re: I'm considering getting into hockey, help me pick a team

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WG_Dawg

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NHL is in the middle of the first round of playoffs right now. Playoff hockey is a whole other beast than regular season (more intensity & emotional with home crowds going crazy every game. 3rd periods of a playoff game that is tied or within one goal get crazy!). Sit back and watch a few games with no real preferences or team favorites. If you watch 2 or 3 playoff games, I guarantee you'll find yourself naturally start rooting for one of the teams. Then you'll want to watch their next game and so on, you'll be hooked. You should also lurk in the other NHL threads while the games are going on too so you can read the commentary/opinions of other posters and familiarize yourself with players.

I did this last year and picked Toronto.

I like the logo...and they are an orignal 6

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-Can't be too good. I don't want to be a frontrunner/bandwagoner/etc. So it can't be like the best team in teh league
-Ideally, would have something of a good history.
-Has potential to be good in the near future and/or has a star player
-Nice color scheme/cool city.

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Those are good criteria that a lot of teams will meet. Here's who you can't root for as a new fan: Penguins, Bruins, Kings, Blackhawks, Red Wings. If you root for any of those teams as a new fan, you are a soulless frontrunner who deserves to be mocked until you cry. Those are your most recent Cup winners. That's like showing up to the NFL and deciding to be a Patriots fan. Have some dignity.

I'm assuming you're in the South, and you could root for a southern team. That gives you the options of the Bolts, Panthers, Predators, Caps, Hurricanes, Stars, and Blues. If you want a southern team with history, you're pretty much stuck with the Caps or the Blues, who have both been around for 40 years. The problem is, their history is one of unending pain and suffering. These are hard franchises full of fans who have been through hell.

The Blues have the longest Cup drought in the NHL (never won, have existed since 1967). The Caps have the worst record in Game 7 of any team in professional sports. Both are playoff regulars (Blues went to 25 straight playoffs at one point, the Caps just had the 3rd longest streak in the NHL snapped this year). So, always good, never great, southern, and few bandwagoners overall (both also have cool logos and are in fun cities).

That said, since the Blues are in the playoffs, that's the team to go for. They are also a young team and have the NHL's best personality (Shattenkirk) and Olympic hero (Oshie).

If Southern-ness isn't that important and you still want "history", you probably want the Flyers, honestly. And that hurts to type. Won some Cups in the 70s, have the whole Broad Street Bullies thing, great logo, awesome city that people are afraid of, and you're immediately hated by everyone else in the NHL, which means awesome rivalries. You also get to root for Scottie Hartnell and Wayne Simmonds. Not a favorite, but still good enough to tempt you.

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WG_Dawg

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Answer this short survey and it'll tell you.

The Blackhawks are defending champs. How much more bandwagon can you get? And helpfully telling a new fan to root for the Sabres just seems mean.

OP, re-read my post on the Avs. I spelled it out perfectly (and I'm not even an Avs fan cause I'm a Devils fan).

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ClydeFrog

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the top 4 that survey gave me were

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Colorado Avalanche (100%)
Florida Panthers (100%)
Phoenix Coyotes (100%)
San Jose Sharks (100%)

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however, I answered 'no preference' for just about every question so not sure what to make of that.

Also, watch the playoffs and just see who you are drawn to. Do you like high flyin' offense? The Ducks are your boys. You like lockdown defense? The Wild say hi. You want to jump on a Stanley Cup run of a team that has won in a while? the Rangers are your best bet. Parlez vous francais? Les Habs!

ETA: Also, think of who you hate. Hatred is a good guide to who you will like.

I'm a Wings fan, but the Avalanche games have been highly entertaining. They are extremely fast and play a really skilled, fun brand of hockey

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The Blackhawks are defending champs. How much more bandwagon can you get?

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I was just giving him the Blackhawks suggestion if he wanted to go the route of being a bandwagoner. Because, frick Detroit.

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And helpfully telling a new fan to root for the Sabres just seems mean.

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Hey, I'm a Sabres fan and just want more people on here to talk about how shitty we are, and rethink about the time Dominik Hasek, Michael Peca, Miroslav Satan, and Matthew Barnaby almost brought Buffalo a cup