25 days of Canuckmas

[6of1_halfdozenofother]

 

 

[Kevin Biestra]

#16s...

 

I don't think I have anything to say about Trevor Linden that the rest of you don't know.  Although some people were a little surprised when I dug up the skills competition I remembered from the early 90s to show that Linden was damn near holding his own against Paul Coffey in the fastest skater competition at the All Star Game.  Anything else about Linden...I do remember he had a six point game at some point in the early 90s I think...3 goals and 3 assists.  It was a big deal at the time.  Against the Oilers maybe.  Oh yeah and I have mentioned before what might be my favorite Linden memory, something I don't think had a lasting impact on most people but it did on me.  It was Linden's final season where he was being healthy scratched by Alain Vigneault a lot.  The Canucks ended up down two men on a 5 on 3 power play for the other team.  Vigneault put Linden out with I think two defensemen to kill the first part of the penalty, which Linden successfully did.  Then there was a whistle with a bit of time left on the power play and Linden skated back to the bench exhausted to go off.  I think Vigneault called a time out but whether he did or not, he kept Linden on the ice and sent him out to kill the rest of the penalty.  As Linden skated back down the ice for the face off, it's the only time in my life I've seen an arena give a standing ovation for a player deployment decision for a penalty kill.

 

 

PER OLOV BRASAR...  One of my favorite Canuck names from back in the day.  Really solid player, 20 goal scorer for both us and the North Stars.

 

DON TANNAHILL...  Another forgotten 20 goal scorer from Canucks history.  Solid player in the NHL and the WHA.

 

MARK KIRTON...  One of our best players in the 1983 playoffs a year after the 1982 Cup run.  Three points in four games as the Canucks went out in the first round (it was best of five then so the Canucks got a win).

 

 

Edited December 16, 2023 by Kevin Biestra

[6of1_halfdozenofother]

 

 

 

 

[Coconuts]

On the sixteenth day of Canuckmas, Canucks lore gave to me

 

Ted Taylor 1971-1972
Don Tannahill 1973-1974
Jim Wiley 1975-1976
Barry Wilcox 1975
Brad Gassoff 1976-1979
Glen Richardson 1976
Per-Olov Brasar 1980-1982
Mark Kirton 1983-1985
Stu Kulak 1983-1987
Dan Hodgson 1987-1988
Trevor Linden 1989-2008

[bishopshodan]

1 hour ago, Coconuts said:

Barry Wilcox 1975

I would love to see footage of this...

 

https://vancouversun.com/news/community-blogs/canucks-weekly-wayback-flyers-brawl-with-fans

 

On that night, the Philadelphia Flyers were visiting the Pacific Coliseum and were on their ascendancy to becoming the league’s best and most penalized team. During a scrap between Don Saleski and Barry Wilcox, Vancouver fans, apparently incited by the barbarity of the Flyers’ play, grabbed the hair (and there was plenty to grab) of Saleski, who was also known as Big Bird. Ultimately, seven Flyer players (Saleski, Bill “Cowboy” Flett, Bob Taylor, Barry Ashbee, Joe Watson, Ross Lonsberry and Ed Van Impe) became involved with Vancouver fans.

 

All seven were charged with creating a disturbance “by using obscene language and by fighting with spectators with fists and by wielding hockey sticks against and in close proximity to spectators in the general seating area for spectators”.

Further, there were six criminal assault charges levied with goalie Bob Taylor, who had assaulted a police officer, ultimately sentenced to 30 days in jail!

[Kevin Biestra]

17...

 

The few thoughts I have to offer on the #17s of Canuck history.

 

RON SEDLBAUER - Now this is a name that everybody ought to know in Vancouver but it is a name that isn't mentioned enough for that to be the case.  The first 40 goal scorer in Canuck history.  Also voted the 9th best LW in the league that year (1978-79).  One of the first players to score 100 career goals in a Canuck uniform.  Also part of the 1974-75 Canucks team that won their only division title in the first two decades and also won the team's first ever playoff game.

 

VLADIMIR KRUTOV - History has considered him a failed experiment in the NHL but with just a good season or two he would have joined his Red Army linemates Larionov and Makarov in the Hockey Hall of Fame.  Maybe he should be there anyway.  It went down as not a success but I still think Pat Quinn bringing over Larionov and Krutov was one of the most inspired things the Canucks have ever done.  And Krutov was a little better as a Canuck than he is remembered as being...30 points in 60 games or something.  It partly seemed worse because Sergei Makarov hit the ground sprinting for the Flames and made the NHL change the Calder Trophy rules.

