The Dreaded Two-Goal Lead: It Ate Everybody

Canucks news comes fast and furious, and sometimes we find ourselves playing catchup. Thankfully, the Dreaded Two Goal Lead--often called "the worst lead in hockey"--is super easy to come back from. Everybody knows it's a guaranteed death sentence for those that hold it. Well, much like an ice hockey team coming from two goals down, PITB will now effortlessly catch up.

• Harold Snepsts' Moustache (and Harold Snepsts, by Association) To the Ring of Honour

The Canucks announced early on Wednesday morning that Harold Snepsts would be the fourth former Canuck to see his name in the Ring of Honour. Snepsts is a worthy recipient, currently holding the franchise records for games played and penalty minutes. Also, he looked like this. I've heard criticism that Snepsts, a depth guy of sorts, doesn't deserve the honour--that if he didn't look the way he did, he might not be remembered as fondly. Well, Halle Berry endured similar criticism, and she's got an Oscar. Admittedly, Snepsts' look did give him a certain notoriety, but you can't fault a guy for riding his remarkable unattractiveness into the annals of Canucks' history. Somewhere, Brent Sopel is wondering if the same strategy could work twice.

• The Monster That Ate Everybody Ate Kevin Bieksa

News broke early this morning that Kevin Bieksa might be the latest devouree of The Monster That Ate Everybody, the creature that's picking offf Canucks' defenseman at a rate of one per game. It turns out that, Tuesday night in Minnesota, when Bieksa stepped in front of the large rubber disc traveling at approximately 100 miles per hour, he got hurt. Juice reportedly has a foot fracture that may keep him out of the lineup, and Evan Oberg has been recalled. Jeff Paterson points out that, if Bieksa doesn't go, Christian Ehrhoff will have 7 more NHL games played this season than the rest of the Canucks active d-corps combined. Hopefully, this occurs to Ehrhoff before he jumps into the rush.

• Surgeries For Everybody!

If you're looking for good news on the defensive front, the best anyone can do is report that everyone's surgeries went well. Edler's back surgery was successful, and Andrew Alberts' wrist surgery was as well. Normally, this wouldn't be big news, but I imagine that the recent string of bad luck had everyone a little concerned something would go wrong on the operating table. Example: Alex Edler blocked a shot during the procedure and wound up being awake through the whole thing. He's out indefinitely with incoherent rambling. Seriously, though, the way they're doling out surgeries these days, the Canucks' doctors must feel a bit like Dr. Nick Riviera. Rumour has it every patient got a free nose job.

• Ian White Not Traded to the Canucks; Everyone But Ian White is Relieved

And finally, perhaps you heard the yesterday's non-news that Ian White had been traded to the Canucks. Obviously, he hadn't, and the news was actually just a Twitter rumour that spread out of control, but still, it was scary for awhile. Reports circulated that Jannik Hansen was headed the other way, and everyone freaked out a little, which is a testament to how far Hansen has come. He wasn't a lock to make this team in the preseason. Now he's a vital cog. Anyway, the news was eventually debunked by way of a Mike Gillis tweet, which is impressively progressive, from one perspective. On the other hand, others suggested Gillis simply did it that way because he didn't want to take a call from TSN.

Thomas Gradin Started a Tradition of Swedish Stars

One of the most skilled players to ever wear a Canucks uniform, Thomas Gradin is a worthy inductee into the Canucks Ring of Honour. In a ceremony prior to last night's game against the Dallas Stars, Gradin took his place alongside Orland Kurtenbach and Kirk McLean in front of the Vancouver fans, as well as Marc Crawford, his former teammate. The ceremony was short and sweet, and featured Gradin's absolutely adorable grandson, Elias, wearing the Tre Kronor of Sweden and the presentation of a Glen Green original watercolor of in which Gradin sports the infamous "Halloween" jersey. Quite frankly, it's never looked better.

Gradin helped pave the way for other Europeans to come to the NHL and started a tradition of Swedish talent on the Canucks, which led to other Swedish stars such as Patrik Sundstrom, Matthias Ohlund, and Markus Naslund. Furthermore, he continues to feed that tradition as the Canucks' head European scout, instrumental in drafting the Sedins, Alex Edler, and prospects Anton Rodin and Peter Andersson.

Unfortunately, I wasn't born when Gradin started in the NHL with Stan Smyl and Curt Fraser, so I never got a chance to see him play or hear him speak. I didn't realize how truly similar Gradin was to my generation's Swedish superstars--the Sedins--until I read this great interview with Bob Dunn from a 1983 Canucks Magazine.

One of the frequent criticisms of the Sedins is that they pass the puck too much, passing on prime scoring opportunities by seemingly refusing to shoot the puck. Thomas Gradin faced the same criticism:

DUNN: In hockey, what's the toughest criticism you've ever had? What's hurt you the most?

GRADIN: That I never shoot the puck. I'm always hearing that, even in Sweden. I think it's tapered off. I think even the fan's realize that it's a good thing to pass the puck once in a while too.

DUNN: Did you ever feel you didn't shoot enough?

GRADIN: Well, when you get told four or five times a day, you better start thinking about it, but I never felt that I really had to, because if I make a good play and it turns out to be a goal anyway, there can't be any reason for doing that.

Classic. It definitely appears that he shares the same mindset as the Sedins. There are some other gems in this interview, including this bit on enforcers:

DUNN: Is intimidation still very much a part of the NHL?

GRADIN: Not as much as it used to be.

DUNN: Why?

GRADIN: Because the team can't afford to have those players. They can't afford to have a guy just for fighting. He has to be some kind of hockey player, too. That's the way it works.

And yet, 27 years later, Derek Boogaard can get signed to the New York Rangers for $6.5 million "just for fighting" and Guy Boucher is considered revolutionary for suggesting that any enforcer on his team needs to be able to "play the game."

Finally, this is just hilarious:

GRADIN: I don't think the Russians will ever change their attitude. There are Canadians whose ability is very low in comparison to some other guys, but they overcome that because of their attitude to just win the game, and I don't think the Russians can ever change that.

Ouch. Ovechkin, any response?

OVECHKIN: It's all about me.

Oh. Alright then.

Kirk McLean to join Orland Kurtenbach in Ring of Honour

As announced on the Team 1040 morning show by Scotty Rintoul and Ray Ferraro, the next inductee into the Vancouver Canucks' Ring of Honour will be Captain Kirk himself, Kirk McLean. As anyone who remembers the '94 playoff run knows, this is well deserved.

The last of the great stand-up goaltenders, McLean arrived in Vancouver in 1987 in a trade with the New Jersey Devils. He spent the next decade in net for the Canucks, setting many franchise records in the process. He still holds the franchise record for regular season games played, regular season wins, playoff games played, playoff wins, and playoff shutouts. He's second in franchise history in regular season shutouts and second in playoff save percentage.

But what McLean will most be remembered for is the '94 playoff run, where he was fantastic. There was "The Save" where he robbed Robert Reichel in game 7, giving Pavel Bure the chance to score his famous overtime winner. Then there was game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, where he made a ridiculous 52 saves to give Vancouver the 3-2 victory. He finished the playoffs that year with a sterling .928 save percentage.

McLean is an iconic figure in Vancouver and is well deserving of this honour. His name and number will go into the Ring of Honour on November 24th when the Colorado Avalanche, who he currently works for as the goaltending coach, are in town.