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NHL fan poll results: Stanley Cup favorites, breakout candidates, future basement dwellers, more
NHL fan poll results: Stanley Cup favorites, breakout candidates, future basement dwellers, more
Harman Dayal
Aug 2, 2023
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Die-hard NHL fans are smarter than they’re given credit for.
Every time I’ve run into a subscriber of The Athletic in person, they’ve shared intelligent questions and balanced, rational takes on their favorite team and the NHL as a whole. The logic and depth of those conversations have always been a huge step up compared to social media where the trolling, hot takes and influx of casual fans often drown out the more measured, nuanced discussions.
We launched The Athletic’s inaugural offseason fan survey to gauge what the NHL’s most passionate fans think. More than 18,500 of you responded to our 15-question poll, which had participants weigh in with short- and long-term NHL predictions, offer takes on hot-button debates and touch on some fun, lighthearted topics, too.
We also heard your feedback that you’d prefer more state-of-the-league debates and perhaps fewer prediction questions in the future — we’ll be mindful of that when we do it again next summer.
Without further ado, here are the results of the poll.
1. Who is the best player in the NHL besides Connor McDavid?
Best Player In NHL Besides McDavid
PLAYER VOTES
Nathan MacKinnon
30.4%
Cale Makar
17.8%
Leon Draisaitl
17.4%
Auston Matthews
12.2%
Matthew Tkachuk
9.7%
Voted Other/Skipped question: 12.5%
Nathan MacKinnon ran away with this pretty convincingly. He’s finished top five in Hart voting four times in the past six years (although he’s never won), has a monster playoff track record, won the Stanley Cup, and even though the Avalanche lost in the first round this year, he almost single-handedly willed the team through.
Cale Makar, the consensus best defenseman in the NHL in this survey, finished right behind his teammate. Keep in mind that this cohort doesn’t even include Mikko Rantanen, who’s coming off a 55-goal, 105-point campaign. Colorado’s collection of superstar talent is special.
I bet Leon Draisaitl would have gotten a lot more love here if the Oilers had gone deeper in the playoffs. It obviously doesn’t help to live in the shadow of McDavid, but Draisaitl was the story of the playoffs, averaging more than a goal per game, right up until Edmonton’s elimination. That’s not to mention, of course, the 32 points in 16 playoff games he had in 2022. Draisaitl’s scored at least 105 points (or at that pace in the shortened 2020-21 campaign) in his last five seasons, too.
There’s a good chance Auston Matthews might have topped this poll last summer. He won the Hart Trophy in 2021-22 after scoring 60 goals in 73 games, and combined it with a very impressive two-way game. Matthews is coming off a down year but the biggest blemish is his playoff track record. It isn’t just the Leafs’ struggles as a team, Matthews individually has only scored 44 points in 50 postseason games (a 72 points per 82 games rate).
Matthew Tkachuk was ranked far and away the best winger in the NHL. He broke out as an elite player in 2021-22, but Johnny Gaudreau was playing like an MVP talent on the same line, so Tkachuk got overlooked. This year, Tkachuk proved he can not only drive a line on his own but be the best player on a Stanley Cup finalist.
2. Should the NHL add a play-in round to the playoffs like the NBA?
Should NHL add a play-in round like NBA?
RESPONSE VOTES
No
74.2%
Yes
24.5%
Skipped question: 1.3%
The NBA recently added a play-in tournament round that’s used to determine the seventh and eighth seed in each conference for the playoffs. There’s been a lot of debate about whether the NHL should adopt it, with colleague Pierre LeBrun sharing earlier last season that there’s a lot of traction about the idea from governors, although commissioner Gary Bettman is against it.
One of the most common arguments against is that it dilutes the regular season. On the other hand, proponents would argue that it actually creates more high-stakes regular season battles because now conference seeding, to finish top six to automatically skip the play-in, actually matters. Instead of simply tracking a wild card or No. 8 seed race, we’d be tracking the battles for actual seeding, too.
The NHL fans we polled were pretty strongly against adding a play-in round, however, with only one in four respondents backing the idea.
3. Do you prefer the current divisional and wild card playoff format, or the old conference based format (1v8, 2v7, etc)?