 

MIKE RIDLEY - The guy who retired because he couldn't get a damn skate to fit his foot right.  He was a Canuck at the tail end of his career and had all kinds of foot problems that kept him out of the lineup and finally made him retire altogether.  Was a decent Canuck - 20 goals and 50 points - but was a terrific Ranger and Capital (peaked at 41 goals and 89 points).  Oddly I remember him more as a Ranger than a Capital but he only played his first season and a half in New York.  I guess it's because he made a big impression in his rookie year...65 points or so and some votes for the Calder.  Anyway, almost 300 goals and over 750 points in his career.

 

JIMMY CARSON - Had the Oilers got Luc Robitaille instead for Gretzky from the Kings, it might have been Jimmy Carson in the Hall of Fame today.  He and Luc were damn near equals the first few years.  80 point rookies then a pair of 100 point seasons, the second of Carson's with the Oilers so he was no bust at all after the Gretzky trade even though he is unfairly remembered as one (same as Barry Pederson is here).  But it was a steady decline after his third season to the point where by 1994 he was a reclamation project in Vancouver.  Played a few games for us in the 1994 Cup run and then was on his way.  Really was an excellent player at one point.

 

JOSE CHARBONNEAU - Didn't the Canucks recruit him from roller hockey or something?

 

TONY CURRIE - Played a few games and contributed a bit to the 1982 Stanley Cup run.

 

HOWIE YOUNG - A forgotten enforcer these days but he was part of the original 1970-71 Canucks team and led the entire NHL in penalty minutes in 1962-63 with a mighty fine 273.  He never gooned it up again that hard at any point in his career but he warn't no girly man.  He was traded at least five times in his career for cash.

 

 

 

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[Coconuts]

Lot of names today

 

On the seventeenth day of Canuckmas, Canucks lore gave to me

 

Dan Seguin 1971
Howie Young 1971
Ron Ward 1972
John Wright 1973
Larry Gould 1974
Paul O'Neil 1974
Ron Sedlbauer 1975-1980
Jerry Butler 1980-1982
Drew Callander 1980
Tony Currie 1982
Patrik Sundström 1983-1987
Paul Lawless 1988
Rob Murphy 1988-1992
Jeff Rohlicek 1988
Doug Wickenheiser 1988
José Charbonneau 1989
Todd Hawkins 1989
Vladimir Krutov 1990
Dixon Ward 1993-1994
Jimmy Carson 1994
Mike Ridley 1996-1997
Bill Muckalt 1999-2000
Vadim Sharifijanov 2000
Drake Berehowsky 2001
Jan Hlaváč 2002-2003
Jason King 2004
Ryan Kesler 2007-2014
Radim Vrbata 2015-2016
Anton Rodin 2017
Nic Dowd 2018
Josh Leivo 2019-2020
Filip Hronek 2023-2024

[6of1_halfdozenofother]

https://slate.com/culture/2007/01/the-nhl-s-all-star-voting-disaster-a-slate-investigation.html

 

 

 

[Kevin Biestra]

Memories of #18s...

 

DARCY ROTA...  Hell of a player.  All he needed was a couple more years and I would be willing to hear a case for the Ring of Honour if I was in Canuck management.  One of the very few 40 goal scorers in Canuck history through their first 20 years and there haven't been a whole lot of them since either.  All Star as well.  Significant part of the 1982 Cup run.  I think we acquired him and Ivan Boldirev together...both excellent players.  If I remember right they might have been traded together another time in their careers as well.  Rota's career ended pretty suddenly due to injury...right when he was in the middle of big things and at his peak.  I think there's a very good chance he would have been ROH'd like Gradin if that hadn't happened and he had continued the way he was going.  The year before his career ended mid-season with the Canucks he was voted the 5th best LW in the league.

 

RICK VAIVE...  I've already mentioned him.  He brought us Tiger Williams which was a big part of the 1982 run.  He went to the Leafs and had three straight 50 goal seasons.  Kind of the original Cam Neely.

 

MARC CRAWFORD...  Was there for 1982 as well.  I love that 1982 hockey card where he has the blood running down his face.  Tough player who was up and down from the minors much like Alain Vigneault.

