In Memory of Pat Quinn - 1943-2014

My first experience with Pat Quinn's brand of hockey was when he was the coach/GM of the Vancouver Canucks. Prior to Pat Quinn's arrival from the Los Angeles Kings bench, the Canucks were a sub-500 team struggling to even be relevant in a hockey market that had been apathetic due to the losing record. People weren't expecting more out of this team and were resigned to the fact that if this kind of win/loss record continued, the Canucks would be pulling up stakes and moving out of town.

As a high-school student, I'd read about the Canucks in the paper and see loss after loss pile up. In fact, in the school-yard, we'd flip a quarter to see if the Canucks would win or lose. The magic of '82 under the guiding hand of Roger Nielson had long since faded into the depths of time.

We desperately needed to right this foundering ship and the Griffiths family looked to Pat Quinn in 1987. It was an all-out effort to get someone who could construct the type of hockey team that Vancouver fans were wanting to see. But Quinn was then coaching the Los Angeles Kings and the resultant contract by the Canucks on Pat Quinn's services ran Griffiths and Quinn afoul of the NHL head office. Threats of charges of tampering were thrown about and the LA Kings threatened a review of the contract. This led to Pat Quinn being suspended for the rest of the season as he couldn't conceivably coach for the Kings while undertaking a contract with the Vancouver Canucks.

The first trade that he made was to pack off Patrik Sundstrom and two picks to the New Jersey Devils for Kirk McLean, Greg Adams and a pick who would later be Leif Rohlin (1988 Entry Draft). The backstopper affectionately named Captain Kirk would be an integral piece in the 1994 Stanley Cup run. In the 1988 Entry Draft, The Canucks picked second and they selected a young Medicine Hat kid named Trevor Linden. Then an year later in the 6th round, they selected a young Soviet phenom named Pavel Bure. These players would become the cornerstones of the franchise in 94 with the additions of players like Cliff Ronning, Geoff Courtnall, Bret Hedican, Nathan Lafayette and Jeff Brown. Trevor Linden would be named the youngest captain of the team upon Stan Smyl's retirement and fill those shoes he did as did Quinn's trust in him to lead the team.

Almost twenty years later, the same young man that Pat Quinn had drafted as President of Hockey Operations and General Manager would step into Quinn's shoes and begin his Canuck front office executive career as the Canucks President of Hockey Operations.

He was remembered in April 2014 as a builder and a great leader by Canucks management and his #3 was placed in the Ring of Honour.

...and on Sunday, November 23, 2014, we lost a great man and forever a Vancouver Canuck.  Sandra Quinn and Pat's family have asked for privacy at this sensitive time and the media and the fans will respect that.  All we know was that Pat was fighting a long illness. 

His words ring true for anyone following any passion, be it hockey, be it any sport or creative activity.

"I'm not immune to pain, dejection. But I... have a passion, a love, for this. I don't think that ever leaves you."


 The most stirring rendition of "Danny Boy" I have ever heard.  Packs a powerful punch visually, aurally and emotionally.  You're a hard-hearted person if you can watch this without a tear in your eye and a lump in your throat. 






Rest in Peace, Big Irishman, Mighty Quinn.

This Off-Season Is Going To Be Interesting

Everybody knows that this off-season is of absolute importance for the Canucks. Nobody believes the idea that the Canucks will contend for the Stanley Cup next season with the current roster. There are tweaks that have to be made and it will be painful this off-season. But simply put, it has to be done.

Rumor has it that Canucks GM Jim Benning is looking at getting a second draft pick in the first round, trading one of their core pieces to get a key piece for the future - the concensus being that this core piece being dealt is forward Ryan Kesler who has expressed a desire to be traded and according to his agent, he hasn't moved from that position.

Most teams that win the Stanley Cup have a main core that is in their twenties and the LA Kings who just won the Stanley Cup has a young core. But that core was built through the draft, having good scouting and making key trades to bring supporting cast to help bolster their lines.

