For cities on NHL sidelines, allegiances diverge

TORONTO, HALIFAX, REGINA — During any given NHL postseason, Kingston is a city divided.

Situated where the cold waters of the Saint Lawrence meet Lake Ontario, the city’s allegiances are constantly torn between Montreal, Ottawa and – on the odd occasion they make the postseason – Toronto’s Maple Leafs.

This year however, tensions may hit a fever pitch.

While Kingston’s closer to Eastern Canada’s three hockey meccas, a few in the college town of 123,000 hold the Boston Bruins closest to their hearts, one reason being that Kingston’s junior squad, the Frontenacs, was a feeder club to Boston in the 1960s. And of course, it’s the first hockey love of Don Cherry, a proud Kingston native.

Toronto meets Boston in a rare first-round encounter beginning Wednesday. The Montreal Canadiens kick off their opening series against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.

“The question of who does Kingston cheer for is one that a lot of people who sit at my bar ask,” said Brian Lax, bartender at Woodenheads, located on downtown Kingston’s waterfront. “There’s Toronto fans, Ottawa fans and Montreal fans. Then there’s that old, odd Boston connection, too.”

Kingston is one Canadian locale among several that sit at the crossroads of competing orbits of rival franchises.

If put to a vote, Toronto would be neck and neck with Ottawa as the default hometown team, Lax said. Those on the fence may side with the Leafs, however, thanks to one name: Dougie.

Doug Gilmour, Leafs captain in the early ’90s and current general manager of the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs, is a local legend and prominent figure in the Kingston community. He stops in at Woodenheads with other members of the club’s management a couple times a week, Lax said.

“I wouldn’t say there’s a majority either way. But there are so many people in this city who are such big fans of Dougie.”

In Halifax, Haligonians hold similar affections for Pittsburg Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, who hails from nearby Cole Harbour.

“There are a lot of Pens fans,” said Adam Lardner, manager at sports bar Oasis.

“A lot of them claim to have been fans before Crosby. Some of them are telling the truth and some of them are not,” he said with a chuckle.

“Crosby is a huge, huge deal to a lot of Nova Scotians. He’s the face of the NHL as well as that franchise and he’s local, so it’s hard for people not to support him.”

Still, the city of 300,000 has historical allegiances similar to Kingston. Ties to Boston, some developed when the U.S. city sent aid during a munitions explosion that levelled Halifax Harbour during First World War, have made Bruins fans of many.

In the Prairies, your team of choice depends on how old you are, said Kevin Dureau, the owner of the Press Box, a Regina sports bar.

Neither Alberta team made this year’s playoffs. But Regina isn’t exactly warming to Western Canada’s other NHL franchise, the Vancouver Canucks, said Rod Pedersen, who hosts Sports Cage on local am station 620 CKRM.

The Canucks play the San Jose Sharks in a first-round tilt starting Wednesday.

“I think it’s getting more evident every day that Regina is cheering for Toronto,” Pedersen said. “And it’s not just the older folks that you would think it would be. It’s all ages.”