Nightwing

I can understand that it's hard to get some coverage down there: Anaheim isn't Los Angeles, after all, which means it plays second fiddle to it (And I'm not sure, but I'd wager maybe San Diego as well). But as a guy who loves to find hockey stuff out there, I think it's hard to say that Giguere is not getting enough respect. Everyone thought the Ducks were going to the Finals this year, and I've only seen maybe one or two sportswriters pick against them. How is that not respect? That, and basing it on a Woody Paige mispronunciation is just beyond me. And I don't hate the Ducks, it's just that sort of bandwagon behavior that ticks me off. I don't mind you or UndertakerHart, as you guys have been pretty respectful of the people around you. It just all the posts Star just reminds me of the bandwagon bullshit I run into when I go down to Nashville and see their 'superfans' during the season. I don't expect people to have been watching hockey for 30 years or something, but for God's sake, don't run around acting like a 12-year old bragging about how your new jersey (I prefer 'jersey', too, but I laughed my ass off at that joke) got so many cool looks or stupid shit like that.

Not really. Mainly because, as my father says, "They'll shoot your ass to hell if you speak English there". Seriously, they'd up there in my choices, too, if they actually had an English paper that was a daily, and broadcasts (Both T.V. and Radio) that weren't exclusively in French. I'm guessing that the sort of Anglo-phobia is playing against them ever getting another team, even though they could probably do a decent job supporting it.

No, it's not me being too sensitive: It's you looking like a jackass bandwagon kid by saying "Leastern" and "Bestern", which ignores the facts about the two conferences. It's not like I'm talking about 1974 here, I'm talking about the last three seasons, with two of them being from the "S0UtH134ST!! LOLL!!" Of course, I'm talking to a kid who seems to judge his team's worth by how many 'attractive people' notice his jersey... And if you've watched Woody Paige recently, he can't pronounce anything right. He even made the mistake of saying the Baseball Hall of Fame was in Canton, not Cooperstown. Plus, I have no friggin' clue why you'd base a hockey team's respect by how someone on Around the Horn pronounces it, because AtH is more interested in the Yankees most recent win/loss/team dinner than anything hockey. They rarely, if ever, talk hockey, and even then they save it for the Showdown (And often just skip past it due to time mistakes). Trust me, Giguere has gotten his due, and rightly so, as he's an utterly fantastic goaltender who can shutdown just about any team if he's on his game. The Ducks are getting their due. I don't know about your area, but every time I watched something on Versus (Since I can't get CBC on DirecTV), they had something on the Ducks, even if they weren't playing. Don't worry, they're a good team and they are definitely getting their due right now from the league and its supporters.

... Hamilton? Please, God, Bettman, don't let him move it there. If there is a bad place in Canada, that's it; it's like the centerpoint between Buffalo, Toronto, Ottawa, and Detroit. I mean, what sort of fanbase do people think they are going to find there? And what corporate funding is a team going to get when it has 4 great teams around it? Even if Winnipeg has a smaller arena, it's going to sell out every time, and I'm sure the city would try and figure a way to add more if they were getting a real franchise. It might not be easy, but Winnipeg would definitely be a city that would put effort into it.

You know, I really haven't been around very long, nor have I been lurking that long. But please, for the love of GOD, shut up. I'm tired of jackasses saying "Leastern" and "Bestern". If you haven't noticed, only two "Bestern" Conference teams have won the Cup since 2000. The last two from the "Southleast", no less. Hell, the entirety of Western Conference didn't play all that impressive this playoff season. Even Anaheim didn't look impressive in 3 of the 6 games in their series, and Detroit didn't look good in more than a few games in this playoff season. In reality, OtTawa, outside the last two games, have looked great throughout, and against better teams (Buffalo, New Jersey, and Pittsburgh are all good to great teams). To me, the Eastern Conference has really closed the gap. Look at Buffalo, look at Ottawa, and there are more. This isn't the same hockey it was a few years ago, when the trap ruled the East completely and utterly. Things have changed. This Western Elitism is just stupid, especially considering that this conference hasn't won a cup in 4 years. Oh, and by the by, I noticed your "Detroit should be in the Leastern Conference anyways" comment in the last thread I was lurking in. Where are your three Cups in the last ten years? ... Yeah, that's what I thought. How much more attention can he get? People seem to think that there is this ignorance of Anaheim, when most people have been predicting them since the season began to get here. Giguere has been getting attention every since he completely shut down the Red Wings 4 years ago. Trust me, you are getting coverage. You got more playoff coverage than the Wings did (Lord knows how many people chose Calgary and San Jose over Detroit).

