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The National Hockey Leagues regular season is upon us, and with it, so many compelling storylines. Heres whats top of mind as the puck gets set to drop on Wednesday:Cut the captain some slackOn Oct. 5,?Connor McDavid was named captain of the Edmonton Oilers, making him the youngest NHL captain ever. I have no problem with the assignment. McDavid is a rare talent, to be sure. But I also seem to be in the minority in believing that its a little over the top to suggest that McDavid, who is only 19 and just 45 games into his NHL career, is already poised to challenge for a scoring title.I didnt see him as that kind of player before he was named captain, and I dont see it now. Even if McDavid is a point-a-game guy this season -- and finishes with say, 82-85 points, assuming he stays healthy -- it will somehow be disappointing given the preseason prognostications. And that is just wrong. Good on him if hes a 95- to 100-point player. Hes bound to get there sooner or later. But having to answer for the sins of the NHLs worst franchise on a nightly basis will add a kind of burden that cant help but impact his on-ice performance, at least at the beginning. How about we cut the kid some slack?Time to double down on disciplineThe league has once again embarrassed itself with its handling of supplemental discipline, and we havent even had a meaningful puck drop yet. But were not going to batter the NHL Department of Player Safety, even though it is laughable that -- until Radko Gudas was suspended for the first six games of the NHL regular season for his late, high hit on Bruins prospect Austin Czarnik in a preseason game -- the dangerous, reckless play of Gudas,?Niklas Hjalmarsson, Tanner Pearson and Andrew Shaw somehow managed to net a total of just three regular-season games in suspensions.?Watch them in sequence and ask yourself if they are the kinds of hits that make the game better. Better yet, why arent NHL GMs watching those games and breaking into a cold sweat? They allege, as a group, to be the caretakers of the game. So take care of it. Demand at the fall meeting that the Department of Player Safety stop making the league the subject of regular ridicule for its flaccid approach to supplemental discipline for on-ice infractions. Start with a five-game ban for a first offense on a dangerous hit to the head or boarding from behind and go from there.Oh, and by the way, where is the NHL Players Association on this? It should be in lockstep with the GMs on this, demanding greater suspensions so players can play the game the way it should be played without worrying about morons like Shaw (who is fast becoming the least likable player in the league, especially after his suspension last season for being caught uttering a homophobic slur) potentially ending their career. Not that were holding our breath on that one.Will the Islanders bolt Brooklyn?Speaking of embarrassing, the NHL has to hope that the festering situation in Brooklyn comes to some sort of resolution -- and sooner rather than later. The?New York Islanders?first season at Barclays Center was, to put it charitably, an up-and-down one. On the ice, the Isles won a playoff round for the first time since 1993, but the experience for fans was subpar, as transit to the arena often stunk, sight lines were marred and the ice was the worst in the NHL for most of the season.And, in spite of platitudes uttered from both sides, it appears that the Barclays brass and Islanders ownership dont really get along. Maybe its leverage on the part of the Islanders, who are trying to squeeze Barclays to do a better job of making this a hockey-friendly home, but the repeated reports that the team is looking for a new home somewhere in the New York area must be hard for fans and the league to take after all the hoopla of a year ago amid the move off Long Island.Maybe it will all get worked out, Barclays and the Islanders will become best buds, and the Islanders will settle in for a long, successful run in Brooklyn. It doesnt look likely, though, and the longer the threat of moving somewhere else goes on, the bigger the embarrassment for the league ... which had hoped to leave all that nonsense on Long Island.The Jets knew he was Trouba when he walked inThis is crunch time for the Winnipeg Jets?and?GM Kevin Cheveldayoff.?Defenseman Jacob Trouba wants out (or apparently, at the very least, wants to stay on the right side of the Jets defense). Boohoo for the Rochester, Michigan, native. But like Steve Yzerman in Tampa -- who last season had to deal with the trade demands of an unproven youngster in Jonathan Drouin?-- Cheveldayoff is in the spotlight.Yzermans decision to send Drouin home and wait out the situation before ultimately welcoming Drouin back into the fold late last season was easier because the Lightning were a good team that didnt really need the young player. The Jets arent that good and are fast becoming the Atlanta Thrashers without the humidity. This will be the teams fifth season in Winnipeg after relocating from downtown Atlanta. The Jets have won exactly the same number of playoff games that the Thrashers did: zero. They have the same number of playoff appearances too: one.Are the Jets a playoff team with Trouba? Maybe. Are they one without him or without a player of similar age and skill set? Even less likely. It hard enough to get players to come to Winnipeg, but if Cheveldayoff knuckles and doesnt get market value for a disgruntled 22-year-old whose development has been only so-so, the Jets are doomed.Will Boudreau bring winning ways to Wild??It will be interesting to monitor several coaching performances as the season moves along. I love the fit of Bruce Boudreau with the?Minnesota Wild.?Never mind his playoff record (38-35), Boudreau gets great value out of his teams during the regular season and thatll be a welcome tonic for Wild fans, who have suffered through regular-season upheaval the past three or four seasons.Were also going to find out if the?Colorado Avalanche?just stink or whether it was their coach -- Hall of Famer Patrick Roy, who up and quit in late summer -- who stunk. Either way, its a pretty important season for rookie bench boss Jared Bednar. Dont be fooled by the Avs glossy preseason record. Theres lots of work to do in Denver.Sabres on edge this seasonIts a big season for the?Buffalo Sabres,?who made significant strides last season after their tank-a-thon netted them Jack Eichel with the second overall pick in the 2015 draft. Adding Kyle Okposo was a huge get for GM Tim Murray and were going to find out whether?Robin Lehner?can be the guy in net. But the biggest question mark