Wednesday, January 20, 2010

You know you'll hear "no"

It's no secret among Hound Central 5.0 readers that the two NHL teams with the game's brightest young stars are the roughest to hound in most every place but their home cities.

The Pittsburgh Penguins -- featuring Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury -- and the Washington Capitals -- with Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin and Mike Green -- drew significant votes (a combined 87.3 percent) in the most recent Hound Central 5.0 poll.

Really, though, are we surprised? Teams like these draw dealers, hounds and fans out of the woodwork. It's one thing to sign for, say, a dozen or so people. How about facing a crowd of 30-plus people? In a way, I don't blame them. Do you?

Question: Roughest NHL team to hound?

Pittsburgh Penguins: 28 votes out of 55 cast (50.9 percent)
Washington Capitals: 20 votes (36.4 percent)
Boston Bruins: 4 votes (7.3 percent)
Detroit Red Wings: 2 votes (3.6 percent)
Anaheim Ducks: 1 vote (1.8 percent)

4 comments:

  1. You know, I'm not sure I've ever actually heard "no" from any player. Most of the time I heard an annoyed grunt, an angst-ridden "I'll do it later," or just the sound of the wind as the player rushes by.

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  2. Funny thing is, I think Ovechkin and Tom Poti are the worst. Semin, Green and Backstrom all usually sign. Crosby, Malkin and Fleury were champs when they came to LA this past trip.

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  3. Sounds like I need to move out to L.A. then. Do the Pens draw big crowds out there? There are at least 30-35 people for them here in Tampa.

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