hockey
We talk pucks and objects of that kind. We yell, complain, and analyze in the language of hockey fandom. Gretzky can do no wrong.
The Most Lopsided NHL Trades in History
When fans of hockey hear about a seismic NHL trade, where superstars and future superstars are dealt, they hope their team, if involved, came out on top. At the very least, they hope their team wasn't fleeced by another. Unfortunately for some, the latter happens all the time in the NHL.
Jesse KinneyPublished 6 years ago in Unbalanced10 Best Teams to Ever Win the Stanley Cup
There is nothing better in sport than the Stanley Cup playoffs. It is the most intense playoff format, leads to the best moments, and has some of the best traditions. A few examples include Detroit and their octopus throwers, Nashville and their catfish throwers, and of course, the playoff beard. There are four rounds, each series can go to seven games, unbelievable comebacks occur all the time, and overtime is the most thrilling invention, potentially, of all-time. So yeah, nothing compares.
Jesse KinneyPublished 6 years ago in UnbalancedBritish Ice Hockey
When I think of ice hockey, I think of bearded Canadians, slick-haired Americans, and rocket-armed Russians. The National Hockey League has a wide variety of nationalities pulling on Jerseys in front of thousands of fans on a nearly nightly basis. North Americans and Eastern Europeans occupy near enough all the roster spots in the NHL. While British presence has never been strong in the NHL, the sport's popularity has grown on home soil over the last century or so.
Jamie PlattsPublished 6 years ago in UnbalancedMost Unbelievable NHL Stanley Cup Comebacks
Hockey is one of the most intense and thrilling sports out there, but have a ton of screaming fans cheering for their favorite team. The sport is just as popular as any other professional sport like football and baseball. And it's definitely among the more underrated sports. As for their finals, things can get pretty extreme—especially when the two teams are actual rivals.
C.C. CurtisPublished 6 years ago in UnbalancedThe NHL's Flawed MVP Voting System
NHL.com recently released their votes for MVP of the league, as the 2017-18 regular season is nearing its end. The top three vote-getters are Nikita Kucherov from the Tampa Bay Lightning, Evgeni Malkin from the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Patrice Bergeron from the Boston Bruins. While all three of these players are tremendous and are having incredible season's for their respective teams, are they the three that should really be leading the pack? The short answer is: no, no they don't. Let's take a look at why this is and which players should be the frontrunners.
Jesse KinneyPublished 6 years ago in UnbalancedWhich Teams Will Reach the Postseason?
With the NHL starting to move towards its inevitable climactic end to the regular season, now seems like a good time to really dig into what teams will, and won't, make the final cut into the postseason race to the Stanley Cup.
Alex KempPublished 6 years ago in UnbalancedWe Surrender
Even if John Lennon's infamous "Lost Weekend" (which lasted nearly a year and half) was as miserable for him as it was for the fans of the NY Rangers, watching this past month's back to back drubbings was a confirmation of a team without a spine, a plan or a heart. At least Lennon had some fun. He also produced some of the best solo music of his career in that period. This lost weekend for the Rangers produced none of what Lennon's lost weekend produced.
Steve KomitoPublished 6 years ago in UnbalancedThe Time Is Now for Mark Messier to Coach the NY Rangers
Anyone who has watched the fall of the NY Rangers over the past couple of seasons always come back to the same question: "Where is the heart of this club?" Watching week's 2-1 loss to Dallas, I was struck by a memory of last year in Dallas when Henrik Lundqvist was run over by a member of the same Dallas Stars, Cody Eakin. Rather than the Rangers defending their franchise, future Hall of Fame goaltender, the response was....well, it was....Well, it wasn't. There was no response.
Steve KomitoPublished 6 years ago in UnbalancedThe NY Rangers Encapsulated....
If last week's 5-2 loss to the Nashville Predators doesn't tell you all you need to know about the NY Rangers organization (and today's NHL) from top to bottom, then maybe someone can educate me. Maybe, I'm missing the boat. Perhaps, I still think "old school" going back to when players defended and police'd each other on the ice and didn't wait for incompetent and ill-suited referees to do their jobs for them. Or a bloated NHL "rooms" bureaucracy or an endless line of suits who have done little but confuse everyone both on the ice and off and restrict the players from actually doing their job - part of which is to protect each other. A lot of this is a result of Gary Bettman catering to the whims and the desires of corporate America rather than respecting what the game of hockey had always been about. And sometimes aside from it being a beautifully and artistically played game, it is a violent and aggressive game. Today, it resembles more the McDonald's franchise model, where everyone plays the same, looks the same and there is barely a personality to be had. There are more rules than ever before and not surprisingly, these rules are as inconsistent in practice as they are in theory.
Steve KomitoPublished 6 years ago in UnbalancedThe Sad, Pathetic Existence of the NY Rangers and the Cause of It
In the year 2000, Glen Sather arrived from Edmonton with fanfare set aside only for such comparable events as royal weddings, the Kennedy Center Honors or a championship parade down the Canyon of Heroes in New York City. The expectation was more than just that the NY Rangers would be on top of the NHL where they belonged. Glen 'Slats' Sather, the maker of the Edmonton dynasty, was supposed to not only propel the franchise to a much higher plateau than even Charles Dolan ever thought possible, but also bring with him a master plan that would ensure a healthy farm team and NHL team for years to come. And this decree was brought to us by the king of the Garden. Yes, Charles Dolan, the hockey whiz-kid who couldn't bother interviewing anyone else for the position despite Sather's recent years of failure in Edmonton, to bring Rangers back to respectability was aglow. He had his man.
Steve KomitoPublished 6 years ago in UnbalancedThe Start of Something New
Let's get right into this. Previously, you would find me writing articles about the Toronto Maple Leafs on the website, Fansided, as well as Calgary Flames content on the site, The Hockey Writers. Many of you liked my work and found it interesting, but I found myself trying to find the littlest, stupidest things to write about, and it got boring.
Jourdan JonesPublished 6 years ago in UnbalancedVegas Golden Knights
The dream to build a NHL team in the desert seemed pretty far-fetched, considering the Arizona Coyote's franchise seems to always struggle. That did not stop the team's owner Bill Foley. The application and $500,000,000 price tag and new arena were no obstacle for Bill and his partners.
Evan AllenPublished 6 years ago in Unbalanced