Considering Benning's reticence to talk about what plans he has for the team, we have no idea what's coming, but rest assured, he's going to be watching the options like a hawk. We know that this off-season is going to be interesting...and that's about all we know about it.

Waiting For Trotz

It’s official.  The Canucks have the worst record for secret keeping in recent history.  First it was rumoured that Trevor Linden was to be hired as President of Hockey Operations for the Vancouver Canucks weeks before it happened.  Voila.  Trevor Linden is now the President of Hockey Operations.  Check one.

For weeks now there’s been speculation that Jim Benning (former Assistant General Manager of the Boston Bruins) was going to be the next General Manager of the Vancouver Canucks.  Well.  Friday May 23^rd, 2014.  Jim Benning was announced officially as the eleventh General Manager of the Vancouver Canucks.  Check two.

Now media and other around Vancouver are speculating that Barry Trotz may be the next coach after the ill-fated John Tortorella of the Vancouver Canucks.  Well…considering that he has options in Washington and Pittsburgh; that may or may not come to pass.  But at this point, it is rumoured, that Barry Trotz is high on Jim Benning’s list as a potential head coaching candidate. 

It remains to be seen if the speculation will go three for three and get a hat-trick.  Until then, we’re “Waiting for Trotz”.  

Update: May 27, 2014 - Barry Trotz opted for the Washington Capitals head coaching job and was hired by the Capitals today.  So mark Trotz off the list of potential head coach candidates.

Update 2: June 23, 2014 - Willie Desjardins was offered the head coaching job of the Vancouver Canucks and Desjardins has accepted.   

 

Jim Benning Named 11th General Manager of the Vancouver Canucks.

photo attrib: Jonathan Hayward, CP

"Vancouver plays in maybe the toughest division in the league and to win our division and to keep going we are going to have to go through the L.A.’s, the Anaheims and the San Joses. They are big, heavy teams. When we talk to our scouting staffs, one of our mandates will be let's try to get a little bit bigger, let's get a little more rugged so we can play both styles. We can play a skilled skating style when need be, but when it it is a rugged physical game we can play that style, too."

"We want a coach that is firm, but fair, that has good communication skills so he can relate to the players. We want a coach that is going to play a structured style of game when we don't have the puck, but give the players the freedom to skate and create when they do have the puck."

These were some of the words that Jim Benning used to describe what the Vancouver Canucks have to go through in order to get through the play-offs; the pieces of the puzzle that they would need in order to solve the riddle that is the re-constituted Pacific Division which has stymied the Canucks this past season.

This past season that seemed at the start so bright has been an absolute disaster and at its conclusion saw John Tortorella removed from his position as head coach.  All in all with a Vancouver - Calgary game that saw Torts become unhinged and frantic to get into the Calgary locker room to the defensive breakdowns that have continually plagued the Canucks; this season was a circus.  I was a Torts proponent; and in some ways, I still am, I feel he was stymied by Mike Gillis; we saw a much more media-savvy “kindler, gentler” Torts, but in that way, he wasn’t able to meld the Canucks to what was expected out of them.  He was ham-strung from doing his job.  Be that as it may however this season was a season best forgotten and not emulated in any way shape or form. 

And now poor Jim Benning, formerly a Canucks defenseman during his playing days from 1986-1990 has spent his career off the ice, in a scouting role; first from 1993-94 in Anaheim as an amateur scout, then with Buffalo from 1994-2004 as a scout and Dir. Amateur Scouting, then finally with the Bruins from 2006-2014 as Dir. Player Personnel then Asst. General Manager instrumental in the Bruins franchise and Stanley Cup Champions in 2011, has had to step into the role of General Manager of the floundering Vancouver Canucks to right the ship and steer it in the right direction.  Lest anyone think that this is a Canucks version of the “ol’boy’s club” Canucks President of Hockey Operations, Trevor Linden, has done his due diligence interviewing many suitable candidates and finally selecting Benning from his attributes and experience that he brings to the management table. 

