No, it's not a headline from next june written by someone who's not alowed to use the words Stanley Cup for some legal reason, neither is it the fevered hallucinations of a heartbroken Habs fan after yet another undeserevd loss. This headline is about the upcoming battle for the much covetted NHL linear championship. Yeah that thing I sort of made up a moment ago that should totally be made into a real thing!*

*I know a soccer-style league cup would be utterly pointless and a complete waste of time and energy, but how fun would that be? Probably not at all, but what if we guaranteed a playoff spot for the winner? Or a top 10 draft pick? More ridiculous gimmicks is always better I say!

The idea is simple : apply boxing logic to the world of hockey: if you beat the man, then you become the man.

The Bruins started the season as champions and immediately lost their first title defense to the Flyers who then successfully held the belt for four challenges (Philadelphia actually lost a game in a shootout, but I count that as a draw, like the NHL should dammit!) before falling to the Capitals... Well, you get the idea.

Let's rally and cheer for our Canadiens as they take the ice against the Coyotes for the rights to the most important NHL award handed by some guy who chose to go about his internet life under the identity of a Space amphibian from a cartoon. It doesn't get more prestigious (or credible) than that! Plus it's good to have something at stake against an opponent from the west we normally wouldn't care too much about if not for the fact that they are among the likely future new Nordiques currently scraping by in this league.

Championship progression:

Overall records: