“…[T]here is going to be that seventh game; we’ll hope they can patch Linden up and get him in that one. He will play — you know he’ll play; he’d play on crutches! He will play, and he’ll play at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night! The game is over!”

–Jim Robson, after Trevor Linden got hit my Mark Messier while crawling to the bench at the end of Game 6
It was the finest performance by the finest Canuck to ever don the “C” (not to mention every single Canucks crest and color) in the history of hockey in the City of Vancouver.
And I once made him soup and I once had a crush on his wife, although I didn’t know it at the time. I used to work at a restaurant in Yaletown as a line cook. It was located right beside the store Linden’s wife ran at the time. A clothing boutique called Basquiat. The other cooks and myself would often stand outside ofBasquiat smoking cigarettes on break and generally talking shit about whatever topic available. I made a comment about Linden’s wife (which I did not know at the time) which Toot’s, our Sois Chef, has never let me live down. It was something along the lines of, “damn she’s hot,” and it may or may not have been made within earshot. Everyone laughed, flicked their cigarettes, and walked back toward the kitchen. Later on, Jordan the Chef, told me that the girl I had a crush on was none other then Christine Linden, Trevor’s wife, and that the couple was — in fact — in the restaurant at that very moment.
Starfucking has always been a funny thing for me. People go ape-shit over celebrities all the time but it’s never been my bag. It’s an interesting phenomenon to watch, as people loss all sense of composure and personal class at the presence of another human being — who happens to be famous. Which isn’t to say I’m not immune to the surreal force of celebrities (I’m particularly vulnerable to local celebrities, see — Tamera Tagert), but, when the Linden’s order came in, I caved, I insisted on making the soup. Why? I’ll never know. Perhaps so that one day, when I’m writing a hockey blog on the day-in-day-out ramblings of an obsessive Canucks fan I could mention with pride and bravado that I made Trevor Linden soup.
That’s right, I made Trevor Linden soup!
And now here we are on the cusp of another dynasty — you will be happy to note the small ‘d’ used in the spelling of dynasty. This week, with the raising of #16 to the rafters at the Garage and the signing of Mats Sundin, has be one of the most exciting weeks in Canucks history (to quote Don Taylor). And the winds of change are raging in full force.
But what, here in Vancouverdom, will this squad offer in the realm of real change and real hope apart from a full roster about-face? What, besides an inventory permutation, will this new face of the Canucks signal?
Most pundits argue the Canucks will now place a distant third in the conference and wonder if Sundin (and a healthy Luongo) are strong enough to topple through the battery of San Jose and Detroit. And let’s not forget Chicago. Vancouver’s surging power-play picked an awful time do go flaccid on Saturday night against the young gunning ‘Hawks. Kane and Toews feasted on Canuck mistakes, despite being outplayed by Vancouver. Was that just a market aberration, or will our winning percentage correct itself the next time out? Vancouver has notoriously stepped up their game against a smaller Detroit team; they are also notorious for losing to San Jose, generously handing all four meetings last year to the Sharks. Going into HP Pavilion tonight, where the Sharks are a whopping 17-0-2, is going to be the real litmus test.
Let’s face it, the Canucks cannot get swept in any season series this year by Western Conference opponents. Every year we do, we miss the playoffs by inches. Remember 2006 when Curtis Sanford and the Blues swept the season series and we missed the playoffs by three points? And last year versus San Jose, same thing. Ostensibly Vancouver needs to go .500 against San Jose to have a reasonable shot in the playoffs. Sundin aside, if they can pull a measure of confidence together when it comes to the Sharks then the Canucks will have no problem making to the playoffs.
Because let’s face it, at this point nobody should be drafting a Stanley Cup parade route on GoogleMaps yet. With this notoriously fickle squad (see — 1996 and the arrival of Alex Mogilny or 1997 and the arrival of Mark Messier) the arrival of a proven player does not necessarily herald a championship ring. What the Canucks need first and foremost is a leader. A Captain of Captains, to lead this team to the promise land on his shoulders. There has been cohesion in this group at times this season, but a lack of the force necessary to carry a team is still missing. Steve Yzermen in 2002 won the cup for the Detroit Red Wings on one leg, literally. After the 2002 Olympics, Yzermen underwent an MRI which revealed he had virtually no cartiledge left in his right knee. Knowing that surgury would likely finish him for the season, Yzermen soldiered on in one his best post-season performances to date, potting 6 goals and 17 helpers to lead the team with 23 points to a third cup in six years.
It was a legendary performance. Something each Canuck and potential leader can stand to learn from.
Luongo has been out nearly a month and there has been little in the way of consistent leadership for the Canucks in his absence. Certain players have answered the call for periods, but then the aperture widens and the absence of leadership once again opens. Daniel Sedin has put his head down and gone to work, netting 12 goals in his last 17 games. There is much to his game that has improved over the years including killing penalties and going to the net to score the dirty — crashing the goaltender — type goals. There is no doubt Daniel (and Henrik) have a desire to win, they simply lack that je ne sais qois that past captains have immortalized. Ryan Kesler is the most improved of all Canucks, and his crash-and-bang style of play, with heart to boot, is exactly the type of play invented for playoff hockey. If we get to the playoffs, look for Kesler to step-up, but will this be enough enough to thwart the enemy?

