A Survey on Hockey Love and Hate

Likes:
1) Isles
2) Wild – Moving to Minny = Sympathy over the loss of the Stars
3) Whalers – Need I say more?
4) Blackhawks – The history, Stan Mikita’s Donuts and making Gretzky’s head bleed
5) Bruins – I have a ton of friends from Boston and have been indoctrinated into B’s hockey. Although Jack Edwards is a total deuche.

Hate

1) Rangers – #$^$&%&*@@#$%^&#%^!#$%
2) Toronto – Where to begin… Well there’s the fans who feel they’re God’s gift to hockey, or the fact the Canuck press is basically the Maple Leaf fan club, or Darcy Tucker’s low bridge on Peca, or “The winning tradition” of Leafs Hockey having won 0 cups since expansion, or Captain Dion Phaneuf… I could go on for days.
3) Flyers – So much to hate on, so little time
4) Devils – Respect them for their success but they suck. Plus doc Emerick ranks up there with Edwards for worst play-by-play.
5) Hurricanes – Never should have left Hartford, let alone for the hockey hotbed of North Carolina.

1. Islanders
2. Penguins- from N.S., Sydney walks on water here.
3. Jets, Nordiques, Whalers- loved the WHA merger.
4. Senators- reborn after 75+ years.
5. Bruins- Orr, closest major league city.

Hate
1. Montreal- entitled fans
2. Montreal- rewarded fans too many times.
3. Any NHL city it doesn’t snow(except L.A.) – damn Betman.
4. Devils- hate defensive hockey.
5. Rangers- ‘cause I’m supposed to.

have the Leafs on his / her hate list. In fact, an Islander fan’s toughest dilemma should always be who to root for or against when the Rangers and Leafs play.

Likes:
1. Islanders
2. Montreal…I grew up during the great French hockey players
3. Blackhawks… I still remember a playoff series where the Hawks played their home game at NVMC because Led Zeplin had their arena already booked. LOL
4. Caps Now…for Ovie
5. Buffalo Such a pitiful city, you have to feel sorry for those people. Also, brought us Turgeon and Peca.
I could have thrown in Boston….maybe…

Hates/Dislikes:
1. Rags. I can say w/o feeling too bad that I was a Rags fan. Then we got our own team. And after seeing the Rags waste money on supposedly great players that suddenly couldn’t play, we can laugh at the Isles first couple of seasons.
2. P Burgh. Cindy
3. Flyers
4. Devils. Such a frustrating team to play against. We beat them year after year til they found the trap. ZZZZZ
5. Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton. No I don’t hate Canada…Just these F*ckers.

Likes

1. Islanders (obviously; plus Cornell alum Matt Moulson)
-
2. tie, teams with Cornell alumni:
Montreal (Ryan O’Byrne)
San Jose (Douglas Murray and Ryan Vesce)
Florida (Cornell alum Byron Bitz)
Dallas (Cornell alum Ray Sawada)
-
6. tie of anybody else from Canada, except Vancouver:
Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa
10. tie of remaining original six:
Boston, Chicago, Rangers, Detroit

My Top Five Dislikes

1. New Jersey (boring team from an ugly state)
2. Anaheim (the centerpiece of evil even without Disney)
-
3. tie of teams from fake markets with no redeeming personnel:
Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Phoenix
7. Minnesota (stupidest nickname in major professional sports)
8. Vancouver (just irritating)

Honorable mention for dislike: Bruins fans, and New Englanders in general.

the most hated franchise as an Islander fan should be the Toronto Maple Leafs, their sense of entitlement as fans, despite being one of the poorest run and one of the poorest performing team in the history of sports. Plus one Darcy Tucker incident that occurred, I hate the Leafs.

after that their are no teams I really hate in the NHL

Top 5 Likes

1. Devils (I’m from Jersey)
2. Islanders (they’ve always been my second team for all but the 6 or 8 times per year they play the Devils)
3. Predators (part underdog story, part ‘look what they do with so little’, part ‘I like their uniforms’)
4. Sabres (girlfriend is from the area and the energy and passion of their fanbase won me over)
5. Sharks (personal deep-seeded fear of sharks forces me to respect them)

