Official NHL 2007-2008 Thread

[Cowutopia]

Yoshi understands.

You can understand that I'm not impressed nor do I care that a lot of people live in New York and have been rooting for the team they built there (for that reason) for years. I measure your team's success by wins.

[Geo]

Wade Belak scored his first goal of the season last night.

[haohmaru]

They were the worst original franchise though. Look at their record.

I'm not talking about interest, I'm talking about being a shitty franchise. The Bills sell out every year, but they are huge failures. I'd argue the Bills aren't even as bad as the Rags though. The Rags have dealt with a lot of horrible management, and in the Original Six era they didn't do well at all.

The Hawks have won 3 cups since 1926. The Rangers have won 4.

Do you have any other idiocy to add to your argument?

I gauge a franchise by interest by fans in that franchise. The Cubs, for example, a strong franchise despite never winning shit. The Red Sox were a strong franchise LONG before they won the World Series which eluded them for countless decades. The Rangers are consistently valued in the top 3 in the entire NHL for good reason - they're a strong franchise.

Equally, I'd argue that the Era that you're talking about was dominated by two teams (Leafs/Canadiens) unlike any other era in Modern sports as all of the "good players" stayed at home (Canada).

[Cowutopia]

The Hawks are a good contender for worst franchise in history. I'll have to number crunch when I get home.

[Port]

are the ones who still chant "Potvin Sucks" 20 years later at current Rangers games.

You know one of the geniuses doing the startup decided to it 5 times in one game right fucking next to me. I wanted to bash his head in. I can appreciate things like that but I didn't realize how obnoxious it was when the guy starting it is right next to you.

I wonder what Haoh thinks about Homo Larry.

And if it's any consolation, my friends who I go with have been Rangers fans for life. And they hate the Potvin chant, are stuck in 1994 and came up with the shutout and leave rule themselves. No, I'm not a 'real fan', but they sure as hell are.

[Cowutopia]

There are plenty of "real" Rangers fans. More than the Devils + Islanders combined, easily. Problem is the only seats that "real fans" can afford are what used to be the "blue seats" and those have been sold out for years. Anything down below is bought and paid for by corporations and routinely given away, etc...

The "real" fans were the ones who were upset that Brian Leetch wasn't retained, that Guy Lafleur and Dionne ever wore the uniform and are the ones who still chant "Potvin Sucks" 20 years later at current Rangers games.

Listen to a broadcast, you'll pick it up in the background once in a while.

Oh absolutely. I agree with all of this. I'm glad the Rags have fans, so we can embarass them.

The Devils have, or had, a lot of fair-weather fans, but the top sections are ALWAYS sold out in our arena. The hardcore fans always go and pay what they can afford.

[Cowutopia]

There are ___ franchises who've never won a single championship.

How many have been around for about 80 years? And only had to compete with 5 other teams?

There are ___ franchises that sell out EVERY home game.

They better.

There are 6 "original six" franchises, which leaves 20+ that aren't one.

and the Rags were horrible for all of those years.

If you can make a statement like "the Rangers are (possibly) the worst franchise in sports", then you are D-U-M-B.

They are. So many playoff misses, the Rags have been a non-contender for too many years to be anywhere close to a decent franchise, competition wise. Even the Islanders have a better playing history.

The Rags have an overall losing record if you count the OTL. 2350W 2320L 808T 42 (OTL)
Islanders: 1188W 1147L 346T 32OTL
Devils: 840W 748L 219T 29OTL

Being a Rangers fan is almost as masochistic as being a Blackhawks or Bills fan. I'm going to run numbers later. I know baseball has some awful teams. And the Clippers have a terrible history, but that didn't start until the 70's. And the Saints are pretty awful too. So are the Baseball Rangers.

Clippers: Totals 1110 1907 .368 Okay. So the Rangers aren't THE WORST franchise, but they're not great. They do have a decent number of awards though.

[haohmaru]

How many have been around for about 80 years? And only had to compete with 5 other teams?

How does 1926-1967 = 80 Years of competing with 5 teams?

They are. So many playoff misses, the Rags have been a non-contender for too many years to be anywhere close to a decent franchise, competition wise. Even the Islanders have a better playing history.

The Islanders have as many cups as the Devils and had one of the greatest teams of all time and most franchises couldn't boast 4 consecutive championships at anything, including your Devils. That's a BS comparison.

The Rags have an overall losing record if you count the OTL. 2350W 2320L 808T 42 (OTL)
Islanders: 1188W 1147L 346T 32OTL
Devils: 840W 748L 219T 29OTL

Are you conveniently forgetting the Colorado portion of the Devils franchise?

Being a Rangers fan is almost as masochistic as being a Blackhawks or Bills fan. I'm going to run numbers later. I know baseball has some awful teams. And the Clippers have a terrible history, but that didn't start until the 70's. And the Saints are pretty awful too. So are the Baseball Rangers.

We won the cup in '93-94 which renders all of the above comparisons absolutely useless.

Clippers: Totals 1110 1907 .368 Okay. So the Rangers aren't THE WORST franchise, but they're not great. They do have a decent number of awards though.

They're an above .500 franchise with among the most loyal fans in sports. I'll take that over the Devils who only sell out (chuckle) when the play the R-A-N-G-E-R-S.

[Cowutopia]

It doesn't, they were separate statements.

1) The Rangers have been around for about 80 years.
2) For a whole lot of years they only had to compete with five teams. And they were terrible.

And yes, I'm conveniently forgetting the Kansas City and Colorado portions of the Devils. They were terrible before Jersey. Don't tell my girlfriend about this. :P.

So looking at those numbers, a few seasons ago the Rangers must have been a below .500 franchise. Things are looking up!
I end up liking a lot of Rangers fans because at least they are people who really like hockey, and we can properly argue. Also: They're not Flyers fans.

[haohmaru]

It doesn't, they were separate statements.

1) The Rangers have been around for about 80 years.
2) For a whole lot of years they only had to compete with five teams. And they were terrible.

Yeah, they won 3 cups and were competing with the NHL's equivalent of the Yankees for 40 years. That's ancient history, anyway.

And yes, I'm conveniently forgetting the Kansas City and Colorado portions of the Devils :P.

Sorry, if you're quoting shit from 1926 and throwing it in my face then I must point out that your sorry ass franchise took 13 fucking years to even achieve a winning record.