Chuck Stanley

<table align="center" border="0" width="80%"><tbody><tr><td><img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/02/chuckstanley_sm.jpg" align="left" hspace="4">Summer means blockbuster movies and blockbuster NHL free agent signings. The similarities between the two could spark another Oliver Stone conspiracy theory. 1. Great expectations often become great disappointment. One evening many years ago, a friend called and asked if I wanted to go to a movie. “It’s a great show!” he said. “It’s about this guy who gets captured by the Irish Republican Army and then becomes friends with one of his captors!” With my hopes raised, my friend took me to see… The Crying Game. The moral of the story? Great expectations often become great disappointment. Rumours of several big names coming to Vancouver made it hard for Canuck fans to contain their excitement on the eve of free agent season. However, it didn’t take long for reality to hit and prove most of those rumours as wrong as The Love Guru (The Leafs winning the Cup? Only in Hollywood!). It’s too bad - the disappointment of missing out on high profile free agents makes it harder to appreciate the younger, faster, grittier and more financially prudent team Mike Gillis has assembled so far. 2. “We paid how much for this?" Many people ask this while walking out of most Eddie Murphy movies. This winter, Bruins and Leafs fans will ask it when they remember their team is paying Michael Ryder $4 million per season or Jeff Finger $4.5 million per season. These two may be the NHL’s answers to Norbit and The Adventures of Pluto Nash. 3. The big budget, seemingly endless epic. I feel the same angst and agony watching the Mats Sundin saga slowly unfold as Elaine did watching The English Patient on Seinfeld. “I can’t take this anymore! Why doesn’t he just decide, already! How long could it possibly take? Decide…..decide….DECIDE!!!!!!” 4. Small investments can pay off. Little Miss Sunshine cost $8 million (less than Mats Sundin’s potential annual salary!) to make and premiered with very little fanfare. It brought in over $100 million, 2 Oscars and a Best Picture nomination. Small investments can pay big dividends in the free agent market, too. Ryan Johnson, the speedy, versatile, forechecking and shot blocking specialist, was signed by the Canucks for 2 years and $2.2 million. By next spring, it could prove to be the best $2.2 million this team ever spent. 5. People will try to predict the ending. I remember watching a movie many years ago that was ruined by some know-it-all who was telling everyone how he thought it was going to end. “My sources are telling me that Han Solo is really Luke Skywalker’s father.” he said, for half of the theatre to hear. “Another very reliable source from Western Canada is telling me that there is a high probability that Princess Leia could be Yoda’s love child”. How did I deal with this guy? I turned around, told Eklund to pipe down and ignored him for the rest of the movie. I now treat rumour websites the same way. A great summer movie is full of emotional highs, unexpected twists and pleasant surprises. I know Mike Gillis is trying to produce a blockbuster summer of his own for Canuck fans. The off-season is far from over, everybody. Get your popcorn ready.</td> </tr></table>

<table align="center" border="0" width="80%"><tbody><tr><td><img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/02/chuckstanley_sm.jpg" align="left" hspace="4">For the Vancouver Canucks, change is imminent. The team needs more speed, grit and offensive talent if they hope to make the playoffs and contend for the Stanley Cup next year. Almost all Canuck fans realize this, but they may not realize just how soon that change may come. Team history suggests that this team may only be 3 weeks away from a major defining moment. <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/03/MAR1708_Canucks-Coyotes12_t.jpg border=0 align=right>While the Canucks have had some questionable draft picks over the years (I must admit I have seen enough Libor Polaseks, Jason Herters and Nathan Smiths to last a lifetime), few teams can match their record when it comes to draft day trades. Let’s go back in time to July 8, 1995. Then-GM Pat Quinn sent shockwaves through the league when he acquired Alexander Mogilny from Buffalo for Mike Peca, Mike Wilson and a first round pick that would turn into Jay McKee. With all due respect to Peca, acquiring a talent like Mogilny was a clear win for the Canuck organization. Brian Burke took over from Quinn in 1998, and it didn’t take him long to repeat history. At the 1999 draft, Burke pulled off a great series of deals that allowed him