NHL division vs conference playoff style
RESPONSE VOTES
Old Conference based format
82.8%
Current division + wild card format
15.7%
Skipped question: 1.5%
Hockey fans may not want a play-in round, but the overwhelming majority want to see the league go back to the conference-based format. Many have argued that the division format doesn’t reward regular-season success enough and that it’s getting tiring when some teams end up with the same first-round matchups as before.
4. Matthew Tkachuk, Jack Eichel, Alex DeBrincat and Pierre-Luc Dubois recently orchestrated moves to preferred destinations despite not having UFA status. Are you a fan of star players having more power about where they want to play?
RESPONSE VOTES
Yes
38.5%
Only if the player has spent a long time on a directionless, losing team
35.6%
No
23.1%
Skipped question: 2.8%
We’ve recently seen a few high-profile examples of star players wielding more power about where they want to play.
Hockey fans are here for the movement, as only 23.1 percent of respondents were against it. There was a pretty even split between those who support stars having more control over their destination in all situations versus only forcing their way out if they’re on a miserable, directionless team.
Blockbuster trades like the Tkachuk one are fun, exciting and generate discussion around the sport. They’ve also been rare in the salary cap era. If top players become empowered, perhaps the hockey world can look forward to spicier offseasons in the future.
5. If you could grab dinner or drinks with any current NHL player, not on your favorite team, who would it be?
Who'd you most like to get dinner with?
PLAYER VOTES
Sidney Crosby
20.2%
Marc-Andre Fleury
19.3%
Alex Ovechkin
14.3%
Matthew Tkachuk
10.1%
Brad Marchand
5.6%
Other players who received significant votes: Phil Kessel, Brent Burns, Connor McDavid, Ryan Reaves, Patrick Kane, Joe Pavelski, Patrice Bergeron, Brady Tkachuk, Pat Maroon, Claude Giroux, Erik Karlsson, Jack Hughes
Skipped question: 14.7%
Sidney Crosby was the best player of the 2010s and has accomplished it all in his career. That alone makes him so fascinating. But even if you ignore all the trophies and accolades, he’s one of the best human beings in the game. It’s no wonder why he was so popular.
Crosby’s ex-teammate, Marc-Andre Fleury, just narrowly finished behind him. Fleury is probably the best prankster in the NHL and one of the most beloved teammates wherever he goes.
Alex Ovechkin’s personality doesn’t shine quite as often as it used to but nobody can forget how much fun he brought to the game early in his career and when the Capitals won the Cup in 2018.
Tkachuk and Brad Marchand, one of the league’s only villains, each got a lot of votes, too.
Phil Kessel was the most common write-in option, with 146 votes.
McDavid only received 76 of the 18,103 votes. It probably hasn’t helped the NHL’s efforts to grow the game that their best player doesn’t have the most marketable personality.
6. Choose one NHL city (besides your favorite team’s) you would most like to visit for a weekend trip and game
Best NHL road city for a trip
CITY VOTES
Montreal
26.5%
Vegas
24.9%
Nashville
21.2%
New York City
11.9%
Seattle
3.1%
Toronto
1.9%
Vancouver
1.7%
Other: 6.4%
Skipped question: 2.3%
This was a fun question to gauge what fans think of different road cities.
Montreal narrowly edged out Vegas, and Nashville wasn’t too far behind. New York City trailed the top three by a significant margin but still earned lots of votes. Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver were the top write-in votes.
Here’s what I’d say about a few of these top options based on covering road games in some of these cities.
If you’re looking for hot weather any time of year, amazing game presentation, a surprisingly raucous crowd and fun nights out, it’s really tough to beat Vegas. Vegas doesn’t have a lot of diverse things to do in the city, however, and quickly loses its appeal after multiple visits. So, if you think you’ll end up visiting Vegas at one point in your life for any other occasion anyway, then it might be worth considering picking a different destination.
Montreal has amazing food, vibrant culture, tons to do and there’s just something totally unique about the atmosphere of watching a game at the Bell Centre. Hockey in Montreal feels special and passionate in a way that no other NHL city has matched. Highly recommend a visit, if possible.
Madison Square Garden is such a historic and cool rink but it’d be a really expensive trip and the crowd can be underwhelmingly quiet because of all the suits.
