Without mentioning the utter ludicrousness of Sportsnet's sudden jump in cost - The Hockey Guy does a fine job of that - we're going to pretend we have enough money to choose which Canucks games we'd watch live.
What are the big matches you'd shell out for? Which teams entice you to spend the time and money, home or away? Here are my picks.
There are a couple things to note in the upcoming season's schedule that aren't specific to individual games. The Olympics happening in February means a compressed schedule, and things can get a bit weird.
For Vancouver, the usual extended road trips are here, no surprise. Two five-game jaunts, taking eight and nine games, are joined by one with six games in ten. Expect a full 23-man roster and maybe an extra player to accompany them on each of those runs.
Where it gets weird is the TWO eight-game home stands. These aren't the blessings you might think. Players use the time away to have some team bonding time and just as a change from the distractions of home.
The first, happening in the second half of January, comes on the heels of that six-game roadie. The team will have exactly one day off before the Stanley Cup Runner-Up Oilers come to town. Then it's a game every two days until the Olympic break, including the final two on the road against Utah and Vegas. Sixteen games in 30 days is rough, home or abroad.
The second fills up March, and has three two-day breaks woven in, thankfully enough. But asking season ticket holders to show up that often is something of a challenge in itself. Even if the tickets are already paid for, that's asking for a lot of money and a lot of time. On the other hand, if you're a "secondary market" purchaser, this might be your year!
That's if things are going well. After January 16th, Vancouver has 22 home games and 13 road games. For those of us lacking basic math skills, that means before then are 19 home games and 28 on the road. For a team desperate for a quick start, they're in for a challenge.
Well, yeah. They opened last season against the Flames at home, and things didn't go all that great. Artūrs Šilovs was handed the starter's role but couldn't keep a 4-1 first-period lead safe. That 6-5 overtime loss really helped set the mood for the upcoming campaign. So, no pressure presumed starter Thatcher Demko. Assuming he's there this time.
Finally! The long-awaited Filip Chytil Revenge Game! Assuming he's not out with a concussion at that time, which is why he missed returning to Madison Square Garden last season. He'll be a month into the higher expectations of an increased role, and it's probably not a bad time to assess how he's handling it.
In other news, J.T. Miller (remember him?) will be coming to town for the first time since his trade. Predicting something similar to Bo Horvat's return, with plenty of applause during his video tribute, followed by loud booing whenever he touches the puck or a Canucks player. C'mon, it's J.T. Miller. He expects nothing less.
Otherwise known as the Connor Bedard Emotional Support Fans Night. The Blackhawks aren't looking a whole lot better than they have in his previous two seasons with them. Maybe they'll equal last year's nine-point jump, which would put them... eighth in the division again! Seriously, it's hard not to feel for the guy
San Jose finished in an even worse position than Chicago, but at least Macklin Celebrini seems to be having fun.
If anyone from either the Lightning or Panthers offers to show you "this new camp we just built" - IT'S NOT A PRACTICE FACILITY! DO NOT GO!
Rick Tocchet got a chance to coach his long-time team, and you can't blame him for taking it. Lord knows it's not like he abandoned Vancouver's chaos for the calm, still waters of Philly. The team's a mess, he's their fifth coach in six seasons, and they've missed the playoffs five years running. But he started and finished his career there, playing over 600 regular-season games with the Flyers.
Not a bad time to make him regret his decision. It'll be fun to see how his protégé, Adam Foote, runs the bench against him.
The start of the home stretch. I mentioned this as a dividing line for good reason. The first game home from a long roadie is always tough, and this isn't a weak team to do it against. The Oilers will be a good measuring stick as the Canucks dive into their first eight-game homestand.
These ten games before the Olympic break are going to be a brutal physical test. If they can stand up to it, management may be looking to buy. We all know that Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin like getting their work done early.
If Vancouver's going to make the playoffs, how they perform against the Californian teams will make all the difference. Utah's likely improvement makes the Central Division odds-on to push five teams into the playoffs. That leaves just three spots to fight for in the Pacific. None of Los Angeles, Anaheim, or San Jose is a favourite to take that spot, but that just makes it all the more important to harvest points from them when you can.
Anaheim's fans are getting restless, and for good reason. After missing the playoffs for seven straight seasons, they want to see the team show signs of life NOW. San Jose's six-season streak is similarly awful, but the fans there like that they got Celebrini. They don't want the team to try for Gavin McKenna, too.
As for the Kings, there's only so much Darcey Keumper can do behind that blue line. Unless they improve it dramatically, their very talented forwards may go into open revolt against Jim Hiller's "No one scores after we score once" tactics.
The Kings have made the playoffs in each of the last four years, but have also exited early every time. As the Canucks know full well, a discordant room could break that first streak.
Certain media personalities have taken it upon themselves to defend the 4:00 start time whenever the Toronto Maple Leafs come to town. "Oh, we can go to dinner afterwards!" "Oh, we can go out to the clubs afterwards!" "What's so bad about getting there at three?"
Some of us have to work for a living, GUYS, that's what's so bad about it. A bunch of us work for people who frown upon employees watching the game while drawing a paycheque. Or we want to end the evening at the hockey game, just like the games we see during the week. Sheesh.
With the trade of Dakota Joshua as a salary cap dump, there is certainly another move coming. When, exactly, who knows, but at least if an opportunity arises, Vancouver will have the means to take advantage. That probably means another active player getting traded away, at least if the team wants a second-line centre. Those don't come with a $3.25 million cap hit.
Maybe we'll add a Nils Höglander Revenge Game onto this list before puck drop in October.