to draft Daniel and Henrik Sedin. Not to be outdone, Dave Nonis completed arguably the greatest trade in team history during the 2006 draft, trading Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan Allen and Alex Auld to Florida for Roberto Luongo and Lukas Krajicek. The last three Canuck GMs have all made huge impact trades during the draft, and all the pieces are in place for history to repeat itself yet again. The owner has made it clear he wants to win, and win soon. There is a new GM eager to improve the club and to make his mark on this team. The Canucks have about $20 million in cap space to target that special impact player. Their depth on defence could be attractive to many potential trade partners. The Canucks have a top-10 pick in a very good draft next month. There may or may not be a window of 2 years to build a contender, depending on whether or not Roberto Luongo wants to re-sign with the team. Put all of this together and the stars may be aligned for another draft day blockbuster. <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/04/040708_lottery04_t.jpg border=0 align=left>I’m not a big fan of “change for the sake of change”, since trades made under that philosophy usually end up being disastrous. That being said, I really hope Mike Gillis can become the fourth straight Canuck GM to make a major deal at the draft. The Canucks have the pieces in place to make such a trade, and bringing in an impact player could make Vancouver very attractive to free agents in July. For the fans, just dying for a reason to feel good about the team’s future, there’s nothing like a blockbuster to get them buzzing about the Canucks again. After each of the three draft day trades I can remember my apathy for the team quickly turn into excitement for the upcoming season. I was happy when Dave Nonis acquired Mika Noronen—I can’t imagine how excited I would be if the Canucks acquired a 40 or 50 goal scorer. It will take more than one big trade to complete the Canucks’ transformation, but the right deal can go a long way toward rebuilding this team. History has shown that Canuck GMs have a knack for making great deals at the draft. Here’s hoping that Mike Gillis can make lightning strike for a fourth time in Ottawa on June 20. </td></tr></table>

<table align="center" border="0" width="80%"><tbody><tr><td><img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/02/chuckstanley_sm.jpg" align="left" hspace="4">Think back to the recently completed Masters golf tournament. Trevor Immelman, a young and relatively inexperienced player, performed beautifully through the first 71 holes and went to the last tee with a 3 shot lead. A standing ovation, a green jacket and golf immortality were a mere 400-odd yards away. Now imagine Trevor, at that point, handing his driver to another golfer and saying “I gotta go. Take over for me, will you?”. It may seem improbable, but a similar scenario has played itself out in the NHL before with wonderful results….and it may just happen to our Vancouver Canucks. After 4 years of great work by former GM Dave Nonis, the Canucks are looking for someone else to see his rebuilding program to its end. Some have asked who would want to be the new GM of the Canucks. I look at their current situation and ask who wouldn’t want the job? The new GM, whoever he may be, will be in a situation that resembles Brian Burke’s when he went to the Anaheim Ducks a few years ago. He took over a team blessed with an owner committed to winning, a deep pool of young talent collected by the former GM, a great position in the NHL entry draft, a top-flight goaltender and the resources he needed to acquire the 2 or 3 pieces he needed to turn the Ducks into champions. Let’s compare that to the Canuck’s current situation. An owner committed to winning? We’re still learning about the Aquilinis, but there’s little doubt that they’re passionate Canuck fans who want to win, so…check. A young talent pool? Let’s see….Raymond, Bourdon, Grabner, Schneider, Edler, Shannon, etc….check. A great position in the upcoming draft? They’re picking 10th in one of the deepest drafts in years….check. A top-flight goalie? Check, and I’ll raise you one of the top defensive corps in the NHL. Resources to add the pieces they still need to build a contender? Our depth on defence and our prospect pool make trades a very real possibility, and the club has about $20 million to spend on offence and size up front this summer…..check. But wait…there’s more! Also waiting in Vancouver for the new GM is a coach who won the Jack Adams award just one short year ago, a chance to sign Fabian Brunnstrom and a passionate and loyal group of fans that will make sure he never pays for another drink in his life if he takes the Canucks to the promised land. Tom Lupton wrote a great post rightfully thanking Dave Nonis for all of his hard work for our beloved hockey team. The person who should be the most thankful is the next GM of the Canucks, who just has to play the 18th hole. Let’s just hope that Aquilini doesn’t give the driver to Jean Van de Velde. </td></tr></table>

