I know that at least some of our readers are sports fan so this one is for you guys. I want to talk about the tremendous job the NHL has done at creating a league that has so much parody, and where anybody can win on any night. The unpredictability of the NHL has become the envy of other sporting leagues where teams can throw money at the problem and buy a winning team. This seems to apply mostly to baseball and soccer, but not has much in recent years, at least in baseball, as the Yankees haven't won in years, though Boston spent a small fortune for their pennant. European teams spend money on soccer player like drunken sailor and David Beckham's 50 Million a year deal with the MLS's LA Galaxy is well...I don't really know how to describe it without profanity, so we'll leave it at this. DUMB. Anyway, if you look at the NHL this year, especially the Eastern conference the race for playoff spots will come right down to the wire, sadly the western conference race is now all about playoff positioning as Colorado and Edmonton are to far back of Minnesota and Calgary to make a push. Carolina is in danger of missing the playoffs and this would mark the first time that the two teams who played for the cup last year didn't even make the playoffs the following year. This shows incredible depth of talent spread across the league. Sure teams that have been successful for a while like New Jersey (Martin Brodeur is the main reason, should be MVP), Ottawa, Detroit, Dallas and San Jose are all making strides but teams like Buffalo, Nashville and Atlanta have made great strides in recent years and will make strong playoff pushes, though I'm not sure how far they will go, Buffalo will make a run, but Nashville and Atlanta are young, and lack playoff experience and Atlanta lacks any real Canadian leadership, so they wont go to far (Yeah I said it). But that's for another day. The league is healthier than its been in years and while the League would like to see big market US teams like the Rangers, Kings and Blackhawks do better than they are, there is still so much excitement around the game that its future is looking bright for once, they are on solid footing. And anyone of the playoff teams could win the cup.
Who do you think will win the cup?
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