Yeah, sorry about that. Edit: I think that's what they are hoping for, though I'm not sure that's the best way to go. I mean, 19 is a ridiculous age to be leading a hockey team, even if you are as talented as Crosby. I'd say give the spot to Recchi and let Crosby watch and learn for at least a year, as they haven't really had a real captain since Mario (who only played 26 games). Gretzky was captain after 4, Lemieux, Yzerman and Sakic after 3. I think they are pushing him a little too hard into the 'Next One' spot.

But... but... it's boundless. Boooooooooundlesssssssss. ... In retrospect, I probably should have created an NHL Offseason Discussion thread, shouldn't I have? Oh, and go Sens tonight!

Arguing about the distance is besides the point: It's still a failed franchise. It's doing miserably, and has been for quite a while. Florida doesn't have the hockey base to keep two teams alive, especially in a place like Miami, where you have two better established teams. Florida has never won the Southeast even once, and has only made three appearances in the playoffs. One time they had their magic run, but the other two times they won a combined one game. Jokinen is NOT going to save that franchise. He's a great player, but he is not enough to save a franchise that has been at the bottom of one of the worst divisions in hockey. With 7 years and 6 seasons out of the playoffs, moving them to a place like Portland would be a much better idea than keeping it in a town where it is #4, has been like that for a while, and doesn't look to be improving. Oh, Tampa Bay does have a future. Bill Davidson has shown that he wants his franchises to win, and that he can build a team. When Tampa went to him in 1998, they've only been going up and up. Davidson has shown to be a damn good owner (He owns the Pistons and the Shock as well) and he's put a lot of effort into this team. I don't see them turning belly-up like Florida any time soon. Indeed, he is a fantastic player (Though everyone I know agrees that he has about the charisma of a rainbow trout)... but he's not enough to save a franchise that's been going downhill for a while now. They are a hard-working team, but attendance hasn't improved with Ovechkin: indeed, it's gone lower and lower ever since Jagr's first season there. They aren't competing now, and frankly even with Ovechkin I don't see their attendance improving that much. And while Washington's quality of play is better over the last decade or so, their attendance woes are far worse than Florida's. Moving to Las Vegas would be great for Ovechkin if you really want to promote him. Rather than being the best player on the #3-4 team in Washington, he'd be the #1 player in Las Vegas. No other major sports to compete with, and the largest metropolitan area in the US (And probably the world) that doesn't have a major sports team. That'd be a Godsend for the NHL, and they could honestly hard-push him there better than they could in Washington.

But who is going to trade for him? Suns: No way. You can make a fairly reasonable claim that they were robbed of a Finals berth this year by an antiquated rule, and even then they almost pulled it out. Putting Kobe into Nash's distribution system might screw things up if Kobe feels like holding onto it. Combined with the possibility of him going toxic, and I think they'll be a big "Pass" on the Kobe Train. Bulls: I suppose, but I think they are close to what they need to be. They had it on the Pistons for two games, and almost pulled it to within 7. I'm not sure they are going to want to sacrifice a bunch of players who did pretty well and got a lot of good playoff experience. Nets: I can see this one, actually. I think out of the three teams here, the Nets are stagnating while the Suns are peaking and the Bulls are rising. That's still kinda costly, but Ripper does make a good point on that lineup. I just wonder if Frank can get the most out of what could be a really good starting 5.

I don't think they'll be able to get a good deal for him, and he'll move when he becomes a Free Agent. I mean, the guy is becoming worse and worse by the second with all these public demands on the Front Office. While he is a franchise player, he isn't the GM, and frankly he's part of the reason the team is where it is right now. I can't see anyone taking him without trying to rob the Lakers because of the possible trouble he might cause with the Diva attitude he's showing off.