 

SHAWN ANTOSKI...  People forget how much he played in the 1994 Cup run, competing with Gino Odjick for his spot as designated killer.

 

TROY CROWDER...  Was only a Canuck briefly but an absolutely legendary enforcer.  His fights with Bob Probert would have been the highest drawing PPVs ever if tickets were sold that way for hockey fights.

 

MIKE WEAVER...  Acquired him as sort of an afterthought depth defenseman but he stuck in the lineup and played well.  I liked him.

 

RORY FITZPATRICK...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 18, 2023 by Kevin Biestra

[Coconuts]

Lot of 18's, including Canucks legend Rory Fitzpatrick 

 

On the eighteenth day of Canuckmas, Canucks lore gave to me

 

Poul Popiel 1971-1972
Ron Homenuke 1973
Jim Mair 1973-1974
Larry Gould 1974
Mike Lampman 1974
John Grisdale 1975-1979
Rob Flockhart 1979
Brad Smith 1979-1980
Darcy Rota 1980-1984
Rick Vaive 1980
Marc Crawford 1986-1987
Ken Berry 1988-1989
Igor Larionov 1990-1992
Shawn Antoski 1994-1995
Troy Crowder 1997
Geoff Sanderson 1998
Bert Robertsson 1999
Steve Kariya 2000-2002
Jason King 2003
Fedor Fedorov 2004
Richard Park 2006
Rory Fitzpatrick 2007
Mike Weaver 2008
Steve Bernier 2009-2010
Peter Schaefer 2011
Chris Tanev 2011
Cam Barker 2013
Ryan Stanton 2014-2015
Jake Virtanen 2016-2021
Jason Dickinson 2022
Jack Studnicka 2023
Sam Lafferty 2024

[6of1_halfdozenofother]

On the topic of Marc Crawford, even though this was after he'd been our coach and went back into television between coaching stints, I present to you this gem (best part is around the 1 minute mark).

 

 

[Kevin Biestra]

Why put off to tomorrow what you can do today...  Here's what little I have to offer on the #19s of Canuck history.

 

RON STEWART...  I mentioned him when he came up earlier I think.  The guy involved in the wrestling match over rent money that killed Terry Sawchuk.  A tragic accident and Stewart was an excellent player in his own right.

 

DALE TALLON...  I think he also came up earlier.  Most people don't know that in the Canucks' first season he broke Bobby Orr's scoring record for rookie defensemen...and wasn't even a Calder finalist.  Talk about eastern bias.  Same as Barry Pederson is just remembered around town as the guy who wasn't Cam Neely, Dale Tallon is also somewhat unfairly remembered for not being Gilbert Perreault.

 

DEREK SANDERSON...  A 1970s Bruins legend who suited up with the Canucks for a bit, just like Peter McNab and Bobby Schmautz.  He won the Calder Trophy in 1968, led the NHL in playoff goals in 1969.

 

MARIO MAROIS...  A name most people don't know these days but he was a very good defenseman with a very solid career.  950 games or so and 400-something points.  51 points from the blueline one year and a bunch of seasons with over 40.  Got Norris Trophy votes in two seasons.  The Canucks only had him for a spell in 1980 and traded him away quite prematurely.  He is exactly what the Canucks needed when Rick Lanz and Kevin McCarthy were injured and missed the entire 1982 playoffs.  He would almost surely be in the Ring of Honor if he had actually played out his entire career in Vancouver from 1980 onward.  Like some Canucks who were still there by 1982 - Lanz, McCarthy, Halward and Snepsts - he might well have been the second best defenseman on the Islanders dynasty teams if he had been in the other uniform.

 

RON DELORME...  I guess people mostly just think of him as the head scout to blame for every Canucks draft pick they don't like but he's almost like Stan Smyl in being a lifetime Canuck whether in a jersey or in a suit and tie.  Substantial part of the 1982 run to the Stanley Cup.  I think it was Delorme that destroyed Grant Mulvey in a fight in the third round for transgressions against his Canuck teammates.

 

Heh, yep it was...

