NHL Wheel Of Justice - A Fun Way To Determine Suspensions

A recent demonstration of NHL infractions suspensions has most of us believing that either Brendan Shanahan either is told how many games to suspend violating players by NHL management or he goes to a Wheel and spins it to determine how long of a suspension he'd mete out. So some industrious guy with a lot of time on his hands came up with this:

NHL Wheel Of Justice

After all deliberate intent doesn't mean a hill of beans in this league, regardless of contact or not. Edler gets 4 games for a phantom head-hit while a deliberate attempt by Joffrey Lupul to elbow Henrik Sedin who ducked out of the way doesn't warrant anything - the refs said "If no contact was made, then no penalty can be called." But au contraire, my dear blind zebra. Take a look at this video: (courtesy of Canuck friends from Legion of Blog TV)

Lupul impacts poor Nazem Kadri. I believe there was intent there. Should Lupul not be suspended for hitting Kadri? Intent to Injure Teammate?

With non-calls like this and the lack of an unsportsmanlike on Brad Marchand the day after, I would have to say the NHL Player Safety Commissioner is throwing darts blindfolded.

I figure this would have come out if Lupul had actually made contact with Henrik Sedin's head and ended up concussing him for the rest of the season.

Sounds about right.

Common Sense & Discretion Not Present - Milan Lucic Assaulted By Drunken Jack-Ass.

Most of you know that this is a Vancouver Canucks Fan-Blog and as such I write about things that concern the Vancouver Canucks but this is a slight against Vancouver fans because one drunken jackass took it too far after the 6-2 drubbing that the Canucks gave the visiting Boston Bruins.

In all the articles and crap about Milan Lucic being assaulted in a Vancouver bar that he and his Bruin buddies went to, there was no onus on Lucic have any common-sense about being in a Granville Street Bar after midnight. Anybody who has lived in Vancouver knows that Granville Street after midnight is not the place to be and if you are one of the misfortuned enough to be in the area after midnight, you keep your head down, make yourself as inconspicuous a target as possible and get the hell out of there. You don't go doing like Milan Lucic and start being a tough guy; no matter how much you are a tough guy or do that kind of physical play on the ice surface. I really don't give a crap if he pounded Mike Komisarek into the ice surface and made him take up roughly the same surface area as a Sham-wow. You retaliate in a jackass manner (by hollering back at the assailant) and you just make yourself a bigger target. In that regard there wasn't a drunken jackass and Milan Lucic in this video - there were two drunken jackasses with one making death threats. As for the "I'll fucking kill you." That's a verbal threat and is indictable under the Canadian Criminal Code. Of course the Crown has to determine whether the threat was serious or not, but considering that it came from a hockey player with a penchant for dropping the gloves on the ice and verbally abusing his girlfriend Boston Barstool Sports.com article on Lucic Verbal Altercation, the Vancouver cops might want to take a good look at the death-threat and verbally warn him that the behavior will not be tolerated.

Do I like him as a player? Not particularly and the hate for him as a Bruin does not translate into any dealings with him as a person. Frankly put, I don't know the guy (in answer to his "Do You Know Who I Am?" rant) and would care less about him if I ran into him on the street and that pretty much goes for most hockey players. Outside of the arena, they're normal citizens and should be held to the same standards as normal citizens. I don't feel that the guy who assaulted Lucic had any legitimate reason for doing so and should be arrested for assault and charged.

As far as his pissy "I'm gonna disown Vancouver", then his penitent retraction. I really don't give a flying shit about it anyway. Just remember that Vancouver remembers 2011 and there will be people who don't like Lucic. And he has to realize that common-sense should have prevailed and to not have put himself into a situation where there was the opportunity to be assaulted. In that regard, he is stupid. If he really wanted to he should have spent a quiet night in the hotel, sent out for food and then got on the plane and headed back to Boston.

I may not have been born in this city (I'm originally from Edmonton - moved to Vancouver in 1976 but have been a Canucks fan since 1970), but I am a Vancouverite more than I will ever be an Edmontonian (though it was the city of my birth). In 43 years of life, I've spent more time in British Columbia than I have in any other province in Canada. And when someone born in Vancouver slights "MY" adopted hometown as Milan Lucic has, I can pretty much tell him to "take yourself and go. Leave if you don't like this city. Set your roots in Boston if you feel that way. You put yourself into the situation that you did with the bar incident." Comparing what stupid idiots did to your church and to your parents doesn't compute with the situation that you put yourself into. What was done to your parents you can be indignant about, what you did to yourself in putting yourself in a situation that you could have easily avoided is just plain stupidity.

