Is it too hard to play in Canada?

[Melrose Munch]

Is it just too hard to play and win a Stanley Cup in Canada?

Is the media too much?
Are there too many taxes?
Is it too cold?
Way too many no-movement clauses with Canadian teams on them?
Is the salary cap too strict?

Is it all of these, one of these or none of them?

What is the issue here? 32 years since the last cup win for a Canadian team.

 

[Foppberg]

No.

 

[Talonted]

Gen Z thread

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

No.

 

[Tie Domi Esquire]

Of course not, and it can't really be understated how much of a loser one has to be to think so.

 

[Gustave]

Asking if it’s too hard to play in Canada is like asking if it’s too hard to be professional hockey player. It’s a ridiculous notion.

 

[notbias]

I think it is harder to build a team in Canada, you mostly have to do it through the draft.

Some Canadian cities are much harder (Winnipeg) to build in than others.

Anyone saying taxes, weather, and the media don't contribute has no clue.

Even if there are "world class cities" in Canada, there is a US city that offers the same or more, so there isn't an attractiveness to Toronto when New York and Chicago exist, Montreal and Vancouver are probably more unique and intriguing to some than Toronto.

The only thing they have going for them is players coming home.

When players get there, it depends on the person, but yes for some, no for others.

There is definitely more media pressure and some fans are insane, not sure this should dictate the play of some players, but I am sure it is easier to play for some with no pressure.

It's also the best place to play when you are winning.

Of course not, and it can't really be understated how much of a loser one has to be to think so.

Do you mind listing your life achievements so we can see if you are qualified to discuss succeeding under pressure?

You sound like a winner, so I am assuming the list is long.

 

[RedHawkDown]

I think it is harder to build a team in Canada, you mostly have to do it through the draft.

Some Canadian cities are much harder (Winnipeg) to build in than others.

Anyone saying taxes, weather, and the media don't contribute has no clue.

Even if there are "world class cities" in Canada, there is a US city that offers the same or more, so there isn't an attractiveness to Toronto when New York and Chicago exist, Montreal and Vancouver are probably more unique and intriguing to some than Toronto.

The only thing they have going for them is players coming home.

When players get there, it depends on the person, but yes for some, no for others.

There is definitely more media pressure and some fans are insane, not sure this should dictate the play of some players, but I am sure it is easier to play for some with no pressure.

It's also the best place to play when you are winning.



Do you mind listing your life achievements so we can see if you are qualified to discuss succeeding under pressure?

You sound like a winner, so I am assuming the list is long.

I’m not the president but I can still criticize policy. I pray for the day people stop using this horrible, horrible, completely meaningless argument.

To answer the question, if hockey players can’t take the pressure of a Canadian market, they probably shouldn’t be pro athletes. Hockey is an irrelevant sport in the grand scheme of things. Canada just cares as much about hockey as the US does about baseball and football. There has never been a hockey player who has ever lived who faced more pressure than the Yankees do every year. Or the Red Sox. And then there’s European soccer, which is in an entirely different tier of pressure. Playing in toronto isn’t even in the top 10 of most intense situations in North America.

 

[notbias]

I’m not the president but I can still criticize policy. I pray for the day people stop using this horrible, horrible, completely meaningless argument.

To answer the question, if hockey players can’t take the pressure of a Canadian market, they probably shouldn’t be pro athletes. Hockey is an irrelevant sport in the grand scheme of things. Canada just cares as much about hockey as the US does about baseball and football. There has never been a hockey player who has ever lived who faced more pressure than the Yankees do every year. Or the Red Sox. And then there’s European soccer, which is in an entirely different tier of pressure. Playing in toronto isn’t even in the top 10 of most intense situations in North America.

What argument was made that was horrible?

Also, saying "it is easy to be President" while not being President is better example of the argument being made here, I'd call someone dumb for saying that.

I said some players play well in pressure, some don't.

I said it is harder to build in Canada because being in Canada sucks (taxes, weather, politics), so it is not a desirable place to play.

It is like playing in Detroit, who wants to go there? The city sucks, I'd assume it is hard to attract talent.

You should learn to read more before responding.

 

[JackSlater]

Of course it's not too difficult to play in Canada, athletes in all sports play in environments where they have a lot of attention. Hockey players alternately talk about wanting to "grow the game" and get more attention and money, but also in many cases run away from situations where they actually do get to be a member of the most attention grabbing team in their city. It's bullshit.

The question of building a winning team in Canada is different and yes it is generally harder, for a variety of reasons already listed.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

Can’t wait for the Oilers to win this year so we don’t have to read stuff like this anymore

 

[Peasy]

Comical acting like the pressure to play hockey in the a Canadian market is completely unmatched and unbearable. The market pressure isnt even anywhere near the pressure athletics in other sports face on a day to day basis.

Bunch of babies man.

 

[Brookbank]

Is it just too hard to play and win a Stanley Cup in Canada?

Is the media too much?
Are there too many taxes?
Is it too cold?
Way too many no-movement clauses with Canadian teams on them?
Is the salary cap too strict?

Is it all of these, one of these or none of them?

What is the issue here? 32 years since the last cup win for a Canadian team.

