Lots of things to miss obviously, but something I won't miss is the stretches of games without much emotion. The one thing that I am really looking forward to this season is the intense hatred every team is going to build up for one another.
I hate the Oilers already (of course)
I hate the Canucks (who doesn't? :P)
I hate the Leafs with how we are force-fed them constantly, and how often they preempt Calgary games or mess up the starting times sometimes.
I hate Montreal (F.U. all from that '86 team!)
I strongly dislike Winnipeg - they are largely meaningless to me, and they didn't put up much of a fight in the play-ins.
I am completely neutral on Ottawa - there have been crazy fun to watch games between Ottawa and Calgary, but very little animosity or games that really count. I want to hate them, but they are fighting the good fight against the Leafs' market over there. I look forward to my hatred starting for them at around the game 3 or 4 mark this year.
Yeah, playing each team 10 times seems really excessive, but at the same time, I imagine that these games will be a lot more emotional and physical. More playoff-type of games.
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