Hockey is always enjoyable on any level. I love seeing my favorite players succeed, no matter where they are.
That's the difference between you and me. I cannot bring myself to root for players if they are playing for the opposing team because then, in a way, I am rooting against my favorite team. For me it is team > player, so I always root for the team no matter who is playing for the opponent.
This is also the reason why I cannot do fantasy <insert sport here>. If I did end up doing fantasy <insert sport here>, I could never bring myself to pick amazing players if they were on a team that my favorite team has a rivalry with. For example, I wouldn't be able to pick a Sedin twin or Lidstrom since they play for Vancouver and the Detroit respectively and rooting for anything related to those 2 teams is pretty much against the law here.
The Blackhawks had to dump a bunch of players from the 2010 Cup winning squad due to salary cap reasons. A lot of great players got traded off and got the short end of the stick by getting dealt to shitty teams (Byfuglien and Ladd to fuckin' Shitlanta, Versteeg to Toronto) and others to better teams (Niemi to San Jose). However, I think about when a city can respect a team's decision for dealing away popular players in hopes of rebuilding for the future, just like how Flyers fans gave Mike Richards a warm reception last week in his first game in Philly as a member of the LA Kings.
Or how when when Ray Bourque got a standing ovation in Boston even when he was wearing a Colorado Avalanche uniform in 2001.
Or when Wayne Gretzky broke Gordie Howe's point record in 1990 in Edmonton as a member of the LA Kings.
If say, Dustin Byfuglien remains as awesome as he is, and got chosen to play for Team USA in the Olympics for example, would you not cheer him because his full time employer is a club in a different city? Or would you cheer him WHILE he plays for Team USA, and then NOT while he plays on the Jets (or whoever else)? I can support my favorite players wherever they play, and I can boo my most hated players wherever they play too. I don't care where Jonathan Toews plays in his career, I want to see him succeed because he puts in the work ethic and treats the game seriously. I don't care where Sean Avery plays either, I think he's a fuckin' dirtbag.
I guess my point is that the teams have to make hard choices sometimes when it comes to trading players to give them a chance to grow in their own individual careers if they can't seem to contribute wherever they are now, or if the reality of the business with salary cap limits force their hand. Just because a favorite player gets traded elsewhere, doesn't erase what they did for your team in the past. With the way players get traded so often nowadays, I think it makes for better hockey all around the NHL. When was the last time there was a repeat Cup champion? Detroit in 97 and 98? The talent in the NHL is so awesome that any given year any team literally could rise to the top and become champion, and then fall back to the bottom again. As a Winnipegger and a huge Jets fan past and present, I'm just thankful to have the NHL back in this shitty market of ours, no matter how the team is doing. Once Teemu Selanne plays as a member of the Ducks at MTS Centre, I guarantee you the city will be buzzing about his return.
Can't wait to post THAT video once it happens.
Topic: Official NHL Thread (Read 550743 times)