7. Pick one 2023 Eastern Conference playoff team that you’re most confident will miss the postseason next season
TEAM VOTES
New York Islanders
57.2%
Boston Bruins
11.8%
Florida Panthers
6.9%
They will all make it again
6.5%
New York Rangers
5.3%
Tampa Bay Lightning
4.0%
Toronto Maple Leafs
3.1%
New Jersey Devils
2.0%
Carolina Hurricanes
0.7%
Skipped question: 2.5%
The Eastern Conference has about 12 teams that on paper could reasonably make the playoffs. It’s going to be incredibly competitive and a large majority of fans are betting on the Islanders as the odd team out from last year’s playoff group. They received 8,260 votes more than the second-place Bruins, who will have to recover from Patrice Bergeron’s retirement and David Krejci’s likely departure.
Florida clocked in at No. 3, which is sensible considering Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad could miss the start of the season with injuries. Couple that with Radko Gudas and Marc Staal’s exits and the Panthers’ top four could suddenly look really thin to begin the year.
8. Pick one young Eastern Conference team on the rise that you’re most confident will break out and make the playoffs next season
Which East team will breakout in 2023-24
TEAM VOTES
Buffalo Sabres
55.4%
Detroit Red Wings
13.9%
None of them will make it, the East is too competitive
13.5%
Ottawa Senators
10.8%
Columbus Blue Jackets
4.7%
Skipped question: 1.7%
Buffalo ran away with this, which won’t shock anyone. The Sabres didn’t make any huge splashes on the back end or in goal, though, so they have left the door open for another young team in the East to give them a solid fight.
Detroit’s picking up some hype after the Alex DeBrincat trade.
It was a little bit surprising that the Senators didn’t get a little bit more love considering they finished only five points back of the Sabres last season and will benefit from a full year of Jakob Chychrun, the return of second-line center Josh Norris who was hurt for all but eight games in 2022-23 and an upgrade in goal with Joonas Korpisalo.
9. Pick one 2023 Western Conference playoff team that you’re most confident will miss the postseason next season
TEAM VOTES
Winnipeg Jets
67.5%
Minnesota Wild
10.3%
Seattle Kraken
7.6%
They will all make it again
4.7%
Los Angeles Kings
4.1%
Dallas Stars
1.3%
Edmonton Oilers
0.8%
Vegas Golden Knights
0.6%
Colorado Avalanche
0.4%
Skipped question: 2.7%
The Jets netted more than two-thirds of the votes on this one.
It makes sense given Pierre-Luc Dubois and Blake Wheeler’s departures, plus that they missed the playoffs in 2021-22. But as long as Connor Hellebuyck is still on the roster, you can’t write Winnipeg off, especially since the Jets got back a couple of quality win-now players in Gabriel Vilardi and Alex Iafallo as part of the Dubois trade.
10. Which non-playoff team from the West will break out and make the playoffs next season?
TEAM VOTES
Calgary Flames
29.5%
None
25.3%
St. Louis Blues
22.8%
Vancouver Canucks
13.8%
Nashville Predators
1.9%
Skipped questions: 6.7%
The field for teams that could break through in the West isn’t nearly as exciting as in the East.
Calgary led the way with nearly a third of the votes. The Flames are a fascinating team. They missed the playoffs by just two points and had a plus-eight goal differential despite an awful year from Jacob Markstrom. If Markstrom has any semblance of a bounce back — don’t forget that he finished second in Vezina Trophy voting during 2021-22 — or if top prospect Dustin Wolf has a big year, that alone could give the club a substantial boost. Jonathan Huberdeau is a solid bounce-back candidate too. It hurts losing Tyler Toffoli and there’s still uncertainty around the future of players like Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin and Mikael Backlund, so we’ll have to stay tuned to see what happens.
St. Louis was one of the NHL’s biggest disappointments last year, and there’s been a fair amount of roster turnover, but don’t forget that the Blues are only a year removed from giving the Avs a really tough time in the second round of the 2022 playoffs.
The Canucks have a shot too, although they trailed Calgary and St. Louis by a significant margin.
