2013-14 NHL Season: "We Are North American Scum"

[Kramerica Industries]

yeah, sorry about that. Not sure what happened that's caused Gustav Nyquist to just turn into Teemu Selanne circa 1992-93 out there, but Detroit's four points clear of the cutoff right now with a pretty manageable schedule down the stretch.

If they beat Boston in the first round, I'll retroactively accept it.

[spartacat_12]

You have to remember that Ottawa has been around for barely 20 years, and they came into an area where fans were (and still somewhat are) split between the two most established teams in the league. Not to mention the fact that many of their seasons have been absolute . Although, I feel like they've started to make some noise in the Canadian market over the last year or two with their success. They're a young and exciting team to watch and I'd really like to see them succeed.

Going into this season they had qualified for the playoffs in 14 of the last 16 seasons. Sure they didn't end the way we would have liked, but I would hardly call that absolute , especially when you look at what teams like Edmonton and Toronto have been doing the past decade. I feel like most new franchises don't really hit their stride until somewhere around the 25th or 30th anniversary. In the next 5-10 years there will be a second generation of fans in Ottawa who will be growing up surrounded by the Sens. They will also be being raised by people around my age, who have been Sens fans their entire life and can't recall a time when the team didn't exist.

[HedleyLamarr]

You have to remember that Ottawa has been around for barely 20 years, and they came into an area where fans were (and still somewhat are) split between the two most established teams in the league. Not to mention the fact that many of their seasons have been absolute . Although, I feel like they've started to make some noise in the Canadian market over the last year or two with their success. They're a young and exciting team to watch and I'd really like to see them succeed.

Going into this season they had qualified for the playoffs in 14 of the last 16 seasons. Sure they didn't end the way we would have liked, but I would hardly call that absolute , especially when you look at what teams like Edmonton and Toronto have been doing the past decade. I feel like most new franchises don't really hit their stride until somewhere around the 25th or 30th anniversary. In the next 5-10 years there will be a second generation of fans in Ottawa who will be growing up surrounded by the Sens. They will also be being raised by people around my age, who have been Sens fans their entire life and can't recall a time when the team didn't exist.

That argument doesn't fly for Southern-based hockey teams. Why should it for Canadian markets?

[GFB]

yeah, sorry about that. Not sure what happened that's caused Gustav Nyquist to just turn into Teemu Selanne circa 1992-93 out there, but Detroit's four points clear of the cutoff right now with a pretty manageable schedule down the stretch.

If they beat Boston in the first round, I'll retroactively accept it.

Not bad for someone assigned to the AHL until November. Thanks for that Kenny Holland.

[TorinK92]

You have to remember that Ottawa has been around for barely 20 years, and they came into an area where fans were (and still somewhat are) split between the two most established teams in the league. Not to mention the fact that many of their seasons have been absolute . Although, I feel like they've started to make some noise in the Canadian market over the last year or two with their success. They're a young and exciting team to watch and I'd really like to see them succeed.

Going into this season they had qualified for the playoffs in 14 of the last 16 seasons. Sure they didn't end the way we would have liked, but I would hardly call that absolute , especially when you look at what teams like Edmonton and Toronto have been doing the past decade. I feel like most new franchises don't really hit their stride until somewhere around the 25th or 30th anniversary. In the next 5-10 years there will be a second generation of fans in Ottawa who will be growing up surrounded by the Sens. They will also be being raised by people around my age, who have been Sens fans their entire life and can't recall a time when the team didn't exist.

That argument doesn't fly for Southern-based hockey teams. Why should it for Canadian markets?

I feel like that comment is too stupid to insult.

First of all, Southern USA is not Canada, we actually care about hockey a lot. While Sun Belt teams only got hockey fans mostly 20-30 years ago, Ottawa was already a hockey town, splitting fan bases between the Habs and Leafs. So while those teams still get a lot of fans here now, when the people born in the late 80's or 90's who grew up watching the team start replacing the older generation of hockey fans, they will finally take on a majority of the city's fan base makeup.

So yes, it does work for Canadian teams, and it might even still work for southern teams.

[The_Admiral]

Three stars for the Bruins last night counting from 3 to 1 were Rask, Bergeron, and Fire Department

*wanking motion*

Amazing how much pull Denis Leary really has in that town.

