Olympic Preview: Most Stanley Cup Wins by Team

I thought an interesting and unique approach of comparing the top Olympic hockey teams would be to compare them by how many collective Stanley Cups their teams have won. I'm not doing Olympic wins at the moment, mostly because there simply won't be as many of those as Stanley Cup wins, obviously.


You think you can win on talent alone? Gentlemen,
you don't have enough talent to win on talent alone.

I think it would be worth exploring as an additional way of seeing which teams have "the stuff." You know the stuff I'm talking about. Not just talent. But the willpower, determination, and discipline to to what it takes to become a champion. There are reasons that guys like Joe Thornton hasn't won a Stanley Cup in his long career but Jonathan Toews already has two.

As Herb Brooks said in Miracle, "We're not looking for the best players. We're looking for the right ones." Meaning, that when it's all on the line, talent will only take you so far.

Thank You Patriots

The result of yesterday's game was undoubtedly a bitter pill to swallow and might sting for a few days, but Pats fans ultimately have no real reason to be disappointed. It frustrates me when people say Brady is washed up and not what he used to be. It may have a touch of truth to it, but any notion that he doesn't have what it takes to win another championship is ridiculous.

The truth is, Brady lost his top FIVE receiving options last year and was forced to piece together an offense with rookies and secondary guys. Throw in all the other injuries and it's just a mess. A loss to the best offense in the game in the AFC Championship is nothing to lower your heads for. It just goes to show that winning a championship is really hard when you lose Gronkowski, Spikes, Mayo, Wilfork, and guys like that.

I'm not a football expert and I don't claim to be. But Brady will be back. These injured guys will be back. Look at it this way: it's like the Patriots will be signing all these free agents with the amount if core players joining the squad. I still think we're a piece or two away on offense for Tom Brady to lead to that elusive fourth ring.

Could Canada Support Two Gold Medal Teams?

As I mentioned last week following the highly anticipated (though quite controversial) announcement of the players who will be representing Team Canada in Sochi next month, the canucks are far and away the favorite to take home the gold. However, as I was sorting through a list of players who hadn't been invited onto the team, an interesting idea came to mind.

Could Canada support team Gold Medal teams?

Or, in other words, are Canada's cut playes better than most countries' teams?

It may sound ludicrous, but bear with me. Canada is no doubt the best hockey country on the planet, and the depth they have at every position is incredible. Do you know how many teams would drool over having guys like Giroux and St. Louis.

If you think I'm exaggerating, check out the roster below. Keep in mind, these are the players that Yzerman and Co. chose not to take with them.

St. Louis, Giroux left off Team Canada Roster

After much anticipation, Steve Yzerman and his crew finally announced the squadron of players they'll be taking to Sochi. Here's a look at what their roster will look like:

Kunitz Crosby Stamkos
Tavares Getzlaf Perry
Sharp Toews Nash
Duchene Bergeron Marleau
Benn Carter

Keith Weber
Pietrangelo Bouwmeester
Subban Doughty
Vlasic Hamuis

Luongo
Price
Smith

Bobby Ryan Snubbed and more USA Olympic Thoughts

First things first. Congratulations to the Toronto Maple Leafs on winning the Winter Classic this afternoon. What an event. A beautiful snowfall blanketed the stadium of over 105,000 fans for one of the best matchups to date. Leafs won in a back-and-forth battle with a shootout goal from Tyler Bozak.

After the game, the official roster for the USA Olympic Men's Hockey team was announced. The highly anticipated list of players showcased the talent and potential that the team has this year for the Olympics next month in Sochi, Russia.

Here is the squad:
Forwards: Backes, Brown, Callahan, Kane, Kesler, Kessel, Oshie, Pacioretty, Parise, Pavelski, Stastny, Stepan, Van Riemsdyk, Wheeler