Episode 0089: Expansion and Failed NHL Franchises, The Injury Blotter, Taylor Hall and the Hart, the Bruins Schedule, Twitter Polls and Halak vs. Rask...oh yeah...and More!

Here we are…Auston Matthews has taken the NHL by storm and all teams are in full swing.  Or are they?  The open questions how odd the schedule is that some teams have played 6 games while others have played 3.

William Nylander is still unsigned.  What are the Maple Leafs to do?  That was the last Twitter Poll and the results bear out that the Leafs should trade him for a defenseman.  Agreed we say, but it should have been done at the draft.  The Leafs are surviving without him and the longer it goes on, the less likely Nylander will be playing in Toronto.

Can Taylor Hall repeat as Hart Trophy winner?  His teammates believe so.  We at the Forecheck think that he is capable (in the top 5), but at this early juncture, there is a player in Toronto who may be taking that hardware home.

We break out the injury blotter and discuss how important some of these losses could be to their respective teams.  The likes of Quick, Luongo, Andersen and Price are just a smattering of players around the league who are listed as day to day or worse.

The Boston Bruins have been playing well since their opening night showing.  But how do we know how good they are?  Their schedule shows us that we won’t really know how good they are until mid-November.  They are currently playing teams that they should be beating and by the time they play in the Winter Classic, they should be in first place or contending for it.

We talk expansion, but not in the way that others might expect.  We want to know why people in general always want to start a new franchise where there has already been a failed one.  Places like Hartford, Atlanta, Kansas City and Quebec always come up in discussions.  Why can’t we talk about places such as Austin or Houston Texas or somewhere in Louisiana? Places where the local area could sustain a franchise.  What do you think?  Where would you like to see a franchise?

Our current Twitter Poll asks:  Who will be the first to 20 goals?  Choices: Auston Matthews, David Pastrnak or someone else in the NHL.  Log on to twitter and give us your choice!

Finally, as with last week, Chris rants about the goaltending situation in Boston.  With each passing week the choice gets harder to make and just maybe it isn’t as easy as Cassidy might believe.  Halak has better numbers and has played more minutes than Tuukka the starter.  Look up the numbers and let me know how you feel.  And finally…enjoy the show!!