There are some gems in the QMJHL (the Drakkar, Titan and Tigres come to mind), but my vote goes to the Gatineau Olympiques. The team was originally called the Festivals and was renamed in 1976 to celebrate the Games being held in Montreal. The name would have made sense if the team were playing in the metropolis, but the Outaouais region was not involved in the organization of the Olympics, which makes the choice of name rather odd.
Mathieu Lefebvre
PHOTO JEFF MCINTOSH, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Jonathan Huberdeau of the Calgary Flames
For me, it’s the Calgary Flames. Of course, the name was very appropriate when the team was based in Atlanta (a huge fire nearly destroyed the city during the Civil War). But I never understood why the management didn’t change the name when they moved to Calgary. It’s like the Colorado Avalanche still being called the Nordiques! But today, we have to recognize that with the evolution of the forest fires in Alberta, the Flames management at the time were unknowingly great visionaries!
Francois Bertrand
PHOTO NIKKI BOERTMAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
GG Jackson II (45), of the Memphis Grizzlies, in the NBA
Memphis Grizzlies. I doubt there are any grizzlies in the forests of Tennessee. Besides, the city was named after the ancient capital of Egypt. And in Egypt, I think the odds of running into a grizzly bear are even lower than in Tennessee.
Francis Levesque
The Asheville Tourists in North Carolina, a AA baseball team, affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The scoreboard during games shows the score between the Visitors and the Tourists… a bit odd, especially since the city is not known for its tourism.
Sylvio Leblanc
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Alexis Lafreniere, of the New York Rangers
They’ve been around for so long that it’s hard to see why the New York Rangers have such an incongruous name. What do Manhattan’s skyscrapers have to do with the great plains of the American West? Apparently, the name comes from their first owner, who grew up in Texas and whose nickname was “Tex.” A tenuous connection if ever there was one.
Philippe Cousineau
A communication medium printed on paper: this is the definition of a flyer. It has absolutely nothing to do with the city of Philadelphia or, for that matter, with any other city.
Claude Laporte
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
I doubt there are many penguins in Pittsburgh. The number of ice floes in that area of Pennsylvania must be 0, as must the number of penguins in the area.
Frederic Desjardins
The Ottawa Renegades take the prize for the most inappropriate name! Aside from the horrible logo depicting a shady individual that no one would think to identify with, there are no renegades in the Ottawa area. Zero. Nothing. Nada.
Jean-François Leclerc