Top 5 Hates

1. Rangers (do I even need to list a reason? Don’t have enough room to list them all anyway)
2. Red Wings (can’t stand that they had the audacity to name themselves “Hockeytown”)
3. Flyers (still goons after all these years, and the fans who defend them)
4. Penguins (so tired of the Crosby hype, the sense of entitlement of the fans… and my sister lives in Pittsburgh)
5. Maple Leafs (Tie Domi’s elbow mostly, but also how the fans and hockey media have Toronto as the center of the hockey universe)

Ok likes are easy
1. Isles (given)
2. Calgary (Lanny McDonald)
3. Colorado/Nordiques (Loved them in Quebec)
4. St.Louis (Bret Hull nuff said ….also had a lot of good teams but like the Isles they were run on the thin side of the wallet)
5. Carolina (loved the Whalers and loved Ron Francis)

Who I hate
1. Rangers – It just amazes me every time I hear a ranger fan speak about hockey. Are we watching the same sport???? Almost as bad as Yankee fans.
2. Devils – The more recent teams I don’t mind as much but the Bernie Nichols and Stephane Richer teams I loath. It could have been Emerick’s voice or the boring style……might as well watch soccer. Oh … Claude Lemieux was the cheapest POS of them all. I did like Ken Daneyko however and still do.
3. Pittsburgh – Gretzky ain’t God and Crosby ain’t Gretzky. When I made my trek to the HHOF I was looking at the cup and 2 Pens fans were there saying it should have been three in a row… only to look up at me with my Islander hat on with a huge shit eating grin.
4. Toronto – really? I read a post on the web by a Toronto fan about how last year the NHL wasted the first pick overall by giving it to the Islanders. (Giving it?!) He felt that of the three (J.T., Duchene and Hedman) none of them would do good to join the Islanders and it would hurt their careers. Really????
5 This is a tie between:
Buffalo (hate Lindy Ruff)
Detroit - Hey Mike Babcock, what was it you said about the Islanders before you got your a$$ whooped?
WIld – sneaky move to take Dubie…..un cool
As for the rest of the NHL, you could dissolve those teams and I wouldn’t bat an eyelash.

Likes:

1) Isles (Yes, obvious)
2) Dallas (Liked them since they took Rollie back in the 80’s when they were the North Stars)
3) St. Louis (Their team always seems to have a nose for D-Men)
4) Buffalo (Lafontaine, Mogilny, Nolan…)
5) Predators (No real good explanation other than that they have a quiet resolve throughout their attendance struggles and they have flashes of being a difficult team to play)

Dislikes:
1) Rangers (Other than the obvious of being an Islander fan I can honestly say that I really don’t like their fans on a whole. You can usually smell them if they are close and you can hear them from 2 train cars away…just obnoxious)
2) Pitt (There can’t be any room for acceptance of a team that was the spark of the lottery draft. In addition to that simple twice repeated fact it is very hard to like a team that has a fan base that always believes that it knows more than you because they had Mario on their team. Plus it is hard to watch a championship team lose because of a lack of heart. Then there is the issue of preferential treatment. I could go on and on about my reasons for this pick but I’m pretty sure that most other NHL fans know all of the reasons.)
3) Toronto (A rich tradition of goonery and rabid fans. In some respects all canadian teams tend to get the best of the 50/50 calls but this team stands out above the rest. just to drive my point home they just made Dion their CAPTAIN! That should speak for itself.)
4) Philly (I really don’t hate them but I have to say, when you have a knack for acquiring the dirtiest team on a yearly basis you must expect that someone if not most people will not like you. Liking this team is kind of being a fan of the Bushwhackers. Sure they are entertaining but do they know that this is hockey and not an MMA or WWE event? The fans…we’ll what can you say? It’s Philly.)

Swing teams (Teams that I used to loathe but have come to appreciate)
1) Detroit Red Wings (Back when they were the Russian Reds I could not stand them. Then slowly but surely I noticed that they are one of the few teams that really does not make HUGE splashes on the trade deadline. Sure they will add a piece or two but for the most part their GM’s usually have a plan, stick to it and don’t attempt to sell the ship at the first sign of a low spot. In addition to this they tend to draft well and stick by most of their choices. I believe that you have to respect a team that does not follow the Rangers model of team building.)
2) Washington Capitals (The identity of their team was once Dale Hunter to every Isles fan. To some he still leaves a proverbial pit of disgust but I see them as cleaning up their act and amongst the Crosby vs Ovi Rivalry I easily take Ovi. I feel that he is more passionate and exciting to watch. The dirty plays that he commits ((yes I admit that he is borderline/dirty at times)) are usually the result of his over enthusiasm. However, he has a huge heart for the game and the fans from what I can see and he is only one of a handful of players that have helped change my opinion of this team.)

