Social media criticizes Mark Spector for alleged xenophobic remarks against Vancouver Canucks

Sportsnet reporter Mark Spector is facing criticism from NHL fans for making remarks that they perceive as ‘xenophobic’ while talking about the Vancouver Canucks players. It all began when Mark Spector ran an ‘#AskSpec’ session on X/Twitter.

During this session, a user asked Spector for his opinion on the Vancouver Canucks and their chances of contending for the Stanley Cup in the Western Conference next season.

In response to the question, Spector shared his opinion about the Canucks. He said that they have a perfect coach for the team and players like J.T. Miller, who is an excellent leader, and captain Quinn Hughes, who has room to grow.

In terms of composition, Spector expressed the view that the Canucks need a balance. He suggested that they shouldn’t solely rely on European-skilled players but also have players from other backgrounds.

Spector specifically mentioned needing more players from a region like Saskatchewan and fewer from places like Stockholm.

This opinion from Spector didn’t go over well with NHL fans on X/Twitter. One fan expressed their discontent by tweeting that they considered his remark to be ‘xenophobic’:

“Maybe don’t say the xenophobic part out loud.”

Another fan chimed in and criticized Spector for his remarks:

“This kind of identification of playstyle with geographic origin is cheap and lazy.”

“There’s one (1) player from Saskatchewan playing in the third round. It might be time to analyze the game beyond googling each player’s hometown,” another wrote.

Many fans expressed their discontent with Mark Spector’s opinion on X.

One fan strongly disagreed with Spector’s perspective and felt that it doesn’t align with their own views on team management and player evaluation:

“Wow… this is quite the take, Spec. I already knew you never watched the games, so it’s not surprising. This is the kind of thinking that gets teams Jake Virtanens instead of William Nylanders… Time to hit the retirement home with the rest of the NHL’s Old Boys Club”

“Euro skill guys? More Saskatchewan, less Stockholm? Did you just travel back to the 70s and 80s when that was the line of thought?” one X user commented.

“cool, glad we’re still doing xenophobia in hockey analysis,” another opined.

Connor McDavid shut down Mark Spector for trying to mock him

Following the Edmonton Oilers’ Game 7 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Monday, captain Connor McDavid decided not to respond to a question posed by Mark Spector during a press conference.

Spector inquired about the Oilers’ 8-1 loss to the Canucks in the season opener during his questioning of McDavid. In response, the Oilers captain swiftly shut him down saying:

“I’m not even going to answer that. That was so long ago,” McDavid responded.”

The incident quickly gained momentum, and fans on social media began to criticize Spector for his way of questioning.