Leafs Bashing Week, circa 2009-10

Hey folks! It's been a while, but remember you can also check out my random Canucks musings over at Nucks Misconduct.

On Saturday the Canucks and Maple Leafs meet for the first time this season, and I couldn't let this important occassion pass by without comment. I wrote a lengthy piece for Nucks Misconduct about my relationship as a Canucks fan to the Maple Leafs. However, I wanted to add a few jokes here to stoke the trash-talking fires. Not that the Leafs need any more jokes, as in this respect their play on the ice is doing the talking for me.

It's gotten so bad here in Leaf Land that the Toronto Star solicited its readers to provide their best TML jokes. Here are a few selections:

Two guys are camping out in the Muskokas, sitting around a fire at night and relaxing. Suddenly one of them sits bolt upright and shouts "DAMMIT! The Leafs lost!" His friend, impressed with his friends psychic ability asked "How do you know?" His friend replied, "It's after 10:00pm."

What's the difference between the Toronto Maple Leafs and a triangle?
A triangle has three points.

Why are the Maple Leafs like a bad bank?
No checking, no savings, and definitely no interest!

Well, I can see that I'm no further use. Toronto fans have clearly taken on the Leafs Bashing role formerly filled by non-Leafs such as myself. Poor Maple Leafs - they beat themselves on the ice, and their fans beat them up off of it.

Let's hope that Vancouver adds to the misery tomorrow night. GO CANUCKS!!!

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

Hi folks! Sorry it has been a while since I've posted anything here, but I have been busy with a few different things - moving across the country amongst them!

I have also been juggling a new hockey blogging priority. The guys who run 'Nucks Misconduct have offered me a spot as a blogger on the site, so I will be writing for the site every week or so. It is a pretty exciting opportunity, as 'Nucks Misconduct is the biggest Canucks blog out there and is part of SB Nation.

Obviously this means that my already limited time for 'Nucks and Pucks is further diminished. However I still plan to keep it going for the time being, albeit on a much less frequent basis. I hope that you'll still check back from time to time to read my random musings.

Thanks to everyone for reading, and I hope you'll not only continue to check 'Nucks and Pucks but also check out 'Nucks Misconduct! My first post went up today, and can be read here.

To randomly conclude, here is the song reference in the title of this post:

What happened to CBC's 7-second delay?

I thought CBC instituted a 7-second delay after Don Cherry went off on French-Canadian visor-wearers. Thanks to 'Nucks and Pucks reader pete for reminding me in the comments of a previous post that the 7-second rule was not in effect during the Penguins post-game celebrations after capturing the Cup (Warning: some PG-13 language):



Aside from the obvious "Marc-Andre Fleury said WHAT?!?" moment, there are a few things that strike me as amusing from this clip:

• Scott Oake's response to Fleury's slip-up was "Fair enough." What, no "Marc-Andre, we're on live..." à la Shaquille O'Neal?

• Is it me, or is someone cackling madly in the background at Fleury's cussing?

• And finally, what the hell was the deal with Scott Oake's cheesy "Who do you share this Cup with?" question? He asked it to every freakin' Penguin on the ice or in the locker room. Yeesh, how cornball. Wonder if he went up to Lidstrom or Osgood afterward and asked them with whom they share this devastating, heartbreaking loss.

Thanks to pete for inspiring this post!

Revisiting my postseason predictions: Part II

Here is Part II of my postmortem on my playoff predictions (Part I can be found here), covering my Round 3 and Stanley Cup Final picks. Again, I know this happened a long time ago, but many things prevented me from prioritizing the revisitation of my playoff picks.

As per my regular season prediction evaluations, I will use the following scale to evaluate my selections:

A - Nailed the pick exactly right
B - In the ballpark but not right on
C - A pretty misguided pick, but you can kind of understand why I made it
F - Epic fail

Round 3 - Eastern Conference

Pittsburgh Penguins (4) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (6)
Predicted: Penguins in 7
Actual: Penguins in 4
Grade: C-
Yeah I picked the team right, but I thought this would be a WAY closer series than it was. This series marked the playoff coming-out party for Evgeni Malkin, who had 6 goals and 3 assists in the four games, including this hat-trick effort in Game 2:



And because that third goal was so amazing, let's watch it one more time:



Round 3 - Western Conference

Detroit Red Wings (2) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (4)
Predicted: Red Wings in 6
Actual: Red Wings in 5
Grade: B
Having learned my lesson about underestimating the Blackhawks, I thought they would give Detroit a tougher time than they did. In the end the Wings were too good and too experienced to make the mistakes that cost the Canucks their Round 2 series against the 'Hawks.

Stanley Cup Final

Detroit Red Wings vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Predicted: Penguins in 7
Actual: Penguins in 7
Grade: A+
I picked this before the series began, but was unable to post due to some computer issues while I was traveling. I stuck with my pick despite the Red Wings winning the first two games and appearing to have a pretty strong lock on their second straight Cup. So I give myself a little extra credit for having the option of bailing on my pick, but sticking with it and in the end getting it right on. And here is the conclusion to what was a fantastic 2009 NHL Playoffs*:



* Watching this again makes me remember how ridiculously dramatic Game 7 was! What a great playoffs all round.

SB Nation and my first Fan Post

If you haven't heard about SB Nation, it is well worth checking out. SBN acts as a sort of umbrella for a variety of high quality sports blogs covering nearly every NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB teams, as well as a variety of other sports including NCAA basketball and football. SB Nation is self-described as:

"a collection of over 200 individual communities, each offering high quality year-round coverage and conversation led by fans who are passionate about their favorite teams, leagues or sports."

One exciting feature of SB Nation are Fan Posts, which allow everyday fans to contribute their insight to a well known and respected blog. The posts appear on a sidebar of the main site and may get picked up on the main page of the blog.

The Vancouver Canucks SB Nation blog is 'Nucks Misconduct, which is well worth checking out. I have occasionally linked to it from 'Nucks and Pucks, and if you haven't checked it out yet I suggest you do so. It has quickly become one of my daily stops on the ol' World Wide Web.

Furthermore, I have officially entered the Fan Posts fray and have contributed my first post to 'Nucks Misconduct. It is fun to reach a wider audience than my small, but loyal (thanks guys!) readership, and I'm happy to see that the post has generated a fair bit of discussion about the upcoming Canucks season.

I'll still be writing here on 'Nucks and Pucks, but plan to contribute the occasional post on SB Nation. So keep your eyes peeled to 'Nucks Misconduct and you might just see a familiar writer popping up on the sidebar from time to time!

Revisiting my postseason predictions: Part I

"Prediction is very difficult, especially if it is about the future." - Niels Bohr

"The groundhog is like most other prophets; it delivers its prediction and then disappears." - Bill Vaughn

These two quotations capture the spirit of this post. Firstly, that prediction is often more luck than science and thus frequently inaccurate. And secondly, unlike the groundhog, I am standing to face the music of my predictions for the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Yeah, I know the playoffs ended months ago, but it took me a while to get 'round to this. Sorry.

