Yes I know there is nothing innocent about a conspiracy. The word conspire means to plan ahead with forethought. It seems innocence has nothing to do with it. Yet there exists a conspiracy in the NHL based on favoritism and a total lack of objectivity. It is painfully obvious to many. Allow me to explain. Sports in general are a passion for many people. It may be baseball, football, hockey, soccer or any other sport but it can cause emotions to run high as rivalries between teams to develop. There are many of these rivalries in sports, the feuds between Oakland and Denver in the NFL comes to mind. Then there’s the hatred that exists in baseball between the Red Sox and the Yankees. These rivalries pale by comparison when you examine the rivalry between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Hockey is Canada’s national sport and passion. Full disclosure I’m a proud Habs fan who grew up in Montreal and I’ve had the thrill of watching my team hoist the ultimate prize, the Stanley Cup 14 times. I’ve witnessed the intensity of the rivalry over a lifetime. I’ve seen friends lose friendships and family members not talk to each other as they defend their respective teams. In Canadian hockey some fans boast of the Edmonton Calgary rivalry and its intensity but it’s not even close to the intense feelings between Toronto and Montreal fans.
To understand the feelings of hatred Leaf fans have for Habs fans and vice versa you need to know the history. Like a tale of two cities Montreal and Toronto are close geographically but from a hockey perspective far apart. Toronto is Canada’s largest city and the province of Ontario, the largest Anglophone population base. Montreal is in Quebec, Canada’s next largest city with predominantly a Francophone population base. Although both cities are not dissimilar in size in terms of hockey they are light years apart. Not only do you have the dynamics of an intense hockey rivalry you also have the dynamics of cultural differences.
In terms of hockey history the Leafs have been the poor cousins for a long time. Their last Stanley Cup was in 1967 and they’ve missed the playoffs for six years in a row, an embarrassment to most Leaf fans. In terms of overall record the Leafs are a.500 team. To add salt to the wounds a recent ESPN poll of 122 cities voted Toronto the worst sports city in North America.
The Montreal Canadiens are one of the most storied franchises in hockey and in professional sports. They have won 24 Cups and only trail the Yankees in terms of championships. To put things in perspective they are 1100 games over.500 which equates to winning every game for 14 seasons more than the Leafs. They dominate the Hall of Fame and have players with more cup rings than the Leafs have in their entire history. They were so strong that the NHL had to change penalty rules as they scored too many goals. In short the Canadiens have more Cups than anyone and will never be caught.
Then there are the cultural differences I mentioned earlier. There have been tensions in the past and many Quebecers have wanted to separate from Canada. The dominant sports networks CBC and TSN both located in Toronto. Our national broadcasts are almost always the Leafs a non-playoff team for six years, as they always pander to the major market. TSN, commonly referred to as the Toronto Sports Network are really a Regional Network and are easily confused with a Leaf cheering section. Some believe they have Leaf underwear on for their broadcasts. On their web site Canadians are constantly bombarded with irrelevant sport stories usually focused on the Leafs. When the Leafs Manger rides a jet, there is a story. When a leaf Manger sits on a camel there’s a story. When a Leaf player thinks he had a concussion last year there’s story. The rest of the country doesn’t care but the Toronto Sports Network knows where their bread is buttered and its painfully obvious. They bombard the country with irrelevant Leaf games and rarely provide National coverage of the most successful franchise in hockey history.
In addition on TSN hockey board’s fans have an opportunity to vent frustrations and provide opinions. The problem is it’s not equal opportunity. Leaf posters have full reign to insult players, teams and fans. I’ve been on these boards where French Canadians are referred to as sewer rats, liars, cowards and rioters with seemingly free reign. When a Habs fan does the same moderators block the post. Use your imagination of which team these moderators based in Toronto support. When ESPN provided poll results of Toronto voted worst sports city in North America TSN never even mentioned the story. If it would have been Montreal they’d still be reporting it. Go on their web site tsn.ca and try and find the poll and you won’t even find it. Regional networks protect their regional interests. This further aggravates feelings of ill will and enables an obvious bias against French Canadians and Habs fans in general.
