2025-2026 NHL Offseason

dankind said:

I’m a Rangers fan and was very happy for Lundqvist to get a gold medal, knowing that he’s sure as shit never going to have his name on the Stanley Cup. 

Being happy for a player in the Olympics when it's all said and done is a lot different than actually rooting for him in real time to beat your own country!

You generate better hockey talent than the USA -- which you certainly should.  it is your game and your best players appear to take it very seriously when they have the chance to represent their country.
Personally, I love hockey, dislike international rules, still like international games, and do not expect the USA to win @ hockey. 
I do not think it would be fair to say that fans of hockey in the USA do not care about international hockey.

It would be fair, however, to say that most people in America do not care about hockey.  At all.
If you look at ESPN.com's home page you can note that it is the 6th sport in, when listing scores/stories and updates.
Right now it is:
NFL (not even during season)
NBA (season ongoing)
MLB (pre-season)
NCAAM (almost Tourney time)
Soccer (who the heck knows)
NHL (seriously, behind Soccer?  )

Most people chuckle when I tell them I watch NHL games/highlight shows daily. 
AND -- I am in the Northeast, and grew up in VT. 
People from most parts of the country do not even know the rules of the game.

Be proud of beating Russia, Sweden, and other countries where it is so important.  Beating the USA at hockey is beating us at a sport most people ONLY care about every 4 years and as part of international play.

Meltdown99 said:

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HesCalledDyer said:

Meltdown99 said:

I think you Americans will find that when you score a goal in over-time of the gold medal against the Americans in the Olympics, it’ll be hard pressed to find Canadians who don’t have a soft spot for him...even here, across from Detroit, many wings fans I know couldn’t stand Crosby because of the mix-up after Crosby’s first cup where he messed up and did not shake Lidstrom’s hand...they now like Crosby...I guess Gold Medal for Canada changed their tune.

I live near Pittsburgh and it absolutely digusted me the number of people cheering when Crosby scored that OT goal in the gold medal game.  I'm like, look, be a Penguins fan, fine.  But right now he isn't playing for your team so he can go fuck himself!  Penguins fans don't care. Crosby can do no wrong, even if it's against their country.

I love the Blackhawks but I couldn't give two turds of a shit what Toews, Keith, or Crawford do in the Olympics.

It doesn't matter, you guys are clearly overmatched in hockey ... lol ... thay were cheering on a winner.

Clearly outmatched apparently means overtime in the gold medal game?  Ok.  If we were clearly outmatched, we wouldn't have even been there.
It wasn't about "cheering on a winner."  They were cheering AGAINST their own country all because one guy played on the pro team they like!!  That's ridiculous.  I can only assume since you live across from Detroit, you're either a Wings or Leafs fan.  Would you have rooted for Phil Kessel to score the GWG in OT for the US?  Or Jimmy Howard to shut out Team Canada? I know he wasn't on the US roster, but that's the equivalent of rooting for Crosby to beat the US.

HesCalledDyer said:

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Meltdown99 said:

HesCalledDyer said:

Meltdown99 said:

I think you Americans will find that when you score a goal in over-time of the gold medal against the Americans in the Olympics, it’ll be hard pressed to find Canadians who don’t have a soft spot for him...even here, across from Detroit, many wings fans I know couldn’t stand Crosby because of the mix-up after Crosby’s first cup where he messed up and did not shake Lidstrom’s hand...they now like Crosby...I guess Gold Medal for Canada changed their tune.

I live near Pittsburgh and it absolutely digusted me the number of people cheering when Crosby scored that OT goal in the gold medal game.  I'm like, look, be a Penguins fan, fine.  But right now he isn't playing for your team so he can go fuck himself!  Penguins fans don't care. Crosby can do no wrong, even if it's against their country.

I love the Blackhawks but I couldn't give two turds of a shit what Toews, Keith, or Crawford do in the Olympics.

It doesn't matter, you guys are clearly overmatched in hockey ... lol ... thay were cheering on a winner.

Clearly outmatched apparently means overtime in the gold medal game?  Ok.  If we were clearly outmatched, we wouldn't have even been there.
It wasn't about "cheering on a winner."  They were cheering AGAINST their own country all because one guy played on the pro team they like!!  That's ridiculous.  I can only assume since you live across from Detroit, you're either a Wings or Leafs fan.  Would you have rooted for Phil Kessel to score the GWG in OT for the US?  Or Jimmy Howard to shut out Team Canada? I know he wasn't on the US roster, but that's the equivalent of rooting for Crosby to beat the US.

I said the last 2 ... Sochi and SK...

I care about international hockey because it’s hockey. I will always root for the USA women’s team, but for the most part, I stopped cheering for the USA men’s team during the NHL infiltration, which to me went against “the spirit of the thing.” And this year’s team of has-beens was a joke save for Donato the Younger. I still watch the games, though. It’s hockey. I just root for a good game.

I grew up in Florida and have watched hockey since I was five years old. I loved it when we got the Bolts because it meant that I could finally go to games. They were never really my team—I was already a Rangers fan through and through—but I would go because it was hockey. I like the Bolts this year because they’re basically Rangers 2.0.

F Me In The Brain said:

Feel badly for Canadian fans when it comes to Lord Stanley's cup, though.  23 years since the Habs last represented Canada in lifting the cup.  I know there are only 7 teams but odds are that a Canadian team should win one soon.  Has to be frustrating. 

Meh, I kind of feel for Vancouver and Toronto fans... but other than that, you have Montreal who have iced the best teams of all-time and also won in the 90s... Calgary who won a cup in the 80s and probably should have won another, and the Edmonton dynasty.  I guess Edmonton has been pretty bad for an extended time, but its hard to feel bad when they land so many lottery picks, including McDavid.  Last time Montreal won, it was 8 Canadian winners in 10 years, and 12 in 16.  There was a period of time that the cup was awarded on Canadian ice for a decade.  Canada has also won a ton of international competition, and can still claim hockey superiority (although the gap has narrowed over the past 12-20 years). 

Oh yeah, Winnipeg too.  They could never get out of the first round, and it continued in Phoenix.  Lost their team, and are now 0-1 in the 1st round.  We will see if they can get out, finally.  

Ottawa has been a very good team other than the first few disaster seasons, and a few other blips.... but often are a contender somehow

Either Toronto or Edmonton will end the streak ...

Us not having a championship team is more to do with bad management ... 

I agree.  I think it will be Toronto.  They have like a dream team in management and coach...  if they can weather the upcoming expiring elc's effectively, they can do it.

I think 67?

Then comes St Louis - Never, joined in 67.  I guess you can lump Minnesota in as well

Then Vancouver and Buffalo - Never, joined in 70