“Then as it was, then again it will be.  Though the course may change sometimes, rivers always reach the sea.” –Ten Years Gone, Led Zeppelin**

Not that it’s a big deal, but this week I was published in John Buccigross’s Tuesday edition of his blogumn over at ESPN.com for his Caption of the Week.  Mine was the third one down, so I’m not sure if it was third best or if some or even any method exists of ordering the captions he chooses.  I’ll let you be the judge, but even if I earned a bronze, I’m just happy to have my name on such a consistently great column.  Thanks Bucci!

**I tried to find a picture of John on picapp for WordPress, but his name drew nothing, espn + hockey drew even less, and just plain espn got me 70% Stuart Scott and the rest was some event that had the red carpet “perp walk” in front of the sponsor/event backdrop.  So I thought back to NHL Tonight, and came up with the photo above.

“I can see…a Lighthouse.  It’s Glorious!”

Welcome back, residents of Mockburg! (Mocktown? Borough of Mockery? Mockeropolis?)  It’s good to see you.

There is trouble brewing for NHL hockey in the New York City area.  The difficulties for the New York Islanders in securing civic approval for a new arena and multi-use development around the proposed facility has left team owner Charles Wang dropping not-so-veiled threats about possible relocation for the franchise with four Stanley Cups.

The Islanders have gone so far as to play a pre-season game at the acclaimed yet unoccupied, luxurious and aesthetically pleasing new Sprint Center, which pines for a major league tenant, or in this case even the National Hockey League.  Unfortunately for the hosts in KC, a.k.a. arena and sports conglomerate Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) and the city government, the town found a baseball game of more interest than the hockey game that night.  Or maybe the Chiefs-mad Kansas City crowd thought that the sad-sack Scouts had a game that night and went to Kemper Arena to see them instead of the Isles.  Unfortunately, the Scouts had bailed after two miserable seasons in the early ’70′s.  Either way, only about 5,000 eager fans came out to convince Mr. Wang that his best bet was in Kansas City according to local news reports, and KC, like Atlanta, were ready for the NHL again. 

I can only imagine what was going through Wang’s mind as he looked out on the former future home of his franchise: “Thanks for the great steaks, but apparently the worst arena in the NHL on Long Island is better than a brand new on in Kansas City.”

After returning to Long Island, he’s dropped the other shoe by threatening to move, issued deadlines, and pretty much everything he can do to wring approval for a new arena but pick up the shoe he dropped and beat it on a desk in a County Council Meeting.  We can only hope that’s coming soon to YouTube.  Unfortunately Charles Wang, you are not getting the green light any time soon on Long Island.

As an accomplished and highly suspected successful business person, you should recongnize that you will have to cut your losses with the local political machine.  You surely see that in the New York market, everyone has their hand in your pocket, everything costs twice as much to build, and most times it takes forever to get done.  For examples of these wonderful Big Apple quirks, just see what’s gone on at Ground Zero, New Yankee Stadium, Citifield, the New Meadowlands Stadium, the proposed Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and the Prudential Center that is in dangerous Newark, instead of thriving Hoboken where it was originally planned.  But after all of these lonely years out there in the middle of the parking lot, surrounded but detached from suburban Long Island, struggling with the political do-nothings, it looks as though you may have lost some perspective on the project.

Fleet Week is always popular with the Islanders Ice Girls

 The truth is, sports in New York are a Love/Hate relationship.  You’re either loved or hated, a hero or a bum.  The loss of two baseball teams, a basketball team that hops from arena to arena in the Nets, and watching both New York NFL franchises move their stadium and all facilities to New Jersey has burnt the New York Sports Fan once too often. There are 9 pro sports teams in the New York City market representing the Big Four sports, and three hockey teams to boot.  And that’s just major league sports.  Will anyone really care if there are only two hockey teams to watch in the New York area?  At least you can get to the survivors’ games via mass transit.

 How long do you think the locals will complain after how the Islanders have beaten their fan base into submission with mediocre hockey (at best) in a dump of an arena these many years?  It’s been over 25 years since the Isles’ amazing run of four straight cups.  Those fans who were adults to see those seasons have retired to Florida by now, going to Lightning games, or not going to see the Coyotes in Phoenix.  Anyone under 25 hasn’t seen anything but heartache, the banners, and the stories of glory.  No, there’ll be some tears, and it’s a horrible thing, but the best option for the long-term viability of the franchise, the NHL, and Charles Wang is this:

Move the team to the Greater Toronto Area.

