How can the Stanley Cup be the most famous trophy when hockey is a fading sport?

[kantonburg]

I read the article on ESPN about the cup going missing for 24 hours which made me think. How is this cup the most famous? I first want to say that I'm not much of a hockey fan and don't live in a hockey "area".

The NFL is by far the biggest sport in the US. So how is it the least watched of the major 4 has the most famous trophy? Is it because it's big? Is it because the players get to take it home for 24 hours? I'm really curious and am not bashing hockey in any way.

[wildcatlh]

What trophy does the NFL champion get? The NBA? The MLB?

What trophy does the NHL champion get?

Ask a sports fan, even one not big on hockey. those four questions. They'll always know the NHL champion's trophy. They probably won't know the other 3.

[kantonburg]

Sure everyone knows the Stanley Cup but why is it so famous?

[pedagogue]

Because of the history. The rings with eveyone's name. You have to admit..that is freaking cool! Personally, I think that is the one i'd cherrish the most.

Oh yeah..hockey is the best of the Big 4 sports..with football being second.

-pedagogue

[vdadlani219]

Probably because there is only one and each year it goes to that team and each player and some staff get it for a day. It travels all over the world and your name is forever etched on their. Plus it is skated around the rink once the champion is crowned. There is just a lot of tradition surrounding it.

[Quake1028]

Because no other trophy means more to the respective players than the Cup. For NBA, NFL, MLB players, the trophy is secondary. Carrying the Cup is a hockey players dream, more than anything else they could ever do.

[Goblincat]

Originally posted by WildcatLH
Ask a sports fan, even one not big on hockey. those four questions. They'll always know the NHL champion's trophy. They probably won't know the other 3.

What sports fan doesn't know the Lombardy Trophy?

[kantonburg]

Originally posted by Goblincat
What sports fan doesn't know the Lombardi Trophy?

I couldn't agree more ;)

[Red Dog]

Originally posted by Goblincat
What sports fan doesn't know the Lombardy Trophy?


What sports fan doesn't know how to spell the last name of the man that trophy was named after. ;)


The Stanley Cup is the most famous trophy. It is one of a kind.

[davejt1]

All excellent comments above.

When you factor in the number of games (and the physical strain) it takes, plus the fact that each players names (as well as owners, trainers, and other "important" contributors names' are put on the cup, plus the provision that eahc player can "own" it for 24 hours, it makes it pretty cool.

One point that was touched on by Red Dog: There's only one Stanley Cup that changes hands from team to team. The other 3 sports make a trophy each year for the winner to display as they see fit - and they will never be "taken away" from you. There are multiple Lombardi trophies (SB V, SB XII, SB XVI, etc.), World Series trophies, and NBA championship trophies. When you touch the Stanley Cup, you know that generations of players have actually touched that exact same cup in previous years.

On a related note, go to yahoo.com and type in "Lombardy trophy" and see what happens. I was amazed at how many times it appeared on various sites! -ohbfrank-

[kantonburg]

Ah so it's been the same cup for all these years? I did not know that. Well that does make it special. What happens when they run out of room for names? :)

[dek]

They cut a section off and add a new one for more names to be added to, IIRC.

The Stanley Cup is :

Is the most famous trophy in the sporting world

Is 110 years old

Is the oldest trophy competed for by professional athletes

Logged more than 400,000 miles in travel during the past five seasons

Has raised more than $4 million for charity the past three seasons

Was first presented in 1893

Each winning player and team management member gets to take the Cup home for a day to share with family and friends

Was crafted in Sheffield, England

Was purchased for 10 guineas ($48.67 at the time) in 1892

Weighs 35 pounds and stands just under three feet in height

Is the only trophy in all of sport that is passed along from player to player the summer their team wins it.

