Canadians and their hockey

[TheMC5]

OK. The rest of you crazy canucks out there, it's time to talk hockey, my friends. I guess Europeans can post too, but that's it.

Anyway, I want to know what your favorite team is (and why, which applies to all questions), who your favorite player is, and maybe some predictions/general observation on the NHL front.

So I'll start us off.

Favorite team: Vancouver Canucks

I like Vancouver because I really started getting into hockey the year they went to the finals against New York, and Pavel Bure was possibly the most exciting player in the league at that point. I'm still bitter about the game he got ejected from in the finals, because he got cross checked in the back, which is what caused him to swing his stick back. It was so obviously unintentional, and warranted a 2 minute minor for high-sticking, nothing more. Anyway, I suffered through many years off shittyness until Naslund and Bertuzzi started ripping it up a few years back, and I'm even more stoked with the current core of the Sedins and Luongo. Yes, it's mighty fine time to be a Canucks fan. Oh, and I've also always loved Vancouver as a city, too. I moved there for a year when I was 19, but then I moved back to Edmonton (don't ask me why).

Also like: Canadiens (fav team prior to Van), Senators, Nordiques and Jets (RIP), and of course, the Whale. You gotta love the whale. Most other teams I like depending on the players on their roster.

Teams I hate: Rangers (obvious), Stars (bunch of douches), Red Wings (fuck Detroit, though I'm down with Zetterberg and Lindstrom), Flames (boo-urns), Predators (why is there a team in Nashville?) Lightning/Panthers (see Predators), Bruins (I respect the Bruins, original 6 and all, but I have many bad memories of them beating Montreal in the playoffs), Coyotes/Avalanche/Hurricanes (replaced the beloved Jets, Nordiques, and Whalers, respectively). Maple Leafs (it's pretty much a matter of Canadian identity: all Canadiens outside of Toronto must hate the Leafs. It is what binds us all together, moreso than our borders, laws, constitution, or currency. Hating the Leafs if you're not from Toronto is just the Canadian thing to do.) Oh, the Flyers suck, too.


Favorite player: Current favorite is Trevor Linden. Dude is all heart, and the icon of the Canucks organization. All-time favorite is Pavel Bure, for obvious reasons. Favorite old-timey player is Gordie Howe, for sure. Nothing beats the Gordie Howe hat-trick. Jay Bouwmeester is my favorite player I've actually met (he's a really nice guy).

Least favorite player(s): Goons, any and all of them. Learn to play the fucking game (I'm looking at you, Derek Boogard. Please don't punch me). Chris Pronger is a turd. Kovalchuk, though good, is a show boating ego-maniac, and not much of a team player. Mark Messier, Brian Leetch, Mike Richter, and any other member of the '94 Rangers (except Kovalev, I've forgiven Kovalev). Dion Phanuef is my least favorite player I've ever met. He was friends with some people I knew from junior high/high school, and he was the most typical asshole-jock-fuckhead I've ever met.

OK, now the fun part: predictions!

PLAYOFFS

WEST
1. Detroit (weakest division in the league, which counts for a lot with 32 total divisional games)
2. Anaheim (Niedermayer and Selanne will be back, and a healthy Bertuzzi could actually be an upgrade over Dustin Penner if he can regain his form)
3. Colorado (goaltending is a concern, but scoring goals is what wins in today's game, and the Avs will do that)
4. San Jose (will have better record than Col, but stupid divisional seeding ans shit)
5. Vancouver (Luongo, baby, Luongo)
6. Calgary (they just won't score enough, but they'll be hell to play against)
7. Dallas (they're just barely good enough still)
8. Los Angeles (LA is my surprise team this year. With tons of speed, skill, youth, and depth, this team will make some noise, as long the goaltending isn't too shaky)
Also rans: Edmonton, Minnesota, Nashville

EAST
1. Pittsburgh (Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Fleury, Whitney, Sykora, Recchi, Roberts, Gonchar)
2. Ottawa (their division is looking a little weak now as well, with a depleted Sabres and sinking Canadiens)
3. Atlanta (OK, maybe the southeast is the shittyest division)
4. NY Rangers (again, would probably be the #2 seed, but you know. They also have no defense at all)
5. Buffalo (I didn't think I'd have them this high, but the East kind of sucks as a whole right now)
6. Carolina (looking for a bounce back year for the Canes)
7. Tampa Bay (Richards, Lecavalier, St. Louis will take you only so far)
8. Toronto (this was a tough pick, but I think Toskala will take them over the hump)
Also rans: Philadelphia, Boston, New Jersey

