What the??? What happened?

[ODB]

I’m new to the boards so if there’s a similar topic that I haven’t seen please forgive me.

First... Hi, I’m ODB and I’m a Canucksoholic!

Enough of that! I want to know if anyone here around the Corner can tell me what the hell happened to our team in these playoffs? When did we become so hated?

Going into the playoffs we were cup favorites. The media (in Canada anyway) picked us to win the cup across the board! We were Canada’s darling, her only real hope! The first round went ok. We took some heat in the media for letting Chicago back into the series but by and large we came out ok. Save for the Torres hit that some thought deserved a suspension. Sure Chicago hated us but who gives a squirt of piss about them or what they have to say in the local media?

The Nashville series was uneventful. Everyone in the media thought what we all pretty much thought. It was just a bit of a letdown after the high intensity of the Chicago series. Still I don’t think we were hated. Not in the media or by the public at large.

In the San Jose series things changed. The media and people in general started really hating on the Canucks. Calling us dirty and divers! Really? Did I watch the game through rose colored glasses or did the Sharks not dive just as much as we did? I would have thought there was dirty shit going on back and forth. I remember Rome getting clobbered on a dirty hit resulting in a concussion. I recall Dan getting run and getting no call. I seem to remember a young lady flashing her tits... oh wait, never mind.

By the Stanley Cup Finals we were fucking hated! I live in Saskatchewan and I saw a perspective those in BC likely wouldn’t have seen. They wanted us to lose bad! They considered us dirty. They said we dive and we’re cheap players. I mean the finger thing? Come on Pronger has done worse shit in the preseason! I thought we couldn't buy a fucking call in the Cup Finals. Chara nearly kills a dude four months ago and gets nothing while Rome gets 4 for a late hit!

I honestly don’t understand where Sportsnet's Mark Spector gets this from.

From Kesler’s surly persona, to Alex Burrows’ finger biting, diving and endless head-snaps, to Maxim Lapierre’s embellishments and fake injuries, to Raffi Torres knack for hitting only the unsuspecting — wait, we’re getting to our point — to Luongo’s childish quotes about Thomas not "pumping his tires," to the legit tough Kevin Bieksa’s two playoff fights coming against pacifists Viktor Stalberg and Patrick Marleau, to teammates who allowed the Sedins to be abused throughout this series by little Brad Marchand and never stood up for them, to a GM in Mike Gillis who never once credited any of his predecessors with acquiring all of the best players on this team, the Canucks wore the villain’s hat well in this series.

Of course, there are many fine people inside this organization who don’t deserve to be painted with that brush, but the perception does not happen by fluke or fix. It is earned, and accurate.

Mike Gillis crediting his predecessors... are you fucking serious? Is Spector the only man on earth that isn't aware of the ongoing feud between Aquaman and Burkie?

Aside from the finger bite (what the hell were Bergerons fingers doing in Burrows mouth) every single thing Spector mentioned was happening on both sides! Can anyone here tell me why we were dubbed the villain's and why it was earned, and accurate?

I honesty don't know what the fuck we did. Why did everyone hate us?

BTW, the riot was icing on the cake... the rest of North America loved that shit! Way to go morons!

[Topper]

More black hats please.

[ODB]

More black hats please.

It took me five hours to type that up and I get four words from Topper!

But I do sorta agree. I don't really care if we're unliked nor do I think the team gives a shit. That still doesn't explain what happened. Why did we become the villains?

[Blob Mckenzie]

Too many rats and weasals ODB. too many yappers, biters, hair pullers etc. I'd be able to live with the rodents if Gillis would please bring in a couple of guys to throw some fists in anger occasionally.

BTW Burke was on with fatty Russel a couple of weeks ago and said Gillis HAS recognized what he and Nonis left behind for him and acknowledged it privately that they did some good things. Burke said he was more than ok with that and he also said Gillis deserved the GM of the year. I think most of the bad blood between Gillis and Burke/Cheeseburger Ass has dissipated.

[Strangelove]

*Ohdee's post*

It was my fault....

[Madcombinepilot]

I live in Saskatchewan

where abouts? Me and Tisco (and a couple others as well) are stuck behind the straw curtain too!

[Strangelove]

Too many rats and weasals ODB. too many yappers, biters, hair pullers etc. I'd be able to live with the rodents if Gillis would please bring in a couple of guys to throw some fists in anger occasionally.

Agreed, a coupla heavyweights would command respect.

There's a huge difference between being hated.... and being hated/respected.

ODB, we lost would-be bandwagoneers... in fact LOST THE CUP... due to that lack of respect imo.

There are 3 kinds of teams in the world my friend: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

We are like Tuco, we need to be more like Angel Eyes!

(we're too far down this path to ever be Blondie)


.


.


.


.


.




WAA WAA WAA

[Topper]

What happened was other teams whined and bitched. Other than GMMG's staged go at the imbalance of calls in the first round, Vancouver kept it's mouth shut about what went on on the ice.

The Torres hit on Seabrook, post game the the 'hawks room looked like a lynch mob was being assembled. i thought Quenville was going to cry.

Kesler keeps his feet moving while playing the puck while Weber works his rib cage with his stick and uses his free hand to try and turn Kesler, the hunchback no neck troll climbs out from under bridge looking for the chicken wing.