Oh, Yes... Someone Went There.

In Vancouver, there is an insane hate-on for Brad Marchand. He was the little s*** that speed-bagged Danny's (Sedin) head in the 2011 Stanley Cup finals and on top of that he low-bridged Sami Salo during the meetup in Boston in 2012 sending Salo out for a while injured; then he turtled behind his myopic manager Peter Chiarelli who said that Salo was charging him which was a crock of BS. There are epic amounts of hate for this little scumbag that I would say extends beyond any form of rational measure. I'd call him a rat but that would give actual rats a bad name because rats have some use - they pick up garbage.

But even with all this hate: someone actually went there saying the following:

@HarrisonMooney Can you imagine Twitter if he's traded to the Canucks? Say - for Burrows?

— Steve May (@Steve_May) December 19, 2013

Steve...Steve...Steve...either you drank too much thereby causing your memories of Brad Marchand to vanish into complete thin air or you're massively trolling us.

So I decided to do up a photo that would cause most Vancouver fans to blow up my e-mail with hate-mail if not throw up in absolute disgust. I know my PS Elements 8 did.

How could you go there? Steve?!!

I'd sooner have Tim Thomas in a Canucks uniform...then he and Luongo can actually take turns pumping each other's tires on the same team. Maybe the competition between the two goalies may help win a Stanley Cup.

As a long-time Vancouver fan (43 years+) I'd puke if I saw Brad Marchand in a Canucks uni.

Wait a sec...that is the pic, isn't it? Excuse me while I make a panicked dash to the washroom to throw up in the can!

NikeiD - Nike Training Shoes?

I've always been a Nike fan. And since the Canucks have used Nike as their training shoes, it's been very interesting to see just how Nike is taking care of its clientele. I bought my first Nikes in 1979 - my first pair being the "Internationalist" then my second pair being an orange/grey shoe called "Daybreak". Interesting that I can still remember it. Firstly I bought Nikes because my best friend at the time, Micky Doerksen bought them and hey, I wanted to get a pair of Nikes like him and at 9 years old, you like to be the same as your other friends. Now at the ripe old age of 43. I tend to do my own thing, but I still buy Nikes, but it is more about what I want in terms of the colors and whether or not I like the design of the shoe, rather than who's wearing it - but ultimately it has to fit right to my feet and that's why I've been so persistent in buying Nikes.

Ever since Nike came out recently with Nike ID. I've been playing around with an idea in my head as to how to fit my NHL team allegiances with the shoes I wear. I have a jersey (un-numbered, blank) and I've been looking to complement it with similar colored footwear. So I decided to play on NikeID and create something that would match my Vancouver Canucks jersey.

It didn't fit entirely. The green turned out more of a mint (Nike calls it Poison Green) green than the green the Canucks use, but hey. I'm not complaining. If Nike is willing to keep custom-making Nike shoes like this, I'll bite even though it's going to take $135.00+tax/shipping and handling out of my pocket.

So here is my iteration of a Canucks pair of Nikes.

10 Minute Warning - Take Cover

It appears that Torts is starting to boil over a little. A rather protracted losing streak and the patience level with the up-down play of the Canucks is starting to wear a bit thin with John Tortorella. And as far as this fan is concerned, that's a good thing. I've seen Torts' pressers and it seems like he was taking Xanax on most of the press conferences. There were a few pithy comments, however the John Tortorella that we knew as a New York Rangers head coach has been pretty much non-existent here in Vancouver. But man, you can see his emotion on the bench and some of these animated .gifs certainly bring out the John Tortorella that we all remember...and had hoped to see. Motivation in hockey is a very dicey thing. Too far and you can poison the atmosphere in the dressing room, too little and you're thought of as a push-over.

John Tortorella was brought in for accountability - he expects you to give 110% each and every game, no taking any damned nights off and no vacations on the ice. When you lace up those skates, you'd better damned play like your life depends on it If it doesn't sink in fast - John Tortorella will a) bench your ass, b) ship your ass out to the minors - hope you get picked up on waivers or c) he'll petition to GM Mike Gillis to trade your lazy ass.

"What the F#@$!!!"

Torts reacting to a bone-headed play that wasn't called by the refs.

Torts 'making pleasantries' with the Edmonton (C)oilers coaching staff.

Tired of Edler's on-again-off-again play, Torts sits Edler down and kindly tells him that his services will no longer be needed for this game. "SIT DOWN AND SHUT THE F@#$ UP!!! DON'T LIFT YOUR ASS FROM THAT BENCH!!!"

