By Alex Mahar [1]
BELLEVILLE – It’s been an un-predictable start to the 2018-2019 Stanley Cup playoffs, one that has left hockey fans around Loyalist College to question who they want to cheer for the rest of the way, or even if they even care anymore.
The first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs was wild to say the least. For the first time in NHL history, each division winner has been knocked off by wild-card teams [2]. That includes the record-setting Tampa Bay Lightning who were largely viewed as Stanley Cup favourites heading into the playoffs. That all changed in four-games as the Columbus Blue Jackets swept the presidents trophy winners in what many are labelling “the biggest upset in pro sports history.” The upset triggered the Lightning organization to release an apology statement [3] to the fan-base via twitter.
Second-year Loyalist College student, Bobby Buck says that the seeing Tampa Bay get swept like that was a dramatic start to a wild playoff.
Beyond the improbable upsets, people around Loyalist College are upset to see that no Canadian teams are remaining in the playoffs. I spoke with Loyalist College construction engineering student, Logan Bradshaw who says he’s disappointed that the Toronto Maple Leafs are out of the playoffs because they haven’t won in a long time.
It has been a long time since the Toronto Maple Leafs have won a Stanley Cup, or even been to the second-round of the NHL playoffs for that matter. That hurts those who are huge Leaf fans, and make those who aren’t extremely happy, but there is one thing that all of Canada can agree on. We aren’t happy that the Stanley Cup won’t be coming North of the border again this season, the 26th season in a row.
That’s right, no Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens. [6]
Bobby Buck is a Montreal Canadiens fan who wasn’t even born yet to see the last Canadian team to hoist the NHL’s top prize. He even admits that he was behind the buzz around the Toronto Maple Leafs.
I got the chance to sit down with three employees at Loyalist College. Business professor Mike Allison, Xerox printing centre employee Dan Brookhouse and social service work professor Mark Gallupe, who are also disappointed that the Toronto Maple Leafs (Canada’s last team in the Stanley Cup playoffs [8]) were eliminated.
21-year-old Loyalist College student, Hayden Comeau says that the Maple Leafs dropped the ball down the stretch of the regular season but adds that the Leafs can still bounce back next year.
http://www.qnetnews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Comeau-on-Leafs.mp3 [9]Canada will have to wait until next year for one of the seven teams to get a shot at lifting the Stanley Cup. Many fans around Loyalist College are pretty disappointed about that, but are still interested to see who will come out on top in the NHL after a flurry of dramatic upsets and unpredictable events.
So, with eight teams remaining and one month of hockey left, we wait and watch to see what unfolds.