With the Devils out, who do I cheer for? Western Conference Version

Let's continue:

Chicago Blackhawks
Why cheer for the Hawks
They have always been my Original 6 team and I have liked them ever since I laid eyes on Ed Belfour. They have a captain that everyone can respect and they play a pretty solid game all round. True Pat Kane has been a putz off the ice in the past and Duncan Keith is slowly earning himself a dirty reputation, it is had to not like Corey Crawford, and many of the other young kids on this team.

Why cheer against the Hawks
They are the favourites.

Anaheim Ducks
Why cheer for the Ducks
Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu. These two Finns have had great careers and maybe that Cup win will give them a boost to jump to retirement. They have exceeded expectations all season and Bruce Boudreau winning a Cup here would be a great story to his rebound in Anaheim. Scott Niedermayer is an assistant coach with the Ducks and I still support him in what he does.

Why cheer against the Ducks
Can't say I have ever loved the franchise, but I really despise Devante Smith-Kelly ever since he got caught cheating on his card signature. (not a real reason, but the best I can come up with)

Vancouver Canucks
Why cheer for the Canucks
David Booth.

Why cheer against the Canucks
David Booth isn't playing due to injury. In all fairness, I don't have much against the Canucks and I am actually pretty indifferent.

St. Louis Blues
Why cheer for the Blues
They are a good balance of old and young with loads of natural talent. They have Thunder Bay boy Chorney and they really win games as a team. Shattenkirk and Backes are both kids I really like and Jake Allen stopping them to a Cup win in his rookie season would be a fun story line.

Why cheer against the Blues
I don't think a Cup win by the Blues would do much for the NHL (not sure why I care about that).

Los Angeles Kings
Why cheer for the Kings
I do like Kopitar and it would give the NHL back-to-back Champions for the first time in 15 years when the Red Wings did it in 97 and 98. Tyler Toffoli is a young prospect who I think has some serious potential and a Cup win would be a great career starter!

Why cheer against the Kings
Well they did bounce my Devils last season and the Kings are one of the reasons I think the Devils were pinched in the Kovalchuk business because it was the only case where a huge long term contract was punished by the NHL and I think it was partly due to the fact that the Kings were pursuing him too.

San Jose Sharks
Why cheer for the Sharks
A team that was a seller during the trade deadline still makes the playoffs....who wouldn't want to cheer for them? A guy I never heard of on the roster born in Thunder Bay, awesome! Let's not forget Jumbo Joe.

Why cheer against the Sharks
Underachievers for the past decade, it makes it sort of hard for a non-fan to jump on the bandwagon at this point. I am still ticked at Gomez for chasing money instead of sticking with the Devils.

Detroit Red Wings
Why cheer for the Red Wings
Well they are the only team my number PC Alex Delvecchio has ever played for and it has been a couple years since they won. I am also a Tigers fan so the city of Detroit is one I am familiar with cheering for too and who doesn't love the Too-Too Train.

Why cheer against the Red Wings
They have won enough cups in the last two decades, they need to share the wealth. I am actually happy to see some more parity in the NHL over the last couple seasons.

Minnesota Wild
Why cheer for the Wild
They have a serious lot of dedicated fans who certainly have earned a Stanley Cup. Zach Parise is a talented player who I still have much respect for and there are a few guys on that team I do like.

Why cheer against the Wild
For some reason it would really bother me to see them win the Cup the year after they poach Suter and Parise.

So in the end here is who I have:

Chicago Blackhawks out of the West and Pittsburgh Penguins out of the East. In the end, I will be cheering for the Hawks, but I can pretty much tolerate just about anyone winning the Cup this season. Anyway, thanks for tolerating me, and back to the cards with my next posts!