So I made my BetOnline.com wager and turned on the Canucks/Hawks game last night. Picked Chicago, of course. Midway through the third period…

BAM!

Willie Mitchell hops out of the box and brutalizes Jonathan Toews, goes Gambino Family on him. Massive hit but it was crisp and clean, so it was nice to see that Mitchell wasn’t indicted by the league and coaches. The BetOnline.com odds of that happening are usually pretty slim — seems every big hit these days is “dirty” in someone else’s mind.

All the big hits today show a weird trend; it used to be that only blatant cheap shots started big brawls. Now, any big hit gets you jumped by the other team and you end up with the post-whistle scrum you usually see in NFL betting after a fumble. What gives?

I long for the olden days — even 10 years ago — when the answer to a good clean hit was another good clean hit. I totally understand that teams have to respond in some way to show they can’t be pushed around — but why not answer hits with hits?

OK, offshore sportsbook lovers, it’s time to play…PANIC/DON’T PANIC!

It’s easy to have knee-jerk reactions to certain teams or players’ slow starts just a few weeks into the season. I’m here to sort through them for you.

PANIC: Detroit is banged up and starting slowly

Do I think Detroit will miss the playoffs? Of course not. Do I think the Wings will take a step back and possibly even lose home ice in the first round? You bet. After Johan Franzen’s serious knee injury, the Wings are now missing four of their top six goal scorers from last season. Gulp.

DON’T PANIC: Buffalo is the no-scoring zone

Aside from their outburst against Detroit, the Sabres have struggled to find the net early in 2009-10 and that’s ironic, because scoring should be one of the only things they do well this season. They still have plenty of speedy, soft-handed forwards, so the goals will come. So will the losses (Craig Rivet is their top defenseman).

PANIC: The Toronto Maple Laughs

The Leafs aren’t nearly as bad as their record suggests, but they’re in a hole already. I envisioned them as a fringe team, on the cusp of finishing eighth or ninth in the East, but a start this slow could put them too far back in the pack to contend already.

DON’T PANIC: Bruins aren’t so big and bad

Boston has stumbled out of the gate and people are turning on their NHL betting odds already. Relax, everyone! Boston opened with five straight home games, which could be a curse instead of a blessing. Road trips, especially early in the season, give players crucial bonding time. Expect the Bruins to rally now that they’re hitting the road.

PANIC: Caps getting scored on as much as they score

As flashy Washington’s offense is, the Caps have lost four of their first six games. Ovechkin, Semin and company will keep the Caps’ Stanley Cup odds afloat but Washington seriously lacks blueline depth and neither Jose Theodore nor Simeon Varlamov looks like a clear-cut No. 1 goalie right now. Unless the Caps acquire some help, they’ll stay stuck in neutral. I’m betting management considers making a move soon.

I’ve been immersed in sportsbook betting lately, with hockey back, the baseball playoffs and the NFL in full swing. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have time to dis the guys I don’t like for 2009-10!

Here are some guys who could cost you money in your hockey odds betting this season. Some will be busts with new teams, some are getting old, others are just douchebags. Here they are, in random order.

Niklas Backstrom (the goalie) — Not to be confused with Washington’s stellar playmaking center. Let’s see…locked up cushy long-term contract…defensive-minded head coach Jacques Lemaire left town…yep, that’s a recipe for way more shots — and goals — on Backstrom. (Side note: last year in my fantasy hockey pool, I had the No. 32 and No. 33 picks overall. I took Niklas Backstrom and Nicklas Backstrom back to back. Was I the first guy ever to do that?)

Marion Gaborik — One healthy season didn’t convince me that Chad Pennington’s NFL odds of getting through 2009 healthy were good. Gaborik will be lucky to play half the year with that groin of his.

Jamie Langenbrunner – Career year last year for a first-line guy with second or third-line talent. Don’t expect a repeat with Lemaire back behind the bench.

Alexander Ovechkin — Just kidding! Wanted to make sure you were still reading.

Pekka Rinne – Nashville goalies are cursed; every friggin’ last one of ‘em wins the job midseason only to lose it to the backup the next year.

Nicklas Lidstrom – Sacrilege! Don’t get me wrong — I rank him as the second-best defenseman ever to play the game — but he’s almost 40. Niklas Krownwall is getting really good really fast, so Detroit can start cutting back Lidstrom’s ice time.

Marty Turco – He’ll never be a star No. 1 goalie again. He’s older than you may think — 34 — and I’d be shocked if Dallas re-signed him. Who takes the plunge on him next year? Seems like a Philly thing to do. I’m betting management considers it.

