Lord Stanley Brandy 2011 -- HNiC NHL Playoff Pool

[Strazos]

YAY! 

But interesting question - since the Eastern Conference would lose a team (from their smallest division), would a Western Conference team have to swap over? Nashville or Columbus probably make the most sense - Detroit makes sense geographically as well, but that would be way more disruptive than one of the newer franchises moving over.

[murdoc]

Nothing changes for next season, Team Winnipeg will play in the Southeast division (which makes them bringing back the 'Jets" name entirely fitting) and then they'll realign divisions. My bet is that Detroit moves over.

[Strazos]

Wow, trips to Winnipeg for Eastern Conference teams are going to be ridiculous then, and I hope the Jets have a big travel budget. 

[01101010]

Sadly, they will be known as something else unless the Coyotes forfeit the naming rights they took with them when they left. Since the team still makes money off the Jets memorabilia, I doubt they will give it up unless they are feeling a bit generous and non-douchy. 

[murdoc]

Since the league owns the Coyotes, it's probably not as big of a fight as it could be.

[01101010]

Oh I surely hope so. I became a huge Jets fan when Selanne joined the team and still have my faux-Jersey. I'd like to resurrect it at some point...

[MuffinMan]

But interesting question - since the Eastern Conference would lose a team (from their smallest division), would a Western Conference team have to swap over? Nashville or Columbus probably make the most sense - Detroit makes sense geographically as well, but that would be way more disruptive than one of the newer franchises moving over.

I assume if anything it would be Detroit. We've been lobbying for a switch for a long time now, anyways.

[Strazos]

Why Detroit? That would seem to be the most disruptive to the balance of power and such.  And then which division do you put them in - certainly not the SE division. The NE division is the only one makes makes any sense, geographically. But then you need to bump someone over to the Atlantic (probably Boston   ), and then pop someone from there over to the SE (either PIT or PHI, and that's a bad rivalry to break up).

Still think Nashville makes the most sense.

[WayAbvPar]

Detroit plays in the Eastern Time Zone, so that makes the most sense to me. Nashville is CST, isn't it? Just as happy to have them go bother the East for a few decades while we get to beat up in the ThrashJets.

[Strazos]

Hmm, didn't know they played in EST, still...

[WayAbvPar]

Hurray for the Finals starting tonight! Sad that Manny had a setback and won't be playing, but excited for hockey and for the impeding demise of my horrifying playoff beard.

[Paelos]

They moved my hockey team out of Atlanta today. So, it's put a damper on the Cup for me now.

[Bunk]

Sorry dude, though Canada does give Atlanta props for continuing to supply us with ready made teams. (for those not aware, the Calgary Flames originated as the Atlanta Flames)

[Paelos]

Sorry dude, though Canada does give Atlanta props for continuing to supply us with ready made teams. (for those not aware, the Calgary Flames originated as the Atlanta Flames)

Yep, and that one hurt my parents who knew Bill Clement when he played for us. They left the year before I was born. Now, I get my own personal kick in the balls. The franchise lost it's way when Danny Heatley killed his best friend in that car wreck. It was never the same after that.

All in all, I'm rooting for the Canucks in this series. It's been a long time since a Candian team had a shot. Also, Boston has had enough championships this decade. Fuck those guys.

[HaemishM]

Too bad they couldn't have moved the Florida Panthers instead. Why the fuck does the NHL have two teams in Florida again? At least one of them has won a Cup and come close more than one season.

[01101010]

Too bad they couldn't have moved the Florida Panthers instead. Why the fuck does the NHL have two teams in Florida again? At least one of them has won a Cup and come close more than one season.

Same reason there is a team in the god damn desert.

[Strazos]

You mean two in the desert?

[01101010]

You mean two in the desert?

If you mean Dallas... I don't really count that as a desert, but I guess technically.. 

[Chimpy]

Maybe he meant L.A.? (which is not really in the desert either)

[Strazos]

I meant Dallas, yeah. LA/Anaheim were weird choices as well, but at least those three seem to have worked out.

[Paelos]

I meant Dallas, yeah. LA/Anaheim were weird choices as well, but at least those three seem to have worked out.

If you think Dallas is in a desert, you're way off.

