any NHL fans here?

just curious

I, as a Canadian, am proud to say that I HATE hockey. Even prouder to say that the pice of crap Winnipeg Jets (my city) moved to Phoenix.

In all seriousness though, I've been watching hockey since 1963. Expansion has, in my opinion, killed the NHL and produced a very mediocre game that can't compare to past years.

I dunno, I guess you could call me an anti NHL fan? As my signature states, I only like one sport

Tom

while i respect that opinion id have to disagree about what killed the NHL... it was the instigator rule.

but still to this day hockey is the fastest more exciting sport to watch and play. and the NHL IS the best league in the world producing the best and most conditioned players in the world.

it has lost some of its ferociousness buts its hardly mediocre. especially the playoffs.

Go Blues!

Big fan of the Coyotes here....hockeys not dead its just a different game than it was, which I believe is also true of any other professional sport.

BTW I also think curling rules!

No, hockey is not dead. I don't think it's healthy by any stretch of the imagination, and I do think that it is an extremely mediocre game compared to when there were only 6 franchises in 1966. And I do think that expansion is hurting and has hurt the league. You've got 30 teams in the league now, and most of the players would never have made it over 44 years ago.

Just my 2 cents. And I really don't get worked up over this because I gave up on hockey and pretty much all professional sports years ago.

Tom

Used to watch hockey religiously in my youth but gave up on it in my teens, I still watch the odd game with my hockey lovin' friends, but do not enjoy it, MMA is the only
sport I'm watching these days...

well i wasnt alive then so i cant say, but i can say that there were originally only 5 teams in the NHL. this is before the marketing scheme that is "the original six".

the NHL started out with 5 teams. it lost a couple and gained one here and there within the next 10-13 years. and then expanded to 6, but they will have you believe that it actually started out with 6 and then expanded to 6 more because it sure sells.

i believe Ottawa, Quebec, and Toronto all had a team and Montreal had two teams... started in 1917 if im not mistaken. these would be the original 5 teams that actually started the NHL.

is it october yet?

Actually it was 4 teams The Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers and the Quebec Bulldogs.

and the Toronto Arenas

Dang technicalities....

Realizing the league constitution left them unable to force Livingstone out, the four teams voted instead to suspend the NHA, and on November 26, 1917, formed the National Hockey League. While a full member of the new league, the Bulldogs were unable to play, and the remaining owners created a new team in Toronto to compete with the Canadiens, Wanderers and Senators.

So if the Bulldogs were out it was 4 right?

nice

where did you get that?

Good ole Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nhl

Not true. Basketball is known to be the hardest for conditioning. Unless you are comparing it to other hockey leagues, in that case you are probably right.

Hockey is one of the least popular sports in the world. Table tennis is more popular world wide.
The thing is the people that enjoy hockey are all rabid fans. There really is no middle of the road with Hockey. It's either love it or hate it.

I don't understand how it even makes money.

show me a source that proves basketball players are more conditioned than hockey players. honestly im not sure there is even a way of measuring this. i still say they are more conditioned. they are def all around more rugged. baseball players and basketball players are the divas of the pro sports bunch. football players are pretty gnarly, but overall cant hack consistent gameplay. i have converted numerous people who hated hockey. and they didnt even know why they did hate it... its just popular and funny in america to hate it. but now they love it because they have given it a chance.

and the real reason hockey is so unpopular is because so few people ever actually play it or are exposed to it. there are only so many places geographically in the world where lakes freeze or its cold enough for hockey outdoors. and even then hockey equipment is sooooo expensive so even if you wanted you may not be able to. people just dont have any experience with it. that is why its unpopular... not because its a bogus sport. when you look at baseball, basketball, or football... all you need is a bat and ball, ball and net, ball... almost anyone can play these sports almost anywhere.

having said all of that, im a huge baseball fan as well. something about the pitcher/batter match-ups and all that. can be very exciting... but nothing compares to Stanley Cup Playoff hockey... nothing at all.

Any major market in the US without a hockey team is only exposed to the occasional network TV game and whats on Versus. The NHL lost a lot of visibility when ESPN dumped them, I think this has lot to due with the low popularity.
I would also say that hockey players are world class athletes, the conditioning it takes to play in the NHL is tremendous. Except for goalies. Fuck goalies

Eon is right. I think the strike hurt them too.

I was a Hartford Whaler fan at one point in my life.

2clicker. how can you ask for a source... when you are making up your own fact, yet I need a source? You are using your biased opinion as fact... Ok so are they more rugged than MMA fighters? No... Rugby Players... Nope... Are they incredible athletes? Fuck yeah... but there are better.

Maybe it's boxing...

