May 2013
3 posts
9 tags
Canucks' Mike Gillis and The Art of Damage Control
by Scott Taylor
Yesterday, Vancouver Canucks’ President and General Manager addressed the media in his annual post-season delivery. In the wake of a second straight embarrassing playoff exit, he had plenty to answer for. And did so in his typically uncomfortably smug and evasive style.
Unlike seasons’ past, his support of his coaching staff was not explicit - the foregone...
30 tags
End of Season Canuck Player Commentary
As we begin yet another summer of our discontent, we present our annual player-by-player commentary, an invaluable reference as the post mortem begins:
Alex Edler (signed through 2019) - In scoring the go-ahead goal in game four’s short lived comeback, Edler finally delivered - but it’s not nearly enough to compensate for a brutal playoff showing and another mediocre regular season. ...
3 tags
Canucks' Loss Exposes Lack of Leadership
by Scott Taylor
With another early playoff exit in the books, there will be the standard protestations about the coach, the general manager, the Sedins, the referees, leaky clutch goaltending, lack of secondary scoring and persistent sloppy defense. But most of all, with the Canucks crushing defeat to the San Jose Sharks, the signs of cracks in the Canuck leadership core are everywhere.
There...
April 2013
3 posts
Why Aren't Canucks' Playoff Tickets Selling?
What was once the hottest ticket in town, Vancouver Canuck playoff tickets are very much getting a ho-hum response from the ticket buying public this time around. We can think of a few reasons for this seemingly startling event.
For one, the collective fan-base is possibly drained, both emotionally and financially, from the depths of the playoff run of two seasons ago. Though it’s worth...
16 tags
How Far Can These Canucks Go?
That, of course, is the question on everyone’s mind these days, casual fan or otherwise. And at no point in Canuck history has there been such a polarized response.
As the defending two-time President’s Trophy winners and near Stanley Cup champ two years ago, this exact team, more or less, has been recently elite and on everyone’s short list to win it all.
But based on the...
12 tags
Mike Gillis and Going "All In"
After acquiring centre Derek Roy yesterday, Canucks’ Assistant General Manager, Laurence Gilman, was quoted as saying that his team was “fertile” and would be going “all in” at this trade deadline. Specifically, he expected one or two more deals to get done.
One day later, the trade deadline has expired and nothing more has happened. The typical excuses will be...
March 2013
2 posts
Canucks' Weekly Wayback - Alain Vigneault Almost...
With the panicky faithful at full froth over the Canucks’ latest struggles and the calls, from some, for the head of coach Alain Vigneault, it’s time to revisit Vigneault’s brushes with coaching death in Vancouver. Although being the most successful coach in Canuck history, the streaky performances of his teams have brought plenty of scrutiny about his coaching future through...
Does David Booth Give Canucks a Boost?
It has been over a year and a half since winger David Booth arrived in Vancouver from Florida. At the time, Booth was proclaimed as a budding power forward, one who had already netted 30 goals in a season. At 27 years of age, he was expected to be entering his prime and would be a valuable component of the team’s high octane offense.
So what kind of contribution has Booth brought so far...
February 2013
4 posts
8 tags
For the Canucks, Same Old Stories
Ryan Kesler is hurt. Again. Zack Kassian is back in the doghouse. And, the infinitely spinning goalie carousel does just that.
Kesler, whose performance had faded after an initial promising return from his latest round of injury woes, has broken a bone in his foot. The injury occurred last week in Dallas, explaining the former all-star center’s struggles in the past few games.
What...
2 tags
For Canucks, No Manny, No Problem
While Manny Malhotra’s career seems to have tragically ended, we should be careful not to overstate his on-ice value to this club.
The tragic eye injury that has derailed his career occurred nearly two years ago. In the end, only Malhotra’s first season in Vancouver was a healthy and valuable one.
During that season, the face-off whiz centered the Canucks’ most dependable third line in years and...
5 tags
Canucks' Weekly Wayback - Henrik Sedin's First NHL...
Sometime this weekend, assuming the slumbering Sedins can break out of their early season slump (or more appropriately, Alex Burrows can finally convert some of his chances), Henrik Sedin will surpass fellow Swede and former Canuck captain Markus Naslund as the team’s most effective scorer in their 42 season history.
So on that basis, this week’s wayback features Henrik’s first...
10 tags
Canucks' Ballard Finally Out of the Doghouse
When Keith Ballard arrived in Vancouver nearly three years ago, the price tag seemed high (a first round pick along with two former first rounders, Michael Grabner and Steve Bernier) and his lengthy remaining contract seemed gaudy. So justifiably, he was expected to be a top four defender; a young man, who five years into his career, had averaged over 20 minutes of ice team per game each and every...