11. Connor Bedard is 24 years old, in his prime. He is playing at the following level:
RESPONSES VOTES
Top-10 player in the NHL (think current Kirill Kaprizov caliber)
35.9%
Top-3 player in the NHL (think current Nathan MacKinnon caliber)
31.6%
Battling with 32-year-old McDavid for MVP
14.6%
Top-30 player in the NHL (think current Sebastian Aho caliber)
9.9%
All-Star level but not a true franchise talent (think current Mathew Barzal caliber)
3.4%
Not at an All-Star level or better
1.1%
Skipped question: 3.5%
Considering the unbelievable hype around Connor Bedard, it was fair to wonder if expectations for his prime might be too high. But this response seems about right.
The vast majority of fans understand that Bedard isn’t a McDavid-caliber prospect, but still recognize he’s a rare talent with a strong chance of becoming a top-10 player in the NHL during his peak (a combined 67.5 percent of voters believe he’ll get there).
12. Which 2023 NHL playoff teams will be basement dwellers (bottom 10 in the NHL standings) by the 2025-26 season? Pick as few or as many as you like
Who will be bottom-10 in NHL by 2025-26?
TEAM VOTES
Winnipeg Jets
55.9%
New York Islanders
43.0%
Boston Bruins
41.2%
Tampa Bay Lightning
22.1%
Minnesota Wild
17.8%
New York Rangers
11.7%
Toronto Maple Leafs
11.4%
Florida Panthers
10.9%
Vegas Golden Knights
7.6%
Dallas Stars
7.5%
Los Angeles Kings
6.5%
Seattle Kraken
5.1%
Edmonton Oilers
4.2%
Carolina Hurricanes
2.5%
New Jersey Devils
2.4%
Colorado Avalanche
1.9%
Skipped question: 11.1%
The Jets, Islanders and Bruins were the clear top-three as teams that fans expect will bottom out by the 2025-26 season.
After that, many are predicting that age and more expensive contracts will finally catch up to the Tampa Bay Lightning after their incredible run of success over the last decade.
It was really surprising to see Minnesota emerge next. The Wild will actually gain $13 million in cap space for the 2025-26 season because Ryan Suter and Zach Parise’s buyout penalties are finally going down. They also have an incredibly deep prospect pipeline (ranked No. 1 in the NHL by colleague Scott Wheeler in February) and Kirill Kaprizov will still be under contract. Sure, Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin will be older, too, but again, they have promising defense prospects on the way.
One team that maybe deserved to get some more votes was Vegas, due to a combination of aging and incredible team-friendly contracts expiring.
Shea Theodore ($5.2 million AAV), Jonathan Marchessault ($5 million AAV), Brayden McNabb ($2.85 million AAV) and Chandler Stephenson ($2.75 million) will all expire as UFAs by or before the 2025-26 season. It’s going to be very difficult to replace that type of cost-efficiency. Meanwhile, Alex Pietrangelo will be 35, Mark Stone will be 33, William Karlsson will be 32 and Alec Martinez will probably have retired.
13. Pick one NHL team that you’re most confident will win a Stanley Cup at any point before 2030
Most confident in winning a Cup by 2030
RANK TEAM VOTES
1
Carolina Hurricanes
16.1%
2
New Jersey Devils
15.5%
3
Edmonton Oilers
13.1%
4
Colorado Avalanche
10.2%
5
Toronto Maple Leafs
4.6%
6
Minnesota Wild
3.7%
7
Dallas Stars
3.6%
8
Buffalo Sabres
3.4%
9
Chicago Blackhawks
2.7%
10
Vegas Golden Knights
2.6%
11
New York Rangers
2.2%
12
Boston Bruins
2.2%
13
Detroit Red Wings
2.1%
14
Montreal Canadiens
1.8%
15
Los Angeles Kings
1.5%
16
Seattle Kraken
1.5%
17
Pittsburgh Penguins
1.4%
18
Florida Panthers
1.3%
19
Ottawa Senators
1.1%
20
Tampa Bay Lightning
1.0%
21
Columbus Blue Jackets
0.7%
22
New York Islanders
0.7%
23
Philadelphia Flyers
0.6%
24
St. Louis Blues
0.6%
25
Vancouver Canucks
0.6%
26
Anaheim Ducks
0.5%
27
Washington Capitals
0.3%
28
Nashville Predators
0.3%
29
San Jose Sharks
0.2%
30
Winnipeg Jets
0.2%
31
Arizona Coyotes
0.1%
32
Calgary Flames
0.1%
Skipped question: 3.1%
Four clear favorites emerged in this exercise: Carolina, New Jersey, Edmonton and Colorado. All of those are logical picks.
