Wrote the below (in white) last year, at the end of the Stanley Cup Finals. But it feels more appropriate than ever now, after yet another glorious win by a Florida team in the Stanley Cup Finals. Because nothing says ice hockey like southern Florida, eh?
And of course, it comes at the expense of a Canadian team.
This one was so predictable that I refused to really get into it. Was hoping to be pleasantly surprised, but nope.
Given how poorly things have gone for Canada in the NHL since their greatest era of dominance in the 1980's and into the early 1990's, when Canadian teams at one point won a combined seven straight Stanley Cups, and won an eighth in 10 years with the Canadiens winning in 1993, you would almost feel like this was orchestrated. In fact, it feels like it. After all, so much seems to have happened, and with the constant theme that Canada seems to consistently get the turd end of the stick, that it's almost difficult to draw any other conclusions than this was by some kind of design.
Think about it for a little bit. From Gretzky leaving Edmonton for greener pastures - in every sense of the word - to the momentum swinging swiftly and decisively in favor of American teams to Canadian cities losing their teams to other Canadian teams almost losing their teams to a Stanley Cup clinching goal being taken away in 2004 to now eight straight losses in the Stanley Cup Finals by Canadian franchises (count 'em: Vancouver 1994, Calgary 2004, Edmonton 2006, Ottawa 2007, Vancouver 2011, Montreal 2021, and now Edmonton in 2024 and 2025) who managed to qualify, and almost all of those being to Southern expansion franchises (count 'em: Tampa Bay 2004, although that deserves an asterisk at best, Carolina in 2006, Anaheim in 2007, Tampa Bay in 2021, and Florida in 2024 and now 2025).
Has the NHL had enough Stanley Cup Finals series where relatively new, Southern expansion teams defeat Canadian teams yet, after Canada's Stanley Cup drought just got extended to at least 33 years? Or will it require still another 33 years, even though this got old and, frankly, boring a long time ago? Because when you couple the turn to bad fortunes and/or supposedly bad luck with the incredible, almost too good to believe good luck of the Southern expansion teams - Tampa Bay winning the Cup three times, Florida twice, Carolina, Anaheim, and Las Vegas once each - combined with the horrific experiences of Canadian fans, who traditionally were the most loyal NHL fans, during that same time period, and you see how the NHL was aggressively promoting their Southern expansion policy, it really makes you scratch your head. I thought it strange when the Florida Panthers qualified for the Stanley Cup finals in just their fourth season. But that was nothing compared to the Vegas Golden Knights reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in just their first season in existence. There are some teams - the Winnipeg Jets, the San Jose Sharks, the Phoenix Coyotes, the Minnesota Wild, the Hartford Whalers, and the Quebec Nordiques, all of whom played for decades - who never made it to the Cup Finals even once in franchise history. There are also some other franchises who have not made it to the Cup Finals in decades. Toronto has not qualified since 1967, Calgary not since 2004, and the Islanders since 1984.
Yet somehow, the first major sports franchise ever in Las Vegas happens to qualify in their first ever season? Then they go on to win the Cup in just their sixth season, and always seem to be a formidable, powerhouse team, year after year?
Nah, not buying it. Also just not interested, truth be told.
Sorry, but it just seems a little too convenient with what NHL league officials want. All of those images of fans of Southern expansion teams going wild during deep playoff runs (never mind what those images might look like after a few years, once deep playoff runs are irrelevant bits of history on commercials promoting how exciting and unpredictable the NHL can be. All very convenient. Except that this has been going on now for something like three decades. The whole "new and exciting" thing might have seemed relevant at first, back in say, the nineties with the Florida Panthers, or maybe even Tampa Bay and Carolina and Anaheim in the 2000's, although I was already growing tired of that narrative by then. But that it keeps on going, forever and ever, with no end in sight? That apparently, the best Canadian teams can hope for is to be the best regular season team (like the Vancouver Canucks in 2011, or the Winnipeg Jets this year, in 2025) or to qualify for the Stanley Cup Finals, but never, ever having a serious chance to win? Meanwhile, we never do seem to go long without one of those Southern expansion teams rising to glory and winning another Stanley Cup to allow league officials to pat themselves on the back at the incredible success of their Southern expansion policy, and the supposedly wild enthusiasm of new NHL markets in the southern United States?
