[Streaker]

Well, the bastards have done it! They've killed the NHL season and there is every reason to believe that come October they still won't have their shit together! In the meantime, the NHL seems to believe that they control the Stanley Cup by divine right, and that the Cup simply shouldn't be awarded this year. In other words, greed trumps tradition! Thinking about this is driving me bananas!

WE MUSTN'T ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN!!!

In my opinion, the NHL has ceased to exist, and if it is unable or unwilling to respect and honour over 100 years of history it should not be allowed to hold the Cup hostage. IMHO, the cup should be awarded to a non-NHL team until Bettman and Goodenow can overcome their arrogant, bloated egos! As far as I'm concerned, these two jackasses ought to be sent to Abu Ghraib for the duration!

There is a movement afoot to wrest the Cup from the clutches of the NHL at freestanley.com which I totally support. The people at freestanley.com are organising an e-mail and snail mail letter-writing campaign to put pressure on the Stanley Cup trustees to award the Cup to the most deserving non-NHL team.

This is an opportunity to strike a blow against greed and corporate mediocrity as well as against soulless hacks like Bettman and Goodenow who have been dragging the NHL down for far too long! CARPE DIEM!!!

Sorry! I just had to vent! Feel much better now... catharsis is good...

[Infamous_Canadian]

I agree completely! I heard the cup shouldnt even be allowed to leave Canada. Because it was given to Canada, something for hockey teams to play for. Not sure if its true, but anyone should be able to play for it. My dad had an idea, why not have a cross country tournament?? Make a team, and enter it! Like the old days, they didn't play for money, they played for the love of the game and to win the cup.

[Streaker]

I like your dad's idea, infamous. In the early years of the Cup's history small towns like Kenora could win the Cup! Any team that wanted to could issue a challenge for the Cup, and like you said none of the players were in it for the money!

Unfortunately, there's some bad news about the chances of the Cup being taken out of the hands of the NHL through legal action. The province of Ontario looked into reclaiming the Cup from the league and decided that it wasn't possible.

So the best chance we have of making this happen is by putting public pressure on the league and the Cup trustees to cough it up at least until they get the NHL going again...

[Streaker]

The latest development in this whole fiasco is that our Governor-General has an idea for awarding the Cup to the best women's hockey team this year.

To be honest about it, I'm not a huge fan of Adrienne Clarkson's proposal, but it would still be better than not having the Cup awarded at all!

She has also been talking to the government about this. Maybe they can start putting some pressure on the NHL to cough up the Cup...

[cydur]

Can THE CUP just be taken & given to somebody else?
And if so To who?And who decides?
I thought to posess THE CUP it had to be won
Either way it will now be tarniched forever

[backspin]

if the n.h.l. and the n.h.l.p.a. want to save face then they can still pull it out of a hat (read that - pull their thumbs out of their asses!)

all they need to do is hold a round robin tournament with the top 8 playing best of seven series till someone wins the cup...

players (and owners!) don't get paid... the ticket prices are drastically reduced for basic tickets, while high end ticket prices do no not change...ALL PROCEEDS GO TO A LOCAL CHARITY.

everything that isn't going to 'the little guys' (concession stands, ushers and other staff - nevermind the local businesses, like bars and taxis - etc)
goes to someone other than players and owners.

players play for the love of the game...not to mention the glory of 'the cup'.
owners let them do it and suck up the appreciation of the fan base - while they can get it!

if they don't...we'll go with the best balance of integrity and hockey that we can find...

right now that's the juniors...the the local leagues - the backyard rinks.

great for our health, now that i think of it but...if it means watching pee wee hockey to get a fix!!!

well...that's where the canadian hockey fans will be.

as much as we love ron maclean - my wife doesn't even watch 'movie night in canada'


(this was first submitted at 'CANADA KICKS ASS! - but has been submitted elsewhere)

[Ironwolf]

Lord Stanly's mug has always gone to the "Best" team in hockey. This year the best team has been "All" the NHLPA members for standing up and fighting for the fastest,and toughest game in the world.(just my opinion) The cup should go to all the players not the owners.