January 2013
8 posts
17 tags
Canucks' Weekly Wayback - Flyers Brawl with Fans
Vancouver hockey fans have been witness to some of the most brutal acts of violence in hockey history. In recent times, there was the Marty McSorley head-clubbing of Donald Brashear and, of course, the Todd Bertuzzi neck-breaking of Steve Moore. And the Stanley Cup riots of 2011 are still fresh in our memories.
But the history of violence at Canuck games goes much further back. And today, with...
14 tags
Another Canucks' Season, Another Slow Start
Six games into their regular season, the Canucks performance to date has been missing the high points. And while a half-dozen games isn’t much, in this shortened season, it’s the same as the ten game mark in a full slate.
In that sense, the season so far is business as usual for this team ever since Alain Vigneault took over. In fact, in the initial ten game increments of those now...
6 tags
Lions Dismiss Face of Franchise
Okay, this is a Canucks blog, but today’s news of the BC Lions dealing Geroy Simon can’t be ignored. Any story that trumps the on-going Roberto Luongo saga cannot be denied.
Simon has been the face of the franchise for a decade, doing more on the field and, just as importantly, off the field than anyone.
The trade of Simon, who wanted to stay by the way, will be sold in the usual...
4 tags
Canuck Weekly Wayback - Alex Burrows, the...
In this week’s feature we take a peek back in the career of star winger Alex Burrows, who today will be converting to centre ice to fill the big boots of Ryan Kesler.
Ten years ago, the pesky winger was toiling away in his first pro season as a 21 year old rookie with the Greenville Grrrowl of the East Coast Hockey League. Yes, Greenville, South Carolina, noted hockey hotbed that quickly...
4 tags
Zack Kassian Making a Good Second Impression
In last season’s Canuck debut, noted young power forward Zack Kassian gave you glimpses of what he might become. Some, of course, we’re positive – the size and speed, the crazy wide-eyed gap tooth grin that every enforcer should have. But the parts of his world that allowed Buffalo to let him go also came to light. He seemed prone to inconsistency, trailing off quite easily from what he needed to...
12 tags
Why Cory Schneider Must Start Tonight & Other...
Why Schneider Must Start Tonight
If the Canucks have truly begun the Schneider era (even though the incumbent Roberto Luongo is still hanging around), he must be given a demonstrable show of support in a second straight start despite his poor play in last night’s embarrassing opening night defeat.
To do otherwise would put the franchise and this never-ending melodrama right back to square...
5 tags
Brash Burke Gets Bounced, Again...
While it’s easy to understand yesterday’s firing of Maple Leafs President and GM Brian Burke purely on a results basis, it is a most surprising turn of events in the centre of the universe. The Leafs recently came under the ownership of a huge media conglomerate, who had given Burke and his dodgy track record a thumbs up. Clearly, without a single game having been played this season,...
11 tags
For Canucks, Many Questions
Despite their two consecutive President’s Trophies and a lengthy delayed start to the season that should be of great benefit to some key banged up players, the Vancouver Canucks start the season with more questions than many teams. So with the lockout finally over, we’re back to providing you with answers.
When will Ryan Kesler return?
With the Canucks’ second line centre...
November 2012
1 post
5 tags
Canucks to Finally Honour Pavel Bure?
This weekend’s Hockey Hall of Fame (HHOF) induction ceremonies will feature the first ever celebration of a Vancouver Canuck, Pavel Bure (we’re sorry Mark Messier and Mats Sundin don’t count). But for a franchise that has made a point in recent years of celebrating its now long but mostly tortured history, the Canucks’ home rink bears almost zero indication that the dynamic Russian Rocket ever...
August 2012
1 post
2 tags
For the Canucks, More of the Mess
And while our headline could refer to the latest communication breakdown between Ryan Kesler and the Canucks’ management (which we’ll address shortly), we are, in fact, referring to the much maligned (rightfully so in Vancouver, anyway) Mark Messier. Yes, the self-annointed “greatest leader in pro sports history” has apparently been awarded $6 million in an arbitration settlement relating to a...
14 tags
Mike Gillis and the Dog Days of Summer
With the business of renewing his own contract and extending that of his coach long behind him, it was expected that this summer would be a most eventful one for Canuck General Manager Mike Gillis. After a disappointing end to a season where expectations couldn’t have been higher, it was felt there might be more than just a little tweaking to the personnel of a squad whose oppourtunity to...
July 2012
3 posts
Anonymous asked: Being critical doesn't mean being negative. Just remember that.
14 tags
Canuck Comings and Goings...
While the biggest move of the Canuck off-season has yet to transpire, there has been some recent activity that demands our commentary.
