ScottM Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 The NHL has certainly seen its share of unexpected champions over the years. Which team was the most unlikely champion the league has ever seen? I'm going to list a few here. Was it one of these teams, or someone else altogether? 1927-28 Rangers: The Rangers were in only their second year in the league, and their barely-above .500 record of 19-16-9 was far from awe-inspiring. Yet, they overcame the odds to down the Montreal Maroons 3-2 in the Finals. 1937-38 Black Hawks: The Black Hawks edged out the Detroit Red Wings for the final playoff spot in the American division with an atrocious 14-25-9 record. In the ultimate example of getting hot at the right time, the Black Hawks downed the Canadiens, New York Americans, and Maple Leafs en route to the franchise's second Cup title. 1942-43 Maple Leafs: The Leafs weren't so bad on paper, but it was the way the Finals unfolded that makes them such an unlikely champ. They fell behind the Red Wings 3-0 in the Finals only to become the first team in North American sports history to come back from such a deficit to win a series. 1948-49 Maple Leafs: The Maple Leafs had a sub-.500 record of 22-25-13, and yet worked their way to the Finals, where they swept the league's best regular season team, the Red Wings. They were the first team to win 3 straight Cups. 1970-71 Montreal Canadiens: Everyone knew it was the Bruins year, and Boston posted 8 more wins than any other team that season. On top of that, the Habs entered the playoffs with a rookie who had only 6 regular seaon starts in net. Somehow, Montreal manage to take down the Bruins in the first round of the playoffs and went on to win the 17th Stanley Cup in team history. 2011-12 Los Angeles Kings: It took an 11-4-3 record in March and April for the Kings to take the final Western Conference playoff spot. They then dismissed the President's Trophy winning Vancouver Canucks in 5 games in the first round on their way to becoming the first #8 seed to ever win the Stanley Cup. 2013-14 Los Angeles Kings: This team was a little better in the regular season than the version of the team from 2 years earlier, but they fell behind the San Jose Sharks 3-0 in the first round. After becoming only the 4th team in league history to overcome such a deficit, they would win two more 7 game series against Chicago and Anaheim before downing the Rangers 4-1 in the Finals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 @ScottM Most unlikely? I always go back to the Hurricanes. They did not have have a Stanley Cup roster, just rode the red hot Cam Ward to a title. It's a crying shame they won the cup, Carolina has no right winning anything in the NHL. They didn't even sell out the year after they won, their fan base sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share Posted August 22, 2014 I just realized that I didn't give my answer. I'm going with the 38 Black Hawks. That team was just plain bad. @jammer2 The fans in Raleigh are at least better than Atlanta, Miami, and Phoenix. Not that that says much... Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 @ScottM If a Stanley Cup can't jump start your attendance and season ticket sales, what will? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share Posted August 22, 2014 @ScottM If a Stanley Cup can't jump start your attendance and season ticket sales, what will? Oh, I agree. The fact that I had to list the cities that I did to find places worse is pretty pathetic. Hockey is one thing that I and my fellow southerners just do not eye to eye on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hf101 Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 @ScottM Most unlikely? I always go back to the Hurricanes. They did not have have a Stanley Cup roster, just rode the red hot Cam Ward to a title. It's a crying shame they won the cup, Carolina has no right winning anything in the NHL. They didn't even sell out the year after they won, their fan base sucks. They sold more tickets at home and had a greater percentage of tickets sold than Boston the year after the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackStraw Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 I would go with Carolina too. Nobody in their right mind would have picked them to win the Cup at the start of the season.Although I wouldn't say they were the most unlikely, the '75 Flyers probably deserve mention. Not that they weren't a good team, but the idea that an expansion team could beat the mighty Bruins wasn't something that most people were prepared for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 They sold more tickets at home and had a greater percentage of tickets sold than Boston the year after the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup. Really? That's surprising to me. I had heard they did poorly the year after...I stand corrected....although they are still struggling with attendance, no? This has them at 24th in the league and only filling up 82.9% of the PNC center. http://www.hockeyattendance.com/league/nhl/2013/?sort=avg_att So, any upswing there was after the cup win is now gone, safe to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hf101 Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 Really? That's surprising to me. I had heard they did poorly the year after...I stand corrected....although they are still struggling with attendance, no? This has them at 24th in the league and only filling up 82.9% of the PNC center. Yep, check out the years 2006-7 and 2007-8 home stats.http://espn.go.com/nhl/attendance/_/year/2007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hf101 Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 @jammer2 I think a lot of Carolina's attendance issues are related to how well the team plays. In 2012-13 they sold 95% of home tickets. Last year with Cam Ward on the shelf, only 83%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share Posted August 22, 2014 @JackStraw I've seen the '75 Flyers mentioned on some lists. That was a pretty big jolt to the establishment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 @jammer2 I think a lot of Carolina's attendance issues are related to how well the team plays. In 2012-13 they sold 95% of home tickets. Last year with Cam Ward on the shelf, only 83%. Well, if goaltending gets them out to games, it's a good time to invest in a restaurant near the arena, cause I honestly believe Khodobin will post top 10 numbers this coming season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatrik98 Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 @ScottM If a Stanley Cup can't jump start your attendance and season ticket sales, what will?In Carolina, its buy some Cane tickets and get free Nascar tickets!!!! lol That would boost the attendance. Sad to see a city cant fill an arena with a Championship Team. Same thing happened in Tampa Bay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.