[[Rumour] Team1040 Doug Maclean]

Regardless of what you think of Ol' Doug, rumours like this are typically not part of his shtick. I think there's something there.

Whether or not they come to fruition is a whole other story.

[Province Article - is Daniel Sedin Done...]

While this may be a concern for Canuck fans in the short term, what he is going thru is not all that uncommon for athletes his age. As their bodies start to breakdown, they either adjust or fade away.

Daniel strikes me as a smart guy, who takes care of himself and works hard at improving himself. He'll adjust his game, and become an effective player again. He may not pile up the points, it may take a year, but he'll be fine.

[[Lebrun] Canucks covet O'Reilly and will deal defense to aquire him]

Avs are not going to trade ROR for anything less than a top 2 D + high draft pick or solid prospect.

They chose him over 2 lotto picks. They are not going to give him away for anyone who is remotely underachieving.

Not saying it's a good deal for the Canucks, but it would take Tanev (not a top 2), Horvat + another pick or prospect.

[Gillis silent while Canucks need him most (Bold moves my ass)]

Bettman does nothing in cba negotiations that isn't mandated by the owners. Teams that handed out long term circumvention contracts (and yes they were to circumvent the cap) are in the minority. What goes into the cba is decided by the "majority". Fans give Bettman way too much power credit. If he's not doing what the majority want he's out of a job. The fact (and yes it's a fact) that his term was extended with a rather nice raise is a sure indicator he's doing exactly what the majority of owners want. You guys simply need somebody to blame and Bettman is the face that takes the heat for the owners. But in the end it's the owners that make the major decisions regarding rules changes, reffing, and what goes into the cba. Bettmans job is to get what the owners want.

Great post. It is the biggest irony in sports... Fans blame the commish for ruining the game they love, when he is only acting on behalf of the those who actually own the game.

[Gillis silent while Canucks need him most (Bold moves my ass)]

Ignoring his smug personality, Gillis is just an average GM. 50% of the time he will do something good.

His has made 2 critical errors. The two major trades he has made brought back the wrong type of return for the team's situation (a team that was one key piece away).

I'll accept that Hodgeson 'had' to go. I'll grant him that Kassian was a good prospect, but at that time, the team needed an impact player that was ready to play.

Same goes for Horvat. I really like the kid, but he is not going to peak before the current core is close to done.

What he has now is a team in the middle.

[Unwritten rules of attending a hockey game (Article)]

I always thought it odd when I see a dude (usually an Oilers jersey) at a game between 2 other team.

Definetely banging on the glass is a huge pet peeve. Hate to say it, but it happens at Rogers A quite a bit.

[GMMG wants to wait and see this team]

Something tells me that lack of confidence is not the issue with Gillis. Probably too much, boardering on arrogance.

[GMMG wants to wait and see this team]

What bugs me about Gillis is that he passes off the Fans as idiots, and does not take responsibily.

2 comments that really bug me:

'In this day and age, it's really hard to make trades'. NO $h!?. It's the same for every GM, but the ones who are winning seem to be able to make those trades.

'Scoring is down league wide'. What does that have to do with the Canucks not being able to score as much as (most of) the rest of the league?

Grow a pair, show some confidence in your group, and say 'we're just not playing good enough, and I believe that the answers are in the room'. If that's not the case, make some real changes like the other big boys can.

[CBC continues to ignore West and the Canucks]

But what will they waste MY tax dollars on then?

Seriously though, the traditionalist in me will be a bit sad, but I'm sure I'll get over it after 1 Saturday night.

[CBC continues to ignore West and the Canucks]

I'm sorry to break to you, friend, but CBC functions on government subsidies of (at least) $1.1 billion annually. That is Federal tax dollars that come out of your and my pockets.

Yes, but before you throw out the 'my tax dollars' statement, you need to look at the distribution of tax income, and the income of the CBC. We do not subsidize HNIC. We subsidize the stuff that barely anyone watches.

Even if we did subsidize HNIC, proportionately we get more games and coverage per tax dollar (or tax payer) than TO, or MTL.

[CBC continues to ignore West and the Canucks]

Actually, we don't directly fund HNIC thru our taxes. It makes money, and actually keeps the tax $ going to CBC lower. Without it, the CBC would be an even bigger drain.

The bulk of the money that is made from HNIC comes from, well, I'll give you one guess on the region...

[CBC continues to ignore West and the Canucks]

The tax dollars debate doesn't fly, there is about 3x the tax income/ payers in Ontario and Quebec than in BC and AB. If anything they are subsidizing our games...

Why take is as a personal attack? All the Canucks games are still on TV for free.