While I was dismayed by the poor performance of the Canucks this past season and their failure to make the playoffs, I have found there are benefits to having your "home team" not make the postseason.
I, like many Vancouverites, have dual loyalties. Being an ex-Winnipeger, my back-up loyalty is to the resurrected Winnipeg Jets. However, the Jets have not made the playoffs since they relocated from Atlanta. They have come close, but never seem able to the "seal the deal."
However, the Canucks were a powerhouse in recent memory and it is certainly distressing to see how far and how fast they have fallen. I have groused over the last few years over some of the moves management has made, so I've got somewhat contrary emotions. You hate to have been proven correct, but you like to have been right.
So there were no Canucks in the playoffs and certainly no Jets, which meant no strong emotional attachment to any of the teams. That also meant I didn't have to obsess over any games. I could even avoid watching them altogether and do something more interesting - like cut the lawn.
There has been a lot of good hockey played and the games were more enjoyable without the angst of watching your favourite team end up on the short end of the scorecard.
But in any match, it almost seems you need to pick a team to pull for. In most match-ups, I just naturally came up with criteria to pull for some team or the other. Typically I could never pull for the Canadiens. This dates back to the days of the original six. There were four American teams - forget them! Canadian choices were the Habs or the Leafs. I went with the Leafs, who in latter years were so bad I stopped watching games as I couldn't stand the pain of defeat.
I've moved on from the Leafs, but obviously have not settled on a winner, or even a contender, yet. Now I have cast a wider net. I decided I could support the Habs, just this once, as they were the only Canada-based team to make the playoffs. They also have local star Brendan Gallagher.
Speaking of local stars, with Brent Seabrook on the Chicago Blackhawks, I could bear to see them win the Cup again and have it visit Tsawwassen one more time.
And how about the Canucks' former coach, Alain Vigneault? The Rangers got him and we got John Tortorella. AV is a pleasant enough fellow and I could add his new team to the list I could pull for.
So I ended up with a reasonable list of teams I could support, but not be miserable if they didn't win. I could watch the games and enjoy the elbowing, spearing, crosschecking and general mayhem without screaming at the screen and having my stomach in a knot.
Spring has been calm and peaceful, but enough of that already. Next year I want to see the Jets in the finals - that should really get my blood pressure up.