I'm sure this sign should be pasted on the wall of the locker room:

Watched Torts' post-game interview and he didn't look satisfied with the up-down play of the Canucks. He focused on the good points however in the interview but you know that he won't be satisfied until there's a big silver antique mug sitting up IN the Canucks Trophy Case in June at Roger's Arena. And frankly after 43+ years Vancouver fans are quite dissatisfied with no Stanley Cup.

NO DIVING!

The one thing that I'm enjoying about the Canucks after AV is the lack of diving going on. If there was one thing that the Canucks seemed to be always stuck with, it was a reputation for diving. With John Tortorella behind the bench, there is no more of that kind of behavior, at least no more than other teams. In actuality, the team is developing a reputation for being hard-nosed, tough to play against, and grinding their way. And despite the standings (right now, Vancouver is out of the playoffs and potentially only in playoff contention due to a wildcard position. Make no mistake, the Pacific Division is a tough division and the top three teams made significant off-season acquisitions to make their teams playoff ready. It wasn't like the cake-walk Northwest Division of the past. Top three in each division go to the playoffs and right now Anaheim, San Jose, and Phoenix sit in the top three spots as of 18 games.

Reputations are what develops after players and teams do things continually that either make fans rally around the team or irk opponents. Vancouver was known during AV's tenure as head coach to be a soft team which sat on their leads and let the game be dictated by the opposition as well as a reputation for "diving to get the call". Whether the last was deserved, I don't know, but the team certainly didn't do anything after they were up 2 goals in a game. They didn't try to press for 3 or 4 or more and completely shut down the opposing teams offence. They dove to get penalties called on the other team and most opposing teams fans hated that about the Canucks.

With the coaching change, John Tortorella has instituted a "no diving" rule. He wants the Canucks to play hard-nosed, honest and tough - stick up for your team mates. No more Marchand-like speed-bagging of #22's head. To see that happen on Tort's tenure will invite swift and harsh retaliation from the likes of Ryan Stanton (former Blackhawk) or Kassian or Sestito or Bieksa. Burrows may still chirp, but he dropped the gloves cleanly and without any dirty play against Kessel when Vancouver blanked Toronto 4-0 on November 2, 2013.

When San Jose Sharks forward, Andrew Desjardins threw up snow in Luongo's face, Ryan Stanton jumped on Desjardins and pummeled him. Anybody who plays hockey knows that you don't do that sort of thing to a goalie. Throw snow in a goalie's face and you're a cheap-ass player.

hockeyfights.com

You just don't do the shit that Desjardins did to Luongo.

John Tortorella even pointed this out going to the point of decrying Alain Vigneault for allowing such a reputation to fester.

"I know the reputation from the outside looking in. When I wasn’t coaching here everybody thought Vancouver dove and did some whining. Our team is not going to dive. They’ve been talked to. I don’t think there’s much whining going on either."

“I’m certainly not trying to accuse the refs of that. But I know there’s been a reputation. I’ve been in the league long enough I know sometimes that hangs around too. This is my chance to to say we’re going to be an honest team. We’re trying to be an honest team. And I hope we get some goddamn calls along the way."

.

Other teams' fans, especially (Dead)monton, Boston and Toronto fans tend to deride the team still as whiners, divers and dirty cheapshot artists. Like all reputations, it's going to take a lot of honest, tough grinding hockey, with no diving calls to eliminate that reputation.

That being said, I look forward to Dec 14, 2013. A word of warning to Chiarelli and Julien. Target our players and Bieksa, Kassian, Sestito and Stanton will sandbag Marchand and anything in a yellow and black jersey.

Pavel Bure Jersey Retirement

The Pavel Bure Jersey Retirement Ceremony has finished. According to people on the Vancouver Canucks message board, Pavel was emotionally moved by the ceremony and was practically in tears.

I have to say I had mixed feelings about the retirement of Pavel Bure's jersey considering the way that he left Vancouver. But I'm now beginning to see that it probably wasn't entirely his fault. After being dicked around by the previous management on his contract issues, I can't really blame him for wanting to pack his bags and head where he was appreciated.

I also have to say that I did have the opportunity to see Pavel Bure play when he was in a Canuck jersey. Make no mistake, he was an electrifying player. He was the one Canuck that could consistently draw fans out of their seats on a rush. Some of the moves that he could pull off on the opposition goaltender were nothing short of phenomenal; his favorite move, the stick to skate to stick deke and flip wrist shot over the shoulder of the sprawled goalie at close range routinely potted goals for a Canuck team that was probably not the best in the league. Their standings were great in the year that they went to the Stanley Cup, however, this team did not gel until the latter half of the season.

