The heir to Game of Thrones as the biggest show on TV launched its second season today as Stranger Things 2 begins to take over the internet for the next couple of weeks.
Before today, you could have told us it already started and with how the NHL season has gone so far, we would have believed you. The NHL season has been especially strange so far that we find it hard to imagine any show topping it, so we’re breaking down our own early season of Stranger Things in the NHL.
13. The Golden Knights mascot is a lizard
This came totally out of left field. NHL teams do have a history of ignoring a fairly easy choice for mascots (We’re looking at you Ottawa and Edmonton), but this one also looks fairly bizarre. We wouldn’t be surprised if this thing showed up in kids’ nightmares around the hockey world.
12. Alex Galchenyuk and Mitch Marner on the 4th Line
As was the topic in yesterday’s Thumb League, it’s been pretty shocking to see two of the league’s most promising young forwards get demoted so early in the season. Probably because of the difference in the standings, Galchenyuk’s playing time has been surrounded with a lot more negativity, but we’re sure neither fan base expected these demotions.
11. Jagr on a Canadian Team
Honestly, we’d given up hope on this ever happening. Realistically, it was stranger to know that despite having played for 8 teams before this year, not a single one of them was Canadian. There have been several great moments already with him on the Flames, but we might never get used to seeing him with the Flames.
We imagine this being one of those weird combinations to look at 5-10 years down the road. It’s like remembering Sergei Fedorov in an Anaheim Ducks jersey. It just doesn’t seem right.
10. The Flames Win in Anaheim
We’re not sure what the Flames connection to Jobu is, but it helped end their 29-game losing streak in Anaheim. Strange is good in many scenarios.
9. Hurricanes Co-Captains
The Carolina Hurricanes decided to use a co-captain system in which Jordan Staal and Justin Faulk share the honour. Fans weren’t too fond of the unique decision.
8. Nazem Kadri Signed a French Fry
That’s one of the weirdest things we’ve ever heard of a player signing – hopefully it was a McDonalds fries, those things last forever.
7. The Predators POTG Wolf Head
This one is pretty self-explanatory...passing this around as a player of the game trophy is truly bizarre.
6. Marner and Martin’s smelling salt ritual
This clip of Mitch Marner and Matt Martin went viral earlier in the year and for good reason. This is one of the more emphatic smelling salt GIFs we’ve ever seen and they have become somewhat of a choice item online.
5. Referee’s leaving their mics on
We’re not sure if this is just because of the growth of the internet and these clips getting shared more often, but it feels like refs are starting to sound off at an alarming rate. Every week we have a new and hilarious clip of a ref calling a penalty (We’re not complaining, they’re amazing).
4. A hockey franchise being named #1 in sports
With the value of some football and basketball teams these days, it was surprising to see that an NHL team (A recent expansion on at that) named as the best in sports. The Predators had a strong run last year and clearly they put themselves on the map as one of the best places to see a sporting event.
3. Under and over achievers
The Habs have probably had the most talked about struggles to start the season, but there are several teams in places that nobody expected them to be. Los Angeles and Tampa Bay are both leading their conferences after down years last season, the Devils and Canucks are both much higher than anyone expected them to be. On the flip side, Montreal, Edmonton, San Jose, New York (Rangers), Minnesota and Washington have struggled to start the year.
If things don’t correct themselves soon, it will be a very different landscape in the playoffs this season.
2. Winless Arizona Coyotes
While nobody expected the Coyotes to blow any doors off this year, you have to think the team was hoping to take a step forward with their young core. Unfortunately for them, they are winless in their first 10 games.
1. 7-1-0 Vegas Golden Knights
Just about everything about the Golden Knights’ season has been surprising so far. They are 7-1, James Neal has been dominant, they have already gone through three goalies (None of them being Calvin Pickard), their big signing in the offseason hasn’t been with the team much and has rumours that he wants out and of course they have that strange mascot mentioned above.
Hopefully the weirdness continues because nothing normal is very exciting to watch.