Part 1 will give a postmortem on the Rounds 1 and 2 predictions, and Part 2 will cover Round 3 and the Stanley Cup Final. As per my regular season prediction evaluations, I will use the following scale to evaluate my selections:

A - Nailed the pick exactly right
B - In the ballpark but not right on
C - A pretty misguided pick, but you can kind of understand why I made it
F - Epic fail

Round 1 - Eastern Conference

Boston Bruins (1) vs. Montreal Canadiens (8)
Predicted: Bruins in 5
Actual: Bruins in 4
Grade: A-
I thought the Habs would steal one, but the Bs ended the Canadiens Centennial Season on a low note.

Washington Capitals (2) vs. New York Rangers (7)
Predicted: Capital in 6
Actual: Capitals in 7
Grade: B+
I was close, but I did not give the Rangers enough credit for pushing the Caps to the wall, before they stormed back to take the series.

New Jersey Devils (3) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (6)
Predicted: Hurricanes in 6
Actual: Hurricanes in 7
Grade: A
I am giving myself an 'A' because the 'Canes were the underdog, although I thought they would finish off the Devils without going to Game 7.

Pittsburgh Penguins (4) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (5)
Predicted: Penguins in 7
Actual: Penguins in 6
Grade: B+
A great series, but not as close as I had expected.

Round 1 - Western Conference

San Jose Sharks (1) vs. Anaheim Ducks (8)
Predicted: Sharks in 6
Actual: Ducks in 6
Grade: F+
Not sure if that grade even exists. I did not think the Sharks would tank (wah-wah) in the First Round, however I did expect a lot from the Ducks. So it's a fail, but one with a + attached to it.

Detroit Red Wings (2) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (7)
Predicted: Blue Jackets in 7
Actual: Red Wings in 4
Grade: F-
As a counter to my F+, this is a resounding F-. I had a feeling one of the Sharks or Wings would get upset, but clearly made the wrong pick. How terrible a call was this? Well, let's see: I picked the Western Conference champions, who lost the Cup by one goal in Game 7, to lose in the First Round; and I picked the Blue Jackets to win the series, when in fact they failed to win a game. Brutal!

Vancouver Canucks (3) vs. St. Louis Blues (6)
Predicted: Canucks in 4
Actual: Canucks in 4
Grade: A+
NAILED IT!!! For once in my life my optimism about the Canucks was not misplaced. Well, until the second round at least.

Chicago Blackhawks (4) vs. Calgary Flames (5)
Predicted: Blackhawks in 6
Actual: Blackhawks in 6
Grade: A
Another one dead on! Though less of an out-on-a-limb pick than a Canucks sweep. At the time, I was extremely happy with this result. Until the Canucks played the Blackhawks. Ugh.


Round 2 - Eastern Conference

Boston Bruins (1) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (6)
Predicted: Bruins in 6
Actual: Hurricanes in 7
Grade: C-
I am still not sure if I overestimated the Bruins or underestimated the Hurricanes. Either way, the 'Canes upset the Bs by taking the series in 7 games.

Washington Capitals (2) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (4)
Predicted: Penguins in 6
Actual: Penguins in 7
Grade: B
This was a mind-blowingly entertaining series. I was right that the Pens would win, though I thought they would do so more handily than they did. I definitely underestimated the Capitals in this one.

Round 2 - Wetern Conference

Detroit Red Wings (2) vs. Anaheim Ducks (8)
Predicted: Red Wings in 7
Actual: Red Wings in 7
Grade: A
The at-the-time Cup champs showed resilience in overcoming the challenge from the Ducks. This was the third 7-game series of the Second Round.

Vancouver Canucks (3) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (4)
Predicted: Canucks in 5
Actual: Blackhawks in 6
Grade: F
Let's not talk about it, 'kay?

Coming soon: Part II of my playoff prediction postmortem.

Gallery: Ugly uniform portraits

In the wake of my new NHL marketing suggestion - Worst Uniform Night - I was inspired to create some images of what this may look like in reality. What follows is a gallery of portraits featuring contemporary NHLers sporting some of their respective teams' worst ever uniforms.

Please note, the following portraits are very ghetto - I can only do so much in Microsoft Paint, and the $1 I've earned in ad revenue over the past year won't quite cover an upgrade to Photoshop. Let me know if you enjoy these, and I'll try to do some more of them. If you have suggestions for players/uniforms you'd like to see, then fire away in the comments section.

Portrait #1 - Daniel Sedin and Alex Burrows, "'V' for Vendetta"


Portrait #2 - Keith Tkachuk, "Tuning up for the game"


Portrait #3 - Mike Richards, "All for one, and one for Cooperall!"


More to come???

A new NHL marketing idea: Worst uniform night

As sports and hockey become increasingly intertwined (see Sean Avery, pink jerseys, $50 NHL trucker hats, etc.) and the public appetite for sports lists (see SportsCentre Top 10, Best Damn Sports Show Top 50 ------ lists, etc.) explodes on the internet, a number of highly entertaining lists have documented some of the worst jerseys ever to grace the rink, court or field.

toptenz.net offers this list of, you guessed it, the Top 10 Ugliest Sports Uniforms of all-time. Hockey is represented by the Quebec Nordiques and Hartford Whalers (both of which I personally love) as well as, of course, the 1980s Canucks 'V' jersey. Meanwhile ESPN Page 2 provides a great visual overview of some of the worst third jerseys in NHL history. Two of these jerseys (LA Kings and Anaheim Mighty Ducks) make it on to Page 2's list of "The ugliest ducklings in sport," along with the infamous Cooperalls sported by the Whalers and the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1980s. From Page 2:

3. Philadelphia Flyers, 1982-83 and Hartford Whalers, 1982-83.
Ah, yes -- the Cooperalls season, when the Flyers and Whalers tried to drag hockey out of the short-pants era and were nearly laughed out of the league. Hartford's trousers had stripes; Philly's were sometimes striped, sometimes just logo-emblazoned at the ankle. After one season, the league put the kibosh on these (although they later showed up elsewhere).

Given the entertainment value of these ugly, yet still awesome, uniforms, I propose a new NHL marketing gimmick: once night per season, a series of teams will square off sporting the ugliest uniforms from their respective team histories.

Think how this would look on TV: the Canucks powerplay, sporting its home yellow jerseys with black pants and a lovely Halloweeen 'V' on each, works the puck against the St. Louis Blues PK, which is sporting these beauties that apparently never saw the light of day thanks to Mike Keenan (one thing he did right, apparently). Henrik Sedin passes to Daniel at the side of the net for a tap-in, and as the horn blares four Canucks mob Daniel, looking like a swarm of bumblebees converging on a pot of honey.

Or imagine John Tavares, rocking the New York Islanders' Captain Highliner duds, trying to dangle in the Philadephia Flyers zone, only to get slammed into the boards by a Cooperall-clad Chris Pronger. This would, of course, launch an all-out brawl in which Ray Emery and Martin Biron square off at centre-ice in a glorious mish-mash of hideous jerseys and flying fists.

Or how about Scott Gomez and Mike Cammalleri, looking like candy-canes or barbershop poles, working a 2-1 against the Coyotes, who are sporting jerseys that give new meaning to the phrase Coyote Ugly? Or a battle of California between the Kings and Ducks, featuring the Angry-Duck-Smashing-Through-the-Ice against the Purple-Bearded, Asymmetrically-Placed King?

The possibilities, while not endless, are certainly tantalizing. How great would this look in HD? How much extra attention would be garnered by otherwise uninteresting match-ups? A November game between the Islanders and Coyotes wouldn't usually be more than an afterthought for 99% of hockey fans, let alone casual sports-viewers - if properly marketed, however, an Ugly Uniform Match could be a huge draw.