After that, the pool was pretty wide open. Some clearly see the bull case for Minnesota as well because it ranked sixth. The Bedard hype landed Chicago in the top 10. Buffalo, Detroit and Montreal are some of the other young teams on the rise that finished in the top half.
14. Pick three NHL teams that look the most hopeless in terms of becoming a Cup contender at any point before 2030
TEAM VOTES
Arizona Coyotes
61.4%
San Jose Sharks
30.7%
Winnipeg Jets
29.1%
Philadelphia Flyers
26.5%
Vancouver Canucks
23.6%
Anaheim Ducks
17.9%
Columbus Blue Jackets
16.6%
New York Islanders
16.1%
Calgary Flames
15.6%
Washington Capitals
13.0%
Pittsburgh Penguins
10.3%
Montreal Canadiens
8.8%
Nashville Predators
5.3%
Chicago Blackhawks
5.2%
St. Louis Blues
4.7%
Skipped question: 4.2%
The Coyotes have an unstable future so it makes sense why they were the overwhelming favorite here. San Jose and Philadelphia ranked high because each club is staring at a long rebuild. Winnipeg has repeatedly seen bearish sentiment in this poll so it’s no wonder why fans are low on them again.
Vancouver has some star talent but the disastrous past few seasons have hurt the leaguewide belief in the organization’s ability to construct a genuine Cup contender around Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes.
The Ducks have emerging young talent and a really exciting prospect pool so it was a little surprising to see them rack up so many votes. You could make a similar case for Columbus given its excellent pipeline.
After that, you have aging teams like the Islanders, Flames, Capitals and Penguins.
15. Which city deserves the next NHL team, either via relocation or expansion?
Which city deserves the next NHL team?
CITY VOTES
Quebec City
44.9%
Houston
18.7%
Salt Lake City
16.0%
Toronto (second team)
7.3%
Atlanta
5.5%
Other
4.7%
Skipped question: 2.9%
Quebec City took this home by a huge margin, beating Houston in second place by just shy of 5,000 votes.
The other big takeaway is that fans really aren’t buying the pitch around a third chance for Atlanta working out, despite the buzz around them earlier this year.
(Top illustration: John Bradford / The Athletic; Photos: Joe Hrycych / Getty Images; Jason Mowry / Getty Images; Christopher Mast / Getty Images)
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Harman Dayal is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Vancouver Canucks. He combines NHL video and data analysis and tracks microstats as part of his coverage. Follow Harman on Twitter @harmandayal2
COMMENTS
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Nick H.
· 10h 40m ago
Crazy to me that Pittsburgh wasn't in the list of basement dwellers. Once time catches up with Crosby and Co. the on-ice product is going to get dismal real quick.
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Al P.
· 9h 48m ago
@Nick H. Except that, you know... they're on it...
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Kevin M.
· 9h 13m ago
@Nick H. The question said 2023 playoff teams
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Pat S.
· 8h 19m ago
@Nick H. The league will just put the Fix on another draft for them, easy peasy.
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Nathan H.
· 6h 49m ago
@Pat S. Hopefully…it’s almost time for another generational offensive talent to carry the Pens to another cup. Excited to see who they get next to win some more scoring titles and continue an amazing 40 year run.
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Ian S.
· 4h 36m ago
@Nick H. I doubt it. They'll just draft another 2 generational talents and be good for the next 2 decades. Easy.
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John S.
· 10h 16m ago
Going to assume the 2.4% who voted for the Devils to be bottom 10 in two years are Ranger fans still upset by the first round.
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Daniel K.
· 7h 1m ago
@John S. This NYR fan voted for them to win the Cup by 2030. Maybe it was Canadians?
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Matthew B.
· 5h 46m ago
@Daniel K. They're still upset we wouldn't trade them Jack Hughes and a first for Josh Anderson.
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Yanick B.
· 5h 11m ago
@Daniel K. Canadians or Canadiens? The second one have no ill will towards NJ. Carolina for a portion of the fan base, maybe, but NJ? Meh.
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Daniel K.
· 5h 7m ago
@Yanick B. 🇨🇦
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Eric B.
· 11h 47m ago
Its a shame that Portland has fallen off as a prospective relocation/expansion city. I still think it has potential.
