The Search for My Favorite NHL Team

 

This is one of those rare, non food related posts, so bare with me here.  Odds are if you're reading this, you know the back story.  In case you don't follow me on Twitter or you didn't reign in on Facebook, let me quickly fill you in.  I have never truly had a hockey team to call my own.  For years I've been a "Ducks fan", but that's like being a paper champ in boxing.  The only reason I claimed to be a Ducks fan was because I love the Mighty Ducks movies.  I would occasionally check in on the team and see how certain guys like Pronger were doing, but I never was a true fan.  That sucks to admit, but I never really got into hockey.  With that being said, I agreed to do a fantasy hockey league this year (happy I did Mitchell!!) and that sparked a huge interest.  I've since watched quite a few games and realized that I have no loyalty to the Ducks because they are no longer The Mighty Ducks.  With that being said, the search is on!

So... there are 30 teams and only one of me.  Some how, some way I need to eliminate 29 teams from my list in order to find my favorite team.  This is no easy task, which is why I took to Facebook and Twitter in hopes of gaining some quality input from friends, coworkers, acquaintances, people I hate but am friends with, and so on.  Based off of every one's input, where a team is located, their team name, my random bias and view of a team, jersey colors, age of a team, who the coach is, where some players are from, how they approach the game, and so on, I'll be widdling the list of 30 down until there is only one!  Without further ado, let me shed some light on my selection process!

 

Tons of options here.  Lots of cool logos, great cities, cool nicknames.  It's easy to chop off teams now because there are a few teams that I could really care less about even though I'm new to hockey.  This next picture should easily eliminate some teams:

AMERICA.  If your team is not in the United States of America then your team is not for me.  In no particular order, the following teams have been cut: Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks.  The only team that was close to advancing was the Canucks on the basis that they're called the Canucks and that makes me laugh.  But right there I cut 7 teams so now we're looking at the top 23!

Now that we trimmed the fat, it's time to take out 3 teams just because I don't like them.  I'm gonna pass on the Florida Panthers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Phoenix Coyotes.  No connection with them.  While I'm at it (for no particular reason), I'm dropping the Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators (even though I love the Predator movies), and Buffalo Sabres.  Small sigh of relief there because that puts me at the halfway point, but I still have plenty of work to do.  Up next is my favorite reason to not like a team:

This is Brian Livingstone.  He is a Devils fan which means I am not.  Love the kid, but the fact that he roots for the Devils means I will hate the Devils.  When the Devils were on TV while in college, Stone would sit in his recliner chair that he illegally brought up to campus and just scream and sweat for 3 hours.  I have never wanted to strike another human being more than when Stone was watching the Devils in the living room.  Hell on Earth.

I can't root for the Penguins because they seem too good to me.  I don't want to all of a sudden become a fan of the best team... and I also HATE Crosby for beating the US.  And since I don't want to be a front runner, the Kings are out as well.  I also don't think it would be fair for me to be a Capitals fan, even though I think Ovechkin is dirty.

Even though the Red Wings are one of the original six, I can't pull for them either.  The history of a team means nothing to me.  Think of me as a new born baby.  I'm now conscious that I'm alive in the world and am curious to see what it has in store for me.  Do I care about what happened before I was born?  Nope.  I'm a baby and all I want to do is eat a cheeseburger.  And if you were wondering, I'm fully aware that the baby analogy makes absolutely no sense, but I don't feel like deleting it.

To be honest, if the Islanders were staying on Long Island, I think my search would be over.  I travel there so much for work and have so much fun there with my travel family that it would be a no brainer.  I would probably be able to catch a few games while traveling there in the spring and a few in the fall so they would be my team, but alas, they're moving to Brooklyn so they're out.

Being from CT I should tear up at the sight of the Whalers logo, and for some strange reason, part of me does.  I am the complete opposite of a "homer" as evidenced by the professional and college teams I like.  The geographical location of a team means nothing to me.  My overall favorite team is the 49ers, I'm a Sox fan for baseball, Kings (soon to be a Supersonic King!) for NBA, Duke for college ball, Vols for college football, and so on.  The Whalers left in 1997, but their essence still remains.  Although the team is now the Carolina Hurricanes, I don't think I can support a team that picks up and leaves.

After all of that, the Elite Eight has emerged!  I'm down to the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Anaheim Ducks, St. Louis Blues, Chicago Blackhawks, and San Jose Sharks.  It wasn't easy, but I'm down to 8 and now have to cut it down even further to 4.  Looking ahead, the below graphic will give some insight into what else I look at when analyzing a team.