The next job for Trevor Linden and Jim Benning is to go to Toronto to view the draft choices at the NHL Combine and select a head coach for next season as veterans training camp starts in middle of September and rookie camp starts earlier than that and for the curriculum to be in place for rookie camp, the head coach needs to be hired long before then. 

We know three things:  The Canucks are going to get 1) bigger, 2) more aggressive and 3) still be able to play a transition game balance from offense to defence.  It’s not an impossible task but those pieces are going to be tough to locate.  Benning is keen on the draft that there will be a player available this draft that can help the team.  And he, like Linden feels that the best way to get key players into the Canucks organization is to build through the draft.  Considering the poor picks that have plagued the Canucks during their history; Libor Polasek, Mike Wilson and others come to mind, the fact that our new GM has a scouting background comes as a literal godsend. 

Hopefully this will be the start of the turnaround of the awful Canucks fortunes since the 2011 playoffs where we lost the Stanley Cup in our home arena thanks to a team literally built from draft choices that Jim Benning made.  We’re glad he’s home (Vancouver is as close to Edmonton as he can get…let alone Calgary), back in the Canucks fold and hope that he can recreate the Canucks in his and Trevor’s vision.

So Long, Lu - What A Hell Of Week (leading up to the Trade Deadline)!

Roberto Luongo, the Vancouver Canucks' former beleaguered goaltender, ousted from his starter role by both Corey Schneider (now gone to the New Jersey Devils) and by Eddie Lack, the future of goaltending for the Canucks, has been traded back to the team that he came from eight years ago.

Vancouver gets back touted prospects (who have had a rough stretch of it with the Florida Panthers) forward Shawn Matthias and goaltender Jacob Markstrom (a Swede who can discuss the merits of the Swedish chef with his now bosom buddy, Eddie Lack). The only other trades that happened were Jeff Costello from the Senators for Patrick Mullen. And six-game Canuck Raphael Diaz (obtained from the Montreal Canadians) was sent packing to the New York Rangers for a fifth round draft pick.

Better yet, now that we have Jeff Costello, any chance we can talk with the Toronto Maple Leafs and do a trade for Spencer Abbott? That'll just make everybody's day.

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.

UFAs - Re-Sign or Don't Re-Sign

1. Bieksa, Kevin » D VAN 30 $3,750,000 2011 (UFA) - Kevin Bieksa = Beast 2 - played with heart and soul during the play-offs, you can't not reward loyalty and if he's willing to come back. Why not. He showed that he can play the game. And what we're looking for is post-season drive. Verdict: re-sign (at a fair cost $4M-YR/3YRs)

2. Salo, Sami » D VAN 36 $3,500,000 2011 (UFA) - Injury-struck Sami Salo is gonna be a tough one, with a NTC on his contract, it's going to be a tough thing. Do we take the risk of taking this player who is aging and near retirement on another year and re-evaluate in June of 2012 just to see if he'll last another season and another potential Cup Run or do we dump his salary; get nothing back for him and hope to hell that the salary that we save on him somehow gets us another player that we can use to make a deep and successful run? Verdict: Let him test out the UFA waters and see if anyone takes a stab at him. If not, we can negotiate a 1 year contract at a reasonable price.

3. Ehrhoff, Christian » D VAN 28 $3,100,000 2011 (UFA) - was very helpful to our Cup run, would like to sign him again, but he did seem lukewarm to the idea of returning unless he got a raise. "What's fair" was what he said, but you know what? It'a numbers game and the 14 goals and 36A. It's nice to have a top tier defenceman, but if he starts asking for numbers like $4.5M or so...it's time to hit the pavement. We need defencemen who can help to keep the puck out of the net and take heat off the goaltender Verdict: Let someone take him, use the salary saved to pick out a big, strong defenceman who can throw bodies off the net.

4. Higgins, Chris » F VAN 28 $1,600,000 2011 (UFA) - Has expressed interest in staying here. He has some size to him but he still comes in on the short side. He only tallied 2 goals and 3 A for 5 points which means that he doesn't come with a lot of offensive power. Do we keep him and pay him $2M or do we free up his cap space: Verdict: Free up the cap space and shop around.