 

 

 

JIM SANDLAK...  Another guy who is also largely remembered for not being Cam Neely.  Sandlak made the NHL's all rookie team in the mid 80s around the same time Cam Neely was developing in a Canucks uniform.  I think Sandlak also had a terrific run at the World Juniors if I remember right.  Anyway, the Canucks had two big tough solid wingers in the system that were of the type that would in the 1990s come to be called "power forwards" in a theft of basketball terminology.  The Canucks went with Sandlak and then when Neely turned into a 50 goals in 50 games guy, the Canucks were terrified to trade Sandlak in case the same thing happened.  Sandlak never became another Cam Neely but he was a perfectly good 15-20 goal scorer and exactly what Jake Virtanen should have hoped to be and could have been with a brain transplant.  People also forget that Jim Sandlak was pretty awesome in the 1992 playoffs for the Canucks...10 points in 13 games.

 

PETR NEDVED...  If people weren't around for it they probably wouldn't learn about how Petr Nedved pissed off Canuck fans forever in the early 90s by immediately skating over and asking Wayne Gretzky for his hockey stick (or to sign Nedved's own hockey stick or something like that) in the moments after the horn sounded to end the game after the Kings won the series and eliminated the Canucks from the playoffs.  The 1990 NHL draft went Owen Nolan, Petr Nedved and Keith Primeau 1-2-3 in a complete tie (along with Mike Ricci) as to who would or should go first overall.  All three of Nolan, Nedved and Primeau were some of the worst rookies I have ever seen.  All three went on to have fantastic careers.

 

TIM HUNTER...  Will be remembered mostly for his career as a Calgary Flame where he put himself on the shortlist for greatest in NHL history in terms of career penalty minutes.  Led the NHL in penalty minutes twice.  He is still one of my favorite Canucks of all time.  A solid part of the 1994 playoff run, playing all 24 games because of his hockey dependability, whereas Gino Odjick and Shawn Antoski were in and out of the lineup at times depending on the game at hand.

 

MARKUS NASLUND...  I don't think I have anything to offer about Naslund that you guys don't already know.  Good hockey player, good human being.

 

 

@IBatch Yo you got anything to tell the kids they don't know about these old school jive turkeys?

 

 

Edited December 19, 2023 by Kevin Biestra

[Coconuts]

Not as many nineteens, but somehow there were four in 1980?

 

On the nineteenth day of Canuckmas, Canucks lore gave to me

 

Dale Tallon 1971
Rich Lemieux 1972-1974
Ron Stewart 1972
Glen Richardson 1976
Jim Wiley 1976-1977
Derek Sanderson 1977
Claire Alexander 1978
Roland Eriksson 1979
Rob Tudor 1979-1980
Steve Hazlett 1980
Greg Hubick 1980
Kris Manery 1980
Mario Marois 1981
Ron Delorme 1982-1985
Dale Dunbar 1986
Jim Sandlak 1987-1990
Petr Nedvěd 1991-1993
Tim Hunter 1994-1996
Markus Näslund 1997-2008

[6of1_halfdozenofother]

Quote

Trip Down Canuckery Lane: The Petr Nedved Saga

Author of the article:

Mike Halford

Published Dec 16, 2010  •  5 minute read

 

Join the conversation

Welcome to the latest installment of Trip Down Canuckery Lane. It’s our look at former Canuckleheads whose fabrics are sewn into Vancouver’s hockey quilt.

 

There’s been a lot of Petr Nedved talk across various KB platforms lately. On Monday, we referenced how Dallas Cowboys RB Tashard Choice asked Michael Vick for an autograph post-game — much like how Nedved once asked Wayne Gretzky for his stick following a playoff elimination.

 

On Tuesday, Nedved popped up again, this time in KThoughts as we ran through seminal moments in Canucks franchise history. Drafting Nedved ahead of Jaromir Jagr at the 1990 NHL Draft? Pretty seminal.

 

Of course, It’s difficult to talk about Nedved without mentioning the acrimonious circumstances under which he left Vancouver. But thanks to the way-back machine known as the SI Vault, we’re able to take a detailed look back at the great Nedved saga of 1994. A primer:

 

On March 3, St. Louis signed 22-year-old restricted free-agent center Petr Nedved, whose rights were owned by the Vancouver Canucks but who had not played for them this season, to a three-year, $4.05 million contract. In accordance with the league’s free-agency policy—which must have been penned before the Magna Carta—the Blues owed the Canucks compensation for signing Nedved.

 

The teams had two days after the signing to agree on equitable compensation, and the names of numerous marquee players were bandied about.

 

When no agreement was reached, both teams had to submit proposals to arbitrator George Nicolau, who after conducting a hearing was to select one of them. St. Louis’s offer to Vancouver: [Craig] Janney plus a No. 2 draft choice. Vancouver’s demand: [Brendan] Shanahan. On Monday of this week Nicolau announced that he had sided with the Blues. The Canucks would get Janney plus the second-rounder.

