The 10 Most Memorable Canucks Moments of 2011

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Dec 312011
 

2011 may well shake out to be one of the most memorable calendar year in Canucks history. (At least in my mind it will be until the year the Canucks win the Stanley Cup.) Through the ecstasy of the team’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals and many team and individual highs and the sadness in the deaths of Rick Rypien and Pavol Demitra, here are 10 Canucks moments from 2011 that I will remember. Feel free to add your own memorable moments in the comments section.

10. The passing away of Rick Rypien (August 15, 2011)

9. Ryan Kesler activates beast mode – 2nd round, game 5 vs. Nashville Predators (May 5, 2011)

8. Lee Sweatt’s first goal in his first game as a Vancouver Canuck (January 26, 2011)

7. Daniel Sedin wins the Art Ross Trophy, Ryan Kesler wins the Selke Trophy, and Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider win the William Jennings Trophy (June 22, 2011)

6. The Canucks win the President’s Trophy for the first time in franchise history (March 31, 2011)

5. Alex Burrows’ OT game-winning goal – Stanley Cup Finals, game 2 vs. Boston Bruins (June 4, 2011)

4. Canucks fans clean up after the post-Stanley Cup riot (June 16, 2011)

3. Max Lapierre’s game-winning goal with 4 1/2 minutes left, the only goal of the game – Stanley Cup Finals, game 5 vs. Boston Bruins (June 10, 2011)

2. Kevin Bieksa’s double OT game-winning goal off the stanchion – 3rd round, game 5 vs. San Jose Sharks (May 24, 2011)

1. Alex Burrows’ OT game-winning goal off a Chris Campoli turnover – 1st round, game 7 vs. Chicago Blackhawks (April 26, 2011)

Things That Make You Go Hmmm: Polarizing Players and Powerplay Problems

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Oct 192011
 

[Inspired by Arsenio Hall's "Things That Make You Go Hmmm…", Clayton Imoo talks about Canucks-related things that make him go hmmm… You can follow Clay on Twitter at (@canuckclay) or on his website, Clay's Canucks Commentary.]

I was at Rogers Arena last night as the Vancouver Canucks hosted the New York Rangers.  With the tribute to Rick Rypien, the return of Ryan Kesler, and the newest Canuck Dale Weise facing his former team, it promised to be a memorable night.  Unfortunately, with respect to the actual game, people will be remembering defensive breakdowns and seeing the Rangers win their first game of the young season.

As always, here are a few things that make me go hmmm…

  1. Roberto Luongo – or more accurately – his supporters and detractors.  The netminder is easily the most polarizing sports figure on the Canucks let alone in the entire province.  After the game, likely 75% – 80% of the Canucks-related tweets had to do with Luongo.  When he’s not playing well, his supporters preach patience while his detractors call him a waste of money and bust.  When he is playing well, his supporters remind us that he’s the best netminder we’ve ever had while his detractors say that he hasn’t proven anything until he leads the team to a Stanley Cup.  I’m not afraid to proclaim that I’m a Luongo supporter.  But I don’t flippantly point to him being a traditionally slow starter as an excuse for only one win in four starts.  Luongo must bear some of the blame, but he can certainly share it with his forwards who aren’t scoring enough and his defencemen who are breaking down at the most inopportune times.  One thing’s for certain however:  for the Canucks to win he can’t be the second-best goalie on the ice.

  2. Problems on the point.  Why is Coach Vigneault so insistent on keeping Mikael Samuelsson on the point on the first powerplay unit?  I’ve already written about this before, but Samuelsson’s ineffectiveness was on display once again Tuesday night.  He had trouble generating decent scoring chances and he struggled with keeping the puck in the zone.  While I would love to see Sami Salo on the first powerplay unit, I’m presuming that the coach wants to balance things out with a booming shot on each unit (with Alex Edler playing marksman on the first unit).   However, when the home team goes 0 for 8 on the powerplay in a game where we desperately need goals, something has to give.

    Also, as an aside, I would love to see Hamhuis and Ballard play together.  They are both good skaters and the steady Hamhuis would help offset the riskier play of Ballard.  And can you imagine the hip checks they could dish out?  Ever since the Canucks acquired them last summer within 6 days of each other, I’ve been hoping to see them on the ice together.  But it hasn’t happened yet.  Then again, Ballard didn’t spend much time on the ice with anyone last season.