Trevor Linden captained the Canucks to within a goal-post of the Stanley Cup. He wore his heart (and play) on his sleeve and desire to give (both to his team and to the fans) was congenital, inveterate and authentic. In a era where the payoff is measure by dollar amounts, it is the incalculable effort of leaders such as Linden and Yzermen and so many others in the history of the game which has propelled pretenders into contenders and contenders into winners. There is a small margin in this day-and-age and this “new” NHL, between these three characteristics and it is only a true captain that is able to close the gap.
Will Mats Sundin provide the needed adhesive for this unit that possesses promise, but is not necessarily promising? Will Roberto Luongo, upon his return, launch his career (and his team) into the contenders columns and, come playoff time, lead the the procession, Cup in hand? Win or lose, this team needs an identity that is sadly missing to date. Perhaps with the addition of these two all-stars the team that will the gains necessary to win. The gains are identity, consistency and leadership, three traits that Detroit is still commanding even after the departure of Yzermen. Traits that San Jose has spent the past three year learning, albeit byzantine in its approach, which has brought the team closer and looking more and more legitimate everyday. Traits that have Chicago on the fast-track to reshaping a crumbling hockey empire, with youngsters such as Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews taking the reigns earlier then expected, they are making a strong argument this campaign for NHL domination.
But winning in Vancouver will only come when a true captain comes forward. Someone who can own this town once again.
Someone who I can make soup for.

The first period was all Canucks. They out shot, out drew and out played the Aves by a wide margin. Darcy Hordichuk opened the scoring early, chipping a pass from Jason Jaffery over the left shoulder of Peter Budaj. Most of the play happened in Colorado’s zone. The third-line grinders continue their scoring woes, Kesler having one point in ten games. After a short handed two-on-one opportunity that left Burrows passing late and Kesler not getting much of a shot off, you could tell that the confidence level in the pair is at a season-high low. The Raymond, Wellwood, Pyatt line looked solid with the most scoring chances of the period. The PHD line held the zone well, but there was little to write home about in terms of chances. Schnieder was great when it mattered, challenging the shooter and keeping rebounds to the outside. Even a disallowed goal, knocked in off Ryan Smyth’s glove, didn’t rattle the cool-as-a-cucumber rookie tender.

The second period started out slowly. The rhythm of the game was prosaic, with each side bumbling up and down the ice giving-up little but giving even less. The Aves jumped on the board first when, North Van native, David Jones made a rush up ice and Willie Mitchell knocked the rebound into his own net. A few minutes later Ryan Smyth, making up for his disallowed goal in the first, wired a shot from the point through the pads of Schnieder to to make it 2-1. The boring and frustrating second period got interesting after a vicious boarding incident occurred. Ian Mcleod drove Kevin Bieka’s head into the boards (a suspendable play if you ask me) and all the Canucks on the ice jumped Mcleod. Unbelievably, after the penalties were handed out for the post-whistle scrum, both teams remained five-on-five. This seemed to spark the Vancouver players however, still reeling from the Bieksa hit. First, Daniel Sedin takes three whacks at a loose puck (after Kesler missed two whacks a minute earlier) and evens things up for the Nucks. This was a full team effort after Darcy Hordichuk tried to spark his team with a fight, taking on Cody Macorkmack in a quick bout. It was hard work that paid off, it’s nice seeing Daniel score these gritty goals, we’ve seen more and more of them lately. And the Canucks didn’t quit, with Ryan Smyth in the box for a light-holding call (perhaps a gift from the refs for the Bieksa hit) Steve Bernier put his team ahead slapping a nice rebound from Mason Raymond past Peter Budaj. The last few minutes of the period was exciting end-to-end hockey that looked nothing like the beginning of the period.

