Living Up to History

Here are a few ridiculous superstitions in which I firmly believe: If you suck out on someone in poker, you will be rightly punished with bad card luck for a while; Hiccups can be cured by asking the person if they own a white horse, and their answering "no," but only if they know that doing so is a cure for the hiccups; The Goo Goo Dolls cover of the song "Give a Little Bit," when played in the car loudly, dispels traffic jams; and, all NHL teams have a historical character that, if honored, will bring success, and if abused, will act as a curse. This last, I credit with much of the recent success of Mike Gillis's Vancouver Canucks.

The idea of historical recognition being important to success seems silly, but like most superstitions, it can be justified with what Dogbert called the best evidence of all -- anecdotal evidence. The Pittsburgh Penguins -- the team of Lemieux and Jagr -- weren't successful again until they brought in some flashy superstars in Crosby and Malkin. The Flyers of late weren't a force until they became the Broad Street Bullies again. Recall that they were the most oft-suspended team in their comeback season. The Devils' adding Kovalchuk shouldn't have hurt the team at all on paper. Even in the worst-case scenario of his being a horrible player spending all his time on the fourth line, the team is still deep enough that they should be in playoff contention. Still, they've got a strong belief in New Jersey that the team is bigger than the individual, and Kovalchuk's contract and lazy defensive play fly so in the face of that idea that the team doesn't have an identity anymore. The same thing happened with the Dallas Stars when they signed Sean Avery. The same thing, honestly, happened to the Canucks when they brought in some guys who were more about themselves than they were about Vancouver.

It's weird to talk about Canucks history, when I've experienced so little of it. During the '94 run to the Finals, I was seven, and all I remember is my drunk uncles yelling at the television. I'd imagine it was also weird for Henrik Sedin hanging out with Orland Kurtenbach for all those photo shoots and talking about what he meant to the franchise. The Sedin twins were born six years after Kurtenbach retired. Still, from the interviews you could tell Henrik knew his stuff, and that's good, because respecting the team's history is important.

This 40th Canucks season has brought intermission segments about the inaugural season of the team, and they've been a real treat. I know I'm not the only one who's enjoyed hearing talk about how the team was originally built with players who believed strongly in being competitive, who really hated to lose. The character of that first Canucks team set the tone for the franchise. From season one, the team's been all about competitiveness and character. The great Canucks haven't all been flashy, but they've all had heart.

What excites me most about this team is that they fit that model so well. As I noted earlier, there are no prima donnas on the team. No one puts himself before the team, everyone buys into the Canucks' game plan. That's a good model on any team, but it's more important for the Canucks than it is for the Thrashers, the Capitals, the Rangers, and others. Some rules in New York are understood not to apply to Sean Avery, for instance. The Canucks simply could not handle that as a team.

The 2010 playoffs were an eye-opener for Mike Gillis. It's doubtful he's as superstitious as I am, but give Gillis credit for learning more quickly from his mistakes than any other GM out there. His first season, he said while the playoff ouster by the Blackhawks was tough, he could see that speed from the back end was what the Canucks needed, and he's definitely brought that in. The 2010 ouster was less easy to pinpoint, but mostly it seemed the Canucks imploded because they just couldn't stay disciplined. Discipline was a problem against L.A. and it was death against the Hawks. The moves Gillis made in the off-season were mostly character moves. They went from just being a tough team to being a competitive one.

The Canucks of this season care a lot less about being hard to play against and a lot more about being hard to win against. Gone are the players who, for whatever reason, couldn't seem to think of the team first. This has its clear advantages in the reduction of stupid penalties, in renewed focus and all that. But it also has its advantage in being what the Canucks are supposed to be about. Offense, defense, grit and whatever else are second to the strength of the group as a team.

Again, this is the 40th season of the Canucks organization. The city's gone 40 years without a Cup, and that sucks. There are so many guys in Canuck history who, in their dedication to the team, and to the city, deserved to win the Cup. It wouldn't feel right if the Vancouver acquired some flashy superstar glory-seeker and won the Cup on his shoulders by doing things his way. It would suck because it doesn't respect the great tradition set by Kurtenbach, Smyl, Linden, Naslund, and other Canuck greats. That wouldn't happen, though, because the Canucks aren't a team that can win like that. That's not what Vancouver's about.

What convinces me most that the team could win it all this year is that it feels like they should. The theme for the 40th season has been honoring the past, and that's been far more than a marketing scheme. Moreso than some teams in the past, this feels like a Canucks team. If a team's going to win one for Linden, for Smyl, for Naslund and those guys, I'll be glad if it's this one. That way, it won't just be their year, it'll be Vancouver's year, from this season all the way back to the first.

Trevor Linden Lithograph Giveaway in Honour of Markus Naslund

This post and subsequent contest (!!!) is a collaborative effort between us at PITB and the J.J. Guerrero/Chris Golden supertandem of Canucks Hockey Blog.


