Canadian teams cup champs

[Darkstorm]

Over the years, some fans have claimed that Canadian teams aren't strong enough for or good enough to go all the way and bring the Cup back home. Yes it's been 24 years since no Canadian team was able to win the cup. Many teams have tried but came short (I will explain and give my opinion). If you look at the NHL teams for example; Chicago, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Boston, San Jose, Anaheim just to name a few have 5-6 Canadian born players. And if you look at the last Stanley Cup winners adding Tampa Bay and Carolina, the cup did come to Canada when Canadian players brought it. But is that enough to say that they Cup came home through players instead of a Canadian team actually winning the cup and bringing it home as Winners? I'd like to think, it doesn't matter whether it's Toews, Doughty, Crosby, Bergeron etc..that brings the cup to Canada, they will visiting their respective town with the cup whereas a Canadian team win the cup and keeping it in its turf, some people may say it doesn't matter as long as the cup comes homes through Canadian players. Now on to my argument, no Canadian team has won the cup since 93 ( Montreal), its time for the NHL to start supporting Canadian teams, it's our sport, the Americans didn't invent it. If you look at the last Canadian teams that went to the finals.

1994: Vancouver vs New York R. Vancouver lost in 7 games
2004: Calgary vs Tampa Bay. Calgary lost in 7 games
2006: Edmonton vs Carolina. Edmonton lost in 7 games
2007: Ottawa vs Anaheim. Ottawa lost in 5 games (no competition there, Anaheim was too strong)
2011: Vancouver vs Boston. Vancouver lost in 7 games. Vancouver were leading the series 3-2, and could have won it in 6 games.

Have you noticed that all those Canadian teams mentioned above (exclude Ottawa), all lost in 7 games? The NHL would rather have 2 American teams in the finals instead of a Canadian team and an American team in the finals. They think that if it's an all American cup final, it would be watched more in the states. I've said it and I am going to say again and you can argue all you want, as long as Bettman is the NHL commissioner, there won't be a Canadian team crowned Stanley Cup champs.

You know it's funny, Bettman would rather have a new team in Vegas and keep teams that aren't going nowhere like Arizona, Carolina, Florida instead of bringing a team in Canada whethet it's by relocation or by expansion.

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[WhiskeySeven*]

I support every Canadian team in the playoffs as long as they're not facing the Habs.

I don't think there's a conspiracy against Canadian teams though, by and large they've been mismanaged by crappy owners (Sens), crappy management (Oilers, Leafs, Habs), or they made the effort and came really short (Sens, Canucks), OR they actually won the cup but video replay wasn't good enough (Flames).

The Habs are the closest to winning the cup and with Carey Price we can do it.

 

[Scintillating10]

If Leafs make the playoffs do we still have to play Rangers in opening round?

 

[Habs 4 Life]

If Leafs make the playoffs do we still have to play Rangers in opening round?

If we win the division, then there is a big chance we get the Rangers

Leafs, Bruins and Sens will fight for 2nd and 3rd and the other team will fight Tampa, Islanders for 8th and play Washington or Pittsburgh

 

[VladTheLimpWhaler]

Between 1984 and 1993, the Stanley Cup was won by a Canadian team 8 out of 10 times. Followed immediately by a 24 year dry spell. What happened? Did the multiple league expansions of the 1990's hurt Canadian teams that bad?

 

[zzoo]

I support every Canadian team in the playoffs as long as they're not facing the Habs.

Even Leafs and Sens ? I can't.