Jonathan Cheechoo — He was miscast in his short-lived sniper role in San Jose. He’s more of a blue-collar player who can chip in occasional offense now with his speed and ability to drive to the net. I wouldn’t expect a major performance spike in Ottawa.

A shorter list, but I stand by my picks.

If you bet horses, you probably never expected that the name Rachel Alexandra would matter this season. If you bet hockey, you probably haven’t noticed the Los Angeles Kings for over a decade. Sure, they had those brief blips of success with Ziggy Palffy, Matthieu Schneider and Jason Allison, but let’s face — the Kings haven’t been relevant since Wayne Gretzky centered Luc Robitaille and Tomas Sandstrom.

That’s about to change. I may be off by one year, tops – but the Kings are about to ascend back into the playoffs. They pulled a Chicago/Pittsburgh/St. Louis and stockpiled great prospects when no one was looking. Suddenly, their top six forwards turn online sports betting fans’ heads. Check it, yo:

Anze Kopitar

Alexander Frolov

Ryan Smyth

Dustin Brown

Justin Williams

Michael Handzus

Plus Jarret Stoll, Oscar Moller and Wayne Simmonds are in the mix. Then there’s first-rounder Brayden Schenn on the way. Not bad at all.

Defensively, the Kings have the league’s next great rushing defenseman in Drew Doughty, plus Jack Johnson, who still has plenty of potential. Blue chipper Thomas Hickey is on the way, though I’m betting management brings him along slowly.

Goaltending — featuring Jonathan Quick and Erik Ersberg — could be a temporary hindrance. Eventually, though, Jonathan Bernier, a Canadian World Junior champion, will get his shot to start.

Is that not a blue print for a playoff team? Can that not match what St. Louis or Columbus iced last year?

Don’t forget about the Kings when you make your hockey picks this year.

Well, online sports betting fans — here’s a story we probably never thought we’d be discussing a week before the NHL regular season starts. It would be crazy enough simply to witness a comeback attempt from Theoren Fleury. The really insane thing about it is that he has a very good chance to make the team.

If he doesn’t, some hockey brass will say “Good — they can’t just get sentimental and give an old fan favorite a spot that belongs to a good young player.” Normally, I would agree — if Claude Lemieux got a roster spot with the Sharks again this year, it woudl be a joke. But the truth is that, based on what I’ve seen in the preseason, it would be discriminatory for Fleury not to make the team. He seems to legitimately deserve a roster spot.

He’s a small guy who still seems to have speed and may have more space to work with than ever before; remember, he’s never played in the new NHL. As he’s shown on multiple breakaways, he still has soft hands and can juke defenders like Chris Johnson in NFL betting. He’s a hard-nosed guy who would gladly accept a checking role — one played by Todd Bertuzzi and Owen Nolan in recent seasons. They’re gone, so what’s wrong with another vet playing that part?

Fleury seems like a good fit for the Flames right now. If they cut him or send him down, it would seem “small” of them, almost as if they’re “worried that people will make fun of them for signing a 41-year-old.” I’m betting management is feeling that heat right now.

But come on, Sutters! If a guy deserves a spot, he should get it. I’m rooting for Fleury, not because he’s Fleury, but because he’s playing well enough to warrant an NHL roster spot — two-way contract be damned.

Who are you kidding, Calgary? iginla and Kipper aren’t spring chickens any more. Your Stanley Cup odds rely more on winning now than you think. Keep Theo Fleury and don’t worry about every last young guy’s roster spot.

Ugh. If you online betting fans follow my blog, you’ll know that I’m a Leafs fan, though I try not to let that bias leak out or take over all the talk here (that’s what Canadian news media are for, right?). It thus pains me to say that…I think the Senators are a pretty good sleeper to make the playoffs this season.

Blech.

What were the main problems plaguing the Sens during their contending years? Weak goaltending, no scoring depth. While I thought they would’ve gotten a better return for Dany Heatley, I do think the trade makes them a better team. When you include the Kovalev signing, the Sens essentially dealt Dany Heatley for Alex Kovalev, Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo. That trio joins Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, Mike Fisher and Nick Foligno. Is it just me or do the Sens have two scoring lines for the first time since before the lockout?

From the goalie standpoint — Pascal Leclaire is still an injury risk but he’s like Jay Cutler to the Bears’ NFL odds — he may be the most naturally talented goalie the Sens have ever had and I’m betting management feels that way in Ottawa. If he stays healthy, who knows what he can do?

They’re not crazy sports picks to win the Cup or anything, but they could bounce back to respectability.

