By Garth McLennan

\ y ancouver Canucks fans are kind
of a fickle bunch. Over the years
we’ve endured a stunning amount
of heartache at the hands of our team,
from ownership right down to the guys
lacing up the skates. Because the Canucks
are now into their fourth Stanley Cup free
decade, and because of the numerous high
and low-profile player incidents over the
years that have resulted in fan favourites
being shipped out of town or permitted
to walk for nothing, Canuck fans have
developed a bit of a complex.

This complex manifests itself in
both positive and negative ways. We saw
the negative during the first round of
this year’s playoffs against the Chicago
Blackhawks and again in the Stanley Cup
finals, where fans (egged on by certain
members of the Vancouver press core)
were prepared to stage a mutiny in protest
of the officiating (which, to be fair, can’t
exactly be called good). However, this
article is primarily about the positive
aspects of the average Vancouver fan’s
complex. This is mainly about player
loyalty, and just how much it means in
this city.

After failing to reach the promised
land by a single game during their Stanley
Cup run, Mike Gillis and the rest of the
Canucks’ management were faced with a
number of important decisions regarding
their famed defence group, which was
hailed all season as the league’s deepest.
Kevin Bieksa, Christian Ehrhoff, Sami
Salo and Andrew Alberts were all
slated to hit the open market with their
respective services available to the highest
bidder on July 1. Considering that this
year’s crop of existing isn’t exactly what
one would call elite, all of those guys
were looking at significant raises on their

previous salaries.
But that’s when things got
interesting. Despite the allure of landing

‘a big contract on free agent day, Bieksa

re-upped in Vancouver, signing a five year
deal worth $4.6 million per year that will
keep him here until he’s 35. While that
was still roughly a million dollar raise for
Bieksa, the fact that he was coming off
a career year and was widely considered
one of the premier defenders to be had
as free agent, his signing was a bit of a
surprise at that money.

But maybe it shouldn’t have been.
After all, Gillis and the Canucks’

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