Tonight the Vancouver Canucks start their Western Conference final series against the San Jose Sharks. They are the last Canadian team left in the playoffs and look to become the first team north of the border to win the Stanley Cup since 1993. It would be the first cup in franchise history and would end one of the longest droughts in league history. For a city that hosted some of the nation's proudest moments just over a year ago, it would be another historic moment. Across the country Canadians are rallying behind the team the same way we did for Calgary in 2004, Edmonton in 2006 and I guess even Ottawa in 2007. I got behind those teams during their runs (except the Sens, for obvious reasons), but this year is different. I don't want the Canucks to win. I would have been deliriously happy for them to complete their historic collapse to the Blackhawks in the first round, but I'll settle for a conference final loss to the Sharks or a heartbreaking loss to the Lightning or Bruins in the finals.
I've made this opinion known on several occasions and have been criticized every time. The popular belief is that the only correct course of action is to cheer for the only remaining Canadian team. To do otherwise would be anti-Canadian. It doesn't help that Vancouver and Toronto have no rivalry between one another that would justify a bias against the Canucks, unlike the Sens and Canadiens (good luck convincing me to cheer for those guys).
The reason I won't cheer for the Canucks is actually pretty simple and runs directly counter to the argument that I should cheer for them: they're just not very Canadian. Yeah, they're based in a Canadian city and their name is even a common nickname for our people, but the make up of the team is decidedly un-Canuck. Take a look at the rosters of the four remaining teams in the playoffs. The numbers don't lie:
Tampa Bay Lightning: 17/27 Canadian players, 63%
Boston Bruins: 17/26 Canadian players, 65%
San Jose Sharks: 18/29 Canadian players, 62%
Vancouver Canucks: 17/32 Canadian players, 53%
Keep in mind that these rosters include all the team role players and even some guys that don't get any ice time at all. If we're talking core pieces of the team, the Canucks fair even more unfavourably. The top four Canadian players for the Sharks are Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau and Dan Boyle; four gold medal winning members of Team Canada who averaged 21 minutes and 38 seconds of ice time per game during the regular season. The top four Canadians on the Canucks? Roberto Luongo, Alexandre Burrows, Kevin Bieksa, and I guess... Dan Hamhuis. The starting goaltender for Team Canada, sure, but three other guys who aren't even top line players for their own team, let alone members of Team Canada and who averaged 20 minutes and 43 seconds of ice time. That's an average of 22:34 for Canuck defensemen and 17:01 for Canuck forwards, compared to 26:14 for Sharks defensemen and 20:06 for Sharks forwards.
It's more than just numbers though. The emotional and statistical leaders for the Canucks are Ryan "I hate Canada" Kesler and the Sedin twins. Not exactly the most Canadian of players.
So, sorry Canucks fans. I want your team to win the Stanley Cup fourth most out of the remaining teams. I want to see Ryan Kesler heartbroken after another loss and I want the Sedins to have to answer for another playoff failure. A 17 year long Stanley Cup drought for Canadian teams (the longest in league history) is pretty spectacular, but it's not like Canadians aren't winning. Check out the Conn Smythe winners from those last 17 years. 12 out of 16 of them are Canadian.
You guys do have history on your side though; the last two times a Canadian City hosted the Olympics, its NHL team went on to win the President's Trophy and the Stanley Cup the next year. Canucks already won the President's Trophy, so the Stanley Cup is fated next.
Screw fate.
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