National Hockey League Archives - The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

Oct182015 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

All-Time NHL Franchise Rankings, 2015-16 Edition

I like to get these franchise ranking lists out before the start of the season but that didn't happen this year. But no matter, all the tabulations are complete and I'm ready to go with my updated rankings of all 30 active NHL franchises, from best to worst. Last year's list is here, and you can see all my great sports-related rankings and lists here. The Criteria The categories and point values are as follows: 25 points for a Stanley Cup championship (or an NHL title prior to 1927), and 15 points for a Stanley Cup Finals loss. 2 points for a playoff berth, counted only from the 1967-68 season forward. 3 points for each playoff round win, counted only from the 1967-68 season forward. 3 points for finishing the regular season with the most points. 1 point for a winning seas

Sep92014 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

All-Time NHL Franchise Rankings, 2014 Edition

May12014 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

The Sporting Life #2: Bruins vs. Canadiens, Mid-1960s

Photography, Sports

One of the great rivalries in sports is set to resume tonight when the Boston Bruins face off against the Montreal Canadiens in the 2014 Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Semifinal round. It's the first time these two storied teams -- each one of the ten best NHL franchises of all-time -- have met each other in the playoffs since 2011, and the 10th time overall. Boston has yet to lose a playoff series to the Habs since their first meeting in 1929. In honor of the rivalry I thought I'd share some more great 35mm color action shots by Arthur Rickerby. I don't have an exact date for this game, but based on the uniform research I conducted here I'd say it took place sometime during the 1965-66 or 1966-67 season. The only player I can say with certainty I can identify is legendary Bruins goa

Apr292014 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Designing the Original Vancouver Canucks Logo [Video]

Sports

So THAT'S what that stick-in-rink logo is supposed to be! See, now that's the kind of cool logo you get when you don't hire some soulless marketing firm to do your work for you.

Apr152014 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

NHL Franchise All-Time Rankings Update (Pre-Playoffs 2014)

Sports

The 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs are about ready to start, so I thought I'd provide a brief update on where my official ranking of the all-time best and worst NHL franchises stands. First, I should note that the rankings have changed a bit since I published my lists last year. I went back and tweaked the formulas a bit, and also corrected some data entry errors. So the revised list for the conclusion of the 2012-13 season looks like this -- 1. Canadiens, 2. Flyers, 3. Bruins, 4. Red Wings, 5. Oilers, 6. Devils, 7. Islanders, 8. Avalanche, 9. Senators, 10. Maple Leafs. Sorry Dallas, you got bumped. The Best With the revised top 10 in mind, there are some changes coming on the next list. Already I can tell you that there is a switch at the #10 position, and we will be saying goodbye to t...

Oct32013 by Chris Holmes2 Comments

Denied! The 10 Longest Stanley Cup Title Droughts in NHL History

Sports

The National Hockey League gets a bad rep for allowing so many teams to qualify for the playoffs, but the thing is this -- it's still really, really hard to make it through the playoffs and all the way to a Stanley Cup title. That's especially true for these ten franchises, each of which has not taken home Lord Stanley's trophy in a long, long time (some of them never). The season drought totals below are correct as of the start of the NHL's 2014-15 Stanley Cup playoffs. (See also: The 10 longest title droughts in NBA history.) #10. San Jose Sharks (22 seasons) The Sharks joined the NHL one season before the Senators, and have yet to even make it to the Cup Finals. The closest they've come was in 2003-04, when they lost the Western Conference Finals in six games to the Calgary

Oct12013 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

The 10 Best NHL Franchises, 2013 Edition

Sports

I had so much fun compiling my rankings of all 32 NFL franchises, I thought it would be fun to do the same thing for the other major sports leagues. And since the 2013-14 NHL season starts tonight, it only seems right to tackle some hockey rankings. I ran my 10 Worst NHL franchises list last week, so feel free to check that out and then come back to read this. All set? Good! Before we begin, a quick word on the methodology used for my ranking of the 10 best NHL franchises. Similar to my NFL list, I’ve ranked all 30 NHL franchises according to a series of categories, each of which is assigned a point value. I then divided the total point value by the number of years each team has been in existence — not counting the lockout season of 2004-05 — and ordered by that. The Criteria T

Sep252013 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

The 10 Worst NHL Franchises, 2013 Edition

Sports

I had so much fun compiling my rankings of all 32 NFL franchises, I thought it would be fun to do the same thing for the other major sports leagues. And since the 2013-14 NHL season is just around the corner -- the puck drops on October 1 -- it only seems right to tackle some hockey rankings. And for a fun twist, I'm going to split the rankings into two posts, first reviewing the 10 worst NHL franchises. I'll do the 10 best list in a few more days. But before I get to that, a quick word on the methodology. Similar to my NFL list, I've ranked all 30 NHL franchises according to a series of categories, each of which is assigned a point value. I then divided the total point value by the number of years each team has been in existence -- not counting the lockout season of 2004-05 -- a...

Jan212013 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Album Cover of the Week: The Vancouver Canucks, Hockey — With a Little Help from Your Friends

Album Cover of the Week, Music

That's right, the NHL is back! I thought I'd dedicate this week's album cover post to a hockey-related LP, but I quickly found that there simply aren't that many out there. There are plenty of covers with a football or baseball theme, but not so much hockey. What I did find was this curio from the mid-1970s. It's the 1975 LP from the Vancouver Canucks, Hockey -- With a Little Help from Your Friends. This is just great, whether you love hockey, vintage logos, or funky and weird albums. This isn't a music album, so don't go expecting the '70s hockey equivalent of "Super Bowl Shuffle." This is a mostly spoken word record, featuring playing advice and tips from Canuck players such as Don Lever, Rick Blight, Bob Dailey, Dennis Ververgaert, Curt Ridley, Harold Snepsts, Phil Maloney, an

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