In a quickie poll, Canucks fans responded to which NHL team they disliked the most, with the options being the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Other.
We didn’t ask for comment, but I believe it’s safe to suggest that because they’re good, they’re relatively close neighbours and Pacific Division rivals, and of course because of the fact that they just knocked the Canucks out of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, the number-one most hated team turned out to be the Edmonton Oilers with 38.6% of the vote.
It was much closer than that until the final hour of polling.
The Maple Leafs came 2nd with 29.8% of the tally. This would be more psychologically embedded in a deep resentment that exists and is often promoted by local media regarding Canada’s largest city and its self-proclaimed title, although accurate, as the “center of the hockey universe”.
Let’s face it, it is the country’s media capital by far, it’s surrounded by hockey on all fronts, and a similar ‘east coast bias’ that exists in the United States also exists in Canada.
I reckon there are a lot of people who hate Toronto who’ve never even been there. That’s American-like irrationalism.
Remember, their hockey fans have been suffering way longer — OK, 3 years longer — than ours.
Some need to get over it. There’s a lot of over-hyped generalizations out there about that city on the Lake, plus Vancouver has no reason to be jealous. It’s a far more beautiful city than Toronto and the quality of life for the most part is unmatched.
OK fine: screw the Leafs!
A close third; the Boston Bruins at 28.1%. This is the residual 2011 effect, and it doesn’t hurt that the most bothersome and annoying Cup winner from that season is now the B’s team captain, Brad Marchand.
“Other” received 3.5% of the vote. Feel free to respond on social or here with who you may have had in mind. Vegas? Calgary? Chicago? It would be nice if it was Seattle some day soon, for rivalry purposes.
In the meantime, thank you for sharing.
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