 

Of all the defining moments in franchise history, getting Janney instead of Shanny has to rank right up there. It’s not Clarence Campbell spinning the draft wheel to No. 11 in 1970, but it’s in the conversation. Not to discredit Janney (or Bret Hedican, Jeff Brown and Nathan Lafayette, which was what the Canucks turned Janney into), but Shanahan was a superstar. Six-hundred and fifty-six career goals, folks. And Vancouver would’ve obtained Shanahan when he was 25.

 

[NB: Yes, yes, I know that Hedican, Brown and Lafayette were instrumental in the ’94 Cup run and that Hedican and Brown solidified a shaky back-end. Response? It’s Brendan Shanahan. I’ll take the Hall of Famer, thanks.]

 

[NB2: Yes, yes, I know Vancouver was pushing for Shanahan as opposed to the Blues offering him. And there was probably no way the arbitrator would’ve ruled in Vancouver’s favour as Shanny was a far, far better player than Nedved. Still, though. Guy can dream.]

 

Hey, since we’re on the subject of Janney and Shanny:

 

Craig Janney and Brendan Shanahan had been best friends and linemates for two years. Now one would be cleaning out his locker and putting his house on the market. The other would stay put with the St. Louis Blues. For several tense days last week, neither knew who was safe and who was history.

 

“Had” being the operative word there. If you don’t know how the friendship turned out, check out Janney’s Wikipedia page.

 

Anyways, back to the Nedved scenario:

 

But while Nicolau’s ruling put an end to the suspense that gripped the Blues, it did little to still the furor around the NHL caused by the club’s signing of Nedved.

 

Among the points of controversy: Clearly the Blues had enjoyed an unfair competitive advantage for the 11 days between Nedved’s signing and Nicolau’s decision, during which they had the use of Nedved plus a would-be Canuck for three games. In the first game, on March 7, Nedved had two assists in a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Afterward the Leafs rightfully raised hell. New York Islander coach Al Arbour was similarly peeved after Nedved had a goal and an assist for the Blues last Saturday in a 5-5 tie with the Isles.

 

“St. Louis has some extra guys who should be in Vancouver,” Arbour said. “The league will have to close that loophole, because it really is unfair.”

 

Love going back and highlighting the NHL’s old rouge, backwater policies. They almost take you right to the dingy tavern where the league’s brainstrust wrote the rules on the back of a Labatt’s coaster (I assume that’s how it went down). Like, come on. That Nedved loophole wouldn’t fly in a fantasy hockey league.

 

But from a purely media muckraking perspective…that policy is amazing. Just imagine how much material newspapers, blogs and talk radio would have if there were player-for-player arbitration hearings in the modern NHL. We’d be far less reliant on embedding YouTube videos and pictures of kittens, I tell you what.

 

Executives of other NHL clubs are hopping mad at St. Louis president Jack Quinn and general manager Ron Caron for once again discombobulating the NHL’s salary structure.

 

In the summer of 1990 the Blues re-signed Brett Hull to a then-staggering four-year, $7.1 million deal. A month later Quinn and Caron signed restricted-free-agent defenseman Scott Stevens of the Washington Capitals to a four-year, $5.1 million contract that also sent shock waves around the league. (Ironically, in September ’91, shortly after the Blues signed Shanahan, then a restricted free agent of the New Jersey Devils, an arbitrator awarded the Devils Stevens, who had quickly become the heart and soul of the Blues.)

 

Those signings helped spark an escalation of NHL salaries that continues unabated. Further contributing to the escalation, last summer the Blues signed Los Angeles King restricted-free-agent Marty McSorley, who is best known for punching out opponents, to a five-year, $10 million deal. St. Louis lost out on McSorley when the Kings matched the offer.

 

Let this be a lesson to you kids out there: It’s important to know your hockey history, because it’s destined to be repeated. Over 20 years ago, GMs knifed each other in the back via RFA offer sheets —  just like today! Also, teams were wildly overpaying for one-dimensional goons. And you thought that Derek Boogaard contract was an anomaly!