If the NHL wanted to generate more fan interest, it could hold online voting to determine which teams would participate in the games (personally I think this should be a double-header) and which jerseys they should wear. It could maintain veto power if the choice of jerseys would cause issues for the players (for example two yellow jerseys) but otherwise it would be left up to the fans. As every team now plays each other at least once, the match-ups could be determined by fans before the schedule is released, allowing the league some flexibility in determining how to fit these (usually unusual) match-ups in the schedule.

So whaddya think? It may be a dumb idea, and it will likely never happen, but here's dreaming. The NHL would be a much more interesting place if this idea ever got adopted.

Who will have the best goaltending at the 2010 Olympics?

My friend Becky (R.A. DePalma in the Comments) emailed me about an ESPN article, suggesting that the USA might have superior goaltending to Canada at the 2010 Olympics. From Becky:

I just wanted to know what you think of this statement from a Scott Burnside article: (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=burnside_scott&id=4369012) 10. Right now, who has the better goaltending lineup for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics? The Canadians likely will go with Martin Brodeur, who hasn't advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs since 2003, and Roberto Luongo, who imploded in the second round this past postseason and has never played in a conference finals game, let alone a Stanley Cup finals matchup. The Americans will go with Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas and Ryan Miller, who has backstopped the Buffalo Sabres to two berths in the Eastern Conference finals since the end of the lockout. Just asking. I wanted to post the question of what do people think about this on your blog... I think that it is foolish to say that Thomas and Miller are better than Luongo and Brodeur just because they have had more post-season success. Was it Luongo who imploded or the Canucks defense? Do we possibly think that the Canadian defense will be the same? And what illusion is it that Olympic hockey is between the USA and Canada. There are many other countries contending for that championship.

So, as Becky asks, what are your thoughts about goaltending for Canada, the US or any other team? Feel free to join the conversation in the comments sections.

Personally, I think Canada has the deepest selection, but that at the tournament many other countries have great goalies who can step up and lead a charge if they get hot. Here's my breakdown of the netminding situation for some of the countries in the tournament:

Canada - I don't think you can go wrong with either Brodeur or Luongo. I know some people (including Scott Burnside) are worried about the relative lack of playoff success by the two goalies in the past few seasons. However, anyone who is championing Cam Ward over these two should remember that he didn't exactly light it up in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Penguins: the Pens outscored the Hurricanes 20-9 in four games (a GAA of 5.00 for those of you scoring at home). By comparison, the Canucks were outscored 23-19 in 6 games (a 3.83 GAA) by the Blackhawks in the Second Round. The two Finals goalies were both Canadian, but would you really feel comfortable with Chris Osgood or Marc-Andre Fleury between the pipes in Vancouver? Yeah, me neither.

In the end, I think one of Luongo or Brodeur will seize the moment and be The Guy for Canada - and I think either of them will do a lights-out job of trying to push their team to Gold Medal glory.

United States - I think Ryan Miller is a very good goalie, but I wouldn't put him in the same category as Luongo, Broduer, Henrik Lundqvist or Evgeni Nabokov. Still, if he can get hot or if Tim Thomas can continue his remarkable run from the past season, then the US might become a Cinderella in this tournament.

However, I don't think Burnside's insinuation that the US has superior goaltending to Canada because Thomas won the Vezina and Miller helped the Sabres to two Eastern Conference Finals carries any water. Brodeur won the previous two Vezinas to Thomas (narrowly beating out Luongo in 2006-07, a season in which Luongo was also runner-up for the Hart and Pearson Trophies). And if you're going to claim that 2006-07 was too long ago to have relevance to this deabte, then check out the last time Miller played in the Conference Finals. Oh yeah, it was also the last time the Sabres made the playoffs.

Russia - Russia is pretty solid in net, thanks to Evgeni Nabokov. If he falters, youngster Semyon Varlamov proved in the playoffs that he can play at a high level for at least a short period of time. And don't count out Nikolai Khabibulin, who will be 37 by the time the Games begin. While many are slagging the Oilers for signing the 'Bulin Wall, he did record the third highest GAA in the league last season and helped the Blackhawks to the Western Conference Final - no mean feat. Khabibulin wasn't invited to the Russian orientation camp, but I would imagine that a strong start to the NHL season would put him in contention.

Sweden - Henrik Lundqvist, who helped Sweden capture the Gold Medal in 2006, is one of the best goalies in the league. As long as he's healthy, the Swedes will be a favourite - along with Russia and Canada - in 2010.

Finland - Finland is a bit of a goaltending factory, so the team is guaranteed to have solid netminding. Unfortunately the rest of the Finns' line-up is not as strong, but with the likes of Niklas Backstrom, Miikka Kiprusoff, Pekka Rinne, Vesa Toskala, Kari Lehtonen and Antero Niittymaki to choose from, you have to assume they'll be solid between the pipes. Did you know that Finland's only Gold Medal ever in men's ice hockey came in the 1995 World Championships. In all the tournaments they've competed in (World Championships, World Cups, Canada Cups, Olympics) since 1939, they have just the one first place, nine second place and six third place finishes.

Czech Republic - The Czechs are not as strong between the pipes since the retirement of Dominik Hasek, but still have Tomas Vokoun to backstop them. If he falters, the fortunes of the Czech team could head south very quickly.

Goaltending isn't everything, but in a short tournament whose latter rounds are single-knockout it can prove to be the key to success. Anyone who remembers the 1996 World Cup, whose MVP was US goalie Mike Richter, can attest to the huge impact that top-notch goaltending can have on an already-talented roster.

Okay, those are my thoughts. What are yours? Who has the best goaltending heading into the 2010 Olympics?

We're Number 4?

Okay, I'm done all of my work for my Masters, so let's get back into some hockey after a long summer hiatus! What better way to kick it off then with some positive news, or at least a reason for optimism. Or skepticism.

Ross McKeon of Yahoo! Sports released his mid-summer Power Rankings, in which he ranks all 30 NHL teams. And guess who sits at Number 4? From McKeon's column:

4. Vancouver Canucks – You want an early Calder Trophy candidate? Remember the name Cody Hodgson, the 19-year-old center the Canucks drafted 10th overall in 2008. He’s got a great chance not only to make Vancouver’s opening-night roster, but to excel right off the bat. Oh, and don’t be surprised if Mats Sundin returns to Vancouver once he decides he’s not done yet.

Aside from his apparent inside knowledge and/or speculation about Mats Sundin, McKeon's main reason for ranking the Canucks this high seems to be Cody Hodgson. Now I'm as excited as anyone for his arrival, but I think that Canucks fans need to be cautious about expecting too much from a kid who is two years away from being able to buy a beer when the Canucks are on the road against 24 of the NHL's teams. The signs point toward Hodgson becoming a Linden-esque franchise cornerstone, but he clearly has a lot to accomplish before meeting such expectations. And expecting him to have an all-star rookie season may be bit much. If he gets 60 points I will be ecstatic about his potential.

So, not to be a downer, but I think McKeon may have overestimated the Canucks' fortunes. I think they have a decent chance to beat out Calgary for the Northwest Division crown. I do not anticipate them being better than every Western Conference team except the Chicago Blackhawks. Sorry, but the Canucks have a lot to prove before you can put them ahead of the Detroit Red Wings or even the San Jose Sharks. And I'm not certain that, as things stand, they're necessarily better than the Anaheim Ducks or the Flames.

