NHL Hockey thread

[Neil]

I am now going out on a limb and making a tough prediction.

Ready?

Ok...here goes.

There will be NO Stanley Cup parade down Yonge Street this June.

I know, I know, I'm giving up on the Leafs early. Let's say I have a hunch.

Maybe some Ontarian from the team that wins the Cup can bring it to town.

[Grey Fox]

Let's go fail for Grigorenko!

[HVC]

Just like Vancouver.  And what do both teams have in common?  They're wretched assholes.

i agree regarding vancouver; but the leafs? They're to inept to deserve such hate.

[Barrister]

Just like Vancouver.  And what do both teams have in common?  They're wretched assholes.

i agree regarding vancouver; but the leafs? They're to inept to deserve such hate.

It's not the team I hate.

It's their fans.

[HVC]

and I thought we were Internet friends

[Neil]

Just like Vancouver.  And what do both teams have in common?  They're wretched assholes.

i agree regarding vancouver; but the leafs? They're to inept to deserve such hate.

Being shit doesn't stop you from being an asshole.  Example:  Darcy Tucker.

[Barrister]

and I thought we were Internet friends

Not when it comes to hockey.  And not when every minute detail about the Leafs gets wall to wall coverage on CBC and TSN, while the Jets might get a 10 second mention every now and then.

[Neil]

The Leafs have a huge, invariably moronic fanbase, and they fell off a cliff from delusions of a glorious playoff.  It's only natural that the talking heads would devote a great deal of time to the postmortem.

[Barrister]

The Leafs have a huge, invariably moronic fanbase, and they fell off a cliff from delusions of a glorious playoff.  It's only natural that the talking heads would devote a great deal of time to the postmortem.

But not when there are other teams that are in the midst of exciting playoff races.

[Neil]

The Leafs have a huge, invariably moronic fanbase, and they fell off a cliff from delusions of a glorious playoff.  It's only natural that the talking heads would devote a great deal of time to the postmortem.

But not when there are other teams that are in the midst of exciting playoff races.

No, even then.  Besides, the Jets aren't going to make it, the Flames have folded, the Habs and Oilers have been out of it since November, the Canucks are utterly wretched with a small, bandwagoning fanbase that are permanently tainted by their repeated hooliganery and the presence of scum like the Sedins, Burrows and Bieksa, and the Senators are not only fairly secure, but also fairly boring.

[Josephus]

and I thought we were Internet friends

Not when it comes to hockey.  And not when every minute detail about the Leafs gets wall to wall coverage on CBC and TSN, while the Jets might get a 10 second mention every now and then.

Jets have a hockey team? Didn't they move to Phoenix?

[Evil Spock]

Just like Vancouver.  And what do both teams have in common?  They're wretched assholes.

i agree regarding vancouver; but the leafs? They're to inept to deserve such hate.

It's not the team I hate.

It's their fans.

Hard to defend the actions of some of my fellow fans last June. But we had beers in Whitehorse a few years back, didn't detect any hate then. 

As a reasonable Canucks fan, I just don't understand the universal hate for my team. What do the Canucks do that is so much different from any other contending team with a few 'pest' type players on their roster? Who wouldn't want a player like Burrows on their team, especially at the 2.5 mil he's making. 25-30 goals, great pk skills and a team player. Why do similar guys like Bufuglien, Marchand and others get such praise and he gets to be the goat?

It is fun to be hated, cause bad teams don't inspire hate; but pity.


Good to see Languish thriving after my long sabbatical.

[viper37]

As a reasonable Canucks fan, I just don't understand the universal hate for my team. What do the Canucks do that is so much different from any other contending team with a few 'pest' type players on their roster?

They have a bilingual coach, it's anti-Canadian.  And they don't have an over-paid captain, wich makes them elitists, I suppose

I think that, if some people hate them, it would be for the same reason as the hatred toward the Ottawa Senators: there's a talented team who doesn't seem to always play to their expected level, i.e. winning the Stanley Cup.
On paper, Vancouver is very good, but in playoffs, they usually don't go that far.  Except last year.  But in the end, they lost.

It seems to me that "newer" teams like Vancouver or Ottawa don't have the deep commitment and respect that older teams like the Leafs and the Canadiens can have.  The Habs sucks, even when they win the Stanley Cup, but they are always loved, not only by their fans, but also by other fans.  Something of a mystery to me.  I see the same with the Leafs: everyone likes to take a jab at them, but you won't see anywhere near the level of hatred you could have had against the Nordiques in the past, the Canucks now, or one of the "newer" (non "original six" american team ).  I've yet to see any hockey fan, except rabid anti-montrealers like me and a couple of my friends , wishing the Habs to lose in playoffs, same of the Leafs, actually.

Anyway, I think the playoffs should be fun this year

[Valmy]

I just cannot hate the Habs.  The tradition and mystique are just pretty cool even though they seem to have left it all behind in their old building.  I guess I like the idea of the Habs rather than the actual post-Forum Habs.

I just have contempt for the Leafs, they are the Cubs of hockey, they just sit there being popular and beloved even though they never win.  They just have a sense of entitlement that makes them seem sad and dellusional.  Which is kind of a black eye to the NHL IMO since they are one of the premier franchises (maybe even THE premier franchise) and they are basically symbols of mediocrity.

As for the Canadian teams in general I am usually glad when they do well just because Canadians love the game so much it makes the season more exciting.  Florida gets more excited hearing about Tim Tebow's jock straps then they do about the Panthers.   But then I am not surrounded by fanatical rioting Canucks fans on a daily basis.

[Barrister]

I just cannot hate the Habs.  The tradition and mystique are just pretty cool even though they seem to have left it all behind in their old building.  I guess I like the idea of the Habs rather than the actual post-Forum Habs.

I just have contempt for the Leafs, they are the Cubs of hockey, they just sit there being popular and beloved even though they never win.  They just have a sense of entitlement that makes them seem sad and dellusional.  Which is kind of a black eye to the NHL IMO since they are one of the premier franchises (maybe even THE premier franchise) and they are basically symbols of mediocrity.

It's very easy to hate Montreal.

The last time the Jets played the Habs it was carried on CBC.  The CBC announcers spent the entire game talking about the Habs, and when they interviewed one of the Jets players after the 1st period they spent all the time asking him about what the Habs were doing.