Minor but interesting tidbit over at the Hockey News. Adam Proteau (who happens to be one of my favourite writers covering the NHL beat today) wrote an article ranking which NHL cities deserve a Stanley Cup winner, based on a loose criteria of fan interest, fan suffering and a few other intangibles.
Of local interest, Proteau ranks Ottawa as 10th most deserving:
10. Ottawa: In their second NHL go-round, the Senators have given their fans more headaches than the dude who thought it wise to locate their arena in suburban Kanata. But all the teams still to come on this list have suffered for longer.
Fair enough.
I'm not sure why he felt San Jose should be 5 places ahead of Ottawa in the queue, but I do agree with having Buffalo at number one. Not many cities and teams have been the brunt of so much misfortune or close-calls than the Queen City, and not just in hockey either.
The Sabres do have some real bright spots in Ryan Miller and Tyler Myers who should both be around for quite a while. It's just too bad that Thomas Vanek turned out to be a B-List superstar making A-List money.
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Since Ottawa finds themselves in Calgary tonight, might as well point out that the Flames are officially bringing back their vintage 80's unis as a third next season. They wore these a few times this year and they look killer, especially on HD TV. I think the NHL execs are starting to wake up to the fact that colourful jerseys look better on TV than the muted navy's and black uniforms we've been forced to watch for close to two decades.
Along with Buffalo and Edmonton bringing back their original sweaters, the New York Islanders may have the nicest of the bunch. I am a huge fan of these jerseys and I have no idea why they don't wear these full time. It's a no-brainer.
Speaking of which, I scored an official vintage Oilers Gretzky jersey today for an extremely cheap price. My first choice would have been a Messier 11 but you can't go wrong with the Great One. Kind of funny that the sweater has a fight strap though ....
A sweater I really want - an original Senators Brad Marsh 14 jersey. Can there be anything rarer? Maybe just a Senators Mike Peluso 44 sweater.
I heard some folks making fun of Oilers goalie Jeff Deslaurier's mask on the Team 1200 the other day, but I happen to think it's one of the best in the league. It's simple and you can tell what team he plays for. What good is a goalie mask that has intricate designs that no one can see unless they are within two feet of the guy? Like it or not, the Deslaurier mask looks great on HDTV.
For more obsessive uniform talk than you can probably handle, be sure to check out these personal favourites - Uni Watch and Icethetics.
3 comments:
Thanks for the Proteau link. That was good.
Do you ever get the sense that New Jersey has been blessed because the hockey gods are just scared of Lou Lamoriello. I'm afraid of him, even through the TV screen.
Nice observations on the unis. The Sens should give you a call for a consultation. They need one.
I think DeL's mask is a homage to Fuhr's mask. I used to live in Edmo during the glory days and it feels very familiar.
what's with emery in the header graphic?
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