  3. Speaking of polarizing players…the love/hate Luongo phenomena reminds me of the feelings towards Todd Bertuzzi after his hit on Steve Moore.  I happened to be in GM Place on that fateful March 8, 2004 evening.  The game itself was a blowout, with Canucks fans looking for something to cheer for.  We were wrought with anticipation as Bertuzzi chased Moore around the ice and we cheered like mad upon Bertuzzi’s first punch.  The cheers quickly subsided as players and fans alike realized that Moore was seriously injured.  There was an eerie silence in the stands followed by a reserved buzz as fans compared notes as to what they had just witnessed.  The radio shows and internet were abuzz with chatter for weeks afterwards, with equal percentages of people applauding and condemning Bertuzzi.

    Can you imagine if Twitter had been invented back then?  Whereas last night’s Luongo Twitter chatter kept the social networking platform busy, Bertuzzi’s hit might have shut the whole thing down.

   

PS:  Kudos to the Vancouver Canucks for an emotional and classy tribute to the late Rick Rypien.  The most touching moment for me was seeing Kevin Bieksa embracing Rick’s mother Shelley.  It brought a tear to this writer’s eye…and I’m sure I’m not alone.  Rest in peace Rick…you are already missed.

Quickies: October 5, 2011

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Oct 052011
 

Today’s quickies, a bunch of links, clips, news and other tidbits about the Vancouver Canucks.

Ryan Kesler

Photo credit: ESPN

Putting Things into Proper Perspective

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Sep 082011
 

As sports fans in general (and hockey fans in particular) continue to mourn the tragic plane crash in Russia that claimed 43 lives (including players and coaches from the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl KHL team), many people have named the summer of 2011 as the worst-ever in the history of hockey.  And when you consider the sudden deaths of Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien and Wade Belak (all within the last four months), it’s hard to disagree.

This latest tragedy affects different people across the world for various reasons.  Canucks fans are fondly remembering Pavol Demitra, who played here for two seasons and had an excellent 2010 Winter Olympics tournament here in Vancouver.  Combined with Rypien’s death last month, Luc Bourdon’s death in 2008, and the death of Taylor Pyatt’s fiancee, Carly, in 2009, it’s been an extremely difficult three-year period for fans on the West Coast. 

The Czech Republic lost 3 ex-NHL players in Jan Marek, Karel Rachunek, and Josef Vasicek.  And both Lokomotiv head coach Brad McCrimmon and the recently-retired Wade Belak were born in the prairie province of Saskatchewan.

But as tragic as these hockey deaths have been, sadly these types of deaths happen every day… just to less famous people.  We see stories and read accounts of people being killed by earthquakes, washed away by tsunamis, and starving to death in Africa.  But for some reason we don’t always give these people the same amount of attention that we do to professional athletes.

Not to mention our own family members and friends who may be suffering from disease, illness, and disability.  They often fight a silent yet noble battle with little to no fanfare.

The truth is, catastrophe and disaster bring people together.  Despair can lead to hope…and we can only hope that tragedy will lead to triumph.

As much as it pained us to see the Vancouver Canucks lose game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, recent events both inside and outside of the sporting world help put things into proper perspective.

Don’t get me wrong:  I’ll still be screaming, cheering, and jumping around like a madman whether I’m at Rogers Arena or in the friendly confines of my living room.

But I hope to do so with the proper perspective.   Because perspective helps us gain an appreciation of the bigger picture and reminds us as to what’s important.

KHL Lokomotiv

Remembering Rick Rypien

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Aug 162011
 

I found this video this morning – a compilation of some of Rick Rypien’s great moments:

I’ll always remember the fights against Zach Stortini, Hal Gill and Brandon Prust, and that shift he had against the Chicago Blackhawks when he had, like, 4 hits in a matter of seconds. He truly was, pound-for-pound, the best fighter in the NHL.

*****

For anyone interested, some fans are holding a memorial outside Rogers Arena on Wednesday, August 17 at 2:00 PM. The link to the Facebook event is here.

