Another cupless year for Canada

[HandshakeLine]

On the bright side, Canada's still ahead of Guam in the all-time standings!

 

[BrannigansLaw]

Good.

Only Canadian team I ever want to see win is the Leafs.

 

[tony d]

It'd be nice to see a Canadian team win it (Ottawa came close to getting to the Cup finals), that said given most of the teams have a majority of Canadian players it's really not an issue.

 

[JayKing]

My franchise hasn't won anything in 24 years either.

And if your franchise was in Canada, the media would be making a big deal out of it both individually and collectively since you'd be apart of the biggest contributor to hockey without having a reason to celebrate.

 

[Sidgeni Malkby]

You know, I don't understand this obsession with the cup coming to "Canada". When I was growing up, in Montreal, if your team didn't win, then it really didn't matter if the winner was a Canadian or US team. Heck...nobody really made the Quebec Nordiques their backup team so the cup can come back to "Quebec".

Is it because your team (if you are a fan of a team in Canada) hasn't won in so long, your next best thing is another Canadian team winning? I mean...the logic can work, but shows desperation.

 

[powerstuck]

You know, I don't understand this obsession with the cup coming to "Canada". When I was growing up, in Montreal, if your team didn't win, then it really didn't matter if the winner was a Canadian or US team. Heck...nobody really made the Quebec Nordiques their backup team so the cup can come back to "Quebec".

Is it because your team (if you are a fan of a team in Canada) hasn't won in so long, your next best thing is another Canadian team winning? I mean...the logic can work, but shows desperation.

Sadly, I wish this was true, but no...If I cheer for another team than the Habs, because that's the Province of Quebec's team, then I am bad and get cursed at.

So I enjoy wearing my Bruins gear whenever I can.

 

[optimus2861]

And the hard truth of the matter is that the reason Canada hasn't won a Cup is because (whether it's the fault of ownership, management etc) the organizations force themselves wallow in .500 hell. They make trade after trade and sign whoever they can get in free agency just so they can win 42 games and lose in the 1st round.

Captive markets at work. Ownership simply takes the path of least resistance. Market "hope" and "anything can happen in the playoffs" and "we aim to be competitive every year" and watch the fans stream through the gates every night. Toronto is probably the first Canadian team since .. ever? .. to intentionally blow their organization & roster to hell with the specific goal of rebuilding it from the ground (Edmonton sucked for years mostly by incompetence, by contrast). If Toronto ultimately succeeds, it may force the other Canadian franchises to up their game and take rebuilding seriously, instead of continually trying for quick fixes, hanging on too long, etc.

It appears to me that in the mind of some that doing anything else should be considered tanking, it should be frowned upon and you're a dirty human being for ever thinking to do such a thing otherwise.

There's that, too. It's strange because junior hockey teams do it frequently; they often have no choice because of the rapid aging cycle of the players, but they still make those trades, dealing away 19-year-old for prospects & picks, and put themselves out of contention to build for the future, all the time. Nobody bats an eye at them. If they don't do it, they're just setting themselves up for a longer & harder stay at the bottom of the league anyway.

Meanwhile those pesky Americans markets like Pittsburgh and Chicago who built through the draft keep winning the Cup and are the model franchises of the NHL and have been for a decade since taking players like Malkin and Kane with 2nd and 1st overall picks.

Well.. Chicago was fortunate that their old skinflint owner finally left this earth when he did. If he'd hung around for much longer he'd have found a way to screw up the Kane/Toews era before it ever got started, probably. And Pittsburgh damn near didn't even survive. So those examples are a little on the bleeding edge. Still.

 

[LeafsNation75]

You know, I don't understand this obsession with the cup coming to "Canada". When I was growing up, in Montreal, if your team didn't win, then it really didn't matter if the winner was a Canadian or US team. Heck...nobody really made the Quebec Nordiques their backup team so the cup can come back to "Quebec".

Is it because your team (if you are a fan of a team in Canada) hasn't won in so long, your next best thing is another Canadian team winning? I mean...the logic can work, but shows desperation.

I say Rogers is to blame because they are taking this to far because up until the Senators got eliminated, any commercials they did they had this slogan which was called #BringStanleyHome which was very stupid.

 

[Cawz]

Funny how a quarter century is dismissed as nothing. Will be interesting to see the reaction on hfboards if American teams are shut out for 3-4 consecutive years. An All-Canadian final?

Canadian teams won 7 in a row starting in the early 80s. If you average it back to then, the odds may even out.

Besides, every Canadian team besides the rebuilding Nucks look like they could contend in the next few years, depending on moves they make.

 

[Sidgeni Malkby]

I say Rogers is to blame because they are taking this to far because up until the Senators got eliminated, any commercials they did they had this slogan which was called #BringStanleyHome which was very stupid.

Been seeing this movement grow over the last few years, maybe 10, unsure exactly.

Funny how a quarter century is dismissed as nothing. Will be interesting to see the reaction on hfboards if American teams are shut out for 3-4 consecutive years. An All-Canadian final?

The biggest issue will be if we'll get proper TV coverage.

Beyond that...
I'm sure the casual fans will be chanting USA USA, but I would like to believe the real hockey fans don't follow those lines. Personally I see 30/31 NHL teams, and I have those I like, and those I don't like. Geography has nothing to do with it. I may be the minority though.

Let's put it this way, how often do you hear Americans complaining that players aren't American? I mean, if it were that way, don't you think they would be billing Kessel ahead of Crosby/Malkin/Murray/Letang/Fleury/etc?

Do you ever hear US teams drafting American players ahead of the rest just because they are American?

 

[Tomas W]

I assume there is some Canadian Pittsburgh fans, with thier history of prominent Canadian hockey players. I thinking of Lemiuex and Crosby mainly.

And Subban probably have fans too.

 

[bdub24]

Better for the league that the cup stays in the states. More money to be made in the US then Canada can ever hope.