Puck Daddy started publishing on Yahoo! Sports in April, at the cusp of a very entertaining Stanley Cup playoffs that provided enough controversy, frivolity and drama to fill an entire season. Little did we know the rest of the year would provide so much more, and with much greater quantities of absurdity. It certainly helps when you hold a Gary Bettman reader art contest.

Here's a (sloppy) second look at 2008, featuring the work of Wyshynski, Leahy, McKeon, Romig, Chesnokov and a slew of others. Thanks to everyone who made it fun.

Story of the Year: "It's Puck Daddy's fault some dude wants to sue Detroit over dead octopus tossing." Patrick Greene of San Antonio never cared about hockey in his sad, sad life before reading our coverage of the NHL's war on octopus twirling at Detroit Red Wings home games; which motivated him to attempt to sue the NHL, the Wings and the City of Detroit for "abuse" of dead octopi tossed on the ice, based on the 1982 Michigan Bodies of Dead Animals Act. A judge quickly tossed the case, claiming it was "on its face, totally implausible, frivolous and devoid of merit." Really? 

Honorable Mention: "What if 30 seconds of cats meowing and babies crying wins the Hockey Night in Canada song contest?" ... The desecration of the Rocky statue in Philadelphia by Penguins and Canadiens fans ... Sean Avery said something about something or other ... The Anaheim Ducks' AHL affiliate is named after meat ... Kris Draper's kid uses the Stanley Cup as a potty ... Oops, you got your vice presidential politics in my hockey!

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So the puck finally drops tonight to kick off the 2008-09 National Hockey League season ...

What's that? There were games over the weekend? Oh, right, how could I forget? 

Many are wondering how the Pittsburgh Penguins will do this season or if the Detroit Red Wings can repeat or even how the Alexander Radulov saga will end. These are questions everyone is asking. But we here at Puck Daddy would like to know answers to the following questions -- ones that linger in the back of the mind for every die-hard puckhead and/or hockey geek before the season.

How many times will someone other than Matthew Barnaby criticize Barry Melrose on ESPN?

Melrose is a fun-loving guy, a player's coach, and a former long-time member of the media who made a lot of friends in his time at ESPN. Will that cause some pundits to hold their criticism if the Tampa Bay Lightning continues their slow start? If things get really ugly, how long until the "Melrose back to ESPN" rumors begin? Certainly Linda Cohn won't start them.

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With all due respect to the good people of Stockholm and Prague, the NHL season begins today.

We didn't feel this sense of giddy euphoria last weekend; today, we're wearing a jersey at 9 a.m., eating hockey cereal (we went with Fruit Lupuls, rather than Don Cherry-o's) and listening to Def Leppard's "Hysteria" on a continuous loop in preparation for tonight's NHL Face-Off Rocks 2008 in Detroit.

Happy Hockey Christmas Morning, puckheads. As Def Lep once sang: "Love is like a bomb. Baby, c'mon get it on."

The season standings predictions for Puck Daddy and for Yahoo! Sports NHL editor Ross McKeon have been available on our season previews page, but without comment. We're presenting our predictions here with some explanation, including what we believe will be the Stanley Cup final. (Yes, the photo gives it away. Yes, you still are required to read the whole post.)

When you're done talking about how much these predictions stink, please use the comments to make your own prognostications for the 2008-09 season: Standings, playoff teams, Cup finalists and/or awards.

It's a great day for hockey.

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NHL previews are often superfluous collections of popular opinions that, in the end, usually have no relation to how life actually works out. Which makes using stereotypical high-school yearbook superlatives and awards the appropriate template for Puck Daddy's 2008-09 NHL season previews, presented throughout September.

Last Semester (See Also Capitals Eulogy): Third in the Eastern Conference (43-31-8, 94 points); lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in the conference quarterfinals.

Everything you needed to know about where the Washington Capitals are as a franchise could be found in the atmosphere at the Verizon Center during their Game 7 overtime loss to the Flyers.

