The Canadian Decade

[SeeGeeWhy]

Wouldn't 10 years of no cups being won in the south be really bad for the league?

[cam_wmh]

Love one.
Hate the rest.

[tfi racing]

Originally Posted by SeeGeeWhy

Wouldn't 10 years of no cups being won in the south be really bad for the league?

Well,it is an American league,not Canadian.I would be shocked to see the Stanley Cup hoisted by a Canadian team in the next five years,I doubt you will see it happen more than once or twice in the next twenty...

[White Out 403]

Originally Posted by FBI

Before CP, I was a die hard flames fan but was also happy if any canadian team did well.
Now after CP, I despise the oilers, Canucks, and dislike the leafs.

So it must be all you guys lol.

it really is. i was the same way. this isnt a healthy way to discuss sports.

[saskflames69]

Assuming Calgary isn't the opponent, the Jets or Sens could win the Cup and I wouldn't be upset at all.


The thought of the Oilers, Leafs or Canucks winning the cup is simply unfathomable.

[Krynn]

Originally Posted by polak

I want every other Canadian team to crash and burn.

Calgary is the only Canadian team I want to succeed. Ever.

Dam straight polak

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by polak

I want every other Canadian team to crash and burn.

Calgary is the only Canadian team I want to succeed. Ever.

Couldn't have said it better.

[Vinny01]

This was an easy playoff to follow and not care about because the Flames missed and there were no other Canadian teams to root against. I realized I really disliked all Canadian teams when I found myself rooting against the Sens in 07. Really I have nothing against Ottawa but when it comes down to it the Cup can remain in the USA unless the Flames are the team to bring it back.

As for going forward I do think Calgary, Winnipeg, and Edmonton (ugh) will be taking pretty big strides in the future. Toronto is on the right path as well with their prospects and picks. Montreal and Ottawa are good teams but I don't see either doing much with their current core players. Vancouver is in no mans land and will be spinning their tires until they eventually accept a rebuild and fire their current management regime

[goodyear]

The NHL isn't the CFL (Re: Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Canadian)

The Flames shouldn't be the best Canadian team. They should be the best NHL team.

Won't matter to me if they do that with guys from the West or Ontario or Quebec or Finland or Sweden or Mixbag Europe. As long as the win I'm good!

[DJones]

Originally Posted by saskflames69

Assuming Calgary isn't the opponent, the Jets or Sens could win the Cup and I wouldn't be upset at all.


The thought of the Oilers, Leafs or Canucks winning the cup is simply unfathomable.

I agree with this.

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by FBI

Before CP, I was a die hard flames fan but was also happy if any canadian team did well.
Now after CP, I despise the oilers, Canucks, and dislike the leafs.

So it must be all you guys lol.

I'm the same way. I erupted with joy when Montreal won in 1993. I was cheering for the Canucks in '94. A piece of me deep down didn't mind Edmonton playing for the cup in '06 because they were Canadian. But as time has gone on, the less and less I care about other teams winning because they are Canadian. So what if they are? The Flames are the only NHL team I am loyal to and their success is all I care about. Sure I enjoy watching other teams and getting on their bandwagon every once in a while. But I would never cheer for another team simply because they are geographically located within the Canadian borders.

I also hate how the Canadian sports' media treats NHL teams like they are in a fishbowl if you play in Canada. And even when called out on it, they continue to do so and say ''this is how it is because Canadians are passionate about hockey'' and then they make their own sensationalist headlines part of the story. That makes me want to see Canadian teams have even less success. Markets like Toronto and Montreal plaster ridiculous headlines after each loss that the players and their families have to read every day. Vancouver burns down their city after both cup losses. Edmonton living on their 80's success. Do you really want those markets to win a cup after seeing how they treat some of their players? I sure as heck don't. I'm perfectly fine with no Canadian team other then the Flames making the playoffs for the rest of time.

Literally the only team that matters when it comes to being Canada's team is team Canada. Not the Leafs, not the Habs and not even the Flames.

[savemedrzaius]

Other than the Habs I would be happy cheering for any other Canadian team to win the Cup. I cheered against the Canucks against the Bruins but that was just because that team was full of dirtbags. I remember when I was in university and the Flames went on your cup run we were all cheering for you guys. So, I don't get the hate.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

Being in various other Canadian cities when the other teams have had their runs at the final, most are behind the idea of a cup north of the border. Even those who are against it don't seem to exude the pure venom I see here. It's like the defining characteristic of the fanbase, it wants to see rivals fail almost as much as the Flames to succeed.

Exceptions were the Canucks (and Calgary was, based on what I was reading from out of town since I was also here for most of it, by far the most vociferous about hating that 2011 Canucks team), and to a lesser extent the Sens, whose fans were really annoying in '07. Even then, the mood in Toronto wasn't even that negative. But the Habs, Flames, Oilers' deep playoff runs have been broadly supported.

