My NHL Frozen Four

I'm not even going to call these four teams my Final Four because that's basketball.  After a very long week where I neglected my Corporate Finance work, half-assed some gym sessions, and really just focused on hockey instead of other important life obstacles, I've narrowed my list down to my Frozen Four.  In no particular order, the list includes the following teams:

Philadelphia Flyers

Boston Bruins

St. Louis Blues

New York Rangers

I'll be honest here, I think I'd be ok rooting for any of those teams.  They all have their pros and cons and I could make a case for becoming a fan of any one of those teams.  But at the end of the day there can only be one, so this post will cut the list in half setting up a championship round the likes this rookie hockey fan has never seen.  So without further ado, the #4 team on my list is none other than the St. Louis Blues.

I'm not a guy who is big into music.  I like listening to songs, have a few favorite artists, but I don't think I can like a team who's symbol is a music note.  I also don't like the idea of "singing the blues" because that means something bad happened.  I want nothing but happy thoughts when I think of my team!  The reason why the Blues are so high is because of Kyle McGuire.  The man made several good points about the Blues which prompted some in depth research by me and I really liked what I read.  They're a young team who isn't that good, but they're on the cusp.  I'm not trying to be a front runner here so I could hitch my wagon to the Blues and be happy if they turn it on and are nasty.  Another big reason is because of this man:

Vladimir Tarasenko.  This kid is Rookie of the Year material and I love it!  I drafted him and a few other young guys on my fantasy hockey team and he's a shining star right now.  I could become a Blues fan just because of this kid, but then why would I eliminate the Blues right now?  Because it's not about one player.  I don't like Duke for college ball because of Curry.  I like them because they always have a team of educated players who play great as a team.  They rarely have just one superstar on the court.  Duke is a team that's made up of quality players from top to bottom and not just one of two upper echelon guys.  So unfortunately the Blues will be singing the blues because they missed out on my fan hood.

Phew.  Big cut there.  I really really like that Tarasenko kid.  Going forward, Vladimir might be my favorite NHL player, but I'll just have to hope he gets trade to my favorite team which won't be the Philadelphia Flyers.

It's been really tough to justify my decision to cut a team in the top 8, but I have to do it in order to find my team.  One of the biggest reasons why I like the Flyers is because so many people hate them.  I probably had more comments/texts/messages thrown my way by people telling me they won't be my friend or they'll want to fight me if I become a Flyers fan than I had from people telling me to be a fan of any other team hahaha.  Kind of funny, but those are the teams I like sometimes.  Again, I can reference Duke where you either love em or hate em.  There is very little middle ground on a team like Duke and apparently the same goes for the Flyers.

Along with Tarasenko, I really like Claude Giroux.  Haven't read or heard a bad thing about the guy (maybe because I didn't search hard enough?) and I really like the way he attacks on the ice.  He always seems to be around the net looking to score.  I also like Kimmo because, well, that's a boss ass name.  As Professor Guarino pointed out, there are a ton of great fantasy hockey names to go off of that such as Kimmo-flage, Kimmo Therapy, and so on.  But the Flyers are more than those two guys.  They're also a team that seems to get after it.  Their fan base, although made up primarily of degenerate "Philly fans" who unfortunately get lumped together because of violent issues in the past, seem to be as dedicated as them come.  I feel like I would be accepted there because, after all, it is the city of brotherly love, my brother actually lives there, and I could easily adopt the mentality of a Philly fan, but I can't do it.

At the same time, if someone threw me a Philly Cheesesteak, I would probably change my allegiance at the snap of the fingers.  And by probably I mean I would absolutely.  But then again, I do love me some New England Claw Chowder and a nice New York style slice of pizza.

I feel like I've let a lot of people down with crossing off the Flyers (Lauren, Ryan, Matt, etc.), but I just couldn't pull the trigger.  Since I'm new to hockey I feel like I can't jump into a situation where I become part of the most hated team in the league with my limited knowledge of the sport.  I'd be all alone up here in New England as a Flyers fan and would have nothing credible to say when I argue with a Bruins or a Rangers fan.  Again, I could just learn that over time, but I want to hit the ground running with my team and get AGGRESSIVE with them.  How aggressive?  Well whatever team I decide on, I'll be placing an order for a jersey come Tuesday at work.

          v.        

I did not plan this.  When I started this search I really hoped to stay away from any "classic" match ups like a NY v. Boston type thing, but "here we are".  In case you haven't read the other posts, the location of the team doesn't really mean anything to me.  I don't feel like I have to root for a particular team because they're close to me which is why I hate UConn, root against the Patriots and Giants all the time, and despise Paul Pierce.  Seriously if I could pick one professional athlete and force them into retirement it would be Raja Bell (not sure if he still plays).  But if I had two picks, it'd be Bell and Paul Pierce.  Seriously hate that guy.  But anyways, both these teams seem to embody what I'm looking for in a hockey team.  Passionate fan base, great colors, nice jerseys, a team with a lot of talent but not necessarily a team loaded with superstars like Ovechkin or Malkin, guys that THROW DOWN (both the Rangers and the Bruins), and so much more.  I mean it's only been a few games and the Rangers already have 8 total fights for the year and I think they've played like 4 games!  Bruins aren't far behind either with 4 fights ranking them 5th.  They also have a Lucic fight where he clocks an Islander HARD.

Either way I think I'm going to be happy.  Both teams seem like good choices to me.  But can I really root for a team from New York?  Do I really want another Boston team on my list?  All I know is I have a very tough decision to make this evening/tomorrow morning.  It can honestly go either way.