NO! WHAT?! The outrage is palpable.  It is a sad thing when a franchise moves and leaves a fan base behind.  That’s why when the Islanders move to their new home, and with it the pre-approved new facility in the Toronto market, they will leave behind the name Islanders, and those 4 championships.  The name will lie dormant, but only for a little while.  A new franchise will be born, and if need be they will play in the Air Canada Center until their home arena is completed, which it must because any owner will want the revenue from their own facility instead of paying rent.

Toronto is the most underserved Hockey market in the world.  It is a crime against the fans of the highest valued franchise in the NHL that it cannot get the job done on the ice.  It seems like an inside joke between the NHL and the Leafs, the long con at its best.  No one can stop the misfortunes of the hometown Leafs, and the league fails to satisfy excess demand by putting another team in Toronto through relocation or expansion.  Scarcity is an economic driver of demand.  Well, it seems that Ontario is in a frenzy for hockey, and it’s time to listen to the market. 

By moving the Islanders there, Wang can either sell for an inflated premium, which he probably deserves for his tenure with the team (although the Mike Milbury years scarred many fans).  The Indemnity Fee to the Maple Leafs that the league has said they will set will be paid by the new owner, or by Wang if he decides to stay on with the team.  Either way, you’ve put a guaranteed revenue engine for the league in place, rescued a beleaguered franchise and moved it to Hockey Heaven.  You’ve removed the worst arena in the league from the NHL inventory.  And you’ve created an instant sports rivalry because of the relocation between the biggest city in the US and the biggest city in Canada.  And keep in mind that having some competition for the hockey dollar in Toronto might do wonders to motivate Maple Leafs management to ice a quality, competitive, playoff caliber hockey team for a change. How cool would that be for Ontario, Canada, the majority of fans and the league.  Every one is happy, except Islander fans and the owners,who would potentially lose out on a huge expansion fee because of the Toronto market’s value.

The game can handle another church in the Toronto Diocese

Well, in this fantastical world where this move happens, there is even a silver lining on Long Island for fans and the league’s coffers.  Wang will not leave the Island without a Happy Ending (Ooof).  There will be a team in New York again.  Never mind that there three teams in the area are too many, that’s a blog for another day.  But if the Brooklyn arena is finished, it only makes sense to put a team there.  Paying rent and revenue steams become an issue again, so maybe losing the team temporarily will motivate the politicos in Hempstead to move forward with approval for an arena for the reconstituted franchise on Long Island.  And the league gets to expand into the area again if they so choose, and by retaining the Islander’s name and marks, the NHL can get the new owners around paying an indemnity fee to the Rangers and Devils by arguing that the new Islanders franchise was merely suspended and not new.

Even if the new Islanders take some to reappear, at least that would improve the fortunes of the New Jersey Devils.  The animosity between Islander and Ranger fans means there probably wouldn’t be many Isles’ fans who would start rooting for their hated rivals.  New Jersey is the only other local hockey option, and people can actually get to the game by train.  Something they can’t do at the Coliseum in Nassau. By the way, this is an immutable law of successful sports arenas in the US, and a mantra of this blog.  You MUST have mass transit access.  Anywhere on the East Coast from Washington to Boston.  That’s just the way it is.  Ideally, you build in urban centers and use the facility to revitalize the downtown core.  Fans can get from Manhattan to Newark in about 15 minutes by train, so it’s not much added time or effort to get your hockey fix in a brand new arena compared to the hassle of getting to an Isles game.  Lord knows the Devils could use some fans.  Lou Lamoriello may be in the Hockey Hall of Fame, but he is no Marketing Genius.  It would be a great chance to fill those empty seats at the Rock.

In 1972, the NHL gave Long Island a franchise to keep the upstart WHA from putting a team in the newly completed Coliseum.  New York had two teams up until the 40′s, so it was a good business decision for the NHL to lock out the competition from the largest market in the country.  People were moving to the suburbs, White Flight was in full force, and the arena’s location reflected the rapidly changing demographics of the time.  But times have changed again, and people are moving back into the cities.  It’s just about impossible given the traffic congestion around New York to get from work to home to pick up the family, and then make it to the game on time.  Add that even if Wang’s vision, the Lighthouse project, even gets built, the new arena is only a small part of the project.  It is the surrounding development where Wang stands to make his money.  Just as much would be made by moving to Canada, though.  It may take a little longer, and it’s not as glamorous as building a new city on Long Island, where Wang lives.  But a franchise in the Toronto market is guaranteed to keep laying golden eggs, even if the team loses.  Just look at the Leafs.   

