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The National Hockey Leagues regular season is upon us, and with it, so many compelling storylines. Heres whats top of mind as the puck gets set to drop on Wednesday:Cut the captain some slackOn Oct. 5,?Connor McDavid was named captain of the Edmonton Oilers, making him the youngest NHL captain ever. I have no problem with the assignment. McDavid is a rare talent, to be sure. But I also seem to be in the minority in believing that its a little over the top to suggest that McDavid, who is only 19 and just 45 games into his NHL career, is already poised to challenge for a scoring title.I didnt see him as that kind of player before he was named captain, and I dont see it now. Even if McDavid is a point-a-game guy this season -- and finishes with say, 82-85 points, assuming he stays healthy -- it will somehow be disappointing given the preseason prognostications. And that is just wrong. Good on him if hes a 95- to 100-point player. Hes bound to get there sooner or later. But having to answer for the sins of the NHLs worst franchise on a nightly basis will add a kind of burden that cant help but impact his on-ice performance, at least at the beginning. How about we cut the kid some slack?Time to double down on disciplineThe league has once again embarrassed itself with its handling of supplemental discipline, and we havent even had a meaningful puck drop yet. But were not going to batter the NHL Department of Player Safety, even though it is laughable that -- until Radko Gudas was suspended for the first six games of the NHL regular season for his late, high hit on Bruins prospect Austin Czarnik in a preseason game -- the dangerous, reckless play of Gudas,?Niklas Hjalmarsson, Tanner Pearson and Andrew Shaw somehow managed to net a total of just three regular-season games in suspensions.?Watch them in sequence and ask yourself if they are the kinds of hits that make the game better. Better yet, why arent NHL GMs watching those games and breaking into a cold sweat? They allege, as a group, to be the caretakers of the game. So take care of it. Demand at the fall meeting that the Department of Player Safety stop making the league the subject of regular ridicule for its flaccid approach to supplemental discipline for on-ice infractions. Start with a five-game ban for a first offense on a dangerous hit to the head or boarding from behind and go from there.Oh, and by the way, where is the NHL Players Association on this? It should be in lockstep with the GMs on this, demanding greater suspensions so players can play the game the way it should be played without worrying about morons like Shaw (who is fast becoming the least likable player in the league, especially after his suspension last season for being caught uttering a homophobic slur) potentially ending their career. Not that were holding our breath on that one.Will the Islanders bolt Brooklyn?Speaking of embarrassing, the NHL has to hope that the festering situation in Brooklyn comes to some sort of resolution -- and sooner rather than later. The?New York Islanders?first season at Barclays Center was, to put it charitably, an up-and-down one. On the ice, the Isles won a playoff round for the first time since 1993, but the experience for fans was subpar, as transit to the arena often stunk, sight lines were marred and the ice was the worst in the NHL for most of the season.And, in spite of platitudes uttered from both sides, it appears that the Barclays brass and Islanders ownership dont really get along. Maybe its leverage on the part of the Islanders, who are trying to squeeze Barclays to do a better job of making this a hockey-friendly home, but the repeated reports that the team is looking for a new home somewhere in the New York area must be hard for fans and the league to take after all the hoopla of a year ago amid the move off Long Island.Maybe it will all get worked out, Barclays and the Islanders will become best buds, and the Islanders will settle in for a long, successful run in Brooklyn. It doesnt look likely, though, and the longer the threat of moving somewhere else goes on, the bigger the embarrassment for the league ... which had hoped to leave all that nonsense on Long Island.The Jets knew he was Trouba when he walked inThis is crunch time for the Winnipeg Jets?and?GM Kevin Cheveldayoff.?Defenseman Jacob Trouba wants out (or apparently, at the very least, wants to stay on the right side of the Jets defense). Boohoo for the Rochester, Michigan, native. But like Steve Yzerman in Tampa -- who last season had to deal with the trade demands of an unproven youngster in Jonathan Drouin?-- Cheveldayoff is in the spotlight.Yzermans decision to send Drouin home and wait out the situation before ultimately welcoming Drouin back into the fold late last season was easier because the Lightning were a good team that didnt really need the young player. The Jets arent that good and are fast becoming the Atlanta Thrashers without the humidity. This will be the teams fifth season in Winnipeg after relocating from downtown Atlanta. The Jets have won exactly the same number of playoff games that the Thrashers did: zero. They have the same number of playoff appearances too: one.Are the Jets a playoff team with Trouba? Maybe. Are they one without him or without a player of similar age and skill set? Even less likely. It hard enough to get players to come to Winnipeg, but if Cheveldayoff knuckles and doesnt get market value for a disgruntled 22-year-old whose development has been only so-so, the Jets are doomed.Will Boudreau bring winning ways to Wild??It will be interesting to monitor several coaching performances as the season moves along. I love the fit of Bruce Boudreau with the?Minnesota Wild.?Never