The NHL's Western Conference Final got underway, and this year, it's the Dallas Stars against the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers' road to this point saw them defeat the Los Angeles Kings in Round 1, and the Vancouver Canucks in Round 2. As for the Stars, they defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in Round 1, and the Colorado Avalanche in Round 2. As an Avs fan, I was disappointed over the ousting, but when this Conference Final was made official, it wasn't hard for me to decide who I would pull for to win this series:  Dallas.

Just by saying that, I am fully aware that I'm violating all sorts of codes here--the main one being that we are not supposed to root for our division rivals to do anything other than get a kick in the a**. Another code is that fans of teams who get eliminated do not pull for the teams who eliminated them, but with me, that depends on who it is. Division rivalries are intense in every sport, especially hockey. Nearly every fan is pretty much brought up to hate division rivals. The picture above features the logo of all eight teams in the NHL's Central Division, including the team I'm a fan of, the Colorado Avalanche. However, my stances on our seven rivals are quite interesting. Here are my true honest feelings about our seven division rivals:

Dallas Stars:  Never hated them, even in spite of them beating us in the Conference Final in 1999 and 2000. They did give me a few reasons this year, but there are still some teams who deserve more hate than the Stars.

Utah (the former Arizona Coyotes):  I feel sorry for that team, especially with the relocation bullsh*t going on with them. They've been trying to keep things afloat in recent years, but now the team's moving from Arizona to Utah. Plus, the team's only been our division rivals for three years, and nothing's really developed. So yeah, definitely no reason to hate the former Coyotes.

Chicago Blackhawks:  Used to respect that team until the story involving poor Kyle Beach came out. Since then it's been sh*tshow after sh*tshow with them. Can't stand them, but at the current moment, I don't have to worry about them.

Minnesota Wild:  HATE THEM. They are our longest tenured division rivals. Avs and Wild were in the old Northwest Division together from 2000-2013, and have been in the Central Division together since the 2013-14 season. Even in the COVID-affected 2020-21 season, the Avs and Wild were in the localized West Division together. We can't get away from the Wild LOL! At the moment, we never have to worry about the Wild, because they have sucked in the last few years, but even so, can't stand them. I respect them, but can't stand them.

Nashville Predators:  Used to hate them, but that's decreased a bit. They've become quite fun to watch, and I was happy for them for making the playoffs with a new coach this year

St. Louis Blues:  DESPISE THEM since the 2022 playoffs. I used to like that team and feel for them because they couldn't win. I was happy for them when they did win in 2019. Ever since their fans sent racist death threats to Nazem Kadri, all of my respect for them went out the window. Even NOW, Blues fans still believe that Kadri intentionally injured their goalie, Jordan Binnington, when it was actually Binnington's teammate who shoved Kadri into Binnington, and some of them even believe that they were "falsely" accused of being racist. Oh, and Binnington has a racist history, too. Oh boy. Yeah, f**k the Blues.

Winnipeg Jets:  I have a soft spot for Canada, so that keeps me from actually hating the Jets. They did frustrate us this season, but that never caused me to hate them.

Back to the West Final. There are some teams who deserve more hate than even division rivals. The Golden Knights are definitely one team, and the Oilers are another. Here's the thing, though. It's only because the Oilers fan base consists of delusional and arrogant asshats that I'm actually pulling for Dallas in this series. That's all. I've never had Stars fans come at me and pound their chests when they shouldn't. Oilers fans trashed me because I told them that they're ruining Connor McDavid's career. All I did was tell the truth, and they couldn't handle it. So yeah, I hope Oilers fans end up crying in the car after this year's West Final.