No heart

In the past, you could tell that NHL players loved the game and wanted to win. In recent years, success has come from teams that appear apathetic.


As I have said before, the Blackhawks and Bruins have defeated better teams by utilizing a refuse-to-play approach. They sit around hoping that the puck will bounce their way, but they don't put any effort into making things happen for themselves. It's like they are crossing their fingers and hope that skill and work ethic don't factor into the results.

I remember the pathetic performance of the Bruins in game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. They didn't even show up for the biggest game of the year. They won anyway.

This is part of the reason that I took the Canucks playoff loss to the Kings so well in 2012. Unlike the Blackhawks and Bruins, the Kings actually played well against the Canucks. Thank you so much Kings for breaking the streak of mediocre teams with no heart winning the Stanley Cup.

The following year, the Blackhawks restored the embarrassment. Once again, a team that didn't care managed to win the Cup. I have to tell you, it's hard to care about a sport when the players don't care about it.