John Tortorella probably noticed the trend before anyone else in the hockey world.
Standing in front of his players inside the Tampa Bay Lightning dressing room before the start of the 2004 Stanley Cup Final, the head coach gave a memorable and passionate speech. Tortorella told his players to relax before facing the Calgary Flames, because the Canadian team would be the one facing all of the external pressure.
It didn't matter that his Lightning team had finished first in the Eastern Conference with 106 points, while the Flames were the sixth seed from the Western Conference with just 94 points. The American-born coach masterfully changed the dynamics of the series, by painting his club as the underdog inside the dressing room.
"It was something we tried to perpetuate in Tampa. John Tortorella, at the beginning of that series, he kept putting the pressure on Calgary," explains Jay Feaster, who was the general manager of the Lightning at the time.
"He constantly talked to our team there and said 'Look at the pressure on them. All of Canada wants them to win and needs them to win. There's no pressure on us.' There is no question that is part of the strategy Torts employed in 2004."
I had a chance to speak with Feaster a few months ago. And I was fascinated by the fact that American teams played the pressure card when taking on Canadian opponents in the playoffs.
Vincent Lecavalier remembers being inside the dressing room and hearing Tortorella's words. He and his teammates never felt the pressure -- even when the Flames took a 3-2 series lead with Game 6 at the Saddledome in Calgary. There was never a sense of panic for the Lightning because they always felt relaxed and confident.
"There was a lot of hype in Canada with Calgary in the Stanley Cup Final. The whole country is talking about it and wanting to win," remembers Lecavalier. "There was a lot of pressure on them. With Tampa being a smaller market, the pressure actually was more on them. It made it easier for us to breathe, I guess."
Sitting across from Lecavalier in that Lightning locker room was Cory Stillman, an underrated forward who scored 80 points for Tampa Bay in their championship season. After winning the Stanley Cup with the Lightning, Stillman signed a free agent contract with the Carolina Hurricanes.
In the spring of 2006, Stillman once again found himself in the same situation: playing for a southern American team against a Canadian opponent in the Stanley Cup Final.
So when his Hurricanes faced the Edmonton Oilers, Stillman knew exactly which team was going to face the pressure, even though his team won their division with 112 points and the Oilers squeaked into the post-season.
"People in the southern states cheer for their team, but in Canada, they cheer for their team and when they're out, they cheer for the next Canadian team. And when we played against Calgary and we played against Edmonton, it was Canada's team. And they do feel that pressure that's talked about," says Stillman.
The Hurricanes eventually defeated the Oilers in Game 7 to bring a second consecutive championship to the much-maligned Southeast Division. For Stillman, however, this rare feat brought him very little recognition on the streets of Raleigh.
"For me, I was on two southern teams that played two Canadian teams and beat them -- but people forget that you won Stanley Cups," says Stillman with a laugh. "But if I had been on back-to-back teams that won from Calgary and Edmonton, people would know who you are. That's the difference between playing in Canada and playing down here."
That discrepancy in fan passion was on display again the following season, when the Ottawa Senators met the Anaheim Ducks in the 2007 Stanley Cup Final. The Senators had finally reached the final round of the NHL playoffs, after almost a decade of being labeled as a legitimate contender.
After Ottawa defeated Buffalo in the conference final, an estimated 5,000 fans showed up at the airport to greet the team. There was a buzz and excitement level around the nation's capital that was in stark contrast to the conservative government image. A strip on Elgin Street had been designated 'The Sens Mile', a place where tens of thousands of fans would congregate on a game night.
But when Anaheim hosted the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final, it was done with little fanfare. There were no obvious signs that the NHL's biggest playoff series was being staged in Southern California. Outside of the Honda Center before Game 1, there was a group of fans who staged a ball hockey game as part of some pre-game tailgating festivities. Naturally, they had driven all the way down from Ottawa.
And not surprisingly, the Ducks would go on to defeat the Senators in five games to capture their first Stanley Cup.
So when the Vancouver Canucks face-off against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night, it's only natural to assume that the Canadian team will be the ones dealing with all of the pressure. After all, the Canucks were the President's Trophy winners and a trendy pre-season pick to win the Stanley Cup this season. Vancouver's fan base now has the reputation of being one of the most passionate in the National Hockey League. Just try getting a ticket for a Tuesday night game in November against the New York Islanders. Good luck.
But for the first time during this Cup drought in Canada, you can argue the American team is going to be dealing with a significant amount of the pressure. Boston is one of the top hockey markets in the United States and like the Canucks; they are trying to erase a Stanley Cup drought that is in the neighbourhood of 40 years.
They don't critique the power play in Carolina and Tampa Bay. I'm not sure they even knew who Scott Niedermayer was in Anaheim before he signed there as a free agent. But in Boston, you can bet they know their hockey. I've heard them boo Tomas Kaberle this spring. I've listened to the restless moaning every time the power play takes to the ice. If I closed my eyes and didn't know any better, I'd swear I was in a Canadian city.
And while the Hurricanes, Lightning and Ducks didn't feel any external pressure, it will be there in spades for the Bruins -- who just happen to be the only pro sports team in the area without a championship in the past decade.
On the New England sports scene, the Patriots won three Super Bowls. The Red Sox ended 86 years of futility thanks to a bloody sock. And 'The Big Three' delivered a green and white championship banner to the rafters of the TD Garden for the first time.
But the Bruins?
They've been defined by failure and underachieving in the past few years. It's hard to forget Scott Walker's overtime goal in 2009, and the epic collapse in Philadelphia. So when the team fell into an 0-2 hole against the Montreal Canadiens this spring, the vultures were circling yet again. The critics were also ready to fire Claude Julien and demand massive changes if they blew the series against Tampa Bay in the conference final. Fortunately, Nathan Horton spared his head coach having to answer questions about his future…..at least for two more weeks.
They aren't asking for a Stanley Cup in Boston this spring. They are demanding it. And if they come up short against Vancouver, don't be surprised if the harshest Boston fans and media start asking the same questions they were a few weeks ago. Is Claude Julien the right coach to lead this team? Did we give up too much for Tomas Kaberle? Is our window to win a Stanley Cup closing?
So Claude Julien can try and play the pressure card like John Tortorella did seven years ago. But this time, I'm not sure the players inside the locker room will believe it.