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- lulags[Hidden]
· 11h 13m ago
[This comment has been flagged and is currently under moderator review]
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Robert A.
· 10h 18m ago
Good one, Glenn!
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Liam T.
· 8h 53m ago
@Eric B. We couldn’t specify which city we wanted in the “other” category, but Portland was my pick. I feel like its hipster reputation hurts its standing for a lot of people who have never been there, but it’s such a fun city with great neighborhoods and an intimate, walkable downtown. Plus the city has shown an ability to at least support a junior team, so it’s got some credibility as a hockey market.
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Will K.
· 7h 41m ago
@Glenn’s brain has become compromised and completely smooth from Fox News
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Jacob S.
· 7h 24m ago
@Will K. somebody’s angry lol
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Nick J.
· 7h 22m ago
@Will K. And meanwhile, constant exposure to CNN has made you a Mensa candidate? You do know that both sides simply lie to further their agendas, right?
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Ross B.
· 6h 56m ago
@Nick J. You think criticizing Fox News means you watch CNN? You think there are only two options?
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Joseph R.
· 6h 36m ago
@Liam T. Despite the presence of the Winterhawks, I don’t think I’ve ever lived anywhere with a less pronounced hockey culture than Portland. There are almost zero youth or adult recreational programs, the only rinks nearby are well outside the city or across the border in Washington. I’ve lived here for almost five years and have met literally one other hockey fan the entire time. It’s also a relatively small city with some pretty serious issues. As much as I’d love to have pro hockey in my backyard, it would crash and burn here spectacularly. Seattle isn’t far, the itch has been scratched for PNW hockey fans.
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David K.
· 5h 2m ago
@Will K. Why do you assume somebody is a Fox News viewer if they have negative views on Portland?
I get my intro from differ sources. One of them being actually people in Portland on YouTube.
Portland is not the city it was 10 years ago that inspired Portlandia and hipsters alike.
I hate Fox News. Portland is a dump.
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Alfred G.
· 4h 0m ago
@Nick J. For the heck of it...
CNN has moved toward the right recently, tactically so as to broaden their appeal and become a larger medium. The presidential townhall that got the then CEO replaced is an example of attempting to court that different demographic.
By all means, most outlets have their easy to mark detraction. However, the comparison is faulty between those two. A much better taek would've been MSNBC.
PBS - ftw
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Mark F.
· 3h 53m ago
@Nick J. Wait. Exactly which network had to pay out $750 million for blatantly lying about the election, and still has other lawsuits pending against it? (Answer - Fox "News") CNN hasn't been accused of lying.
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Bob B.
· 2h 39m ago
CNN doesn't lie,they just don't show you what is really going on....just saying
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Sean T.
· 2h 10m ago
@Eric B. as a resident of nearby Portland area, I would love to see it. but I get it, Portland residents would protest the team name, the jersey color, the stadium, the sport, every player, any reason they could think of.
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Mark F.
· 1h 57m ago
@Bob B. would CNN reporting Trump's 30,000 documented lies as "what's going on" satisfy you?
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Mike P.
· 10h 1m ago
Portland is a dumpster fire of a city
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Terry H.
· 9h 58m ago
@Mike P. and how could Atlanta get a THIRD try at this? Heck, Hartford deserves it before Atlanta.
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Brian B.
· 9h 12m ago
Your opinion is wrong, has doubled in size in the last 20 and dominates it's state by population. The best trees of any city I have been to. Not where I live but not your fox news take.
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· 8h 45m ago
@Mike P.
So says the guy whose never been within a hundred miles of it....
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Mike P.
· 8h 40m ago
I was born in Portland, have family in the area so have spent a bunch of time in the area. It was a special place but so so sad to see it now. Surrounding areas are still good but not downtown Portland
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Sam W.
· 7h 57m ago
@Terry H. Thanks for your insightful comment, Terry! Glad you've outed yourself as yet another someone who has no clue as to what happened in Atlanta each of the first two times.
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· 7h 47m ago
stop watching FOX News! Portland isn't anything like what FOX News portrays it to be.
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Nick J.
· 7h 23m ago
Actually, it is. Was there in the spring and it's a (frank)ing war zone downtown.
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· 6h 39m ago
Where did this even come from? Where was Portland mentioned in the story?
