(04/13/12) -

Canadians Look to Canucks and Senators to Bring Home Stanley Cup

The Canucks are regarded by respondents as strong and exciting, while the Toronto Maple Leafs are seen as weak and in decline.

As the Stanley Cup playoffs are set to begin, more than half of Canadians are ready to root for one of the two Canadian teams that remain in contention, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll conducted in partnership with Maclean’s has found.

The online survey of a representative national sample of 1,506 Canadian adults also shows that the Vancouver Canucks are now the third most popular team in the country after the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Cities and Teams

Respondents were asked to select which Canadian cities possessed certain positive and negative qualities. Vancouver topped the list with the most mentions for admired (50%), exciting (47%) and fresh (42%). Calgary was regarded as growing by half of Canadians (50%), and one third (32%) felt the same way about Edmonton.

Winnipeg was seen as the most undervalued (34%) and down to earth city (33%), but was also regarded as boring (47%), weak (40%) and disrespected (29%). Ottawa is rated as clean by two-in-five Canadians (42%). Toronto topped the chart as arrogant (52%), overrated (45%), strong (40%), dirty (37%) and disrespected (29%), while Montreal had the highest marks on classic (45%) and in decline (31%).

Respondents were then asked to use the same scale of qualities and apply it to the seven Canadian National Hockey League (NHL) teams that are based in the same cities they had just rated. The Vancouver Canucks were ahead of all other franchises as strong (47%), exciting (36%) and clean (26%). The Winnipeg Jets had the highest marks for fresh (46%), growing (42%), down to earth (31%) and undervalued (29%). The Montreal Canadiens got mixed reviews, with the most mentions for classic (49%), admired (36%) and dirty (25%).

The Toronto Maple Leafs are the leaders on six negative traits: weak (48%), in decline (43%), disrespected (41%), arrogant (39%), boring (38%) and overrated (also 38%). While the Leafs had the highest proportion of mentions for clean (39%), the team is tied with Montreal on dirty (25%).

Loved and Hated

The Montreal Canadiens (19%) and the Toronto Maple Leafs (17%) lead the way when Canadians are asked which is their favourite Canadian NHL team, followed by the Vancouver Canucks (11%), the Ottawa Senators (6%), the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers (both at 5%), and the Winnipeg Jets (4%). A third of Canadians (32%) say they do not have a favourite NHL team.

Among self-described hockey fans, the Leafs hold a three-point edge over the Habs (24% to 21%), followed by the Canucks (18%) and the Oilers (13%).

While half of Canadians say they do not have a most hated NHL team (51%), one-in-five (19%) mention the Leafs. The Canadiens are second on the list of despised franchises with 15 per cent, but no other Canadian team reaches five per cent on this indicator. Animosity towards the Leafs jumps to 33 per cent among self-described hockey fans.

Stanley Cup Playoffs

Respondents were provided with a list of the NHL teams that had either qualified or still had a chance to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs this year at the time the survey was taken. They were then asked to pick one team to root for in the playoffs, even if none of the remaining teams was their personal favourite.

More than a third of Canadians (35%) say they will root for the Canucks, and one-in-five (20%) will support the Senators. Across the country, 45 per cent of respondents say they would root for an American team at this point, with the most popular options being the Boston Bruins (11%), the Pittsburgh Penguins (8%) and the Detroit Red Wings (8%). It is important to note that Quebecers and Atlantic Canadians are particularly fond of the Bruins.

Support for the Canucks reaches a high of 38 per cent among Canadians aged 18-to-34, and 40 per cent among self-described hockey fans. The Senators get their best showing with middle-aged and older respondents (21% each).

Personalities

A sizeable majority of Canadians hold a favourable view of Wayne Gretzky (87%), Sidney Crosby (80%) and Mario Lemieux (78%), and three-in-five (61%) have a positive opinion of Ken Dryden. Don Cherry is a polarizing figure, with 40 per cent of Canadians saying they have a favourable opinion of the CBC analyst.

Cherry gets his best rating in Alberta (53%) and his lowest in Quebec (19%). He is also more popular with middle-aged Canadians (46%) than those over the age of 55 (34%). Self-described hockey fans also like Cherry (59%).

Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)

CONTACT:

Jaideep Mukerji, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion
+514 409 0462
jaideep.mukerji@angus-reid.com

Methodology: From April 5 to April 7, 2012, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,506 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panellists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 2.5%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Canada. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.