RIP Rick Rypien

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Aug 152011
 

It was back in December that Rick Rypien was given a personal leave of absence to deal with his demons. For a while, it seemed as though he was on the right track to recovery. He joined the Manitoba Moose for the AHL playoffs and then signed with the Winnipeg Jets early in July.

It goes without saying that the news of his passing today – as tweeted by James Mirtle from the Globe and Mail – is an utter shock to his family, friends and fans.

Police confirm former Canucks tough guy Rick Rypien has been found dead in his Alberta home.

RIP Ryp. We hope you’re in a happier place. Our thoughts and prayers go out to your family and loved ones.

The Sedins’ race for the Art Ross and other weekend thoughts

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Mar 132011
 

Some weekend thoughts:

  • I’ve had a hard time putting into words what a pleasure it is to watch Hank and Danny night in night out this season. Usually, I just end up making squeaky noises that only dogs can hear. But I mean really they cycle the puck like two freakin identical wizards, and they’re sandwiching Stamkos at the top of the NHL standings. (Don’t you think Stamkos looks SO much like the main kid in The Sandlot? If you have not seen The Sandlot stop reading and go find it right now.) Hanky won it last year and Danny has a real shot to win it this year. I know brothers have both won the scoring race before but TWIN BROTHERS haven’t (potentially) in BACK TO BACK years. And on top of that they’re wonderful people to boot. If I were an NHL head honcho I would be marketing the crap out of these two which they would both probably hate. And if I were an NHL head honcho I would have to be a stuffy old white dude which is so not me. So I’ll let that dream die.
  • After thinking Rick Rypien was just going to sort of disappear into the sunset it was incredibly nice to see him being interviewed and ready to get back on the ice in Manitoba. With the fourth line trades Gillis made at the trade deadline he’ll be in tough to make the Canucks again but it’s just lovely to see that he’s feeling better after his personal leave and is happy and excited to play hockey again. I brought my Rypien jersey out of hibernation the other night and it felt gooood. I felt like knocking some heads together. You know, in a fun way. Not a brain killing kind of way. Rypien is sporting the most divine beard. I hope he keeps it. I wish playoff beard season was year round.
  • I had a lot of feelings after the Chara hit this past week that have been covered by other people a million times by now but I will say that it made me want to gather up my hockey playing family members and wrap them in pillows and bubble wrap. I’d never want them to stop living their dream but it’s a scary sport at times. The NHL can and should be at major fault for how they deal with discipline and dangerous hits but until the players themselves want to do something bold and brave and take a stand nothing is going to change.
  • Dangerous hits give you uncomfortable feelings over why you follow NHL hockey in the first place but then there are games like the Canucks/Sharks game on Thursday night to show you EXACTLY why you do. It was mesmerizing. My heart was beating so hard for the entire third period and overtime it felt like it was going to pop right out of my chest. Cory Schneider was a grade A stud. Still not quite sure he only got 3rd star for a 44 save effort many of them highlight reel variety as well as stopping all 3 Sharks shooters in the shootout. Schneids is going to make a team VERY happy when he is eventually traded. I hope they appreciate Ginger Jesus. It was a shame that game had to end in the ridiculous shootout. If any game deserved 20 minute OT…bring on the playoffs! I may not survive a Canucks/Sharks playoff series. The whole heart popping thing may be an issue.
  • Canucks fans looked they were having a blast watching the road games in LA, Anaheim, Phoenix, and San Jose. That’s definitely on my bucket list to follow the team on a road trip. The “sunshine” trip is definitely the way to go after a rainy Vancouver winter. I’ve been to Scotia Bank Place in Ottawa and the Bell Center in Montreal for the draft but I’ve never seen a game in a road arena. Where would you want to go to watch your team play?

Rick Rypien on Manitoba Moose Clear-Day List

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Mar 082011
 

From the sounds of things, Rick Rypien is ready to make his return… with the Manitoba Moose.

From Ken Wiebe:

There was no other wheeling and dealing for the Manitoba Moose as the American Hockey League roster freeze came to pass on Monday.

But as the list was released Tuesday morning, there was an interesting development. Forward Rick Rypien was among those on the in-residence players who can be used when the Moose find themselves in an emergency situation — as they do now with any combination of three or more players out of the lineup due to injury, recall or suspension.

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