Comings
The most impactful move so far was yesterday’s signing of defenseman Jason Garrison. Garrison, a local product with less than three NHL seasons of experience, has struck it rich, signing a six-year deal for nearly $28 million – a lofty pay-day for a...
June 2012
2 posts
10 tags
Pavel Bure, Hall of Famer - At Last...
We wish to thank the Hockey Hall of Fame for finally having the good sense to induct one Pavel Bure, saving us from our annual righteous rant in support of the Russian Rocket, easily the Vancouver Canucks’ most dynamic player ever and, arguably, the most entertaining player of his generation. If you wish to be enlightened further, please consult our archives.
And while his selection is most...
May 2012
5 posts
7 tags
Bizarre Revelations from Alain Vigneault
During Wednesday’s conference call with Canuck head coach Alain Vigneault, the news of his recent contract extension was likely the least revealing tidbit for the ravenous media.
With Mike Gillis’ contract extension, the supposed debate about Alain Vigneault’s future in Vancouver was long over. All that was left to discover was the length of his stay.
Alain Vigneault, in his...
3 tags
Gillis Stands By His Man
In breaking but hardly surprising news, it was announced today that Canuck General Manager Mike Gillis has extended the contract of his coach, Alain Vigneault, for two more seasons. This means that Vigneault will be on the payroll until the end of the 2014-15 season, by which point he will have served nine years as the Canucks’ bench boss.
Once Gillis’ contract was extended by...
3 tags
A Review of Canucks' GM Mike Gillis
Today is a big day in the career of Mike Gillis; he will finally meet with Canuck ownership to review this past season. And for the reigning NHL Executive of the Year, they will be discussing much more than that as Gillis is entering the final year of his five-year contract. So clearly in the coming weeks, the team will need to offer him a contract extension or simply cut him loose. So what should...
3 tags
The Canucks in Review - A Reader Submission
One of our loyal readers (dirtbikes4me) has put together an impressive review of this Canucks’ season, which we are taking the liberty of posting here. At Critically Canuck, we are we, and not always me. Though yours truly has also taken the liberty of inserting comments because me is also we.
Apologies for the extended commentary, I hope I’m not overstepping here.
You are not. We...
3 tags
For the Canucks, AV or Not AV, that is the...
As the space in time between the end of a disappointing season and an official word from Canucks’ coach Alain Vigneault gets longer, his status becomes only more questionable.
In the season ending Mike Gillis press conference, the general manager seemingly had the back of his coach, one that he inherited upon his arrival in Vancouver. And one that has put up consecutive President’s...
April 2012
4 posts
7 tags
Luongo Will Go, Kesler is Hurt, Gillis Slams...
Today’s events in Canuckville were by far the most entertaining of the season.
Roberto Luongo, taking one for the team again, will waive his no-trade clause. He’ll also be happy to stay, whatever is best for the team. Geez, with this display of character, maybe we should keep him.
Ryan Kesler, it was revealed, is suffering from a shoulder injury as well as chronic hip pain. This...
23 tags
Canucks versus Kings - What Went Wrong?
When you’re the defending Western Conference champion and repeat President’s Trophy winner and you lose to the eighth seed in five games in the first round, you’ve got plenty of explaining to do. And in a market that loves to make mountains out of molehills, we’ve got an extended summer to pick apart this Canuck corpse.
There will be the obvious excuses like the Duncan...
17 tags
Sedins Provide Inspiration (and other Game 4...
While their teammates seemed to be desperately, but ineffectively, flailing away for much of the opening three games against the Kings, Henrik and Daniel combined for likely the most inspired effort in their careers in last night’s first playoff win.
So while Alex Edler is only working hard at keeping alive the notion that Swedes disappear come playoff time, the Sedins offered an...
13 tags
Canuck Playoff Musings
After the end of last regular season, we pondered the significance of the Canucks’ President Trophy winning performance. Despite the myths about a supposed trophy curse, the fact remains that the top seeded team is always the most likely to win the Stanley Cup.
Teams seeded either 1st or 2nd in their respective conferences have won 22 of the last 31 Stanley Cups. And in that time, not a...
March 2012
2 posts
3 tags
Canucks' Season Notable, but Unremarkable
In a regular season that finds the Canucks easily perched atop their division with an outside chance at another conference and/or regular season title, it should be hard to be disappointed. But after last season, which found the Canucks rarely taking their foot off the gas as they went essentially wire-to-wire to earn the franchise’s first ever President’s Trophy as the leading regular season...
20 tags
The Canucks and the Big Man
With last week’s stunning acquisition of young hulking winger Zack Kassian in exchange for prized rookie Cody Hodgson, the Canucks are about to add another chapter to a long running story in Vancouver: the quest for the perfect power forward.
This story has its beginning, of course, with Cam Neely, who would become the prototype for the very term. Except the Canucks didn’t know it. ...