Some of the situations that the Stanley Cup has experienced include:

Being a guest of George Bush's and Bill Clinton's at the White House

Appearing as guest on Late Show with David Letterman
Being invited to opening day at Yankee Stadium

Being a guest at the Kremlin in Moscow

Being invited to opening ceremonies at Luzhniki Stadium in Russia

Being used as a baptismal font

Made an historic visit to an Aboriginal Metis Settlement

Is the only trophy in professional sports that has the names of winning players, coaches, management and club staff engraved on the silver chalice

There are 2,116 names on the Stanley Cup as of May, 2002

Has been won a record 24 times by the Montreal Canadiens and a record 11 times by Henri Richard of Montreal

In the summer of 1997, the Stanley Cup traveled to Russia for the first time in its history. It was accompanied by Russian members of the Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings, including Slava Fetisov, Slava Kozlov and Igor Larionov

In the spring of 1999, the Stanley Cup was among a list of Hollywood celebrities invited to take part in the 5K Celebrity Run Walk in Los Angeles for Women's Cancer Research

Travels 250 days per year

Has appeared on talk shows, including Late Show with David Letterman, Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Meet the Press with Tim Russert, Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, Late Night with Conan O'Brien

It takes 13 years to fill the ring of the Stanley Cup with names of winners

There currently are three years left in the bottom ring; after the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals, there will be two years left

One ring has been retired at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto

Names misspelled on the Stanley Cup -- Adam Deadmarsh was spelled Deadmarch -- but later was changed; the only misspelled name to be corrected

Some other misspells on the Cup that never have been corrected: Jacques Plante's name has been misspelled five times, (incl. "Jocko," "Jack" and "Plant"); Bob Gainey was spelled "Gainy" when he was a player for Montreal in the 70s; Ted Kennedy was spelled "Kennedyy" in the 40s; New York Islanders was spelled "Ilanders" in 1980/81; the Toronto Maple Leafs was spelled "Leaes" in 1962/63; the Boston Bruins was spelled "Bqstqn" in 1972

Name scratched out - "Basil Pocklington," father of former Edmonton Oilers owner, Peter, put his dad's name on the Stanley Cup in 1983/84; today, on the Cup, one can see a series of "Xs" over his name

There is only one Stanley Cup -- authenticated by the seal of the Hockey Hall of Fame in the bottom of the Cup; this seal can be seen when winning players lift the Cup over their heads

There is a second version of the Stanley Cup that remains in the Hall of Fame, which never travels, and is used for display purposes only at the Hall when the Stanley Cup is traveling; this Cup is perfect and has no misspells

Places that the Stanley Cup has visited: Czech Republic, Sweden, Russia, Finland, Japan, Switzerland, the Bahamas

Other interesting towns/cities that the Cup has visited: Fishing Lake, AB -- a Native reservation of the Metis Nation four hours from Edmonton; Anchorage, Alaska with Scott Gomez; Wawa, Ontario with Chris Simon

The Stanley Cup has climbed Mt. Elbert in Colorado - 14,433 feet

As a player, Henri Richard has won the most Stanley Cups with 11

Overall, no one's name appears on the Stanley Cup more than Jean Beliveau. He has 17: 10 as a player and 7 as management

In addition to the players' names and teams' names that have won the Stanley Cup, there are two other phrases on the upper bowl of the Stanley Cup. One side says: "Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup" and the other side says: "From Stanley Of Preston".

To have one's name engraved on the Stanley Cup certain requirements must be met. A player must have at least 41 games played with the club or one game played in the Stanley Cup Finals. However, in 1994 a stipulation was added to allow a team to petition the Commissioner for permission to have players' names put on the Cup if extenuating circumstances prevented them from being available to play.

[RJainMJ]

Originally posted by dek
There is only one Stanley Cup -- authenticated by the seal of the Hockey Hall of Fame in the bottom of the Cup; this seal can be seen when winning players lift the Cup over their heads

There is a second version of the Stanley Cup that remains in the Hall of Fame, which never travels, and is used for display purposes only at the Hall when the Stanley Cup is traveling; this Cup is perfect and has no misspells

[/B]

Someone had to point this out. :lol:

But I agree with everyone, the Stanley Cup is by far the most famous trophy because of the tradition. And it doesn't hurt that the NHL finals are referred to as the "Stanley Cup Finals".

