I thought a few games ago they had the character and will to come back and secure a playoff spot. But after the last game, when Luongo comes back the morning of the game only to have his players lay and egg with a complete lack of effort and focus against Minnesota, I no longer believe this team has the “sandpaper”, “grit”, or whatever you want to call it to beat out Nashville for the last spot in the west.

Nashville, on the other hand, has also endured a difficult season with injuries to key players and a roster that was completely gutted after last years playoff ousting at the hands of San Jose. However, now that it is crunch time they are showing true colours with tough performances, clutch goaltending (Ellis has his shutout steak end as the 5th longest all-time in the NHL), and…well, “sandpaper”.

I have a feeling that if Rob Ray was a player sitting in the Vancouver locker room he say much the same thing about Vancouver’s lack of leadership and character as he did about his former teammates in Ottawa. You can’t blame the players for being who they are. We are not all Scott Stevens’ or Bobby Clarke’s out there. You can’t blame the coach who, I think, has put himself at least in contention for another Jack Adams trophy (especially even they domake the playoffs). You have to blame the GM. He puts the team together and is responsible for securing a team that will have the right mix and be able to compete for the Stanley Cup. It is not all black and white either. Nonis has made someone excellent move in getting Luongo (finally trading for the goalie that previous GM’s were unable to acquire). But his inability to improve the Canucks or at least recognize that the division was getting really big and really tough (something Doug Risebrough saw in Anaheim and addressed this year in the draft and with trades) shows a lack of vision and leadership. Luongo and Vigneault must be sitting around lamenting the fact that they are stuck with a team whose best line (by virtue of who shows up every night and is effective when the going gets tough) is the third string. Nonis needs to improve.

Even if the Canucks make the playoffs, look at the character and toughness on all the other Western teams. It is unreal that the Canucks are even in the running. Part of me wants them to make the playoffs to have at least something to cheer about here in Habland; the other says lose and then maybe Nonis will wake up to the reality of the Western conference and get some players who care and are not afraid to hold each other accountable. Bye, Bye Naslund, Morrison, Sedins, Ohlund, etc. Thanks for the good times? but time to move on.

This is what happens when you go to Cuba on vacation comfortable that your team is well placed top make the playoffs and possibly defend a division title; you get crapped on. Coming home to watch the Canucks suck this bad is akin to the snow finally melting in this god forsaken area of the world only to reveal months of accumulated dog shit that stinks up the whole city for weeks. What makes it worse? The Habs clinch a playoff spot at the same time and Jose “Fricken” Theodore comes back from the dead to lead the Avs’ past the Canucks for good measure.

Wait! That’s it! Find the Dr. Frankenstein who worked on resurrecting Theodore and see if he can do a mass experiment on a whole team! I suggest he starts with the players’ Hearts and Balls. You know what though…that would require something worth saving. Time, money and intelligence argue that it would be more efficient to just cut loose a core group of softies and start over. It’s okay…we’re used to rebuilding here in Vancouver…we’ve been at it for over 30 years. We’ll still show up for the games, we’ll still pay for food and parking. We’ll still get our hopes up and then shuffle off at the end of another crap-ass season…or…get so exited over winning a round of playoffs that you’d think we had won the bloody cup. I mean, the way we look back at our 2 trips to the finals is as though we’d won the Cup each time. Guess what? We didn’t!! Who did win the Cup twice in that same span?? The Habs. Salt in the wound. I have no argument left in me. So if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to shotgun my last beer and then beat the crap outta myself. I should film it…would be more entertaining than the last 5 Canuck games combined…but then Cowan might be out of a job.

Any pick as part of a deal for a signed player or a lower pick for a rental.

Schneider, Grabner, White, (I’m obviously not hot about these draftees), Morrison (free agent, coming off injury and will likely walk at year end), Isbister (low stock but better as of late), Ritchie, Shannon (okay, dazzling us lately, but wait until playoffs and shifty Shannon gets lost in the grind), + almost anyone on Manitoba.

 Untouchables: Sedins, Naslund (would be different if the Canucks were sellers), Kesler (so overlooked in value for shutdown role; remember Anaheim’s checking line last year=key to cup), Burrows (see Kesler), Bourdon, Edler, Bieksa(three future pillars of Canucks defense), Raymond (flip-flopping here, but future could be stellar for Mason, jury’s out.), Luongo.

 N.B. Anyone but Luongo can go for the right player. So much for untouchable.

Let’s be serious here. I love the Canucks and want nothing more than the Stanley Cup parading down Robson Street. However, despite possible Luongo playoff heroics, this team is not yet equipped nor mature enough to grind out enough games to make it to the cup final.

