Another year, another NHL players poll.
ESPN asked 50 players some hard-hitting questions and some of the results will probably come as a surprise to hockey fans. One that might not catch you off guard, however, is their section on the most dreaded road trip. The result are in and surprise, surprise! Winnipeg came in hot at number one with 42% of the votes. Buffalo finished second with 34% while Edmonton rounded the top three at 10%.
The following is an excerpt from ESPN:
Winnipeg: 42%
Buffalo: 34%
Edmonton: 10%
Calgary: 4%
Ottawa: 4%
Carolina [Raleigh, N.C.]: 4%
Columbus: 2%
That is BIG share of the vote for Winnipeg. Here’s what some players had to say about playing in the city known as Las Pegas:
The following is an excerpt from ESPN:
"Winnipeg. It's always cold. Tough rink to play in. It's just dirty -- you walk around the city and feel like you need to wash your face after you go outside. So nothing about it is very exciting."
"Winnipeg is just depressing. You don't even want to leave the hotel to get a cup of coffee."
Well, they weren’t all bad…
The following is an excerpt from ESPN:
"I'm sure a lot of people said Winnipeg, but I always like Winnipeg. There's stuff to do there. We're close to the casino, if you want to go for a half hour or whatever. Wherever you go, they always have TSN on. I can't get that here [on my U.S.-based team]."
Okay, so it’s nice to see that at least someone was willing to defend the Peg. But to say that you feel like you need to wash your face after every time you go outside may be a bit of an overstatement…. Perhaps it was just Justin Braun, who’s probably still a bit rattled over the WIFI situation.
Poor, poor Winnipeg.
(H/T ESPN)
