billsportsmaps.com

…


The National Hockey League’s Atlantic Division is the only division in the league made up entirely of teams that have won a Stanley Cup Title.  

The New York Rangers were formed in 1926 as an expansion team (along with the Chicago Black Hawks and the Detroit Cougars) and are the oldest team in the Atlantic Division.  The Rangers were formed one year after the now-defunct New York Americans first brought pro hockey to midtown Manhattan.  Tex Rickard,  the boxing promoter who built and ran the third Madison Square Garden, (at W 50th St. and 8th Avenue),  decided he wanted to run a hockey team as well in New York City,  and the New York press soon nicknamed the fledgling franchise ”Tex’s Rangers”.  With the aid of Pacific Coast Hockey Association co-founder Les Francis,  the Rangers won their first Stanley Cup Title in just their second season,  in 1927.

The Rangers have won 4 Stanley Cup Titles,  but endured a 54-year cup drought,  with no titles won between their 1940 and their 1994 championships.   Led by veteran cup-winners Mark Messier and Brian Leetch,  the 1993-’94 Rangers rallied from 2 games down versus the New Jersey Devils in the semifinals,  and then won the 1994 Stanley Cup Title in 7 games over the Cinderella-team ,  7th seed Vancouver Canucks. 

The next oldest clubs in the Atlantic Division are the two Pennsylvania franchises,  the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Both were formed in 1967, when the NHL doubled in size from 6 to 12 teams.  

The golden age of the Philadelphia Flyers was in the early half of the 1970′s,  when the brawling Broad Street Bullies won back-to-back Stanley Cup Titles,  in 1974 and 1975.  The Flyers have remained competitive in the years since then,  but have come up short in 5 Stanley Cup Finals,  most recently in 1997,  when they were shut out by the Detroit Red Wings.  The Philadelphia Flyers draw so well that they are able to have their top minor league affiliate,  the Philadelphia Phantoms,  play right next door.

The Pittsburgh Penguins also won their Stanley Cup Titles in successive years,  in 1991 and 1992.  The Penguins have endured some lean years since then,  including bankruptcy in 1998.  17-year player and prolific scoring legend Mario Lemieux (Wikipedia profile here} was one of the club’s biggest creditors,  and was able to put together a plan that the NHL Board of Governors and the US Bankruptcy Court approved.  Lemieux bought the Penguins, then came out of retirement to play as player/owner of the Penguins from 2000 to 2006.  In 2005,  it was reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  that all of the franchise’s $90 million debt was paid.  Lemieux remains as principal owner.  Last season the Penguins finally made it to back to the Stanley Cup Finals,  but lost to Detroit 2 games to 4.

The New York Islanders were formed as one of two expansion teams in 1972 (along with the Atlanta Flames).  In just their third season (1974-’75),  the Islanders made it to the semifinals.   Led by their first line of Mike Bossy,  Bryan Trottier,  and Clark Gilles,  the Islanders won 4 consecutive Stanley Cup Titles,  from 1980 to 1983.  The Islanders remained competitive for the remainder of the 1980′s,  but then began a decline which the franchise has never really come out of.  These days the New York Islanders languish near the bottom of the table,  and are perennially the lowest drawing club in the league. 

The New Jersey Devils are the youngest hockey club in the division,  beginning as the Kansas City Scouts,  in 1974.  The Scouts were one of two expansion teams for 1974 (along with the Washington Capitals).  The team had real trouble attracting season ticket buyers (with just 2,000 in 1975-’76),  and were forced to move to Denver,  Colorado in 1976,  after just two seasons in Missouri.  The Colorado Rockies continued the franchise’s dismal showing on the ice.  For a number of years,  the franchise tried to move again,  to New Jersey,  but the NHL Board blocked the move until a suitable arena was in place.  That came about in 1982.  The New Jersey Devils continued the franchise’s sub-.500 ways,  although the team improved every year from 1984 to 1987.  In 1987-’88,  the Devils achieved the 13-year-old franchise’s first winning season,  and their second playoff appearance.  It took 7 more seasons for the New Jersey Devils to win their first Stanley Cup Title,  in 1995,  with a shutout of the Detroit Red Wings.  The Devils went on to win the Stanley Cup again in 2000 (4-2 over the Dallas Stars) and in 2003 (4-3 over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim).

Thanks to Chris Creamer’s Sports Logos Page {click here}.    Thanks to Jersey Database site {click here (set to the JerseyDatabase blog section)}.   Thanks to Logo Shak {click here}.   Thanks to the NHL shop {click here}.   Thanks to Stadium Classics/NHL jerseys {click here}.   Thanks to Gameday Sports Archive (NHL throwback jerseys) {click here}.   Thanks to the contributors to the pages at Wikipedia {NHL page here}.

The National Hockey League’s Northeast Division features the two oldest professional hockey clubs still in existence…the Montreal Canadiens (founded in 1909),  and the Toronto Maple Leafs (founded in 1917).  One team in the division,  the Boston Bruins,  were formed as expansion team in 1924 (becoming the first American team in the league).   The Buffalo Sabres were formed as an expansion team in 1970;  and the second Ottawa Senators were formed as an expansion team in 1992,  marking a return of the NHL to Canada’s national capital,  after a 58-year absence.