Hopefully that'd help. I'm not really against having a franchise in NJ, even if they play horribly boring hockey... it's just horrible to watch a team that barely fills the seats win Cups. Hopefully it'll boost attendance. I know they aren't going to really move any time soon (That's why that one was more of a 'wish' than anything). I know that the league can't make any team move if they don't want to. Just with all the moving talk, wheels in my head started turning and I figured that two moves West could make the league look a helluva lot different. Well, I don't want to scrap the franchise completely. Have been in the league for over 30 years, but other teams around them moved and worked out well: That's how we got the Calgary Flames. Yeah. Some franchises are just like that. I dunno; I suppose I'm okay with Phoenix, but the move there didn't seem to do anything different other than changing the name and logo. I suppose, but I always thought it was really cool that hockey was different for so long, and I thought it was always a great way to honor the origins of the league. I can understand the argument for it, it's just sort of a soft spot that I have. Thanks! Tampa and Miami are only "so close by" insofar as they're in the same state. I don't think people would drive up from Miami to Tampa for hockey. That said, Miami is a failed market for the league, and they'd be wise to bail on it. Most might not drive up there, but the people who really want to watch hockey would. Tampa Bay is doing very well as a franchise with a good owner, and the Panthers are essentially a dead team. More times than once I've had to look them up this season because I couldn't remember the last team in the Southeast. If anything, it'd only help a rising franchise in Tampa Bay by giving them a larger market share down there while moving a miserable team to somewhere it might have a chance to dig a niche in. I can always wish... See, I disagree. Washington, to me, seems pretty much lost: They are the fourth team, and the market there isn't fantastic for non-Redskins teams, just like you said. Vegas is unproven, but it's a potential gold-mine. They've been begging for a major sports team for years, and being the big dog in a city with a metro population of almost 2 Million would go a longer way than competing with the Wizards, Redskins, and Nationals. I say take a chance on a potentially huge payoff vs keeping it in a place that doesn't look really look like it's going to get better than it already is. Yeah. That's was the toughest division to create because I was pretty much stuck with the left overs, and the South is just so horrible for integrating into the rest of the league, speaking division-wise. I sort of just did it geographically, since the Penn teams are the most Southern in the East in comparison. That was the only division I really didn't like. Bah @ that. I don't see why, as scheduling-wise it makes excellent sense, and it allows serious rivalries with nearby neighbors it never gets to play like Ottawa, Toronto, and Buffalo. Sure, you lose Chicago and St. Louis rivalries, but Toronto and Detroit would be red-hot, and Ottawa and Buffalo as divisional rivals would definitely be interesting. Frankly, I hope things go this way so that they can get into the East and face Original 6 teams more and more often. It was really tough for me, and I moved two teams. The problem is the placement of the successful Southern Teams makes it hard to move (Carolina, Atlanta, and Tampa Bay are almost in their own world in the South), and there are only so many markets that really can take a hockey team.