I follow a lot of non-Calgary hockey people and listen to podcasts, etc, and it's almost a running joke when they get flamed (no pun intended) as to what part of Southern Alberta the hater is from.

I don't see it as a bad thing. Those teams are mostly either direct rivals (Edmo, Van) or historically at the center of the hockey universe (Montreal and Toronto) that there is a natural rivalry. I suspect the level of hatred is less for Ottawa and perhaps Winnipeg (although I still hate them!).

I would hazard a guess that US cities with strong rivalries feel the same way. Pretty sure Philly fans hated the results this year, and still think that "Cindy" is a flake. Ranger fans are likely happy the Islanders got knocked out, and vice-versa. I just don't think one should turn off those rivalries, for the sake of some nationalistic sentiment.

[puckedoff]

Maybe I misread the premise of the OP but I disagree that we are on the brink of a decade of Canadian team success.

Vancouver looks to be in decline, probably in the re-tool denial phase
Montreal relies heavily on Price, and if he falters or is injured have little that could save them
Edmonton is no good
Toronto is mid-rebuild, and while it looks better than Edmonton's situation will probably be a while
Calgary has yet to do anything that makes me think they won't finish in 26th again next year
Winnipeg... they may become a contender...

Edit: The fact that I forgot about Ottawa tells you all you need to know about where they're at

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by polak

Canadas team is Team Canada. The other Canadian NHL teams are just rivals that want to stop us from winning.

Other than the Canucks and Oilers, are other Canadian NHL teams really rivals of the Flames?

I hate the Leafs, as any decent Canadian who is under 60 and grew up outside Toronto should. And I suppose we kinda have a rivalry with the Habs because of those Stanley Cup Finals meetings 30 years ago.

But I can't say I have any particularly strong emotions about the Jets or Sens. I actually have a fair bit of sympathy for them as small Canadian markets with financial handicaps, because that's exactly what the Flames were for about 15 years. I'll certainly cheer for them over big money markets like the Rangers or Bruins, or non-hockey markets like the Panthers and Ducks.

[polak]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Other than the Canucks and Oilers, are other Canadian NHL teams really rivals of the Flames?

I hate the Leafs, as any decent Canadian who is under 60 and grew up outside Toronto should. And I suppose we kinda have a rivalry with the Habs because of those Stanley Cup Finals meetings 30 years ago.

But I can't say I have any particularly strong emotions about the Jets or Sens. I actually have a fair bit of sympathy for them as small Canadian markets with financial handicaps, because that's exactly what the Flames were for about 15 years. I'll certainly cheer for them over big money markets like the Rangers or Bruins, or non-hockey markets like the Panthers and Ducks.

I don't know about you but I feel pretty freaking sweet when the Flames beat any of the Canadian teams. More so than any of the American teams to be honest. It has more relevance.

[Erick Estrada]

My favorite part of the NHL season is every game the Flames win and every game the Canucks, Oilers, Leafs, Canadiens, and even Senators lose.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Is it strictly a Canadian thing that any fan would cheer for their rivals?

I can't imagine that attitude in any other sport or country. The thought of me as an Arsenal fan cheering for Chelsea or Man U in the Champions League for example, is disgusting.

Would Lakers fans cheer for the Celtics against the Raptors? I doubt it.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Other than the Canucks and Oilers, are other Canadian NHL teams really rivals of the Flames?

I hate the Leafs, as any decent Canadian who is under 60 and grew up outside Toronto should. And I suppose we kinda have a rivalry with the Habs because of those Stanley Cup Finals meetings 30 years ago.

But I can't say I have any particularly strong emotions about the Jets or Sens...

I pretty much agree with all of this except for the bit about the crappy Jets. It is probably juvenile and petulant of me, but I cannot help but revile Winnipeg for the nauseating sentimental BS that followed that poor city and all those poor Jets fans around for so many years before the Thrashers relocated. I was repelled by the notion that Winnipeg "deserved" a NHL team because, gosh darn it, look at all those pathetic Jets fans! In reality the vast majority of today's Jets enthusiasts were happily saved from ever having to witness the abomination of hockey performed in Winnipeg all those years in the eighties and early nineties. It's a "fad" fanbase that gets great optics Leaguewide for being the shiny new toy, but I look forward increasingly to see that lustre continue to tarnish with each passing season.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

Is it strictly a Canadian thing that any fan would cheer for their rivals?

I think it is, and I also wonder if it is psychologically connected to an inferiority complex that a number of Canadians suffer from relative to our American neighbours. I set the myth of "Canada's team" in the same category as the insufferable "my name is Joe" Molson Canadian beer advertisements, and with Canadian faux-patriotism that erupts with every summer Olympics.