J.J. Guerrero, Canucks Hockey Blog:

Even as Markus Naslund's career in a Vancouver Canucks uniform was winding down--a career that saw him revitalize a moribund franchise, rewrite numerous franchise scoring records, become the longest-serving captain in Canucks history, and spend countless hours in the community--many fans questioned whether or not his jersey #19 was deserving to be raised to the rafters, whether or not it deserved to hang alongside #12 and #16.

The fact is, many fans have come to compare Naslund's accomplishments with Trevor Linden's and Stan Smyl's. And that's certainly their prerogative. Naslund was an elite level player (an All-Star, Lester Pearson Trophy winner and Hart Trophy nominee), but he was unable to take the Canucks as far into the playoffs as Linden and Smyl. Linden and Smyl played with as much as grit as skill. Fair or not, Naslund was known more for his skill and finesse than anything else.

Because of these differences, however, it's perhaps more appropriate to compare how they connected with Canucks fans. We can debate and dispute stats and playoff runs all we want, but there's one thing that we may all be able to agree on: Naslund connected with Canucks fans who grew up watching the team in the post-Messier era as much as Linden and Smyl did in their respective eras.

Chris Golden, Canucks Hockey Blog:

Having grown up in Vancouver, I've been a diehard fan of the Canucks since Chris' birthday plus one. But there's something about kids from Alberta that I remember the most. I've cheered for an average guy from Glendon, Alberta who went by the name "Steamer." I also hollered "HAR-OLLLLLLD" in the hope that the best 'stache this side of the Rockies (hailing from Edmonton) would lay out to block a slapper. But my first true connection was to a young kid from Medicine Hat.

Harold & Stan were already well into their own careers and I liked them because those were the players my Dad thought were the best. Yet, it wasn't until 1988 when this 18 year old kid named Trevor first donned a Canucks jersey that I truly became excited about the team. He was skilled, yet understood the importance of a blue collar work ethic (as Jim Robson once said "He will play! you know he'll play! He will play on crutches!"). He was exciting to watch and wore his emotions on his sleeve.

But it wasn't just how he performed on the ice that had me enamoured (I'm a confident guy, I can admit that). He may have been from Alberta, but he found his home here on the West Coast of British Columbia. He was the first face of Canucks Place, the player I remember seeing down in the caverns of the Pacific Coliseum talking to the fans, and the player who you'd walk into the most while around town. Some of the darkest days as a Canucks fan were when "he who shall not be named" traded Trevor away and some of the brightest days were after he came back.

And if there were ever an indication that the team got it right when they raised number 16 to the rafters, it'd have to be this: he was always the player that my friends and I ever dreamed we wanted to be when we picked up a stick. And I bet he's still the player younger fans still want to be.

Harrison Mooney, Pass it to Bulis

I watched the Trevor Linden jersey retirement ceremony with some emotional distance, as I never quite understood what he was to Vancouver. It's understandable. In 1994, I was nine; I didn't understand what my testicles did, either. Linden's contributions were a bit beyond my comprehension. By the time I was old enough to understand those contributions--the ones that crafted Linden as the greatest Canuck--Markus Naslund was the guy making them. He was the face of the Canucks; the top draw; the best hope; the spiritual and emotional leader. Yes, Markus Naslund was the greatest Canuck I ever personally witnessed.

And it doesn't matter that he never won a cup; Trevor Linden never won one either. That's not the only basis for greatness. Instead, these guys built their legends on great hockey matched by great work in the community. It's a model for greatness that started with Trevor Linden; Markus Naslund took it and ran with it, and that's where I recognized it. We're all hearing the stories now, about how Naslund passed it to Daniel and Henrik Sedin, and the Canucks are just now reaping the benefits of their great leap forward into a similar role. In that respect, it's important to recognize who Markus Naslund was: the guy that took Trevor Linden's example and turned it into a tradition.

Let me put this in a way that you boomers might understand: Markus Naslund is the Trevor Linden of my generation.

*****

Giveaway time!

PITB is partnering with Canucks Hockey Blog to give away a total of four (4) Trevor Linden lithograph prints. They look like this, (minus the frame):

We are giving away two (2) lithograph prints here on PITB. (CHB is giving away another two prints on their site. One winner will be drawn from Twitter; another winner will be drawn from the comments section.

1) To enter on Twitter, send the following tweet:

RT/follow or enter a comment to win a Trevor Linden lithograph from @passittobulis and @canuckshockey. http://bit.ly/i3yHid #Canucks

2) To enter in the comments section, write which one of Naslund, Linden and Smyl you connected with the most and why.


We'll draw the winners on Tuesday, December 14th, at 7:00 PM, so get your entries in before then.