Part I -- Top rivalries ( Hockey/Sports Chat )

ESPN.COM ^ | Sep. 27, 2005 | ESPN.com

[retrokitten]

Re: Hawks v. Wings:

But during the 1960s especially, if either team wanted to win the Cup, they had to go through each other. The rivalry lost steam over the last decade because of the Blackhawks' decline, but that could change this season.

I hope so!

[Dan from Michigan]

I have the Vernon-Roy game on tape!!

[Dan from Michigan]

I plan on hunting, at least two weekends(hopefully more), but it all depends on time and work.

[Dan from Michigan]

Osgood's now back with the Wings. Yzerman, Draper, Shanahan, Lidstrom, and Holmstrom are the ones I know of. Datsyuk might have been there, not sure.

[dfwgator]

Stars/Oilers had a pretty good thing going, because you could bet every year that they would meet each other in the playoffs. It's just not April without a Stars-Oilers playoff series.

[RayChuang88]

Toronto/Montreal is legendary.

Yes, where fans swear at each other in two languages.

[scott says]

Indeed, some excellent, well played, hard fought battles.
I have been a life long Habs fan, so The current Leaf rivalry is my favorite.Growing up it was the Bruins...I was born in Boston,so you could imagine the grief I got for being a Habs fan! Canadiens/Flyers have had many awesome playoff meetings over the years. I love the CBC Saturday Night big rivalry games, so well done and the intensity of the crowd, I think it is the best current rivalry going.

[dfwgator]

I would put Leafs-Habs second behind Yankees-Red Sox for best rivalries in sports.

[discostu]

Vernon vs Roy featured what I still consider to be one of the best open field tackles in the history of football... made more impressive by not actually being IN the history of football.

[headsonpikes]

The Battle of the Goalies!!! LOL!

Hockey certainly brings out a degree of competitiveness not found in other sports.

Possibly this is because hockey is essentially 'lacrosse on ice' - ritualized warfare.

Go Canucks, and to hell with the Flames! ;^)

[Mark17]

I'm still mad about the Adam Oates trade......

I am still mad about the 1966 trade of Esposito, Hodge and Stanfield for Pit Martin. This gave Boston 2 Stanley Cups. That had to be the worst trade in hockey history.

[Mark17]

I hope so!

I do too, but see my post 31.

[jjmcgo]

Benoit Hogue beat Tommy Salo!!!

[jjmcgo]

Two languages? Try about 137. Check out the demographics in today's Toronto.
You've got Sri Lankans yelling at the Russian Alexei Kovalev in pidgin French.

[jjmcgo]

One of the great hindsight trades in history. Like Bagwell for Anderson (which earned the Sox the division title that year.)
Esposito came up to a Blackhawks team filled with established leaders, was a second- and third-liner who had good regular season totals and playoff flops. Hodge was a lead-footed extra wing and Stanfield a minor character on a team with good centers.
Martin was a solid person with good leadership and playing skills and Gilles Marotte was a hard-hitting defenseman.
Martin gave Chicago several very good seasons. Marotte went south for personal reasons.
Stanfield developed an incredible chemistry with Johnny Bucyk and they were augmented by John McKenzie.
Esposito got to play a different style in Boston. Cashman fed him from the corners and Espo cashed in on rebounds of Hodge's blasts.
This trade outcome was in no way predictable.
Controversy is good and fun in sports but the damage to Martin's reputation has been unfair.

[NJ Freeper]

I'd say that the New Jersey Devils have a bigger rivalry with the Flyers and can't understand that it hasn't been mentioned at least once.

They've both been very good francises for the past decade or so and everytime they get together, you're guaranteed a great game.

Oh well, as a Devils fan I'm used to it. We're like Rodney Dangerfield, we never get any respect.

[Corporate Law]

Buy that four disc Original Six Series on the Wings (you can get it for half off through an Amazon discounter). That game is one of the "five greatest" as voted on by the fans. Watched the first period of the Roy-Vernon game last night (voted #1 of the five allegedly). Shanahan's "open ice" tackle of Roy was awesome.

[Dan from Michigan]

Already have it. I got it for Christmas last year.

[Badger_MI]

I miss the home and home north (no) star vs. hawks in the old stadium. Dino vs Savard Churla vs Grimson.....

Those games were the greatest. Seeing Jack Carlson sqaure off at center ice in Chicago Stadium with the 'Hawks tough guy was a treat. It must've been about 1983 or 1984, at Chicago Stadium, I was watching the game on KMSP. The camera panned around while the refs were breaking up a fight and showed some fights breaking out in the crowd. Moved to Michigan in '92 and became a Wings fan after the North Stars betrayed us all. The Wings-Avs is my favorite current rivalry.

[spectr17]

Blackhawks vs Blues.

Them low down Hawks were worth booing every time they showed up in St. Louis. Magnuson, Makitia, Hull bros. all of them.

Many Hawk fans would take a bus down to the Arena for a game and we'd roll out the welcome wagon every time. Nickel beer night was always special with many fights in the stands and beers being thrown on anyone daring to wear a Hawk jersey. Only Andy Van Hellemond drew more boos. Many times there would be one or two fights in the stands and a fight on the ice. You got your money's worth when they came to town.

Them same busses left more than once under police escort with eggs running down the side of the bus.

Of course the Hawk fans returned the hospiltality when we ventured north to Chi Town for a game.

Twister helping set a Hawk straight.