2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs Official Thread

[DEAD!]

And further fact is that the Sens are yet again another team on the Canadian trend that plowed through the playoffs only to be completely overmatched in the finals.

...because nothing says "overmatched" like extending the series to seventh and final game.

Something the mighty Sens couldn't do but the 8th and 6th seeded Edmonton and Calgary teams could...

I'm not going to lie, my eyes kind of watered when I saw Scott hand the cup off to his brother... it is so awesome when you see things like that happen.

That was a great moment. Scott coming over to Anaheim to help his brother win the cup. Don't be disappointed Canadians, since Anaheim has more Canadian players than any other team (or so I heard) the cup will be in Canada for while

.. and Fred T. Jane... I'll offer a penny and a dead raccoon for that space for rent....

by the way... it seems like the writers in ESPN and Fox Sports website don't have much creativity...

[IceCap]

- Anaheim changed its name at the best time. "Mighty Ducks" engraved on the Cup would have been a travesty.

Agreed. There's nothing wrong with "Anaheim Ducks" being engraved on the Cup.

"Mighty Ducks" though? Lord Stanley would have rolled over in his grave.

That would have been awesome! Yes the "Ducks" is a more classy name... but the Mighty Ducks would have just been pretty cool. I could have placed some bets that they would somehow find a way to spell that wrong... hell, they spelled Islanders "Ilanders" on the cup...

So Icecap... when will you jump off the Sens bandwaggon and back onto the Leafs one?

I was never on the Sens bandwaggon, I was on the Canada bandwaggon

I am, have always been, and always will be a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, and come tomorrow it's back to hating the Sens on a regular basis

[Dilbert]

- Anaheim changed its name at the best time. "Mighty Ducks" engraved on the Cup would have been a travesty.

Agreed. There's nothing wrong with "Anaheim Ducks" being engraved on the Cup.

"Mighty Ducks" though? Lord Stanley would have rolled over in his grave.

Lord Stanley's spun so much he's a good 12 feet under right about now... after having "TAMPA BAY", "SEASON NOT PLAYED", "CAROLINA" and "ANAHEIM" engraved on there in consecutive seasons...

Your just upset because Toronto hasnt won or even been to the Stanley Cup Finals since 1967! Oh yeah, I went there

And once again the cup will not return to Canada. It shall now chill on a Duck pond in Southern California!

[SteveR]

I thought it would have been neat for Jiggy to get it for this one reason:

He would have been the first of the four MVPs-on-losing-team to also be MVP-on-winning-team

[CC97]

I thought it would have been neat for Jiggy to get it for this one reason:

He would have been the first of the four MVPs-of-losing-team to also be MVP-of-winning-team

Bernie Parent

Your just upset because Toronto hasnt won or even been to the Stanley Cup Finals since 1967! Oh yeah, I went there

And once again the cup will not return to Canada. It shall now chill on a Duck pond in Southern California!

Congratulations on winning the Cup, it's always nice to see a team in the bottom third in attendance win it all... again.

[DEAD!]

It shall now chill on a Duck pond in Southern California!

... I never knew the Stanley Cup can float...

[IceCap]

- Anaheim changed its name at the best time. "Mighty Ducks" engraved on the Cup would have been a travesty.

Agreed. There's nothing wrong with "Anaheim Ducks" being engraved on the Cup.

"Mighty Ducks" though? Lord Stanley would have rolled over in his grave.

Lord Stanley's spun so much he's a good 12 feet under right about now... after having "TAMPA BAY", "SEASON NOT PLAYED", "CAROLINA" and "ANAHEIM" engraved on there in consecutive seasons...

True, but it's all just insult to injury every since the flu won it in 1919

[zig]

Congratulations on winning the Cup, it's always nice to see a team in the bottom third in attendance win it all... again.

Damn straight!

Go Devils!

Also now on the subject of the Stanley Cup: I thought it was great for Teemu to finally win the cup. It was always weird seeing him not on the Ducks. Also it was great to see Scott Niedermayer hand the cup to his brother. I would have loved to see the Mighty Ducks win the cup though.

