sports // 18

Game for a game?

» The excitement of watching the Canucks live

Cheryl Minns

. Arts Editor
Marts
@theotherpress.ca

 

f you like action and

suspense, celebrities
and drama, then forget the
movies—the Vancouver
Canucks offer that and more
at their home games played at
Rogers Arena. Anything can
happen during a game, even
an all-out line brawl during
the puck drop, and some of
the action will have you on the
edge of your seat. While we'd
all like to see a “W” at the end
of the day, it’s hard to complain
about going to a Canucks
game because, after all, a
hockey game is all about the
experience.

Lately the Canucks have
been undergoing a lot of
changes, such as trading fan-
favourite goalie Roberto Luongo
and losing Daniel Sedin to
a leg injury he sustained in
the Heritage Classic game.

But despite the setbacks and
less enthusiastic crowds, the

: Canucks are still giving it their
: best effort and are well worth

: watching—at least that’s what
: this fan thought after taking in
: aweekend game.

Always among the

: highlights are the violent

: fights that break out in almost
: every game, much to the fans’
: delight. Sometimes the fights
: look planned, like a rehearsed
: routine of throwing off the

: gloves and yanking on the

: opponent’s jersey, while other
: times various players will

: skate into an opponent ora

: group of them will charge the
: goalie. If anyone ever thought
: Canadians were polite, these

: games certainly disprove that

: theory—at least when it comes
: to hockey.

But with fights come

: injuries and substitute players

: such as Canucks prospect

: Darren Archibald, who's filling
: in for Sedin. He’s no silky

: Swede, but he did score his first
: NHL goal on March 8, which

: shows the future of the team

: could be promising even while

: fans mourn the team’s loss of

: past favourites.

Luongo’s departure

: from the team wasnt all

: that unexpected, but getting

: familiar with new starter, Eddie
: Lack, might take time as fans

: realize they can no longer be

: comforted by the idea of a

: Luongo shutting the door. That
: hasn’t stopped crowds from

: showing their support though,

: with cheers of, “Go, Eddie, go!”
: heard throughout the arena

: indicating that fans are trying

: to embrace the new future.

Canucks games are worth

: experiencing in-person at

: least once because the arena

: atmosphere of thousands of

: fans cheering for one last goal

: with onlya few seconds left in

: the game is exhilarating and

: will definitely get you on your

: feet cheering your heart out.

: So if you've got some time and

: the necessary cash, get ready

: fora whole range of emotions

: as the Canucks score goals, pick
: fights, take penalties, and face-
: off against NHL competitors in
: their race to secure a spot in this
: year’s playoffs.

theotherpress.ca

 

 

 

 

~ aii,

By Cheryl Minns

 

How to bungle a surplus of talent
» Mike Gillis shows why he should be out of a job

>y Eric Wilkins
Sports Editor
Ht |

MA sports
_ @theotherpress.ca
A nother NHL trade deadline
as come and gone. The

rumours and whisperings of big-
name moves have now either
come to fruition or left hopeful
fans disappointed and wondering
what might have been. The latter
category is what Vancouver
Canucks supporters fall into—and
once again, Mike Gillis has proven
himself to be anything but a fan
favourite.

This time last year, the
Canucks were still only two
seasons removed from their
Stanley Cup run that ended in
defeat against Boston. It wasn’t
the strongest roster, but it was
certainly a capable one. Toss in the
fact that there were two starting-
calibre goaltenders on the team
and most would have thought
it to bea fairly ideal situation.
Since both had been coveted by
GMs around the league for some
time, it seemed inevitable that
Gillis would pull the trigger on
some major deal in the offseason
to bolster the roster for another
run. The obvious candidate to get
a ticket out of town was Roberto
Luongo. Being older and carrying

: a larger cap hit, Luongo was more

: or less a foregone conclusion to
: be traded by most fans. And then
> Gillis did the unthinkable and

: traded Cory Schneider. It wasn’t so!

: much that Schneider got traded,
: though that was a surprise in

: itself, as was the fact that Gillis

: got virtually nothing for him. A

: first-round pick? Not only did

: Gillis move the wrong guy, he got
: fleeced while doing it.

Fast-forward to this year

: and Gillis has made a mess of

: things again. Yes, he got Luongo

: out of town, but for what? Jacob

: Markstrom and Shawn Matthias?
: Essentially a goaltender who has

: that magic “potential” label and

: acareer third-liner. ‘Atta boy,

: Gillis. But more worrying than

: the lack ofa return on Luongo

: was the fact that Gillis seemed

: crippled by indecision on what

: direction this team is going to

: take over the next few years. They
: can’t win a Cup with the current

: squad—that much is obvious.

: With the knowledge that a Cup is

: rebuild, or make one last push.

If Gillis wants to rebuild,

: then holding onto players such as
: Ryan Kesler (now 29-years-old)

: isa waste. They can be dealt for

: younger assets who will help the

: team in the long run. Having star
: players with no supporting cast

But more worrying
than the lack

of a return on
Luongo was the

fact that Gillis
seemed crippled by
indecision on what
direction this team
is going to take over
the next few years.

: just ensures mediocrity, and no

: one wants that. Clean out the

: veterans so there’s ammunition

: forthe next run. Alternatively,

: Gillis could have also decided that
: there’s enough talent on the roster
: to make a push for one more go. If
: that were his thinking, he would

: have mortgaged the future to

: pick up a big name (e.g., Thomas

: Vanek) in the hopes that it would

: be enough. Gillis, however, did

: : neither, and sat on his hands.
: out of reach there are two options: :

Now the Canucks are in the

: difficult position of not being

: good enough to take the next step
: but not bad enough to pick upa

: top draft pick. With aging stars

: anda significantly less inspiring

: goaltending duo, the next few

: years may not be as much fun as

: the previous ones were.

 

Former Canuck Roberto Luongo // By www.huffingtonpost.ca