I don't know the last time the 'Nucks would have placed this high in any kind of ranking. Certainly not since the West Coast Express era, assuming a sane person was compiling the rankings. Maybe I'm uneasy with too much preseason Canucks hype because I feel like it setting them up to fail. 20+ years as a Canucks fan has made me suspicious of claims about the greatness of a given squad. Based on the Canucks' two best results (1982 and 1994) it seems like our best moments come when no one expects them.

Apologies for the radio silence

I haven't been able to post in some time, due to a combination of schoolwork, travel and the wedding celebrations of a very good friend. I am currently in one of the NHL cities that has not won a cup since 1967,* before returning home to another next week. I'm not sure how much time I will have to post while I'm away, but keep checking back throughout the dog days of summer. For those of you wondering what is coming up on the blog, here is a preview of coming attractions:

- Continuing to revisit my frequently-terrible predictions for the 08-09 NHL season

- A couple creative ideas for the NHL to increase local fan interest

- A look at some of the biggest hockey upsets of all time

- And, of course, the long-awaited Mid-Year Reader Comment Awards

Hope you are enjoying the summer, and thanks for reading!

* The complete list is: Atlanta, Buffalo, Chicago, Columbus, Los Angeles, Miama (Florida), Minneapolis-St.Paul (Minnesota), Nashville, Ottawa, Phoenix, San Jose, St. Louis, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington

Revisiting my pre-season predictions - Part II

Way back in the fall I made my predictions for the 2008-09 regular season. Predictions were made for the Eastern and Western Conferences, as well as for major award winners. Now that the season is over and the hardware handed out, it is time to look back in embarrassment at my preseason predictions. This is Part I in the series.

I will rank all my predictions them on a four-letter scale:

A - Nailed the pick exactly right
B - In the ballpark but not right on
C - A pretty misguided pick, but you can kind of understand why I made it
F - Epic fail

Western Conference

1st Place
Predicted: Detroit Red Wings
Actual: San Jose Sharks
Grade: B+
Okay, so San Jose took first by 5 points, but the Red Wings still finished the season with 112 points and challenged the Sharks for the President's Trophy for much of the season.

2nd Place
Predicted: Dallas Stars
Actual: Detroit Red Wings
Grade: F-
Yes I know that F- technically doesn't exist, but I deserve it anyway. I also picked Dallas to win the Stanley Cup. Let's just not talk about it, 'kay?

3rd Place
Predicted: Calgary Flames
Actual: Vancouver Canucks
Grade: B-
Ye of little faith! Yes, I actually put aside my obvious partisanism and called the Flames to win the Northwest Division. To be fair, Calgary did appear to have the division wrapped up before falling apart down the stretch, often dressing fewer than 18 skaters due to injuries and salary cap issues. No wrong prediction pleased me more than this one!

4th Place
Predicted: San Jose Sharks
Actual: Chicago Blackhawks
Grade: C
The Sharks dominated in the regular season, but unfortunately for them the President's Trophy just ain't the same as the Stanley Cup.

5th Place
Predicted: Anaheim Ducks
Actual: Calgary Flames
Grade: C
The Ducks slipped to 8th. The Flames stumbled their way to 5th. To be fair, Anaheim was better than their record indicated.

6th place
Predicted: Chicago Blackhawks
Actual: St. Louis Blues
Grade: B-
Chicago defied my expectations by maturing faster than I had thought they would, and finished with an impressive 104 points in the regular season. Let's not talk about the playoffs. Ever.

7th Place
Predicted: Vancouver Canucks
Actual: Columbus Blue Jackets
Grade: A-
Yes, I know the 'Nucks made it to 3rd. So why I am being so self-congratulatory about this pick? Well, mainly because - as I noted in my original post - "the conventional wisdom of 99.9% of hockey experts" was that they would miss the playoffs entirely. Adam Proteau of The Hockey News had them at 14th. So the fact that I called them to make the playoffs at all is, I think, worthy of a decent grade.

8th Place
Predicted: Phoenix Coyotes
Actual: Anaheim Ducks
Grade: F
I thought the Coyotes would turn a corner this year, and for half the season it looked like they might. But then the wheels fell off, and they finished the season in 13th and twelve points behind the 8th place Ducks. Oops.

9th Place
Predicted: Columbus Blue Jackets
Actual: Minnesota Wild
Grade: D
Didn't think that CBJ had it in them to make the playoffs. But they defied my predictions by making their first ever postseason.

10th Place
Predicted: Edmonton Oilers
Actual: Nashville Predators
Grade: A
The Oilers actually finished in 11th place, but I am proud of this pick for a similar reason to my Canucks prediction - because it defied the prognostications of many hockey experts. The pre-season hype about the Oilers was that they had a great youthful core led by players such as Sam Gagner (who managed just 41 points in his second season) and that they were poised to take a big step in 08-09. These predictions, however, ignored the fact that the Oilers were pretty abysmal in 07-08 until they made a late push for the playoffs. Those kind of streaks rarely carry over into the following regular season.

11th Place
Predicted: Colorado Avalanche
Actual: Edmonton Oilers
Grade: D
Wow, I thought the Avs would be bad, but not last-in-the-conference bad. Which is exactly how bad they were, finishing a full 10 points below the 14th place LA Kings.

12th Place
Predicted: Minnesota Wild
Actual: Dallas Stars
Grade: B+
Yeah I was off by a few spots, but I was reasonably accurate in my prediction: "I feel like the Wild are in for a fall. Call it a hunch."

13th Place
Predicted: Nashville Predators
Actual: Phoenix Coyotes
Grade: C-
Never count out the Predators. While I correctly called them to miss the playoffs after four straight seasons of making it, I did not expect them to be as competitive as they were. The Preds hung in there, and finished just three points back of the 8th place Ducks.

14th Place
Predicted: St. Louis Blues
Actual: Los Angeles Kings
Grade: F
Didn't see this one coming. After finishing with just 79 points in 2007-08, good for 14th in the conference, the Blues rocketed back to legitimacy by finishing 6th in the West with 92 points. Fortunately they met their match in Round 1 of the playoffs.

15th Place
Predicted: Los Angeles Kings
Actual: Colorado Avalanche
Grade: A-
The Kings finished in 14th. Close enough.

Final Grades:

A: 1
A-: 2
B+: 2
B-: 2
C: 2
C-: 1
D: 2
F: 2
F-: 1

Oh no, not Andrew Raycroft!

One-time Toronto Maple Leaf, and some-time butt of my jokes, Andrew Raycroft has reportedly signed with the Canucks.

Seriously?

I don't really get this move, unless there is an imminent trade involving Cory Schneider. Assuming Luongo signs a long-term extension, conventional wisdom is that Schneider backs up Luongo this year to increase his already-quite-high trade value. So why bring in a mediocre goalie to back up Bobby-Lou? Furthermore, with cap space limited, why pay a significant chunk for a back-up?

Unlike Kyle Wellwood, this is one ex-Leaf reclamation project I am not a fan of.

Some thoughts on free agency so far

Well the "Free Agent Frenzy" (as TSN markets it) has been on for over 24 hours, and there have been some notable happenings.

