Check, one, two –  does this thing still work?

 

Hello friends! Hope you had a nice summer. I did – and my team did too, of course. Easy to get a tan with the sun reflecting off the Stanley Cup.

 

And off the white hot glare of your Twitter account.

 

Speaking of which…

 

This is down the street from my office. And you just might know someone who is there tomorrow. 🙂 That’s all I can disclose for fear of this being used against in court.

Updates, of course, if I evade prosecution. If you don’t hear from me, hopefully one of you is a lawyer and/or Canada will accept my request for asylum. (You know, before all the other Americans try to go there.)

 

So, are you guys excited? Nervous? Wondering who the hell is on your team these days? I am. And as ever, asking myself the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything:

 

USA Today accurately reports predicts the Penguins will win the President’s Trophy.

 

If that list holds, we’ll have to break up this lovefest in the first round. NHL 2016-17, already imaginarily testing my loyalties.

(Editor’s note: “Imaginarily” is not a word. Additional  note: We don’t have an Editor.)

 

ESPN featured Vegas odds last week that had the Hawks and Bolts atop the likely Cup winners. I like this because the Rangers, Flyers, and Bruins are all missing.

 

Of course, pre-season predictions are almost never right. Even those based on actual analysis of talent and roster, matchups and Corsis nearly always miss. So far, I am doing pretty well by just picking the Penguins every year.

 

So I’ll do that again this year: look deep into my crystal ball (pint glass) and pretend I see glorious victory for my team shining brightly above a pile of broken, trampled enemies.

But until then, welcome back, hockey season.