Hey, my account got approved before the Cup series ended. Cool! On the whole moving thing: While Nashville moving is good (Hopefully to Winnipeg), it would be better to purge some of the more useless teams in the Eastern Conference. A few on my "hit-list": Florida: Seriously, do we need two franchises in Florida when we only have one in Quebec nowadays? And who is going to go to a Panthers game when you have Tampa Bay so close by? Nobody, if we go by the attendance stats. Move them to a place like Portland or Seattle, somewhere in the Northwest that doesn't have an American Hockey team. It'll be rough Washington: If you haven't noticed, I'm sticking with mostly Southeast teams. Washington's attendance ratings are blah, and I wouldn't say that it's in a 'hockey town'. They had their runs, but they are still a part of the weakest division in the NHL. Put 'em in with a town that is begging for a sports team: Las Vegas. It might not be much of a hockey town either, but it's not competing with baseball, football, and basketball there. Being the first big sports franchise to move out there would give it an built-in fanbase, and a large one like that. Those are the only two I can honestly see moving in the future. On my wishlist would be this team: New Jersey: I hate them so much. It's like Lou Lamarillo is actually trying to ruin hockey by winning with a team nobody gives two shits about (Even in New Jersey, for Christs sake. Their attendance numbers are abysmal...), in a style that will make fans go brain-dead. Seriously, once Brodeur is gone, that franchise is going to go down the tubes, and I'm going to laugh and laugh. But I'd say move them to Kansas City, because they can't care less than New Jersey already does. I mean, I'd also like to move Phoenix and Carolina, but Carolina is doing fine and I can't figure out a good place for Phoenix to move to. In any place, if New Jersey moved, it'd also allow Chicago to transfer over to the Eastern Conference, where I'd like to be if only to have all the Original 6 in one place. Of course, it'd be just fine One thing I'd also do is go back to the Norris, Smythe, Adams, and Patrick divisions, and add in the former original owners of Montreal and the Rangers in there. It'd show off the NHL's history and tradition, and it just feels... better than the old "Northeast, Central, Blah Blah..." crap you see in every sport. Oh, and go back to Wales and Campbell Conferences; hockey has the only sports trophy from a friggin' (future) King of England (At least, that I know of). Show that shit off. Oh, and my redone conferences (with explanations for the uninitiated)... Campbell Conference (Named for Clarence Campbell, former NHL President and donor of the Campbell Cup) Norris Division (Named for former Red Wings owner James E. Norris) Chicago St. Louis Dallas Minnesota Winnipeg Comments: Not as weak as it looks. If Nashville moved to Winnipeg, and NJ to Kansas City, this would be one hell of a competitive division. Even without NJ/KC, Chicago will be much better without injuries next season, and I expect the Blues to be competitive, too. Nashville was an good team (Not great, but good) who could potentially contend for the division title. Added Bonus: These teams are all in the Central Timezone. McLaughlin Division (Named for former Chicago Blackhawks owner Frederic McLaughlin) Colorado Edmonton Calgary Phoenix Las Vegas Comments: Probably the weakest division of them all, but they all have decent management. Calgary is a team that is right on the edge of being one hell of a competitive team, and Edmonton and Colorado are not horrible. Phoenix and Las Vegas wouldn't be the best... but you can't have every team great, right? And once again, all in the same timezone (MST). Smythe Division (Named for Conn Smythe, former owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs) Anaheim San Jose Portland Vancouver Los Angeles Comments: Another excellent division (And in the same timezone. Seriously, the NHL should at least doing something similar to this...), and frankly you could just bus up and down the Pacific Coast if you want to go to division games. Anaheim, San Jose, and Vancouver are great teams, and while Portland and Los Angeles might have trouble, but some teams have to lose while other teams win. Prince of Wales Division (Named for the Prince of Wales and later King George VII of England, who donated the Prince of Wales Trophy) Dandurand Division (Named for Leo Dandurand, former owner of the Montreal Canadiens) Detroit Toronto Columbus Ottawa Buffalo Comments: A wicked Great Lakes sort of division here. Ottawa, Buffalo, and Detroit are great teams, while Toronto is always pushing the brink. Columbus is getting better and better, and putting it into a premier division, while it might hurt their record a little, will push their attendance up. Of course, this means that Montreal and Toronto are no longer direct division rivals. While this is true, this also allows Toronto and Montreal to take 1 and 2 in the East/Wales Conference, which we are more likely to get a Montreal/Toronto final than if they're great and in the same division together. Oh, and FINALLY DETROIT DOESN'T HAVE TO TRAVEL CROSS COUNTRY FOR EVERY GAME!!! Patrick Division (Named for Lester Patrick, former owner of the New York Rangers) Pittsburgh Philadelphia Carolina Atlanta Tampa Bay Comments: This is probably the most thrown together division of all the ones I'm suggesting. You'd get probably the best teams of the old Southeast, along with giving a rising team in Pittsburgh a better shot at taking a division title. It's not exactly an exciting division, but it's the best I could do. Adams Division (Named for former Boston Bruins owner Charles Francis Adams) Boston Montreal New Jersey Rangers Islanders Comments: A division I'd like if only I didn't need to put New Jersey in it. But still, pretty competitive and centrally located. Just about all these teams (Except for maybe Boston if management doesn't get its head out of its ass) are playoff-worthy, and these are all good markets for hockey (save for NJ). Another great market within driving distance. That's about how I'd do it. It's all really wishful thinking, but with only two extra changes (And frankly, not completely unrealistic ones) and this could be a real reality. Just about every division except for one has a Canadian team to look forwards to, and the West is actually organized by timezones, so no more worrying about EST until the Stanley Cup and division games are always on your time. How would y'all do it?