is Evander Kane,?who has found himself at the center of a series of off-ice legal problems. Its difficult to assess from afar, but there doesnt seem to be all that much in the way of contrition from the former fourth overall pick. He has the potential to be a big piece of the solution in hockey-mad Buffalo. Right now hes simply the problem.Vesey has plenty to proveI have to admit that the whole Jimmy Vesey drama -- and the collective hand-wringing over where the collegiate star would end up -- left me a little cold. But Vesey and his people used the system to their benefit and now hes a member of the?New York Rangers.?If hes as good as his press clippings, no one will remember the celebrity endorsements and the hurt feelings of teams like the Sabres, Bruins,?Nashville Predators and Toronto Maple Leafs? But if Vesey struggles -- and if those struggles can be attributed to playing under a spotlight that might not otherwise have shone as bright and hot -- there will be some real soul-searching about how this all went down.End the Olympic gamesmanshipAnd finally, with word that the NHL and presumably the NHLPA will be visiting PyeongChang, South Korea, for a site inspection ahead of the mid-January deadline to confirm NHL participation in the 2018 Olympics, heres hoping someone finds a way to keep the NHL/Olympic train rolling. As we saw at the World Cup of Hockey, nothing else quite compares to the Olympics, and to see NHL participation in the Games go away would be a grand shame. And lets not even abide any talk about opting out of 2018 and returning to China four years later. Shame on the NHL if it starts cherry-picking Olympic Games that suit its needs. .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. . Burke is expected to miss two to three months after breaking a finger in the teams third preseason game. Tinsley, a 10-year veteran, spent the last two seasons in Utah, where the point guard averaged 3. . The veteran safety was a starter for the Bengals from 2008-2012. He totaled 41 tackles and three interceptions while starting all but four of the 13 games he played last season. . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. . -- There were so many positives from the Orlando Magics first victory of the season that it was hard for coach Jacque Vaughn to stop praising his players.To celebrate Sky Sports 25th birthday this week, we relive some laugh-out-loud Soccer Saturday moments with Jeff Stelling and the gang. From Chris Kamara not having a clue whats going on in his game to Paul Merson capturing a classic Premier League moment in the only way he can, Soccer Saturday has produced some classic live TV moments.Hit the video at the top of the page to watch our special montage or read on... I feel good!The James Brown dancing doll became infamous during the 2008/09 season when striker James Brown scored eight goals for Stellings beloved Hartlepool. However, the doll was rarely seen on the show for a couple of years due to Browns lack of goals, but it made a rare appearance in January 2012, and he struck when Matt Le Tissier was covering the game in the studio. What scenes! Geoff celebrates a James Brown goal in true Soccer Saturday style Fire at HQJeff and the lads were forced to evacuate the studio in 2015 after a fire alarm went off at Sky Studios. The live programme was forced off air for nearly 30 minutes while firefighters investigated the problem. Thankfully, no serious incidents were found and the guys returned to the studio unscathed with Jeff addressing the nation in a firemans helmet joking that it was pretty hot in here. Unbelievable JeffThe classic Kammy phrase has become synonymous with the show. He uses it every week to describe incidents, even ones that arent really worthy of the meaning of the word. However, the phrase slipped his mind when reporting from the Vitality Stadium as Bournemouth scored with the last kick of the game to salvage a draw against Everton but Jeff was on hand to remind him.I cant believe what Im seeing Johnny Phillips reports from a rocking Vicarage Road One of the most incredible endings to a game was brought to life by reporter Johnny Phillips. The play-off tie between Watford and Leicester was tied at 2-2 on aggregate going into the 96th minute when Leicester were awarded a contentious penalty. Philips provided live commentary of a spectacular double-save from Manuel Almunia which triggered a remarkable counter attack with Watford breaking up the field and Troy Deeney netting at the other end to seal a place in the play-off final. With the gantry shaking, Phillips somehow managed to deliver his report - but only just.Kammys a real head turner Whats going on Kammy? Some of the funniest Soccer Saturday moments have occurred when ggoals go in during a live report from the ground, meaning reporters are sometimes caught on the hop.dddddddddddd The chief culprit in this department is Chris Kamara. His most famous moment came in 2007 when David Healy seemingly equalised for Fulham against Middlesbrough when Kammy was live. As his monitor wasnt working, Kammy kept turning around to watch the action and had little clue whether the goal was disallowed. Jeff had to step in and clear up the incident for the viewers. Why does it always rain on me The best bits from Jeff Stelling and the Soccer Saturday panel. Sent to report on the League Two match between Dagenham & Redbridge versus Scunthorpe, reporter Bianca Westwood got caught up in a storm that caused the game to be abandoned. Unfortunately for Bianca, her position near pitch-side wasnt sheltered from the elements and she got an absolute soaking and there was little sympathy from the studio.Merson reacts to THAT Aguero winnerMerson was the lucky man in the hot seat for one of the most stunning moments in Premier League history when Sergio Aguero netted a late winner in a 3-2 victory over QPR that saw Manchester City win the title. Mersons accompanying commentary of the memorable goal only added to the incredible drama. He said: Its gone mad. Mancinis on the pitch, running around. Theyre all cuddling each other - theyve got love bites and everything.Oblivious Kammy Red card, Geoff? Has there? Kammy is oblivious to a sending off in his game Perhaps the most iconic moment in the shows 24-year history is Kammys report from Portsmouth and Blackburn in 2007. The camera cuts to Kammy to discuss Anthony Vanden Borres sending-off which had come through on the vidiprinter. What happened next was comedy gold as Kammy had managed to mistake the red card for a substitution. Also See: Meet Paul Clement 25 of Sky Sports WATCH: Becks on Sky On Soccer Saturday ' ' '
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