Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I don't follow the NHL until Canadian teams make the playoffs. I checked in on the standings tonight and wow! The only teams with worse records than the Canadian teams are the Blue Jackets and the Sabres. What the heck is going on, NHL watchers? How can it be possible that all of the Canadian teams are having absolutely dismal seasons?
Meh. S**t happens. It's BEEN happening for a while now.
Should be noted though, that out of the 130 players that make up the top 5 teams in the Eastern Conference standings, 57 of them are from Canada. Florida, who currently ranks first has 27 players. 18 are Canadian.
For the Western Conference, Chicago is in the lead. 25 players, 8 from Canada.
Can't have it all the time, but it's not like we're losing our game. There's just 100 billion teams anymore, so there's more place to go/get traded to. (even though I don't think there should be NHL teams south of the Mason-Dixon line....but that's just me.)
After a great start to the season our Montreal Canadians are now unlikely to even make the playoffs.They suck bigtime.
Gone are the days of Montreal being a hockey dynasty now they are relegated to back of the pack also rans, I've lost interest in the team and hockey in general.
Gonna put my two cents in here. I stopped following hockey during the days of Eddie Shack and Bobby Orr after the franchise system of trading players like ball cards took off. You watch your favourite team struggle to improve and achieve something worthy only to watch a whole different bunch the next season.
Now the sport is just another business with the welfare of the team somewhere in amongst the draw value and home stadium/venue stature.
Team sports used to be about teaching sportsmanship and teamwork along with good coaching taking an also-ran player and getting the most out of him by finding his strong points to make him a valued contribution to the team. Now it's all about who has the deepest pockets and can bid the highest at the auction block.
Cam Newton exemplifies the modern team player to a TEE. Prima donnas abound.
Anything involving the personal achievement of individuals through hard work ultimately gets corrupted and tainted when you start throwing money at it. Just witness the recent scandals in EVERY sport due to doping and other types of cheating.
The Olympics has completely lost this old dude's attention when a variety of countries start fielding athlete's that look like a cyborg mutant from all the steroids and testosterone enhancers along with blood oxygenation techniques now ruling the various sports. Scammers don't last long on my front porch, why would I waste time watching a couple of hours of them on TV?
I much prefer junior B now with at least a glimmer of a chance the kids competing are having fun and earnestly playing their hearts out without a big payday being the only encouragement to them.
After a great start to the season our Montreal Canadians are now unlikely to even make the playoffs.They suck bigtime.
Gone are the days of Montreal being a hockey dynasty now they are relegated to back of the pack also rans, I've lost interest in the team and hockey in general.
Too many teams, and too many mediocre players in the NHL.
If the league was reduced to maybe 20 teams or so, I think the league would be much more competitive. As it is right now, most teams have maybe 3 guys total who are really good. The rest are backup dancers waiting for the puck to hit their sticks. But then you have a select few teams with a concentration of elite players that are able to constantly run circles around the others.
Watching most teams' 3rd and 4th lines (and even 2nd lines in some cases) is like watching an ECHL game at times. Not to mention some of the goalies that have no place in the NHL... Toronto's goalies especially. Look up "Bad goals Bernier" on Youtube and try to convince me that this is an NHL-caliber goalie.
It's starting to become somewhat of a bore to watch some of these guys. Getting to become like the NBA or NFL: A select few stars that are fun to watch, along with a bunch of clowns to fill up a roster.
The last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup was the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.
That kind of sucks when you consider the Cup was originally intended for the hockey club championship of Canada, and was donated as some of you know by Lord Stanley, the Governor General of Canada.
Anyway, I don't expect things to get much better for Canadian NHL teams what with the plunging dollar value that hampers their ability to sign good players (all salaries are paid in US dollars).
The Canadian teams are almost to the point where they are "extras" now in what is essentially an American league. Although they are "extras" that pay more than their share of the bills (including equalization money to all those sad-sack American clubs that no one goes to see): For NHL, the cash is in Canada | Toronto Star
In retrospect it probably was not a good idea to "share" our main sports league with the Americans. (We are the only country that does this BTW.)
But at this point Canadians are so accustomed to the status quo that the idea of an all-Canadian pro hockey league including the current Canadian NHL clubs and adding several others in our larger cities, is like talking about resurrecting the Flat Earth Society.
But we could do it if we wanted to. And it would be very competitive for players with the league that would also emerge in the States.
In retrospect it probably was not a good idea to "share" our main sports league with the Americans. (We are the only country that does this BTW.)
Last time I checked the Original Six was 2/3 American.
As far as having the game taken away, England isn't exactly a powerhouse in rugby or cricket anymore, and proper football domination has moved far from home too.
All Canadian Hockey league with all Canadian players? Sounds good to me, and to top it off have a championship game every year with Canadas best against Americas best.
All Canadian Hockey league with all Canadian players? Sounds good to me, and to top it off have a championship game every year with Canadas best against Americas best.
It doesn't even have to be all-Canadian players.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