As much as it stings, Long Island, you’ve had your chance.  If you want to keep your team, vote out your elected officials who don’t believe NHL Hockey, the storied Islanders franchise, and a new arena are in the community’s best interests.  Elect someone who will cut through the bureaucracy.  Build a new arena and keep your franchise.  It’s that simple.  Otherwise, the NHL is leaving, and won’t return without a new building.  Regardless, it’s time for another team in the Greater Toronto Area.  Until Long Island gets their act together and resolves the embarrassment that they consider an arena, maybe it’s just an AHL territory.  It would be a shame to find out.

What Leafs games might look like if there was another team in Toronto

“No seriously, the beach is only a couple of miles that way!”

There has been a lot of discussion in recent months regarding the public raking over the coals of the NHL in their battle with BlackBerry CEO Jim Balsillie and the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes franchise in an Arizona court. With this case came the revival of the questions regarding the NHL’s, and perhaps more specifically, Gary Bettman’s plan for expansion of the league to create a more attractive footprint for a broadcast contract. This so-called “Sun Belt” expansion saw the departure of two teams from Canada, where the sport of Hockey was invented by the way, and shuffled to U.S. locations that were anticipated to be greater revenue guarantees than in Canada.

To summarize the events that have occured since the addition or relocation of teams to Atlanta (2nd time the city has been granted a franchise), Florida (Miami), Tampa Bay, North Carolina, Nashville, Dallas, Phoenix, and California would require more time and space than available.  Briefly though, the NHL lost that national television contract they moved to these cities for, and with it the accompanying exposure it generated.  Whoopsie.

You can figure out fairly quickly who is either Canadian or not a hockey fan based on their view of these events.  Generally, most Canadians will express indignity regarding the loss of their franchises and look down on the league expansion as a money grab, or worse, placing the pearls of pro hockey in front of proverbial swine while those who lived and bleed the game saw their share of the  franchises in the league shrink by 25%.

Non-hockey fans will first remind you of the ESPN company line that no one watches the sport.  Then they will point out that the real issues in Phoenix, Florida, Nashville, and Atlanta are indicative of:

a) the Sun Belt expansion as a whole is a failure, and therefore,

b) hockey is a regional sport and cannot succeed in warm weather locales.

c) This is because  no one plays the sport in these places, very few people in warm climates are educated or attached to the game, and therefore there are very few people to market to and who will attend games.  Throw in the warm weather options available even in the winter when hockey is played, and you get a recipe for bankruptcy and irrelevance.

Let’s take these non-hockey fans’ arguments first.  The NHL first expanded to warm weather cities in 1967 with the expansion of the Original 6 teams, to include the Los Angeles Kings among the new franchises.  Although the Kings compete with a deluge of entertainment options in their home market, the franchise turned the hockey world upside down and put the name Gretzky on the lips of many Americans, sports fans or not.  It could be argued that one long term effect of Gretzky’s trade to the Kings led to the addition of another team in the L.A. market with the Anaheim Duck expansion franchise that was awarded in 1993.  There’s one Sun Belt Success Story.

Dallas has won a Stanley Cup and invested heavily in developing the game in its home market, with the results evident in the strong franchise support in a community that views itself as a football town.  That’s another Sun Belt success.

The Carolina Hurricanes regularly compete head-on with premier college basketball programs at Duke, North Carolina, and North Carolina State which are all within 15 miles of their arena.  That franchise operates on a stringent budget and relies on talent evaluation and loyalty to compensate for their market size.  Yet another ”Sun Belt City”

Tampa has been near capacity almost every season since their Cup run in 2004, except for last year when the team finished near the bottom of the league for the second straight season  More sunny news from the Sun Belt.  Each of these examples refutes the argument that the expansion has been a failure. 

It has been shown that with proper grassroots development and the huge boost generated from on ice success, it seems that most of these warm weather franchises can be successful.  Even Florida played to pack houses during its unlikely Cup run in ’96.  That takes care of point b), that the sport is regional.

Aha, some will say.  You don’t need to educate Canadians on the game.  You’ve got a frenzied and ready-made fan base just dying for more.  True.  There should be at least one more franchise in the Toronto area and an additional team in one of the other larger cities if it can support the franchise should the loonie lose value again.  It’s unfortunate that Winnipeg and Quebec City lost teams, but Calgary gained one.  And the Manitoba Moose of the AHL now play at a new arena and draw well.  Canada deserves another team, but where?  For starters, Toronto.