[dek]

Well, technically there is only one real Stanley Cup. The second is a copy of it. Taken right from the NHL.com page.

[davejt1]

Good info., dek.

Originally posted by dek
To have one's name engraved on the Stanley Cup certain requirements must be met. A player must have at least 41 games played with the club or one game played in the Stanley Cup Finals. However, in 1994 a stipulation was added to allow a team to petition the Commissioner for permission to have players' names put on the Cup if extenuating circumstances prevented them from being available to play.

IIRC, when the Red Wings won the cup one of those times in the 90's, there was a big stink over Mike Illich (sp?), the owner, requesting that his kids' names and/or the trainers' names be added to the cup.

Anyone remember this or am I remembering incorrectly? :hscratch:

[Cusm]

I could have sworn MLB was the 4th ranked of the Big 4. Hockey is actually blossoming in the US, while MLB is wilting.

[Red Dog]

Originally posted by Cusm
I could have sworn MLB was the 4th ranked of the Big 4. Hockey is actually blossoming in the US, while MLB is wilting.


Attendance wise, both are growing. Ratings-wise, they both are wilting.

[sn9ke_eyes]

I wouldn't call hockey a "fading" sport. Sure, the NFL is more popular, but that doesn't mean hockey is losing ground. I would say that the NHL has made huge strides the past 10 years.

[Cusm]

I love the fact that Canada looses more teams it seems like each year. What is there 5 Canadian teams left?

[kantonburg]

Originally posted by Cusm
I could have sworn MLB was the 4th ranked of the Big 4. Hockey is actually blossoming in the US, while MLB is wilting.

MLB although their ratings suck is definitely booming. Especially with their league sponsor deal they signed yesterday. I believe it was stated 70% of all their expenses for the next 5 years will be paid for by those sponsors.

I sure hope both pickup ratings though.

[So_Cal_SAHM]

I think the lack of hockey being a higher ranked sport is due to the poor television and written coverage of the sport. At least here in Southern California. I have been a fan for 33 years and I remember when the Kings were not on TV and you had to listen to all the games on the radio. After a few years they were picked up by a local channel but would only show a handful of games a year. But 33 years later I can finally watch all but about 3-4 games on Fox Sport Net West. I think the media and NHL folks need to get the sport coverage on a wider outlet.

Dek......very nice information on the cup.....great job!!

Oh and Pedagogue I agree that hockey is the best of the big 4 :D

[Goblincat]

Originally posted by Red Dog
What sports fan doesn't know how to spell the last name of the man that trophy was named after. ;)


:o

Oh well... I guess it is not as famous as the Stanli Cup.

[Lastblade]

I don't think kids in Brazil know what Ice Hockey or the NHL is, let alone the Stanley cup. But they sure know the World Cup.


( I don't mean to say that the Stanely cup is not special, on the contrary, I think it is by far the best trophy out of the 4 sports.... But I honestly don't think South America or Asia really knows much about that!)

[dek]

I doubt there are 4 ice rinks in all of South America :)

[Goblincat]

Originally posted by dek
I doubt there are 4 ice rinks in all of South America :)

I found 10... 6 in Argentina, 3 in Brazil, and 1 in Chile :p

http://www.iceskatecafe.com/ under "World Rinks"

[dek]

:p

Take the Cup and the Lombardi trophies down there, see how many people can name each one. I'd bet more for the Cup.

