Swanny

So, the fans are responsible for this team not winning a championship (and not making the playoffs this year, getting swept in the first round last year and out in 5 in the first round the year before) and all because a few dozen fans (compared to likely over a million supporters in the province and 100s of thousands in Vancouver) post some criticism/trade-demands of Ryan Kesler! Wow! Are you like, 12 years old? The way you got it figured, the Canucks management make decisions about team personnel, and NHL players and their agents make career decisions worth millions of dollars based on what us geeky hockey-obsessed fans do on a Canucks forum. Do you seriously believe that Kesler stays or goes because of what is or isn't said on this forum? Do ya think that two years ago, Mike Gillis decided to replace Luongo with Schneider because of a thread right here? Then decided to trade Luongo, then decided not to trade Luongo, then didn't want Schneider anymore and showed him the door and was sweet on Luongo again, because of a thread right here? Then decided he wasn't sweet on Luongo either and replaced him with Lack and then traded Luongo for a bag of pucks, all because of a thread right here on Canucks Community Forum? And that Gillis fired Vigneault, hired Tortorella, then got fired himself, along with Tortorella, all because of some trolls doing the bidding of "eastern media" (I hope I don't need to get into the specifics of what right-wing conspiracy nuts usually mean by this euphamism)? Do you really believe that Vancouver fans are the only ones who call out underperforming players, poor management decisions and coaches who can't motivate their team? Do you think Oilers fans and Maple Leaf fans aren't frustrated. Have you read the TSN comments after the Leafs late season collapse. Some of those harsh words on TSN.ca were from Leafs fans, who btw have supported an endless parade of crappy teams, paid the highest ticket prices in the league and still haven't been to a cup final in over 40 years. Maybe the Leafs should blame the "eastern media" too. Ooooh, its all just a big conspiracy, oooooh!

I'm kind of meh about this. Probably a good thing from a team marketing perspective (Linden is well liked and has had a strong presence in the community) and maybe his hockey playing experience will help in choosing a solid GM. Seems like a guy who hasn't got a huge ego and would seek out good advise. But I honestly think this is more marketing than anything else. Glad Linden wasn't chosen as GM. After the Gillis fiasco, the last thing we needed was another newbie GM, this time a former player union rep, trying to work his way into the old boys network to make deals. As one Canucks blogger pointed out, hope that Linden's legacy doesn't take a big hit if this team doesn't turn around in the near future. Take a look at Kevin Lowe in Edmonton.

Actually tickets are still going at cost on Craigslist, ie. people are still paying the 5th highest prices in the league to see the 20th ranked team. But this is Canada and hockey is king, which is why other "elite" franchises like Toronto, Edmonton and Winnipeg fill up there stadiums and charge the 1st, 3rd and 4th highest tickets respectively. Of course, there's Chicago with the 2nd highest ticket prices, but what have they ever done for their fans, except win a couple of cups.

Actually, I'm pretty sure HNIC will pull a decent audience for this one. The last game had a line brawl and Torts busting a vein in his brain and trying to get at Hartley in the Flames dressing room. Reminded me of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan on Saturday Night's Main Event in the old WWF. And of course, Toronta Lafs fans are gonna tune in just to watch the slow motion train wreck that is our beloved Canucks. Oh yeah, this will be big. ps. If the Nucks lose (and I'm thinkin they might), do yerselves a favour and don't read the TSN comments. The Lafs and Flamables fans and their hater legions are gonna lay on the hurt real bad.

On the bright side, this game has inspired some of the funniest posts I've seen in a long time. Cheers.

Declining Value (for those who think this year is an anomaly) Points Per Game ...................D.Sedin---Kessler==Burrows--H.Sedin 2009/10......1.35..........0.91..........0.82 .......1.37 2010/11......1.27..........0.89.......... 0.67.......1.15 2011/12......0.93..........0.64.......... 0.65........0.99 2012/13......0.85..........0.76.......... 0.51....... 0.94 2013/14......0.69..........0.63.......... 0.15........0.77