“We stand on guard for thee, and you Yanks owe us a team. We’ll take Atlanta’s again, but we’re changing the name this time.  What the hell’s a Thrasher anyway? A bird?  Seriously, tell us.”

But this argument is about spreading the footprint of the game and the Sun Belt experiment, not the neglect or under utilization of the Canadian fan.  They are intertwined but the expansion is not completely at fault for the lack of Canadian teams.  That is the result of earlier reluctance in Canada to replace outdated facilities when the loonie was at a lower exchange rate, and the resistance of the Toronto Maple Leafs and to a lesser extent Buffalo Sabres franchises from accepting an additional team in their geographic markets and the indemnity fees that would generate.

That’s the real problem, not where the franchises are right now.  People that point out the Phoenix bankruptcy conveniently ignore the bankruptcies of “traditional region” franchises such as Ottawa and Pittsburgh, as well as the finacial troubles Buffalo, Edmonton, and the Islanders have had.  What about the empty stands in Original 6 cities such as Boston and Chicago until recently?  These instances all mirror many of the same difficulties some of the warm weather franchises have experienced when they are undercapitalized and their games are poorly attended because the team is bad.

The real problem with the Phoenix and Florida franchises, perhaps the two weakest of the currently troubled teams, is the same issue. It is one of geography.  Not the city where they are located, but where the teams play in relation to the city they play for. 

The Florida Panthers don’t play in Miami anymore.  Now they play in the suburban bedroom community of Sunrise, outside of Miami and accessible by highway.

Phoenix?  Almost.  They play in Glendale, home of the NFL’s Phoenix Cardinals’ new stadium.  Another small town that relies on pro sports facilities to put themselves on the map, so to speak.  They do business in the tradition of Foxboro, Massachusetts and East Rutherford, New Jersey.

That’s not a bad idea putting a casino in the arena.  Maybe they could give the team away as the jackpot for a slots parlay.

The trend during the stadium construction boom over the last twenty years has been to purchase lower cost real estate in or near city cores, particularly areas needing revitalization, ideally near mass transit if available, and then developing the arena and the area around the rink.  Suburban facilities started going the way of Astroturf and inflatable dome stadiums in the early 90′s.  Yet all it takes is a well subsidized interest, or sweet lease deal in a new suburban rink offered by a city desperate for recognition, and some owners will ignore where their fans are travelling from and to and sign on as an anchor tenant.  It’s only a couple of years into this deal, when the newness of the arena has worn off, and people have realized it’s a hassle to get to, that the effects of empty seats are felt.  Especially if you aren’t getting the job done on the ice and at least sniffing the playoffs on a regular basis.  You can see the end results in Phoenix and Florida from being located in the middle of nowhere and fielding bad to mediocre teams recently.

There is no question that more NHL hockey could survive in Canada, and at least one more team is overdue.  But Hockey can also survive in the Sun Belt.  You don’t even need ice to get someone hooked, just roller or street hockey so they can understand the rules and discover a passion for the sport. 

The formula is simple:  Win  in the playoffs, and have an arena that fans can get to and is worth going to, and the stands will be full.  It just comes down to winning and ease of access, which in the end is really what determines how people spend their discretionary income.

“Wait, you mean you’re supposed to keep the talented players?”

This is a teaser, and it’s about a misnomer at that.  While I’m sure that many of you could fill this in amply, this will be a regular opportunity to flame our winner.  Cathartic for fans of the home team, hilarious for rivals. 

Becasue of the nature of the compressed schedule in this Olympic season, and because my OCD compels me to choose round numbers, this will actually not be a monthly post, but rather an accounting every 10 games and at other compelling points in the season, such as the Trade Deadline, the All Star game, etc.

So stay frosty, because we’re coming up on 10 games for each team.  It’s a benchmark of reflection and assessment in a young season, but valuable points in the standings can be lost while less-than-astute GM’s fail to recongnize real faults with their team and seek to correct them.  Flame on!

Even this kid knows what the only goal is for every GM

Cheers from the Garden!

Welcome back to Hockeymockery, a momentary lapse of reason to an otherwise mundane existence.

