Quote:
Originally Posted by Manhattanboy
From today's Athletic - in an article about who fans in all the other NHL cities should cheer for:
"And that brings us to the Flames, a team that the more alphabetically astute readers will have noticed we skipped along the way. I’ve saved them for last, because I don’t think there’s a tougher call in the league.
First things first: Rooting for Edmonton is never, ever an option. The Battle of Alberta is by far the Flames’ greatest rivalry, and has been for multiple generations. It’s one of the great rivalries in the sport, period, and it’s one that’s absolutely coated with bad blood. No self-respecting Flames fan would ever cheer for the Oilers to win a free coffee in Roll Up The Rim, let alone the Stanley Cup. It’s not even up for discussion.
That said, the other option is Matthew Tkachuk, who quit on the Flames in 2022. He forced his way out of town, pushing the Flames into making a blockbuster trade that they now regret. He didn’t want to play in Calgary, then immediately took a discounted deal to commit to Florida, of all places. And, by the way, he did all that after being an absolute bust of a playoff performer in Calgary, a detail that gets skipped over now that we’ve all anointed him as the league’s next great postseason stud. As a Flame, he was supposed to be the franchise, but he never lived up to it. Then he quit, using his leverage to mess up his ex-team on the way out. Now, Calgary fans have to watch the hockey world throw flowers at this guy?
Mix in Sam Bennett doing a discount version of the same act, and how do you root for the Panthers, even knowing that their win would make Edmonton fans sad?
We have to pick one. Those are the rules. I’ve been doing this column for years, hundreds of picks in all, and it’s always one of the two teams. It would take something cataclysmic for me to ditch that longstanding rule. But from a Calgary fan’s perspective … you know what, I think this qualifies.
Pick: For the first time in the history of this column, I’m refusing to make a pick and instead suggesting that Flames fans just sit this one out entirely"
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I disagree with their notion that Tkachuk never lived up to being a franchise player here. We never gave him the keys. We never allowed him to become a franchise player. We told him to change his game and tone down his personality, while refusing to let him take over.
Florida welcomed him and all that he is. They opened the door and Barkov himself gave him a copy of his own keys to the kingdom. They allowed the team to be remolded around Tkachuk's style of play. The back to back Finals Panthers are not Huberdeau's perimeter Panthers... they're Tkachuk's in-your-face, drive the net and fight you at center ice Panthers.
Barky and co. welcomed him in and welcomed the change he brought. In turn, he adapted his game and matured with the newly acquired responsibility that being a real leader brings.
You listen to Barkov talk about Tkachuk, and he says things like "Chucky's a real leader on this team. In the room and on the ice, his impact has been huge for us."
Listen to Tkachuk talk about why they've been successful, and he says "100% buy-in from everyone on this team. The way we play is very hard to play, but we like to think it's even harder to play against."
We didn't get that Tkachuk here because we didn't want that Tkachuk here, and that's why Tkachuk didn't want to be here. Florida was willing to become a villain-esque team that no one wants to play against, and they brought in a Darth Vader to make it happen.
All that aside, though, the real answer to the question in the article is 100% Florida, because "f### Edmonton" supercedes literally anything else. I don't care what the parameters are, the answer is always anyone but Edmonton.