[Pharoh]

Besides, what other trophy can be forgotten in the bottom of a swimming pool after a wild party, (happened more than once), or be given the proper respect of twice being taken to a strip club? Or how about the time it was used as a dog food bowl?
:)

[mautos]

it's the biggest trophy

[So_Cal_SAHM]

Originally posted by Pharoh
Besides, what other trophy can be forgotten in the bottom of a swimming pool after a wild party, (happened more than once), or be given the proper respect of twice being taken to a strip club? Or how about the time it was used as a dog food bowl?
:)

I've heard rumors of more "mature" things happening with it. I just hope they wash it off before the next person gets it.

[davejt1]

Here's an article that appeared in this morning's Cleveland Plain Dealer about some of the more famous (or infamous) stories surrounding the cup and its travels:

http://www.cleveland.com/sports/plaindealer/bud_shaw/index.ssf?/base/sports/1060680699267841.xml

[kantonburg]

Interesting.

See this is why I asked ;) Now I know.

Go Redskins!!! :D

[Johnny Zhivago]

Good thread. :up: And now you know...

<font size=1>FWIW, I place the NHL a very close second to the NFL for best team sport... Followed by NCAA hoops and NCAA football. The NBA and MLB are boring, to the extreme... I'd rather watch the PGA tour.</font>

[kantonburg]

Here is my list FWIW

NFL
NCAA Football
NBA Playoffs (regular season just plain sucks)
NCAA Basketball
MLB
NHL
PGA (for about 10 min)

I generally don't watch NCAA baseball.

[Cusm]

FWIW is here mine

NFL
NCAA Football
NHL
NCAA Basketball Tournament
NBA Playoffs (although this year I will enjoy the education of young Mr. James)
World Cup

A sharp drop off
MLS
PGA
Rugby/Austrelian Football (when I can catch it aside 3:30 am)

[dek]

Heres mine

NHL

Sharp drop for the NFL

No interest whatsoever in every other sport.

[kantonburg]

If people are going to list what they like I'd also like to see where everyone is from to get a general idea of which part of the country watches what.

I'm in the east more specifically Virginia.

[Cusm]

I grew up in San Diego, and currently reside in Oklahoma for the past 15 years. Some how I am a Vikings fan, love the Sooners (so nice they are doing good again after Snell, Gibbs and Blake) and love the Blackhawks (I have some family form Chi town) and like the Bulls.
Here is my list again.

NFL
NCAA Football
NHL
NCAA Basketball Tournament
NBA Playoffs (although this year I will enjoy the education of young Mr. James)
World Cup

A sharp drop off
MLS
PGA
Rugby/Austrelian Football (when I can catch it aside 3:30 am)

[Dabaomb]

Here's my list.

I was born and raised in North East New Jersey but have lived the past 6 years in Manhattan NYC.

1. NBA Basketball: New Jersey Nets (but Grant Hill is by far my favorite player in any sport)
2. NCAA Basketball: Duke Blue Devils (Long story, but when my oldest sister was applying to college the only school that she applied to that was in the NCAA tournament at the time was Duke...this was the year that they got destroyed by UNLV in the title game prior to winning their first title...Hurley's rookie season)
3. NFL Football: New York Giants
4. MLB Baseball: New York Yankees
5. NCAA Football: no favorite team
6. NHL Hockey: New Jersey Devils

I'm a big fan of bodybuilding (whether you consider that a sport is debatable....Ronnie Coleman is a monster)

I'll watch just about any other sport there is on ESPN, but I'm not a huge fan of those

[mwj]

Hockey is not a fading sport unless your only measure is television.

[kantonburg]

Originally posted by mwj
Hockey is not a fading sport unless your only measure is television.

No but when every sports news organization says that NHL needs to do something to boost fan interest I tend to believe that it's true. No not because I saw it on "tv"

Sure hockey is strong within it's group of hardcore fans. It's like PVRs. They are a world wide hit for the people that have them and not many do when comparing to people with TVs in general. Same with hockey. Their fan base isn't growing by any means. Besides I can't remember the last time I saw a hockey player in a non-espn commercial for anything.

