The NHL and Tragically Hip share a lot in common.

The best way to define the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals is to say it's exactly like the Tragically Hip; in Canada "The Hip" are revered, play to sold-out arenas and are considered a part of the social fabric of the country. In the U.S. you'll be lucky to find anyone who has even heard of the Tragically Hip, let alone care enough to pay attention to their music. To the Americans I'm sure the Tragically Hip sound like the type of medical condition that can flare up without Medicaid. The failure of the Stanley Cup Finals in the U.S. is yet another accurate and startling indicator of how far the NHL has fallen off the plane of North American professional sports leagues.

With all the negative aspects surrounding the Finals aside, it shaped up to be a fairly entertaining final to watch simply on the basis of the on-ice product. The Lightning displayed an energizing brand of trap-free, fast skating and skilled offensive play. Coupled with the aggressive and constant fore checking style of the Flames it created a match-up where strong and fast skaters shined and poor skaters who failed to position themselves correctly were victimized; definitely a refreshing contrast to last year's neutral-zone blah-fest between New Jersey and Anaheim.

	The C of Red embraced the Flames.

The snowball effect storyline of Calgary being Canada's team started shortly after the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens got eliminated in the 2nd round. The Flames became the lone Canadian-based team and stories about the Red Mile, the C of Red and Marti Gras North started. I understand the desire to cheer on a Cinderella team, and the motivation to root for a small-market team but to characterize Calgary as Canada's team is a little exclusionary especially when you consider that Calgary had 9 Canadian-born players dressed for Game 7 while their "American" counterparts had 13 Canadian-born players in the lineup. Instead of looking at the Stanley Cup final as an "us vs. them" match-up, we should look it as a win-win situation where prominent Canadian players that will star at the World Cup are featured on both sides.

The "Canada's team" angle surrounding the Flames was without a doubt the most prominent storyline of the Finals but there were plenty of other observations I came away with from the Finals:

The NHL should think about patterning the Stanley Cup finals after the Super Bowl in respect to the amount of betting options given to bettors. But instead of offering bets on the first method of scoring or who will win the coin toss they should include over/under bets like the number of times Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff will flip up his helmet after a stoppage in play. Seriously, is this guy seeking out a sponsorship deal? At this point he's gotten more face time than Paul Martin and Steven Harper.

The Flames performance in these playoffs was surprising, not shocking. In this day of sports where parity reigns supreme, it's become increasingly difficult to shock people. The Flames were simply a team that entered the playoffs with the major prerequisite needed to do well: a hot goalie. New Jersey ('95), Carolina and Anaheim have all dimmed the shock value over the years. Those aforementioned teams showed us what timely goaltending and commitment to defense can do, so it shouldn't come as a shock that the Flames performed as well as they did.

I'm glad in a way that the Lightning won the Cup, simply because the minute a champion emerges other teams are quick to study what worked and mimic the style of play for the next season. A champion can be looked at as a pop star, because once someone finds a recipe for success plenty of wannabes and followers will emerge. The Neutral Zone trap the Devils deployed in '95 led to a revolution of different teams adopting the trap, the left wing lock and other variations intended to clog up the centre ice surface. Let's just be thankful that the Lightning have helped us progress past this horrendous boy band/defensive phase the NHL was stuck in.

	Mario and Mike Commodore both have heart but that's about it.

While I applaud the effort of the Flames and admiringly sit back and marvel at the heart, courage and underdog role they so confidently carried through two months on such a grueling quest for hockey's Holy Grail I can't help but think that with the exception of Jarome Iginla there hasn't been this little talent assembled since The WB's Superstar USA began their auditions. Like the contestants on The WB's Superstar USA the players have tremendous heart and spirit but the talent level cannot compare to other teams. I mean we might as well start calling Mike Commodore Jo-Jo or Mario. I still don't understand how the judges of that show manage to keep a straight face during performances. I know if I were a judge I'd be cracking up like Jimmy Fallon in basically any SNL skit.

Am I alone in thinking that Flames forward Oleg Saprykin sounds like a spice you'd add to your food? "This tastes a little bland. Maybe it needs a little more Saprykin."

The Lecavalier-Iginla fight in Game 3 was an awesome sight. As much as the NHL looks to downplay and avoid pigeonholing themselves as a barbaric game, the league needs to promote this kind of incident between two of their brightest stars. Think of another sport where two young superstars would get that heated up because their desire to win is so strong. It's definitely refreshing to see players care so much.

Speaking of Iginla his status both on and off the ice is ready to propel to unlimited heights. With Peter Forsberg departing to Sweden, Iginla has asserted himself as the best all-around player in the NHL; he's a bonified sniper, a strong leader, a clutch performer, a physical presence, and a great ambassador off the ice. Seeing Iginla without a smile on his face during an interview is as rare as not seeing a Hulk Hogan family member at a Lightning game. He is a terrific role model that the NHL needs to market in LeBron James fashion.

MLB needed the inspiring 1998 home run race between Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa to renew fan interest after the 1996 MLB strike. Perhaps when the NHL resolves their CBA issues they can use these Stanley Cup Finals as a starting point for positives to market about the game: the return of attacking hockey, the emergence of young superstars like Iginla and Conn Smythe winner Brad Richards and the resolve, success, and buzz that a small market team can still conjure up.