2013 is an year of memories. I remember clearly when Pat Quinn drafted Pavel Bure. I was 19 at the time. I also remember at the age of 21 when the teams who would have drafted Bure were fighting for him since they had been unaware of information that Pavel was draft-eligible. Being an adult when his career started has enabled me to watch, understand and enjoy the highlights of his career...and I'm thankful to see the Vancouver Canucks raise his number 10 to the rafters of Rogers Arena; I will be thankful for all the times that I saw the Russian Rocket play back when Rogers Arena was known as GM Place. I will remember watching the 1994 playoffs on the TV when the Canucks regularly played out of the Pacific Coliseum. Those were heady times watching Pavel speed down the ice, turn an opposing defenceman inside out and then score on the resultant opportunity.

"You were there for us every night, and you carried us when we needed you the most. It is one of my best memories. Nobody deserves the Stanley Cup more than you, and it’s going to happen soon. I know it will, right here on this ice: mark my words.”

~ excerpt from Pavel Bure's jersey retirement speech

We missed you. Welcome HOME, Pavel.

No Nuclear Fireworks From Rogers Arena

When John Tortorella was hired, a lot of people wondered if there was going to be major fallout from the decision to hire. So far we are 15 games into the 2013-2014 Season and we are well over .500 with a win record of 9-5-1; though most of those wins were either via OT or shoot-out.

So far it seems John Tortorella is satisfied with the way things are going. The latest game against Detroit may change his mind however with the Canucks coming out flat. However other than a short presser at the end of the game where he fielded two questions then left, we haven't seen any fireworks and thus Vancouver fans shouldn't have to start building bomb shelters.

Official Announcement: Vancouver Canucks Hire Torts.

With the Canucks having officially announced new Canucks Head Coach John Tortorella; the gaze now looks towards firstly the draft, where the Canuck pick 24th. There is still a hue and an outcry from the anti-Torts crowd which was roundly denounced by the informative and genial presser that went on at 1PM this afternoon.

There appears to be a concensus among the anti-Torts crowd that John Tortorella is unable to be flexible, throws his players under the bus and is generally a miserable SOB to be around. The John Tortorella at the press conference couldn't be farther from this portrayal as the Earth is from the Sun. Make no mistake, Torts is a competitor. He will expect 100% from his players. He demands accountability. He will not allow slackers to play. He will bench fan favorites who under-perform and in this market, that will piss off thin-skinned fans like nobody's business. Did he throw his players under the bus during his tenure with the New York Rangers? If they weren't playing up to his high standards, he would call them out. If calling out an underperforming player is what's called "throwing them under the bus" it's no wonder that Torts did not succeed there. Not even Scotty Bowman would have been able to make anything out of that team with that kind of expectation put on them.

With Alain Vigneault's "hands-off" approach, the locker-room had no direction. Player accountability was zero. And when players were confused and looked for direction, the coach was nowhere to be found. Add to that, Coach V was an expert at deflecting the tough questions that really needed to be asked. Most oft-times, his answer was a smug grin and a shrug of the shoulders when he should have answered the question posed. A lot of the Vancouver media is not used to honest opinion nor will they like the fact that Torts is brutally honest. He does not like losing; he even says so "I hate losing. Really, I hate it. If you're a good loser, you're a loser."

The naysayers will spout off, "Well; Alain took us to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final." My answer is: "Where we lost..." Lost by how much? We didn't even score in that game. So what, Pat Quinn took us to Game 7 and didn't get blown out. It was a 3-2 game. The game was so close it could have gone either way in 1994. If Nathan Lafayette had scored it would have been a tied game going to overtime. He was called on the carpet by thin skinned fans in 1994 for breaking a stick during practice because the players weren't performing up to expectation.

Make no mistake. John Tortorella will give you soundbites galore this season, but that is if Vancouver's renowned media keeps asking him stupid questions. When the questions are intelligent and thought out, Torts will give an intelligent and thought out answer. Today's coaching announcement presser was exactly that.

Coach Torts will expect players to play to a higher level than they've ever played before. The reason being is that he has been at that higher level. He knows what it takes to coach at a Stanley Cup Championship winning game level. He is seeking to provide that experience and the coaching ability to enable our players to play to their very best. And it is best that the media remember that at the back of their minds as we go into the 2013-2014 season and remind themselves that they best do not throw John Tortorella under the bus as they have done to so many other fiery coaches who have taken the rein and tried to bring some of their knowledge to the forefront: Crow being a prime example. It is time for the Canucks to turn the corner and develop into Stanley Cup Champions.