[theprophe]

Americans, make me always laugh, maybe it's fading in the US, especailly in the south, but not in the northeast or north, or Canada, or Europe. Best thing for the game would be for the American Billionaires to just leave, get the Nhl back down to 20 teams or so, and run by hockey people

[dek]

On the other hand, most Canadians make me laugh with their holier than thou/we know what is best for our game, bs fest.

Interest may not be fading in Canada, but it sure shows at the ticket gate where any owner really cares about.

Calgary will be lucky to be around in 5 years.
Ottawa was bankrupt the whole season.
Vancouver crys poor more times than not, same with Edmonton. Montreal has done crap since they traded Roy and now they have an owner willing to spend some money.
Toronto is the only franchise in Canada that is stable.

Plus you have to look at the teams that fled Canada because there wasn't any support i.e. Quebec and Winnipeg.

The problem in Canada is the high tax rates for teams and players. The government of Canada has the NHL over the barrel and until they resolve that situation, Canada is going to keep losing teams to US Cities willing to take on a franchise and support it.


Even in the US, same goes for some north/NE teams i.e.

Pittsburgh - will be lucky to be around in 5 years as well. They keep saying "Get us a new arena and we'll be fine" but when you field a team of Mario and 20 other scrubs, who is going to shell out the $$ when Mario retires?
Buffalo same boat, just got a new owner though.
Chicago - Owners and management are inept and unwilling to spend money.
Boston can be lumped in there as well.

There have been teams that left cities as well - Hartford and Minnesota.

Perhaps people need to open their eyes more because for example, that Billionaire that bought the Canadiens, saved one of the most storied franchises in all of sports.

[kantonburg]

dek made some good points.

It may be popular in Canada and Europe but where do all the players want to play? In the US where the money is and taxes are less.

Again I don't keep up with hockey enough to be well versed in the sport but I can see that the league needs to do something about marketability and spark some interest in more of the country than in the north east and north.

[So_Cal_SAHM]

Here in Southern California hockey became a sport when "The Great One" came to LA. Before all this crap happen the Kings were not popular with the mainstream crowd and the celebs where not attending all the games. Even now that he is gone the fan base is still large. And he has also done tv/radio commercials for stuff other than hockey.

I believe that the sports you end up following are attributed to 2 things:

1. Your environment and what you grew up around. To my knowledge there are little if not any highschools or colleges that have ice hockey as a program.

2. What you are exposed to on TV. Hockey is never on a major network unless it's Stanley Cup Finals. Like I said before they need help in their marketing and securing a nextwork that will have a large exposer. But don't hold your breath.....I don't see this happening.

[dek]

Another problem is Canadian teams pay players in US money while making Canadian money, right there they are losing money.

I think most Canadians would want to play for their home team or one of the 6 teams in Canada, but the taxes plain kill it for anyone. Eric Lindros when drafted by Quebec said he would never play for them and the high tax was one of the main reasons.

I found this on a webpage detailing the tax scale :

The Tax Gap

Canadians pay a larger portion of their gross incomes in taxes than do their U.S. counterparts. And keep in mind, the Canadian dollar is worth considerably less than the U.S. dollar.(C$1=72 U.S. cents)
Salary level* Canadian tax rate U.S. tax rate
$50,000 34.7% 28.1%
$100,000 37.3% 29.6%
$250,000 47.7% 34%
*Salaries are in both U.S. and Canadian dollars

Also the NHL estimates that a Canadian team pays about $12 million a year in taxes compared to $3.9 million for a U.S. team.

[dek]

Originally posted by So_Cal_SAHM
Here in Southern California hockey became a sport when "The Great One" came to LA. Before all this crap happen the Kings were not popular with the mainstream crowd and the celebs where not attending all the games. Even now that he is gone the fan base is still large. And he has also done tv/radio commercials for stuff other than hockey.

I believe that the sports you end up following are attributed to 2 things:

1. Your environment and what you grew up around. To my knowledge there are little if not any highschools or colleges that have ice hockey as a program.