February 2012
7 posts
9 tags
Canuck Weekly Wayback
The cursed one, Alek Stojanov. Foreshadowing things to come, he’s wearing Jim Sandlak’s #25. It’s a good thing Zack Kassian has taken #9.
With critics of this week’s trade of Cody Hodgson for Zack Kassian comparing it to the legendary Markus Naslund for Alek Stojanov fleecing (but only in reverse), it seems only fitting for us to revisit that trade in this week’s...
12 tags
Canucks Deal Cody Hodgson
In late breaking and most surprising fashion, the Canucks have dealt Cody Hodgson, the first draft pick of the Mike Gillis era and a player who showed in limited action this season that he can be a legitimate offensive force at the NHL level. Along with depth defenseman Alexander Sulzer, Hodgson heads to Buffalo for aspiring power forward Zack Kassian and defender Marc-Andre Gragnani.
We are...
12 tags
Canucks and Deadline Day
The much anticipated but typically overblown NHL trade deadline is tomorrow and with the Canucks having placed Keith Ballard and his $4 million salary on injured reserve, the speculation is that they are poised to make a big deal.
It’s easy to throw around names - Steve Ott and Dustin Brown seem to be making the rounds right now. But trade rumors are like opinions. And opinions are like...
8 tags
Canuck Weekly Wayback
As the Canucks head into Detroit tonight for a much anticipated match-up of the two top teams in the conference, this week’s wayback machine takes us to a magical night in the Motor City 30 years ago.
In those days, the Wings were league doormats and the Canucks were (though only months before their inaugural Stanley Cup Final run) simply mediocre. And on that night, the Canucks...
7 tags
Canada's Team No Match for Canada's Best Team
In what was likely, from a ratings perspective, the marquee match-up of the regular season for CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada, “Canada’s Team” (the perennially beleaguered Toronto Maple Leafs) received another beat down from Canada’s best, who according to a CBC players’ poll are also the NHL’s “most overrated”, team.
And the result should have...
12 tags
Winning Ugly
Since the climax of this regular season, the Stanley Cup rematch in Boston, the Canucks have clearly taken the foot off the gas and hit cruise control. And while they likely don’t deserve it, they find themselves on quite a run, running up a 10-2-3 record (a nifty .767 winning percentage). At this rate, they have put themselves in easy striking distance of the top seed in the conference...
7 tags
Considering Corey Perry
If you believe the rumour mill, the Canucks are serious about a pursuit of Ducks’ forward Corey Perry. In a previous post, we had mentioned that the Canucks need a physically imposing forward that can play. And in the 6’3”, 215 lb Perry that is what the Canucks would get. And more. The guy happens to be the reigning MVP and goal scoring champ.
Further, as we stated,...
January 2012
3 posts
26 tags
The Canucks' Year to Date
With the all-star break on the horizon and most of the Canucks earning a deserved week off, it seems a good time to weigh in on the season to date on a player-by-player basis:
Roberto Luongo - What better place to start than with the “franchise” goalie? After his predictable sluggish start, he has rounded into predictable dominant form. Particularly, after the Boston slight,...
12 tags
The Slow Death of Hockey Night in Canada
In the lead up to this past Saturday’s Hockey Night in Canada (HNIC) broadcast, the CBC promoted the Leafs vs. Canadiens and Oilers vs. Flames match-ups as two epic rivalries. Yes, another night of can’t miss viewing from the national broadcaster. Meanwhile, another key Canucks’ game (this time a rematch of last year’s Western Conference final) went ignored.
And paired...
4 tags
Why Cory Schneider Must Start Against Boston
Fresh word out of Canuck camp is that back-up Cory Schneider will start the most important game of the season tomorrow in Boston. Given the recent strong play of Roberto Luongo, this decision has most of the pundits confused. Here’s why they shouldn’t be.
As it relates solely to the fragile ego of the franchise goalie, there is more to be lost than gained by having Roberto face the...
December 2011
1 post
6 tags
Alain Vigneault, the Greatest?
Last week esteemed (admittedly not always around here) coach Alain Vigneault surpassed Marc Crawford as the winningest bench boss in team history. While he is the most successful coach in franchise history, declaring him the greatest is likely premature. Vigneault surpassed the win total in roughly a full season less than it took the chirpy Crawford. In the end, it’s an accomplishment...
November 2011
1 post
16 tags
Canucks Win Some, Lose Some
Just because October is over, the Canucks show no signs of shaking their Stanley Cup hangover from last season. And really, who can blame them? In the bigger games of their season, the Canucks have been able to elevate their play. And when they trail to a lousy team (like last night’s tilt with Anaheim), they can still just about rally to salvage a point.
Last season, there was an...