[Roger Clemente]

Coming soon....a brand new super sig.

I'm gonna enjoy this thoroughly.

--Roger "NOW!!!" Clemente.

[HedleyLamarr]

After 1994 Playoffs the NHL had potential for great growth it was expanding in new markets and had one of the greatest postseasons in NHL history.

It had for the first time in eons a good deal to be on Network TV (Fox) I know its Fox but Fox was just right for the NHL, and now look how Fox has grown.

It had No Baseball Playoffs in October, traditionally the start of the NHL season is ignored because it starts against the playoffs and World Series.

So he calls for a lock out at the absolute worst possible time.

Fans starved for sports could have watched these early season hockey games and given the NHL more exposure. Just think back to those weekdays in October 1994 what that was like and tell me after the World Series was spiked you would not have loved a hockey game.

This lock out wiped out the momentum created by the 1994 playoffs and hurt the TV deal with Fox before it ever even started.

Then there came over expansion and content tinkering of rules that have made the sport harder to watch for traditional fans.

Meanwhile ESPN did no marketing for them, Bettman should have been marketing his game better, and making arrangements with ESPN to get this done. But noooooooooooooo he wanted bullets to shoot at the NHLPA during the abandoned 2004/05 season.

Then after the lockout he signs a deal with the Witness Relocation Channel aka OLN aka Vs. Sammy the Bull Grevano can go on Vs. give his address and stand in front of his house and still be safe from the Gotti family because nobody will know he did it.

Still on NBC which ain't a bad deal its a major network the NHL is doing a piss poor job marketing itself. Remember Bettman's background is marketing he has faield and thus he has failed as Comish.

Hell thats an understatement.

I hereby declare:

GARY BETTMAN IS THE WORST COMISH IN THE HISTORY OF PROFESSIONAL SPORTS

It doesn't help your arguement if you're making half-assed jokes throughout......

Here's the thing: Fox didn't want to renew their contract. ESPN didn't want to renew their contract. They weren't getting the viewership numbers because hockey is a terrible-televised sport. It doesn't bode well for the average American's sports fan's attention span, especially when a good portion of them don't know the rules and strategies of hockey.

NBC and the NHL made their sharing-profits deal before the lockout, which means no basic-TV channel was willing to pay the NHL for television rights. Post-lockout, ESPN was offering a similar deal, whereas OLN/Versus was offering money. Naturally, they followed the money and the opportunity to be the main sports league on a channel, instead of being ESPN's 4th option.

It's not Bettman's fault that Americans aren't turned on to hockey as they are to the NFL, NBA, and MLB. The NHL needed an economic change. Down the road, you'll see the positives far out-number the negatives.

The only thing Bettman's really erred on is expanding too fast, too soon.

[Viper]

I figured Scott Niedermayer would get the Conn Smythe Trophy. Before the Finals I said this was a matchup of two unspectacular teams, one that could score when they needed to (Ottawa) vs. one that could clamp down on defense when they needed to (Anaheim). Well, the Ducks' D didn't exactly dominate the Sens' offense, but they still stopped the Sens when they needed to. So, the MVP award had to go to a defensive player.

[J.R.]

I could have placed some bets that they would somehow find a way to spell that wrong... hell, they spelled Islanders "Ilanders" on the cup...

Yeah and isn't Leaves misspelled "Leafs" or something stupid like that?

[SteveR]

I thought it would have been neat for Jiggy to get it for this one reason:

He would have been the first of the four MVPs-of-losing-team to also be MVP-of-winning-team

Bernie Parent

The list I have shows Parent winning the Smythe in the Flyers' two winning years (74 and 75) and then Reggie Leach winning it when they lost in 76.

[gojetsgo]

Several times I've heard that the Ducks are the first west coast team to win the Cup, including a couple times tonight on HNIC.

Of course, this is incorrect. The Ducks are merely the first NHL west-coast team to win the cup.

The cup has been won by teams in Vancouver, Seattle, and Victoria previously.

