Conspiracy theories in the NHL

As a Canucks fan, I have heard some of the conspiracy theories that have popped up over the years. These theories have been fueled by earlier believers. They keep saying how certain incidents would be handled differently if the teams were reversed. This is almost always followed by instances of reversed roles with outcomes that seem to match the predictions. Ultimately, these seemingly accurate predictions convinces more people that there must be a conspiracy.


I have already written about how human nature can explain conspiracy theories. Due to the media's preferential treatment of the northeast, the Canucks lack of marketability in that region, and the influence the media can have on officials and anyone else subjected to their deception, there is no doubt in my mind that the Canucks face a significant unfair disadvantage in the league. What we have seen is not a conspiracy, but there is some validity to the conspiracy theories.

The league itself is corrupt and biased. We saw a really good example of that when the league put together two years of drafting into one with a lottery system. It was well established that the league wanted Sidney Crosby to go to the New York Rangers. When they announced the nonsensical rules of the draft, the Rangers were among the most likely teams to land him.

A lot of people insist that the league rigged the draft to put Crosby in a Penguins jersey. If this were true, why did they bother to shift the odds in favor of the Rangers? This has turned into a conspiracy theory that I completely disagree with, but the reason I don't believe there was a conspiracy is because of actions that I view as unethical. The league made a decision to play favorites.

There have been a lot of people, primarily among those who support teams in the media's favorite markets, who dismiss the uneven tendencies in the league. They argue that officials are unbiased, even though neutrality is impossible. They also insist that officials do not have an impact on outcomes. Of course, why would officials even exist if their jobs had no effect on the games they oversee?

I personally find that an uneven league that plays favorites to the northeast is far more realistic than officials defying human nature. There is no all-out conspiracy, but there is no question that the Canucks are at a disadvantage in the league. Perhaps that's why I like them so much. When they win, you know they deserved it.