15 YEARS AND COUNTING…
THAT’S HOW LONG IT’S BEEN SINCE A CANADAIN TEAM WON THE STANLEY CUP…
PHILADELPHIA’S WIN OVER MONTREAL ON SATURDAY INSURED THE WAIT WILL CONTINUE FOR AT LEAST 1 MORE YEAR…
MUCH OF THE BLAME BELONGS TO NHL COMMISSIONER GARY BETTMAN…
TO BEGIN WITH…IN THE 90’S BETTMAN OVER SAW THE TRANFER OF TWO CANADAIN CITIES TO THE U.S…
THEN EXPANDED THE LEAGUE BY 6 TEAMS WITH 5 OF THEM GOING TO AMERICAN CITIES…
IN 1995 BETTMAN SIGNED A COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT THAT RESULTED IN THE WORST CASE OF INFLATION IN THE HISTORY OF THE NHL…
IN LESS THAN A DECADE THE AVERAGE PLAYERS SALARY CLIMBED TO A STAGGERING $1.8 MILLION DOLLARS PER SEASON…
COMBINE THAT WITH A WEAK CANADAIN DOLLAR AND IT MEANT SMALL MARKETS SUCH AS CALGARY…EDMONTON AND OTTAWA COULD NOT COMPETE…
THE NEW CBA AND A STRONG CANADAIN DOLLAR HAS NOW LEVELED THE PLAYING FIELD…
AS A RESULT IN THE LAST 4 YEARS 3 CANADAIN TEAMS HAVE MADE IT TO THE FINALS…
IT’S NOW ONLY A MATTER OF TIME UNTIL THE CUP FINALLY RETURNS TO THIS COUNTRY…
THE QUESTION IS…WHICH CANADIAN TEAM HAS THE BEST SHOT???
IN THE SHORT TERM…MONTREAL…
THEY HAVE THE MOST PIECES ALREADY IN PLACE AND GOALTENDER CARY PRICE IS THE REAL THING…
EDMONTON MAY HAVE THE BEST YOUNG TALENT BUT THE OILERS ARE STILL NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME…
OTTAWA IS MOVING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION…CALGARY IS NOT MOVING IN ANY DIRECTION…AND TORONTO IS STILL LOOKING FOR A GENERAL MANAGER…
THE CANUCKS STILL HAVE A GREAT GOALTENDER…BUT THEY ARE IN A RACE AGAINST TIME…
ROBERTO LUONGO HAS ONLY TWO YEARS LEFT ON HIS CONTRACT…
HOWEVER THE BIGGEST THREAT TO A CANADIAN TEAM WINNING THE STANLEY CUP IN THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE…
HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BETTMAN…OR THE CANADIAN DOLLAR…OR WHO’S THE GM OF THE LEAFS…
THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE IS THE PITTSBURGH PENGUINS…
THE COMBINATION OF CROSBY AND MALKIN IS THE BEST SINCE GRETZKY AND MESSIER…
THE PENGUINS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME THE FIRST DYNASTY UNDER THE SALARY CAP…
BE AFRAID CANADA…BE VERY AFRAID!!!
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1 comment:
The Cup did come back to Canada last yr when Burkie brought it into town for a fundraiser.
Look at it this way, if Montreal won the cup with a bunch of Eruos on it; would you still believe it belongs in canada? The ducks won it last yr but the bulk of the team were canadians.
Or how about when Ben Johnson won the gold medal, he was canadian and when he gave it back; we all said he was from the caribbean.
If Bettman had allowed the pengiuns to be moved to Hamilton; then perhaps Canada would have had a shot at the cup.
Just be glad that there currently isn't a team in Vegas. The thought of the cup ending up in the gambling capital of north american is a frigthening thought.
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