Is there anything you two don't have a problem with or a joke about?

Oh, get over yourself. Not that the Three Stars is a hallowed tradition, but it was silly, just like naming one player for all three stars is silly. Honor dead firemen, but don't pretend that they were the biggest part of a winning effort. Leave that mawkish crap to the St. Louis Cardinals. We expect better.

[charger77]

yeah, sorry about that. Not sure what happened that's caused Gustav Nyquist to just turn into Teemu Selanne circa 1992-93 out there, but Detroit's four points clear of the cutoff right now with a pretty manageable schedule down the stretch.

If they beat Boston in the first round, I'll retroactively accept it.

Not bad for someone assigned to the AHL until November. Thanks for that Kenny Holland.

Wasn't there some CBA/Contract issue regarding call-ups & send downs that kept him in the AHL?

Why is it every year the goddamn Red Wings start winning right before the playoffs?

Cause they've been doing this for decades.

It has only been the last 2 seasons that they have had bad regular seasons, then got it together in the last week or so to make the playoffs.

[The_Admiral]

Oh, and no, "hang on, we're gonna need 30 years" does not fly for Ottawa, just like it doesn't for the South. That's ridiculous. I don't want to hear about how we're all just waiting for the kids who grew up watching the 2003-2007 teams to afford their own season tickets, especially in a market that the league would happily rid itself of, unlike the South. The Sens have done more than enough by now to earn support.

There are some disadvantages inherent to Ottawa, mostly in terms of the arena's size (too big) and location (too far). Those wreck the supply-and-demand curves more than anything the team does on the ice, inasmuch as the team has generally done well. I'd add that the small market is made smaller by subtracting francophones from the Gatineau side, who I'll concede may have been harder to win over, the Sens' French-language presence only lately being more than an afterthought. In spite of the arena problem and the Habs/Leafs hangers-on, though, tiny little Ottawa still overachieves relative to market size by being a middle-of-the-pack team in a metro of just over a million (again, minus the French). Still, I feel like the market problems the Senators have are the kind most NHL teams would kill to have, and are only magnified by proximity to Toronto and the fact that they're not Toronto.

[GFB]

yeah, sorry about that. Not sure what happened that's caused Gustav Nyquist to just turn into Teemu Selanne circa 1992-93 out there, but Detroit's four points clear of the cutoff right now with a pretty manageable schedule down the stretch.

If they beat Boston in the first round, I'll retroactively accept it.

Not bad for someone assigned to the AHL until November. Thanks for that Kenny Holland.

Wasn't there some CBA/Contract issue regarding call-ups & send downs that kept him in the AHL?

Tatar was out of AHL options, so he got the nod over Nyquist, who had one left.

Doesn't change the fact that Holland left Nyquist off the initial roster for the likes of Mikael Samuelssen, Jordan Tootoo, Todd Bertuzzi, Dan Cleary, Patrick Eaves, Cory Emmerton, Luke Glendening...

[The_Admiral]

Detroit's bad players have tenures as long as their good players. Dan Cleary has been on the team for nine years! I think Kirk Maltby played with Gordie Howe.

[speedy]

Three stars for the Bruins last night counting from 3 to 1 were Rask, Bergeron, and Fire Department

*wanking motion*

Amazing how much pull Denis Leary really has in that town.

Is there anything you two don't have a problem with or a joke about?

Oh, get over yourself. Not that the Three Stars is a hallowed tradition, but it was silly, just like naming one player for all three stars is silly. Honor dead firemen, but don't pretend that they were the biggest part of a winning effort. Leave that mawkish crap to the St. Louis Cardinals. We expect better.

Coming from the guy who said Boston Strong was dumb and the way Boston came together after the Marathon Bombing was cheesy - paraphrasing, obviously. I don't think I'm the one that needs to get over myself. You can be funny sometimes, stick to that. Don't be an a-hole too.

[Sport]

yeah, sorry about that. Not sure what happened that's caused Gustav Nyquist to just turn into Teemu Selanne circa 1992-93 out there, but Detroit's four points clear of the cutoff right now with a pretty manageable schedule down the stretch.