 

[PaulD]

Over the years, some fans have claimed that Canadian teams aren't strong enough for or good enough to go all the way and bring the Cup back home. Yes it's been 24 years since no Canadian team was able to win the cup. Many teams have tried but came short (I will explain and give my opinion). If you look at the NHL teams for example; Chicago, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Boston, San Jose, Anaheim just to name a few have 5-6 Canadian born players. And if you look at the last Stanley Cup winners adding Tampa Bay and Carolina, the cup did come to Canada when Canadian players brought it. But is that enough to say that they Cup came home through players instead of a Canadian team actually winning the cup and bringing it home as Winners? I'd like to think, it doesn't matter whether it's Toews, Doughty, Crosby, Bergeron etc..that brings the cup to Canada, they will visiting their respective town with the cup whereas a Canadian team win the cup and keeping it in its turf, some people may say it doesn't matter as long as the cup comes homes through Canadian players. Now on to my argument, no Canadian team has won the cup since 93 ( Montreal), its time for the NHL to start supporting Canadian teams, it's our sport, the Americans didn't invent it. If you look at the last Canadian teams that went to the finals.

1994: Vancouver vs New York R. Vancouver lost in 7 games
2004: Calgary vs Tampa Bay. Calgary lost in 7 games
2006: Edmonton vs Carolina. Edmonton lost in 7 games
2007: Ottawa vs Anaheim. Ottawa lost in 5 games (no competition there, Anaheim was too strong)
2011: Vancouver vs Boston. Vancouver lost in 7 games. Vancouver were leading the series 3-2, and could have won it in 6 games.

Have you noticed that all those Canadian teams mentioned above (exclude Ottawa), all lost in 7 games? The NHL would rather have 2 American teams in the finals instead of a Canadian team and an American team in the finals. They think that if it's an all American cup final, it would be watched more in the states. I've said it and I am going to say again and you can argue all you want, as long as Bettman is the NHL commissioner, there won't be a Canadian team crowned Stanley Cup champs.

You know it's funny, Bettman would rather have a new team in Vegas and keep teams that aren't going nowhere like Arizona, Carolina, Florida instead of bringing a team in Canada whethet it's by relocation or by expansion.

So how did Bettman have anything to do with Luongo stinking in game 6 and game 7 of the Boston Nucks series.

That is why they lost. He was a siv in 4 of the seven games.

That cup was in the building ready to be handed to Vancouver. Booby Lou stunk....again.

 

[PaulD]

Between 1984 and 1993, the Stanley Cup was won by a Canadian team 8 out of 10 times. Followed immediately by a 24 year dry spell. What happened? Did the multiple league expansions of the 1990's hurt Canadian teams that bad?

Dont know what happened for 24 years.

But for some time now i see Canadian teams micro managed to death.

 

[VladTheLimpWhaler]

Even Leafs and Sens ? I can't.

Agreed. Although, I would cheer for the Leafs ahead of the Sens at this point. The Leafs are like a cute, harmless old man at this point. Just adorable. There is no rivalry whatsoever with Toronto anymore. I can think of a handful of teams I hate much, much more than the Leafs - Sens, Bruins, Flyers, Hurricanes, Lightning. Even Columbus and NYR are better rivals at this point than Toronto is.

It's sad. I hate seeing rivalries wither away. Even Leafs fans are timid now. I kind of miss the arrogant Leafs fans of the early 2000's. Now they walk around with their tails between their legs because their team has been God awful for over a decade.

Leafs fans have been laying dormant for the past 10-12 years, and I am happy to see Toronto doing alright this year, just because it is finally activating their fan base after laying dormant for so long. I hope they make the playoffs. It would be amazing to see a Habs-Leafs series in the playoffs. The two teams haven't met in the playoffs since 79! I have a feeling they might finally meet this year, and it would do wonders for the rivalry.

 

[scrubadam]

I have been saying this as well.

Deck is stacked against Canadian teams.

The Dollar, generally weaker than the American dollar which makes it harder to compete for Canadian teams and puts them at a disadvantage.

Taxes and language. Many American cities have no taxes at all or minimal taxes. In Canada you are taxed up your butt for everything. Language is only really an issue in Quebec/Ottawa but that counts for 1/3rd of the teams.

