April 18, 2007 @ 09:27
Did you know that a team with a European captain has never won the Stanley Cup? Nope, it has never happened - but it could happen this year.
I think it's safe to say that Ottawa, Buffalo and the Rangers will advance in the east, with either Jersey or Tampa being the fourth team.
In the west, let's give the nod at this point to Vancouver, Detroit, Anaheim and either San Jose or Nashville.
In the east, if Jersey advances only one of the four teams will have a North American captain, while in the west in Nashville advances, only one of those teams will have a North American captain.
And just to clarify, I say North American because although the overwhelming majority of Stanley Cup captains have been Canadian, there have been a couple of Americans.
As you can see, the law of averages dictates that this year we could have a first in the NHL. And further to that, it could become extremely repulsive.
In a hockey pool that I'm involved in we had to choose who we thought would make it to the Stanley Cup finals, and I picked Ottawa and Vancouver who both have European captains.
I hated to pick Ottawa but as I've written recently there's something about this team this year that I like (hate). They have more grit and character and might finally have enough maturity to make it all the way.
Can you imagine that sight on the final night of the playoffs? Daniel Alfredsson hoisting the Stanley Cup as the first European captain ever and then skating around in front of hockey's creepiest fans in Ottawa.
I swear if it comes down to this, I'll do what I used to do as a kid when the Habs won the Cup.
As the final seconds ticked down I'd change the channel or leave the room - I refused to watch them celebrate.
Category: Sports
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