It is that time of the year. Most of the teams are eliminated and it’s boiled down to the semi-finalist, or Conference Finalists, if you are interested in making it sound all the more important.
Chris Kreider in the 2014 Stanley Cup Final – file photo by Jack Lima
I ran into this situation in the Cup Final last year. I am from Boston and we don’t generally like New York. I mean there’s pizza, I like the Mets and the fact Ryan Adams lives there kind of stacks on the cool, but that’s it.
We’re talking the city of A-Fraud, someone who runs the NFL office (you know that was coming right?) and a place where bad stuff happens.
For Bostonians, New York is the kind of place where you take switchblades and machine guns to dinner, and I have family from the area! I am easy on the place.
For the first decades of my life, “Yankees Suck” was kind of our national anthem, or at least it was until our baseball team became more dominant. (Yeah 23 or whatever, how many when you were living)?
But now, dammit, as I noticed last year there are a lots of Rangers with ties to Boston. When watching the Kings series I was pulling for LA. I appreciate a physical style of hockey and the Kings have (had) it. But the thing I noticed when the Rangers scored I would have an initial disappointment but then I’d say to myself “hey that’s a Boston guy”.
So let’s review, and I am sure many fans are making a mental checklist such as this as they choose what team they want to pull for as the Stanley Cup field narrows.
Chicago, nope, they beat the Bruins in the Final. They are out. But two of the other remaining teams are in play. I mean Anaheim has a physical game and Corey Perry is sure fun to watch. Tampa Bay, dang, they might skate a guy who is still under anesthesia from his recent appendix surgery.
But I think the Rangers are going to pull me in again. I mean once you get past the fact Jasper Fast doesn’t pronounce his name correctly; there is a lot of interest on my part.
Let’s start at the top, Glen Sather has placed so many players from the best nation on earth on this team they could revive the New York Americans name. There are nine of them on the active roster! (There are ten from the Northern US. Canadians love to be called that, try it sometime).
So let’s review.
Martin St Louis – file photo by Jack Lima
Tanner Glass is from Dartmouth (I am not stupid, I know Dartmouth is in New Hampshire. But Massachusetts people like New Hampshire. That is where we live when we cannot afford homes in Massachusetts). We’re cousins. Martin St. Louis (Vermont) can apply, but people from Vermont are kind of like Cousin Eddie in Christmas Vacation to Massachusetts folks. “Marty” is a friend of Tim Thomas, so he’s kind of close to acceptance.
Kevin Hayes, c’mon, he lives in DOT (Dorchester), played for BC (Boston College), was born in Boston, played for the Cape Cod Whalers (my home area—and by the way there are no whales in Hartford) scored the game-tying goal in Game Seven and played after his teeth were busted up. Seriously? You can’t pull for this guy? I’d say Boston Strong, but that is a double-positive and unnecessary in my opinion. Kind of like Pizza Awesome.
Chris Kreider? BC, Boxford, I damn near tore my hair out when the Bruins didn’t trade up to get him. Jordan Caron, nice consolation prize (what is the emoticon for sarcasm?). Want to figure out why Peter Chiarelli isn’t the GM in Boston anymore, you can start here.
Ryan McDonagh – file photo by Jack Lima
Dominic Moore, Harvard, he can win in the face-off circle and kick your ass on the SATs. Matt Hunwick, four years with the Bruins and liable to see some action in the next round and finally Keith Yandle from Boston proper.
As an added bonus when watching the Rangers I can think joyfully to the time they pants’d Montreal to get Ryan McDonagh, for Scott Gomez and wait for it…Gomez’s five years and $33.5 US (that is about $67M Canadian I think).
(Wait…hyperventilating I still am smiling over such a deal….)
So there you have it. Go Rangers! (At least until October 2015).
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