<table align="center" border="0" width="80%"><tbody><tr><td><img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/02/chuckstanley_sm.jpg" align="left" hspace="4">Just the thought of Pavel Bure turning 37 on March 31 was enough to make my head spin (it was either that or the scotch I was drinking during the Canucks/Flames game the night before). So many thoughts run through my head as I think about it, such as: It’s no secret that the Canucks are a little short on offence. At this year’s trading deadline, many Canuck fans were excited at the prospect of Mats Sundin, and why not? He’s a character guy who can score 30-40 goals, and he has a few good years left in him. The funny thing is that Sundin is actually older than Pavel, who hasn’t played a game in 5 years. <img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/04/APR0208_PavelBue01_t.jpg" align="right" border="0" hspace="4" vspace="1"></a>I know this is a huge game of “what if”, and that Pavel asked for a trade out of Vancouver, but I can’t help myself. On a team desperate for goal scoring, how good would Pavel Bure with strong knees look on the team right now, even at 37 years old? Would there be many better lines in the NHL than Sedin-Sedin-Bure? While we’re playing “what if”, how scary would Pavel have been playing on the same team as the West Coast Express line of a few years ago? Realizing that Pavel is only 37 reminds me of how sad it was that he was forced to retire at such a young age. It’s common to see players still producing in the NHL at 37 and even older. Chris Chelios is still a very effective player at 46. Pavel played his last game in the NHL in 2003, when he was only 32. He had 437 goals in his NHL career. If he was healthy, how many goals would he have by now? 600? 650? He would be a sure-fire Hall of Famer among the most prolific goal scorers in hockey history. Not since Bobby Orr has such greatness been dashed by a bad set of knees. <img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/04/APR0208_PavelBue02_mt.jpg" align="left" border="0" hspace="4" vspace="1"></a>Pavel may feel old on his birthday, but he’s not alone. One of my first thoughts when remembering Pavel is the Canucks’ run to the Stanley Cup Final in 1994. Bure was transcendent in those playoffs, like a man playing against mere boys. That man, however, was only 23 years old. As kids hockey fans get used to the notion that their heroes are grown men, much older than themselves. Realizing that Bure was only 23 when he electrified the city in 1994 makes this 40 year old feel even older than that. As many of you know, Pavel is currently the General Manager of Russia’s Olympic hockey team. I hope we see Pavel in Vancouver in 2010, where we can give him a warm welcome back to our city and cheer Russia to a silver medal in men’s hockey (this town loves you, Pavel, but we are Canadians, after all). Hopefully all of this will happen while he’s at the ripe old age of…..38. Sigh. Happy birthday, Russian Rocket--you were grounded far too soon. </td></tr></table>

<table align="center" border="0" width="80%"><tbody><tr><td><img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/02/chuckstanley_sm.jpg" align="left" hspace="4">As the NHL playoffs draw near, so too does one of my hockey pet peeves. I’ve never understood how any loyal Canuck fan could cheer for Northwest division rivals Calgary or Edmonton just because they’re based in Canada. I can remember watching the Stanley Cup final in 2004 and hearing many so-called Canuck fans cheering for Calgary. The same thing happened in 2006, when Vancouverites were actually cheering for Edmonton to beat Carolina! How could some people go from hating these division rivals all season long to suddenly cheering for them in the playoffs? Just because the teams are from Canada? I felt like asking these fans to turn in their Canuck jerseys. Yes, the Flames and Oilers are based in Canada. So what? If the Boston Red Sox were playing the Toronto Blue Jays for the American League pennant, would Yankee fans cheer for the Sox because baseball is America’s pastime and they want the American teams to do well? Would the Lakers cheer for the Celtics to beat the Raptors in the NBA playoffs because they’re based in the USA? Of course