Art Ross: Crosby (it's a gimme, really, he'll take this award for the next decade)
Vezina: Luongo (he'll finally get his due)
Norris: Lidstrom (he gets it every few years until he retires. It's in his contract somewhere)
Calder: Justin Bernier (the rookie goalie is the best they've got in LA, and I think he'll be up to the task)
Stanley Cup: I predict San Jose to make it out of the west, and Ottawa from the east. San Jose will win for the exact same reasons Anaheim beat Ottawa last: too big, too strong, too fast, too deep, too tenacious. However, San Jose did sign Jeremy Roenick, and I'm not sure if the hockey Gods would let such an abomination as Roenick winning a Cup pass unnoticed. But then again, the hockey Gods have seemed strangely absent lo these last few years. Perhaps they have deserted us. Perhaps Gary Bettman had them killed cause they knew it was a bad idea to expand beyond 24 or 26 teams. We'll never know.





Wow, that was a long post for something maybe 2 or 3 people will read.

[jonthefon]

Well, I'm still rooting for my Stars. They just need some luck to get past the first round again, although they have lost quite a few players over the off-season.

You can't change support of a team no matter how many douches they pick up over years

[JT_55]

But the Stars are not gonna make it if they meet Bobby Lu again. And that leads to...

Favorite team: Vancouver Canucks

Hey! Me and MC5 have something in common.

I'll post my predictions later.

[Fitzy]

whos simon gagne play for now days?

[TheMC5]

whos simon gagne play for now days?

He's still on Philly.

[Fitzy]

is he any good? i dont know why i know who he is

[Anthony15]

Well, expecting the Avs to do good, since they signed Ryan Smyth and Scott Hannan, if Jose Theodore can turn himself into the "02 Theodore" again, we can have a good shot at the Stanley Cup. Statsny, Wolski, Liles will continue to improve, Sakic, Heljduk and Smythas usual will be the vets that'll lead this team.

[jonthefon]

Stars winning today, but it's against the shitty Bruins.

[TheMC5]

Avs are looking good, for sure, but I think the Cup is a bit of a stretch. Theodore is done. True, if he did play like the Theodore of old, they might deserve to be mentioned as Cup contenders, but I wouldn't bet on Jose ever being the same type of player. Goalies performances are really volatile these days, and it seems really hard to rebound from a few bad years in a row. Also, Joe Sakic owns. Despite playing for the Avs, he remains one of my favorite players, and I always root for Sakic, except against Vancouver.

JT_55 - it's nice to see another Canucks fan on here.

[JT_55]

^ Same here. I was kinda expecting everyone to be Leafs fans as most of the Candians here are from Toronto. But Canucks lost today, 3-1 to the Sharks . Luongo was shaky in the first, and the Canucks just didn't have enough firepower to get three goals.

[cyanide]

I'm an Oilers fan, born, raised and living in Edmonton

More of an NBA fan, though, but that didn't stop me from having fun during the Finals run a couple years ago. After Pronger ditched us, things haven't been the same, so hopefully after this mini-shake up, things will go upwards here.

[sdude]

Senators and Heatley
hoping too see Penguins youngers to do something good too

[TheMC5]

hopefully after this mini-shake up, things will go upwards here.

Why, so we can have more mini-riots during the playoffs?

I was working at the Funky Pickle on Whyte during the finals run, and it was the most torturous 2 months ever. For this reason alone, I kind of hope the Oilers never make the playoffs again. Though, I do like the team a lot more this year, whereas the last, oh 5 or 6 years I've really detested the Oilers.

[cyanide]

Yeah, the Edmonton fans suck when they get out of control. It wasn't good times for the police and workers, especially on Whyte. For the fans, though... Always good to know there's another Edmontonian here, even if you'd rather be in Vancouver

[TheMC5]

Always good to know there's another Edmontonian here, even if you'd rather be in Vancouver

To be sure, I consider myself an Edmontonian by location only. I feel fundamentally at odds with predominant mindset/attitude engendered by this city and province. But at least it's better than Calgary.

Anyway, back to hockey. Oilers are looking good in the early going. Canucks, not so much, but then I never expected Vancouver to get off to a fast start. They're a team whose success will be largely determined by teamwork and the players willingness to buy into the system. Teams like that usually take little while to gel and find their stride. Look at Vancouver last year. They were about .500 around the midpoint of the season, so I'll give it at least until then before I start panicking. And by panicking, I mean stop watching hockey if the Canucks are really bad.