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Kyle W.
· 6h 27m ago
I've noticed in any article about expansion there are always comments hating on Portland. It's truly bizarre. I guess it's become a culture war signifier. It doesn't make a ton of sense. Like yeah it's a city with a lot of liberals, but so is every major city. Anywhere the NHL goes to will be full of liberals.
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Jeff H.
· 5h 44m ago
@Terry H. Dunno what people's definition of "deserves" is but...Hartford Metro Pop is 1.2 mil Atlanta Metro is 6.1 so, I suspect, in Mr. Bettman's mind, Atlanta deserves a team 6 times more than Hartford. (Also, QC being on the top of that list and their less than 1 mil really deserves to not be part of the convo).
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Jeff H.
· 5h 42m ago
@Kyle W. There are cities where liberals have a head start destroying. Portland is one of those.
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Matt P.
· 5h 42m ago
@Brian B. The surrounding area of Portland is great, but the city itself is a dumpster, especially downtown. I lived in the city for years, this isn’t some “FOX news take” like people are saying…
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Jacob C.
· 5h 32m ago
@Jeff H. I get what you’re saying, but just because a city has more people doesn’t mean it will support a team better. Case in point, the two teams that left Atlanta went to smaller markets but are better supported.
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Tom P.
· 5h 31m ago
@Terry H. YESSSS DUDE
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Yanick B.
· 5h 6m ago
@Jeff H. It’s deserve, not logical city. The media market would chip Mtl’s, not grow it. The fan base deserves it and would support it no doubt, but economically, it wouldn’t grow the league.
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Alfred G.
· 4h 4m ago
@Kyle W. Well duh! Liberals love ice, because it represents how close they are to Gaea, and the concern for global warming. Conservatives hate ice, because they are demons who want hellscape on earth. What can't survive in a hellscape? Ice.
So it's obvious that wherever the NHL expands, will be filled with liberals. Those are the only people concerned about keeping the temperature down so the great sport of ice hockey doesn't devolve into just floorball or roller hockey (which are both great in their own meritorious way).
/s
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Terry H.
· 2h 55m ago
@Jeff H. my point is that Atlanta doesn't deserve it. Not that Hartford does deserve it. Just more so than Atlanta
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Terry H.
· 2h 54m ago
@Sam W. it doesn't matter what the reasons are, Atlanta just doesn't deserve another crack at it over other cities.
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Terry H.
· 2h 52m ago
@Jacob C. look at Green Bay for a little over 100,000 people.
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Sam W.
· 2h 45m ago
@Terry H. Really nuanced and substantive argument, "it doesn't matter what the reasons are." Also, who cares who "deserves" it? Atlanta's attendance issues were totally fabricated/overblown. Atlanta is a rapidly growing, diverse city that is absolutely capable of supporting an NHL team. I recommend you read the article from this very site that might provide you with some actual facts instead of your obtuse "reasons don't matter" line of thinking.
https://theathletic.com/4...05/nhl-atlanta-expansion/
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Jeff H.
· 2h 27m ago
@Jacob C. They are not better supported though. Calgary and Winnipeg both have building problems. Winnipeg, a playoff team, was 30 of 32 in attendance last year. Only the tanking Sharks and the college arena, Coyotes were worse. Atlanta Thrashers average attendance was 14914. Jets 2.0 is 14929.
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Jeff H.
· 2h 26m ago
@Yanick B. Well...it would be illogical to put a team in a city that deserves it then.
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Jeff H.
· 2h 24m ago
@Terry H. Atlanta had significant ownership problems. A city shouldn't lose their deserved status just because of unstable ownership.
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Caleb D.
· 13m ago
@Jeff H. Winnipeg has the smallest arena outside of Arizona (which is obviously not a long-term solution for them), and a population of under a million. Atlanta’s metro population is 6 million. Jets running at 97% capacity is not alarming.
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David H.
· 8h 54m ago
My dad used to go to the Penguins practice facility and get autographs. He always said that Crosby and Fleury would stay every time until every single person who was there for an autograph got one. Those guys just seem like genuinely good human beings. Lots of stories about how MAF would play street hockey with the kids in his neighborhood. And Sid makes regular visits to Children’s hospital when there are no cameras around, not just on the team organized day.
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