When the NHL playoffs began this year, Canadian hockey fans were hopeful as four out of the seven teams were from Canada: Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Edmonton all made it to the playoffs. High expectations were held by fans when the Edmonton Oilers reached the final stage, but they failed to win in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup, prolonging the dry spell for Canadian teams.
No Canadian team has emerged victorious in the Stanley Cup since the Montreal Canadiens in the 1992-93 season. Since then, the Cup has been won by 16 different American teams. Toronto ads poked fun at the thirty-year Stanley Cup dry spell, proposing that Canadian hockey enthusiasts should back all the Canadian teams.
This led to an instant negative reaction from certain Canadian hockey fans. Most Canadian hockey fans seem to be content cheering for their own team but not supporting other Canadian teams.
Canadian fans supporting teams from other Canadian cities should not come as a shock. This nation has a rich history of regionalism, with each area possessing unique economic and political traditions.
In the Canadian federation, regions have a tendency to rival each other rather than collaborate. This also applies to preferred hockey teams.
Heading into this year’s NHL playoffs, Canadian hockey enthusiasts held high hopes as four out of seven teams representing Canada – Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Edmonton – secured spots in the tournament. The Edmonton Oilers had high hopes as they reached the final stretch, but failed to win in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup, continuing the drought for Canadian teams.
Surveys indicate that the top three favorite NHL teams in Western Canada do not include Ottawa, Montréal, or Toronto, the three Eastern Canadian teams.
In Eastern Canada, Winnipeg is the third most popular team in Ontario and Québec, being the only Western team to make it in the top three. Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton do not rank in the top three. Not one of the NHL teams from Western Canada ranks in the top three in Atlantic Canada.