For Canucks fans the big news is that Daniel and Henrik Sedin are returning to the fold, at $6.1 million per year for five years. That is considerably lower than what they could have demanded on the open market, and represents a solid commitment to the twins, along with Roberto Luongo (expected to sign a long-term extension soon), as the team's core moving forward. I have already expressed my desire to keep the Sedins in Vancouver, and consequently I am very happy that this deal got done.

The other significant news is the departure of long-serving stalwart Mattias Ohlund to the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he will serve as a mentor to the young Victor Hedman. Ohlund was a rock on the Canucks blueline for 11 seasons, and departs as the franchise's leading scorer amongst defensemen. It was clear for most of the season that the Canucks were not going to retain Ohlund's services, and while it is sad to see him go there is, happily, no ill will on either side. Expect Ohlund to get a rousing ovation from the GM Place faithful next time Tampa comes through town.

In other minor news the club bids farewell to Jason LaBarbera, who filled in solidly during Luongo's injury last season but who deserves a chance to try to win a starting job. Hopefully he gets that chance with the Phoenix Coyotes. The Canucks also signed three depth defensemen in Nolan Baumgartner (who played for their AHL team last year), Lawrence Nycholat (who was lost on the waiver last season) and Matt Pope. None of these six are likely to be in the starting lineup come the Fall, but do provide some useful insurance in case of injury.

Other notable names on the move have included Marian Hossa (Chicago Blackhawks), Marion Gaborik (New York Rangers), Jay Bouwmeester (Calgary Flames), Mike Cammalleri (Montreal Canadiens), Nikolai Khabibulin (Edmonton Oilers), Martin Havlat (Minnesota Wild) and Mike Komisarek (Toronto Maple Leafs).

I'm a little scared by the number of Western Conference teams that look to be much better next year, seeing that as of right now the Canucks have not gotten any better (though, thankfully, not gotten much worse thanks to keeping the Sedins). It remains to be seen if Mike Gillis can acquire defensive depth to replace Ohlund and scoring to complement the Sedins (a Mats Sundin return is not out of the question), or if the latter of these needs can be met internally by Cody Hodgson, Michael Grabner or, unlikely this coming season, Jordan Schroeder.

Meanwhile, in our division Calgary has added Bouwmeester to a defence corps that also includes Dion Phaneuf and Robyn Regehr, although they did lose valuable scoring in Cammalleri. They may again be hamstrung by cap issues and lack of depth, as they have a lot of money invested in a small core of players. Edmonton arguably gets an upgrade in goal, adding Khabibulin to replace the outgoing Dwayne Roloson. Minnesota essentially swaps one incredibly-skilled-but-incredibly-fragile forward for another, losing Gaborik and adding Havlat. Colorado has upgraded somewhat by drafting Matt Duchesne and acquiring Craig Anderson to address their woeful goaltending.

But other teams in the West are looking like they will be much stronger next year. The Detroit Red Wings are consistently a strong team, and that is unlikely to change. The San Jose Sharks are looking to bounce back from a disappointing postseason, and should once again be a dominant team. The Anaheim Ducks will remain a dangerous opponent. The St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets and L.A. Kings all have good, young cores and look to move up the standings this year. And Chicago just got that much more deadly with the addition of Hossa.

So, while the regular season is still three months away, it appears as if the West will be a tough conference once again. Here's hoping the Canucks find a few more pieces before then.

Revisiting my pre-season predictions: Part I

Way back in the fall I made my predictions for the 2008-09 regular season. Predictions were made for the Eastern and Western Conferences, as well as for major award winners. Now that the season is over and the hardware handed out, it is time to look back in embarrassment at my preseason predictions. This is Part I in the series.

I will rank all my predictions them on a four-letter scale:

A - Nailed the pick exactly right
B - In the ballpark but not right on
C - A pretty misguided pick, but you can kind of understand why I made it
F - Epic fail

Eastern Conference

1st Place
Predicted: Philadelphia Flyers
Actual: Boston Bruins
Grade: C - Philly had a strong team, but finished 17 points behind the Bruins in 5th.

2nd Place
Predicted: Montreal Canadiens
Actual: Washington Capitals
Grade: F - Many observers expected big things from the Habs in their centenary season. I, unfortunately, was one of them. The Canadiens were a gong show from mid-season onwards, and barely made the playoffs by virtue of a tie-breaker with Florida.

3rd Place
Predicted: Washington Capitals
Actual: New Jersey Devils
Grade: B- - Washington managed to finish 2nd, bettering my expectations for them. Although I must admit that I picked them to finish 3rd only by virtue of winning their division:

"I wouldn’t be surprised if the Pens finish second to the Flyers for points - too bad the NHL's screwy division-seeding arrangement, AKA throwing the Southeast Division a frickin' bone, will deny them the second seed in the conference" ('Nucks and Pucks, September 13, 2009).

4th Place
Predicted: Pittsburgh Penguins
Actual: Pittsburgh Penguins
Grade: A- - Yes I nailed it, but see above quotation for my thoughts about the Penguins. Yes theytied for 4th, but they were nowhere close to finishing 2nd in points.

5th Place
Predicted: New Jersey Devils
Actual: Philadelphia Flyers
Grade: C+ - The Devils exceeded my expectations, winning the Atlantic Division and finishing 3rd in the conference.

6th Place
Predicted: Buffalo Sabres
Actual: Carolina Hurricanes
Grade: F - Oops.

7th Place
Predicted: New York Rangers
Actual: New York Rangers
Grade: A - The only thing preventing an A+ was that I referred to Wade Redden as "a defensive upgrade" when I should have said "useless player with a millstone of a contract."

8th Place
Predicted: Boston Bruins
Actual: Montreal Canadiens
Grade: F - So my 8th place team finished first, and my second place team finished 8th. Did not see Boston coming on so strong, but good on 'em they had a great season.

9th Place
Predicted: Ottawa Senators
Actual: Florida Panthers
Grade: A- - Yes Ottawa actually finished 11th, but the point is that I called them to miss the playoffs and continue their freefall away from respectability. And I think I nailed that one pretty much dead on!

10th Place
Predicted: Tampa Bay Lightning
Actual: Buffalo Sabres
Grade: C - Tampa was worse than I thought they would be. What can ya do?

11th Place
Predicted: Carolina Hurricanes
Actual: Ottawa Senators
Grade: F - Carolina not only made the playoffs as the number 6 seed, they shocked the hockey world by making it all the way to the Conference Finals.

12th Place
Predicted: Florida Panthers
Actual: Toronto Maple Leafs
Grade: C- - Florida surprised by making a strong push for the playoffs, ultimately falling just short.

13th Place
Predicted: New York Islanders
Actual: Atlanta Thrashers
Grade: C+ - The Isles finished last in the league.

14th Place
Predicted: Toronto Maple Leafs
Actual: Tampa Bay Lightning
Grade: C+ - Toronto was a little better than I expected. Just a little.

15th Place
Predicted: Atlanta Thrashers
Actual: New York Islanders
Grade: B- - Atlanta finished 13th. Trying to predict the bottom of the standings is a painful and inexact science.

Final Grades:

A: 1
A-: 2
B-: 2
C+: 3
C: 2
C-: 1
F: 4

Canucks draft Jordan Schroeder. . . and Luongo signing an extension?

