Golden Knights' trip to Stanley Cup Final helps healing process

NHL Website ^ | 5/21/18 | Nicholas J. Cotsonika

[Alberta's Child]

I hear ya, but I can't be that way because I'm a New Jersey Devils fan. LOL.

I've long said that there are only about nine solid NHL hockey markets in North America -- and by "solid" I mean a market where the team can regularly attract 14,000+ fans for a late-season game even if they are out of playoff contention. Those nine markets include the Original Six, plus Philadelphia, Edmonton and Buffalo.

Some others are starting to creep into that group simply because of the sheer size of the metro areas where they play and/or the long period of time they've had to build up a fan base. Those would include teams like the L.A. Kings and the Vancouver Canucks.

[Alberta's Child]

I might have agreed with you about Vegas until seeing the last two games of the Washington series. Now I'm not so sure. They dominated a Tampa Bay team that seemed like it was clearly the best in the Eastern Conference coming into these playoffs. TB's only major flaw was having a broken-down old jalopy like Dan Girardi playing 20+ minutes a game on defense. LOL.

I haven't seen much of Vegas, though -- so I may be underestimating them here.

[dfwgator]

The thing that impressed me about Vegas is how they shutdown the opponent in the third period when they had the lead. That’s what Championship teams do.

Should be a good series between two teams who are looking for their first Stanley Cup. And Vegas certainly has gained a national following, so that’s good news for the NHL.

[Mears]

Boston LOVES hockey,including college hockey.

Members of my family have been attending the BU Terriers games for almost 30 years.

.

[Alberta's Child]

It's really strange having the Stanley Cup finals in Las Vegas. I still remember the players and spectators wearing overcoats and gloves for Wayne Gretzky's last Stanley Cup parade in Edmonton in 1988.

And now for a ludicrous photo from hockey history ...

[dfwgator]

Jagr is still playing professionally in the Czech Republic, he’s already committed to playing his 30th professional season next year.

[Alberta's Child]

And I don’t think he’s finished with the NHL, either. The guy is amazing.

[dfwgator]

I think he wants to beat Gordie Howe’s record.

[Alberta's Child]

Which record?

[dfwgator]

Gordie played to the age of 52, I think if he wanted to, Jagr can beat that.

[Alberta's Child]

Right.

Minnesota is an even bigger hockey market than Boston ... but it's not really a good NHL market.

There is so much good college and high school hockey in Minnesota that they've ended up drawing fans away from the more expensive NHL teams over the years.

[Mears]

I did not know that-thanks for the info.

.

[Alberta's Child]

Oh, I see.

I know Jagr has said he wants to play until he's 50. He'll probably have a hard time finding an NHL team to sign him at a certain point even if he's still got something to offer.

I wouldn't consider it a real record unless he plays a good part of a season and plays plenty of ice time. I wouldn't want to see someone sign him for a few games late in a season just for the novelty.

The guy who often gets overlooked in this regard was Chris Chelios. He officially retired at the age of 48 after a brief stint with Atlanta, but he was still playing regular shifts with Detroit at the age of 47 in Detroit in 2008-09. During the peak of his career in the late 1980s I had read an article in a hockey magazine where the author speculated that Chelios could conceivably become the first NHL player to play a full 60-minute game. You couldn't even imagine doing that today.

I think he played the same number of NHL seasons as Howe. Howe played until he was 52, but had a few seasons in the WHA late in his career.

[campaignPete R-CT]

Yeah. Draft n trades

Go Caps
Eradicate poison ivy

[campaignPete R-CT]

Hanley wants to play for Cubs