Nope. Not buying it. Just a little too convenient. Especially after the Calgary Flames had that Stanley Cup winning goal taken away from them in 2004. That was when it started to really become obvious. Since then, it has not only grown more obvious and predictable, but again, it's gotten boring.
Also, given the nature of political realities these days, this also has the added bonus of allowing American fans to beat their chests once more, with these (again, overly convenient) signs that the United States really is unique and special and superior. Just one more thing for the most mindless Trump supporters (many of whom are also mindless sports fans, of course) to beat their chests and bask in the glow of their national superiority?
Nah. Again, it just seems a little too perfect, a little too convenient.
A little too well orchestrated.
One or two of those things can happen, and you might think it's just a coincidence. But for all of those things to happen, all at once, and for all of them to consistently favor Southern expansion franchises and, of course, to be at the expense of Canada, and Canadians fans and their teams?
No, sorry. That feels a little more than just bad luck. Again, that feels orchestrated by someone. Someone who has the intention to take away from Canada what really is their national sport and pastime. Now, after something like thirty years or so, it has frankly grown so predictable now as to be mind-numbingly boring. Not worth watching, not worth following. Period.
What makes sports exciting is the notion that anything can happen. Think about examples of that with other sports. Brazil getting trounced by Germany in the World Cup hosted by Brazil. Who saw that coming? The New England Patriots going undefeated and on the verge of winning the Super Bowl, only to lose in the final 35 seconds. The Golden State Warriors enjoying the most dominant season in NBA history, struggling to reach the NBA Finals but getting their, then taking a 3-1 series lead, only to then lose. The Boston Red Sox being tormented by the New York Yankees during the 86 year drought during the "Curse of the Bambino," then falling behind 0-3 in that Conference Finals Series, only to come storming back to become the first (and so far only) team to overcome an 0-3 series deficit to win, then winning the World Series in a sweep. Things like that are shocking and make major headlines. They excite the imagination of the fans, and reinforce the notion that anything can happen.
To me, a former fan of NHL hockey, that is what is missing from the NHL. Yes, some teams, like the 2019 Tampa Bay Lightning enjoying a historically dominant regular season, only to get swept in the first round. Or the 2023 Boston Bruins enjoying the winningest regular season in NHL history, only then also to get bounced in the first round. So I guess that there are some unpredictable things that can happen in the NHL.
Except that at the end of the season, you can count on one thing: the current drought for Stanley Cup wins by Canadian teams will be extended. Oh, and that it will never take long for one Southern expansion franchise - if not several - to take the Cup. Probably with a ton of Canadian players on the roster. Because that, and for their favorite teams to maybe make the Stanley Cup Finals once in a while, and of course to lose, is the best that Canadian fans can apparently hope for. That is what has become predictable.
When the Buffalo Bills of the nineties, or the Minnesota Vikings of the seventies could not win the Super Bowl, it became similarly predictable. But in those cases, it was one franchise. You got the feeling that the "wide right" missed field goal haunted the Bills so much, that they never did get over the hump. Things like that happen in sports.
But what is different now with the NHL is that this happens with regions. The Southern expansion franchises have won eight Stanley Cups between them (nine if you include the Dallas Stars, and twelve if you include the Colorado Avalanche, two franchises who went from northern, cold weather markets to greener pastures much farther south). And Canadian teams have won exactly zero since 1993. Not one franchise being haunted by a narrowly missed opportunity, but an entire country being haunted not only with now eight straight Stanley Cup Finals appearances by various franchises all ultimately ending in failure, but also with their teams leaving Canadian cities or coming dangerously close to it, and for some of the best players from Canada to systematically go to American teams. Again, that's very different than one very talented team coming close, but no cigar. Especially when at the exact same time, so many new, Southern expansion teams just happened to go through a golden era of near dynasties and incredible Stanley Cup Finals success. That does not feel like it just happens, especially when that Cup was taken away from Calgary in 2004. What it feels like is that this was done by design. And I'm tired of it and calling bullshit.
This NHL was so unpredictable and exciting this year, that I can barely stifle a yawn just thinking about it. Because now more than ever, the United States under Trump does not need yet another opportunity to celebrate it's perceived and often loudly proclaimed superiority to the rest of the world. Yet with the NHL, it is assured to get exactly that each June. Increasingly, you can bet that it's going to be a Southern expansion team that manages to hoist the Cup.
