Montreal making the Finals is terrible for the league

[canadianmagpie]

Immediately when people first read this they will assume I’m just salty they won so I’m going to start off by saying that I was rooting for Montreal as a Ducks fan for Corey Perry, however it is impossible to deny that Montreal making the finals is objectively awful for the league.

A team that won 24 of 56 games shouldn’t sniff the championship round in any sport, and the fact that the NHL has this is a terrible look on the competitive nature of the league. They are at least lucky that this team is in a big market because there is otherwise nothing marketable about the Habs. They have no star players, no casual fan is going to give a damn about seeing this team make the finals. Beyond marketability, what does this say to the owners and fans about the acquisition of star players, when a team that has none can blow through teams that have several? Why should any owner invest in star players and why should any fan get excited about acquiring star players? Upsets are fun, but when they become overwhelming like this, it ruins the product.

Like I said, I wanted Montreal to win but this is just how I see it. I’m awful at articulating so I’m sure this sounds more just like a rant but this is how I see it.

Are you just ignoring that Carey Price was injured for a lot of the season? Price in net instead of Allen, you don't think they win more games?

They dealt with a lot of injuries to guys throughout the season. Maybe they might not have the depth of other teams, but when healthy, they showed they were a playoff team.

 

[canucklover123]

Immediately when people first read this they will assume I’m just salty they won so I’m going to start off by saying that I was rooting for Montreal as a Ducks fan for Corey Perry, however it is impossible to deny that Montreal making the finals is objectively awful for the league.

A team that won 24 of 56 games shouldn’t sniff the championship round in any sport, and the fact that the NHL has this is a terrible look on the competitive nature of the league. They are at least lucky that this team is in a big market because there is otherwise nothing marketable about the Habs. They have no star players, no casual fan is going to give a damn about seeing this team make the finals. Beyond marketability, what does this say to the owners and fans about the acquisition of star players, when a team that has none can blow through teams that have several? Why should any owner invest in star players and why should any fan get excited about acquiring star players? Upsets are fun, but when they become overwhelming like this, it ruins the product.

Like I said, I wanted Montreal to win but this is just how I see it. I’m awful at articulating so I’m sure this sounds more just like a rant but this is how I see it.

it’s all good, they got enough haters to keep the viewership up LFG

 

[Louie the Blue]

If you're talking from a marketing perspective with in the U.S., probably since they aren't in the U.S..

Product wise? Not really. 1990 Oilers had similar winning percentage, too.

 

[soothsayer]

Cringe af.

 

[LatteLarrys]

A team that won 24 of 56 games shouldn’t sniff the championship round in any sport, and the fact that the NHL has this is a terrible look on the competitive nature of the league. They are at least lucky that this team is in a big market because there is otherwise nothing marketable about the Habs. They have no star players, no casual fan is going to give a damn about seeing this team make the finals. Beyond marketability, what does this say to the owners and fans about the acquisition of star players, when a team that has none can blow through teams that have several? Why should any owner invest in star players and why should any fan get excited about acquiring star players? Upsets are fun, but when they become overwhelming like this, it ruins the product.

You know what they say about assuming.

 

[MoreOrr]

It's only proof that the League should make it official and make it at least a top-18 Playoffs, because really almost any team has a possibility to win it all if given a chance.

 

[Bobby Orrtuzzo]

People act like this happens every year.

Also, on O6 team IN CANADA will never be “terrible for the league”

 

[Leafsfan74]

Immediately when people first read this they will assume I’m just salty they won so I’m going to start off by saying that I was rooting for Montreal as a Ducks fan for Corey Perry, however it is impossible to deny that Montreal making the finals is objectively awful for the league.

A team that won 24 of 56 games shouldn’t sniff the championship round in any sport, and the fact that the NHL has this is a terrible look on the competitive nature of the league. They are at least lucky that this team is in a big market because there is otherwise nothing marketable about the Habs. They have no star players, no casual fan is going to give a damn about seeing this team make the finals. Beyond marketability, what does this say to the owners and fans about the acquisition of star players, when a team that has none can blow through teams that have several? Why should any owner invest in star players and why should any fan get excited about acquiring star players? Upsets are fun, but when they become overwhelming like this, it ruins the product.

Like I said, I wanted Montreal to win but this is just how I see it. I’m awful at articulating so I’m sure this sounds more just like a rant but this is how I see it.

They earned it, but they are an uninspiring team that plays an uninspiring game. I feel for them as I felt for the Devils in the mid-90s, I avoid watching their games and wish for them to fail.

Whichever team has the best chance of beating the Habs is the team I want to win the NYI/TB game seven.

 

[The Blunder Years]

It’s a Cinderella story that will likely not happen again for a long time. Enjoy history and this amazing story

 

[Some Other Flame]

Meh. There hasn't been a good Cindarella run in a while. It's fun.

 

[ALLCAPSALLTHETIME]

Awful? It’s wonderful.

Good for the Habs. They have 100% earned it.

 

[ZJuice]

Habs have solid depth, they are both young and old, they have Carey Price and Shea Weber.. they beat poopoo Toronto and Jets and now they beat the NHL executives’ team. They deserve it and I think it’s great for the NHL. I think a team being granted a clean slate in the middle of a league-wide cap crunch was worse than a “boring” small market Canadian team making it to the finals

 

[Laveuglette]

OLÉ OLÉ OLÉ

Bonne St-Jean tout le monde, buvez les pleurs d'OP!

 

[BLONG7]

100%

they shouldn't have even made the POs

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Need a beer to go with that salt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[not a troll]

Who the hell cares about the casual fans or marketability? I certainly don't.

I couldn't care less about whether the league earns $500MM in revenue or $20 billion.

 

[MTL-rules]

I guess Carey Price and Shea Weber are total crap ?

And Habs had the worst regular season schedule. It's obvious now that it played a role in their pretty mediocre regular season.

Having one of the biggest hockey market going in the final is GREAT for the sport.

 

[NYR94]

The Finals are not about stars or regular season win totals. They're for the two best teams in the playoffs every year, of which Montreal is one.

 

[Emanresu Wen]

Sorry.

 

[DS7]

Nah, this is great for the game. One of the most storied franchises in the team coming back from an almost three decade cup slump to win as the underdog? It's great stuff.

Really hope the executives don't think this because it will inadvertently lead to bad incentives on the ice to encourage certain outcomes and will cheapen the product and cup as a result.

 

[jaysoneil]

Regular season stats are meaningless once the playoffs start.

Doesn't matter if they're the worst team in the regular season or not, they're playing like a Cup final team right NOW.

 

[Ishad]

Why even have a 16 team playoff if lowe ranked teams couldn’t make it through?

 

[le_sean]

Habs luckiest team

First Tavares out
Then Scheifele out
Finally Stone out

 

[habsnacks]

Ole, ole, ole, oleeeeeeeeeee!

 

[Hockey Stick]

Take a lap

 

[gamer1035]

Playoff hockey is different than regular season hockey. Thus different results.