NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman proclaimed hockey "works in the sunshine." It was hard to disagree (even with him) after the Florida Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers for the second straight season.
I agree the Panthers are a dynasty. There isn’t a weak link on this team from the GM and coach down to the 4th line. Injuries are always a factor but this team could very easily win 3 in a row. And Edmonton? They find themselves in the same predicament as the Kings. They have found a team they just can’t beat in the playoffs and they haven’t come up with an answer. As we start a long summer I look forward to October hoping again that this will be the year we finally get past the Oilers.
That's a pretty good wish list! The cap is going up next season, so teams that might have been squeezed the past few years might have an easier time now if they want to keep unrestricted free agents. Not sure how much the Kings will want to spend--those two will get big bucks. Also not sure if they want to play in southern California. Should make free agency very interesting...
Florida is a very impressive team just for the fact that they are a complete team top to bottom. Like McDavid said they forecheck us all over the ice and never let them get their offense set up. Now, the three free agents you mentioned Marchand, Elblad and Bennett. Do the Kings have a shot at getting any of them? I know with the hard cap it’s always difficult to get free agents but the Kings know they have to get better! Florida is a great example!
I do appreciate your viewpoint, Helene. Your credentials are impeccable and you know the game, not just in the U.S., but in Canada. When I lived in SoCal and subscribed to the Times, I can remember you writing about how the game is treated like a religion in Canada. Yet, I can't help but feel you're not able to relate to the frustration Canadians feel nowadays about this drought you mentioned. Maybe it's partly because of how we've been betrayed by the current U.S. administration, but we have long passed the point where we find consolation in the fact so many of the players are Canadian. It's been 32 years, and the drought has surpassed all mathematical explanations. Come here now during the playoffs and you will become aware of a message repeated over and over and over again: it's time for the Cup to come "home." It matters, in a way it will never matter in the States. I respect the Florida Panthers and how good they are, even if that domination is rooted in grinding their opponents repeatedly into the ice. I respect the Kings. They are a great franchise. When we lived in California, I cheered on the Ducks and celebrated the Kings' Cup wins. Yet I cannot get past the fact that Stanley Cup victories in Fort Lauderdale, or in Raleigh to use another example, are wasted on an indifferent populace. We're told it's good for hockey, good for the game, good for its growth but as you yourself noted, hockey is only a fringe sport in the U.S. The hockey community in the States strives to produce the best hockey players in the world, but to whose benefit? The TV ratings in southern Florida prove most people just don't care. They proved they don't care in Atlanta, twice. Americans win the World Juniors and Americans fail to notice. The U.S. women's team wins the world championship and there aren't any stories in the popular media about it outside the three Ms: Massachusetts, Michigan and Minnesota. That's what I was trying to say about the game being played where it matters, because it matters to us. A lot. I hope you can understand that.
Imagine having a back-to-back Stanley Cup championship team and 96.8% of the TV-watching households in your market (Miami-Fort Lauderdale) were watching something else. Pathetic. Hockey should be played where it matters, whether it's Stockholm or Prague, Los Angeles or Buffalo, Edmonton or Montreal.
Who decides “where it matters”? Again, people said LA would never support hockey, but it has, both in terms of attendance for the Kings and Ducks and in terms of kids playing the sport. Hockey is a niche sport in the U.S. Fans are passionate in smaller numbers than for the other major sports. No league can thrive without venturing beyond “traditional” sites. Enough people (and businesses) support hockey in Florida and Dallas and Los Angeles to make it succeed in those places and help spread the gospel of hockey.
I know I can be melodramatic to epic vaudevillian levels, Helene, but for the first time in my memory, I did not watch the Stanley Cup presentations last night. I changed the channel as soon as the final horn blew. I could not stomach the thought of watching those goons from Fort Lauderdale parade the Cup around before a bunch of fans that will forget their names tomorrow. After 32 years, it was too much. It’s like the French people watching the stormtroopers marching into Paris — over and over again.
I disagree with your insult to the fans in Florida. I’d bet people used to make fun of fans in LA (and probably still do) but the passion and loyalty of Kings fans have stood the test of time. Every winning team draws bandwagon fans, but I’m sure there are enough transplants from “traditional” hockey cities and enough new fans in Florida to establish a good fan base.
Fully concur, LA Kings fans are passionate and loyal. Fifteen years or so ago, In between periods, a dear friend and i ran into Luc R. and we were chatting. Luc said the loudest Staples Center (known as that then) registered was during a Kings game, playoff win i think. Excellent summary Helene, Thanks.
Fans of the team? OK, maybe, I’ll give you that. Fans of the game? Not so sure. Having lived in the States myself and still knowing a lot of folks there, I’d say most sports fans who follow their hockey team lose interest in the playoffs pretty fast once that team is out. How much attention did the Cup finals attract in L.A. without the Kings being involved? Or in Chicago? Detroit? It’s the same with MLB, though it didn’t used to be. Only the NFL and NBA seem to hold interest on a broader scale and I suspect a lot of that is because of sports betting.