 

More on Janney’s reaction to being arbitration bait:

 

Janney, meanwhile, was lying low, nursing his strained right knee, which forced him to miss eight games through Sunday and gave the Canucks their most potent ammunition at the arbitration hearing. The Canucks argued that the 26-year-old Janney was damaged goods. But Jerome Gilden, the Blues’ team orthopedist, assured the arbitrator that Janney, who had 106 points for St. Louis in ’92-93 and 71 this season, was on his way to a complete recovery.

 

Before the game against the Islanders, Janney brushed past a reporter and ducked into the St. Louis dressing room. Fifteen minutes later the team’s equipment manager poked his head out of the door to announce that Janney wouldn’t be talking to anyone. “He’s not in a real good mood,” said the equipment man.

 

Was the tension beginning to fray nerves in the dressing room? Kelly Chase, a fourth-line winger for the Blues, answered gruffly, “Does a one-legged duck swim in a circle?”

 

Another fun fact about NHLers of the 90s: They had an arsenal of one-liners that put Buddy Hackett to shame.

 

That does it for yet another trip down Canuckery Lane. Hope you enjoyed it. Talk Amongst Yourselves will be coming along shortly.

https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/trip-down-canuckery-lane-the-petr-nedved-saga

 

Quote

On the verge of triumph, Canucks choke

Apr 7, 2003

 

 

VANCOUVER, B.C — Silence fell that sudden way it always does when the home team gives up so much so quickly.

Abruptly the cheering stopped. The music died. It was the deafening silence of defeat.

It wasn't supposed to end like this.

The pints of G.A.A. beer at Dick's Barbecue were cold and smooth and priced at the current Canucks goals-against average (GAA). The crowd inside was buzzing as if it were June in hockeyland.

Across the street, the early April regular-season finale was sold out, and the noise inside GM Place suggested something special was about to happen.

They came here yesterday to celebrate. The Vancouver Canucks were going to win their first division championship in a decade. Their left winger, Markus Naslund, was going to win the goal-scoring and scoring titles, and, eventually, the most valuable player trophy.

This game against the going-nowhere Los Angeles Kings was going to be the jumpstart for a wondrous Stanley Cup run.

But with so much to win, the Canucks lost. The game. The division championship. And all of that hardware for Markus Naslund.

They played scared. They made mistakes that real Stanley Cup threats don't make. They didn't look much like the team that had earned a franchise-high 104 points.

They looked more like some other recent Vancouver Canucks. Like the Canucks of 1999 or 2000, or some of those other bleak years since they last went to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1994.

They were in first place for the past four months. They were in first place going into the 82nd game of the season, but with so much riding on one game, the Canucks, well they, um ...

"We choked," Naslund said after the 2-0 loss to the Kings. "We had this game in our hands to take care of it. Just get a point. One point and we would have won our division. I don't want to call it a choke, but if you don't take advantage of two chances in a row to finish it off, then I don't know if you deserve to win it."

Vancouver had a 3-1 lead at Phoenix on Wednesday, but the game ended in a 3-3 tie.

The Canucks had their chances against Kings goaltender Jamie Storr yesterday, but they missed open nets and fanned on golden chances.

Two opportunities against bad teams, and the Canucks couldn't win. And, while they were losing to the Kings, Colorado was winning the Northwest Division by beating St. Louis.

Now, Vancouver enters the playoffs this week against St. Louis as the second coldest team in the West, 9-7-4-1 over the last quarter of the season.

And the delicious anticipation of the Stanley Cup season has been replaced by a pervasive unease. As exciting as this could become, it also will be over quickly if the Canucks continue this slide.

"Choke is a little too strong a word," said Naslund, who finished the regular season with 48 goals and 56 assists, second in scoring to his good friend, Colorado's Peter Forsberg. "But on the other hand, we got to face it that we didn't play well the last two games. The two biggest games of the year, and that's something we got to change. We can't fool ourselves and pretend that we did play well. Because we didn't."

They missed chance after chance. They had six power plays and managed only eight shots. And then, with less than six minutes left in the regular season, defenseman Brent Sopel gave up the puck deep in his own end.

Goaltender Dan Cloutier made two stops but couldn't make the third. Los Angeles winger Mikko Eloranta scored and silence fell.

"We played fairly good, but not good enough," said Brendan Morrison, the center of the Naslund-Morrison-Todd Bertuzzi line. "It's frustrating to get this close and not handle it. The last couple of games we've been tentative at times. I don't know, maybe it's nerves because we've never been in the position where we're the so-called favorite.

