Leafs all the way. You can't avoid the Leafs in Toronto and people will look at you like you have been lobotomized if you cheer for someone else. Plus, you have to love a team that misspells LEAVES
Born and raised in Toronto. Grew up in the 60's when the Leafs were still winning cups. (Seems so long ago, wait a minute, It WAS so long ago!) I will cheer for the Leafs against any other team. However I usually have another team or two that I like to follow. Sometimes, I follow another team because I like a few of their players, or the way the team has developed. I should be a huge Ottawa fan, because they built the team in a way I admire, through the draft and smart trades etc. However, being a Leaf fan, I just can't cheer for Ottawa. Can't stand Alfredsson. A bunch of us drove down to Ottawa for a weekend to watch a Senators game. They were playing the Islanders, and we were all cheering for the Islanders. They smoked the Senators 5-2 or something like that. Islanders have some good young talent, and if they do it right they could be contenders for a number of years. I can't stand that slug Yashin though. He plays on the fringe, doesn't get involved at all. I think he lures the other team into forgetting about him, then suddenly he finds himself in the open, gets the puck, and wham! It's in! Can't stand that. I like a solid two way player. Mogilny when he's healthy. He learned a lot playing in New Jersey. He can play well at both ends. John Madden for New Jersey is one of my favorite players right now. Best penalty killer in the league by a mile, good speed, and smart. Can't stand the Canucks. I love what Calgary did in the playoffs last year. Hooray for the underdog! Best team ever was the Montreal Canadiens of the 70's. Sheer poetry on the ice. Pete Mahovlich was my favorite player then, but look at the defence they had. Lapointe, Savard, Robinson, and Dryden in the net. I'd like to get down to Columbus for a game. They are building, and the right moves could make them a contender. They got hosed at the trade deadline this year though. A friend of mine and I drove down to Raliegh a few years ago for a playoff game between the Leafs and the Hurricane. That was a lot of fun. Steve Sullivan is an entertaining player to watch. If you can afford to go to the games, it is so much better than TV. You can key on certain players and watch what they do without the puck, watch plays develop, and all the little things that you miss on TV. Living near Toronto, I don't get to many games. They want way too much for tickets. Best I can hope for is the odd freebie. I have a few friends who get the occasional pair of tickets through business contacts. I go to a lot of junior games. The quality and pace is excellent. If you like the game, then take in a junior game sometime. It is the best bang for the buck in terms of hockey entertainment.
LETS GO DEV-ILS!!! Why? I grew up outside of Utica NY ... I got to watch players like Bill Guerin and Martin Broduer(who wasn't that good in Utica btw) play when they were nobodies. Then I got SportsChannel ... and I was able to watch a team besides Montreal/Toronto/Buffalo/NYI/or NYR ... and what a crap team it was!!! But at the end of the season they got a goalie name Sean Burke and they started to win!!! And on the final day of the season, John MacLean in OT scored the goal that sent them to the playoffs. And what a run they had taking Boston to the ropes! The rest is history ... But one difficult note is that I live in Colorado ... and I had to endure the 2001 Loss Other teams I like ... Calgary ... the Calgary Montreal final of 1989 was the best non NJ stanley cup ever. San Jose - I like the young guys they are always trying to develope. Ottawa for some F'd reason ... guess cuz they never hurt us. And I pull for Buffalo because I want the miserable people in upstate NY to have a sunny day for once cuz I know what it's like there. Buffalo has really good fans.
Leafs are going to be among the few teams who will survive the lockout! Hehehe...and then we can friggin win something finally GO LEAFS GO!!!!
The Devils. Being from a household with an old Rangers fan, i was raised on a steady diet of Islander hatred, but i dislike the Rangers because they don't develop talent. The Devils are small but they kick some serious tail, and are the only eastern team to win the stanley cup after the rangers in 93-94 and before the 'ning this year. Hell, Greztky called them a 'mickey mouse team' once, but the Devils are laughing now.
The Canadiens should be breeding some fans in France: on top of being the only team in a French-speaking city, the addition of French goalie Christobal Huet apparently means that the CH (hehe, that's also his initial) get games on TV in France.
Obviously you don't. Miserable people? The economy might suck, the weather may stink (although if you let weather bother you that much, you truly are a sissy) and our sports teams may lose, but Western New Yorkers are some of the nicest people in the country.
It's the Devils for me. When I originally got into the NHL, the Devils were the first team that I watched (thanks to the TV schedule over here). Stevens absolutely nailed someone very early on. My love for them grew from that!
I like NHL, full stop.... If I had to pick a team, I would choose the Colorado Avalanche...dunno why... Quite like Forsberg, is he still playing for them? I've not seen a hockey game in years... Also Toronto Maple Leafs, because my cousin is a big fan....
He is still there. I used to like him until he pulled that sh!t a few years back when he didn't play during the season (maybe 5 games) but then played in the playoffs and people were praising him. He did have a splenectamy that year but still, the NHL should make a rule saying if you don't play at least 20 regular season games for a team you can't play in the playoffs.
The best NHL team in black and gold...the Pittsburgh Penguins. Aye, they may be at the bottom of the league, aye they have the oldest rink in the NHL, but this year...with Mark Recchi back, goin all the way to the Stanley Cup and beating the Edmonton Oilers in six games. Kelly Buchberger will get the game winner, and Steve McKenna will win the Conn Smythe Trophy... Ha. Well...fingers are crossed. Ja, born and bred with the black and gold. But aye, not the best of teams, but they go down with a fight to be sure...good young crop of 'tenders of well. But aye, jes beat Philadelphia, Rangers, and the Devils, and I'll be happy. Oh ya, props and cheers to the Lightning, it's nice to see an offensive and exciting team finally win the cup again...was actually a good final, as the Flames were/are a good, fast hockey team. THas how hockey should be played, how it was played...trap sucks...games should be played for scoring goals, not defending against them. But aye, Penguins rock the burgh...(hopefully they'll be around for a while)...and remember, SAFE IS DEATH. Ciao DPW
bruins you cant touch them been a fan since cam neely was around.just a treat to watch back in the early 90's now they suck.thornton,samsonov great talent but nowhere near when they had neely, oates, reid and sweeney. plus what beautiful jerseys.
Red Wings. I don't care how bi-polar their seasons are, I will love them until the day I die. I'd still bleed red if I was from Mars. My gut wrenches knowing that there will probably be no season this year.
same here. i was born in philly and my dad started teaching me the game around age 7 and i started going to games with him a year later. i also played hockey most of my life. for me, there is no choice other than FLYERS!
wow.. you show up everywhere.... how can you call my Flyers evil? Isles are crap. who is in room 237 anyway? give a & b hellos from me... and get that relgationzone team in gear. you can at least beat DB.
I support the LA Kings and the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Basically I live very close to LA and have been fortunate enough to follow the Kings and Ducks for many years. The Kings are a good managed team, though I wish our Billionaire owners would put in more money into the team. When Deadmarsh and Allison come back, they will be great. Deadmarsh is one of the best right wingers, he is just battling terrible injuries. The Ducks have not done well under Disney. I wish someone would buy them and rescue them much like Arte Moreno has saved the Anaheim Angels. No wonder Kariya left, he must have been tired of everything.
Well, I guess I should check in here with my favorite quote from Gary Thorne, uttered on June 16, 1999: "Deep in the heart of Texas, the Stars are shining!!" I hate the Avs, the Avs, and the Ducks, in that order.
In order- Dallas Stars Anybody playing Detroit Leafs Oilers Blues Canadiens Ottawa I miss HNIC already. Its going to be a long winter.