I agree the Panthers are a dynasty. There isn’t a weak link on this team from the GM and coach down to the 4th line. Injuries are always a factor but this team could very easily win 3 in a row. And Edmonton? They find themselves in the same predicament as the Kings. They have found a team they just can’t beat in the playoffs and they haven’t come up with an answer. As we start a long summer I look forward to October hoping again that this will be the year we finally get past the Oilers.
Now comes the hard part, keeping the team together.
I'd be lying if I didn't want to see the Kings to poach Ekblad and Bennett.
That's a pretty good wish list! The cap is going up next season, so teams that might have been squeezed the past few years might have an easier time now if they want to keep unrestricted free agents. Not sure how much the Kings will want to spend--those two will get big bucks. Also not sure if they want to play in southern California. Should make free agency very interesting...
Florida was a juggernaut. However, all we have to worry about with them is the Finals. Edmonton is still our hill to climb.
Florida is a very impressive team just for the fact that they are a complete team top to bottom. Like McDavid said they forecheck us all over the ice and never let them get their offense set up. Now, the three free agents you mentioned Marchand, Elblad and Bennett. Do the Kings have a shot at getting any of them? I know with the hard cap it’s always difficult to get free agents but the Kings know they have to get better! Florida is a great example!
I’ve seen speculation about Ekblad but that probably depends on what happens with Gavrikov.
I do appreciate your viewpoint, Helene. Your credentials are impeccable and you know the game, not just in the U.S., but in Canada. When I lived in SoCal and subscribed to the Times, I can remember you writing about how the game is treated like a religion in Canada. Yet, I can't help but feel you're not able to relate to the frustration Canadians feel nowadays about this drought you mentioned. Maybe it's partly because of how we've been betrayed by the current U.S. administration, but we have long passed the point where we find consolation in the fact so many of the players are Canadian. It's been 32 years, and the drought has surpassed all mathematical explanations. Come here now during the playoffs and you will become aware of a message repeated over and over and over again: it's time for the Cup to come "home." It matters, in a way it will never matter in the States. I respect the Florida Panthers and how good they are, even if that domination is rooted in grinding their opponents repeatedly into the ice. I respect the Kings. They are a great franchise. When we lived in California, I cheered on the Ducks and celebrated the Kings' Cup wins. Yet I cannot get past the fact that Stanley Cup victories in Fort Lauderdale, or in Raleigh to use another example, are wasted on an indifferent populace. We're told it's good for hockey, good for the game, good for its growth but as you yourself noted, hockey is only a fringe sport in the U.S. The hockey community in the States strives to produce the best hockey players in the world, but to whose benefit? The TV ratings in southern Florida prove most people just don't care. They proved they don't care in Atlanta, twice. Americans win the World Juniors and Americans fail to notice. The U.S. women's team wins the world championship and there aren't any stories in the popular media about it outside the three Ms: Massachusetts, Michigan and Minnesota. That's what I was trying to say about the game being played where it matters, because it matters to us. A lot. I hope you can understand that.
Imagine having a back-to-back Stanley Cup championship team and 96.8% of the TV-watching households in your market (Miami-Fort Lauderdale) were watching something else. Pathetic. Hockey should be played where it matters, whether it's Stockholm or Prague, Los Angeles or Buffalo, Edmonton or Montreal.
Who decides “where it matters”? Again, people said LA would never support hockey, but it has, both in terms of attendance for the Kings and Ducks and in terms of kids playing the sport. Hockey is a niche sport in the U.S. Fans are passionate in smaller numbers than for the other major sports. No league can thrive without venturing beyond “traditional” sites. Enough people (and businesses) support hockey in Florida and Dallas and Los Angeles to make it succeed in those places and help spread the gospel of hockey.
I know I can be melodramatic to epic vaudevillian levels, Helene, but for the first time in my memory, I did not watch the Stanley Cup presentations last night. I changed the channel as soon as the final horn blew. I could not stomach the thought of watching those goons from Fort Lauderdale parade the Cup around before a bunch of fans that will forget their names tomorrow. After 32 years, it was too much. It’s like the French people watching the stormtroopers marching into Paris — over and over again.
I disagree with your insult to the fans in Florida. I’d bet people used to make fun of fans in LA (and probably still do) but the passion and loyalty of Kings fans have stood the test of time. Every winning team draws bandwagon fans, but I’m sure there are enough transplants from “traditional” hockey cities and enough new fans in Florida to establish a good fan base.
Fully concur, LA Kings fans are passionate and loyal. Fifteen years or so ago, In between periods, a dear friend and i ran into Luc R. and we were chatting. Luc said the loudest Staples Center (known as that then) registered was during a Kings game, playoff win i think. Excellent summary Helene, Thanks.
Fans of the team? OK, maybe, I’ll give you that. Fans of the game? Not so sure. Having lived in the States myself and still knowing a lot of folks there, I’d say most sports fans who follow their hockey team lose interest in the playoffs pretty fast once that team is out. How much attention did the Cup finals attract in L.A. without the Kings being involved? Or in Chicago? Detroit? It’s the same with MLB, though it didn’t used to be. Only the NFL and NBA seem to hold interest on a broader scale and I suspect a lot of that is because of sports betting.
well said