Likes:
1. The Isles. Enough said.
2. The Red Wings, I loved Stevie Y as a kid and my fiance is from Detroit and loves her wings and I would like to keep having sex with her so I have to like them :)
3. Whoever is playing the Rag$ that night.
4. Whoever is playing the Fing Devils or Flyers, or Penguins
5. Can I say the Isles again?

Hates:
1. The Rag$. Their fans are classless and stupid and that’s just their good points.
2. The Fing NJ Devils. They are the only team to make hockey unwatchable. Have ridden trap boring hockey to getting their disgusting names on the cup. If I could go back in time I would shoot Lou and stop the madness.
3. The Fing Penguins. F Mario, F Crosby, and David Volek Forever
4. The Fing Flyers. Worst sport fans ever. Like school on a Saturday…. No Class!!!
5. The Fing Washington Caps. I make it a Patrick Division rout. I love Ovy but I will not forgive them for the Turgeon injury. Easter epic forever.

Honorable Hate mention.
Montreal. Just because you won the cup a bunch of times when there were 6 (yes 6 teams) in the league does not make you the Yankees. Just because you played against 5 terrible teams does not make your accomplishments great. We still hold the record for most playoff series wins in a row!!!!! Take that Frenchies.
Toronto. Their fans on SB rock (read PPP it rules) but the media is out of control. plus Tucker…….. Note to the Toronto Media. You cannot be the center of the hockey universe if you never win…..

Likes:
1) Islanders – could it be any other way?
2) Blackhawks – got a few friends there
3) Wild – Minnesota deserves a Cup one of these days
4) Canucks – If any Canadian team must win a Cup, please let it be them.
5) Devils – the enemy of my enemy is my friend

Dislikes:
1) Rangers – do I really need a reason?
2) Flyers – always goon it up
3) Maple Leafs – will never forget Tucker, etc.
4) Penguins – a lot has been handed to them on a silver platter over the years
5) Devils – the enemy of my enemy is… sometimes my enemy

Likes:
1) Islanders
2) Canadiens. What can I say, they’ve always been my #2 team.
3)Blackhawks. Lived in Chicago and got to go to a lot of games. During the TV blackout period. I give this bandwagon some leeway with years of Wirtz Sr., showing how to not run a professional sports team.
4)Detroit. Sure, I freaking can’t stand them and hockey-town, but how can you not enjoy watching them play the last 15 years or so?
5)Minnesota. Don’t know anything about them or the boring game they play. The way that the Stars left was up their with the Colts leaving Baltimore in sports travesties. Next to maybe Boston, the most deserving American market.

Dislikes:
1)Stars, Phoenix, Carolina, Colorado. All teams that moved to less apropriate and deserving hockey markets. I lived in Colorado when they moved and won the cup. As much as I wanted to root for an incredible, talented and fun team I couldn’t. I rooted for the Wings against them.
2)Rangers.
3)Toronto.
4)Philly.
5) The Dany Heatley’s. Whichever version.
6)Florida/Tampa Bay. Screw you Florida, define your purpose other than hot and humid retirement home to the northeast and midwest?!? The only ice down there should be in drinks. If you have to be down there make sure you have lots of drinks. With ice.

Devout following:

1 with a bullet – The New York Islanders. Proud tradition. Loyal, passionate, smart fans with a sense of humor. Fort Neverlose. Heroes who weren’t always superstars: Bobby Ny, David Volek, Ken Morrow, Rich Pilon, Bob Bourne, all the way back to Eddie Westfall and JP Parise.

Likes:

2 – Detroit. Another team with great traditions. The Winged Wheel is gorgeous. Bill Torrey’s mighty wingman, Jim Dellevano, helped build the team into a powerhouse. Lots of skilled and classy team-first guys like Lidstrom and Stevie Y.
3 – Boston. Original Six roots, the Great Bobby Orr, WSBK games on UHF in the early 80’s when the Isles weren’t playing… Pete Peeters and Rejean Lemelin, Ray Bourque and Cam Neely. Also, yet again, great logo and unis.
4 – Florida. Bill Torrey proving once again that he is the Architect. My EHM ‘07 franchise is the Panthers (completely random), and maybe because of that I have a little soft spot for them. For a long time now that team has been run so badly, the EU just voted them in as a member. They’re giving away Nathan Horton and Michael Frolik next, I hear. Poor Tomas Vokoun. Every day on that team probably feels like getting slugged in the head by Keith Ballard.
5 – Hartford. Love the Whale. Mike Liut, Ron Francis. Gutted that their team was stolen, and won the Cup elsewhere.