I just had to get that off my chest.

[CC97]

I thought it would have been neat for Jiggy to get it for this one reason:

He would have been the first of the four MVPs-of-losing-team to also be MVP-of-winning-team

Bernie Parent

The list I have shows Parent winning the Smythe in the Flyers' two winning years (74 and 75) and then Reggie Leach winning it when they lost in 76.

my bad, got my years mixed up

[gojetsgo]

At least Ottawa fans can look forward to the upcoming CFL season....

what's that?

oh... sorry.

(I know that was kind of low, but I've always been annoyed by the lack of Ottawa's presence in the CFL.)

[SteveR]

And, somehow it figures that the Ducks' Web site crashed not long after the game ended.

[Neon_Matrix]

I could have placed some bets that they would somehow find a way to spell that wrong... hell, they spelled Islanders "Ilanders" on the cup...

Yeah and isn't Leaves misspelled "Leafs" or something stupid like that?

Well then it was misspelled 11 times on the cup...

Well Icecap, you should scrub yourself with steal wool after being on that Sens bandwaggon... the only way you could be able to live with yourself after going to the dark side of Ontario sports.... muhaha.

And Roger, you already know my plans for my new sig and I hope to get it up and running soon. I just need to find a bigger picture of the "BE RED" banner....

[Sodboy13]

Congrats to the Ducks, my second-favorite NHL team on account of the fact that "I know a guy." And it'll be great to see that guy's name engraved on the most beautiful trophy of them all.

It's been a great year of hockey, even if I'm one of only about 200 people in this country who knows it. I'm already looking forward to next season.

[FiddySicks]

Way to let the light of that inferiority complex shine just that much brighter there bro. Looks like someone needs a hug. And howabout this fact? Ottawa is still getting steam rolled, no matter if they're from Ottawa, Orlando, or freakin Oslo, Norway. But hey, lets not let silly little facts like score get in the way of our undaunting patriotism eh?

Oh Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

No inferiority complex. Just a little sick of fans in non-traditional hockey markets thinking that because they've held the Cup for what appears to be the third season in a row that "OMG Cananada is the SUX at hoky!!!11!!111eleven"

Also, I'll be honest, you personally are one of the worst offenders. In the 03-04 season the Sharks were eliminated by the Flames. In 05-06 the Sharks were eliminated by the Oilers, at which point you openly proclaimed you hated Canadian teams then offered a very half-a$$ed apology. Then now that the Ducks are on the verge of capturing the Cup you play the "it's staying in the US!" card. So all of these things compounded on each other don't leave me with the best impression of you when it comes to this situation.

To be fair even though you're one of the worst, you're not the only one. There's a fairly numerous non-traditional market fan base here who claim Canadian fans are selfish, snobbish, etc... then gloat like there's no tomorrow when the a team in a non-traditional market wins the cup. It's hypocrisy in its most blatant form.

To your point though, yes it does look like the Cup will stay in the States. So in the event that does happen I would like to congratulate the Ducks and their fans. The Ducks have played hard all season, and their dominance has carried through the playoffs. They were underestimated going into the Finals (I admit I was guilty of this), and they proved they're a genuine powerhouse, one worthy of the Cup assuming they don't suffer a major break-down. True are there's a good number of players on the Ducks I think are thugs, goons, etc... but the team also has its fair share of deserving talent.

All that said though, even though the Cup may stay south of the border for an other year it doesn't change the fact that we as Canadians are still the best in the world when it comes to the sport, and no amount of snappy inferiority complex comebacks is going to change that.

I explained it then and i'll go back and explain it now. I can't stand teams who come out of nowhere from low or unexpected seeds and beat my teams, when they should have mopped the floor with them. Its frustrating, nothing else. True fact is the team I root for has lost some miserable series either to teams they were far superior to, or they handed the series on a silver platter to better teams. Two of those teams they were far superior to just happened to be Canadian. In the last three cups have had far overmatched Canadian teams who just didn't have enough in the tank to finish the job. It's more of a frustration on the part of my teams inability to capatalize when they should than a true hatred for Canadian teams. Hell, I honestly dont follow or care about hockey enough to build up that much of a hatred. So yeah, sometimes my frustration gets the better of me.

