Torres Moves to West Coast

Josh Martin, Sports Editor

HL grinder Raffi Torres, the

former “Canuck killer”, has

signed a one-year contract
with the Vancouver Canucks worth $
1 million US. A huge cut back from
the $2.75 million he was making
in the previous NHL year when he
split the season between the Buffalo
Sabres and the Columbus Blue
Jackets.

Torres was a first round draft
pick selected fifth overall by the New
York Islanders in the 2000 NHL Entry
Draft. The 28 year old has played 432
games so far in his career, with the
Islanders, Edmonton Oilers, Sabres
and Blue Jackets. Torres is coming off
a decent season in terms of numbers,
having scored 19 goals and 17
assists in 74 games with 34 penalty
minutes. However he was often in the
doghouse last season with Buffalo
Coach Lindy Ruff, scratching Torres
the final two games of the Sabres’

playoff schedule.

On another note, Torres has put
up big numbers in the past, scoring
27 goals once and is looking to do
that again with the Canucks giving
him the chance to do so with a great
line-up to work with. Torres is a great
addition to the team, filing a major
hole with desperately needed physical
presence and grit. He is known for
his combination of grittiness and soft
hands, sharing a very similar style of
play to former Canuck crasher Matt
Cooke.

The Pittsburgh Penguins recently
signed Cooke to a three-year deal
that will average $1.8 million a
year. Cooke, considered a vital part
of the Penguins organization, has
never broken the 15 goal barrier in
his career. Last year he accumulated
only 30 points in 79 games and had
on top of that 106 PIM. The Canucks
signing of Torres for $1 million was
one helluva bargain considering what
he can possibly go for in the market

having putting up better numbers than
Cooke.

With the contract that Torres
signed there’s nothing to lose; a one
year deal that can either go good or
bad. It will be up to Alain Vigneault’s
coaching staff to determine where he
will contribute. It will be hard to say
where the winger will fit within the
line-up, however with Alex Burrows
out with an injury to start off the
season; he may get to test out the
waters with the high scoring Sedin
twins. Going from being scratched
in the final two games of the Sabres
playoffs last year to the top line on
the Canucks to start this year is an
ideal situation for the left winger.

Torres has battled with numerous
injuries in the past holding him back
from possibly becoming a consistent
25-30 goal scorer in the NHL. It will
be interesting to see whether or not he
can reach those numbers this season,
having no pressure of a high salary to
live up to.

 

 

What Happened to those Lions?

By Josh Martin, Sports Editor

ep. The Lions are 2-7...
The team that used to be a
force to be reckoned with

in past years is now being looked at
as a joke. The days when they had
everything going for them are now
dead and gone and are only pleasant
memories for Wally Buono, the
veteran Lions in the locker room, and
of course the beloved Vancouver BC
Lions fans.

Ah the sweet scent of the good
ol’ days. From 2004—2007 the Lions
finished first overall in the league and
went deep into the playoffs each year,
winning the Grey Cup in 2006 over
the Montreal Alouettes. In ’08 and
*09 the Lions finished third and fourth
respectively and this season they are
sadly the bottom seeders.

With Casey Printers not
performing well and having the
lowest completion rate among
quarterbacks in the entire CFL
it’s hard to win games. However
it is not entirely the QB’s fault as
the offensive line lets anything go
through to Printers and the rest of
B.C.’s QB’s. The struggling OL is
forcing Printers to make a move and

not giving him enough time to make
the right decision.

Printers has a 52.6% completion
rate as starting QB while the top guy
in the league, Anthony Calvillo of the
Alouettes holds a whopping 70.9%
completion rate beating Printers by
almost 30%. With such a strong QB
in Calvillo, the Alouettes are first in
the east division and second in the
league overall.

When you look back at the years
when Dave Dickenson played on the
Lions from 2003-2007 those were

the prime years for the franchise in
the modern era. Dickenson averaged
a 67.9% passing completion rate in
his five years with the Lions. A great
team requires a great QB, that’s just
how it works in Canadian football
and it is the only way teams are going
to win championships in the CFL.
Lions coach and General Manager
Wally Buono is in shock of what to
do with his team that doesn’t come
out to play.

Changes are going to have
to be made if another loss occurs,

     

and I mean serious changes like
reconstructing the team and coaching
staff. With that being said, even
though the Lions are looking gloomy
and this season has been a nightmare,
one has to remember that great
franchises do go through their share
of bumps and bruises along the way,
that’s just how sports play out. With
new guys coming in and old guys
retiring or moving out, the transitions
in between are not always going to
go smoothly. You can’t keep winning
without losing along the way.

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