Expectations. Canadian teams can't really tank like American teams. They have to put on the facade of being competative so even mismanaged teams will be drafting 10-15 rather than top 5/3. If a team sucks for too long they lose attendance and Uncle Gary will have no problem finding them a new home in the USA. Meanwhile American teams can draw 5 people a game and lose 10 Billion dollars a year and Gary would fight tooth and nail to block moving the team to Quebec.

Talent. Talent on the ice and in management I think would prefer to go to an American team. Not every one but I think the majority of those in the NHL and their famalies(which plays a huge role) would rather live in gated communities in the USA maybe some place warm then EDM or CALGARY or OTTAWA etc...

There are exceptions to the above and talents will go to canadian teams (Chirelli and Lucic in EDM as an example) but on the whole Canadian teams are at a disadvantage. Add in that they make up 6 teams out of 30 and the odds are against them even more.

 

[Mike8]

I don't think there's a big mystery here.

Colorado, Detroit and NJ (and Dallas) were the contenders from 1995 until 2003 and were the only clubs to win a cup.

Then there was a 3 year window where random clubs seemed to make the finals, and Carolina, Tampa and Anaheim won in that period.

Then Chicago, Pittsburgh and LA were dominant with Detroit and Boston being second tier contenders from 2008 to the present.

So we're talking about two periods, under which 3 clubs dominated in each period. The majority of the league was on the outside of this.

Why weren't Canadian clubs part of the contenders in either period?
Most of the clubs weren't managed terribly well. In the first period, only Montreal and Toronto could compete with the big spenders, but neither club had the big guns to build around. Toronto briefly did, and almost became a contender, but ultimately didn't have much to build around other than Sundin + some mercenaries.

In the second period, none of the Canadian clubs build sufficiently through the draft.

Ottawa was a contender, but failed to keep the core together when it really needed to and was ascending toward a peak. Had they done that, the Sens would have contended for a good ~5 years and probably would have come away with a cup.


In short:

Two periods of hockey.

1) First period, $$$ mattered + having a superstar core. Only two Canadian clubs had $$$ and neither had the core, but Toronto came somewhat close to being a secondary contender.

2) Second period, draft + core mattered. No Canadian clubs built adequately through the draft to compete with PIT/CHI cores -- same goes for the majority of the league, however.

 

[PaulD]

I have been saying this as well.

Deck is stacked against Canadian teams.

The Dollar, generally weaker than the American dollar which makes it harder to compete for Canadian teams and puts them at a disadvantage.

Taxes and language. Many American cities have no taxes at all or minimal taxes. In Canada you are taxed up your butt for everything. Language is only really an issue in Quebec/Ottawa but that counts for 1/3rd of the teams.

Expectations. Canadian teams can't really tank like American teams. They have to put on the facade of being competative so even mismanaged teams will be drafting 10-15 rather than top 5/3. If a team sucks for too long they lose attendance and Uncle Gary will have no problem finding them a new home in the USA. Meanwhile American teams can draw 5 people a game and lose 10 Billion dollars a year and Gary would fight tooth and nail to block moving the team to Quebec.

Talent. Talent on the ice and in management I think would prefer to go to an American team. Not every one but I think the majority of those in the NHL and their famalies(which plays a huge role) would rather live in gated communities in the USA maybe some place warm then EDM or CALGARY or OTTAWA etc...

There are exceptions to the above and talents will go to canadian teams (Chirelli and Lucic in EDM as an example) but on the whole Canadian teams are at a disadvantage. Add in that they make up 6 teams out of 30 and the odds are against them even more.

7 out of 30.

Agree that players would rather play in the states for tax reasons.
Less pressure? I suppose. Although some would argue there is no more pressure in Calgary that there is in Philly. Or no more pressure in Ottawa than there is in Boston.

7 out of 30 is about 23 %.

St Louis, Washington, Philadelphia, Islanders, Rangers, Buffalo, Florida

those "7 teams" American teams combined have not won a cup since 94. (4 of them have never won one)

Number game while getting out managed.