[JT_55]

Oh yeah, 4-3 in OT! Three power play goals in the second, wow.

To be sure, I consider myself an Edmontonian by location only. I feel fundamentally at odds with predominant mindset/attitude engendered by this city and province. But at least it's better than Calgary.

Well, Vancouver beckons with open arms. At least, everything but the housing prices and the million homless people in Downtown chasing you for your money.

[jonthefon]

Stars 1-2 start. Crap. But then again, the losses were against Nashville and Colorado, good teams. Still, need to win a few against the contenders. Or save up for the post season instead

[cyanide]

To be sure, I consider myself an Edmontonian by location only. I feel fundamentally at odds with predominant mindset/attitude engendered by this city and province.

That I do agree with. Never liked Ralph Klein, and the priorities in this city and province is a bit screwed up. We're 9 years behind on roadwork, and I don't know what the hell they were thinking when they renovated Churchill Square from landscape to concrete. The city councils are greedy, and nobody in the government thinks long term but takes the chance to blow away the surplus we have for the short term. Also, I'm not so keen on the sudden expansion in Edmonton. Even with one of the world's largest malls, there doesn't seem to be much to do here. Ah well, it's home, and I guess I'm just used to this place.

[TheMC5]

Eh, Cyanide, how'd you like the ass-whooping the Canucks admistered to the Oil the last 2 nights? Luongo is back in form, my friends. Sedins are looking great, and Naslund is almost playing with actual heart and desire. Almost. But it's looking good, I think.

And how about them Senators? 6-1-0 to start the year, 3 top scorers in the league, and Emery realizing he's a minor league goalie (I kid). Sens seem like they have the upper hand in the East, for sure.

Also, I'm officially joining the Paul Stastny bandwagon. You almost have to, though, cause he's Peter Stastny's son.

Finally: Jessie Boulerice - what a douche. Have fun with your 25-game suspension, assface. This is why I hate the Flyers. I thought they'd be diferent without Bobby Clarke's insanity reigning over the team, but I guess not.

[JT_55]

Everyone on the team seems to have found their groove now. One of my friends said that the Sedins suck now, he'll be biting his words after yesterday.

Boulerice got what he deserved. That was worse than a cheap shot on what he put on Kesler. Like some anaylsts say, that isn't hockey. Did you put the "i" in Jesse on purpose ?

[TheMC5]

Everyone on the team seems to have found their groove now. One of my friends said that the Sedins suck now, he'll be biting his words after yesterday.

Boulerice got what he deserved. That was worse than a cheap shot on what he put on Kesler. Like some anaylsts say, that isn't hockey. Did you put the "i" in Jesse on purpose ?

The Sedins do still struggle against certain teams, mainly the ones with really big, strong, physical defensemen. But against most teams, as soon as they get some space to operate in the offensive zone, it's pretty much a foregone conclusion: a goal is coming.

And no, the "i" in Jesse was unintentional. I just thought that's how his name was spelled.

[jonthefon]

Biiiiiig bump here.

Still need to remind: Stars have won five on a trot. Will lose next game because I jinxed them.

[TheMC5]

Meh, I'm down with a biiiiiig bump on this thread.

Personally, I'm enjoying the Canucks 7-1-2 in their last 10. Luongo is looking like vintage Luongo, finally, and even Markus Naslund had a hat-trick last week. I totally thought Naslund's hat-trick days were well behind him.

I haven't seen much of Dallas this season, but their record is slightly better than I expected. I still think they'll finish a little better than .500 and definitely make the playoffs. I wouldn't mind a Canucks-Stars rematch from last year. That was a pretty awesome series, mostly cause the Canucks won. But that was a clinic in amazing goaltending on both sides.

[jonthefon]

Well, Modano is on fire at the moment. There's too many holes in the Dallas roster for me to bet them on reaching the playoffs for another year, but the new management always helps...for a while at least.

And I watched nearly all of the 'Nucks-Stars overtime in Game 1. I remember tuning in during the fourth quarter, then sitting shocked as they went through overtime after overtime before the game-winner. Personally, I didn't care too much about that since before that, we were looking shaky as hell and I was thinking after the post-hitting shot just before the goal, that Dallas was going to concede. The thing that upset me were the two losses in Dallas, which killed the hopes.

[TheMC5]

How's Brendan Morrow been playing so far this year? I haven't heard much about him this season. Is he injured or something?