"If you ask anybody are we playing our best hockey right now, no. We've played better throughout this year. Some people might have lost a little faith in us, but in this room here we know we can still get the job done."

In the best of times, this job is difficult. The NHL West, like the NBA West, is overloaded with quality teams. If the Canucks get past St. Louis, which also is struggling, they will have two rounds left just to get into the Cup finals and will probably have to play two of these three — Colorado, Detroit or Dallas.

"It's roll the dice in every playoff series in the West," Los Angeles Coach Andy Murray said. "Nobody can act like some kind of expert and predict a winner in the West."

But at the most important time of the season, when this city was looking for something to celebrate, the Canucks didn't look like winners. And even the pints of G.A.A. beer couldn't blur that reality.

https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=20030407&slug=kell07

 

[Kevin Biestra]

#20s of Canuck memory lane...

 

GEORGE GARDNER...  #20 is a fairly unusual number for a goalie but he wore it.  I think he is not just the only goalie but the only player I can think of who played for the Vancouver Canucks AND the Vancouver Blazers of the WHA when Vancouver had a team.  Most people nowadays don't even know there was a Vancouver WHA team.  I think it should be celebrated.  Like the Millionaires.

 

BOBBY LALONDE...  One of my favorite old old school Canucks and he really should receive a bit of Ring of Honour consideration.  I believe he won the Most Exciting Player...three times?  The stupid Canucks organization actually seems to pretend the award was created only when Pavel Bure's career started.  It was just named for him later.  Lalonde was 5'5" tall and was an impact player.  20 goal and 50 point seasons despite his size.  He was like the original Cliff Ronning.  Also part of the 1975 team to win the first ever division title and win a playoff game against the Canadiens dynasty.

 

BILL DERLAGO...  I've talked about him before.  He and Rick Vaive were traded for Tiger Williams around 1980.  Vaive became a 50 goal scorer, Derlago became a 40 goal scorer, but the Canucks went to the final with Tiger.  Derlago was a really good player.

 

ANDREW McBAIN...  Think I mentioned him earlier as well.  We just had him for a cup of coffee but he was a 70 point player in his prime.

 

STEVE TAMBELLINI...  Known more as an executive these days but he was quite a decent hockey player.  Good for somewhere between 15 and 30 goals year in and year out.

 

RON STERN...  He and Craig Coxe were traded (separately) to the division rival Flames despite being two of the league's best enforcers because the Canucks were just so damned tough there wasn't room in the lineup for them.  Maybe the toughest team in the NHL.  They didn't win the majority of their games in the 80s but they didn't give anyone an easy night.  Butcher, Tiger, Snepsts, Fraser, Delorme, etc.  And for a while Ronnie Stern as well.

 

CHRISTIAN RUUTTU...  We just had him briefly at the end of his career but this guy was really good in the 80s with the Sabres.  65 point rookie, 71 points the next year and then 50 and 60 for several more years.

 

JEFF COWAN...  What did he have...a four game goal scoring streak or something when some lady tossed her bra on the ice in tribute to his greatness.

 

ANATOLI SEMENOV...  Another guy we had briefly.  He didn't start his NHL career until his late 20s because of the Iron Curtain.  He was a very good player in Russia during the 80s.  One of their best.

 

 

 

Edited December 20, 2023 by Kevin Biestra

[Coconuts]

On the twentieth day of Canuckmas, Canucks lore gave to me

 

Jim Hargreaves 1971
George Gardner 1972
Bobby Lalonde 1972-1977
Drew Callander 1979
Bill Derlago 1979
John Hughes 1980
Gerry Minor 1980-1984
Grant Martin 1984-1985
Steve Tambellini 1986-1988
Ronnie Stern 1989-1991
Andrew McBain 1992
Anatoli Semenov 1993
José Charbonneau 1994-1995
Christian Ruuttu 1995
Evgeny Namestnikov 1996
Alexander Semak 1997
Dave Scatchard 1998-2000
Denis Pederson 2000-2002
Darren Langdon 2003
Ryan Kesler 2004-2006
Jeff Cowan 2007-2008
Jesse Schultz 2007
Guillaume Desbiens 2010
Chris Higgins 2011-2016
Ryan Parent 2011
Brandon Sutter 2017-2021
Curtis Lazar 2023

[Coconuts]

Higgins was a solid soldier, felt like Sutter was here longer

[6of1_halfdozenofother]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[6of1_halfdozenofother]

 

[Kevin Biestra]

Memories of #21s...

