No one has nailed down what to call it yet, but what will likely be a rivalry for years to come will begin tonight. The Vancouver Canucks are ending their six-game road trip with a visit to the Emerald City before they come home.
The I-5 rivalry? Cascadia Clash? Spoke w/@Bik650 from @Sportsnet650 ahead of tonight’s @Canucks/@SeattleKraken game. “I don’t know if the rivalry will translate to the ice immediately. It’s going to require the Kraken and the Canucks to be in the playoffs.” Deets on @CityNewsVAN.
— Sonia Aslam (@SoniaSAslam) October 23, 2021
When it comes to name, the I-5 rivalry is being tossed out there, but Bik Nizzar — host with our sister station Sportsnet 650 — doesn’t think that works for everyone.
“That’s not good for people up north because we don’t have an I-5. Maybe Cascadia Clash or something like that, something that’s region specific. I don’t necessarily even like Pacific Northwest, we need something that features both sides of the border. I think Cascadia Clash is probably the best one so far that I’ve heard.”
Nizzar says when the teams line up on paper, the Canucks have a good shot this season of taking down the Kraken.
“As far as how the teams stack up, Seattle is going to be very, very strong defensively, although it hasn’t necessarily been borne out of the results so far. The Canucks certainly have a strong chance tonight.”
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The goal is to get the Vancouver/Seattle match-up to the levels of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens, but as Nizzar points out, most intense battles like that begin in the post-season.
“There’s no rooted rivalry. Generally speaking, you need playoffs to spark all of that. As much as I want it to be a rivalry right away, I don’t know if it will be on the ice. It certainly will be amongst the fans and maybe the cities and the politicians and whatnot, but I don’t know if that will translate to the ice immediately. It’s going to require the Seattle Kraken and the Canucks to be in the playoffs and hopefully match up against each other and then it will grow from there. It’ll be a nice start, I’m sure, I imagine Seattle will be more fired up than Vancouver out of day 1 but as far as immediate rivalry, it’s the goal to get it to a place like the Battle of Alberta, but I don’t know if it starts there.”
I accept @jjhorgan. You are on. I have confidence that @SeattleKraken will beat @Canucks tonight. I look forward the victory (and the salmon).
Thank you for the welcome to @NHL. I look forward to many years of spirited competition in this new NW rivalry. https://t.co/r9VOmmrSj0
— Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) October 23, 2021
When it comes to Vancouver’s recent rivals, it hasn’t been typically based on geography.
“It’s been the Chicago Blackhawks — that’s something that’s rooted in playoffs. You can even go back to Colorado-Detroit, it’s been rooted through playoffs, and not necessarily where they are on the NHL map. The Canucks are generally the little brother in a lot of rivalries. If you go to Calgary, they care about Edmonton more. If you try to create a rivalry with Edmonton, they care about Calgary more. This, to me, is finally someone that’s on Canucks fans equal footing and I think Seattle fans are going to get it too right away. I think Seattle fans are targeted Vancouver.
Traditionally, Seattle sports would also look at California teams, so I think it’s really going to matter that Seattle tries to get one over on a Canadian team. This is going to be a shared partnership between the fans and I think both sides are really excited.”
Off the ice, John Horgan and Washington state Governor Jay Inslee have agreed to a wager proposed by B.C.’s premier. They’re betting on fresh B.C. sockeye salmon.
The Canucks meet three times this regular season. The next game is at Rogers Arena on Dec. 27 and then again on Jan. 1 in Seattle.