Vancouver Canucks' 5 Most Hated Opponents

As with any sport, the Vancouver Canucks have their fair share of rivals.  

Continually playing four or six games against most of these teams, and a hard-fought playoff battle to follow, only makes each rivalry more intense.  

If the Canucks plan on going all the way to win their first Stanley Cup this time, they'll most likely have to battle against one or more of these opponents again.  

The following identifies the Canucks' five most hated opponents.  

5. Edmonton Oilers

Six games per year against any team is bound to create some intensity.  

Although this hasn't been the most heated rivalry of late, back in the day, these two teams truly hated each other; bringing us back to the day in 2008 that saw the last 40 seconds of the game take over eight minutes due to line brawls.  

You know a team has gotten under your skin when a classy guy like Trevor Linden drops the mitts.  

As mentioned, this rivalry has fizzled over the past few years, but when the Oilers start challenging the Canucks for the Northwest title (and with the plethora of young talent, they will), you can expect the hatred between these two teams to pick up again.  

4. Calgary Flames

As the Calgary Flames continue to age and inch closer to a rebuild, the hatred between these two will certainly diminish, but nobody's informing the fans of that.  

Whether it's because of the amount of crossover between the two cities or something else, Vancouver and Calgary fans truly dislike each other.  

Perhaps in the future when the Flames become a threat in the Northwest, the players will feel it as much as the fans.  

3. San Jose Sharks

Although these two teams don't play each other as much as Vancouver and Calgary or Edmonton, the San Jose Sharks are definitely worthy of this list.  

Every game between these two teams is a hard-battled, physical bout. Vancouver got the best of San Jose in last year's Western Conference finals, but were left beaten and battered for the remainder of their run.   

Since that playoff series, each rematch has been a thriller. If these two teams end up battling in the first round this season, which is very possible, we can expect it to be one of the more physical matchups of the whole postseason.  

2. Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks are not only one of the Canucks' biggest rivals, but the two make up one of the biggest rivalries in the league.  

Any teams that face each other in the playoffs three consecutive years will grow to despise each other, and that's exactly what stemmed the Canucks-Blackhawks rivalry.

If the Canucks win in the first round and St. Louis is defeated in an upset, these two teams could be in for a fourth straight playoff matchup, which will only be more intense and physical after a cheap shot by Duncan Keith took the Canucks' leading goal scorer, Daniel Sedin, out of the lineup.  

1. Boston Bruins

The Stanley Cup finals were a true battle last year, and the result of it was an incredible amount of hatred between the Vancouver Canucks and the Boston Bruins. 

It's often hard to keep up inter-conference rivalries such as this, but in their only game played this season, we saw that neither team has forgotten what it was like last spring.  

This season's rematch saw 107 penalty minutes and a low hit by Brad Marchand that injured Sami Salo and resulted in a suspension.  

Unless these two teams make it to the finals again, we can expect the hatred to lessen as the years pass. But in the small chance of a Vancouver vs. Boston final, prepare for the bloodshed.