July 2011
3 posts
3 tags
Pavel Bure - Hall of Famer (Part 2 of 2)
For those just joining us, in Part 1 we laid out the accomplishments of one Pavel Bure. Since that time we’ve been considering the qualifications of inductees to the Hockey Hall of Fame (HHOF) with the aim of determining what exactly it takes to gain admittance to the holy shrine.
We’d love to dissect the hall and remodel it, rightfully moving some that are “in” out and...
June 2011
18 posts
3 tags
Pavel Bure - Hall of Famer (Part 1 of 2)
We’re not going to get into any mud slinging about this year’s Hockey Hall of Fame inductees, who can each be proclaimed worthy on some reasonable basis. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that three of them spent a good portion of their careers in the centre of the hockey universe. If Pavel Bure had played his Vancouver years in a Leaf jersey instead, we wouldn’t be back on our...
5 tags
Ehrhoff Says More Money, Less Winning
Just because Christian Ehrhoff’s contractual rights were dealt today to the New York Islanders doesn’t mean absolutely that he’ll wide up in Wang’s World (thanks Sandlak) when the season starts, but the simple fact that he reportedly turned down the same offer that Kevin Bieksa got (including a no trade clause) is mind boggling.
There is no doubt that Ehrhoff will command...
5 tags
Big Bucks for Bieksa
Well, dear readers, it seems Mike Gillis must have checked our UFA (Unrestricted Free Agent) poll results from last week. You all selected Kevin Bieksa as the player who should most definitely be re-signed. And today he accepted a five year, $23 million dollar deal that will pay him an average salary of $4.6 million per year.
Given his play of the last half season and playoffs, Bieksa has...
5 tags
What to do with Bobby Lou?
Yep, it wouldn’t be the off-season without more musings about Roberto Luongo, who ought to have “Love” etched on one goalie pad with “Hate” suitably adorned on the other. It seems no matter what Luongo does, he’s always the centre of attention and easily the most polarizing figure in Canuck history. You have to wonder sometimes if he likes it that way.
After...
10 tags
Canucks' Nine Men Out {Poll Question}
With the Canucks’ longest season ever finally over, the off season will seem incredibly brief. And for Mike Gillis and staff, there is literally no time to pause; they must get down to business now. On July 1, nine of the Canucks will become unrestricted free agents, meaning they are able to sign with any other team. You would think that given this season’s success, the team will...
3 tags
The Surreal City Streets of Canuck Nation
Standing at the intersection of Granville and Robson at midnight a full four hours after the Canucks’ game two win, it was easy to get swallowed up by the collective good vibrations from the epicentre of it all. So moved by this experience, we were motivated to prepare a blog entry to celebrate this uniquely Vancouver happening.
But we couldn’t finish it. Just as our faith in...
5 tags
It's Finally Over
And while we had hoped this headline might apply to the Canucks’ franchise 40 year Stanley Cup drought, we are relieved that this season (the longest ever in team history) has finally come to an end.
And while, upon reflection, it will become a season to celebrate, right now it’s impossible to feel anything but disappointment.
The players and coaches will all say the right things...
Anonymous asked: stay out of trouble. it could get pretty freaky down there. i don't know how to feel about the game. i'm cheering for the city and the fans, but not the players. they are not a true Canuck team in my estimation - no one to hero worship among them.
11 tags
For Canucks, Nothing Matters, But What If It Did?
After another decisive road loss during a post season that has had its share of dizzying heights and now back-breaking lows (with all apologies to Mason Raymond), the members of good ship Canuck were all heard to declare they had once again turned the page and were only thinking about game 7. At this time of year, there are no lessons to learn, no fires to be lit, just keep marching on. Alfred...
12 tags
Win One More
So what kind of Canucks’ blog goes two days between posts with a Stanley Cup hanging in the balance? Well, this one. And for that we apologize. But these are almost unprecedented times, and Friday’s game left us a little speechless. And our weekend at Hockey Night in Canada’s “Play-On 4 on 4” street hockey tourney had us distracted, mentally and mostly...
16 tags
Armchair Alain Vigneault
In light of the Canucks’ disastrous trip to Boston, we expect some significant line-up tweaks from the occasionally esteemed Coach Vigneault.
During the last Canucks’ meltdown (the first round near suicide swoon against Chicago), we threw out some ideas for roster changes (see our April 23rd posting where we recommended reuniting Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows and starting Cory...
7 tags
Beatdown in Beantown
Clearly, there is no easy path to the glory. And if there is, the Canucks mostly refuse to follow it. And when they do, they get dragged into the alley.
Yes, there is plenty wrong in Canuck land right now. Roberto Luongo seems incapable of making a big save to bail out a team that has its hands full at the other end. The NHL is allowing the Bruins to turn this series into an after-the-whistle...
6 tags
Aaron Rome Must Be Burning
Today the overlords at the NHL discipline department did the unprecedented. Yes, in the Colin Campbell era, there was never this type of expediency and over-reaching.
You must feel for Aaron Rome, a player with a clean record and a player who was in interim discipline chief Mike Murphy’s words, involved in a “typical hockey play”. However, said play happened nearly a full...
4 tags
Broken Stick + Broken Power Play + Christy's...
After what could only be considered a successful first period, the Canucks’ world unraveled. And when it was all over the Canucks were the victims of the second biggest Stanley Cup Final blow out in NHL history. Meanwhile, Premier Christy Clark was seen lighting an Olympic cauldron.
And while we certainly expected the Bruins to finally get some puck luck, we didn’t expect the...
9 tags
Bruins Unlucky, But Unlikely to Win
With the Canucks in full command of a series that they could just as easily be trailing two games to nothing, you have to like their chances to finish off the Bruins sooner rather than later.
No doubt the Boston faithful feel that their team is most unlucky to be returning to Beantown without at least a split. Both games have been tightly contested and decided by the slimmest of margins. With...
2 tags
More Manny Malhotra Miracle Madness...
We hate having to jump on board this story, but at this point you have to ask yourself, what is more miraculous, Manny’s recovery or the infinite legs that this story seems to have?
In his very short time here, Malhotra, a one-time prized prospect, first round draft pick and a player on his third team in three years, is now the most celebrated perserverance poster boy amongst his teammates,...
13 tags
Another Stanley Cup Game One Gem for Canucks...
Okay, so there’s only been three. But they’ve all been memorable and entertaining games decided on literally the game’s final play.
Last night’s tilt ended in somewhat similar fashion to the Canucks’ last game one Stanley Cup Final appearance, when another Greg Adams overtime winner earned the Canucks (and mostly Kirk McLean with 52 saves) another clutch...
3 tags
The Waiting Has Been the Hardest Part
Let’s get on with it already. Outside of the hockey hotbeds of Vancouver and Boston, you can bet that the typical hockey fan must be thinking there is no Stanley Cup Final this year.
In case you’ve been distracted with all the hype about Manny Maholtra’s supposed miracle recovery or the debate about whose fans will spend the most money to watch this year’s Cup Final,...
