I just typed something into a search engine: "Which city that has an NHL team is the most like Detroit?" The answer, as you can probably guess, was Pittsburgh.
I kind of joked and replied with, "So, they're both impossible to get in and out of?" If you've ever been to Pittsburgh, you'd know where I'm coming from. The city, while likable enough, is one of the most congested in America, and regardless of how you're entering it, good luck doing so without sitting in traffic.
in a way it suprised me, but it also made me think that, if there's one team the Detroit Red Wings need to ignite a fierce rivalry with, it's the Pittsburgh Penguins. While it makes sense since the two teams once split the Stanley Cup Final back in 2008 and 2009, similarities between both cities is also a good reason for these two historic franchises to share bad blood.
So what makes Detroit and Pittsburgh so much alike?
For one, the two teams share the "Rust Belt" identity, a group of cities often in the Northeast and Midwest that saw manufacturing go to the wayside (to a great extent), which led to transformation and upheaval.
There's that "blue collar" mentality in both cities, even with changes in their respective economic landscapes. This means both cities have held true to their roots over decades of change, and that'll probably persist in the coming decades.
It's something both cities share with another rival town: Cleveland, where the Tigers and Guardians and Cavs and Pistons will get heated at times. Then, in the NFL, there's the Browns and Steelers. This makes a rivalry between the Wings and Penguins even more of a natural fit.
Only 286 miles separate the two cities in driving distance, and 201 miles through the air. This means you can get to Pittsburgh from Detroit in under five hours. Or, you can get to Greentree Hill from Detroit in less than five hours, since you'll probably hit some serious traffic there.
Then, there's the hockey side of things
We already covered the 2008 and 2009 Stanley Cup Finals, but let's look at the hockey cultures and even timelines. While Detroit is in the Original Six and the Pens are in the Expansion Six, both went through their fair share of hills and valleys in their respective runs to success.
Detroit was the most successful American-based team in the Original Six, but they saw over four decades of disappointment following that, including the infamous Dead Wings Era. As for the Penguins, they weren't even relevant most of the time before Mario Lemeiux and Jaromir Jagr showed up.
But, the Pens hit another rough patch before Sidney Crosby came along and solidified the Steel City as a hockey town in its own right. Meanwhile, Detroit literally became Hockeytown in the 1990s, so both teams fit the bill.
It's not like nearby Columbus, where the Buckeyes outshine everyone by a landslide. Hockey fits well with both teams and their towns, and that too would make this one a great intra-conference rivalry, even if the two teams play in different divisions.
More from Octopus Thrower