This season, more so than any other, it seems every contender hates at least one other contender and is hated by at least one other team. It's created a vicious cycle where at this point essentially anyone winning the Continental Cup would piss off a good chunk of the VHL.
The heated Quebec vs Calgary rivalry has ensured that both teams would prefer either they win or someone from Europe. The Meute of course have simply added the Wranglers to an ever-growing list of haters, which includes expansion rivals Cologne and in fact most of the league.
Over in Europe though, Stockholm and Davos also have little love lost and their discord seems to run deeper than that of their North American counterparts. All sorts of accusations regarding favouritism and bias have been thrown around regarding finances, the VHLM mag, and the recent trade shenanigans with Toronto. Rest assured, the Vikings and Dynamo are playing just to see the other lose as much winning it all themselves.
This may suggest that the neutral favourite should be Cologne but this is not without its caveats. Some around the VHL would not like to see the Express win the cup just two seasons after the last, least of all the Quebec City Meute, who would officially become the least successful expansion franchise. That, plus former first overall pick Bismarck Koenig's unsavoury exit from Davos means even the Express may not be our saving grace, much unlike S42.
Perhaps the VHL's safest best would be to just give the cup back to Seattle for another season.
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