Well, GM Mike Gillis might have pulled off another steal in the First Round of the NHL Entry Draft. Hot on the heels of last year's 10th overall selection of Cody Hodgson, the Canucks plucked Jordan Schroeder - who many experts considered to be a Top 10 pick - 22nd overall.

Schroeder comes to the Canucks from the hockey factory that is the University of Minnesota. At UM he demonstrated considerable offensive prowess, and would have probably been a Top 5 pick if two factors had not worked against him: he had a mediocre World Junior Championships this year, and he is, um, on the smaller side for NHLers at 5'8". Still for an 18 year-old 5'8" kid he weighs an impressive 178 pounds - in a couple of years this guy is going to be a tank.

Also, size doesn't really matter in the NHL. Right Kyle Wellwood?

I am very happy with this pick. The Canucks were expected to go after an offensive defenceman, but when a talent like Schroeder falls into your range you have to jump on the opportunity. Along with Hodgson (and hopefully Henrik Sedin), he will ensure the Canucks are strong in the centre ice position for years to come.

You can read a full scouting report on Schroeder here. My friend Dan pointed out that the University of Minnesota's top three centreman are all now property of the Canucks (and at least two of them hail from MN). Odd, especially (as pointed out by the TSN crew) given the hostility between the Minnesota Wild and the Canucks.

In a positive symbolic act, none other than Roberto Luongo announced the Canucks' pick. Not only was this a grand slam with the hometown Montreal crowd, it was also a good sign that the Canucks captain will sign an extension to keep in the Green and Blue for years to come. There a a variety of options on the table, but here's hoping that the $6.8 million per season for six years comes to pass. Lou is under contract through next season, meaning that this deal would keep him here for seven more years. $6.8 million is a reasonable cap hit compared to other elite NHL goalies, and is much more palatable than the rumoured $8 million per season.

If you missed the draft... well congratulations, because that's four hours of my life I will never get back. I kid - it was reasonably entertaining. However, if you missed it, here is the the selection of Schroeder:

What makes a Canucks fan a Canucks fan?

Puck the Media has posted a quite hilarious NHL Fan Glossary (H/T Puck Daddy for the link). Here is what they have to say about Canucks fans:

"Canucks, Vancouver. Is kind of embarrassed that the team is basically a different way of saying Canadiens. Thinks Steve Moore had it coming. Owns every one of the teams 27 different jerseys."

Okay, "had it coming" might be a tad strong, though I was quite upset by Moore's previous hit on Naslund. And, personally, I'm not at all embarrassed that Canuck means Canadian! It means we don't have to resort to putting the Canada flag on our jerseys like a certain Alberta team I can think of (anyone else think the Flames come off as a bunch of college kids travelling around Europe who try to be "cool" by rocking the maple leaf on their backpacks?).

And yeah, the team has had a veritable colour prism of jerseys over the years. All of which make appearances in the stands at games. Bonus points if you own the salmon-red third jersey from the mid-90s. Extra bonus points if you actually wear it outside the house.

Unfortunately the entry on the Canucks appears to be the second smallest after the Maple Leafs ("Cherishes the team’s most recent Stanley Cup win in “The Love Guru”"). Surely there is more that makes up the identity of Canucks fans? Here are my suggestions for further entries (some serious, some humorous):

• Still has mixed feelings about the Orca.

• Still talks about the '94 Stanley Cup run like we actually won the Cup.

• Will always hate Mike Keenan for coaching the Rangers in '94, for the way he treated Trevor Linden, and for recently coaching the Calgary Flames. And for just being Mike Keenan.
  

• Conveniently forgets that Linden is actually from Alberta and grew up a Flames fan.

• When speaking with Leafs fans will counter the "Well the Canucks have never won a Stanley Cup" argument by noting that Toronto has not won one since before the Canucks existed as an NHL franchise.

• Has thought "we have a chance this year!" every season since 2001, only to be bitterly disappointed come April/May.

• Loves Stan Smyl even if he/she never saw him play.

• Regularly contemplates what could have been in the 2003-04 season if Todd Bertuzzi hadn't, well, you know...
  

• Knows that the 7th Man banner at GM Place was really, really lame and avoids talking about it all costs.

• Is happy that Matt Cooke won a Cup, even if it wasn't with the Canucks.
  

• When complaining about Roberto Luongo having an off game, forgets that his predecessors included Felix Potvin, Dan Cloutier, Bob Essensa, Peter Skudra, Garth Snow, Arturs Irbe and Alex Auld. Upon remembering this fact, kisses the ground and thanks his/her lucky stars.

Do you have suggestions for the list? Any defining Canucks' fan characteristics you care to share? use the comments section to add suggestions to the list.

Sign the Sedins!

Will the Sedins return to the Canucks? This is undoubtedly the biggest question facing the Canucks' GM Mike Gillis right now, and one that will shape all his other off-season decisions. The Twins want to stay in Vancouver, but Gillis is rightly concerned that meeting their salary demands (believed to be about $6.5 million per season) will hobble the team's ability to maneuver under a salary cap that is likely to drop in the next season or two.

I have a feeling that the Sedins will end up settling on a contract with the Canucks. Is it worth it for both of them to leave a city they and their families like and a team that is better than most of the teams rumoured as potential destinations (Toronto, Montreal, LA) for an extra $500,000 a season? Obviously that's a lot of money, but they'll still likely get something in the range of $6 million so it's not a huge loss of income. From the Canucks perspective, and extra $1 million of cap space can go a long way.

The Sedins are excellent players, and I think they are in the $6 million range. A lot of people underestimate them, but consider how they stack up statistically against other stars:

With 82 points each, the Sedins tied with Mike Cammalleri of the Flames for 13th in NHL scoring. That means that they finished higher in scoring than players such as Rick Nash, Eric Staal, Daniel Alfredsson, Henrik Zetterberg, Dany Heatley, Marian Hossa, Jonathan Toews and Vincent Lecavalier. This is not to say that the Sedins are necessarily better than these players, but that statistically they stack up favourably against some very impressive competition.

Goal scoring is not exactly the Canucks' forte, but that's no fault of Daniel. He had a respectable 31 goals, good enough to tie with a host of other players for 26th in league scoring. Yes, he could and should be higher - but who will pick up that slack if the Canucks let him and his brother walk? Plus, do you really think Alex Burrows will come anywhere close to replicating his 28-goal season playing without the Sedins? Just ask Anson Carter how difficult it is to replicate a career year sans les freres Sedin.

We all know Henrik is an assist machine. With 60 helpers, he finished 8th in the league behind players such as Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Pavel Datsyuk and Joe Thornton. The previous season he finished 4th with 61 assists. But did you know that Daniel was hot on his brother's tail with 51 assists, placing him 14th in the league? These guys make players around them better. Period.

In the playoffs the Sedins continued their clutch play, each scoring 10 points in 10 games. Yes, they could have done more. But so could have Sundin, Luongo, Kesler, Burrows, etc. I thought the Sedins were among the team's best players in the playoffs, and stepped up their physical game in order to get on the scoresheet.

Losing the Sedins would leave a huge hole in the Canucks forward corps. Who would step up to the top line? 19-year old rookie Cody Hodgson? Ryan Kesler? Pavol Demitra? There aren't a lot of good internal options when it comes to filling two of the top three first-line sports. Unless Gillis has a couple aces up his sleeve in trade or free-agent form (Lecavalier? Heatley? Gaborik?), losing the Sedins would be crippling.