The Montreal Canadiens are hands down the most storied and successful hockey team in the world.  The hockey club has won 24 Stanley Cup Titles;  their first Cup win actually predates the NHL.  This was in 1916,  when they represented the National Hockey Association (1910-1917).  The Canadiens defeated the Pacific Coast Hockey Association’s Portland Rosebuds to win the title.  The following year,  the NHA gave way to the NHL (basically to exclude the divisive Toronto Blueshirts ownership).  Les Canadiens  had become the de-facto club of the French-speaking population in the Montreal area;  while the Montreal Wanderers,  then the Montreal Maroons,  became the hockey club of the English-speaking citizens of the region. 

The Canadiens didn’t become a dominant force in the NHL initially,  though.  The club had “only” won 5 Stanley Cup Titles by 1946.   But they owned the post-war era…they won 5 straight Stanley Cups from 1956 to 1960;  they won 5 Stanley Cup Titles in the 1960′s,  and 6 Stanley Cup Titles in the 1970′s.  However,  since then the Canadiens have only won 2 Stanley Cup Titles,  in 1986,  and their last,  in 1993.   Surprisingly,  though,  the Montreal Canadiens have produced the second-most players in the Hockey Hall of Fame,  with 42  (Toronto has produced 54 players in the Hall of Fame,  which is in,  you guessed it,  Toronto).

The Toronto Maple Leafs are the most famous sports team in the world that has a misspelling in their name,  as the plural of ’leaf’ is ‘leaves’.  They have not won a Stanley Cup Title since 1967,  which is pretty amazing,  when one considers the fact that the Leafs’ headquarters is in the same building that the NHL’s home office is.  That is not to say they are not a success,  though,  as they have a thirty-year success rate in keeping NHL hockey out of Hamilton, Ontario  (which is 50 miles west of Toronto),  for fear of actual competition for their fan base.  Here is an article about how the former owner,  Harold Ballard,  held the team back  {Click here}.  Currently,  the Toronto Maple Leafs are owned by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, Ltd.,  58% of which is controlled by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan  {see this}.  This makes the situation one in which “excessive” (read: competitive) expenditures for talent is avoided.  In other words,  the Maple Leafs ownership doesn’t want to “waste” money trying to spend to build a champiopnship-calibre team…why should they,  when:  A. the pensions of thousands of school teachers are riding on the financial stability of the hockey team,  and B. there is a captive,  hockey-hungry fan base in southern Ontario willing to go to games,  even if the Leafs have no chance of making the playoffs (which is again the situation this year),  and C. there is no relegation and promotion system,  like in  European,  and most of the world’s,  football (aka soccer) leagues. 

Basically,  the Ontario Teachers’ Union has latched on to a machine that prints money.  Because the Toronto NHL franchise’s games will always sell out,  no matter how bad the team is.  Good for education in this part of Canada,  bad for hockey.  Because it is a real problem for the state of pro hockey in North America if the sole team from the biggest city in Canada is institutionally unwilling to pursue a championship.

The Boston Bruins also have had a long layover since last hoisting the Stanley Cup in victory… 36 years.  And for some reason,  they have been drawing rather poorly in the last few years,  even this season,  when the team is doing very well. 

The Buffalo Sabres have never won the Stanley Cup (but don’t get me started on this,  which was the clearly illegitimate winning goal that the Dallas Stars’ Brett Hull scored on Buffalo in the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals).  My love for the plucky Sabres is not diminished by the fact that management decided that their club would be best represented by a bison that seems to have been born without appendages,  resembling a horned bannana slug.

The Ottawa Senators are the newest team in the Northeast division,  having been formed in 1992.  They also have never won the Stanley Cup Title,  but they did make it to the Finals in 2007,  losing to the Anaheim Ducks in 5 games.   The Senators existence is important to hockey fans in Canada,  as it went against the trend (led by commissioner Gary Bettman) of putting hockey franchises where they don’t belong (ie, where it doesn’t snow).  And Ottawa’s ability to constantly sell out their arena stands in direct contrast to all these other new teams in the American south,  southwest,  and midwest.  Currently,  the Senators are playing to 106% capacity,  and this is an off-year for the hockey club,  both in terms of performance and gate figures.

-

-

2008-2009 average attendances,  {Click here}.  First off,  Chicago’s figures are inflated via the outdoor game at Wrigley Field,  which drew 40, 818.  If you subtract that game from their average,  as of February 17th,  Chicago’s average attendance is 21,708 per game…amazingly,  still good enough for first.  Evidently,  there is a long-overdue hockey renaissance in the Windy City.  I remember seeing earlier this season (in SI magazine) the report that Blackhawks management had finally loosened their restrictions on local broadcasts of their home games.  This,  plus the buzz around the outdoor game,  plus,  of course,  the vast improvement in the Blackhawks squad,  have all contributed to the huge increase in home crowds…an increase of around 4,900 per game (up from 16,814 per game in 2007-2008,  which was 19th best).

Thanks to Chris Creamer’s Sports Logos Page  {Click here}.   Thanks to the NHL shop  {Click here}.   Thanks to Logo Shak  {Click here}.   Thanks to the contributors to the relevant pages at Wikipedia  {Click here,  for the page on the NHL}.   Thanks to my cousin Gary,  for cluing me in on the ownership structure of the Toronto Maple Leafs.   Thanks to the JerseyDatabase site {click here}.