What Do You Want, Canucks Fans?

After Wednesday's loss against the Anaheim Ducks, the prevailing opinion amongst Canuck fandom was that the Canucks got outmuscled. This opinion could be heard from callers on the Team 1040, read on threads posted on Canucks.com, and absorbed by osmosis from articles written by Brad Ziemer (you wouldn't want to actually read them). This sudden outcry was simultaneously baffling and expected. Baffling, because the goals scored against the Canucks were largely due to breakdowns in defensive coverage and not being outmuscled along the boards or in front of the net. Expected, as Dan Hamhuis left the game after a borderline hit from Ryan Getzlaf and no one stepped up to fight him.

Never mind that none of the Canucks actually saw the hit happen. Never mind that it looks like a perfectly innocent hit until Hamhuis crumples to the ice. Never mind that there honestly wouldn't have been any point in fighting Getzlaf. The lack of response from the Canucks in that moment is apparently indicative of a team-wide lack of toughness.

Fine. Let's say I agree.

Fastforward a couple days: Cody Hodgson gets sent down to the Manitoba Moose. Victor Oreskovich gets called up. A skilled young rookie who may not be ready for the physical play of the NHL goes down to the AHL to play more minutes and further seasoning. A big body who has played NHL-level hockey before is brought up. He's a physical presence, a guy who can crash and bang and occasionally drop the mitts. Oreskovich can be summed up in a word: tough. Clearly, this is the kind of move that the fans were calling for.

The response: callers on the Team 1040 complaining about Hodgson not getting a chance. Posters on Canucks.com crying foul. Random fan bloggers on the Vancouver Sun website shocked.

On one day, Canucks fans and media are bemoaning the lack of toughness on the Canuck roster. A couple days later, a move is made that increases the Canucks' overall team toughness, and Canucks fans and media bemoan the move. And all this after the Canucks' first loss in seven games. What do you want, Canucks fans? Do you even know what you want?

This shouldn't have been a surprise. Harrison had it mostly right when he described the purpose of the fourth line as prospect development. But it's not necessarily about getting on the ice during the games. It's not even necessarily about evaluating their ability to play at the NHL level. It's about familiarity with the team, the routine, and the practice regimen. It's about knowing what it is to be a Canuck. It's about creating familiarity, so that when these players need to step into the lineup in high-pressure situations (ie. the playoffs), they are facing only one challenge instead of two.

In the end, this move isn't about increasing team toughness or disrespecting a top prospect: it's about acquainting each of the Canucks' prospects with the NHL experience so it's not a shock later on. This makes complaints in the wake of Hodgson being sent down to the Moose even more ludicrous. Hodgson will be back in the NHL before too long; in the meantime, he'll get first-line minutes with the Moose while playing 6 games in 9 nights. But 20 games from now, as injuries crop up, I don't want Oreskovich to be facing his first NHL action of the season as the playoffs approach. I don't want him to be trying to figure out the Canucks' morning routine or the practice schedule with the weight of playoff hockey on his mind.

And seriously, people calling into the Team 1040: chill out.

Markus Moments from the Canucks Blogosphere

As we near the retirement of Markus Naslund's number nineteen, tributes for the former Canuck captain (like the excellent Meat Markus) are in abundance. What follows is a collection of recollections on Markus Naslund's best moments, as fondly remembered by the community of bloggers he inspired. Daniel's "Markus Moment" is below. You can read Harrison's "Markus Moment", along with the writers from Canucks Hockey Blog, Benched Whale, Nucks Misconduct and Canucks Corner, over at Canucks Hockey Blog.

Daniel "Skeeter" Wagner

My favorite Markus moment is any and every single moment he had the puck on his stick near the right face-off circle with time to shoot. In these moments, a glorious certainty would enter my mind: Markus Naslund is about to score a goal. There was always just enough time to edge forward in my seat in anticipation of jumping out of it. In a game full of weird bounces, bad breaks, and unlikely circumstances, Naslund scoring from the right faceoff circle at the height of his career was the closest a Canuck fan could get to a sure thing. These were beautiful moments of peace in the midst of stressful hockey games, and for that I am very thankful.

