ownership group have worked very hard
and spent a lot of money into turning
Vancouver into a club where players want
to play. They saw what Detroit had been
doing for years to great effect; selling
players on the team and the city in order
to get them under contract for less money,
and have modeled themselves on that
structure.

A perfect example is Alberts, who
resigned with the Canucks the day before
the free agency floodgates opened. Now,
while it’s true that Alberts wouldn’t
have commanded top dollar, he’s still a
serviceable depth defenseman coming off
a long playoff run in a weak free agent
year. He could have easily scored more
than the $1.25 million he signed for with
Vancouver on a two year deal. Instead, he
wanted to play here and he proved it.

Bieksa signing that deal, with
everyone aware that he could have
left the city for more cash, has already
cemented him as permanent fan favourite
in Vancouver. We’re so used to players not
wanting to be here that when they commit
long term here, for less money no less,
it’s a bid deal, and said player instantly
becomes one of us. For Bieksa, that is
exactly what happened. He’s a Canuck for
life in our eyes, with a Ring of Honour
spot probably already locked up for him
when he retires.

The same holds true for Sami Salo,
another long time Canucks who spurned
more dough to sign with the Canucks on
July 1, and who took a $1.5 million pay

18

 

 

cut to do so. Staring all that money in
the face, saying ‘no’ and coming back to
Vancouver really does mean something to
fans of this team.

Now let’s look at the other side
of the coin, particularly one Christian
Ehrhoff. After getting Bieksa’s name on
the dotted line, Gillis turned his sights on
the German blueliner and offered him the
same deal that Bieksa signed for. Ehrhoff
turned him down flat, and Gillis dealt his
negotiating rights. After that, Ehrhoff was
packaged off to Buffalo, who signed him
to a mammoth decade long, front-loaded
deal that will pay him an average of four
million dollars each year, but $18 million
in the first two seasons of the agreement.

As soon as news reached the public
that Ehrhoff was demanding Fort Knox,
the general opinion of him evaporated
in record time. Despite previously being
a fairly popular player, Ehrhoff was
immediately labelled a spoiled athlete
only in it for the money, and in Vancouver,
that’s a tough brand to shake.

When you sit back and look at
Ehrhoff’s situation objectively though,
he really didn’t do anything wrong. He
wasn’t a long term fixture in this town

- like Bieksa and Salo, and players long for

the day they can reach unrestricted free
agency right from the beginning. Almost
universally, Bieksa and Salo are the
exceptions.

But this is Vancouver, and these are
our players, so when one of them leaves
for supposedly greener pastures, it’s a

 

bitter pill that leaves a sour taste. Maybe
in our own way, we’re a throwback sports
town; a place where we expect to connect
with the players we watch and view them
as adopted sons, so to speak.

In the modern world of professional

 

sports, that might not be the most realistic
approach to take, but at the same time, it
makes what we do have that much more
meaningful.

 

 

 

   

youth

We're inviting

B.C. youth to a conference
in Vancouver from August 19-21, 2011

— all expenses paid!

If you’re aged 18-30, live in BC, and want to
learn about transportation, sustainability and
planning, apply to attend by January 31, 2011.

See translink.ca/bcyouthsummit for full details!

AO one

  

rmans Ani

jeunes