To explain the innocent conspiracy that exists with the Reffs in the NHL I want to tell you about some kids in both provinces. In Ontario there were many young Leaf fans born many years ago. They were not all Leaf fans but it’s reasonable to assume that most were. There’s Stephen from North Bay, there’s Tim from Toronto and Bill from Guelph. Then there’s Dan from London Ontario and Paul from Guelph as well. Mike from North Bay was probably raised a Leaf fan as was Kevin from Kincardine. The there’s Dean another Peterborough kid and Wes from Georgetown.
Most of these young men were born into families who loved their Leafs. They wore the Leaf colors before they could walk. They bounced on their Dad’s knee on the traditional Saturday night games, a rite of passing in Ontario. Any man in Ontario less than 45 years old has never seen his Leafs win a Cup, the ultimate prize. No parades, no trophy and no victory party for these fans. While these young fans felt the constant sting of failure their natural enemy, the Montreal Canadiens had all the glory. It was the Habs planning the parades, enjoying the victory parties and admiring the cups. Their envy and resentment for the Habs and their fans continued to fester. Anyone who knows hockey in Canada knows the degree of contempt that Leaf fans have for the Habs and Quebec in general.
Some of these angry, envious young men grew up bleeding blue. One day they found themselves wearing the stripes Referees wear. Stephen from North Bay, Tim from Toronto, Bill from Guelph, Don from London, Paul from Guelph, Mike from North Bay, Kevin from Kincardine, Dean from Peterborough and Wes from Georgetown are or were reffs in the NHL. In fact the majority of reffs in the NHL are from Ontario and grew up as Leaf fans hating the Habs with a passion. There are some reffs from Quebec as well but you don’t generally resent someone you beat all the time and there are fewer of them.
To further understand the innocent conspiracy let’s examine the facts. The Montreal Canadiens are a small finesse team built on speed. Their coach focuses on positional play and discourages goons and goon tactics. As many Habs fans will tell you the team is too soft and gets pushed around too often without retaliation. The team has no real tough guys and is usually outsized. The team is a consistent playoff performer. So how does a small soft team lead the league in penalties last year and the year before? Add to this a coach who discourages fighting and focuses on positional play. Usually penalties are the result of being out of position.
The Leafs have been built by Brian Burke a Manger who encourages tough play and truculence as he describes it. Over the last two years the Leafs have had far fewer penalties and far more power play advantages, in fact the numbers are staggering. How does a team built on toughness that finishes 29th and 22nd in the last two years fare so much better in terms of penalties than the small, soft, speedy Habs? In a recent game against the Rangers the Habs had 10 penalties and the Rangers had two. The outcry from disgusted Habs fans is still ringing. The two reffs were Tim from Toronto and Dean from Peterborough Ontario. They are part of what many hockey fans call the ORA or Ontario Reffs Alumni and its obvious what’s going on.
Although it sounds like an oxymoron I use the term ‘innocent conspiracy’ for a reason. I don’t believe reffs form Ontario sit down and plan to make bad calls against the Habs. I don’t believe for a minute that they have an evil agenda. That’s why the conspiracy is innocent. What I do believe is that it’s virtually impossible for these reffs to be objective and it shows on the ice. How can they grow up hating the Habs, resenting their success and look at that CH on the crest and be totally objective.
How do you explain all these penalties? How do you explain all these phantom calls the Leafs benefit from that every non leaf fan jokes about. I’ve been across this great country for coast to coast at least 50 times and you hear it everywhere, its common knowledge and its turning our national sport into a farce. The solution is simple but not practical reffs from Ontario should not reff Habs or Leaf games as they lack objectivity and that’s painfully obvious. I know it would further complicate travel schedules but it would sure make for better, fair hockey that all Canadians could enjoy. It’s time for the NHL to wake up for as it is now we have the worst and most bias officiating in professional sports.
