#also coming back to the panther thing. I'm just being salty rn but

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"I wouldnt subject demo to dating an european. a french." GIRL DEMOMAN IS ALSO EUROPEAN!!!!!😭😭WTF ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!!!

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I grew up with hockey like any other sport, casually and only really knowing/caring about my home team & only interacting with my fellow home team fans, but now I'm seeing there's like this whole tumblr fandom to the nhl and I was wondering what are like the reputations of the teams??? And obvi everyone has their own biases based on their faves but I was just curious (bc I love hearing about all of the reputations and drama and gossip that is 100% alive in the sports world)

um okay i really love this ask but i’m also Nervous to answer it bc obviously my views are gonna be based on my teams and tbh i don’t a ton about some of the teams. so let me just preface this by saying that i don’t intend to shit on anyone’s team. pls don’t come yell at me. i love y’all. i’m gonna put this under a read more bc it’s gonna be long af. this isn’t so much drama as it is just a primer on the teams bc i’m not looking to start drama. 

Eastern Conference:

Metro Division:

Carolina Hurricanes (canes): not as relevant as they should be tbh. low fan attendance but some really solid players (highlights include jeff skinner and rookie sebastian aho, who just scored his first nhl hatty last night)

Columbus Blue Jackets (CBJ): haven’t been great really ever until this year. they have one of the best rookies in the league but also arguably the most hated coach in the league. they fire a cannon when they score which tj oshie called “the worst thing in hockey”

New Jersey Devils: they used to be known for playing really boring hockey. i don’t know a ton about them tbh. devils fans feel free to tell me more (nicely).

New York Islanders (Isles): usually Not That Good, despite having John Tavares as captain, but i’m salty bc they’ve beaten the caps multiple times this season. their ice sounds weird when the players skate. idk their arena is funky.

New York Rangers: The king, Henrik Lundqvist. in my experience, loud fans.  having a really solid season (the metro is STACKED - don’t let the standings deceive you). original six team.

Philadelphia Flyers: uhhh… honestly despite having friends who are flyers fans and them being the closest team to me other than my home team, i don’t know a ton. wayne simmonds is underrated (and now an all-star mvp!!!). they also have one of my personal fave rookies, travis konecny.

Pittsburgh Penguins (pens); one of the best teams in the league, no question. the fan base on here is slightly inflated but don’t get me wrong, they’re good. reigning stanley cup champs. as a caps fan, i will always hate playing the pens. if i tried to list their best players, i’d be listing most of the team. also they have sidney crosby so there’s that.

Washington Capitals (caps): MY BOYS!!!! known for being really solid in the regular season and perpetually choking in the playoffs (often against the pens). home to alex ovechkin, one of the most prolific goal scorers of all time, and nicklas backstrom, ridiculously underrated center to ovi’s left wing. first in the league rn.

Atlantic

Boston Bruins: original six team. not having a great season, but somehow still in a playoff spot? i’m not a bruins fan but i have a soft spot for their organization bc the players are some of the most vocal in their support for the lgbtqia community (esp brad marchand) and zdeno chara is a great captain. my bruins friends are Aggressive about them, but that’s kind of a boston sports thing in general.

Buffalo Sabres: jack eichel made them slightly more relevant, but they’re still Not Great.

Detroit Red Wings; another original six team. hands down most bizarre fan tradition that i still don’t understand. this is their last season in the joe, their current arena. won back to back cups in the 50s and 90s.

Florida Panthers: another team with low fan attendance. they’re dealt with a ton of injuries this season, and the somewhat unceremonious firing of their head coach. despite that, they’re only a few points out of the playoffs (the atlantic is all pretty close together rn except the habs).

Montreal Canadians: (habs) Very Enthusiastic Fans. Very French Canadian. mostly known on tumblr bc of the hatred for their head coach, the gallys, and the pk subban trade. more stanley cups than an other team by far. another original six team.

Ottawa Senators (sens); have never won the cup but make pretty regular playoff appearances. i don’t know a ton about them either.

Tampa Bay Lightning (bolts): riddled with injuries this season, including a major one to captain steven stamkos. there was a ton of drama surrounding jonathan drouin a few seasons ago, but as a non-lightning fan, i super don’t want to wade into that. they’re good now (when their players aren’t injured), but i think they’re gonna be incredible in a few years bc they had a ton of prospects at world juniors and pretty much all of them were amazing.

Toronto Maple Leafs (leafs): the loves of my life. haven’t won the cup in 50 years but will bring up their historic cup wins all the time. leaf fans Suffer (just ask steve dangle). the hockey gods have blessed us with incredible rookies, headlined by rookies of the month auston matthews, mitch marner, and william nylander. another original six team.

Western Conference:

Pacific Division:

Anaheim Ducks; named after disney movies. people hate ryan kesler (but his son is really cute). i hate losing to them and i have no concrete reason why.

Arizona Coyotes (yotes): as a fan of them, they suck. they have good players that can never seem to click. their captain shane doan just passed steve yzerman as the player with the 5th most games with a single franchise. shane doan is arizona hockey. currently getting talked about bc they’re the team that inspired auston matthews to start playing hockey. tumblr is still salty about them sending dylan strome back to the otters.

Calgary Flames: Johnny Hockey™

Edmonton Oilers; perpetual draft lottery winners. doing really well this season in large part to current league points leader and youngest captain in nhl history conald mcdonald (or connor mcdavid, as he’s better known).

LA Kings; i don’t know a ton about them but people seem not to like them. they have one of my least favorite players in the league.

San Jose Sharks: gained more fans bc they went to the stanley cup final last season. some of the best players in the league. famous/infamous for their holiday videos.

Vancouver Canucks: home to the Sedin twins, Very Important hockey people to know, Having a rough season.

Central Division:

Chicago Blackhawks: Nope.

Colorado Avalache (avs/aves): Yikes. They can’t catch a mcfreaking break this season. nate mackinnon crushed it with team north america over the summer. the avs are the one team doing worse than the coyotes.

Dallas Stars: one of the most popular teams on tumblr. not having a great season (partially bc of widespread injuries). great at goal scoring and not much else.

Minnesota Wild: First in the West rn and home to the current best goalie in the league. I’ve somehow become a wild fan this season.

Nashville Predators (Preds): Bright jerseys. the new home of pk subban. their goalies love each other. elina is gonna kill me for not knowing more about them. i really don’t want to get into m**e r***bero though.

St. Louis Blues: just fired their head coach. home to one of the best scorers in the league. beat the h**ks in the winter classic, which truly cleansed my soul.

Winnipeg Jets: have struggling with goaltending since the move from atlanta. currently gaining notice because of patrik laine, the 2nd overall pick in the 2016 draft, and nikolaj ehlers.