Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Red Wings vs Maple Leafs in the Winter Classic: The pros and cons

This year's Winter Classic was by all accounts a rousing success, featuring another solid season of HBO's 24/7 series, an entertaining alumni game, and a riveting showdown between the Flyers and Rangers that included a last-minute penalty shot.

After so much excitement, it's only natural that fans have already started wondering about next year's game. The NHL hasn't made any official announcements so far, but according to reports that may simply be a formality. Media speculation has been all but unanimous that it's already a done deal: The Detroit Red Wings will be hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Is that a smart matchup for what's quickly becoming the league's marquee event? It's tough to say. Here are some of the pros and cons of going with Detroit and Toronto at next year's Winter Classic.

Pro: The Maple Leafs would probably do great in the middle of a stadium, since their games at the ACC have given them extensive experience playing in rinks where there aren't any fans seated within 100 feet of the ice.

Con: For one night it would feel like both teams were back playing in the old Norris Division, which technically counts as realignment so Donald Fehr would just show up and ruin it.

Pro: Ron Wilson has indicated that he'd enjoy being part of the Winter Classic, so it's probably safe to assume that whoever is coaching the Leafs this time next year would feel the same way.

Con: Having only one American team involved instead of two means ESPN would probably reduce the number of minutes they spent talking about the game down to whatever zero divided by two is.

Pro: American hockey fans have complained that they're sick of seeing the Winter Classic involve the same old teams that are always being shoved down their throats on TV, so it's only fair that Canadian fans get a chance to see what that's like.

Con: David Steckel would be playing in a Winter Classic again, so enjoy that year off, Pavel Datsyuk.

Pro: The alumni game would give Mike Foligno a chance to suit up for the Maple Leafs for the first time in almost 20 years, and that should probably have been enough time for him to find a helmet that was the same color as everyone else's.

Con: Another season of HBO would mean that the Maple Leafs star players would be followed by cameras 24 hours a day for four straight weeks, which is probably not enough time to get a halfway interesting quote out of Phil Kessel.

Pro: So far every team that's played the Red Wings in a Winter Classic has gone on to win the Stanley Cup the next year, so this matchup would be a great way to nip that whole trend in the bud.

Con: Detroit is located in Michigan which is pretty much the furthest west you can go and still find any American hockey fans, as far as the NHL seems to know.

Pro: Including Toronto in the Winter Classic would open the door for future appearances by other Canadian teams like Ottawa or Edmonton, fans of those teams would adorably start to think.

Con: HBO has a long history of featuring over-the-top villains on shows like The Sopranos and The Wire, but even they think that this Todd Bertuzzi guy might be pushing it.

Pro: There are rumors that the game could be held at Comerica Park, and it would be fun to see a sports team from Toronto play a meaningful game in a baseball stadium for the first time in almost 20 years.

Con: Nicklas Lidstrom would be at an unfair advantage in the game since he played outdoors all the time as a kid back before they invented buildings.

Pro: If the matchup is finalized then every Maple Leaf and Red Wing fan in the world will spend the next year going crazy with unbridled excitement, which will make it so much fun for everyone else when the whole thing is cancelled due to the lockout.




37 comments:

  1. The last one is hilarious but makes me sad at the same time because I know it's going to be true :(

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  2. WHAR IS CAPTION? WHAR?

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  3. Damn you with that Mike Foligno joke. You need to write more stuff like that! Godd job btw.

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  4. I get the feeling that the caption was going to involve a Lee Stempniak joke....

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  5. that lidstrom one is gold.

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    1. The Lidstrom joke made me laugh out loud at work. I think I scared a co-worker.

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  6. THe ottawa/ edmonton joke doesn't really work since edmonton already hosted the first outdoor game.

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    1. The game in Edmonton was not the Winter Classic.

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    2. It was still outdoors

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    3. Yeah Edmonton had the original outdoor game. I think they called it the "Heritage Classic". Then somebody down south decided to call it the "Winter Classic" and turn it into a huge moneymaker with a TV series and the classic and real games on different nights so that everybody has to buy two tickets. Sort of sad when you think that the original intent was just to have a good old fashioned outdoor game.

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  7. I don't get the Mike Foligno joke...

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  8. "David Steckel would be playing in a Winter Classic again, so enjoy that year off, Pavel Datsyuk."


    Hahaha...*breathe*...hahahaha!

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  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  10. I enjoyed this article...it made me laugh several times! Thanks.

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  11. I don't understand the Steckel joke.

    But then again, I am stupid and think trading Roy+Stafford for Getzlaf is reasonable and remotely possible.

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  12. David Steckel is the guy who delivered the hit on Crosby that probably caused his concussion at last year's Winter Classic. Although getting hit by Hedman the next game probably didn't help matters much. Now he's a Leaf so the joke is that he will do the same again but this time to the Wings' best player.

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    1. Considering Red Wings fans obsession with Crosby, Steckel will probably get a hereo's welcome

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    2. Have you actually watched that hit? Crosby had as much to do with that collision and Steckel did.

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    3. as Steckel did*^

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  13. Oh Kessel...

    I cannot think of 2 more boring teams, personality-wise, to have on HBO 24/7.

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  14. well, kessel and boring - yes.
    but man, dats' humor will make bryz look boring in comparison! *drools*

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  15. I assume the caption for the picture would simply have been "COOOOOBRA!"

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  16. Con: Detroit is located in Michigan which is pretty much the furthest west you can go and still find any American hockey fans, as far as the NHL seems to know.

    So sadly true....

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  17. "Pro: Including Toronto in the Winter Classic would open the door for future appearances by other Canadian teams like Ottawa or Edmonton, fans of those teams would adorably start to think."

    You do realize that the Winter Classic is based on the Heritage Classic which (a) came over 4 years before the first Winter Classic game (Nov 2003 vs Jan 2008), (b) was (in 2003) the first ever regular season NHL game to be played outdoors, (c) had the Edmonton Oilers play against the Montreal Canadiens, AND (d) featured this first ever NHL alumni game (basically, the 80s Oilers dynasty vs the 70s Canadiens dynasty).

    So, to suggest that Canadian fans should somehow feel lucky to participate in your Winter Classic is like saying: you should feel lucky get a ride to work from the guy who stole your car.

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    1. Sigh, the roots of the event are different from its current form. Do you not understand that things, evolve, over time? And the current Winter Classic, in this form, has yet to feature a Canadian team. Hence the joke.

      Please, take stick out of rectum and calm down please.

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  18. I'm a Wings fan from Detroit, and I thought this was hilarious. Nicely done.

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  19. Burkie is the greatest general manager of all time! Do the Wild know that the Leafs now have ninjas ready to play? That is unless it is Johnny Bower and Tiger Williams behind those masks...time will tell.

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  20. Added to the ever-growing list of Things-I-Wish-I-Understand;
    the Foligno+helmet-colour joke!

    Hilfe bitte!

    Other than that, possibly including that, a very funny post!

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    1. Foligno deliberately wore a weird bowl style of helmet back in the day. Now the headgear is more standardized (I think).

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    2. Foligno deliberately wore a weird bowl style of helmet back in the day. Now the headgear is more standardized (I think).

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  21. Great stuff, as usual. The Foligno comment had me rolling. My family thinks i am crazy. Hopefully the Buds will come decked out in the Sittler era sweaters and Cooperalls!

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  22. Hey, I've just received a free Minecraft Giftcode!
    You can get one too!

    >> minecraftcodes.me <<

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  23. too bad Nicklas Lidstrom retired :(

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  24. Since Shanahan will probably take part in the alumni games, does that mean he'll have to shanaban himself if he misbehaves?

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