There was palpable enthusiasm, as fans painted their faces and "rocked the red" to fill not only the seats in the arena but the surrounding bars in D.C. The Capitals were, for a few weeks, the biggest sports story in town. And why not: Alexander Ovechkin had completed an MVP season, the team's young standouts like defenseman Mike Green and center Nicklas Backstrom had helped make this lineup more dangerous, and Coach Bruce Boudreau's first NHL job after what seemed like a lifetime in the minors had rescued the season from early disaster.

Their two-game rally in the conference quarterfinals made you want to believe.

But there was also a measurable feeling of dread. Of deflation. Of all of it being too good to be true, because these fans had become accustomed to heartbreak. You felt it growing during an tension-filled third period; and it bubbled over when Joffrey Lupul scored the game-winner in overtime.

It wasn't the Capitals' time. Not yet. So the first full year under Boudreau approaches with expectations, a new goaltender and one of the biggest questions in the conference this season: Is this team that good, or too good to be true?

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NHL previews are often superfluous collections of popular opinions that, in the end, usually have no relation to how life actually works out. Which makes using stereotypical high-school yearbook superlatives and awards the appropriate template for Puck Daddy's 2008-09 NHL season previews, presented throughout September.

Last Semester: Eleventh in the Western Conference (39-33-10, 88 points). In a season that saw Ryan Kesler literally get stepped on by Chris Pronger, the Vancouver Canucks were trampled by a number of new contenders in the West vying for playoff berths; finishing behind a young Chicago Blackhawks team and a resurgent Edmonton Oilers club, as well at the No. 8 seeded Nashville Predators.

Someone had to pay the price, and that someone was named GM Dave Nonis. Vancouver canned the Brian Burke acolyte and after a less than extensive search replaced him with former NHL player and agent Mike Gillis, who promptly told the world that Nonis had screwed up the team.

Mr. Gillis's solution? He signed coach Alain Vigneault through the 2009-2010 season. He let captain (and former client) Markus Naslund and center Brendan Morrison leave. He inked free agent Pavol Demitra, and made a run at RFA David Backes of the St. Louis Blues, which infuriated the Blues and created a battle of dueling offer sheets. And he offered Mats Sundin the gross domestic product of Namibia for two seasons in Vancouver.

Strange days, indeed.

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NHL previews are often superfluous collections of popular opinions that, in the end, usually have no relation to how life actually works out. Which makes using stereotypical high-school yearbook superlatives and awards the appropriate template for Puck Daddy's 2008-09 NHL season previews, presented throughout September.

Last Semester: Twelfth in Mats Sundin's Eastern Conference (36-35-11, 83 points). A post-trade deadline burst pushed the Toronto Maple Leafs perilously close to playoff contention after a lackluster season, but the Leafs fell short despite the Herculean efforts of players like Mats Sundin.

Paul Maurice, who coached Mats Sundin for two years, was replaced by Ron Wilson, who has never coached Mats Sundin. While the hockey world waited to see if Brian Burke would realize his destiny as Toronto's latest savior, GM Cliff Fletcher was able to dump some veteran salaries, add a few new ones and attempt to show the kind of leadership that would make someone like Mats Sundin proud.

The Leafs have entered into a transition phase, promising to give increased roles to players like Jiri Tlusty and Nikolai Kulemin, both of whom were born over a decade after Mats Sundin.

So, in summary, Mats Sundin, Mats Sundin, Mats Sundin and Mats Sundin. Oh, and much of the Leafs' offseason was overshadowed by the indecision and constant teasing of some bald guy in Sweden. Mats somethin'-or-other.

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NHL previews are often superfluous collections of popular opinions that, in the end, usually have no relation to how life actually works out. Which makes using stereotypical high-school yearbook superlatives and awards the appropriate template for Puck Daddy's 2008-09 NHL season previews, presented throughout September.

Last Semester: Tenth in the Western Conference (34-35-13, 81 points). There was a bit of a tease earlier in the season, as the St. Louis Blues came out of the gate with a 14-8-1 record heading into December. Center Brad Boyes was a revelation, scoring 15 goals during that stretch while playing with Blues veterans like Paul Kariya and Keith Tkachuk.

But a 6-12-5 streak in the second half of the season derailed any hope of contention, leaving the Blues out of the postseason for third consecutive season: Incredibly, the longest streak in franchise history.