not. <img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/03/MAR2508_Oilers-NorthKorea_t.jpg" align="right" border="0" hspace="4" vspace="1"></a>Why do so many Vancouver hockey fans cheer for their so-called rivals at playoff time only because they’re based north of an imaginary line called the 49th parallel? If Edmonton is in the Stanley Cup final against North Korea, I’m cheering for the Axis of Evil. As you watch Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary battle for playoff spots, I want you to remember what you’re feeling. I want you to remember how upset you were at the Oilers in that fight-filled game at GM Place earlier in the year. I want you to remember how frustrated you were watching the Flames come back and beat Vancouver on March 25. Think back to that arrogant, pompous smirk Glen Sather had on his face as his 1980s Oilers beat our Canucks. Think about Joel Otto cheating the Canucks out of the playoffs in 1989 when he stood in the crease, ran over Kirk McLean and bent the puck like Beckham into the net. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatfield-McCoy_feud" target="_blank"><img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/03/MAR2508_HatfieldClan01_t.jpg" align="left" border="0" hspace="4" vspace="1"></a>Regardless of Vancouver’s playoff fate, I want you to recall the feelings you have for Calgary and Edmonton should you be doomed to watch them in the playoffs. No true Canuck fan should cheer for any Northwest division rival, even if Vancouver has been eliminated. Part of being a Canuck fan is enjoying the downfall of their division rivals. It’s like the Hatfields and the McCoys—they just naturally don’t like each other. If, through divine intervention, either Alberta team makes the playoffs, remember how you felt about them as they battled your Canucks this season. Remember the happiness you felt when they lost, and your frustration when they gained ground on us. Finally, remember the Vancouver fans’ first rule—if it’s not the Canucks, it just doesn’t matter. </td></tr></table>

<table align="center" border="0" width="80%"><tbody><tr><td><img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/02/chuckstanley_sm.jpg" align="left" hspace="4">For two years before he went on the disabled list, Brendan Morrison was cursed by being “hurt but not too hurt”. He had his share of nagging injuries, a hip injury and a sports hernia for starters, but nothing severe enough to definitely keep him out of the line-up. As Morrison prepares to return to the Canucks, I thought about how difficult it must be for athletes to decide when to heal and when to play through the pain. It’s a decision that often has huge ramifications on the player’s team and his career. Most Canadian hockey fans love the idea of guys playing through pain. They admire the tough, gritty warrior who guts it out and gives 100% every shift. Stories about players scoring overtime goals on a broken leg are part of hockey lore. If a player goes on injured reserve too often, or with a “borderline” injury, they’re seen as soft or unwilling to pay the price. However, a player like Morrison, who played with pain almost every night, was often criticized by fans for his lack of productivity. You’re either labelled as productive but soft, or tough but underachieving. Pick your poison. <a href="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2007/11/nov0807_col@van03_b.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2007/11/nov0807_col@van03_t.jpg" align="right" border="0" hspace="4" vspace="1"></a>Before deciding how to handle a “borderline” injury, a player has his next contract to think about. If he goes on injured reserve for 8-12 weeks to let a hip injury properly heal, will he be seen as soft and injury prone at free agent time, or will NHL GMs see him as a productive player when he was actually on the ice? If he toughs it out and plays through the pain, will he get lower contract offers because of decreased productivity? Will he be rewarded for his toughness and character? The player’s decision may also cost his GM when it comes to trades. Is a player’s trade value high because he is a gutsy, character guy that any team would want? Is he a player that has diminished trade value because he hasn’t had the jump or scored the goals the way he did when he was healthy? Would the trade value of a player who plays through those nagging injuries be helped or hindered? <a href="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/03/MAR0608_CanuckPractice11_b.