You have to be at least in your mid-thirties, if not damn near close to 40, to have any memory of the last time that a Canadian team actually hoisted the Stanley Cup. And that's just too long. During that time, eight NHL franchises existed - two left Canada, others came close, and then the failed Atlanta Thrashers relocated to give Canada one of their franchises back. Yet, you can bet that no matter how it happens, all of those franchises will fail to achieve the ultimate goal in NHL hockey. Year after year after year.
No longer will I bother even watching a single game until that changes.
So I am reposting what I published last year after the Stanley Cup Final. And will emphasize, once again, that I will not attend another hockey game nor even voluntarily watch another hockey game until a Canadian team finally hoists the Stanley Cup once again, which would be the first time since 1993 (32 years now, and counting).
To hell with the NHL.
Now let me say this right off the bat: I will even pretend to be impartial about this Stanley Cup Final. Hockey is Canada's sport, and the NHL has robbed Canadians of a lot of joy. Far too much joy, frankly.
The last time that a Canadian franchise won the Stanley Cup was in 1993, when the Montreal Canadians defeated the Los Angeles Kings in five. Bill Clinton was then the new American president. Most people had not yet heard of the internet. Hell, most people had not even heard of Y2K yet. The year 2000 still looked too distant to worry about, and impossibly futuristic, even though it was rushing to meet us. The Cold War had fairly recently ended, and the Soviet Union had dissolved still more recently. There had been an attack on the World Trade Center earlier that year, but it had not registered too strongly on the radar of most Americans.
Oh, and Canada was still pretty dominant in hockey, despite only having a fraction of the franchises in the NHL.
Back then, I was just really getting into hockey for the first time. It, like other sports, felt like a respite from the pressures and stress of the real world. An escape, like any other form of entertainment. It was easy to get into it. Then, it started getting weird, and it was hard not to notice certain things. There was a trend growing by the time I really got into hockey fully, which would be 1995, right around the time that my two favorite teams - the Quebec Nordiques and the New Jersey Devils - were really starting to enjoy some bigtime success.
At first, the trend was not obvious. Again, hockey felt like a sport then that relied more heavily on traditions, and those traditions went longer than any other sport. You really could not escape the Canadian roots of the league. So it made sense that Canadian teams would be the very picture of success at the time.
Who knew that all of that was about to change?
Think about that, and think about the trends since then. Northern market teams - and especially those north of the border - seemed to be specifically targeted, as one northern city after another either lost their NHL franchises, or came uncomfortably close to it. The Minnesota North Stars moved to Dallas in 1993. Then in 1995 it was the Quebec Nordiques, who were just getting really good and about the reward their loyal fans after years and years of losing, instead moved to Denver and hoisted the Stanley Cup for Colorado. In 1996, the Winnipeg Jets moved to the desert, to that noted hotbed of hockey, Phoenix, Arizona. In 1997, Hartford lost the Whalers.
Almost as bad were all of the rumors of seemingly inevitable moves, where northern cities would lose their franchises, inevitably moving further south. The New Jersey Devils won the Stanley Cup, which probably saved them from a move to Nashville which had previously seemed inevitable. It also sure seemed like the Buffalo Sabres would relocate in the early 2000's., and that still seems like a possibility at times Even the Pittsburgh Penguins almost moved to Kansas City.
Yet, the worst was that once again, Canadian franchises seemed to always be vulnerable. The Edmonton Oilers came uncomfortably close to relocating to Houston. The Canucks almost made a move to Seattle. And there were constant questions whether city of Calgary could afford to keep an NHL team. Ditto with the Ottawa Senators.
Then, as if all of that was not bad enough, the Calgary Flames seemed to be robbed of a Stanley Cup win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. They were up 3-2 in the series and hosting Game 6. It was very late in a low-scoring game, the two teams nodded up at 1-1. Then, the Flames scored what sure appeared to be a Stanley Cup clinching goal.
But wait! Not so fast!
There was a long pause when the goal was reviewed, during which time NHL league officials were consulted. The goal was called off, taking the air out of Calgary's sails. The game went to overtime, and the Lightning took advantage and scored, forcing a Game 7, to be played in Tampa. And surprise, surprise, the Lightning won. The NHL had commercials showing the wild enthusiasm of these new fans in a southern market team. It was hailed as a huge success.
