Here is the ranking of my favorite NHL Teams.

1.  Hurricanes– I always thought it made more sense for the Hurricanes to play in Charlotte, but Raleigh has really embraced these guys.  They’ve given the Carolinas their only professional sports championship, so you got to love that.

2.  Canadiens– I love the city of Montreal and its sports teams (the Expos were my favorite baseball team), so the Canadiens are a close second to the local team.

3.  Penguins– One of the best nicknames in sports.

4.  Predators– Got to go with my wife’s team here.

5.  Senators– It’s been 18 years since Canada has won a Stanley Cup.  Given the fact that they care about hockey exponentially more than Americans do that’s just not fair.

6.  Flames– See entry above

7.  Oilers– See entry above

8.  Canucks– See entry above

9.  Islanders 

10. Thrashers

11. Panthers

12. Blackhawks

13. Lightning

14. Sharks

15. Coyotes

16. Blue Jackets

17. Kings

18. Devils– I loved them growing up but they just got too good.

19. Maple Leafs

20. Flyers

21.  Ducks– I loved them as the “Mighty Ducks”, but dropping the Disney theme just wasn’t cool.

22. Wild

23. Avalanche

24. Blues

25. Stars

26. Capitals– Don’t like the city, and I like the dopey nickname even less.  Also, can these guys decide what color scheme they want to use.  They’ve gone from  blue and red, to black and gold, to blue and red again?

27. Bruins– I definitely can’t cheer for the Canadiens arch rival.

28. Sabres– Can’t give you a good reason why they are down here.

29. Rangers– I just really didn’t like this team when they made their early 90’s Stanley Cup.

30. Red Wings– One of those dynasties that are easy to hate.