I’m excited by the play of Raymond, Shannon, and Cooke as of late, the emergence of Brad Isbister on a shut down line with Burrows and Kesler, and (finally) Luongo losing the kryptonite that had been holding him back since the all-star break. Naslund has been scoring key goals with the Sedin’s and a healthy defense corps will add to some stability on the back end. I love having Bieksa back as a right-hand shot on the PP and Salo seems to be regaining his confidence as well.  

This team is coming together and the players have shown they will stick up for each other. They have a solid group of young talent and reasonable salaries (compared to most teams at least). Furthermore, this summer there will be an additional $11 million or so from Morrison and Naslund to sign some good free agents to add to the core group. So why go and mortgage the future for a few playoff games this year? It doesn’t make sense and, thankfully, Nonis seems to agree. In the old system you could spend your way out of trouble. Not any more. Just look at the Leafs. As Stephen Brunt said today, “They’re screwed”. 

What about signed players like Brad Richards instead of a rental player you say?? I would do a deal if it made the team better, made financial sense and the player was going to be around for more than a year or two. Few players fit into this category and Brad Richards is…almost one of them. Unfortunately his grotesque contract makes him virtually untradable. Few teams can assume that kind of contract for a player who is grossly underachieving this year. If the Canucks did get him, it would prevent them from signing Naslund and Morrison and take them off the market for any decent free agents this summer. All for one player? In the new NHL I would only pay a goalie that kind of crazy money as a goalie can single-handedly steal games for you and affect your performance like no other player. The rest of the team has to have balanced scoring and depth…we see too many one line teams easily shut down by an opponent’s checkers with no one left to score (sounds familiar??).

Okay, I’m a no fun trade day party pooper. Might as well call me “Stand Pat”. But for the Canucks, no trade may be the best trade of all.  

Game plan for tonight? The Canucks have to come out guns blazing and get that early lead.  Word of the night is FINSH!Toews is back from a knee injury tonight and at the risk of sounding like a big meanie, Burrows should make it his personal mission to make Toews’ return as uncomfortable and annoying as possible. Kelser can skate with Kane and should be able to dominate him physically. With a lead, the Canucks young defence can make the safe and easy plays and secure the win. Well, that’s the plan at least.

Go Canucks Go!

Although he had a couple of points on the night, I thought Salo looked really slow and soft on a number of plays. Ohlund was caught fishing for pucks instead of taking a body and Luongo was very ordinary on a night his defense needed him to be spectacular. Despite a good third period and some early chances, the Canucks continue to suffer from an inability to bury chances and finish plays. It is extremely difficult to come back when down by 3 or 4 goals in this league and the Canucks are especially weak in area of come from behind wins. The Canucks know their key to winning games; score early and ride Luongo and solid defense to the win. But to do this you have to convert those early chances. I think the team may be getting to the point where they are squeezing the sticks a little and that only makes matters worse.

Positives? Despite this loss, the team has an excellent record against division opponents. However, they have to win the remaining divisional games in order to secure playoff hopes. The Canucks record since the x-mas break is brutal and not getting better. It is the opposite of last year when they went on a winning tear after the break right to the end of the year finishing first in the Northwest division. Injuries are not helping but, as Luongo said, they cannot be used as a crutch or an excuse to lose.

If I was a betting man, I’d put money on the Canucks coming out strong tonight and scoring early after their worst effort of the New Year last night. Watch for great games by Kesler and Burrows who will drive Chicago crazy and a solid game by Ohlund and Bourdon. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the captain also have a strong game. Pride is on the line tonight and it might be a good game to start a solid winning streak. Game time 10PM ET.

Go Canucks Go!

Okay, okay…I’m sorry. We should actually be thankful that the Canucks have such solid farm hands to bail the team out of this rash of injuries. Shannon does have an offensive upside and could provide some jump alongside the energetic duo of Jaffray and Raymond. It is just that this is crunch time for the Canucks and without a solid winning streak in the near future they will be on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.

According to James Myrtle, the Canucks will need to finish the season near 16-10-1 in order to have a chance at a playoff position. So with a four game home-stand ahead they should be looking to collect at least 6 of a possible 8 points. A tall order considering the Canucks record of late and the injured players still out. Every game will have to be as tight and boring as their last win over Atlanta and Luongo will have to aim for a shutout each time…because you know he will only get a goal or two in support. In addition, they will have to look for regulation wins over divisional opponents Colorado and Minnesota as every point will count down the stretch.

