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Today we have an interesting topic that, when first presented, should invoke an immediate response.
Which is the NHL’s most hated team?
To get to the bottom of this, we came up with six teams that we feel are frontrunners for the title: Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Vancouver Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins. Each team is hated by a large percentage of hockey fans but for very different and unique reasons. We will present you with a case as to why each team could be considered the most hated, and then we’ll leave it up to you.
At the conclusion you will find the polls asking you to determine who you believe is the most hated. We encourage you to add your own comments below and we will include some of them in our follow-up article revealing the “winner”.
Montreal Canadiens
“It’s all about history and cups – and their fans like to remind you of that!”
Why are they so hated?
The Montreal Canadiens are associated with two things: winning and history. The team is not only the oldest in the NHL, but is the winningest. The Habs have won 24 Stanley Cups spread out over their 104 years of existence. Most awe-inspiring are the three decades that they dominated – the 50s, 60s and 70s. In the 50’s they won six times, four in the 60s and six in the 70s. The team has won the Cup twice since those runs, once in 1985-86 and again in 1992-93. In fact, it is widely believed that the 50s and 70s Canadiens teams were two of the most dominant in the history of the game, along with the phenomenal Islanders and Oilers teams of the 80s.
But being regarded as the most successful franchise in hockey reason enough to be considered the most hated? Well, it helps. Teams who have won the most are almost always amongst the most hated as well. Consider the Lakers and Celtics, Cowboys and Steelers, Yankees, Red Sox and Cardinals in baseball and Manchester United in football – all hated for the most part. That is just part of the territory. Are there teams that are the exception? Possibly the Green Bay Packers come to mind, but that’s another discussion entirely as they have size (being in Wisconsin) on their side.
If we were to poll which fan base is the most hated—as unfair a judgement as it might be—Habs fans would certainly be near or at the top if only because of their affiliation with the most winning team (oh, and because they are never afraid to remind you of that fact). Because of that, they have created an unbelievable number of rivalries with other teams, which feeds animosity and makes the team such a target. Consider the Bruins, Leafs, Sabres, Rangers, Sens and virtually every arena they visit on that list.
Toronto Maple Leafs
“History and that blasted media empire – can the media ever stop analyzing everything about them?”
Why are they so hated?
The Leafs claim to play at the centre of the hockey universe, or something like that. Well they do play at the centre of the Canadian media universe with corporate headquarters for TSN, Sportsnet, CBC and virtually every major newspaper in Canada located in Toronto. As a result, the coverage they receive in the national hockey media is greater than any other team. The Leafs try to capitalize this by naming themselves “Canada’s Team” and coming up with catchphrases like “The Passion that Unites Us All”. Fans of other Canadian teams will tell you that this just makes them sick.
When playing Toronto, even at home, teams on the West Coast (see the Vancouver Canucks) are forced into 4pm local start times, inconveniencing local fans, so that the Leafs game remains at the prime 7pm EST timeslot on the East Coast. God forbid that Leaf fans have to watch their team as the second game on Hockey Night’s weekly Saturday Double Header.
Every move they make is over analyzed and takes over coverage of shows like Sportscentre and Connected, driving fans of opposition batty. Add to that the fact that the team gets this coverage despite basically being irrelevant in the pantheon of NHL Contenders since the original six era (yet their fans still say that this is their year, and the networks hype up their chances every year), and you’ve got a recipe for hatred.
Boston Bruins – “Big. Bad. Bruins.”
Why are they so hated?
Look, winning teams are hated, and the Bruins have been highly successful in recent years. They have defeated teams like the Canadiens, Leafs, Rangers, Canucks, Flyers, and Penguins in recent playoff series. These are some of the biggest fanbases in hockey, and so yes, part of the reason they are hated by so many is that the Bruins have had great success against teams cheered for by a large number of hockey fans in recent years.
