Pavel Sedin Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 VANCOUVER—How is it that the Canadian team with the best chance at the Stanley Cup is one of the most hated teams in hockey? Shouldn’t we love these guys? Mention the Vancouver Canucks in Vancouver and the love overflows. Mention the same team anywhere else in the league and the venom is palpable. Non-Canucks fans point to the team’s reputation for whining — GM Mike Gillis was fined during last season’s playoffs for complaining about the officiating — the diving abilities of the Sedin twins, the hair-pulling and finger-biting tactics of forward Alex Burrows. “They are the most arrogant team I played against and the most hated team I’ve ever played against,” former Boston Bruins forward Mark Recchi told an American radio station last year. Why exactly are the Canucks so despised? For a second year in a row, the team captured the President’s Trophy as the NHL’s top team and odds are the Canucks will have another extended run in the playoffs with their second chance in as many years of ending up in the finals. The Canucks will begin that quest Wednesday night in their playoff opener against the Los Angeles Kings. Cambridge, Ont., resident Jim Chaplin says one reason the Canucks are so despised is because they have an inflated opinion of themselves . “This is not a team that goes out and plays tough and backs up their talk. They hide behind officials and they don’t play an honourable, tough brand of hockey,” says Chaplin, who lived in Vancouver in his early 20s and is a lifelong Chicago Blackhawks fan. “Hockey fans love a good work ethic, players who hit and backcheck. Fans like fighters, not chirpers.” Chaplin thinks the Canucks’ reputation for being a dirty team reaches back years, starting with the 2004 Todd Bertuzzi hit on Steve Moore of the Colorado Avalanche. Kelly Kirch, program director for Sportsnet 960 The Fan in Calgary, says whenever the Canucks are raised as a topic on radio call-in shows, the response from callers is disdain . “What people don’t like the most about the team, I think, are the Canuck fans. The Canucks fans lose all sense of judgment; they think everyone else is against them and they aren’t graceful when they lose,” says Kirch. “There is an arrogance with the Canucks and while people can respect that they’re a very good team, no one likes them very much.” That’s why Kirch believes so many fans of other teams like seeing the Canucks lose. Canucks fan Sean Zandberg, one of the writers for the Canucks blog Nucks Misconduct, cites simple jealousy as the reason his team is so hated. “The Canucks have been so successful that everything they do is scrutinized,” he says. “No one hates a loser but they really hate the prom king.” Dont Know if its been posted, I havent posted on here in awhile but anyway I LOL'd pretty hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkpoet Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Remember how much we HATED the Avalanche all those years they pounded us into the dirt? Remember how GOOD they were? There is a connection there, methinks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pavel Sedin Posted April 9, 2012 Author Share Posted April 9, 2012 Heres the link BTW http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/article/1158299--vancouver-canucks-could-be-nhl-s-most-despised-team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etsen3 Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Meh. Of course Hawks fans and Flames fans are gonna hate us. Who cares. On After Hours last night, they brought up a quote from Ken Hitchcock. He said "If the Canucks want to be liked, they should start losing". The "Canucks hate" talk is getting old and I don't think anyone cares any more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nucks fan in TO Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Since I moved to Toronto two years ago, Ive been surprised how much hate/jealousy there is for Vancouver as a city. I'm starting to think Vancouver is what Vancouverites always thought Toronto was....a city that is hated/envied by many people across Canada. Also, there's no question Burrows, Kesler and Lapierre are irritating and hated league-wide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TotesMagotes Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 I'd hate the team who won the presidents trophy 2 times in a row if i was a rival fan too. Not really understanding why this is such a big deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdeath Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Way to be a year late to the party. You're supposed to hate Pittsburgh now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PizzaBoy Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 I'd hate the team who won the presidents trophy 2 times in a row if i was a rival fan too. Not really understanding why this is such a big deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuck nit Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 I think the Rangers and Don Cherry despise Crosby and the Penguins so these Chicago fans that are in mourning for a decent ,contending team should join that bandwagon of hatred. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PizzaBoy Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Chicago fans in mourning? lol they just won the cup 2 years ago.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigneault's Timeout Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Chaplin supports a team that chirps players with fresh injuries. Kudos bud! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TotesMagotes Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 I wouldn't, being a team that never even won a championship yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bandersnatch191 Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Meh, it's just the media stirring the pot in preparation for the playoffs. Doesn't bother me anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpcurtly Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Jeesh, that didn't take long.....Toronto already stoking the fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PizzaBoy Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 I don't think people who hate the Canucks would say, ''well they've never won the cup before so it's alright if they whoop our teams ass every year''. It has nothing to do with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Common sense Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Hitchcock said it best - if the Canucks want to be liked, they simply have to start losing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WEwantCUP Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 who the hell is Jim Chaplin, and why does his opinon matter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toni Zamboni Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 haters always hate on the best team, its a term of endearment that lets you know that you are feared! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck or Die Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 I think it does, nobody remembers or cares about regular season victories years past. The flames and oilers both went to game 7 in 2004 and 2006 as the canucks did last year. Being not a fan of the oilers or flames, we dont care.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poetica Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 “This is not a team that goes out and plays tough and backs up their talk. They hide behind officials and they don’t play an honourable, tough brand of hockey,” says Chaplin, who lived in Vancouver in his early 20s and is a lifelong Chicago Blackhawks fan. “Hockey fans love a good work ethic, players who hit and backcheck. Fans like fighters, not chirpers.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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