Why The Vancouver Canucks May Actually Be Nhl's Most Sportsmanlike Team

[JustNazzy]

Why the Vancouver Canucks may actually be NHL’s most sportsmanlike team

Getty ImagesIt's subtle, but occasionally the Vancouver Canucks and their constituents have been known to traffic in an us-against-the-world mentality when it comes to treatment by NHL officials. They're also a franchise that, once in a while, has been characterized by opposing fan bases as a "dirty" team.

That established, Thomas Drance of Canucks Army offers a surprising observation: The Canucks are actually the NHL's cleanest, most sportsmanlike team this season through one significant measurement.

No, not in penalty minutes: The Canucks (13.0 PIM per game) are the fourth most-penalized team on average in the NHL this season. (Cut to Stephane Auger, sitting in a large chair, petting a white cat, cackling maniacally.)

Rather, the Canucks are one of only eight NHL teams not to have a player suspended by Brendan Shanahan and the Dept. of Player Safety this season: The Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning, San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders, Winnipeg Jets and New Jersey Devils round out that list entering Tuesday night's play.

Those seven teams, however, share a common thread that the Canucks do not: They've all had players fined this season for various supplemental disciplinary reasons, ranging from slashing to boarding to leaving the bench to partake in a fight (hello, Steve Downie).

Which means the Vancouver Canucks are the only team in the NHL this season, through 79 games, not to have a player fined or suspended.

No Alex Burrows using an opponent's glove like a dog uses Masters tickets. No Aaron Rome-on-Nathan-Horton specials. Not even a momentary lapse in good judgment from Maxim Lapierre.

Furthermore, as suggested by a Canucks Army commenter, Vancouver has also drawn five suspensions and three fines when you factor in the preseason — leading the NHL.

Here's how Drance reads this lack of discipline (or is it a complete mastery of discipline?):

Perhaps the new disciplinary regime was embarrassed by the heavy-handed Aaron Rome suspension, and is making it up to the club by treating them with kids gloves this year? Yeah, probably not.

While the record indicates that the Canucks are the "cleanest team" in the league - I have a tough time buying that. Certainly there's been a couple of incidents that looked like a Canucks skater may have warranted supplemental discipline -

Sturm's hit on Petrell in the preseason

,

Kesler's submarining of Clutterbuck

and

Daniel's hit on Keith all come to mind

. Ultimately, I think we have to call this blind-luck, but it should hopefully give the professional firebrands gearing up for their postseason anti-Canucks rants pause.

It's also an indication that Raffi Torres doesn't play for the Canucks anymore …

The Canucks have a roster that isn't filled with prime supplemental discipline candidates. Torres is gone. So are the other Canucks players there were fined or suspended in the last three seasons: Darcy Hordichuk, Shane O'Brien and the late Rick Rypien (for that incident with a Minnesota Wild fan).

The Canucks have some pains-in-the-asses and a few players that dance along the edge of legality with their hitting. But they don't have a single case of supplemental discipline this season. As Drance writes, there's a "cognitive dissonance between perception and reality" for the Vancouver Canucks and their critics.

http://ca.sports.yah...-214829233.html

Didn't see it posted so thought I would share...

[TimberWolf]

The Canucks are dirty thing is media fueled garbage and I wouldn't expect that to die down.

[endtoend]

Zach Kassian? He looks like he is going to kill someone out there.

[Zach Morris]

That's all well and good, but.......

If a player like Marchand is taking punches at one of the Sedins after whistles, and that Sedin, or his teamate doesn't run that pr!ck into the Ice face First I'm going to be super pissed at this team.....

They are a kick a$$ team - But the one flaw I see that they need to improve on is their "don't take $#!+ from no1" attitude.

I don't want them to act like the Bruins at all, but I want them to fight back when a team decides it wants to push us around.

[Jai604]

Mhmmm, not news to me.

It's mostly media hype. The Canucks just have a horrible reputation that has been perpetuated in the media.

[Onions]

Zach Kassian? He looks like he is going to kill someone out there.

[NuckFanLivingInCalgary:(]

Hockey is a dirty sport by nature. Seems like we are pretty good at getting away with it this year

But seriously, good job boys on no suspensions or fines.

[Kes_4_Pres]

Zach Kassian? He looks like he is going to kill someone out there.

[Wheels22]

I've noticed that our team will only do something "dirty" as a retaliation. There are a lot of teams who have a few players that will go out on the ice and just do something dirty for the hell of it...

Yet somehow we always get classified just as badly as those teams. It's pretty dumb

[rypper-37]

Canucks are dirty and classless! Cause everyone from the media said so! Screw the stats and facts!

[lateralus]

Sportsmanlike is not merely defined by suspensions and fines or the lack of.

Every team has players that have acted unsportsmanlike.

Kesler doing the head butt fake move isn't sportsmanlike and honestly I don't see any other player in the league doing such a move.

If everyone in the media is saying so maybe it's not media making things up?

[n00bxQb]

Kesler doing the head butt fake move isn't sportsmanlike and honestly I don't see any other player in the league doing such a move.

[NuckNuckNucks]

That's all well and good, but.......

If a player like Marchand is taking punches at one of the Sedins after whistles, and that Sedin, or his teamate doesn't run that pr!ck into the Ice face First I'm going to be super pissed at this team.....

They are a kick a$$ team - But the one flaw I see that they need to improve on is their "don't take $#!+ from no1" attitude.

I don't want them to act like the Bruins at all, but I want them to fight back when a team decides it wants to push us around.

[pwnstar]

being sportsmanlike wont get us to the finals

[lateralus]

Kaleta is famous for headbutts. He's been fined and suspended for them on multiple occasions and I've seen him fake headbutt guys even more.

[It's Bieksa's Fault]

I disagree with the Canucks being the most sportsmanlike team. We are somewhere in the middle; definitely not unsportsmanlike or dirty, but definitely not saints. Any fan who says we are the most sportsmanlike is part of the reason everyone hates the Canucks.

Also, the Canuck players are some of the classiest off the ice, but are some of the most pesty players (but not always unclassy) on the ice.

[Common sense]

Sportsmanlike is not merely defined by suspensions and fines or the lack of.

Every team has players that have acted unsportsmanlike.

Kesler doing the head butt fake move isn't sportsmanlike and honestly I don't see any other player in the league doing such a move.

If everyone in the media is saying so maybe it's not media making things up?

[Zach Morris]

I highly doubt they're going to be pushed around this year.

[Mervyn Peake]

Daniel's hit on Keith all come to mind.

[Special Ed]

They arent 'the most classiest'.

Did we suddenly forget this team have some of the biggest agitators in the league?

Sure I guess if you wear homer glasses and only see the twins/cs.