I'm going to say something very unCanadian right now. I hope the Buffalo Sabres win the cup.
Now, before people get all pissed off and call me anti-Canadian—like they've been doing to poor Chuck Swirsky on the Fan 590.
Let me explain why I feel this way:
A) They're due.
2) Being Leaf fan, I'm probably a little more sensitive to teams who have either gone a long time between championships, or haven't won any at all. Edmonton won their last cup 16 years ago. That's a drop in the bucket by Toronto's standards.
3) The city of Buffalo, deserves something to be proud of, something to cheer about. Being the closest NFL city to Toronto, we all suffered with them through the Buffalo Bills' letdowns year after year in the early 90s.
4) Maybe if the Sabres can win a cup, the Leafs will feel a little more pressure to smarten up learn what it takes to build a cup-winning team.
5) I don't care if they're not a Canadian team, all NHL teams are made up of a mix of Canadian, American and European players anyway.
6) They're our closest American neighbours.
7) What a great story that would be, considering the Sabres were on the brink of going under before the strike happened.
8) They have The Best play-by-play man in hockey right now, Rick Jeanneret.
8) Finally, but most importantly, the have one of the coolest logos in the NHL.
Tomorrow night is going to be a tough game for them to win in Carolina. Carolina had the second best home record in the league this season. Buffalo have defied all odds to get this far, losing many key players to injury on the way. They seem to be a team of destiny, however, their destiny might end tomorrow night.
If Carolina wins, I'll be rooting for Edmonton, but here's hoping destiny has bigger plans.

What? The Sabres are an American team? =)
I've long held the belief that Buffalo was practically Canadian. After all more Canadians live a 1.5 hour drive away from Buffalo than Americans, more Canadians visit the city every year than Americans, and most Americans only know the city because of the sports teams and couldn't place it on a map.
If Buffalo was still in, I'd be cheering for them too. I guess I have to say Oilers in 6 now.
Posted by: Sameer Vasta | 2006.06.05 at 14:13
It was a disappointing loss to be sure. Especially after they had taken the lead. But I suppose you don't lose as many key guys as the Sabres did and expect to make it to the finals against a team like Carolina. Oh well, at least—hopefully—they've restored some enthusiasm for the game in the city. They came so close to losing their team. It would have been a shame.
Posted by: Al | 2006.06.05 at 14:33
I think they'll make it but they won't make it past the first round.That's the problem with Buffalo, they use the same taictc every year. They play mediocre hockey while praying like hell that Ryan Miller saves everything. And while it seems to work quite well during the season, once the playoffs roll around, you can't rely solely on your goaltender to win.This season, if Buffalo makes the playoffs in the 8th spot, they'll most likely face the Flyers and they simply don't stand a chance. I know all of Buffalo almost wet themselves after acquiring Boyes but it won't be enough. Buffalo is good enough to be a playoff caliber team but they don't have the depth to be a Stanley Cup Champion team.
Posted by: Vishal | 2013.06.06 at 10:21