But you know what? Canadians felt a sense of betrayal, and they were not wrong to feel that way.
That, plus the strike in 2004-2005 that saw the entire season cancelled. Then the Edmonton Oilers lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, and the Ottawa Senators lost to the Anaheim Might Ducks in 2007. That was more than enough for me. I pretty much lost interest in the NHL.
Here's the thing: hockey at it's best could be fun. I remember enjoying it in 1994 and 1995, and even for a few years after that. Even right up until the Devils dynasty more or less ended. Yet, I was feeling less and less comfortable with hockey as an escape, because it still felt like the league officials were trying to alter the entire landscape. And they were doing it for the most obvious reasons in the world: money.
You see, call me crazy, but I can really get into sports mostly as an escape from the real world. Once sports begins to remind me too much of the real world, it stops being fun. The NFL, for example, felt a whole lot more fun before there were constant reminders of contract negotiations, with suddenly nonstop newsfeed, at least on sports shows, which of course spilled over into sports conversations with friends and coworkers and such. Then, there were the domestic abuse issues, and players like "Big" Ben Roethlisberger being saved from suffering serious consequences for their own actions and very, very poor decisions. Also, there was the increased suspicion that the NFL was going to increasingly extraordinary lengths to try and minimize the story of the effects of concussions. And I find that I have not been able to get into the NFL nearly as much as I did when younger, when it felt more innocent.
With the NHL, it was the perception - and it felt like there were some very good reasons for this particular perception - that only money mattered. Fans did not matter, if those fans could not bring the NHL the most money. And Canadian fans evidently were regarded as a liability, it seemed. Probably fans of not so glamorous, northern market teams, as well, like the Buffalo Sabres, the Minnesota North Stars, and the Hartford Whalers. Probably the New Jersey Devils were saved from that, at least for a while, with their incredible success in the 1990's and early2000's. But once some Canadian franchises left for greener (in every sense of that word) pastures south of the border, NHL hockey stopped being fun for a lot of people. I'm not even Canadian, but that was about the point when I started to really lose interest, as well.
It's not just the money issue regarding the actual move of NHL franchises to non-conventional hockey markets in warm weather, southern cities, either. It is also who it will attract, which inevitably feels like...well, wealthier people.
Here's what I mean: there was a young man (I almost put down kid, but he in fact only reminded me of a kid) who actually was quite enthusiastic about the trends of new, non-traditional markets getting ice hockey franchises. He said that it was spreading interest in the sport. He waved away my arguments that places like Miami and Las Vegas and Arizona and southern California really never got ice.
"That's why they have indoor venues," he said, clearly pleased with his own logic.
But here's the thing: when I thought of old school hockey, the way it used to be, I thought of kids playing the sport on frozen lakes somewhere in Canada, or some northern American states, or perhaps Scandinavia or Russia. Like Pele learning to play soccer so well even though he was dirt poor, it did not require money. It just required the will to go play the sport at your local frozen lake. If you get good, and things grow more serious, than yes, surely there will be ice skating venues year round, and coaches, and all of that. But remember, all of that takes money. Hockey always felt at that time like the most grounded sport. A sport with the most regular, least glamorous guys of all four major North American sports. And it felt like that was going to be compromised once it became more of an elitist, niche sport, at least for the new fans in those warm weather markets. In other words, it would exclude kids who could not afford it. They would never learn to love the game in the same way that, say, Canadian kids learned to love the game, playing makeshift ice hockey games on their local frozen lakes or even ponds, perhaps using sticks and rocks, much like Pele used to use a rock and two sticks as a makeshift goal, as I understand it.
The fans from these new, warm weather markets would be kids with money. It would b polarizing, and open really only to affluent kids. Kids who could afford it. And that, too, felt like too much of the real world getting in the way of allowing hockey to simply be fun, like it used to be.
So my interest waned I mean, seriously waned.
There was a brief while in the late 2000's into early 2010's when I had a girlfriend who was really into going to Devils games. But even then, it did not feel as fun or magical as it once had. As soon as our relationship ended, so did almost all of my interest in really following the NHL.