[Strazos]

Do you mean to tell me that it's not, because that'd be news to me.

[Chimpy]

Do you mean to tell me that it's not, because that'd be news to me.

Dallas is not in the desert. At all.

It has an average annual rainfall of 34 inches. To be considered a desert you need to have an average of 10 inches or less.

[Bunk]

Um, I had assumed he meant Glendale, er Pheonix.

[Paelos]

Dallas is many things. Completely paved over, full of metropolitan Texans who want to act like they are better than the rest of the state, home to hundreds of great Tex/Mex and steakhouse restaurants, and holding tank for one of the most popular sport franchises in the United States.

It has, however, a humid subtropical climate. Not a desert.

[Paelos]

So was the game as boring as it sounds? I was at the Braves game because I got free tickets, so I didn't get to see it.

I mean outside the final goal which was a good ending, most of the game sounds like a slog.

[WayAbvPar]

The first 30 minutes or so were terrible with all the penalties, then it settled down a bit. Tim Thomas was ridiculously good, and Luongo was very good as well (didn't have to save quite as many OMG sure goals as TT did). Last 25 seconds were my favorite 

[naum]

Lots of hockey crazed fans in the desert, and in California and Florida too.

Although the Panthers may not work out either. But at least one Florida team can fly.

Even in Phoenix, Coyotes have done a horrendous job of marketing hockey and the franchise (not helped at all by the past dubious ownership and present unstable condition). Still, there is a large contingent of transplants and even native and California refugees that flock to the games -- the move to the far west corridor of the metro area was another wedge in fan loyalty -- while it is just a few clicks down the 101 for me, folks commuting from N. Scottsdale have a wretched journey on a weeknight. Also, Coyotes & NHL did poor job of capitalizing on roller hockey craze in 90s which at one point, nearly evoked a outside rink (and a few indoor ones) on just about every block. NHL, if it really wanted to promote hockey in the Sun Belt, should have poured money into this (as well as pro roller hockey league).

The bottom line is people who play hockey become hockey fanatics. It is almost impossible not to.

[Bunk]

I fully agree on the roller hockey thing. I think they managed to use it to fair success in California, but that was about it. I miss the Vancouver Voodoo, it was actually pretty entertaining.

Hockey is admittedly a tough sport to get into if you never played some form of it, or grew up in a hockey culture. Being unable to half fill a building when you are offering seats for the same price as a movie ticket is just baffling to me. Ticket prices on Canucks seats go up as high as $200 for regular season, mid week, in the stands. We've sold out every game for something like six consecutive seasons.

[Paelos]

Vancouver fans will love this story.

http://deadspin.com/5807325/the-canucks-fan-who-drove-1000-miles-for-a-game-partied-with-the-owner-drank-with-beautiful-women-nearly-died-and-got-comped-for-game-5

[Paelos]

Wow Charra, way to act like a total chump in OT.

Nice job Canucks!

[Chimpy]

Not to derail the Canuck train, but I just read on ESPN that Winnipeg sold all 13,000 season tickets in less than 20 minutes for the former Atlanta team.

[Strazos]

And the lazy stick check strikes again! 

And good on Winnipeg - Atlanta was always such a waste of a franchise.

[WayAbvPar]

 

[Paelos]

And good on Winnipeg - Atlanta was always such a waste of a franchise.

Dude, fuck that. Winnipeg couldn't hold a team, and they won't be able to hold this one either if they have the same problems we did. The owners fucked this city. The fans showed up every year when we got the team, and had better attendance than great sports towns like Chicago back when things were starting up. Then, the strike happened, and the owners tried to unload the team, they stopped putting money in it. They stopped trying to make it a success. They sold off every bit of payroll they could, and they still lost $130M because they were idiots.

You wanna talk about a bandwagon town? Look at Chicago. Last 3 years when the team was good, fans showed up and made it #1 in attendance. Before that, bottom 5. However, like the shitty NY Islanders, who draw even less than the Thrashers ever did, the NHL likes them. The NHL wasn't going to get $60M for itself by having those teams move. So yeah, take that attitude and shove it up your ass. You don't know anything about sports teams down here, as fully evidenced by your extensive knowledge that Dallas is a desert.