Kingston, Jamaica, I meant. This demonstrates the need for qualifiers since so numerous Canadian towns share names with large cities elsewhere.

Anyway it's all in good fun. I grew up near Canada and when their teams would come and play our local team it was always tense and physical. A local guy plays for the Hurricanes and I vividly recall the playoff series in 2002 vs the Leafs and the Leafs dirty play throughout that series.

Over the years I haven't seen anything that changes my view of them. They're a poor copy of the Flyers.

I'm not a huge leafs fan. I cheer for the home team but largely have given up on them. I tend to agree with your opinion of them. Mikhail Grabovski is seriously good, though.

When it comes to hockey, you can't beat Detroit. :)

It helps when you can field the Swedish national team every night, doesn't it?

Anyway I follow the Jackets, because they're all that's on tv in these parts. I try to follow the Canes though, although I wish they didn't play in North Carolina.

Its a poor argument to consider one team more or less virtuous than another by evaluating select players, chivalry isn't hockey's strong suit in any regard.

I'm not blind to the poor management and just overall poor performance the Leaf's seem famous for, but there's a reason Air Canada Centre has sold out every game since its inception, the team and by extension its fans, have amazing spirit.

A poor copy of the Flyers Toronto is not. Especially considering our franchise is twice as old.

@Darwyn, Detriot has been great this season, lets hope they forget that later this month when we finally play you.

GO LEAFS, FLAMES and WINGS! (My 3 fav teams)

"Its a poor argument to consider one team more or less virtuous than another by evaluating select players, chivalry isn't hockey's strong suit in any regard."

Come now, even the staunchest Leaf supporter must acknowledge their team's reputation for goonery over the years - Wade Belak, Tie Domi, Ryan Hollweg, Orr and Komisarek, etc.

"A poor copy of the Flyers Toronto is not. Especially considering our franchise is twice as old."

Age has nothing to do with it, what I mean is the Leafs try to be like the Flyers (goons) but aren't as good at it. Sort of like Arsenal vis-a-vis Barcelona.

I am not sure you quite get it Putin. ALl successful teams have players like Domi, Belak and Perrot. The leafs just lack all the other pieces. Doesn't mean they copy the Flyers, who had a whole handful of stars who doubled as tough guys.

I am too young to remember a really successful Leaf team, except for the era of Clark, Gilmour, Sundin, Potvin, Schneider, et al.

I agree with Lando. The guys you mentioned show up on every team. Search for "hockey fight" on youtube, and you went be handed a steady diet of Leaf highlights. Probably the biggest hit will be the recent Islanders/Penguins game.

Fighting is nurtured and encouraged throughout the entire sport. Do I think it cheapens the true spirit of Hockey? Yes, and I'm disgusted at what the NHL has become over the years.

But Hockey is a violent game that compares to few others. Blown tempers, raging disputes, and bloody rivalries are just going to exist and those with less control or lesser dignity are going to succumb to the cameras and perform for the crowds a violence with no purpose.

There's a difference between this and violence during play. I ignore the former and respect the latter. Calculated violence wins games and there's a fine line between legal and illegal.

So if you're talking about shirts and gloves coming off, yeah, I agree. But if you're talking about laying someone out during a play when the referee doesn't have vision, then hockey isn't your sport.

"went" should be "won't"

Even your precious Jackets have Commodore. That guy would fight his own teammates if a camera was around.

@ Geofram
I would like to see the reckless hits (sending someone head first into the boards) and the blatant attempts to injure (Bobby Clark in 1972) eliminated.

It is kind of annoying what Hockey has become. I grew up playing it and being really into it. But the NHL/CHL at this point are kind of gongshows. Too much irrelevant fighting that really doesn't need to be there. And hits to the head/attempts to injure are tolerated because they bring in viewers. This part is worse for me.

I have no problem with a good solid body check or strong physical play, I just wish Hockey players were taught to respect each other (as in the opponents as well). I feel that minor coaches/program don't promote this enough.

When I started playing other sports (Wrestling, Rugby) I quickly was able to realize that Hockey culture is barbaric. And those psorts are violent themselves.

All I'm saying is some teams have bigger reputations for having people who do little more than attack others. Of course every team has 'enforcers' and every team fights. That's not the point. Teams go into Toronto expecting to do a lot of hitting and fighting. Much like NFL teams go into Tennessee expecting a game full of 15 yard penalties.

"Fighting is nurtured and encouraged throughout the entire sport. Do I think it cheapens the true spirit of Hockey? Yes, and I'm disgusted at what the NHL has become over the years."

Geo, with all due respect, have you ever played hockey? Fighting is ESSENTIAL to the sport. Those fights very much have purpose. It keeps the goons honest. The alternative to this "vigilante justice" are rules that would stymie the game itself. Fighting serves as a sort of policing of both teams. Without fighting in hockey, we would see the absurdity of diving that has become soccer.

"It helps when you can field the Swedish national team every night, doesn't it? "

I think you mean that it helps when you have a superior front office that can gauge talent and fit them into the team puzzle flawlessly. Right?

C'mon, Zetterberg was drafted 210th overall. You realize this means that 209 other players were selected before him, right?

The irony is that the only time time I ever Lando play hockey, I'm pretty sure he was ejected for sucker punching an opposing player and verbally berating the referees.

"C'mon, Zetterberg was drafted 210th overall. You realize this means that 209 other players were selected before him, right? "

True, but what about the 8 other players that Detroit must have picked before him? Not to trash Detroit, but having a 210th pick turn out to be a player of Zetterburg's quality is a lucky fluke, and certainly within expectations for what you could get throwing a dart at the list, once the first 50 draftees are gone.

Datsyuk was drafted 171st...

I don't think you can call it a lucky fluke since they seem to consistently pick great players in the late rounds. Also, you don't have to pick him in the first seven rounds if you're certaon he'll still be around in the 8th.

Franzen was drafted 94th...

I wasn't bashing the Wings. I was saying they have a plethora of Swedes. Oy.

they technically have more Canadians than Swedes

If you are interested in success at drafting players in the higher rounds (third or greatest) there is a good study published on the web. (I can provide the link later, when I have more time). This study defines success as the player appearing 200 times in games, and considers drafts from 1990 to 2005. In that study, Detroit is ranked 10th, with 9.8% of their picks making the cut. By comparison, Colorado can boast of almost 17% success. The worst team - Carolina - converted less than 3% of their picks into players.

"The worst team - Carolina - converted less than 3% of their picks into players."

Ouch.

Can someone explain to me why fighting is allowed to go on in ice hockey? Surely if it is to be considered a legitimate sport, such conduct ought to result in lengthy bans for the players involved.