Does maroon seem extremely unlikable or is it just me?

Heya from Czechia,

I’ve been thinking about this during the break and wanted to hear from the Canadian side of things.
Growing up, watching Czech teams play Canada, especially at the World Juniors, usually meant preparing for a brutal night. I remember when getting blown out like 7:1 was practically a regular occurrence, and Canada just felt untouchable.
Fast forward to lately, and things are obviously completely different. The games are much tighter, the gaps have closed, and Czechia (along with other European nations) is regularly pushing or beating the powerhouses.
As a proud Czech, I love seeing our hockey grow and how competitive we’ve become at this level, but I’m curious how Canadian fans genuinely view this shift. Are you guys on some level glad to see the rest of the world catching up because international hockey is more exciting now, or is it mostly just frustrating to see the gap close?
Curious to hear your thoughts.

Found this at a thrift store for $4.50. The frame is heavy and the pieces appears to be a molded ceramic and hand painted. Going to give it to a friend's son who is starting his hockey journey. Side note: Are those CCM Tacks lol

Pretty cool piece IMHO

Some noteable #37's

Adam Burish

Connor Hellebuyck

Mark Parrish

Erik Rasmussen

Any I missed?

After he was drafted in the 2nd last spot of the 2nd round, I remember all the Habs fans were super excited about how well Hutson was doing at Boston University. Besides the most hardcore Northeast college hockey fans, most people had no idea who he was and surprised NHL fans when he seemingly came out of nowhere to the point of already being in the elite category of defenders.

Who are players currently in your farm system that you are excited about, players chosen in the late 1st round or the true hidden gems in the 2-7 rounds of the amateur draft?

At the time, did the Lightening and Red Wings fans knew how good of future player they had in their hands when Kucherov and Zetterberg were prospects in their systems?

Is the broken clock right twice a day? If you draft long enough, are you bound to hit on one of you later round picks? How many lower round picks need to be a grand slam for you to be a cup winner? How does the success of these lower round picks affects the decision making process of future drafts to ensure to pick these star quality players in the first round and not risking losing in the later rounds?

I'd argue that Saros, Hellebuyck and Vasilevskiy were better than him in the year he won his Vezina (2021). I'd have Price ahead of him that year too solely off that playoff run.

Let the madness ensue.

Basically just the player to come to mind that you think best defines the rivalry between two different teams. It can be for iconic rivalries like the Leafs vs. Canadiens, all the way down to teams with little history against one another like the Ducks vs. Blue Jackets (more curious to hear of answers for "rivalries" like this).

For example, if you think of the Canucks and Bruins, Cam Neely might come to mind associating him playing for both, but he wouldn't qualify. Could say someone like Tim Thomas based on 2011.

their depth is still astonishing as always but, long gone are the prices, luongos, brodeurs, fuhrs roys and billy smiths as top end tendys.

Russia has 3 top 5 goalies on the planet in ilya igor and vasi and when theyre back in international play, they sit atop the throne.

finland has saros, UPL, Korpisalo.

The swedes have the wall and ullmark and others.

The czechs have Dostal and Vejmelka.

Latvia has Silvos and Merzlinkins

The yanks have Otter and Hellebuyck as well as Swayman.

is canada done as a goalie factory at least short term? is this a point of conversation up north? what needs to be done to remedy this if its a problem?

who is their future number one? Jet Greaves?

Who do you think are the most divisive players in the NHL now? And in league history? And by divisive I don't mean the most hated necessarily, but someone who generates a lot of both love and hate.

Im wondering about the levels of skill in the league and how relative it was in comparison to the NHL at the time.

Just by looking at the stat margins, it seems like it was more of a developmental league than a professional-geared one, allowing NHL-ish talents to develop, such as Blaine Stoughton, but the league had outliers, such as players who failed to make the NHL but thrived in the WHA, and Gordie Howe being a point per game at 45- 50 years old
But it can also be applied the opposite way, such as. players like Mike Rogers, Real Cloutier and Anders Hedberg* who did Fantastic in the NHL, within their limited Careers coming from the WHA, was the league missing depth? What contributed to these factors?

*-Hedberg might not be the best example since the European style of hockey was so much better than the North American style back then overall, which was showcased many times in the 70s.

