May 11, 2021: Deciding on Who

It’s that time of year again, when our team the Blackhawks are not in the Stanley Cup playoffs; that sucks. Now, we have to spend time deciding on who we hope wins the Cup since the Hawks cannot. Honestly, in the NHL, I really don’t care at the end of the day, but… there are always teams that I do NOT want to win, and actually, this year, there is one team that I would like to see take it.

Let’s start off with the easy ones. Tampa Bay is out because they won last year. Nothing against them personally; although they tuned us up this year, we did beat them when it counted in 2015… no hatred towards them. I just don’t want to see any other team with a city name other than Chicago win a repeat title. Nashville, St. Louis, and Minnesota, although not all in our revamped division this year, all typically play in our same division; definitely don’t want them to win. Of course it’s a bit more than that… with Nashville, and their hate for Hawks fans… although we did kick their ass on the way to Cups in 2010 & 2015, they did sweep us the last time we met in 2017… although what happened in the Cup Finals that year; they lost to the Penguins (Penguins are definitely out). Yeah, Preds got shit, and typically I would root for a team who has never won, but… not this time. The Blues finally did win their Cup in 2019; I have to admit, I didn’t mind it that much, especially considering they beat a team from Boston (oh yeah, the Bruins are out too). But one is enough; enjoy that for the rest of your franchise’s history. And then there’s the Wild… I guess I don’t really dislike them… we did beat them 3 times in the playoffs during our glory years… they’ve never won… still, something about them… yeah, they’re out.

Already said NO on the Penguins; don’t like them in general, and definitely don’t want them to win their 6th Cup. Same feelings towards the Bruins, although they already have their 6th, they don’t need any more, especially in that city. Washington won recently too, and although that was their first, and I didn’t mind it, no more is necessary there. Montreal? Don’t mind if they never win again, even if they do have Frolik on their roster; same goes for Toronto. 37 Cups between them… yeah, OK, no mas. It’s been a while for the Islanders, but typically don’t root for any team from New York, even if they still have Nick Leddy; they’re out. Edmonton has 5 Cups too; no more required for them either. Finally, the Colorado Avalanche.. not a fan, even with Brandon Saad; pass.

That leaves four teams that I wouldn’t mind winning it. I actually like Carolina, and of course like Teuvo; they do have a Cup, but… let’s rank them at the 4th team I wouldn’t mind see winning it. Then there’s Winnipeg; I liked them a bit, especially when Byfuglien was there. They’ve never won either. Let’s bring them in at 3rd. Then there’s Vegas, where my father in law lives, and my son’s 2nd favorite team; they did get to the Finals their first year, which kind of sucks, but they didn’t win… so I’d be OK with them winning, even though they did beat us in the weird playoffs last year; no hatred there. But… if we’re talking about the team that I would like to see win it all, since it won’t be the Hawks, we have to be talking about Coach Q and the Florida Panthers. Yep, Coach Q, Hall of Fame Coach, 3 Cups in Chicago, guy who was sent packing yet Bowman still remains here, Mr. Stache… love him. Would definitely like to see him win again, and stick it up Bowman’s ass, even though he still is our GM. If Coach Q had to go, then Bowman should have went too; Coach Q should have never been giving his walking papers, and with all the joy he helped bring us… go Panthers!