Kukla's Korner Hockey
Just Another Game?
by Paul on 01/20/12 at 07:53 PM ET
Comments (3)
from Michael Grange of Sportsnet,
The Montreal Canadiens come to town Saturday night to play the Toronto Maple Leafs. It should be Yankees-Red Sox, or Manchester United-Manchester City.
It should be best on best because that’s what fans of the franchises want and would almost certainly pay to see happen.
History tells us Saturday night with the Leafs and Canadiens should mean something more than a pair of struggling Eastern Conference teams hoping to make the playoffs.
Reality says that’s all it is.
It’s a bit sad. The NHL was built on dynasties. That some of the most potent ones sprung from the planet’s richest and most dedicated hockey markets justified growing the league from six cities in the northeast drawing players almost exclusively from rural Canada to a 30-team enterprise filled with talent that comes from anywhere with ice and a few places where it only comes in drinks.
But dynasties are now part of the league’s past; old legends trotted out for ceremonial puck-drops to give the NHL context and historical weight, but about as relevant to the current game as rubbing sticks together to light a furnace.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Comments
By the way, I left the Rangers out of that list of franchises. They obviously belong there this year!
Posted by BK from Detroit 144mi.;Columbus 142; Pitts. 144; Buff. 219 on 01/21/12 at 12:27 AM ET
And the Senators are in far better shape than both of these has-been franchises!
Posted by Nick from NYC on 01/21/12 at 01:32 AM ET
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So now it is the fault of the bottom feeding teams that the Leafs and Canadiens cannot sustain the ongoing excellence Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit, San Jose and Pittsburgh have.
The American teams, including the ones I named above, should form their own league (I know it’s a crazy and stupid idea but bear with me) so that the Canadian media can have what they want, a league made up of purely Canadian teams with the Stanley Cup won in Canada every year.
I love the fad of taking a shot at Columbus now that the team is the worst in the league. Why blame Columbus fans for the management which has taken them from an all-time high of 92 points plunging to this year’s current 31 points? Still,their home attendance since Thanksgiving has averaged 16,000 per game. Contrary to popular belief the fans have not completely abandoned the team. They are nowhere near the 16 teams averaging 95% or more of their building for the season but don’t blame the fans just because the team is atrocious.
Now I’ll read the rest of the article
Posted by BK from Detroit 144mi.;Columbus 142; Pitts. 144; Buff. 219 on 01/21/12 at 12:25 AM ET