Best Canadian team in last 20 years? Probably the 07 Sens. Had the kept Chara they would have a Cup. Major screw up.

Some refer to Bruins signing Chara as the best free agent signing of all time.

 

[the]

What is this nonsense? Gary Bettman cant dictate the result of a hockey game. This is not the WWE and he cant screw over all the Canadian teams.

Never understood all this Bettman hate, hes done a lot for this league during his tenure.

 

[scrubadam]

7 out of 30.

Agree that players would rather play in the states for tax reasons.
Less pressure? I suppose. Although some would argue there is no more pressure in Calgary that there is in Philly. Or no more pressure in Ottawa than there is in Boston.

7 out of 30 is about 23 %.

St Louis, Washington, Philadelphia, Islanders, Rangers, Buffalo, Florida

those "7 teams" American teams combined have not won a cup since 94. (4 of them have never won one)

numbers game.

In Canada hockey is number 1. Every hockey player is a celebrity. Even in big cities like Philly/Boston/NYR hockey takes a back seat. A lot easier to disapear in those cities then in Calgary where your biggest competition is CFL football.

Also there is more pressure on Canadian teams to win especially the smaller markets. 3 or 4 years of bad attendance for a Winnipeg/Ottawa/Calgary can lead to huge losses ($$$) and before you know it Gary will move the team to Seattle or Atlanta or some other city where hockey will be less popular than high school football. But Carolina or Arizona can lose 100's of millions and play in an empty arena and Uncle Gary will move heaven and earth to keep the team a float.

 

[CastroLeRobot]

So how did Bettman have anything to do with Luongo stinking in game 6 and game 7 of the Boston Nucks series.

That is why they lost. He was a siv in 4 of the seven games.

That cup was in the building ready to be handed to Vancouver. Booby Lou stunk....again.

TIL a ''sieve'' is an expression for goalies that let in a lot of goals. It comes from the word ''Sieve'' which is a woven screen filter.

 

[PaulD]

Agreed. Although, I would cheer for the Leafs ahead of the Sens at this point. The Leafs are like a cute, harmless old man at this point. Just adorable. There is no rivalry whatsoever with Toronto anymore. I can think of a handful of teams I hate much, much more than the Leafs - Sens, Bruins, Flyers, Hurricanes, Lightning. Even Columbus and NYR are better rivals at this point than Toronto is.

It's sad. I hate seeing rivalries wither away. Even Leafs fans are timid now. I kind of miss the arrogant Leafs fans of the early 2000's. Now they walk around with their tails between their legs because their team has been God awful for over a decade.

Leafs fans have been laying dormant for the past 10-12 years, and I am happy to see Toronto doing alright this year, just because it is finally activating their fan base after laying dormant for so long. I hope they make the playoffs. It would be amazing to see a Habs-Leafs series in the playoffs. The two teams haven't met in the playoffs since 79! I have a feeling they might finally meet this year, and it would do wonders for the rivalry.

What rivalry? Like you said . Its dead. Been dead for a long time.

Rivalries are built in the play offs. Not on a map, and not by self serving media groupies.

 

[PaulD]

TIL a ''sieve'' is an expression for goalies that let in a lot of goals. It comes from the word ''Sieve'' which is a woven screen filter.

Thanks Sheldon. ( ;

 

[PaulD]

In Canada hockey is number 1. Every hockey player is a celebrity. Even in big cities like Philly/Boston/NYR hockey takes a back seat. A lot easier to disapear in those cities then in Calgary where your biggest competition is CFL football.

Also there is more pressure on Canadian teams to win especially the smaller markets. 3 or 4 years of bad attendance for a Winnipeg/Ottawa/Calgary can lead to huge losses ($$$) and before you know it Gary will move the team to Seattle or Atlanta or some other city where hockey will be less popular than high school football. But Carolina or Arizona can lose 100's of millions and play in an empty arena and Uncle Gary will move heaven and earth to keep the team a float.