But it goes deeper than that. I mean we don’t have the Blackhawks on the list, and they have won more than Boston in recent years. No, the Bruins are hated for doing things in a smug way. Head coach Claude Julien always seems to be whining about the officiating or other teams’ diving, and he’s joined in this by players like Brad Marchand, a frequent diver who seems oblivious to the hypocrisy around criticizing opponents for that.
On top of that the Bruins have been involved in a number of high profile incidents. Milan Lucic running over Ryan Miller, their fans chanting “faker” at Mason Raymond as he lied on the Boston ice with fractured vertebrae, the Max Pacioretty stanchion incident, Tim Thomas shunning a White House visit, and the racist tweets of Bruins fans following a goal by Joel Ward which eliminated the team from the Playoffs in 2012.
How about watching your team play the Bruins on TV. If you use NHL Center Ice, you notice that many games against the Bruins feature a feed from NESN with Jack Edwards on commentary. Hey, we get it, many Bruins fans love Jack; but when you are a fan of the opponent, his biased commentary is grating and our opinion he’s the biggest homer commentator in the NHL.
Lastly, lets not forget Jeremy Jacobs, the owner of the team who many see as one of the biggest “hawks” in the NHL Board of Governors and one of the biggest voices pushing the owners in the last two lockouts.
Philadelphia Flyers – “Broad Street Bullies – still”
Why are they so hated?
Dating back 40 years, the Flyers have been seen as representing the ugly side of hockey. The whole Broad Street Bully mentality with dirty play, bench clearing brawls, and the way they use violence as a strategy to win games is loved by some, but is also hated by many others. They are very much a polarizing franchise.
Add in the fact that Ed Snyder and Paul Holmgren are not afraid to throw money at any free agent who crosses their path, often with disastrous results and this certainly doesn’t help matters. Bobby Clarke, who epitomized Broad Street hockey, was even a figurehead for the organization for many years after his playing days.
Lastly, put this team in a city that is known for having the worst fans in sports and the Flyers inspire venom throughout the league.
Vancouver Canucks – “A great acting job”
Why are they so hated?
Over the last few years the Canucks have developed a reputation as the biggest divers in the league. Players like Alex Burrows, Ryan Kesler, and the Sedins have become known as much for their reputations for embellishment as they are for their scoring exploits. In the case of Burrows and former NHL referee Stephane Auger, we’ve even seen a ref take things into his own hands and attempt to get revenge for being embarrassed by a dive. On top of that Burrows and Kesler are your classic chirpers; the type of irritating players who are always running their mouth out there on the ice.
Add to this the never ending Luongo/Schneider controversy which left us all breathing a sigh of relief when the team finally ended the saga at the 2013 draft, as well as a city that gave us one of the biggest hockey riots ever after losing in game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals, and the newly hired head coach in John Tortorella and we have a team that is sure to get 9.5s and above for both their dives and their ability to inspire hatred.
Pittsburgh Penguins – “How many first overall picks can one team not named the Oilers get?”
Why are they so hated?
We’ve already established that teams who win are hated and the Penguins have a recent cup as well as seeming to always be at the top of the league. They are also a media favorite, playing in numerous Winter Classic games and getting plenty of coverage on NBC. Their best player, Sidney Crosby, is the poster boy of hockey, and treated that way.
Yet the presence of Crosby inspires hate. He’s accused of being a whiner, a diver, and of getting favoured treatment from the league officials. Heck, many believe that the only reason he is in Pittsburgh is that the NHL or Gary Bettman rigged the 2005 Draft Lottery to ensure that the world’s next generational player was selected by the Penguins, who desperately needed a superstar with the team in major financial peril at the time. The empty arenas prior to Crosby being selected has only helped the perception that the fanbase is full of bandwagon fans that have only followed hockey since 2005. True or not, it doesn’t matter, that’s the perception out there.
Add to that the fact that the team had two first overall picks and five straight top 5 draft picks from 2003-2007 and many see the team as being merely lucky to be built this way.
As we’ve said, winning can inspire hate, or jealousy—sometimes its hard to tell which is which.
Main image credit:
Embed from Getty Images
