Honestly, I was cheering for more overtimes.
Side Note: The Ohio High School State Hockey Tournament in 2014 went into 7 OT’s.
It was one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen.
The NHL definitely should never do that.
But that’s not the point of this blog.
The game last night was great.
Overtime hockey is awesome.
It can end at any moment, there’s not commercials, etc.
Not because of the talent on each team.
I actually love watching the Panthers play in particular.
Every game of there’s that I watch I’m thoroughly entertained.
It’s definitely not great.
I’ll start by eliminating teams that should not be in contention for worst Conference Finals.
Right off the bat, I’m eliminating all Canadian teams.
I don’t really know what to call this group.
That sounds extremely arbitrary.
Which is more than I can say for a lot of teams, so they have to be eliminated.
I suppose I should eliminateMinnesota, as it is the “State of Hockey”.
I’m just going to go with my gut, and start eliminating teams one by one.
St. Louis Blueshave been a team since 1967.
They probably should have been eliminated earlier.
They’re a staple of the NHL.
I wouldn’t feel right about keeping them in this.
Note: All the teams remaining are still currently in the playoffs… yikes.
ButDallasis huge market, and they always seem to be good.
They’re at least enjoyable to watch.
So I’m taking them out.
I know how stupid that sounds, but let’s not forget how stupid people are.
Here arethe top 10 and bottom ten teams in attendance per game.
When San Jose was awesome back in the day, I’m sure they had good attendance too.
Let’s stop beating around the bush though.
Time to decide the Western Conference.
The arena holds 4,600 people..
They’re the worst.
In hindsight, a 2000+ word blog was certainly not needed to come to that decision.
But who would be the worst possible team for them to face in the Western Conference Finals?
It’s between Nashville, Las Vegas, Seattle, and San Jose.
If were talking about worst possible draw for this season, I think I’m going to eliminateSeattle.
I’m eliminatingLas Vegastoo.
Kind of for the same reason, but also because Las Vegas is a unique team.
They also have a super cool pre-game light show, which I guess is something.
This is actually an easy decision for me.
Call it personal preference, but I’d rather tune into theSan Jose Sharksany day of the week.
I probably shouldn’t have even let the Sharks get this far.
I love their dimly lit arena for some reason.
I can’t in good conscious put the San Jose Sharks as a worst possible team.
I truly couldn’t care less about the Nashville Predators.
I don’t care how crazy their fans get.
I’m not even sure if they know what hockey is.
I think they just drunkenly stumble into the stadium that they built right on Broadway Street.
And the rest of the country doesn’t give a shit about that.
At least I don’t.
I don’t think I’ve ever cheered for them in a playoff series.
I believe they have the absolute worst jersey, logo, and nickname in the NHL.
They’re just begging for Chris Hanson jokes.
They won back to back Stanley Cups in 2020 & 2021.
I lived in Columbus for 4 years.
When they were good, the city loved them.
But when they’re bad, nobody gives a shit.
But that’s probably true for all three of these teams.
I guess they’re the northern most team.
I have to do it.
I don’t care how far south Miami is.
It’s still a major fucking city.
They have the Le Batard Show pulling for them.
That’s not nothing.
I’m sorry Columbus.
you could’t tell me this isn’t a disgusting final four.
Hand up, I had forgotten the the Coyotes changed back to their old logo.
Concocting the worst possible field of 16 teams is.
I do have the groundwork laid out already.
I might have to whip that up next.
It’s too late now.
I worked far too hard on my PowerPoint graphic to make any changes now.