The salary cap should be higher for the highest revenue teams even if its just a little bit. But I am not an owner and didn't sign up for this nonsense.

No-moves weren't as popular 10 years ago and there was elite Canadian teams but they still didn't win cups. 2007 Senators, 2011 Canucks ect.

It is just fate. Of course the cup would mean the world to so many people in Canada. And that is why Canada never wins cups. There hasn't been a cup in Canada in 30 years and I don't see how this will change in the next 30.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

how come the only good teams are in the Sun Belt then?

 

[JianYang]

It's a more scrutinized environment, and not every player is going to thrive, but no.... it isn't "too hard".

since the last cup, there have been numerous Canadian teams making the finals and many of them are game 7s that could have gone either way. If half of them went the other way, this isn't even a topic.

 

[Brookbank]

Comical acting like the pressure to play hockey in the a Canadian market is completely unmatched and unbearable. The market pressure isnt even anywhere near the pressure athletics in other sports face on a day to day basis.

Bunch of babies man.

What is this supposed to mean ? The pressure in Toronto or Vancouver is the same as it is for Manchester United or the Dallas Cowboys.

 

[IWantSakicAsMyGM]

I think it is harder to build a team in Canada, you mostly have to do it through the draft.

Some Canadian cities are much harder (Winnipeg) to build in than others.

Anyone saying taxes, weather, and the media don't contribute has no clue.

Even if there are "world class cities" in Canada, there is a US city that offers the same or more, so there isn't an attractiveness to Toronto when New York and Chicago exist, Montreal and Vancouver are probably more unique and intriguing to some than Toronto.

The only thing they have going for them is players coming home.

When players get there, it depends on the person, but yes for some, no for others.

There is definitely more media pressure and some fans are insane, not sure this should dictate the play of some players, but I am sure it is easier to play for some with no pressure.

It's also the best place to play when you are winning.



Do you mind listing your life achievements so we can see if you are qualified to discuss succeeding under pressure?

You sound like a winner, so I am assuming the list is long.

Doesn't having to do it mostly through the draft apply to pretty much every team? I can't remember too many Cup winning teams in the cap era that built their team out of UFAs.

 

[Isaac Nootin]

What is the issue here? 32 years since the last cup win for a Canadian team.

Canadian teams have been to game 7 of the cup finals how many times in those 32 years.

I'm drawing a blank on others, but Edmonton x 2, Calgary, Vancouver etc.

It's hard to win the Cup, period.

 

[Tie Domi Esquire]

I’m not the president but I can still criticize policy. I pray for the day people stop using this horrible, horrible, completely meaningless argument.

To answer the question, if hockey players can’t take the pressure of a Canadian market, they probably shouldn’t be pro athletes. Hockey is an irrelevant sport in the grand scheme of things. Canada just cares as much about hockey as the US does about baseball and football. There has never been a hockey player who has ever lived who faced more pressure than the Yankees do every year. Or the Red Sox. And then there’s European soccer, which is in an entirely different tier of pressure. Playing in toronto isn’t even in the top 10 of most intense situations in North America.

You're talking to someone who spent 5 years defending Kyle Dubas for failing. He continues to do it in the Leafs section even though Dubas left years ago. Now he wants resumes and accomplishments posted. It shouldn't be shocking that he's making excuses.

 

[IWantSakicAsMyGM]

how come the only good teams are in the Sun Belt then?

Because most of those Sunbelt teams sucked for long enough (or got lucky enough) to amass a lot of high end talent through the draft.

 

[Drake1588]

No, and it's certainly worth it to play a game for high compensation.

It's just a little easier to play elsewhere in the same league, with less pressure, better weather, and lower taxes.

 

[notbias]

Doesn't having to do it mostly through the draft apply to pretty much every team? I can't remember too many Cup winning teams in the cap era that built their team out of UFAs.

Florida is a very good example of someone who didn't.

Most teams get a foundation through the draft, but building strictly through the draft or getting secondary free agent signings is a lot harder.

Winnipeg is the extreme example, they need to target players without NTCs/NMCs and free agent signings likely cost a premium.

 

[LeafGrief]

When did cowardice become normal and accepted?

 

[notbias]

When did cowardice become normal and accepted?

There is a difference between pressure affecting people and cowardice... it is mind-boggling how people think every single person should rise to the occasion under pressure.

This is being said by a bunch of people who likely took very few risks in life and lived a very normal life, calling people who worked like crazy to live their dreams cowards.

 

[nbwingsfan]

What argument was made that was horrible?

Also, saying "it is easy to be President" while not being President is better example of the argument being made here, I'd call someone dumb for saying that.

I said some players play well in pressure, some don't.

I said it is harder to build in Canada because being in Canada sucks (taxes, weather, politics), so it is not a desirable place to play.

It is like playing in Detroit, who wants to go there? The city sucks, I'd assume it is hard to attract talent.

You should learn to read more before responding.

Do you know how many HoF of major UFAs have signed with Detroit? And won? Spent their entire careers there?

It’s not “too hard” to win in Canada… they’ve just had a horrible run of management or signing losers who can’t get it done.

The hardest team to build would be Winnipeg, who have still been arguably the second most successful outside of Edmonton.