The third period needed to be the make or break stanza for the Canucks, but there wasn’t enough goalkeeping to keep the lead entrenched. Milan Hejduk tied the game 3 minutes into the third when he threw the puck on net and it went in off Shane O’Briens stick. The second goal-against off a Canucks D-man of the night. Regardless, Vancouver swung back when Steve Bernier potted his second of the night, snapping a sweet feed, courtesy of Burrows from the slot. He didn’t even look at the vulcanized rubber, he just shot a seeing-eye-puck past Budaj with what should have been the winner. It was sadly not the case. Clear evidence that Cory Schnieder is not quite ready for a full-time NHL job, he let in a weak shot from Daniel Tjarnqvist through the 14-hole under his right arm. Demitra could have cleared the puck to maintain the lead with three minutes left, but he failed this task, leaving a clear lane for Tjarnqvist open. It was a simple case of — where the fuck is Luongo tonight? So off we go to overtime which solved nothing and then a shootout where Colorado scored on every shot. Yes, every shot.

In terms of Cory Schnieder, it was a blow to the young net-minders short shift in the NHL. When Blue gets back, the rookie will obviously continue his development in Manitoba. He showed poise early on (particular the win Friday in Minnesota) but manifest his clear need for confidence, something that is gained only from experience. What the Canucks need more than letting a rookie goalie have a crack at the majors is a wins. One point is not good enough. On a road game that continues in its malignancy, it was up to the veterans of the team to come up with a bit more effort. Sadly it’s Steve Bernier who was the best Canucks on the ice, right behind him was Alexander Edler. To win, you need to play 60 minutes of hockey. The Canucks played 57 and it cost them the game. While the young guns put in a worthy effort, blame lay in the poor play of the leaders in the last 3 minutes. This made all the difference.

Next Up — Nashville

This was a nice little win for the home team. While they started off slow and flat-footed — with Florida scoring two soft goals early — the Canucks found their wheels in the 2nd frames, scoring 5 unanswered goals for the win.

The game started badly, with Corey Schneider looking very shaky and handling the puck with minimal confidence. Every time the Panthers had a shot in the 1st period it qualified as a legitimate scoring chance as the rookie tender struggled to find his game. However, he came through on a key save off a Shawn Matthias breakaway, that could have bumped Florida up 3-1, instead the Canucks used it as a turning point to scale a full offensive  assault.

Darcy Hordichuk put the Canucks on the board with a laser from the point. The tough-guy from Kamsack, Saskatchewan continues to excel on the fourth line with his 3rd of the season. Key goals like this, from roll-players, really adds a spark to a team gaining momentum. This was no different, turning a difficult Vancouver start into a paradigm shift for the whole squad.

With Pavol Demitra chipping in two goals (one on the PP) and Kyle Wellwood continuing his PP success with a marker, the special teams looked fierce. When Ryan Kesler cut hard to the net on a short-handed breakaway and crashed goalie Craig Anderson, the gritty forward sealed the fate of the surging Panthers.

It was a very fun game to watch. Lots of actions, good hits and end-to-end rushes. While at times each team did not play well in front of their respective goalies, the home team struck with the iron hot and it paid off for the home crowd.

If you are watching Mats, just think what Vancouver will look like with you and Louie sharing the same ice. Scary.

Next Up — Edmonton

This had to have been the worst game of the season for our beloved Canvouver hockey squad. There were bodies on the ice, but there was no soul. If the boys in blue, green and white where thinking of making a selling point for Mats Sundin, should he decide to take the money (and the travel) and head west, they failed with heart augmented by zero goals.