If they beat Boston in the first round, I'll retroactively accept it.

Not bad for someone assigned to the AHL until November. Thanks for that Kenny Holland.

Wasn't there some CBA/Contract issue regarding call-ups & send downs that kept him in the AHL?

Tatar was out of AHL options, so he got the nod over Nyquist, who had one left.

Doesn't change the fact that Holland left Nyquist off the initial roster for the likes of Mikael Samuelssen, Jordan Tootoo, Todd Bertuzzi, Dan Cleary, Patrick Eaves, Cory Emmerton, Luke Glendening...

The Red Wings have a laboratory where they grow these guys. I'm convinced.

And Nyquist is the latest edition. Swedish, later round pick, spent a million years in the minors, comes up and is unstoppable.

[zpqmaowl]

[charger77]

Is he the real deal or Damien Brunner 2.0?

[SuperLeafsFan]

Is he the real deal or Damien Brunner 2.0?

He's the real deal. Had Brunner not run away, he would be too.

[Still MIGHTY]

Three stars for the Bruins last night counting from 3 to 1 were Rask, Bergeron, and Fire Department

*wanking motion*

Amazing how much pull Denis Leary really has in that town.

Is there anything you two don't have a problem with or a joke about?

Oh, get over yourself. Not that the Three Stars is a hallowed tradition, but it was silly, just like naming one player for all three stars is silly. Honor dead firemen, but don't pretend that they were the biggest part of a winning effort. Leave that mawkish crap to the St. Louis Cardinals. We expect better.

Wait they actually did that? I thought that was you making a snarky comment and I was okay with glossing over it, but... They actually did that?!?

There was a moment of silence for Boston Fire Department Lt. Edward J. Walsh and firefighter Michael R. Kennedy, who were killed in action Wednesday. Boston Fire Department was named the game's First Star, and Bruins players wore BPD hats before the game and hats and T-shirts while meeting with media after the game.

Holy Christ, they actually did that...

Like you said, I get that Three Stars isn't exactly a hallowed tradition, with many players (including a few Ducks over the last couple years) getting honorary nods just for an ovation or hell Ray Emery in that Caps/Flyers brawl earlier this season, but at least they actually were on the ice to physically contribute. But this? Commmmmeeeeee onnnnnnnnnnnnn, Boston.

[speedy]

I'm guessing I just don't get how this is a big deal? Two guys died, one of them for sure I know was a huge Bruins fan - the Bruins honored them. Oh my gosh, Boston just crapped on hockey. Give me a break.

[Still MIGHTY]

I'm guessing I just don't get how this is a big deal? Two guys died, one of them for sure I know was a huge Bruins fan - the Bruins honored them. Oh my gosh, Boston just crapped on hockey. Give me a break.

Right, the Bruins did a very nice job honoring them in the pre game and all that. Very good. I think we're all fine with that. But putting the Boston Fire Department as the First Star of the game is a little much, don't you think?

[speedy]

I'm guessing I just don't get how this is a big deal? Two guys died, one of them for sure I know was a huge Bruins fan - the Bruins honored them. Oh my gosh, Boston just crapped on hockey. Give me a break.

Right, the Bruins did a very nice job honoring them in the pre game and all that. Very good. I think we're all fine with that. But putting the Boston Fire Department as the First Star of the game is a little much, don't you think?

As someone who couldn't care less about the Three Stars, no. I guess if you value it and/or take it seriously, then sure, it's a little much. It's not like they gave the first star to the guy selling shirts with bad hockey puns on Causeway Street.

[Still MIGHTY]

I'm guessing I just don't get how this is a big deal? Two guys died, one of them for sure I know was a huge Bruins fan - the Bruins honored them. Oh my gosh, Boston just crapped on hockey. Give me a break.

Right, the Bruins did a very nice job honoring them in the pre game and all that. Very good. I think we're all fine with that. But putting the Boston Fire Department as the First Star of the game is a little much, don't you think?

As someone who couldn't care less about the Three Stars, no. I guess if you value it and/or take it seriously, then sure, it's a little much. It's not like they gave the first star to the guy selling shirts with bad hockey puns on Causeway Street.

He had just as much to do with the Bruins winning as the fire department did.