I know I should be following NFL odds like a good citizen right now, but what can I say? I’m a die-hard hockey guy and I can’t help but notice that teams are starting up their Olympic camps.

Some thoughts on the major contenders…

The Canadians are the obvious online betting favorites at home but, believe it or not, I wonder about their goaltending stability. Pretty much every option has question marks; Martin Brodeur has health and age concerns, Roberto Luongo crumbled when it mattered most in the 2009 playoffs, Steve Mason runs the risk of a sophomore jinx, Carey Price is an enigma, Cam Ward is inconsistent year to year…

Crazily enough, the U.S., a Northbet finals pick, tandem of Tim Thomas and Ryan Miller seems sturdier. Sure, those two have much lower ceilings, but you really know what you’re getting with them.

I don’t expect much from the defending champion Sweden at Vancouver. Many of their key contributors from the 2006 gold medal team — Mats Sundin, Markus Naslund, Nicklas Lidstrom, Daniel Alfredsson — are past their prime or retired. The Swedes will rock again in a few years when guys like Patrick Berglund, Victor Hedman and Sven Karlsson reach their potential, but I think the 2010 team will be a young, raw, rebuilding group.

To me, the Russians are Canada’s greatest threat. Ovechkin, Malkin, Datsyuk — that’s arguably three of the top four forwards in the world and doesn’t even include Ilya Kovalchuk or Alex Kovalev.

Remember when the Czech Republic was a powerhouse? Seems to me like the country’s hockey program has sagged this decade.

So, while I’m not as accurate of a predictor as top-of-the-line betting software, that’s my two cents about Olympic sports picks. 

Hockey betting fans weren’t exactly on the edge of their seats, but Dany Heatley’s press conference today was a topic of interest. After weeks of hockey brass and disgruntled fans putting words/soothers in this mouth, he broke his silence.

Did we learn anything? Hardly. Breaking news! Heatley wanted more choices for trade destinations! What a bombshell!

So he wanted to go to California. What player wouldn’t want that versus Edmonton, by far the northernmost city in the NHL?

What interests me most about Heatley’s situation isn’t his next home. It isn’t his diminished role on the Senators or possibly losing the “A” from his sweater or any of that mumbo-jumbo.

It’s that “between the lines” theory that always hides behind any seemingly out-of-nowhere trade request in hockey. Think about it. Why would Heatley sign a multi-year deal and hit the ejector seat after one year?

I don’t want to make any accusations or claims that what I’ve heard is true. But, based on what I’ve heard through the grapevine, something may have gone down between Heatley and Spezza. Something similar to what may have happened between these players:

- Eric Lindros and Rod Brind’Amour

- Gary Leeman and Al Iafrate

- Tony Amonte and Jeremy Roenick

- Theo Fleury and Doug Gilmour

- Mike Comrie and Tommy Salo

- Shayne Corson and Alexander Mogilny

Reportedly, in each of those cases, one of the players found himself traded, requested a trade, or left the team. Again — I don’t want to drag any names through the mud. But let’s just say the rumors involved a certain biblical commandment about coveting thy neighbour’s wife. And we know Heatley jumped ship on Spezza’s wedding.

Sure would explain why Heatley wants out of town so badly, wouldn’t it?

The American betting community lost one of its beloved figures to retirement today. Well, beloved is probably an overstatement — it’s not like hockey gets the love that NCAA football betting or basketball or even poker gets in the U.S. — but the bottom line is that Jeremy Roenick is one of the best hockey players ever to hail from the Land of the Free.

Here’s hoping he goes into broadcasting. While he sometimes seemed to be an attention hog, Roenick was a great personality for the game. He was honest yet charming and that lends well to a good color commentary guy in the mold of Brett Hull. I’m betting management in Chicago and Philadelphia TV stations try to nab him for color work very soon — maybe even in time for the 2009-10 season.

Congrats, Jeremy. You’ve had a great career and, while you never got that Stanley Cup ring, I’ll make a sports prediction that you make the Hall of Fame. We’ll miss ya, bud.

Just what the Sens’ offshore sportsbook odds need — another soft, enigmatic forward!

Joining a long list that includes Marian Hossa, Alexei Yashin, Martin Havlat, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley, Kovalev will fight riiiiiight in. He’ll razzle, dazzle and probably dash the Sens’ betting hopes in the playoffs. Actually, scratch that — the Sens won’t sniff the playoffs next season anyway.

At least he’ll sell tickets and I’m betting management in Ottawa knows that. While he should improve offensively — he’ll have his best linemates since his early Pittsburgh days — don’t expect him to influence the Sens’ sports predictions too significantly.