5. Alberts, Andrew » D VAN 29 $1,050,000 2011 (UFA) - Andrew Alberts did pick up his game, he was throwing bodies off the back end when he did see ice time. But he did make some costly errors. He needs to step up his game and he is a rare big body in front of the net. He needs to work on his physicality and ability to throw people off. He needs to work in the off-season on bulking up a bit more and getting some strength in his upper-body. He's a rare big man in this team and we need his strength and ability to be able to throw bodies around when opposition forwards get too close. We would do well to look for another big guy like him too whether through trade or through free-agency. Verdict: Keep him...have him develop his game. Make it an ultimatum.

6. Torres, Raffi » F VAN 29 $1,000,000 2011 (UFA) - aggressive, hits everything in sight...we nicknamed him the human bowling ball. I would love to see Raffi come back again. He's one of the highlights of this year's team and he takes some of the heat off the players of any line that he's on. He's one of the smaller guys on the team, but he can hit...OH...can he hit. And on a team that doesn't have much hitting power, he's necessary: Verdict: Re-Sign him (at least $1.5M, show him that he's wanted. Aggressiveness was shown to be a weakness on this team. He's needed.

7. Glass, Tanner » F VAN 27 $625,000 2011 (UFA) - his games played increased this year, his production during the season decreased and he was pretty much a non-factor during much of the post-season. If he wants to stay, he's going to have to up his play significantly. And it's not warranted to give him much of a payraise as a result of his diminishing return. Do we give him a chance or do we let him walk at $625.000. I'd say you up his pay to $750,000 one year contract and if he doesn't produce, then let him walk. If you let him walk without giving him an opportunity we lose size on the team; and on a team that doesn't have much size to begin with, that's hard to get back. Verdict: Re-sign him.

8. Baumgartner, Nolan » D VAN 32 $550,000 2011 (UFA) - he spent much of his time with the Large Land Mammals of Manitoba where for much of the season, he did nothing. He was called up for Game 7 but still did pretty much nothing. Maybe people saw this as a rebound year but his goal totals were down and his assists were up, thereby sparking the impression of a turnaround year. Verdict: let him walk.

9. Tambellini, Jeff » F VAN 27 $500,000 2011 (UFA) - I'd almost say, keep him just to be a thorn in the side to Steve Tambellini, his father, GM of the Edmonton Oilers. but with his post-season healthy scratches, and absolutely no point production in the 6 games he dressed for...it's not a risk that I'm willing to take. I'd say let him walk. Verdict: let him walk.

10. Bolduc, Alexandre » F VAN 25 $500,000 2011 (UFA) Bolduc wasn't a factor during the Stanley Cup Finals where he centered a line with Jeff Tambellini and Victor Oreskovich. He's also 5'11" which makes him small for a team that should be bigger going into the post-season. Verdict: Let him walk.

(Stuck with the Manitoba Moose - not a factor)

Andersson, Jonas » F VAN 30 $675,000 2011 (UFA) - not really a factor as he spent most of his time with the Land Mammals (the Moose)
Desbiens, Guillaume » F VAN 26 $550,000 2011 (UFA) - not really a factor as he spent most of his time with the Land Mammals (the Moose)
Rypien, Rick » F VAN 27 $550,000 2011 (UFA) - not really a factor as he spent most of his time with the Land Mammals (the Moose)
Paetsch, Nathan » D VAN 28 $525,000 2011 (UFA) - not really a factor as he spent most of his time with the Land Mammals (the Moose)
Weiman, Tyler » G VAN 27 $500,000 2011 (UFA) - not really a factor as he spent most of his time with the Land Mammals (the Moose)
Peters, Andrew » F VAN 31 $500,000 2011 (UFA) - not really a factor as he spent most of his time with the Land Mammals (the Moose)

These guys you can either try to see if they'll develop or let 'em walk. Rick Rypien has served his time here. Let him walk if he isn't ready to become a solid NHL player. He's been up and down so many times it's like watching a yoyo. Most minor league UFAs are hedges. RFA's are usually development prospects or tradebait.