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/03/MAR0608_CanuckPractice11_t.jpg" align="left" border="0" hspace="4" vspace="1"></a>Finally, the players have to think about life after hockey. Maybe if they play through that nagging, minor injury they’ll get another contract, make a little more money and retire more comfortably. On the other hand, there’s a long list of ex-athletes who are living in constant pain due to the injuries they sustained in professional sports. Only the athlete can decide whether “sucking it up” is worth the risk to their future quality of life. Brendan Morrison has been in a tough spot for the last few years. His injuries really put him in a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation. Only he can decide what’s best for him and his career. All I can do as a fan is welcome a healthy Brendan back to the line-up and hope he can provide some of that offensive spark this team sorely needs. </td></tr></table>

<table align="center" border="0" width="80%"><tbody><tr><td><img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/02/chuckstanley_sm.jpg" align="left" hspace="4">The NHL’s trading deadline is February 26. For hockey fans, it’s Christmas all over again. Canuck fans are nestled all snug in their beds, with visions of Mats Sundin on the power play dancing in their heads. Some fans, sadly, are like the kid who wants a pony for Christmas. They have such high expectations they’re sure to wind up disappointed. Here are 9 points to help you avoid that “lump of coal” feeling at this year’s deadline:<br><br> <b>1. There is a salary cap. </b><br><br> Even if Tampa agrees to send Lecavalier, Richards and St. Louis to Vancouver for Chris Levesque it cannot happen due to the salary cap. The Canucks have 2-3 million dollars to spend, so trades have to make sense not only hockey-wise but financially. <br><br> <b>2. Other NHL GMs are not stupid. </b><br><br> Atlanta GM Don Waddell may wind up trading Marian Hossa. Yes, the Canucks may wind up getting him. Waddell’s job, however, is to build a good team in Atlanta. He will not trade Hossa for Matt Cooke and a 4th round pick. <br><br> <a href="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/02/022108_preds09_b.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/02/022108_preds09_t.jpg" align="right" border="0" hspace="4" vspace="1"></a><b>3. The Canucks do make big trades. </b><br><br> Every year people complain that the Canucks never make any blockbuster trades. These people have the memory of a Commodore VIC-20 computer. Roberto Luongo and the Sedins prove this theory wrong. The Canucks make their share of trades. The reality is no team can “go for broke” every year. <br><br> <b>4. Nobody will come here just because they’re from Vancouver. </b><br><br> Joe Sakic and Paul Kariya have had several opportunities to sign with Vancouver over the years. Neither has done so. Playing at home does not mean as much to players as getting paid and getting a ring. <br><br> <b>5. Take any rumour posted on a message board with a grain of salt. </b><br><br> 99% of people you see on message boards are honest, loyal Canuck fans. The other 1%, however, go onto these boards to a) start wide-spreading rumours, scoop everyone on a trade, citing his cousin’s girlfriend’s hairdresser’s mechanic’s uncle as his source, or c) toy with fans’ emotions by starting bogus threads like “CROSBY TO VANCOUVER!!!!”. For the sake of your blood pressure, just ignore them. <br><br> <a href="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/02/jan3108_bolts10_b.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/02/jan3108_bolts10_t.jpg" align="left" border="0" hspace="4" vspace="1"></a><b>6. You have to give up something to get something. </b><br><br> This is the NHL, not Playstation. The Florida Panthers will not trade Olli Jokinen to Vancouver for Jannik Hansen and a 7th rounder. To get the scorer the Canucks need, you have to accept that players like Edler, Bourdon or Kesler may have to go. <br><br> <b>7. Dave Nonis knows the team is having trouble scoring goals. </b><br><br> Like Galileo proclaiming the world is round, people go on the radio to inform us that the Canucks can’t score. Yeah, I know. The players know. My goldfish knows. We ALL know. Nonis knows too, and I’m sure he’s working on it. <br><br> <b>8. There is very little demand for underachieving, overpaid players. </b><br><br> No smart GM would trade a high draft pick for an overpaid underachiever. Anyone who thinks the Canucks will “get rid of Naslund” for a draft pick is dreaming. <br><br> I think the Canucks will be active at the trading deadline. They may even pick up a major talent like Hossa or Sundin. Remember, though…Christmas is all about naughty and nice. The NHL trading deadline is all about dollars and sense. </td></tr></table>