What are your thoughts about the Sedins? Should the Canucks keep them? Let them walk? If they stay, what are they worth?

Penguins dance with Lord Stanley

The title of this post is a reference to the commentary of the Penguins legendary, high-octane announcer Mike Lange:



Lange has given us some gems over the years, from "Get in the fast-lane grandma, the bingo game's ready to roll!" to "He smoked him like a bad cigar!" to, on the occasion of the Pens' first Cup victory, "Lord Stanley, Lord Stanley, get me the brandy!" And he had reason to celebrate again last night, as the Penguins atoned for last year's loss to the Red Wings by taking an exciting Game 7 2-1.

It is a great story for these young Penguins (who, by the way, the announcers did not constantly refer to as "too young to know any better" - hopefully that moniker is never heard again in NHL broadcasting unless, for some reason, a Timbits Hockey team takes on the Leafs, Senators, Lightning or any other team they may have a chance against).

First of all, there is the NHL's wonderboy Sidney Crosby becoming the youngest captain to lift the Stanley Cup. And he was the main reason that the Penguins even survived the first and second rounds, carrying the team on his shoulders against the Flyers and Capitals. He led the playoffs with 15 goals and finished second to teammate Evgeni Malkin with 31 points.

Malkin emerged as a playoff force, leading the playoffs with 36 points and becoming the first Russian to capture the Conn Smythe Trophy - which, incidentally, he can place on his mantle next to the Art Ross Trophy he earns this year for leading the league in scoring in the regular season.

Malkin turns 23 this year, and Crosby will be 22 by the time the 2009-10 season starts. These guys haven't even hit their prime yet, and seem poised for many years of greatness with the Penguins.

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was excellent in Game 7, and shook the label of not being able to win the big game (hmm, I wish another French-Canadian goalie would do the same thing). Grinder Max Talbot emerged as the Stanley Cup hero, scoring both goals for the Penguins. And the Pens played a solid team game to defeat the very talented Wings.

Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Penguins, your 2009 Stanley Cup Champions.

And congratulations to the NHL's marketing department for producing this commercial, which captures some of the heartbreak of the Penguins to the Red Wings in last year's Final and somehow makes this year's victory seem all the sweeter for them:



Here's hoping they'll pull off something similar with the Canucks and Roberto Luongo this coming October, and the Canucks will proceed to knock off the Blackhawks in the Conference Final.

Game 7 Excitement

Tomorrow night Gary Bettman will hand the Stanley Cup to either Nicklas Lidstrom or Sidney Crosby, and the curtain will fall on an exciting 2008-09 NHL season. It has been a great Final (with the exception of the 5-0 rut by Detroit in Game 5) featuring some of the best and brightest stars of the hockey world: Crosby, Malkin, Zetterberg, Lidstrom, Datsyuk et al.

Some random questions heading into Game 7:

• Will home ice advantage continue to define this series? The home team has won each of the first six games. At home, the Wings have outscored the Pens 11-2. At the Igloo, meanwhile, the Penguins hold a 10-5 edge. My feeling is that the adrenaline, passion and win-or-go-home desperation of a Game 7 trumps home ice advantage, which is a big plus for the Penguins.

• Will Sidney Crosby emerge as a force? Thus far he has been limited to 3 points (1G, 2A) in the series, while being shadowed by the Wings' Henrik Zetterberg. Without a doubt this is the biggest game of his career, and it represents a chance to carve out a legacy at this early stage of his young career.
  

• Speaking of Zetterberg, how amazing is the Wings' depth and team game that they can use him in a checking role? This is a guy who had 92 points two seasons ago, 73 this year and won the Conn Smythe Trophy last season. And Mike Babcock has enough faith in his team to stick Zetterberg on Crosby, and rely on the rest of the team to pick up the offensive slack.

• How will the goaltenders play? As mentioned, both have given up a lot of goals on the road and not many at home, which would suggest an advantage for Chris Osgood. Osgood also the advantage of experience, having already played in 128 playoff games and won three Stanley Cups (two as a starter). Fleury, on the other hand, has played just 48 playoff games (almost half of which have been this post-season) and has only last year's Final loss to draw upon.

• Will the role players decide the outcome? Hitherto unknown Justin Abelkader stepped in and scored two huge goals for the Wings in Games 1 and 2. Tyler Kennedy busted out a two point game, including scoring the game winner, in the Penguins 2-1 Game 6 win. Lesser lights such as Jordan Staal, Dan Cleary, Max Talbot and Darren Helm have all made significant contributions to their teams' success throughout the series. This game may be decided by Crosby, Malkin, Zetterberg, Lidstrom or Datsyuk. But don't be surprised if it's Kris Draper or Matt Cooke who emerges as the hero of the game.

All these questions will be answered in less than 36 hours. I can't wait, it should be an amazing conclusion to the season.

2009 Playoffs: Stanley Cup Finals Predictions

Travel and technology have prevented me from posting my Finals predictions. Travel, because I am in Ontario. Technology, because whenever I try to create a post, the site looks super ghetto. So here's hoping this works, but based on what I see in front of me I have no idea if it will.

Anyway, I'm not going to change my original prediction just because the Red Wings are up 2-0 so far. I will stick with the Penguins in 7, with Sidney Crosby capturing the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Both Crosby and the Pens had better start stepping it up if my predictions are to come true! Detroit has looked scarily good thus far, and is ridiculously opportunistic when it comes to taking advantage of Penguins' mistakes and/or lucky bounces.

What are your thoughts and/or predictions about the series so far?

Reminder: 'Nucks and Pucks Reader Comment Awards

Back in January I announced the first semi-annual 'Nucks and Pucks Reader Comment Awards. There were some great comments made in the first six months of the blog, and I am happy to see this trend continuing as the 'Nucks and Pucks one-year anniversary approaches.

The deadline to be considered for Version 2.0 of these prestigious prizes, which earn the winners limited edition 'Nucks and Pucks beers, is fast-approaching: only comments posted between January 1 and June 30, 2009 will be considered.

Therefore, this is a reminder to regular and casual readers to continue to post intelligently, hilariously, obnoxiously and/or excessively in the next month. The awards up for grabs are the Hart Trophy (best comment), the Art Ross Trophy (most comments) and the Calder Trophy (best comment section newcomer).

In addition, I am introducing a new award: the Tom Larscheid Award, given to the commentor that most blatantly exhibits Canucks favouritism/homer-ism. Anyone who has listened to the Canucks radio/internet broadcasts knows that Larscheid's passion for the Canucks is immense, and in that spirit this award is designed to encourage more pro-Canucks chatter in the comments section.

Some of you have mentioned to me that you've had trouble posting comments. I am fairly certain that if you have a Google ID (eg. if you use gmail) it should not be a problem, but let me know if issues persist.

Tony Hrkac is still playing!

Tony Hrkac had a fairly average NHL career, scoring 371 points (132G, 239A) in 758 NHL games between 1987 and 2003. His was a true journeyman career, as he played for nine NHL teams in that time: St. Louis Blues, Quebec Nordiques, San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, New York Islanders, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Atlanta Thrashers. He captured a Stanley Cup with the Dallas "Skate-in-the-Crease" Stars in 1999.