I took a brief interest again when the Vancouver Canucks almost won the Cup in 2011. Again I took interest when the Canadiens made it in 2021, because it would hae been nice to see them win again. But they lost to the Vegas Golden Knights, who happened to make the Stanley Cup Finals a few years earlier in their very first season of existence. Somehow, they have been an elite team since they came into existence, and they won that series. Yet another warm weather southern city franchise defeating a Canadian franchise in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Now, once again, my interest flared briefly. Feeling a little bit like Charlie Brown trying to kick a football that would inevitably be pulled away at the last moment, I took some measured interest in Edmonton's run to the Stanley Cup Finals. Then they promptly fell behind, 3-0. True, they won the next three games, but something told me that ultimately, they would lose. Last night, that was exactly what happened.
Yet another warm weather southern city franchise defeating a Canadian franchise in the Stanley Cup Finals.
And you know what?
Fuck that.
Sorry, I don't mean to be crass on my own blog, but it grew old a long, long time ago.
The drought of specifically Canadian franchises in terms of winning the Stanley Cup is starting to feel a bit like the old AFC Super Bowl drought back in the eighties and nineties. Except that was made because NFC teams specifically seemed to aim for tougher, more physical teams that were built to win championships. Meanwhile, the Canadian drought feels more centered on how Canadian teams are likely regarded as less profitable, as well as NHL league officials probably taking the loyalty of Canadian fans for granted. Also, intervention by league officials in preventing the Calgary Flames from winning the Cup in '04, as mentioned before. But when you look at it, you have Canadian teams, both East and West, consistently losing on those relatively rare occasions when they reach the Stanley Cup Finals. Since the Montreal Canadiens became the last franchise north of the border to hoist the Cup, Canadian teams are a combined 0-7 in Stanley Cup Finals. Edmonton and Vancouver both forced Game 7's, twice each, since that time. But they lost each of those series. Calgary also had that series that went to seven (although it shouldn't have, since they really won that one). Then the Canadiens and Ottawa Senators each made it to the Cup Finals once each, although they were both eliminated in Game 5 of their respective series. So they are a combined 0-7 when they actually have been good enough to qualify for the Cup Finals, but that also is a record low during such a long period of time. And that feels like they are the victims of something larger than themselves, orchestrated by the NHL. Between losing their franchises, and seeing watered down talent levels where, somehow, those Southern expansion teams keep benefiting from, it has been a long, long drought. Far longer than the AFC drought, which only lasted 13 straight years. That makes this feel worse. And unlike the AFC drought, this also compromises the NHL, and makes the league look worse.
So yeah. Frankly, fuck the NHL for making that the new reality of the league, one way or the other. It grew old and tiresome a long time ago.
They could take steps to change it. Make hockey accessible and enjoyable to those who consistently showed the most passion for the sport. I would be willing to bet anything that kids in Canada and some parts of the northern United States still play ice hockey on frozen lakes, like they did for many decades before. Try to appeal to those kids, instead of giving them every reason to turn away from ice hockey, in a world hat is rapidly filling up with more and more distractions. Remember that ice hockey's roots were in the northern United States and especially Canada, whether you like it or not. Bring back a reason for those kids to have passion for ice hockey again, instead of making it seem like you are turning them away.
Somehow, though, I don't see this happening. And I see the NHL continuing in the direction that it has been going it, rather than changing course. Money talks, after all.
So I am going to try to do my part. I have hardly been paying attention to the NHL in recent years, but now, I will make even more of a point of ignoring it. I went to my first NHL game in years (a playoff game, actually), but no more. There were games I actually watched this postseason, but again, no more. The NHL only pays attention to money, and so I will try to do my part in getting them to listen to my complaints by not giving them any of mine. Money talks, after all.
I have lost pretty much all interest in the NHL now. Let me finish by saying this: I will not watch another NHL game, much less review anything regarding the NHL, until this ridiculous "bad luck" streak that Canada is supposedly suffering through, but which in fact actually feels remarkably orchestrated, ends. Bring back the Quebec Nordiques. Stop blocking Hamilton from getting an NHL franchise. And most importantly, stop promoting the glory of new, warm weather southern franchises who suddenly get good and suddenly get strong fan support for the duration of their successful postseason runs. Do something to reward the most loyal fans, traditionally, in Canada.
Until I sense that this is happening, personally I have lost all interest in following the NHL. I would congratulate the Florida Panthers, but frankly, I just don't care anymore.
Fuck the NHL.
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