[canucker]

I think the cup should stay within the NHL. That is the tradition and that is how it should stay, IMO.

[canadian1971]

The cup was played for EVERY SINGLE YEAR since it was created...now a bunch of over paid egotistical fucking peons say that no-one else can have it? Fuck them, fuck them right in the fucking ear.

I say give the team who wins the A.H.L. title a chance to play Tampa Bay. However, T.B. probably wouldnt play, discracing themselves, the N.H.L. and hockey fans everywhere yet again.

So, heres my idea. Line up all the overpaid fucking asshole hockey players, ask them if they would like the cup...when they say yes(cause they will), then beat the mother fuckers over the head with it.

Those S.O.B.'s get to play hockey for a living...and a fucking good living too. Yet it is not enough. You greedy bastards. YOU GREEDY FUCKING BASTARDS.

I made about 45,000 cdn last years...that aint bad in my opinion....yet those asshole want me to support thier 1.8(on average) million U.S. dollar salary? I'd say pull your fucking head out of your asses, and clean the shit out of your eyes cause if you did that, then you would see that all I will ever do for hockey and hockey players now is give them fuckers the finger.

Now go get a real job you fucking peons. I'm pretty sure Mcdonalds is hiring.

Excuse me...I ordered a Mc chicken, not a Big Mac....can't you do anything right?

[RoyalHighlander]

$1:

So, heres my idea. Line up all the overpaid fucking asshole hockey players, ask them if they would like the cup...when they say yes(cause they will), then beat the mother fuckers over the head with it.

I really like that idea... LMFAO



Also maybe giving it to the womens team is nottoo bad an idea.... maybe?

[Streaker]

Yeah well, come to think of it, maybe the "Clarkson Cup" would be more suitable for the women!

I really like backspin's idea of the NHL and the NHLPA getting together to stage a not-for-profit tournament to decide who wins the Cup. It would be a wise goodwill gesture. Unfortunately, they are far too dumb to see the advantages of that kind of plan.

I keep thinking of this proposal for a reborn World Hockey Association; we really need a serious professional alternative to the NHL. But that won't solve the problem of what should be done with the Cup this year.

The guys in Edmonton have some interesting proposals for a Stanley Cup tournament which would include the Memorial Cup champs, the AHL champs, the Allan Cup champs and the Canadian University champs. By all means check out their site at Free Stanley!

[canucker]

The women don't even want the cup. And even if they did hand out the cup to another league (which they won't) it wouldn't be the same, it wouldn't feel the same, and it definately wouldn't mean the same because they aren't the "best" team. The "best" team and players aren't playing (at least here). Yeah, it sucks, and I agree with canadian1971 in that the players are greedy, but the Stanley Cup is meant for the "best" team and that is an NHL team, not AHL or WHL etc. That is why they have the Calder Cup and the Memorial Cup. That is their tradition.

[Ironwolf]

Have any of "You" played hockey? 80 games played all over North America,not counting pre-season,and play-offs. The players are the most underpaid of all sports. Just look at basket ball, foot ball, and baseball. Compare saleries to the actual "work" they do. NOBODYS TOUGHER.

[canucker]

Ironwolf Ironwolf:

The players are the most underpaid of all sports.

The NHL doesn't have as much money as baseball, football, and basketball. The market isn't there. The offer that was given to the players was fair, and they should have taken it. It's the best offer they would have gotten. A salary cap would make the competition better and fair between teams and make the sport more exciting. The sport needs alot of changes to bring the market back (mainly the american market).

[QBC]

I don't agree that the cup should go to the woman, they have their own cup and build a tradition all on their own. I think it would mean more than giving the Stanley Cup to them by default. Giving it to the juniors? No, they have a cup that has a great history and shouldn't be over shaddowed. Don't just blame the players, the owners are just as guilty for the loss of our season. Both sides have contributed to screwing up our game. Betman is a mental midget, and that putz from the NHLPA, can't remenber his name off hand, is a ego maniac. The cup should read:

"2004/2005 The Year of Ignorance"