Gretzky being traded to L.A. opened up so many doors for hockey in the state of California. The Sharks and the Ducks most likely wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him. Plus, the addition of tons of ice rinks helps out. The number of kids who play hockey today here compared to 1987 is probably X1000 easily.

2. What you are exposed to on TV. Hockey is never on a major network unless it's Stanley Cup Finals. Like I said before they need help in their marketing and securing a nextwork that will have a large exposer. But don't hold your breath.....I don't see this happening.

The NHL did have a contract with ESPN and ABC, but once ESPN nabbed the NBA, the NHL got shown the door. DirecTV has a killer option for 159 for the whole season where you see pretty much every game. Gary Bettman needs to get off his ass and secure better tv rights.

[So_Cal_SAHM]

Originally posted by dek
Gary Bettman needs to get off his ass and secure better tv rights.

:up:

[Dr_Evil]

Originally posted by dek

Pittsburgh - will be lucky to be around in 5 years as well. They keep saying "Get us a new arena and we'll be fine" but when you field a team of Mario and 20 other scrubs, who is going to shell out the $$ when Mario retires?


The Pens are waiting for the new CBA before shelling out money. They have pretty much said that this season is to bring along the prospects so that when the new CBA is in place they'll be in a good position to sign free agents and make a run at the title. Drafting a franchise goalie in Fleury is just another piece in the puzzle. I'm glad that Craig Patrick finally realized that the team needed to start over and I think he has a good plan in place. The biggest risk is whether the young kids will come along and develop their game.

The new arena will definitely help the club. I've got great memories of Stanley Cup championship games in the Igloo, but I would be happy to see it go. When they designed it they never envisioned it as a hockey arena, it was built for music concerts. There are a lot of bad sight lines and the seats don't feel close to the ice at all because most of them aren't. The club has been pushing hard to get the funding they need from the slots that are coming into the state. I wouldn't be surprised to see them have a new arena by 2005-2006 season.

I do see your point though that they are not on the best legs financially. Hopefully the new CBA will address some of the issue and level the playing field amongst the clubs.

[RichieNine9]

I live in the South...Houston to be exact...and the only sport i watch or care about is the NHL.

GO STARS!!!

[So_Cal_SAHM]

EPSN/ABC have released their NHL schedule for this coming season......Nice job Gary....you got 5 games on ABC -ohbfrank-

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tvlistings/story?id=1415206

[Cusm]

Originally posted by dek
Chicago - Owners and management are inept and unwilling to spend money.

This has made me so mad over the past few years. I have seen my team make it to the finals, then get gradually gutted to save some money. I saw JR, Belfour, Tkachuk (the deal that fell through that would have reunited the Bean town line), Hasek, Amonte, Chelios and numerous others that I will get carpal tunnel trying to finish.
I think the southern US is not loosing that much interest, as the local MINOR league team here in OKC has an average attendance of 9800, better than some NHL and NBA teams. There are also now hockey team at most of the high schools.

[mwj]

Your environment and what you grew up around. To my knowledge there are little if not any highschools or colleges that have ice hockey as a program.


You are mistaken. There are about 60 NCAA Division I Ice hockey programs currently. Hockey is also played at the Division III level. I am unsure how many schools participate. In the Northern Midwest and Northeast Hockey is a popular high school sport. I know for sure Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, New York, and Massachusetts have large numbers of kids playing Hockey.

Although the NHL is in financial difficulty, Hockey is thriving. It is a much harder sport for a novice to enjoy on current NSTC televisions. The puck is small and the game much faster than other sports. Maybe when HDTV becomes more commonplace this will help. The increased resolution and screen space mean less reliance on often incompetent cameramen to follow the action.