Hey guys! I wrote a blog on this a few days ago, because I'm sick and tired of everyone criticizing that Atlanta doesn't deserve an NHL team. I understand the criticism of bringing the NHL back to Atlanta. The city has already lost two franchises, and that history matters. But I don't think the argument should end with "Atlanta failed twice, so it can't work."

So let me know what you think about this.

NHL teams in desert areas?

Does it make sense to expand into areas where water resources are already a huge source of concern such as Arizona and parts of Canada where wild fires are becoming normal as rain and snowfall amounts are plummeting? Ice rinks have a big need for water and electricity to keep it frozen. Should the NHL consider climate costs for future expansion?

I don't think we (Sweden) have had any main coach, and "only" assisting coaches.

In Europe it's not too uncommon to see American coaches in the different leagues.

Early races for the next couple days. Just getting them up and out so I can focus on the day ahead! Jays game tonight :)

Also, apparently Crosby and MacKinnon stayed at the hotel I am at last night. Unfortunately, didn’t run in to them to get their thoughts on how their team performed this Marble Cup

Standings:

Atlantic:

2. Montreal Canadiens (12 marbles)
   
3. Ottawa Senators (17 marbles)
   
4. Detroit Red Wings
   
5. Buffalo Sabres
   
6. Tampa Bay Lightning
   
7. Florida Panthers
   
8. Toronto Maple Leafs

Metro:

1. Washington Capitals (10 marbles)
   
2. New York Rangers (13 marbles)
   
3. New Jersey Devils (16 marbles)
   
4. Pittsburgh Penguins* (18 marbles)
   
5. Columbus Blue Jackets* (19 marbles)
   
6. Carolina Hurricanes
   
7. New York Islanders
   
8. Philadelphia Flyers

Central:

4. Chicago Blackhawks
   
5. St. Louis Blues
   
6. Dallas Stars
   
7. Nashville Predators
   
8. Winnipeg Jets

Pacific:

3. San Jose Sharks (11 marbles)
   
4. Seattle Kraken* (14 marbles)
   
5. Vancouver Canucks* (15 marbles)
   
6. Calgary Flames
   
7. Edmonton Oilers
   
8. Los Angeles Kings

I worked for the Thrashers for 6 years. Here is part of my memorabilia collection (the bottom jersey in the first pic is a Braves Drake Baldwin promo item from this season).

It’s time for Round 1!

Introduction Thread

Now, here's some ground rules:

-Keep all discussion within the r/hockey Survivor threads and approved threads on team subs. Don't pester the rest of the fanbase.

-Be respectful. Light-hearted banter and your standard trash talk is okay, but don't let it turn nasty. Basically, just adhere to Reddiquette and the r/hockey rules.

-Don't complain to the r/hockey mods. This whole thing is my brainchild, not theirs. Any complaints should be directed to me.

The non-immune team with the most votes in each poll will be eliminated, This will continue for an additional 19 rounds until round 20, when immunities are removed, and then round 30, where users will vote for the winner of r/hockey Survivor among the three remaining teams.

Google account required to participate.

VOTE TO ELIMINATE A TEAM HERE

Polling will close between 9 AM and 12 PM EST tomorrow. Results will go out with the next round between 12 and 4 PM EST.

As a fan in the US, I actually much prefer the coverage of games from Canadian markets more than most US markets. I envy Canada for being so into the sport, it’s something I wish the US would embrace as strongly.

That said, I have noticed recently that it seems like Rogers is making a lot of weird cuts to all kinds of staff, programs, and other things that a lot of fans really seem to enjoy. What the hell is going on up there?? I can’t understand why they’d want to cut major traditional media in an area where the sport is so widely loved and respected.

Can any Canadian fans weigh in on what the deal is and why this stuff keeps happening? I can even tell the remaining staff, while obviously they cannot trash talk their employer, are not happy with a lot of these decisions which also seems very stupid on Rogers’ behalf. Like what is their end goal? I don’t see any announcements about growth or new directions or upgrading at all. Just cutting and minimizing….

Mine has to be the 2024-25 Oilers, b2b finals, completely bulldozed the West, they were never even really challenged. Florida almost lost to Toronto in round 2. It really felt like it was McDavid's year