 

JYRKI LUMME...  For some reason despite being the go to guy in a very big era of Canucks hockey he always kind of slips my mind among the solid offensive defensemen of Canucks past as opposed Halward, Lanz, Kearns, McCarthy etc.  Maybe because he gets talked about more so I don't feel a responsibility to keep the flame alive.  He's also a guy whose career was so solid that it feels like players like Bieksa in the ROH could start to summon a case for Lumme.  Two 50+ point seasons and two more in the 40s on the Canucks blueline, plus the 1994 run.  Votes for the post-season All Star team twice.

 

DOUG HALWARD, CRAIG COXE...  I think I talked about them earlier under different jerseys.  One very good defenseman and one very good enforcer.

 

DENNIS KEARNS...  Held most of the Canucks scoring records for defensemen at one point I think, season and career.  677 games, all in a Canuck uniform, a 51 point and a 60 point season.  Pretty sure he was the first Canucks defenseman to get 60 points and he and Lidster may have been the only two ever until Quinn Hughes.  Votes for the postseason All Star Team one year.  Really wouldn't be out of place in the ROH himself to be honest.  Also part of the great 1974-75 team that I've mentioned.  The only regular season division title in the first 20+ years of the Canucks' existence.

 

CAM NEELY...  I'm sure I've said what I had to say about him in talking earlier about the guys who are remembered for not being Cam Neely (Barry Pederson, Jim Sandlak).

 

IVAN HLINKA...  An absolute legend.  Perhaps he should be in the Hockey Hall of Fame.  You probably know him as the namesake of the World Junior Hockey Championship.  It is named after him for good reason.  He came to the NHL late...at age 32...and held the Canucks record for rookie scoring (60 points) until Pavel Bure tied it).  In his very first NHL season he made a difference and helped the Canucks to the Stanley Cup final.  He only played two NHL seasons, both for the Canucks, and he was getting better with age.  60 points in 72 games his first year at age 32, then 63 points in 65 games at age 33.  I think there's a very good chance he would have been a Hall of Famer if he had been able to play in the NHL in his youth and not held behind the Iron Curtain in Czechoslovakia.  An absolute legend in Czech hockey.  Contributed to the 1982 run and arguably the Canucks' best player with 5 points in 4 games in the 1983 playoffs.  Can't say enough good things about this man and his hockey career.

 

JOHN GOULD...  Forgotten very good Canucks player from the early 1970s.  Two 30+ goal seasons with 65 and 59 points.  Including the 1974-75 division title campaign.  Four points in five games against Ken Dryden and the mighty Canadiens in the playoffs that year, including Vancouver's first ever playoff win.

 

JERE GILLIS...  Kind of considered a bust for the Canucks given that he was picked 4th overall with some Hall of Famers chosen after him but he scored over 20 goals as a rookie for the Canucks.  Also came back to the Canucks later in his career.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 21, 2023 by Kevin Biestra

[6of1_halfdozenofother]

 

 

 

Never forgive, never forget:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Coconuts]

12 hours ago, 6of1_halfdozenofother said:

 

 

That was fun to watch

[6of1_halfdozenofother]

2 minutes ago, Coconuts said:

 

That was fun to watch

 

"...and he did it while wearing Evgeny Namestnikov's old #20..."

(fictionalized Don Taylor quote)

[Coconuts]

Lots of respectable players have worn 21 over the years, including Canucks legend and icon Loui Eriksson

 

On the twenty-first day of Canuckmas, Canucks lore gave to me 

 

John Arbour 1971
Dave Balon 1972-1973
Dennis Kearns 1972
John Gould 1974-1977
Gene Sobchuk 1974
Jere Gillis 1978-1981
Doug Halward 1981
Ivan Hlinka 1982-1983
Cam Neely 1984-1986
Craig Coxe 1987-1988
Peter Bakovic 1988
Rob Murphy 1989
Doug Smith 1989-1990
Jyrki Lumme 1990-1998
Josh Holden 1999-2001
Zenith Komarniski 2003
Magnus Arvedson 2004
Tyler Bouck 2006-2007
Bryan Smolinski 2007
Mason Raymond 2008-2013
Zac Dalpe 2014
Brandon McMillan 2015
Brandon Sutter 2016
Loui Eriksson 2017-2021
Nils Höglander 2022-2024