I say basketball because I have heard time and time again on ESPN or in SI that many athletes play basketball for the conditioning purposes... and that they are amazed on how difficult basketball is conditioning wise... this is nfl guys, soccer guys.... They all give the NBA guys props for being so absurdly conditioned... Have you ever ran suicides? That is pretty much what the NBA is... at least in the NHL you can stop moving and glide on your skates right?

I agree baseball is a lazy guy sport and 162 games plus play offs is just TOO much.

And your wrong.. Soccer is the sport that its popular and funny to hate. Not hockey.

I agree with your point that should really be your main argument. Hockey is expensive. On top of it if you want to play to practice you have to get up for ABSURD rink times, not many working parents want to do that.

Why is it so hard for hockey fans to accept that the majority of humans don't take interest in that game?
You would be really mad if everyone jumped on the bandwagon and pine about the days about how you kept it so real.

you sure you were a fan?

i only asked for a source when you used the term "not true" about what i said about their conditioning. how can my opinion not be true...? i was asking you to prove that. i know its an opinion, but a fuggin accurate one.

i never implied they were the most conditioned athletes in the world. i said of the major 4 sports (hockey, baseball, football, and basketball) that hockey players were easily the most conditioned. and i believe that. IMO hockey is the cats piss, baseball is great too, football NFL is ok, and the NBA is a fuggin circus. oh and MMA is extremely tiresome. these are just opinions tho.

true that soccer gets no love from the states... except every 4 years when the world cup is on then everybody is a huge fan. but hockey is right up there in the "popular to hate" category

accepted... i feel enlightened

Pens fan here!

Hockey is my #1 sport, and im from Pittsburgh so i hate the NBA

nice

im hoping my Blues follow your Pens in the way they built from within like they did. in fact im pretty sure the Blues are well on their way, but there its no sure thing until they hoist that gorgeous silver chalice down Market Streen downtown STL.

and i gotta say im soooo stoked that we landed Halak... i still cant believe that the Habs traded him instead of Price. oh well.. their loss

btw nice avatar. one of my favorite episodes for obvious reasons. the scene when Randy and the rest of his crew are all bouncin down the street on their balls all ripped is hilarious.

is it October yet?

Kings on the west and Pens on the east here. I played shinny as a kid but really got into hockey going to school in Pittsburgh where they had $5 student rush tickets, which where first come first serve for any available seat. Sitting on the glass watching Lemieux and Jagr, Barrasso's stick handling, it is hard not to get hooked. Been a casual Kings fan for a while (did some growing up in LA a while back), when I moved back here 12 years ago I started letting them back into my heart.

For the record it wasn't a strike, it was a lockout, but yeah it hurt. The CBA that came out of it was pretty good and I feel did a pretty good job of providing parity around the league.

And speaking of the Whalers, Ronnie Francis, must underrated player of all time.

Personally I wouldn't trust ESPN or SI for anything hockey As for the you can just glide bit, it is more like sprint your balls off for 90 seconds, rest for 3 minutes, sprint for 90, repeat for 3 hours.

agreed, but what about the contracts like the Kovalchuk deal...? they need to fix that.

amen

NOOOOOOO not a wings fan....

haha just kiddin

best goalie fight ever was when CUJO just handed it to Tim Cheveldae.

remember this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6832pJlV0Jk

i was at this game! those were the days

There was a strike, and then a lockout 10 years later. Both hurt the game, both, i'd argue were gary bettman's fault, douche that he is.

It's neat to see that there are so many hockey fans among the vaporizing crew - i love it!

A few thoughts after reading the forum to this point...

-there should be fewer teams in the NHL, because the talent pool is diluted and it will only become more so as players are drawn to the KHL. Fewer teams, better hockey, easier to follow for the average fan. Fewer regular season games would be nice, too!

-Carey Price will have a better career than Jaroslav Halak, in my opinion, and with his contract demands and high value, the trade with st. louis was a great move. Especially if the Habs can turn around and sign Anti Niemi.

-The Wings/Avs battles in the mid-late 90s were incredible. So much talent, grit, and heart, and only one team able to represent the west in the final - great series'.

-No one mentioned ron hextall when discussing goalie fights. That's inconsiderate. He might beat you up for that. Or throw a stick at you.

-A league that requires building through the draft, like the penguins, capitals, black hawks, senators, and others have done, necessitates throwing seasons and intentionally (selling off your best assets and icing a losing team) providing a bad on-ice product. This is a horrible framework. Instead of a lottery draft where the team that finishes lowest in the standings has the best chance of receiving the 1st overall pick, it should be that every team that finishes out of the dance(playoffs) has an equal chance of landing the #1 pick. That way teams could produce a good on ice product without ruining their chance to draft a sidney crosby or a taylor hall.

Last - within every sport there is incredible variability in fitness level from athlete to athlete. Every sport has some killer, top of the line, win at any game types. They are fun to watch!