New to watching the NHL, help me?

[conorjhill]

Heyo, so.

When I was like 16 I went to the US (I'm Australian) and while we were in LA we went and watched the Kings vs the Pens (pens SOW if you're interested). I've been somewhat interested on hockey ever since but only recently starting watching it, I naturally gravitated towards the Penguins, I want to like LA because I loved LA but I always find myself routing for the Pens. So I just want some general knowledge of the league, best players, best clubs, worst clubs etc. if you're a Pens fan then great but anything would be a bonus. I know, broad question.

If I could find someone to chat with regularly that would be great.

Cheers.

[Hockeynut99]

Quote: Originally Posted by conorjhill

Heyo, so. When I was like 16 I went to the US (I'm Australian) and while we were in LA we went and watched the Kings vs the Pens (pens SOW if you're interested). I've been somewhat interested on hockey ever since but only recently starting watching it, I naturally gravitated towards the Penguins, I want to like LA because I loved LA but I always find myself routing for the Pens. So I just want some general knowledge of the league, best players, best clubs, worst clubs etc. if you're a Pens fan then great but anything would be a bonus. I know, broad question. If I could find someone to chat with regularly that would be great. Cheers.

Crosby on the Pens is the best player in the league still. Kane (Blackhawks) and Benn (Stars) are gaining. But Crosby is still the best player. The best team record wise Capitals are the best team. But the way the Pens are playing they might still be the best.

[rkwittem]

Well the oldest, and thus most traditional teams number 6. There were a lot of other teams that folded and disappeared in the period from the 1910s to mid-WWII. The Original Six designation you'll sometimes hear refers to when the league settled down to six teams in 1942.

They are the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks, and New York Rangers.

The league expanded in 1967, adding another 6 teams: the St. Louis Blues, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars (since relocated to Dallas in the early 90s), Pittsburgh Penguins, and the California Seals, who moved to Cleveland, then folded in the late 1970s.

The NY Islanders and Atlanta Flames were added 5 years later. The Flames have since relocated to Calgary. Washington got a team in 1974, along with Kansas City.

The league added more teams in the late 70s- the Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets (who left for Atlanta in the mid-90s and have since moved back to Winnipeg), Quebec Nordiques, and Hartford Whalers

After a period of about a dozen years, the league expanded into warmer climates, adding 2 more teams to California (Anaheim and San Jose), plus 2 teams in Florida. Later, a team would be added in Nashville and Columbus, Ohio. Minnesota got a new team in 2000.

I guess that might not be "general" in the broad sense of the term, but it should give you an idea of who the old, traditional teams are and a general timeline sense.

Over the recent past, the Blackhawks and Kings have been generally regarded as the best teams.

The Eastern Conference has been fairly wide open and seen a different team win the conference each of the last 4-5 years if my memory is right. The west is considered the superior conference right now, generally.

If you want more specific knowledge, I'll provide it but I'm not sure what else you are interested in.

[conorjhill]

Quote: Originally Posted by rkwittem

Well the oldest, and thus most traditional teams number 6. There were a lot of other teams that folded and disappeared in the period from the 1910s to mid-WWII. The Original Six designation you'll sometimes hear refers to when the league settled down to six teams in 1942. They are the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks, and New York Rangers. The league expanded in 1967, adding another 6 teams: the St. Louis Blues, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars (since relocated to Dallas in the early 90s), Pittsburgh Penguins, and the California Seals, who moved to Cleveland, then folded in the late 1970s. The NY Islanders and Atlanta Flames were added 5 years later. The Flames have since relocated to Calgary. Washington got a team in 1974, along with Kansas City. The league added more teams in the late 70s- the Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets (who left for Atlanta in the mid-90s and have since moved back to Winnipeg), Quebec Nordiques, and Hartford Whalers After a period of about a dozen years, the league expanded into warmer climates, adding 2 more teams to California (Anaheim and San Jose), plus 2 teams in Florida. Later, a team would be added in Nashville and Columbus, Ohio. Minnesota got a new team in 2000. I guess that might not be "general" in the broad sense of the term, but it should give you an idea of who the old, traditional teams are and a general timeline sense. Over the recent past, the Blackhawks and Kings have been generally regarded as the best teams. The Eastern Conference has been fairly wide open and seen a different team win the conference each of the last 4-5 years if my memory is right. The west is considered the superior conference right now, generally. If you want more specific knowledge, I'll provide it but I'm not sure what else you are interested in.

Thanks man, yeah I want to know as much as possible but you can't really ask someone to give the full down of NHL history haha

[steelerfan]

Penguins fan? Good choice.

Let's Go, Pens!

[slickdtc]

Nice to see a hockey fan down under. Any hockey pulse in Australia? Obviously not conducive to the game climate-wise (or at least my ignorant preconceptions of Australia tell me so) but seems like a market that no league has really tapped. It's always getting the Asian nations, Europe, or Latin America turned on to our sports but Aussies are always absent in these "expand the game!" mandates.

Hockey isn't hard to understand, just much different from other sports. I mean, we play on ice. But it shares a lot of soccer's principles, so probably why it has a good following in Europe. Not surprising both sports are lukewarm mostly in the US.

If you can stay up, watch the NHL playoffs! Best hockey you'll see, and the best playoff tournament of any league in the WORLD. Speed, talent, physicality, goalies at the top of their game. Can't beat it.

As for teams, my recommendation would be Nashville, Minnesota, or Columbus. Good but not great teams yet, amazing fan bases or growing, and some of the newer franchises in the league.