Rather than attempt to fix the team's problems with outside talent, Blues President John Davidson publically said he saw the franchise like a small-market baseball team; one with occasional dips into free agency, but one that attempts to home-grow a winner.

Which, to put it in local hardball terms, is the difference between being the Cardinals and being the Royals, isn't it?

The Blues entered the summer keenly anticipating a season of growth for their young core. That was until they lost their best young defenseman, Erik Johnson, in a strange golf cart mishap.

A Blue's season ending on a golf course in September? What are the odds?

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NHL previews are often superfluous collections of popular opinions that, in the end, usually have no relation to how life actually works out. Which makes using stereotypical high-school yearbook superlatives and awards the appropriate template for Puck Daddy's 2008-09 NHL season previews, presented throughout September.

Last Semester (See Also Sharks Eulogy): Second in the Western Conference (49-23-10, 108 points). The San Jose Sharks survived a seven-game series against the Calgary Flames, getting a four-point effort out of Jeremy Roenick and chasing goalie Miikka Kiprusoff. A clutch overtime goal by Joe Pavelski pushed a Game 6 in the Sharks' subsequent series against the Dallas Stars, but San Jose lost a extraordinarily tight series with a four-overtime defeat at the hands of Brendan Morrow.

After falling short of a Western Conference title yet again, the Sharks cut ties with head coach Ron Wilson; something that probably should have happened in the previous summer. Wilson's tenure was one of massive regular season success, but three consecutive eliminations in the conference semifinals. Wilson found new life behind the Toronto Maple Leafs' bench; the Sharks went the Eric Mangini route and hired from their rivals: Todd McLellan, the 40-year-old former assistant coach for the Detroit Red Wings.

Some significant additions and subtractions followed during the summer, but all of it led back to the usual questions surrounding the San Jose Sharks: Is this the year, and who's to blame if it isn't?

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NHL previews are often superfluous collections of popular opinions that, in the end, usually have no relation to how life actually works out. Which makes using stereotypical high-school yearbook superlatives and awards the appropriate template for Puck Daddy's 2008-09 NHL season previews, presented throughout September.

Last Semester (see also Penguins eulogy): Second in the Eastern Conference (47-27-8, 102 points). Plowed through the first three rounds, losing only two games along the way before succumbing to the Detroit Red Wings shutdown style of hockey in the Stanley Cup Finals.

The sky seemed to be falling when Marc-Andre Fleury and then Sidney Crosby both went down with high ankle-sprains. Carrying the load until they returned were Hart Trophy finalist Evgeni Malkin and Ty Conklin, who before last season was most remembered by this gaffe. 

A trade deadline acquisition of Marian Hossa put the Pittsburgh Penguins offense over the top and added another weapon to their already stacked arsenal. After coming up two games short of a title, that same acquisition took less money to join the Red Wings, which he believes has a shot to repeat this season. Hossa returns to Pittsburgh on Feb. 8, which should feature plenty of boos directed his way.

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NHL previews are often superfluous collections of popular opinions that, in the end, usually have no relation to how life actually works out. Which makes using stereotypical high-school yearbook superlatives and awards the appropriate template for Puck Daddy's 2008-09 NHL season previews, presented throughout September.

Last Semester: Twelve in the Western Conference (38-37-7, 83 points). After snagging him off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks, Ilya Bryzgalov helped backstop a young Phoenix Coyotes team into contention for most of the season. They were a legitimate threat to land the eighth seed in the West, the since-departed Radim Vrbata was an offensive revelation and the team's young prospects were playing gritty hockey beyond their years. Phoenix faded, but the future was bright.

Suddenly, during the NHL Entry Draft, the future became now: The Coyotes traded Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton to the Florida Panthers for center Olli Jokinen, a player that's two years removed from a 91-point season. The summer was filled with thoughts about what a player like Jokinen could do with offensive weapons like Peter Mueller and Shane Doan.

(That is, when we weren't thinking about Paulina Gretzky's golf game.)

The Coyotes haven't made the playoffs since 2002. With Jokinen in place, young stars maturing and a solid defense in front of Bryzgalov, can they make the cut in the tough Western Conference?

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