The cap helped those teams . (Sens, Jets, Flames, Oilers) Financially and compete level potential. Hurt the big spenders chances of building winners as often and for as long.

Like Brett Hull put so well. The cap allows everyone to have 5 great players, 15 cardboard cut outs told to play the same way. All being equal when you get to May the team with the best rookies/entry level players) win.

 

[CastroLeRobot]

Thanks Sheldon. ( ;

 

[PaulD]

What is this nonsense? Gary Bettman cant dictate the result of a hockey game. This is not the WWE and he cant screw over all the Canadian teams.

Never understood all this Bettman hate, hes done a lot for this league during his tenure.

Agreed that there is no conspiracy.

But while the league may make more money....and a team that stinks can still survive in cities where most could care less if they moved.......the NHL game itself is far lass an attracting than it was in the 80's and 90's

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I don't care about Canadian team or that Canada hasn't had a Cup since '93. I cheer for the Habs and that's about it.

 

[scrubadam]

The cap helped those teams . (Sens, Jets, Flames, Oilers) Financially and compete level potential. Hurt the big spenders chances of building winners as often and for as long.

Like Brett Hull put so well. The cap allows everyone to have 5 great players, 15 cardboard cut outs told to play the same way. All being equal when you get to May the team with the best rookies/entry level players) win.

The cap helps but its a lot higher now. And that still puts pressure on canadian teams. A team like CAR/ARZ/TB whatever can lose for mulitple seasons in a row. They could outright tank and tell that to their fanbase. The team won't up and move no matter what attendance is or how many losses. Didn't ARZ declare bankruptcy and had to be bought by the league?

Canadian teams don't have that luxury. They have to sell hope to their fans that every year they will make the playoffs. Sure TO tanked this year but they had to sign Babs too a huge contract and bring in Lou Lam to sell the hope to the fans that there is light at the end of the tunnel. So Canadian teams won't be able to pull an LA/PENS/CHI and lose for 10 years to get picks. They will have to try and thus get picks in the 10+ range. TO sucked for a decade but BURKE was not trying to tank.

So my point is that Canadian teams don't have the same advantage as American markets because they have to try and compete each year. Gary would never move a Pitts or Chi or LA or ARZ or Car but if EDM starts having bad attendance and losing money Gary will get on the phone with Seattle or Texas and call the moving trucks.

 

[walsy37]

The cap helps but its a lot higher now. And that still puts pressure on canadian teams. A team like CAR/ARZ/TB whatever can lose for mulitple seasons in a row. They could outright tank and tell that to their fanbase. The team won't up and move no matter what attendance is or how many losses. Didn't ARZ declare bankruptcy and had to be bought by the league?

Canadian teams don't have that luxury. They have to sell hope to their fans that every year they will make the playoffs. Sure TO tanked this year but they had to sign Babs too a huge contract and bring in Lou Lam to sell the hope to the fans that there is light at the end of the tunnel. So Canadian teams won't be able to pull an LA/PENS/CHI and lose for 10 years to get picks. They will have to try and thus get picks in the 10+ range. TO sucked for a decade but BURKE was not trying to tank.

So my point is that Canadian teams don't have the same advantage as American markets because they have to try and compete each year. Gary would never move a Pitts or Chi or LA or ARZ or Car but if EDM starts having bad attendance and losing money Gary will get on the phone with Seattle or Texas and call the moving trucks.

You do realize that Oilers play in one of the smallest population cities in the league and have done exactly that for 10 years now, drafted Number 1 four times and we haven't heard about them moving any more than any other team.
There has been more talk about Carolina moving and even the Islanders (who are in the most populous city in the league) than any Canadian team.
I am sure that Gary Bettman prefers a NYR against LAK final to a Sens/Jets final, but there is no conspiracy to hold Canadian teams down.