersey. So Luongo's new goal mask has a C on the chinguard portion. As his coach said, it can mean anything—Captain, or Canuck, or Cup...or Cheese, for example. Take that, NHL rulemakers. I salute you Roberto, good for you.

That's my look at tonight and beyond when it comes to the big talk this week in the NHL. Oh, before I forget—Vancouver will be paying tribute to their late first-rounder Luc Bourdon tonight before facing Calgary. It's something special that I'm glad to see done. He may not have played for the big club long, but he was a talent to be sure—and deserves to be at least respected after the unfortunate motorcycle accident.

Huh. How about that, Toronto just made it eight wins over the champions. Wonder if the Wings will get a chance to make it up next year—or if a new team will carry the torch in 2009.