Bieksa answers the bell when Marleau throws the first punch, the Sharks line up to bitch about Kevin's attack on the good guy.

Bergeron sticks his finger in Burrows mouth while washing his face, the Bruins do everything short of having a vet administering tetanus shots in the room post game.

The media ate it up and after a coffee in the morning their manure was hitting us fans.

That is what happened.

[Meds]

The Bruins, the original six franchise, who were selling tickets for games 3 and 4 so cheap that it was a better deal for a guy to fly round trip, with hotel, to Beantown, and take in both games, than it was for him to buy a single game ticket in Vancouver, these Bruins had the NHL head office in their pocket. Boston had the size and strength to compete in the playoffs, but when they amassed huge penalty minutes right up until game 7 of the Eastern Final. At all times against Tampa, the Bruin's defense looked like a Junior B squad as soon as the Bolt's hit the PP. The NHL then called no penalties in game 7. Go figure. There is no conspiracy against who the NHL wants to see lose, there is something to be considered in regards to who they want to see win.

We don't need to get into specifics again. We know them already. Write the hate off to schadenfreude. We defied the odds. We brought home massive hardware this year. Vigneault said he liked the odds for the President's Trophy winner in the playoffs. The NHL would have had a mass revolt on their hands if Vancouver had won the NW Division, The Western Conference, the Presidents Trophy, the Campbell Trophy, The Stanley Cup, GM of the Year, Art Ross, Vezina, Jennings, Hart, Jack Adams, Selke, and Ted Lindsay. Yes, that's right, the team or a member of the team was in the running for everyone of those awards. The only two significant trophies that a Canuck wasn't considered for were the Norris and the Lady Byng.

So what happened? We were far and away the best team in the NHL this year, and that pissed everyone off because they wanted to see the top dog bleed. The media isn't stupid, they know that will up the ratings. So that's what they sold.....and the sheep ate it all up.

[LotusBlossom]

...

So what happened? We were far and away the best team in the NHL this year, and that pissed everyone off because they wanted to see the top dog bleed. The media isn't stupid, they know that will up the ratings. So that's what they sold.....and the sheep ate it all up.

I truly missed your hockey opinions Mëds..great opinion, great post.

[Meds]

...

So what happened? We were far and away the best team in the NHL this year, and that pissed everyone off because they wanted to see the top dog bleed. The media isn't stupid, they know that will up the ratings. So that's what they sold.....and the sheep ate it all up.

I truly missed your hockey opinions Mëds..great opinion, great post.

Thanks LB.

Been a while...

[Rudypoo]

Familiarity breeds contempt, and there were a lot of Canadian media members who were already sick to death of watching the Canucks hammer on their beloved local teams. For the most part they were able to keep their mouths shut throught the first two or three rounds but by the SCF they just couldn't take it anymore.

Combine that with the fact that the media spotlight is incredibly bright in the SCF. Snide comments are re-tweeted. Anti-Canuck "professionals" have to step up from paragraphs about the Canucks to full columns.

Combine that with the Bruins being the clear underdogs. It's human nature to automatically side with the underdog.

Combine that with the odd hockey mentality that says diving is cowardly, while two-hand slashes behind the play are OK (as long as no one gets seriously injured)

Throw in the fact that to a certain degree the Canucks deserve their reputation.

Put all that together, and the Canucks were definitely fitted for the black hat.

That's my stab at an explanation, anyway.

[Fred]

I'd go along with that Rudy but add with the total abject failure suffered by the team at the very centre of the Universe and certainly the media centre of Canada their own failure only add salt to the wound and rational is thrown out the window.

As to the riots, a real shame. The name Vcr is building not only in Canada but throughout NA and maybe EU is it's a dangerous place to visit. Just like Mtl will be synonymous with the French language and poutine, Vcr will be thought of as the riot capital of Canada This time it's self inflicted

[ODB]

I don’t think any explanation could be considered right or wrong! All I know is the vibe that went on in my community. Here in Saskatchewan I remember what the general pulse was when the Flames, Oilers and Sens made it to the finals. The bar crowd got behind the Canadian team and cheered them on to losses.

No such luck for the Canucks. They were the villains, the team everyone wanted to see get beat.



The national media didn’t help that’s for sure.

[coco_canuck]

We really missed Hamhuis.

IMO, he was the Canucks most important D-man this year, especially in the playoffs.

His performance in game 7 against Chicago was one of the single greatest games a Canucks d-man has played in his own end. Talk about shut-down when he was on the ice. He stood up the line with hits and stick-checks that had the Hawks forecheck in all kinds of trouble.

There's no one on the team that skates with more grace on defense, turns quickly and anticipates the offensive rush/dump-in better than Hamhuis. Not only does he lock-down his own end, he turns the puck up the ice, or carries it out, as soon as he gets hold of it. Quick, smart decisions and great outlet passes that almost always hit a a forward in stride or puts the puck in an area a forechecker will reach.

He's a great catalyst to the offense that was hugely missed considering Ehrhoff, Edler and Bieksa were all banged up during the finals.

His presence also makes Bieksa a much better and effective d-man.