mind his playoff record (38-35), Boudreau gets great value out of his teams during the regular season and thatll be a welcome tonic for Wild fans, who have suffered through regular-season upheaval the past three or four seasons.Were also going to find out if the?Colorado Avalanche?just stink or whether it was their coach -- Hall of Famer Patrick Roy, who up and quit in late summer -- who stunk. Either way, its a pretty important season for rookie bench boss Jared Bednar. Dont be fooled by the Avs glossy preseason record. Theres lots of work to do in Denver.Sabres on edge this seasonIts a big season for the?Buffalo Sabres,?who made significant strides last season after their tank-a-thon netted them Jack Eichel with the second overall pick in the 2015 draft. Adding Kyle Okposo was a huge get for GM Tim Murray and were going to find out whether?Robin Lehner?can be the guy in net. But the biggest question mark is Evander Kane,?who has found himself at the center of a series of off-ice legal problems. Its difficult to assess from afar, but there doesnt seem to be all that much in the way of contrition from the former fourth overall pick. He has the potential to be a big piece of the solution in hockey-mad Buffalo. Right now hes simply the problem.Vesey has plenty to proveI have to admit that the whole Jimmy Vesey drama -- and the collective hand-wringing over where the collegiate star would end up -- left me a little cold. But Vesey and his people used the system to their benefit and now hes a member of the?New York Rangers.?If hes as good as his press clippings, no one will remember the celebrity endorsements and the hurt feelings of teams like the Sabres, Bruins,?Nashville Predators and Toronto Maple Leafs? But if Vesey struggles -- and if those struggles can be attributed to playing under a spotlight that might not otherwise have shone as bright and hot -- there will be some real soul-searching about how this all went down.End the Olympic gamesmanshipAnd finally, with word that the NHL and presumably the NHLPA will be visiting PyeongChang, South Korea, for a site inspection ahead of the mid-January deadline to confirm NHL participation in the 2018 Olympics, heres hoping someone finds a way to keep the NHL/Olympic train rolling. As we saw at the World Cup of Hockey, nothing else quite compares to the Olympics, and to see NHL participation in the Games go away would be a grand shame. And lets not even abide any talk about opting out of 2018 and returning to China four years later. Shame on the NHL if it starts cherry-picking Olympic Games that suit its needs.Cheap Running Shoes Online . LOUIS -- Valtteri Filppula assisted on three of Tampa Bays four goals, and the Lightning beat the St. Running Shoes Nz Cheap . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. http://www.cheaprunningshoesnz.com/ . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. Running Shoes Nz Sale .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. Clearance Running Shoes . Jordan Lynch, the all-purpose Heisman Trophy finalist from Northern Illinois, failed to make it into that exclusive club.Two controlling wins by the Roughriders to start the season and the province of Saskatchewan is giddy with belief their team is for real in a year theyre hosting the Grey Cup. But while some fans in Saskatchewan may already be thinking Grey Cup, the players are making sure not to get ahead of themselves. Quarterback Darian Durant and slotback Weston Dressler each told the teams official website players are keeping their fast start in perspective; they arent looking for any accolades this early in the season. But maybe they should be. A two-game win streak is modest, but in a year when the Roughriders stocked up to make a run at the Grey Cup theyre hosting, it could also be foretelling. Two week stretches can often go unnoticed mid-season, but since thats all we have to work with to kick off the season, lets assess the (very) early trends and separate the ones that could be authentic and the ones that will likely peter out. If were evaluating Saskatchewan, we too should look at Durant, the man orchestrating their success on the field. The 30-year-old has strung together two solid performances off the hop, completing more than 70 percent of his passes and throwing for a combined five touchdowns and no interceptions. After four years of hovering around a quarterback rating of 90, can the eight-year veteran keep up the stellar play all season? Durant and the Riders Week 2 win came against a Calgary team hoping early season events dont become a trend, although in their case theres evidence it could be just that.dddddddddddd Stamps QB Drew Tate left Fridays game with what was later revealed as a strained forearm muscle that has the 28-year-old questionable for Week 3. While the injury doesnt appear too serious, its concerning as part of the bigger picture. Can Tate stay healthy for a full season? Out east, a quick look at the stats shows Henry Burris, like last year, is leading the league in passing yards while the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are again in the standings basement. Will Hamilton suffer through another season in which their high-powered offence is let down by their porous defence? And in Montreal, the Alouettes have looked uncharacteristically uncomfortable early on. From a flustered Anthony Calvillo to a leaky offensive line, the Als dont much resemble the team Marc Trestman coached for five seasons. Can the veterans figure it out, or will the Dan Hawkins era in Montreal get off to a forgettable first year. The Rouge asks: What early season trends will hold true all season and what ones will prove just to be phases? Youve heard what weve had to say, now its your turn. As always, its Your! Call. ' ' '