2008-09 NHL Season Preview: An Ode to the NHL's Championship Chalice

Hockey season may seem grueling, or it may seem like it can't last long enough. Heading into the season it may seem like your team doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of finishing the season above .500, let alone making the playoffs or winning the Stanley Cup. Herein lies the beauty of competition.

No matter how grim your teams' chances of winning the Cup may look, somewhere deep inside, you know that they will pour their hearts and souls into having the absolute best season they possibly can. You know they won't hold anything back because if you were in their position, you wouldn't either.

You know that the Cup changes everything, which is why you know that this season, nothing will be the same.

Old rivalries will be renewed, just as new rivalries will be born. Grizzled veterans will continue to dazzle us with their ageless ability. Rookie sensations will leave us wondering if we are witnessing the birth of the next big thing in the world of hockey.

You see, hockey isn't just about scoring goals or preventing your opponents from scoring goals. Hockey isn't just about reporting to practice on time or making four trips from Southern California to Canada every year to play a couple of games. Hockey just isn't about winning or lose. Hockey is about so much more.

Hockey is about every player on every teams' roster working toward a common goal: the Stanley Cup.

Hockey is about every second of every shift of every game, because in hockey, you just can't afford to take a second off.

We have the pleasure of calling ourselves fans of some of the most gifted athletes in the world. We feel personal connections to guys from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Russia, Latvia, Finland, Canada, or the United States; even if we ourselves have never had any intention of visiting any or all of those countries.

We lose a little piece of ourselves every time one of our teams' players goes down with a season ending injury. We walk a little taller in public when our team is on a 10 game winning streak, and we tend to hunch a little more when they drop four out of five.

We sport our jerseys, hats, tee shirts, and bumper sticks with pride, wanting to show the world where our allegiance lies.

You see with hockey, it isn't about foreign policy, long-term economic plans, deceitful television commercials, or affiliation with a certain party.

With hockey it is about one thing and one thing only: pride. With hockey, what could be a prouder moment in the life of every fan, manager, coach, and player than the moment that the clock expires in the deciding game of the Stanley Cup Finals and you realize that your team just accomplished something extraordinary.

So, whether this is the season that the Habs fulfill their strive for 25; the Penguins redeem their bitter loss to the Red Wings; the Red Wings repeat as Champions, or even sell out a home game; the Blackhawks prove that youth is a virtue, not a vice; the Leafs shock the world by actually winning more without Sundin; the new Captain Canuck records 14 straight shutouts in the post-season; the city of Philadelphia finally wins a Championship in a major sport; Ovechkin scores 40 goals... in the playoffs... to lead the Caps to victory; Martin Brodeur gets hurt and the Devils don't lose another game until 2015; Sean Avery records 100 points and 500 penalty minutes to lead the Stars to the promised land; St. Louis finally makes Brett Hull a proud alumni; the Florida Panthers secure the Eastern Conference Championship by February 1 and run the table through the post-season; the Tampa Bay Lightning prove that defense really is overrated; the Rangers rid themselves of the Broadway Blues; Joe Thornton triples Crosby's assist total and the Sharks start working on a Championship banner; the Flames prove they can advance past the first round, and never look back; Eric Staal reminds everyone that he is still the best Staal brother and the Canes re-emerge as a powerhouse; the Kings show the world that Los Angeles is still relevant in the hockey world; the Senators remind everyone that Alfie-Spezza-Heatley really is the best line in hockey; or the Ducks show the rest of the league why they are formerly known as Mighty, one thing is for sure...

This quest for the Cup is going to be one hell of a ride. So here's to you and your team. Could this be your year? I guess we won't know until we begin.

So let's kick off this season, keeping in mind exactly what it is that makes us ache for a hockey game during July and August: the greatest trophy in any sport, in any country, in any part of the globe, the Stanley Cup.

Drop the puck!

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