[So_Cal_SAHM]

Originally posted by mwj
You are mistaken. There are about 60 NCAA Division I Ice hockey programs currently. Hockey is also played at the Division III level. I am unsure how many schools participate. In the Northern Midwest and Northeast Hockey is a popular high school sport. I know for sure Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, New York, and Massachusetts have large numbers of kids playing Hockey.

I guess I forgot to mention that I grew up in the 70's and 80's. Back then things were different I believe.

[mautos]

Originally posted by dek
Calgary will be lucky to be around in 5 years.
Ottawa was bankrupt the whole season.
Vancouver crys poor more times than not, same with Edmonton. Montreal has done crap since they traded Roy and now they have an owner willing to spend some money.
Toronto is the only franchise in Canada that is stable.

Vancouver is not poor, they are just managed well by Brian Burke who refuses to overspend for players. Vancouver is probably one of the smartest franchises in the league. Every owner and fan wants salaries to come down, and the only man who is willing to come out and publically say it is Brian Burke. Montreal's statistics have nohting to do with their finance, and in fact they do sellout most nights. Edmonton is a small market franchise and don't have the backing finanicially that morons like the NY Rangers have. Yet they continue to sell out and make the playoffs the right way. Through smart prospects, and good scouting. Ottawa is fine, their owner was bankrupt and thats why they are trying to be sold to a new owner. They will be fine. Calgary has IGGY and a decent goalie, if they can get another scorer in there they will be fine as well. Fan suppoet is not bad at all anywehere in Canada. Canadian teams are just reducing salaries now, and more power to them because they are the only ones with the balls to do it. GO LEAFS!

[brizz]

ok....this thread needs some pics dammit:

http://www.public.asu.edu/~bolshoi/images/DavidBowmanCup.jpg

http://www.public.asu.edu/~bolshoi/images/Stevie&cupSM.jpg

[mwj]

I guess I forgot to mention that I grew up in the 70's and 80's. Back then things were different I blieve.

I can't speak for any of the other states I listed. In Minnesota the high school hockey tournament dates back 50 years at least. The University of Minnesota has also been playing hockey since the early fifties. I suspect many of the other states have similar long histories of high school and college hockey. I can see how in California you might think this was a recent phenomena, but it's not.

[dek]

Originally posted by mautos
Vancouver is not poor, they are just managed well by Brian Burke who refuses to overspend for players. Vancouver is probably one of the smartest franchises in the league. Every owner and fan wants salaries to come down, and the only man who is willing to come out and publically say it is Brian Burke.

Like I said, they cry poor. We can't afford this, we can't afford that, etc etc etc. You make money, stop being cheapasses about it. They've done some smart trading, but until they get past the 2nd round, then we can talk :D Brian Burke is a horses ass. He proves he's a great gm, then he opens his mouth and pisses all his acomplishments away.


Montreal's statistics have nohting to do with their finance, and in fact they do sellout most nights.

So trading away Damphousse, Recchi, Turgeon, and countless others was all about getting the better players in return and had nothing to do with $$$???? Riiiight.

Edmonton is a small market franchise and don't have the backing finanicially that morons like the NY Rangers have. Yet they continue to sell out and make the playoffs the right way. Through smart prospects, and good scouting.

This I agree with.

Ottawa is fine, their owner was bankrupt and thats why they are trying to be sold to a new owner. They will be fine.

Bankrupt because the deal he got from the government made it that way. The Corel Centre is a albatross.

Calgary has IGGY and a decent goalie, if they can get another scorer in there they will be fine as well.

Isn't that what they said when they acquired Drury? And what decent goalie are you talking about, Turek??? :lol:

Fan suppoet is not bad at all anywehere in Canada. Canadian teams are just reducing salaries now, and more power to them because they are the only ones with the balls to do it. GO LEAFS!

I agree with the first statement, but the 2nd is plain ridiculous. If any of the Canadian teams were free from Canada's crazy tax laws, they would be spending money hand over fist to win. Don't feed us this crap that they have the balls to do it, their balls have been taken away by the government and the tax laws.