Now as a long time follower of the Canucks, I have to say it hurts slightly more losing to Edmonton then losing to Calgary, but Jesus if tonight did not feel like a kick in groin with a frozen Bauer blade. Every single one of Sanford’s failures (3 to be exact) was the failure of the entire team. The was no speed, no skill and no upside (Coach Vee’s favorite word when assessing talent). Sure this loss came at the tail end of a long, stupid road trip that saw Canucks playing 7 games straight on the road.

It was one of those typical (or is that stereotypical?) Vancouvers losses. The type of loss that makes you want to hurl your beer can at the television screen and scream invective at the fading signal until the police arrive and they commit you to the pysche ward at St. Paul’s. For six days they have you on suicide watch, heavily medicated to the point of sedation, you slur various forms of scatological rambling at the nurses that come and go, but in the end they release you just days before Christmas.

Some fucking Christmas. Now you have all the time in the world (since you have now been fired from your job) to spend obsessing over Vancouver’s favorite cock tease — our local professional hockey franchise.

Send me back to St. Paul’s. Maybe I’ll have more time to spend reading The Russians and suffering over my various metaphysical barriers that can no longer be channelled through the insipid brutality of grown men on skates, beating the shit out of each other for the right to smack a tiny vulcanized-rubber disc into a 6×4 net. Yes, I find many of life’s lessons in the pursuit of the game of hockey, vis-à-vis the Vancouver Canucks, and someitmes I think it will drive me insane. What came first? They might ask. Was it the insanity or the game? Maybe hockey is merely a trigger for a pre-existing condition. Well I can say this, hockey may be the single greatest joy and the single greatest disappointment in my life.

Perhaps my life needs a drastic overhall. Perhaps, so too do the Canucks. And medication for the pain?

Hint: rythmes with Fats Mundin.

Next Up — Florida

Did Alex Burrows leave his feet? Was that a hit from behind by Ryan Kesler? Will Rob Davison’s hit be featured on Don Cherry’s next Rock ’em, Sock ’em release? The answer to all three questions is a resounding Yes. Is this affirmation the impetus for Tuesday nights 3-1 victory over Nashville? Affirmative.

The last week has been hectic as all hell for me. Just as I said at the beginning of the season that I would write a column for every game this season, I also may have mentioned that I do it on my spare time — ergo — no spare time, no article. I will try and make a better effort at blogging from this day forth, but honestly, some days being a Canucks fan can be extraordinarily taxing. It’s sort of like being diagnosed with a (enter life-threatening medical condition here). This is not an excuse, merely an explanation.

Next Up — Minnesota

Man I love playing Minnesota. Man I love beating Minnesota. Man I love beating Minnesota this way. Gritty, grueling and grotesque.

Gritty because we won the small battles, kept Minny to 17 shots and really didn’t give up much for chances. Grueling because it comes off a four game losing streak that was the ugliest we’ve seen this season. Grotesque because I’m actually writing this 4 days after the win and immediately following our 5-4 OT lose to the Avalanche, so I know in advance how short lived this win will become.

The truth is, Minnesota is so well coached that it doesn’t matter what Vancouver does, we could fire 57 puck at the net, and suddenly find ourselves behind two goals off two bad plays. That’s how good Minnesota is. They play their best hockey off other teams mistakes. Look at the Wilds goals-for this season — 69 in 26 games — that means the opposition has made exactly 69 mistakes, collectively, while playing against the cult of Jacques Gerard Lemaire. Talk about discipline.

It seems (as iron sharpens iron) Vancouver plays their best mental game versus the Wild. This takes nothing away from the talent on either squad, because at times talent is not the question. The difference is how inconsistent Vancouver is with their brains. So often, watching the Canucks play develop, you almost know the mistake just made is going to cost them — even five or six strides behind the play you just know. This is what makes watching this team so frustrating.

Now Coach Vee has done a fine job with his rosters the past few seasons, but one has to wonder whether this group has fully bought in. The penalty-kill is nowhere near where it needs to be (81.3 % or 14th overall) in comparison to the penalties it takes (18.3 PIM/G) which makes them good for 29th overall in the league. For a team that is 8th in the league in goals-for (85 — that’s only 7 back from Detroit) this undisciplined play is not going to win them credit in the points department, it is only going to serve as a monumental cock-tease for the fans who cringe their way through game-after-game of bad penalties and even worse penatly-kills.