Since the LA Kings are now my new team, and they were in New York playing the Rangers, I bought my friend’s 300 level tickets for the game and took my Sweet Girl on a midweek date night.  Some thoughts from the game:

• I wore my Kings silver and black Alternate from last season.  Number 23, Captain Dustin Brown.  He’s from New York State, so I thought it would be a nice touch.  I saw a few Kings jerseys scattered around, but only one other guy with the same type as mine.  He had number 8, Drew Doughty.  He was an older guy, and as we passed each other we nodded and I said “Nice jersey”.  He smiled and took his 12 inch hotdog with him, two ships passing in the night slightly creeped out by the other.  But only one of us had good reason for it.  I also saw a guy in a Vinnie Prospal Flyers Jersey.  Even though he’s on the Rangers now, that’s still a gutsy play to wear it in MSG.  Although I have worn Devils jerseys there in the past and flaunted it.  Times aren’t what they used to be sometimes.

• Our seats were right near the Beer Garden with a nice corner angle on the whole sheet of ice.  Just for the sake of full disclosure, I started with Anchor Steam until they ran out, and then switched to the Molson Canadian.   You can never go wrong with a Molson product at a Hockey game, even if it does cost $9 and comes in a souvenir cup.  Sweet Girl, who normally likes warm drinks, made a face at her first Anchor Steam and said “It’s warm”.  She switched to Amstel.  When I pointed out her willingness to drink room temperature water, she said “I’m not a Brit”.  ‘Ello, mate.

• There are some strong food choices up there in the 300 level.  I settled for the Pastrami on Rye Bread with cole slaw and a pickle.  Solid.  The service guys tried to give me grief about the Kings jersey, but I flipped it back to them and told them it meant I got double the sandwich meat for free.  You’ve always got to be on the good side of the people making your food at a sporting event.  They’re working hard, ususally for not much money, and work under corporate standards.  Cut ‘em a break. 

• It was a good game.  The Rangers staff puts on the kind of show you would expect in NYC.  This was a matchup between two surprisingly strong teams that were near the top of their respective conferences.  The Kings took it to the Rangers, getting the better it seemed towards the end of the first, and the entire second and third periods.  They badly outshot the Rangers, but ended up losing due to the outstanding goaltending of Henrik Lundqvist.  Marian Gaborik probably has the fastest wrister in the game.  Ryan Smyth got another goal to stay hot (even though I still think we should have kept Kyle Quincey), but Anze Kopitar didn’t unfortunately.

Goal! Captain Canada! Let the heckling begin! 1940! Wait. Next Cup 2048!

• All in all it was a good night.  That’s one of the beauties of Hockey fandom: The Road Game.  A chance to see a game from the other point of view and be a stranger for a night.  It’s always nice to go home with a win, but even sweeter on the road, especially if you’re an opposing fan just visiting or stuck in a city away from your favorite team. There’s nothing better than grinning like the Butcher’s dog on your way home or to the bar outside the arena.

Our Founder

With the 2009-10 National Hockey League season finally here, so too begins this blog. My goals here are to take pot shots at the stakeholders of my beloved game of hockey, allow a forum for fans to vent, and eventually set up an online store.  But first, where is this all coming from?

Things are changing quickly in the world as we close out the first decade of the 21st Century, and the world’s preeminent hockey league continues to change as well as it faces new challenges to the sport.

And in this time of change, so too have I. My team.

This is a serious issue.

Since I am no longer working for the Devils and in light of my deep displeasure with New Jersey, I can’t root for them.

Which brings me to my first point: you can’t go home again.

Growing up in upstate New York, my house was about equally distant from Boston and New York City. There was a fairly even mix between supporters of the sports franchises of the two cities. This blending of the downstate and New England cultures was also evident in the fact that the pizza there is excellent, and yet the local accent reflected the laconic tones and manners of New England yankees.

As a child I was proud to be a Yankees fan AND cheer loudly for the Bruins and Bobby Orr. I even liked the Celtics. I didn’t see the incongruence between supporting two cities that were rivals. It was a simpler time, and the media didn’t stir the passions and hatred like today.

At least “Grapes” didn’t welch on Bobby.  Whoo boy.

When I moved to Manhattan as an adult, I’d already lived in Philadelphia, Seattle, Albuquerque, and Raleigh. I half-heartedly supported the Hurricanes when I was in the Raleigh area, but the ‘Canes are still a pup of a franchise. I need tradition. I need an educated fan base to watch games with.

