TAKE ME TO YOUR CAPTAIN

With our "Waiting for Stanley" theme in mind, I thought it would be fitting to look at why my favorite team (Canucks) hasn't hoisted that elusive cup yet. It didn't take a lot of research to find that it must be our Captains fault. Not because Markus is a bad guy or anything but the fact is, he's not Canadian. The Dallas Stars, with Derian Hatcher wearing the "C" are the only Stanley Cup champions to have had a non-Canadian captain. As it stands right now, four of the six Canadian teams have European Captains, with only the Alberta teams flying the red and white at present. Interestingly, they are the only Canadian teams in recent years to make it to the finals and only a game away from bringing home the Jug both times. Same goes for the Canucks in '94, with Linden sporting the "C". The last Canadian team to win the Cup....Montreal, with Guy Carbonneau as captain. Coincidence?? I think not.

Is this the reason Ottawa (alfredsson) can't get past the first round, the Leafs (Sundin) past the second, the Canadians without a sniff since Koivu took over, my Canucks (Naslund) not getting past a team with a Canadian captain in the last five years of the playoffs??

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a beaver hugging patriot or anything even close but I'm calling Dave Nonis as soon as I'm done here to enlighten him on my findings, so don't be suprised to see Trevor Linden with a "C" on his jersey again this season.