Loathes:
-30 – the Blueskirts. Who else? So annoying. Such ridiculous fans. The vast pretense that hockey revolves around them: so much that Edmonton’s 1994 Stanley Cup win over Vancouver now has its own 30 in 30 special on ESPN. And the delusions about the alleged stars of the team is incredible. At least Brodeur and Stevens and Elias actually won three Cups, unlike Lundqvist and company. Added un-bonus: the bastards have an excellent goal song.

Dislikes:
29 – Philadelphia. Truly insane fans. A predilection for goonery. In a way their many near-misses make them more irritating because their fans have the satisfaction of being right about how good they can be, if only that #$^&#!% front office could get them a goalie. And of course watching them come so close while being so crazily run is an added irritant. Why couldn’t it have worked for us, dammit?
28 – Toronto. Even more entitlement, even less recent success – but they do have an excellent history, great uniforms, and I would be inclined to tolerate them if not for their Tonya Harding act in 2002. They escape 29th because of Down Goes Brown, who is completely awesome.
27 – Edmonton. Ending the dynasty is just not easily forgotten. Also, too many of them became Rangers, and as a result they managed to squeeze out a Cup that officially goes down in history as New York’s, even though we all know the truth of it. :::cough1940cough:::
26 – Washington. I don’t hate the Caps, I just pity the fools. They gave us the Easter Epic, but you know, they also gave us Dale Hunter, and thanks to their vast underachieving and outright chokery, for the past two seasons they’ve helped create a Pittsburgh Stanley Cup winner and a Philadelphia Flyer finalist. This is bad. Also, Ted Leonsis is kind of a tool.

The Devils don’t make the list because I admire how Lou builds a team, and even if Brodeur is the Derek Jeter of ice hockey, it’s not like he sucks or anything. It’s the absurd hagiography I dislike, not the player. Besides, they’ve got a good team to watch: Zack and Elias and Paul Martin and Andy Greene and Zubrus and Langenbruner… when my wife and in-laws (Devils fans all) want to watch, I turn down Emrick real low and dream of the old Christmas Tree uniforms.

Likes:

Islanders
Oilers
Stars
Devils
Whichever team is playing against the teams on the next list on a given night

Dislikes:
Leafs: I will never forgive them for 2002. NEVER. And I dont forget. Dirty underhanded POS no good MFers couldnt play a legit series, No! They had to take out our about-to-win-the-Selke Captain and our #1 defenseman because they knew WITH them, we were gonna beat their asses in.
Rangers: I dont hate the Rangers players like I used to- there isnt all that much to specifically hate in recent years. But I do hate how their solution is always to wave money at people, no matter how stupid of a signing it might be, and even if the Rangers fans complain years later, at the time it happens they LOVE IT. They all complain about the Redden and Drury contracts now, but back when they happened? I remember all the “HA-HA, we got Redden while you guys only got Streit” and “I thoughtt he Isles wanted to sign Drury lol?” stuff and, again, I dont forget.
Vancouver: Where the hell does this team and its arrogant fans get this bizarre sense of entitlement and ego? Vancouver hasnt accomplished anything- EVER- but you wouldnt know that based on their media and their fans.
Columbus: Dubie-stealing assholes. Consistently bad seasons. Consistently bad drafting. Consistently just- bad. But their fans also seems to have this “we’re the shit” attitude and I cannot for the life of me figure out why. What has your team ever done? I mean, EVER?
Flyers: Ive always hated that team, Carcillo is a scuzball and I CANT STAND Chris Pronger. I dont forget how he got a few stinking games off “suspended” just in time to rest up for the playoffs, while Chris Simon could so the EXACT SAME THING and miss a third of a season. He is a dirty player and I guess part of my anger is that he is ALLOWED to be. Will he knock any of our rookies teeth out this upcoming season and get away with it scott-free? Only time till tell. However, I admittingly have to say this: seeing how they played in the playoffs this past season has cooled my hatred considerably.
HM: Lightning: How the hell can a team have such good players year after year and at the same time not be able to do jack shit with them? You give the Islanders, Canucks, Rangers, etc a 50+ goal scorer like Stamkos and those teams make the playoffs. Even WITH players like that, TB still cant do shit. I just dont understand it!

