NHL Franchise Boys

Did you know…. The Toronto Maple Leafs are the only NHL team to go the entire seven-year stretch between Gary Bettman’s most recent lockouts without qualifying for a playoff spot? Yep… not one time were they one of the best eight teams in the Eastern Conference. Barring an incredible late-season collapse over the next two weeks, the Maple Leafs are going to end the longest playoff drought in team history and qualify for the postseason for the first time since the 2003-04 season.

To commemorate the end of an era (and what a beautiful era it was), here’s last year’s hilarious rant from CBC’s Rex Murphy on The National  weighing in on the Maple Leafs who had taken out a full page ad apologising to their fans for being losers:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=RxKgV0xhr5o[/youtube]

The NHL trade deadline came and went. There are many teams still in a playoff hunt, but only a select few have a good chance at winning the Stanley Cup. With each team’s roster set for the rest of the season, here are the top contenders for the Stanley Cup with updated odds…

Pittsburgh Penguins, 15-4
Chicago Blackhawks, 5-1
Boston Bruins, 9-1
Anaheim Ducks, 11-1
Minnesota Wild, 12-1
Montreal Canadiens, 12-1
Los Angeles Kings, 15-1
Vancouver Canucks, 15-1
San Jose Sharks, 18-1
New York Rangers, 22-1
St. Louis Blues, 22-1
Ottawa Senators, 28-1
Toronto Maple Leafs, 28-1
Detroit Red Wings, 30-1
Edmonton Oilers, 35-1
Washington Capitals, 35-1
Nashville Predators, 40-1
New Jersey Devils, 40-1
Winnipeg Jets, 40-1
Carolina Hurricanes, 50-1
Philadelphia Flyers, 50-1
Columbus Blue Jackets, 66-1
New York Islanders, 66-1
Buffalo Sabres, 100-1
Dallas Stars, 100-1
Phoenix Coyotes, 100-1
Tampa Bay Lightning, 100-1
Calgary Flames, 300-1
Colorado Avalanche, 500-1
Florida Panthers, 500-1

Ottawa could be sneaky good odds if they get healthy in time for the playoffs. Seriously, how do the Flames have better odds than the Avs and Panthers?

[youtube]http://youtu.be/daDix4ne8a8[/youtube]