In New York, I got behind the Rangers.  Tradition? They are one of the Original 6 franchises.  A knowledgable fan base?  The New York Sports Fan is loyal, demanding, knowledgeable, boorish at times, and frequently a front runner. They expect winners. And there is nothing like seeing the game at Madison Square Garden.

But then I got a job with the New Jersey Devils, and since Lou Lamoriello signed my paycheck, I felt I should support my employer.  They had tradition, even if they’d only been around since ’74.  Even if they’d moved three times, the vagabond franchise which settled in a swamp then jumped to the largest and most dangerous city in New Jersey. 

Three Stanley Cups and four Finals appearances  in 9 years will earn you respect.

And I got to mingle with Devils fans.  The forgotten 6th Borough of Manhattan, aka New Jersey, boasts a strange cast of miscreants, castoffs, big money players, New York ex-pats, and sports fanatics.  But the problem with hockey fans in New Jersey is that there are 3 distinct subsets to this group. 

There are the Rangers fans.  Their fandom extends to that scary city on the other side of the river from New Jersey that many of them are afraid to venture to.  I never understood those people from New Jersey who move all the way to Hoboken to get the New York City lifestyle, rents, parking, and prices.  The city is right across the river.  Why wouldn’t you leave Jersey to get there when you’re that close?  Most often the Rangers have been passed down through the generations, so there’s no need to change now, right? 

The accompanying envy for New York that accompanies a New Jersey fan of the Rangers is more often the hidden, darker issue.  But I am neither a psychologist or psychiatrist, so you’ll have to debate that one.  The majority of this genus of fan lives in Northern Jersey.  There is also the Connecticut species, but that is another discussion.

Nieds knows what it’s like to escape New Jersey.

Then there are the Flyers fans, who live in the southern part of the state, from Trenton and Princeton on down.  Can you blame them for their loyalties?  The Flyers have been around since ’67, won back to back cups, and are a consistently good team.  They have great, passionate fans that have a reputation as demanding and dangerous.  No wonder South Jersey loves them and their football counterparts, the Eagles.  But they’re not for me.  Try as I have, I just can’t be a Philly guy.  I’ve lived there, gone to school there, eaten cheesesteaks there, but no.

Which leaves the last part of New Jersey for those Devils fans.  They probably get about 25-30% of the hockey fans in their home state.  Not too good.  Even though the team is good. Hmmmm.

Fine.  They have a good logo, and now that they don’t wear the Christmas Tree red and green jerseys anymore, the black and red is sharp.  But I don’t work there anymore.  I can’t back them.  I need to go new.  But which NHL team?  I haven’t mentioned the other New York-area team, the Islanders.  But they’ve already got their cups, and I can’t follow a franchise that’s living on past successes, and you just can’t trust someone who keeps hopping the fence in a geographic rivalry.  You’ve got to take a side.  So, it’s off to the Western Conference.

A fresh start out West.  Granted, I won’t be able to see many games of my new team live, but with the NHL schedule they should be around every season for at least a road trip for one game or a match against the locals.  Plus, with the Center Ice package, I can catch all the games.  But this brings another issue:  If I choose a team on the West coast, it’s going to be some late nights and mornings that come way too early.  But a love for the game and my new team will help me deal.  I will overcome.  Maybe I should just stick with a squad east of the Rockies?  No.  I cannot limit myself by my frail, human hierarchy of physical needs.  Besides, having a team out West gives me an excuse to travel for a home game.  It has to be a team where it’s warm so I can escape from the winter dreariness of the east coast.

You may be able to tell at this point where I’m going with this.  I need a team with some tradition and time in the league, but ideally no cups yet so I can enjoy the run should it happen; a team in the west, with warm weather for winter visits. 

And the team that I chose as my new “home” team?

The Los Angeles Kings.

They have tradition: they were one of the first wave of NHL expansion in 1967.  And Wayne Gretzky played for them.  Good enough for me.

Fire Marshall Wayne: “Let me show you something!”

That’s an “In Living Color” joke, kids.  YouTube it.

They’ve never won the cup, although they made it to the fianls in ’93 against the Canadiens.  So should they make a run, I won’t be a complete bandwagon fan.

And they’re fun.  They play an open style of hockey.  They’re a young team to grow with, they’re talented, and their captain is from New York, so there is some connection.  Plus there’s a nice collection of jerseys to choose from, though I’m particularly partial to the old school silver and black (with a shout out to N.W.A. and the Oakland Raiders).  So that’s my team, and I’m sticking with ‘em.

Unless until I work in Hockey again, or I move.