Even more journeymanlike, in this time period Hrkac spent parts of eight different seasons in either the American Hockey League (AHL) or the now-defunct International Hockey League. Clearly still in love with the game, or in need of a paycheque, Hrkac toiled for two more seasons with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL following his last NHL season. Hrkac retired in 2005, the season after the Admirals captured the AHL's Calder Cup championship.

I remember Hrkac primarily because of a 91-92 Upper Deck hockey card that featured him in his new Sharks duds. The combination of that very early-90s image, and Hrkac's awesome name (it's pronounced Hir-kis) stuck in my mind. The card is pictured here, though sadly I never owned an autographed version:

Needless to say, Hrkac had not crossed my mind in some time. So why I am I writing a blog post about him?

Well it all started when I read a game recap for the Manitoba Moose (the Canucks' farm team), who are currently engaged in a conference final showdown with the Houston Aeros. Turns out "Hrkac Circus" is playing for the Aeros, and further investigation revealed that he was signed by the Aeros in March to play his 19th (!) pro season.

Even though I am cheering for the Moose to make the Calder Cup, I am still pretty stoked about Tony Hrkac. Turns out Hrkac is a pretty popular player with AHL fans, as this post-game Rock Star treatment demonstrates:



Wow! How many players elicit this kind of reaction from their fans? I've seen Trevor Linden and Pavel Bure met by post-game reactions less exuberant than this. Guess it just goes to show that everyone loves Hrkac Circus!

[Ed. note: After the writing of this article, the Manitoba Moose eliminated the Houston Aeros from the AHL playoffs. To the best of my knowledge Tony Hrkac has not yet stated whether he will retire (again) from professional hockey or if he will return for another season.]

Because I haven't posted in a while, and because 70s hockey commercials are epic

This ad is quite amazing for many reasons: it's got four grown men singing about jeans while gliding around on the ice in said jeans and hockey jerseys; it's got Phil Esposito in a Rangers jersey (I know he played six seasons in NYC, but he's always a Bruin in my mind); and it's got a terrible jingle, terrible visual effects, and yet it is still totally awesome. Also, I like how they got the Sasson logo on the ice - it's a nice touch.

Enjoy.

2009 Playoffs: Round Three Predictions

Hmmm. So I might have been wrong about the Blackhawks. And the Hurricanes. Oh well, life goes on - and as a Canucks fan that usually means not having your team in the playoffs at this time of year. Here are my predictions for the Conference Finals:

Eastern Conference

Pittsburgh Penguins (4) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (6) - Penguins in 7

Ah yes, a classic 4 vs. 6 seed match-up in the Conference Finals. But more importantly it's a Staal vs. Staal series, as brothers Jordan and Eric face each other (anyone remember the Russ vs. Geoff Courtnall/Stars vs. Canucks series in 1994?) Both these teams should scare the bejeezers out of each other. The 'Canes have overcome two great teams, including the conference champion Bruins, and have lived up to their nickename Cardiac 'Canes for their improbable ability to win last-minute or OT games in the clutch. The Pens, meanwhile, are looking like a more mature version of last year's squad that bowed out in the Stanley Cup Final. Sidney Crosby is playing unreal, while Evgeni Malkin is hit-and-miss - but when he's "hit" he is amazing. Marc-Andre Fleury looked shaky at times, but also made huge saves such as this game-changing one early in Game Seven against the Capitals:



I think Pittsburgh is the better team, but Carolina has been proving its critics wrong all playoffs and the Penguins would be very, very wise not to underestimate them like the Devils and Bruins may have been guilty of.

Western Conference

Detroit Red Wings (2) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (4) - Red Wings in 6

Who knows how this could play out? The 'Hawks showed a ridiculous resiliancy and ability to come back from deficits against the Canucks and the Flames. But the Red Wings are better and more experienced than either of those Northwest Division squads, and I think the Blackhawks are due for a reality check against a team will be far less likely to stunningly implode than its two earlier opponents. Still... betting against the 'Hawks feels like a risky proposition. But I'm taking the Wings and calling a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Final.

The Hangover

Ugh.

Yeah, it happened. And I am not happy about it.

I will have to write more about it I guess, but my off-the-cuff thoughts right now (it's 2:00 AM) about the series:

First off, I will give the 'Hawks credit - whenever it seemed like a normal team would quit, they just kept coming. I was entirely sick of the whole "they're so young they don't know any better" judgment that infused the Hockey Night broadcasts, but there is no doubting that the youthful enthusiasm of the 'Hawks carried them through the rough times and helped spark their remarkable comebacks.

I was not thrilled with the officiating in the past few games. Yes, I am biased in the Canucks favour. But it seemed to me that the Canucks had a number of marginal calls go against them, while at times the Blackhawks had to be one degree removed from bloody murder to get a penalty. I do not think that this was a conspiracy or anything like that, I just think that the Canucks got a bit ulucky in terms of what the refs did and didn't see/call.

The two-seconds-after-the-pass hit on Alex Edler in the first set up a 2-on-1 break for the 'Hawks that could have caused a goal, despite the blatant interference. Ryan Kesler got brutally laid out on a completely unnecessary hit that went uncalled, despite the fact that Kesler was down and bloodied for some time. When the Canucks responded with a similar hit by Rick Rypien they got whistled for it. Meanwhile, the "hooking" call on Shane O'Brien in the 3rd was marginal at best.

The Canucks did not lose because of the officiating. They lost because of what Chicago did when they had the chance. The 'Hawks turn the screw like no other team I've seen before. But as a fan, it was tough to see what seemed to be inconsistent officiating give the 'Hawks multiple opportunities to get back into games the Canucks might have otherwise closed out.

I am still steamed over the "hook" on Dustin Byfuglien in Game 2, which was in fact Byfuglien just losing his footing and smashing into Roberto Luongo, that gave the 'Hawks a powerplay with the Canucks up 2-1. A half-minute later the Canucks shot the puck over the glass, giving Chicago a 2-man advantage upon which they converted to tie a game they would go on to win.

Anyway, I am probably just bitter at this point. I don't feel that the Blackhawks did not deserve to win the series... but similarly, I do not feel that the Canucks deserved to lose it. And the way in which they lost was extremely frustrating.

These Chicago Blackhawks make me think of what I imagine the 1980s Edmonton Oilers were like. It doesn't matter the score, they just keep coming at you again and again, and the capitalize on any mistake you make. I don't know that they will be good enough to knock off Detroit (or maybe Anaheim) in the conference finals, but I do think that they are the most terrifying team left in the post-season. No lead is ever safe against this team.

So here's to the Canucks 08-09 Edition, a team that fit Prototype B of Canucks squads - lovable losers who overachieve (Prototype A is lovable losers who underachieve, but this team only comes around once or twice every decade).

If someone told me in September that the 'Nucks would make it to Game Six of the Round Two I would have seen that as a reasonable and respectable conclusion to the season for this version of the team. Unfortunately, expectations were raised due the Canucks fantastic last few months of the season and quick dispatch of St. Louis in Round One. But, if we can improve from here (ie. Gillis re-signs the Sedins, Luongo plays a brilliant and healthy season, and Cody Hodgson plays like Steve Yzerman Jr.) then who knows how next season will go? Right?

'Cause, well, "next season!" has been the only rallying cry I've ever known as a Canucks fan.