Pennants

That’s Bobby Hull up against Al Arbour, late 1960′s. This year’s final four are just a fun group to talk about, with so many background stories and so much history. The Hawks have won three pennants since expansion, only one of them (’71) with Hull. The 1973 team was led by Tony Esposito in goal, four quality forwards in Jim Pappin, Dennis Hull, Pit Martin and Stan Mikita, and relied heavily on a blood and guts blue that featured Bill White, Pat Stapleton, Keith Magnuson and youngsters Jerry Korab and Phil Russell. It was a fun year to watch the playoffs too.

San Jose’s window of opportunity has been open longer (and will close sooner) than Chicago’s, but man they have some nice things doing in this final group. If they can get by Chicago (it’ll be a huge task) then even San Jose fans will have to agree that the Sharks have exorcised some demons this spring.

Montreal plays the role of Cinderella this spring, with a goalie who has been dominant and a group of highly skilled free agents scoring when needed. Montreal’s appearances in the final four should be regarded as extremely serious; the Habs are the darlings of the hockey Gods and have ridden long shots to victory many times.

Philadelphia. My brother-in-law is in Mexico right now, down there making a living for his family. If I could figure out skype he’d be getting updates on his team’s unlikely run and I’d be able to tease him about the last time talked about the Flyers. He told me that his wish had been for the team to miss the playoffs so there’d be no excuses for management. Maybe next year.

I am torn in regard to which team should be my favorite to win it all. If I pick the Sharks–who are the modern incarnation of the Oakland Seals–then they will lose in four. If I pick the Flyers–who are the best team still standing in the east–surely the hockey Gods will not pass up another opportunity to kick me in the junk.

So it is under these circumstances that I choose to choose a Chicago-Montreal final. Hello 1971, good to see you 1973 and for the older group well look who’s here it is 1961. Bless you boys. Make staying indoors all damn spring worthwhile, because it’s a beautiful day.

1. Montreal (11): ’68, ’69, ’71, ’73, ’76-’79, ’86, ’89, ’93
2. Boston (7): ’70, ’72, ’74, ’77, ’78, ’88, ’90
3. Edmonton (7): ’83, ’84, ’85, ’87, ’88, ’90, ’06
4. Philadephia (7): ’74, ’75, ’76, ’80, ’85, ’87, ’97
5. Detroit (6): ’95, ’97, ’98, ’02, ’08, ’09
6. New York Islanders (5): ’80, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’84
7. Pittsburgh Penguins (4): ’91, ’92, ’08, ’09
8. Dallas (4): ’81, ’91, ’99, ’00
9. New Jersey (4): ’95, ’00, ’01, ’03
10. Calgary (3): ’86, ’89, ’04
11. Chicago (3): ’71, ’73, ’92
12. New York Rangers (3): ’72, ’79, ’94
13. St. Louis (3): ’68, ’69, ’70
14. Anaheim (2): ’03, ’07
15. Buffalo (2): ’75, ’99
16. Carolina (2): ’02, ’06
17. Colorado (2): ’96, ’01
18. Vancouver (2): ’82, ’94
19. Florida (1): ’96
20. Los Angeles (1): ’93
21. Ottawa (1): ’07
22. Tampa Bay (1): ’04
23. Washington (1): ’98
24. Atlanta
25. Columbus
26. Minnesota
27. Nashville
28. Phoenix
29. San Jose
30. Toronto