And I do have to say that Torts looks better in that Canucks exercise jacket than he did in Rangers blue. Welcome to Vancouver, Torts. I hope you bring a Stanley Cup to this city. 43 years has been a long time to wait.

Canucks Have Signed Swedish Goaltending Prospect: Joacim Eriksson

The goaltending depth-chart grew a little deeper with the signing of Swedish goaltending prospect: Joacim Eriksson. Originally drafted by the Flyers, he elected to not sign with them and the Flyers lost their rights. Eriksson was signed to a two year entry-level contract at $925,000 for two years and a lesser amount in the minors.

Peoria Rivermen (new Canucks-owned AHL Affiliate) Officially the Utica Comets

The Canucks-owned AHL affiliate the former Peoria Rivermen will officially move to Utica, NY for the 2013-2014 AHL hockey season and be known as the Utica Comets.

For more information on the Utica Comets, http://www.uticacomets.com/. The Utica Comets also have their Facebook page up at https://www.facebook.com/UticaComets and they also have a Twitter Page at https://twitter.com/uticacomets

Looking forward to seeing how the Utica Comets perform.

John Tortorella Could Be Next Canucks Coach

After Alain Vigneault was fired in May, there was a lot of speculation as to who was to be the next coach of the Vancouver Canucks. The pickings were pretty lean then as the Rangers were still battling the Boston Bruins to get out of the Division Finals. When the Bruins defeated the Rangers, the Rangers GM Glen Sather put John Tortorella out to pasture (read that as kind way of saying "FIRED!" Unfortunately, I don't believe that the Rangers who turned around and hired ex-Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault made the right choice in their choice as head coach. With the Canucks having choices between the unseasoned Dallas Eakins (who eventually went to Edmonton - you do not have an unseasoned coach try to lead a group of veteran NHLrs.), the taciturn but rather quiet John Stevens, the Sabres' former coach Lindy Ruff. (was there ever an year that Lindy wasn't coaching the Sabres? Oh yeah, prior to September 1997.) and former Dallas Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. Out of all the coaches, John Tortorella seemed to be the best choice of the coaches available.

I've always believed that the Canucks have had a too relaxed atmosphere in the dressing room with Alain Vigneault's "hands off" approach to coaching. They were never held accountable for their lacklustre play and oftentimes showed it with a "who cares" attitude. Fortunately for fans and unfortunately for the players, this type of approach will cease with Tortorella's arrival as Canucks head coach (to probably be announced on Tuesday, June 25th, 2013. The Canucks will be expected to perform to what expectations they were hired to perform to and it will be a very unpleasant experience for some of them.

The Canucks have needed a wakeup call for a long time now.

The 1994 Rangers-Canucks playoff series was coached by a fiery Irishman: Pat Quinn. The 2011 was coached by sleepy Alain. There is a distinct difference in play. The coach has to know when to start stepping in and "firing up" his players. The 1994 team played all the way to the end of the series. The score reflected it with the final game score of 3-2 favoring the Rangers. The 2011 Canucks rolled over in Games 6 and 7. Frankly, the 2011 Canucks were an embarrassment to be compared to the 1994 Canucks who played their hearts and souls out for the Stanley Cup. The 2011 Canucks expected to be "handed" the Cup and were surprised when the Bruins turned around and stole it from them with their better play.

Too many Canuck fans appear to think that the Tortorella hiring is the second coming of Mike Keenan. Unfortunately too many Canuck fans have been satisfied with the status quo of 2 Presidents Trophys and have lost sight of the main reason why the Canucks are playing in the NHL. It requires "fire in the belly" of everyone on the team from the players all the way through to the coaching staff and AV didn't have that in him.

John Tortorella comes with an impressive coaching resume. Having won at every major coaching level that he has coached at; He has a Stanley Cup ring with the 2004 Tampa Bay Lightning. Which is one more trophy than Alain Vigneault has. Alain Vigneault had his chance with the Canucks but fell short because he wasn't sure of how to get the Canucks past the final hurdle which was not the Stanley Cup but when the Bruins started playing the way that they had to in order to win and succeed against the Canucks. Vigneault fell short because he couldn't find an answer to the Bruins' aggressive play.

John Tortorella has that fire in his belly. I'm sure that his one bite at the Stanley Cup in 2004 wasn't enough. I'm also sure that he wants to win again and will find a way to. My sincerest hope is that he will win with the Canucks. After 43 years of watching this team, it's the least that the Canucks could do.