GM Blames Refs For Toronto Playoff Collapse

The Vancouver Canucks were on the verge of sweeping the Chicago Blackhawks, holding a 3-0 lead prior to Game 4 at the United Center. Since then, they’ve been in freefall and now face a decisive Game 7 tonight on their home ice. They looked awful in Games 4 and 5 and although they played better in Game 6 there were plenty of mistakes to go around. Canucks’ GM Mike Gillis isn’t focusing on his team’s shortcomings in trying to explain Vancouver’s predicament, opting instead for the tried and true-he’s blaming the officiating.

Gillis even served up some very shaky math to explain why his team is getting the short end of the stick from the refs:

“I thought we played our superior game of the series last night. I felt that if it would have been a level playing field, we would have won the game. We were lucky to get into overtime the way things occurred during the game. We directed 85 pucks at their net. If we would have had any power plays whatsoever it probably could have been 100.”

“We’ve had the best team during the regular season and that was the best game they’ve played last night during the whole year. And so, for us to come away with a loss is shocking to me. That’s what happens. I’m very confident if we play the same way tomorrow evening and it’s a level playing field that we’ll win the game.”

“I’m not sure how you explain that discrepancy, but we’re going to be very hard-pressed to win hockey games if throughout an entire series when the score is tight, they get 75 percent more power plays than we do. And that’s just the reality. That’s the facts that we’re facing. You look at the previous game last night, you guys all watched it, you don’t need me to comment about what occurred in that hockey game. But when you break down the video, there are some extraordinary plays to explain given what’s gone on.”

Without getting into the specifics of Gillis’ numbers, the biggest problem with his analysis is readily apparent-it doesn’t consider the fact that Vancouver has made any number of boneheaded plays during the series. It also presumes that the Canucks are a vastly superior team to the Blackhawks and such shenanigans from the referees are necessary to keep them in the series. While it’s obvious that Chicago underachieved during the regular season, in terms of talent these teams are evenly matched.

A more likely scenario is that Gillis is just trying to deflect media attention from his players who don’t need the added pressure of press scrutiny as they try to avoid one of the more dubious postseason tank jobs in hockey history. The current NHL futures have the Canucks installed as -165 home ice favorites with takeback on the Blackhawks at +145.

Michael Phelps is a freelance writer and noted authority on bookmaking software sports sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a giraffe. He is currently working on an autobiography of former Obama’s science advisor John Holdren.