Possible? Sure. Probable? Umm. Who knows. Maybe Vigneault can get a response like he did early in the season when Bieksa and Salo went down and the team sucked it up and took off on a roll. Needless to say, their best player has to be dominant for the rest of the season; and Luongo thrives on that kind of pressure. In such a close, tough division, the Canucks have their backs against the wall. No one is letting up; not even Colorado who haven’t missed a beat despite key injuries to players like Smyth, Sakic and Stastny. And it seems the Oilers are beginning to relish their role as potential playoff spoilers after thumping Calgary and beating up on Chicago. It is going to be a wild run to the finish. Game on.

Go Canucks Go!

 A major difference between the Habs and Canucks as of late is that the Habs are converting offensive plays with an ease and  finish that would make some past legends grin in recognition. Indeed, it has been awhile since the Canadiens have had a line as explosive and crafty as Kovalev, Plekanec and Kostitsyn. While Nalsund and the Sedins are keeping the ship afloat through injuries and a minor slump for Luongo, the rest of the team has the finish of a rusty Cuban Chevrolet. Players like Burrows, Kesler, Ritchie, and Raymond have speed to burn as they fly through the neutral zone and then turn to stone as they shoot the puck. I am reminded of Jim Robson describing  Russ Courtnall ’dancing across the blue line’ only to take a lame shot or lose the puck along the boards…all speed no finish. At least those other Canucks bring more dimensions to their game such as grit, checking and a willingness to scrap once in awhile. Yet, it is a lack of finish that has killed the Canucks as of late, not a lack of grit.

So how do you ‘start to finish’? Tough one. You can’t ask more of a player than he can provide. Burrows was not blessed with a golden touch and Raymond is still figuring it all out. Kesler is revealing more to us each day about what his offensive potential is and what his future role on the team will be (1-8 in the shootout and he gets the call? I can’t take that leg kick one more time). As for Ritchie, you can’t squeeze water from a rock nor goals from and defensive checker. And where has Taylor Pyatt gone amidst all this? The Canucks have become a one line team with no goal support beyond that…an easy defensive assignment for any NHL team to prepare for. The Canucks, more than ever in light of recent injuries, need to make a move. Dave Nonis had the luxury to be patient 15 games ago when the Canucks were in the playoffs and looking strong despite a beat up blue line. But now, out of the playoffs and dressing an quasi-minor league line-up, Nonis needs to feel the urgency. If he is not a buyer within the next week, he’ll certainly become a seller within two. Forsberg? Sundin? Hossa? Jokinen? They’re not all Finnish…but could certainly provide some.

Go Canucks Go!

That lack of reality is what drives me nuts living in this city. Habs fans are crazy! They might only be rivaled by the media in this town. On the wagon, off the wagon. Trade everyone one day, going to the finals the next. A rookie has one good game and they’re suddenly the next Maurice Richard or Patrick Roy. And Habs fans wonder why free agents don’t want to come here…well, it’s not the money, not the team, not the coach or GM, not the city…could it be manic fans and the unrelenting, invasive local media?? Who could blame even local francophone players who grew up idolizing the Habs for saying ‘non merci’ and heading to Philly or Tampa Bay to bask in millions of dollars and the relative anonymity that a non-traditional hockey market affords. Besides, they can always come back in the off-season and enjoy all the poutine and smoked meat that money can buy. (Canucks can’t buy a goal in the shootout…brutal. Florida wins 4-3.)

 I suppose the spark for this blog was the simultaneous slide of the Canucks and rise of the Habs. Any other situation I could stomach, but to be mourning the Canucks and then have to hear for the hundredth time that Luongo is all they have while Cristobal Huet is apparently the second coming in Montreal was too much. I’m a realist, the Canucks are okay; they are not going to set the league on fire but are better than their recent record shows. They do indeed rely heavily on Roberto Luongo. They do play a rather ‘conservative’ brand of hockey. They do lack scoring depth. And they have been ravaged by injuries this season. You won’t catch me ranting and raving on call-in radio shows demanding trades or the coach’s head…but I won’t be planning a parade down Robson Street any time soon either. I just wish Habs fans and media could slow down long enough to realize that the Canadiens are also not as good as their recent record indicates. I say this out of sympathy for Habs fans and players as they will be subject to a rabid Montreal media machine as it scrutinizes every last detail of the player’s lives and game while saturating this insatiable market with stories of impending doom as the Canadiens naturally come back to Earth. Just let your Habs be and good things will continue to happen. 

In the meantime, my in-laws have brainwashed my 3 year old daughter into chanting ‘Go Habs Go’. There goes the future. Lord give me strength, I’m all alone here in Hab-Land.

‘Go Canucks Go’