Vancouver must take a page out of Minnesota’s book not just when they are playing Minnesota. Without more games like tonight (against non-Wild teams) there is little chance the Canucks have of getting higher than 9th or 10th in the West. That’s not good enough.

Next Up — Colorado

“[T]hird game in four nights in the New York area,” was how coach Vee summed up the travel schedule. The Canucks played the Islanders and the Rangers on Monday and Wednesday night respectively, then flew to St. Paul, Minnesota to take on the Wild Thursday and now they have to get back on a plane a fly to Steel Town to face the Penguins on Saturday. Say what you will about West Coast travel, this one has to go down in the annals of most ridiculous travel for a professional sports team ever. (Our friend over at Yankee Hockey has a pretty good solution for this).

The travel seemed to provide a spark that only a neurotic, semi-comatose team could compose. It was brilliant; it was sublime. Time will show the genius of this victory. The Vancouver Canucks composed a convincing win that could be seen as a turning point as the season continues.

The first period was basically expected. The Canucks looked limp yet the Wild stood vapid, empowering the suffocating wait-for-the-other-team-to-make-a-mistake-then-pound philosophy, gainfully employed by coach Jacques Lemaire. The end of the first stanza looked painfully akin to Kasparov Vs. Deep Blue with the Canucks looking the human of the two. Curtis Sanford (filling in for Luongo) was shaky albeit keeping Lemaire’s androids off the scoresheet.

The second period opened up as the Canucks and Wild traded chances but Mikko Koivu opened the scoring with a questionable slapper from the left point that squeaked under Sanford’s left elbow. This is where the Canucks superior offense began to mount. Steve Bernier beat a 9-game goalless drought when he smacked a Willie Mitchell rebound through a thatch of sticks and over Niklas Backstrom. In the slot is were we will see the best of Steve Bernier and getting the monkey off his back was a relief to himself and his teammates. Later, Koivu put Minnesota up one on a shorthanded marker, but Pavol Demitra answered right back on a fluke bank off his old netminders backside.

What became glaringly obvious during the second period was that Vancouver are the superior squad. While they lack the discipline of the Wild it is obvious there’s a lot of talent and potential on the team this year. The Sedins and Demitra are an example of this talent. All game I was thinking the Sedins needed to make a statement tonight. They are veterans now and they cannot continue to stand alone as victims. Enter Demitra. The crafty Slovak knows this is his last chance for prominence in the NHL. The three Canucks looked deadly (while five-on-five and on the PP with Kyle Wellwood) and in the third they showed the look of an actual, bonafide first line.

Trapping the Wild in their zone for almost a minute the Sedins and Demitra passed the puck a total of a thousand times, but when it was time to shoot, it was all net for Daniel. Minnesota looked dizzy after the goal and it stood as the game winner when the home team caved in the last few minutes of the match.

As previously mentioned, this squad looks legit. With a qualified first line. A very competent second line (with varying combinations of Pyatt, Wellwood, Bernier and Raymond) along with the checkers Burrows, Kesler and Hansen. Throw in role players such as Ryan Johnson and Darcy Hordichuk and you have a unique combination of speed, grit and talent. It is often the type of combination you see in squads that excel. See for example: New Jersey in ’95 Montreal in ’86.

The defense was weakened tonight by injury and the flu, but if they stay healthy they are the best in the league. Shane O’Brien only managed 7 penalty minutes (logging ten minutes last night in New York) so we could call this progress. Willie Mitchell got an assist and showed the length of his stick work in spades offering 4 blocked shots and was a +2 on the night. Mitchell continues to log points as he reaches beyond his traditional roll of stay-at-home defenseman. With Sami Salo and Kevin Bieksa out it goes to show the measure of leadership Mitchell has taken on after the departure of Naslund and Linden. He will do it all if he has to.

Iain MacIntyre stated in his column after the game,

“The Canucks defeated the Wild and the NHL’s cartographer, who drew a map and placed Manhattan next to Minneapolis and decided it would be a good idea if the Vancouver played the Rangers and Wild on successive nights. You know, with a good four or five hours sleep between games.”

It goes to show that a little bit of insomnia can go a long way.

Next Up — Pittsburgh