[Continue Reading at Canucks Hockey Blog]

Rick Rypien Granted Leave of Absence For Personal Reasons

The Canucks announced today that they granted Rick Rypien an indefinite leave of absence for personal matters. This is the second time in three years that Rypien's been granted a leave for personal reasons. It could be a completely separate issue; it likely isn't.

People are wondering what it is, and I hope it stays a secret. If it's substance abuse (as rumoured last time, and only rumoured), it's nobody business but his own. Most of us have a family member or friend that's struggled with substance abuse and it's Hell; there's no need to add a public element to it. And if it's something else, it's still nobody's business but his own.

PITB's prayers go out to Rick Rypien during what must be a very difficult time. Get what you need, Ryp.

But Seriously, Thanks for Everything, Peter Schaefer

Peter Schaefer, artist's rendering.

Ben Kuzma reported this morning that checking winger Peter "Soul Patch" Schaefer, recently put on waivers by the Canucks, will not report to the Moose. He will likely retire (or go to Europe, which is, for North American hockey fans, usually the same thing).

Poor Schaefer never really got a fair shake from the Vancouver fans. Maligned as the reason we couldn't stay friends with Brendan Morrison (when, in reality, Schaefer fit the team's needs so much more, at least coming out of the preseason), he was compared to B-Mo from day one, even though their roles and skillsets were very different. Critics are waist-deep in hindsight right about now, but keeping Peter Schaefer made a lot of sense in September. A former 20-goal scorer that missed a full NHL season, Schaefer won a job out of training camp on the merit of his excellent penalty-killing. The good faith was that he would recover his historically strong skating ability after a handful of games, and the Canucks would have a cheap, speedy, defensively responsible, veteran with some decent hands in the bottom-six. You can see why it was a valid gamble; it simply didn't pay off.

That said, rather than shake our fists at what he couldn't do, let us shake his hand for what he did: Schaefer's comeback was genuinely remarkable, as it takes real talent to spend a whole season out of hockey and then step right back into NHL duty )just ask Cody Hodgson). Schaefer truly was an excellent penalty-killer. His last NHL goal was a hugely important tally against tonight's opponent, the Colorado Avalanche. Not to mention Schaefer was a quality topic for PITB comedy for a solid two months. He earned his own, specialized hashtag (No Second Line For Schaefer), and he's been the target of more than a few one liners. Let's close with some of our favourites:

People were taking shots at Henrik for being a poor captain tonight. Is this fair? Here's my thinking: if we're seeing evidence that wearing the C for the Canucks makes you play worse, we should give it to Peter Schaefer. Nobody will notice. -- IWTG, Nov. 20

Poor Jeff Tambellini has already been sent to the Moose, and I'm sure that his first mediocre game with the Sedins didn't help. Still, that sucks, because he can play. I recognize that it's a strategic move, but Peter Schaefer [is] still in the lineup; that is to say there is a better strategy. -- IWTG, Nov. 1

Schaefer's doofy little fist pump after the goal was far less beautiful. What the heck was that? He looks like he just got the right answer on Bible Jeopardy. -- IWTG, Oct. 26

The Dead Puck Era created more offense than Peter Schaefer does. -- IWTG, Oct. 22

[If] I see Peter Schaefer start on the second line again, I will straight-up murder a beanie baby. -- Armchair Cynic...

Last night, the 2nd line consisted of Ryan Kesler between Peter Schaefer and Jannik Hansen, a duo that has combined for zero points this season and will likely improve that number very slowly over the next six months. -- Kesler Is Struggling...

But seriously, thanks for everything, Peter Schaefer. We wish you nothing but the best.


Note: for additional Schaefer-based comedy blogging, check out Stanley Cup of Chowder's A Day in the Life of Peter Schaefer from 2008 (wherefrom I pilfered the photo at the top of this page).