Historic or sophomoric?

Are the Canucks doomed to repeat or are they destined for a Cup

comeback?

By Siavash Emamzadeh
Contributor

he Vancouver Canucks have
ik embroiled in a lot of

stormy weather over the past
year—with an ugly Stanley Cup
Finals loss, embarrassing city-wide
riots, and the passing of former
teammate Rick Rypien. With this in
mind, many fans are looking to this
year’s Cup campaign as a potential
source of redemption for the
team: while some may argue that
looking for the Canucks to make
back-to-back Finals appearances
is unrealistic, many still refuse to
dismiss their home team’s chances
of a spot in the big dance. So, the
question is: can the Vancouver
Canucks return to this year’s
Stanley Cup Finals? If they do, what
are the chances that they will hoist
the iconic silverware when all’s said
and done?

In order to answer that
question, I must preface it with
another — why did the Vancouver
Canucks fall to the Boston Bruins
in the 2010/2011 Finals? While a
lack of toughness seems to be what
most Canuckleheads would give as
an answer, there was also the issue
of the much-acclaimed power play
going as dry as a joke delivered
by Bill Belichick. That’s not to say,
however, that their other units
were productive either. So overall,
their shortages amount to a lack of
offence and grit. I have an inkling
though that a lot of Vancouverites
will point their forever-erect finger
(index, that is) at goaltending as
well. Was that a problem in last
year’s regular season? Not at all.
What about the playoffs? Perhaps
to an extent. But whatever problem
there was with goaltending, it
has been remedied this season.
Cory Schneider has proven his
worth with stellar performances
against elite and rival teams. The
composure he has displayed is
akin to that of Cam Ward at the
peak of his career (when Ward
won the Stanley Cup with the
Carolina Hurricanes). Meanwhile,
Schneider’s goaltending style,
which is much like Kiprusoft’s,
seldom puts him out of position
and enables him to stay on his feet
when there is a rebound. As for
Luongo, he too is bound for another
solid season and has demonstrated
that he is stronger between the ears.
For many people, the big knock
on Roberto has always been that

he is mentally weak and struggles
when critics (whether it’s fans, the
media, or his team) don’t have faith
in him. He has certainly dispelled
that belief! This season, he’s been
replaced by Schneider following
an injury, and was cast aside until
Schneider’s performance declined;
and, he was shelved in favour of
Schneids for the only game of the
year versus last year’s champions,
the Boston Bruins. In light of all
these developments, Luongo has
yet to pout or demand a trade; on
the contrary, he’s played great.

Unfortunately, I believe
goaltending is the only improved
and bright spot for the Canucks this
season.

The Canucks defence has
stayed the same, if not gotten
worse. Sure, Erhoff’s departure
does not necessarily fare poorly
as far as the Canucks’ chances in
the playoffs. He was spectacular
in the regular season, but as soon
as the postseason reared its head,
he pulled a disappearing act that
would’ve astounded even Houdini.

And what has been done
about Ballard and his mysterious
relationship with Alain Vigneault?
It would appear that it has not

Feature.

year lost Raffi Torres—who was
arguably the grittiest Canuck in
2011 (especially the playoffs). Why
was he not re-signed? Because
Gillis thought Torres did not
deserve a raise. Instead, he went
out and got Sturm... yeah, how
did that work out? The toughness
that Torres provided was never
more clear than when he was
suspended following his hit on
Brent Seabrook in the first round
of last year’s playoffs versus the

“,..Erhoff’s departure does not necessarily fare poorly as far as the

Canucks’ chances in the playoffs. He was spectacular in the regular

season, but as soon as the postseason reared its head, he pulled a
disappearing act that would’ve astounded even Houdini.’

been addressed. To assume that
Ballard is going to be in any given
lineup is virtually as random as
selecting a winning lottery ticket
from a handful. The team has often
flaunted its solidarity and oneness;
we're led to believe, almost on a
daily basis, that there is no “bad
seed” in the locker room. The
irregular bond between Vigneault
and Ballard suggests otherwise.
Then there’s the story of the
oft-injured Sami Salo, whose
frequent absences from the lineup
may have something to do with the
power play’s inconsistency. When
the power play is based on him
manning the point and unleashing
howitzers, it’s understandable
that it takes some adapting when
he’s on the IR. Otherwise, things
have remained the same, with Dan
Hambhuis carrying the “D” ina
very low profile kind of way. And
fortunately, Aaron Rome continues
to play with grit. Speaking of grit,
we get to the offense, which last

Chicago Blackhawks. When Torres
was not patrolling the ice as a result
of being suspended, Duncan Keith
suddenly became George Laraque,
once running over a trio of Canucks
in one sequence. Plus, Torres had
more elements to his game, as on

a number of occasions, he put the
puck in the net. Correct me if I’m
wrong, but isn’t Torres exactly the
type of player the Canucks need?
Gillis does not want to sign a one-
dimensional, enforcer-type player
like George Parros, but rather an
“energy player.”

A player the Canucks should
have gotten rid of is Mason
Raymond. It’s fair to say that the
Canucks have enough speed on
their squad. Mason Raymond is the
odd man out, so to speak, because
there’s little else to his game than
speed; he’s undersized and is not
elusive enough to put the puck in
the net on a steady basis.

With this in mind, it’s baffling

@ Brad Marchand and Roberto Luo go

 

as to why the team basically signed
another Raymond by the name of
David Booth. Yes, Booth once had
potential to be a superstar in the
league; however, after sustaining

a series of debilitating hits, he has
dealt with concussions and their
resulting consequences. Now, his
game is more or less speed-based.

Finally, there’s Kesler: the
player who won the Selke Trophy
for his performance in last year’s
regular season. Then of course,
on the heels of the playoff series
against the Nashville Predators,
Kesler’s play deteriorated in a
big way. He did not play with
that surge of energy for which he
is known. The bad news for this
season is that Kesler is already
playing like that, starting from the
mid-point of the regular season.
Personally, I suspect that it’s
because of an astronomical hit he
took from the Detroit Red Wings’
Nik Kronwall.

With the aforementioned in
mind, I strongly doubt the Canucks,
as they are currently built, will get
to the Finals this year at all. That’s
not to say that they won’t get deep
in the postseason, but I suspect
management has not addressed the
problems that led to the Canucks
loss to the Bruins last year. The
personnel are who they are, and
I allocate very little, if any blame,
to them; rather, I think the finger
should be pointed at Gillis. I will
concede that during his tenure
thus far, he has taken this team and
made them a strong Stanley Cup
contender. But as far as this year
compared to last, and with the goal
of winning the Stanley Cup, he has
not done enough.

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