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Vancouver Canucks bristle at ‘villain’ title

Mark Recchi, Maxim Lapierre

Boston Bruins left wing Mark Recchi (28) puts his glove in the face of Vancouver Canucks right wing Maxim Lapierre (40) in the first period during Game 3 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Monday, June 6, 2011, in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

AP

While some outlets have hammered on the storyline a bit more than others, it seems like the consensus is that the Vancouver Canucks are the “bad guys” of the 2011 Stanley Cup finals. (At least for people who enjoy the practice of adopting villains and heroes for sporting events in this age.)

That’s not to say that the Boston Bruins are being fitted for a halo anytime soon. Tim Thomas’ great play generates comparisons to the work of Dominik Hasek and Patrick Roy, but his unfiltered rage also reminded some of the fury of Billy Smith or Ron Hextall. Brad Marchand has the tendency to get under peoples’ skin and the team occasionally earns back its historical nickname of the “Big, Bad Bruins.” (See: their brawl-filled regular season game against the smallish Montreal Canadiens.)

All of that aside, the conventional wisdom is that the Canucks aren’t exactly the darling of unbiased observers. Antics highlighted by Aaron Rome’s hit and Alexandre Burrows bite - not to mention the claims of diving, which may or may not be fair in the grand scheme of things - haven’t made Vancouver an adopted favorite among many fans.

The Canucks seem to bristle at the claims of villainy, as Joe Haggerty explains.

“I don’t think we’re in the villain role. I really don’t,” said Bieksa. “There are a few people that don’t like the way we play, but usually when you win people don’t like that. I know when we played Chicago last year I don’t remember too many people saying anything nice about them – but I’m pretty sure if you asked them they couldn’t care less.

“We don’t feel like villains. We feel like we have all of Canada cheering for us and that’s an entire country. So how can you be a villain when a whole country is cheering for you?”


It might be a stretch to say that all of Canada is rooting for the Canucks - one can assume that fans of division rivals such as the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames might be reluctant to cross that line - but it’s reasonable to think that many Canadians are pulling for them. It’s been 18 years since Patrick Roy and the Montreal Canadiens became the last Canadian-based team to win a Stanley Cup, although the chalice obviously spends plenty of time north of the border either way.

However the rest of the hockey world feels, a Canucks Cup win would make them heroes in Vancouver and the surrounding areas. Something tells me they care a lot more about that designation than any media-fueled “villain” labels.