Ottawa Senators or Tampa Bay Lightning.

[Adder]

Which franchise to do you has been the most successful? BNoth came in together at the same time, don't you know.

Some might say Tampa, since they've won a Stanley Cup, however Ottawa has been a true contender for much longer and overall has had a better winning %.

Tell us who and why in your opinion.

[House of Pancakes]

Coming close and choking every year isn't very successful. Tampa's got the Cup.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Tampa because it was way harder to get fans in Florida than in Canadia

[Y2Ant]

Tampa because of the previous two posts

[ShaneLobo]

Gotta go with Tampa...

Both teams were horrible but atleast Tampa didnt make ESPN's Top 25 Worst Teams in the Past 20 years list

Both teams are starting to get into that playoff year in year out deal. But Ottawa always seems to choke weither its in the Conference finals or the Quarterfinals.

Tampa winning the Cup this season is just another reason why Tampa is better than Ottawa at the moment. Signing Hasek for Ottawa isnt going to help much

[Bazooka]

Definately Tampa, I've supported them since before the playoffs started and they've impressed me. First team I was ever really certain about winning the cup, and that's what they did. Ottawa will always come close, but never close enough.

[The CyNick]

It all depends on ownership.

It seems like Ottawa's current ownership is willing to spend a little to win, so that will help in drawing new free agents. Ottawa has had a better scouting system and tends to create stars more than Tampa.

The main problem I see in Tampa is that the sport isn't important to the city. Will people show up this season coming or was last year just a quick love affiar that will be all over in October? If thats the case, then I dont think the Tampa frnachise will survive that long.

So if all things stay equal, I would put my money on Ottawa being a more successful franchise for a longer period of time.

[MoRcHeEbA]

they're both good franchises and they both will be, they built their teams step by step, they didn't bring in top free agents all the time. Although ottawa seems to be dealing away some future now.

[da_king]

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i'll say ottawa. they have been a contender to win the cup for a lot longer than tampa has. tampa has only really been a good team with potential the last couple of seasons or so and we've all seen teams be a one year wonder. not that i think it's the case with tampa, but they need to do it on a more consistent basis like ottawa has. also a successfull franchise is more than just winning a cup as only one team can do it and i think ottawa has a stronger fan base that can keep them succesfull.

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[Adder]

I too pick Ottawa. If it weren't for the fact Tampa won the cup, I don't think it would even be close. They did win the cup however, that's the X factor.

[YOUR Hero]

This is actually a very good question. I'd sat Tampa not only because of their cup win, but also because ottawa needed to basically be bailed out by the NHL from going bankrupt. It's like a 55-45 point race IMO. whatever happens this year could very well change my opinion.

Vancouver and Buffalo came in at the same time too. I wonder what people would say about which of these two franchises has been the best.

[Detroitian]

Tampa

That's about it

[da_king]

Vancouver and Buffalo came in at the same time too. I wonder what people would say about which of these two franchises has been the best.

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that's probably a tough question, especilally if you take into account the entire history of both teams. buffalo had better success than vancouver earlier on, both teams made the finals twice i beleive. vancouver's been pretty mediocre throughout their history up until the early 90's where they had a good stretch till about the mid to late 90's before being mediocre again and now being competitive for the last few years or so. still though we got pretty good stability, good fan base, our own arena, i'd give the nod to vancouver overall.l
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[Gonzo]

Tampa, it is all about championships in sports. You can win the mos games in history in any sport, but if you don't get the championship trophy at the end of the season, it goes all for naught.