Likes:

Islanders: Duh :)
Oilers: They are the Islanders twin brother franchise, only the twins were raised separately in the US and Canada.
Stars: Not even sure why I like this team but I do. Maybe because I like Texas? :)
Devils: Everyone blah blahs about the Red Wings, about the fairy tale stories of the Pens and things like that, but the Devils are one of the most consistently good organizations of this entire hockey era. And few people even give them credit for it.
Canucks: Always seem like a hard-working team to me.
HM: Whichever team is playing against the teams on the next list on a given night

Dislikes:
Leafs: I will never forgive them for 2002. NEVER. And I dont forget. Dirty underhanded POS no good MFers couldnt play a legit series, No! They had to take out our about-to-win-the-Selke Captain and our #1 defenseman because they knew WITH them, we were gonna beat their asses in.
Rangers: I dont hate the Rangers players like I used to- there isnt all that much to specifically hate in recent years. But I do hate how their solution is always to wave money at people, no matter how stupid of a signing it might be, and even if the Rangers fans complain years later, at the time it happens they LOVE IT. They all complain about the Redden and Drury contracts now, but back when they happened? I remember all the "HA-HA, we got Redden while you guys only got Streit" and "I thoughtt he Isles wanted to sign Drury lol?" stuff and, again, I dont forget.
Vancouver: Where the hell does this team and its arrogant fans get this bizarre sense of entitlement and ego? Vancouver hasnt accomplished anything- EVER- but you wouldnt know that based on their media and their fans.
Columbus: Dubie-stealing assholes. Consistently bad seasons. Consistently bad drafting. Consistently just- bad. But their fans also seems to have this "we’re the shit" attitude and I cannot for the life of me figure out why. What has your team ever done? I mean, EVER?
Flyers: Ive always hated that team, Carcillo is a scuzball and I CANT STAND Chris Pronger. I dont forget how he got a few stinking games off "suspended" just in time to rest up for the playoffs, while Chris Simon could so the EXACT SAME THING and miss a third of a season. He is a dirty player and I guess part of my anger is that he is ALLOWED to be. Will he knock any of our rookies teeth out this upcoming season and get away with it scott-free? Only time till tell. However, I admittingly have to say this: seeing how they played in the playoffs this past season has cooled my hatred considerably.
HM: Lightning: How the hell can a team have such good players year after year and at the same time not be able to do jack shit with them? You give the Islanders, Canucks, Rangers, etc a 50+ goal scorer like Stamkos and those teams make the playoffs. Even WITH players like that, TB still cant do shit. I just dont understand it!

Favorite Teams
1) Isles – my father became a season ticket holder in 1972 and I was born into Stanley Cup success. I went to games before I could walk or remember the good years
2) Blue Jackets – went to school in Ohio during their first season, covered them for HF for a while
3) Devils – while the Isles sucked it at least one team was beating the rangers
4) Blackhawks – Roenick, Chelios, and NHL ‘92 for the Genesis is the reason here
5) Bruins – I live in Western Mass now and can root for a team that doesn’t play the Isles too often, but is a East coast team

Hated:
1) Rangers
2) Penguins – sure Lemiuex took my breath away but Jagr and now Crosby can suck it.
3) Red Wings – their fans are douche bags
4) Tampa Bay- a florida team
5) Florida – see above

Likes

1. Islanders, of course. I chose to live Upstate after growing up in Suffolk County, and the Isles are the few things about Long Island that I continue to like and support to this day.
Followed distantly by…
2. Sabres (I’ve grown to follow them since I’ve been Upstate since 1998)
3. Predators (Went to a game there in October 2005, and they have a fun fanbase. That was enough)
4. Coyotes (Went to a game there in January 2010, and their arena was enough to do the trick)
5. Whalers (even though they’re gone, I’ll always have a soft spot for them, since I do remember seeing some games show up on the non-cable connected TV. I have a similar soft spot for UConn as a result). Boston would be another team that I am cool with.