BUT, with all that said, unless the Ducks pull their goalie and replace their sticks with fly swatters, they're gonna win the cup. They have steam rolled the Sens all series long and have done so even harder tonight. And don't take my happiness of it as "Haha the Canadians dont get their cup again" thought. Im happy to see California pull in their first cup, and if it couldn't be the Sharks im happy its the Ducks. Ive watched this team all year from the first scrimmage at the Anaheim Ice Arena and have been to a bunch of games. Im happy to finally see Selanne, my personal favorite, get his title. And am glad that a bunch of my friends get to see their favorite team grab a cup. And hey, at least its not the Kings. And further fact is that the Sens are yet again another team on the Canadian trend that plowed through the playoffs only to be completely overmatched in the finals. Fact is the cup does stay in America, and thats not a spite thing, its just plain simple fact. And fact is, despite the Canadian influence, an American team has won yet another cup in a mostly American league. So despite if my "Snappy inferiority complex comeback" isn't doing it for you, its better than the "CNADIAN EYESE HOOKY ROOLZ MOR DAN U SO DERE!!!!1!!" Argument.

Yes, the Ducks will (and as of now have) won the Cup. Your powers of observation astound me.

Look, if your tired about the Sharks losing to inferior teams in the playoffs, be they Canadian or American, then direct your frustration at the Sharks team, not the "inferior" teams who had enough heart to dig down and beat your guys. I'm a Leafs fan, I know all about being frustrated at your team. It doesn't make you less of a fan of your team if you direct your frustrations at the team itself for its failures.

You know what? I'm happy for your friends who are Ducks fans too. Their team played great all season, and they stepped it up a notch in the finals to steamroll a team that dispatched the President's Trophy winners in five games. I've never seen my team win the Stanley Cup, so I can only imagine how great it must feel. So my congratulations to Ducks fans tonight. I hope to feel what you feel soon enough.

Back to my point, you say you really don't hate Canadian teams, but you make ample effort to point out the fact that Canadian teams have come up short in the Finals for three years in a row and how the Ducks are keeping the Cup in the States. But if you don't have anything against Canadian teams, why make these observations? If you're the "I love everyone" sports fan you paint yourself to be, why should it matter to you that the losers of the last three Cup Finals are Canadian?

Canadian influence? It's more then an influence. We invented the modern game. A Canadian head of state donated the game's ultimate prize. We exported it , we have the most international championships of the game, and the top two teams in the total Stanley Cup count are Canadian. On top of that Canucks make up the vast majority of the rosters of every team in the NHL, including the Stanley Cup Champions Anaheim Ducks. Does it suck that a team in Canada hasn't won the Cup in 14 years? Yeah, but does that mean it's no longer our game or that we're no longer the best in the world? Nope.

For the record, you can put away the "OMG UR A CRAZY PATRIOT!!!1!!!11!" line. It's no secret that I'm proud of my country, and that I will root for any one of the Canadian teams if they happen to make it to the Cup Finals. Heck, I rooted for the Ottawa Senators in this series, arguably the Leafs' biggest rival. You're not accusing me of anything I won't admit. The question I'm wondering is who are you to talk?

You said it yourself, you're excited to see a team from California win the Cup. I'm not saying that's wrong, in fact if I was a Bay Area native I would probably have rooted for the Ducks as well, and chances are I would probably root for the Kings if they made it that far. So I'm not calling you out for cheering for the Ducks, in fact I would do the same if I was in your position. The point is, how are you any different from me?

Look, this wasn't my intent. All I was pointing out was how dominant the Ducks were playing, and that I thought it was signifigant that in the last three years Canadian teams are 0-3. No malace intended. Im sorry if that was misunderstood. Now, I really don't have the patience or time to continue this, and am sorry I even bothered to this extent.