Haters gon' Hate Regardless...

I love how bandwagon fans come crawling out of the woodwork saying "Blow up the team", "trade Luongo", "trade everybody", "Move the team to the U.S."...

Guys, they came one win away from the Stanley Cup. The core group for a genuine Stanley Cup run is here. We need to lock up the missing pieces crucial for a win. Why would anyone in their right mind want to blow up this team and send the parts hither and thither a la Mike Keenan. Do we really want to go back to the bad old days of "Iron" Mike Keenan running rampant through the roster of the 94 Canucks firesaling them to teams who were lining up to pick at the bones? Are you guys freakin' insane????

When you look at the starting 2 lines for the Vancouver Canucks, you see a striking similarity to an injury list:

Kesler (starting 2nd line forward) - hip labrum tear, groin tear;
Hamhuis (starting 1st pairing - defenseman) - lower abdominal injuries (unspecified);
Henrik Sedin (starting 1st line center) - back injury (unspecified);
Edler - (starting 2nd pairing - defenceman) - two broken fingers;
Ehrhoff - (starting 2nd pairing - defenceman) - shoulder injury;
Bieksa - (starting 1st pairing - defenceman) - bruised MCL (knee);
Higgins - (starting 2nd line - left wing) - undisclosed foot injury;

Yet they were out there giving it their all trying to win the Cup.

The thing I'm surprised about is that Salo escaped the severe injury bug this year even with this physical last round of the Stanley Cup finals. Usually somebody in audience sneezes and Salo goes down with a herniated disc.

There will more than likely be a few tweaks in the off-season to try to make the team a bit bigger and a bit more intimidating. Adding a big winger or two who aren't afraid to drop the gloves would probably fit the bill. It would keep a situation like Brad Marchand using Daniel Sedin's head like a speedbag from ever happening again, especially when guys like Marchand know that they try that, they're going to get dropped like a 50 lb sack of wet cement. Believe me, I hate the fact that the little weasel did that and didn't even get tackled by one of our guys. I also hate the fact that the little smug weasel has a Stanley Cup ring now.



I wish that we could afford Byfuglien. That guy would keep other people honest. He's big, he's mean and he has a name that friggin' drives me crazy trying to pronounce. BTW it's not pronounced "Bif Fug Leen". It's pronounced "bifflin" Of course during 2009 and 2010 series I was calling him "F*NG BIF THUG LEEN!" Of course, if he was on my team, I'd call him "Jesus Christ...that was a great f*ng hit!!!"



Call the Canucks what you will, but they came one game away from the Stanley Cup and whether or not they should have been there or not, due to their play in the final round, isn't going to matter a hill of beans. They were the second best team in the post-season and if that doesn't give haters enough ammo to hate, because their team didn't make the playoffs or fell by the wayside on the way to the finals, what will?

Next year though I'd like to wipe the friggin' smug MASSholes' smiles off their faces when Henrik Sedin passes Lord Stanley's Holy Grail to the likes of a winger like Scott Hartnell who smashed guys like Lucic and Chara off Daniel and scared Marchand into shaking like a wet leaf during the 2012 Finals. Sweet Jeez...I can just picture that in my mind already. Just wait till next year.

Wednesday June 22, 2011 - Wear Your Colors Proud

Event-June 22nd - Wear Your Colors Proud



Support your City and your Team again on Wednesday June 22nd 2011! Let's show some solidarity in this shameful week by wearing your Canucks Colors this Wednesday to show we don't support the actions of a few that tarnish the reputations and spirit of many.

Show the world and our beloved Canucks that we support them!! Show the VPD that we are behind them, show your thanks to the hundreds of fans who went downtown today to clean up the mess, show the TRUE Fans that WE are all Canucks!

We still Believe

~created by Josh Proko~

This guy is a great guy for suggesting this. We True Canuck fans need to take back our streets and give thanks to the heroes of the day who did what they could to help stop the riots.