Dislikes (if this blog was on Facebook, we would all be asking for this mythical dislike button, but unlike Facebook, Lighthouse Hockey doesn’t care that much if we hurt anyone’s feelings)
1. Ranjerks. Need I say more?
2. Cryers. Their team reflects the Urban Cesspool that is Killadelphia.
3. Make Me Laughs. I like Toronto as a city, but the Make Beleafs have left a sour taste in my mouth for close to a decade now.
4. Dead Things. I think it is just more due to Detroit’s dominance in hockey and not really anything else over the past 15 years or so.
5. Panthers. While I don’t have a clever nickname for them, I never understood why the Panthers are still in Florida. If I had the money, I would buy the team and move them to Connecticut immediately. Other teams I have a great disdain for include the Lightning and Senators. The Avalanche were also on the list until recently, but I think they are doing a good job as of late.

Great Idea by the way how about doing one of these for players you hate like, maybe even not including Isles.

wow, someone else caught on! WOOOT!!!!
a little surprised to see all the like for the Canucks on here. we barely mentioned you guys.

Like
1) Isles (of course, through all the ups and many downs, no matter where in the country I have lived. Have invested in center ice since moving from NY)
2) Devils (I worked for the Devils/Nets in 2003 when they won the cup and the nets went to the finals)
3) Columbus Blue Jackets (lived in OH for 5 years)
4) Blackhawks (spent some time in chicago as well, and have a lot of friends from chicago)
5) Cunucks (just a cool franchise in a beautiful place)

Hates
1) Rangers (of course)
2) Toronto (actually liked them until that series with the Isles)
3) Flyers (although I do like a lot of there players like Richards and Carter)
4) Penguins (a fun team to watch though)
5) Ducks (live in orange county, hate the place and there team)

Likes:
1. Islanders (of course)
2. Whalers (wasn’t going to include them, since they relocated, but since others have, I figured I would – love the logo and Brass Bonanza)

The rest of this is in fairly constant flux (with mostly Western Conference teams)

3. Coyotes (respect what they did this year and sympathize with a franchise that’s gone longer than us without a playoff series victory)
4. Sabres (not completely sure why… probably part liking their classic logo, part them being in NY state without being a division rival, and part Ryan Miller)
5. I can’t really settle on one team, but I have a fair amount of good will for the Kings, Predators, and Blues.

Hates:
1. Rangers (no explanation necessary)
2. Toronto (sparked by that 2002 series)
3. Flyers (division rival + Pronger + Carcillo + a history of being goons)
4. Caps (Dale Hunter)
5. Ottawa (I really don’t know why I dislike them so much. I think it might be bitterness due to them being terrible with the Isles in the mid 90s – I remember them being ranked 26/26 to the Islanders 25/26 overall in NHL 96, the first hockey video game I owned – followed by the Senators achieving some success while outside of 2001-02 the Islanders have remained pretty mediocre – although hopefully that’s ending with the current rebuild)

Honorable Mentions: Devils, Red Wings, Canadiens

LOVE
1. Islanders. Say no more.
2. (or maybe 1A) Blues. The order of these two used to be reversed, or at least level, but Wal-Mart heir-in-law Blues ownership put me through hell and back and screwed up the team for the last years of my dad’s life. I like what JD is doing there, but it’s an open wound for me.
3. Nordiques. But not the Avs. The Battle of Quebec was pure joy, and my allegiance was always to the beautiful blue Nordique and The Brothers Stastny.
4. Being a sort of two-timer fan with one team in each conference, I can’t really even express mild feelings for anyone else. Anyone playing the teams below will do.
5. Okay fine: Capitals. Maybe. A little. I like how they play now. I miss them being in the Patrick, and their longtime fans are fun to talk to. The newer bandwagoners, not so much.

HATE
1. Rangers. Short Island Smurfs. Bastards. In their position, they could do so much good; instead they do harm. I feel for some of their fans, but like any team in a financial/population center, they attract lots of tools, too.
2. Blackhawks. A fierce Blues rival in the ‘80s, they were Rangers West to me.
3. Flyers. They’re just fun to hate. I do love their ‘80s-style orange, though. Great uni, and who else could pull off that much orange?
4. Red Wings. There’s the success, and there’s the Norris/Central rivalry with the Blues.
5. Leafs. Just not much to like there. Feel for their rational fans, but like the Rangers they just attract too much tripe.