viking mama

Yet, in many ways Benning was arguably “too patient” with Jake. Jake wasn’t properly-vetted for his work ethic &/or inclinations to make the necessary sacrifices in order to achieve a quicker more alert hockey mind or be habitually fit for his role as a responsible pro. Tuna’s propensity to make poor choices, didn’t occur from just a lack of maturity or intelligence. Character is something evidenced by actions, words & deeds. With so many NHL jobs available & many more players vying for them,…these intangibles shouldn’t be glossed-over in reviewing the modern-day profiles of high-draft picks or undrafted signees. Each player is required to sacrifice, blend-in & be stretched to lead-out in the ways that matter most, in order to build a superior hockey culture for a successful contemporary NHL-team. ^I have always believed in raising the bar on that.

He appears to have matured far better, over-time, than “Tuna” did. I suspect one of the worst things possible for Jake’s development was NOT sending him out-of-town to play in Utica with other hungry progressing Pros, away from his local possee. Then again, maybe that wouldn’t have been enough or even mattered, regardless. McCann seems to have developed some good sense between the ears & the wisdom to talk the talk, if not walk the walk, as a representative of his current NHL team. We shall see if he continues to haunt the Canucks as a pesky divisional player, for years to come.

No one is claiming that ALL referees are inept or that ALL NHL refereeing is bad. I’m claiming that there are at least 4 referees, whom this league inexplicably claims are the “best of the best”,…when they are clearly NOT! Those dubious 4 are entrenched in their old-school tactics, despite our modern hockey culture having embraced more progressive ways. The NHL has altered its’ in-game rules, accordingly,…but then still elevates & rewards old-school officials, who will NOT apply those rules, uniformly. That defiance is further exploited, when these 4 are deliberately planted into important games & multiple play/off series. A generational contract of understanding exists compelling players to willingly help these over-lauded old school officials to “police” their games, by vigilante justice if necessary & this is welcomed by owners & fans alike! Game management is the term most frequently used as “an excuse” for these waffling standards. So, if refs do not see it,.. it, apparently, didn’t happen? How can this type of attitude carry on,…despite easy imput from other on-ice officials & the numerous technical devices available for assistance? They will then often decline to use these other resources…because the extra “drama & violence” suits this league’s insiders just fine….especially at play-off time. That modern-day “Mark Messier Leadership Award” is so woefully named. He’s a wildly inappropriate role-model for it - if it’s for some exemplary dedication to sportsmanship & leadership in an era of MORE accountability, on & off the ice, in NHL hockey. ^Combine that optic with the increase in “old-school” officiating at the weightiest times of the year & you get another attempt by the NHL at “mixed-messaging”! Respect the rules….or don’t! But, if NOT - why not just become a form of entertainment that’s less-of-a-sport & something more akin to the WWE,….where the referees are useless & don’t matter? It’s in the ambiguity of the NHL setting down their skates in both worlds,..where the integrity of their game gets lost. The plan is for play-off hockey to remain a far more painful endeavour, by design. Progressive teams will constantly find themselves at a disadvantage, when the rules just don’t matter. The best athletes in the world will choose other sports or other leagues with more integrity, for their health, their safety & their family’s peace of mind. The fact that NHL owners & Bettman shirk their responsibilities, along with the NHLPA & NHLOA - to see that clear standards exist during the regular season & during the play-offs…is so sad! To depart from the IIHF (Olympic) set of standards, taught throughout jr. hockey & adopted by nearly every other ice hockey federation around the world,…seems baffling, confusing & senseless. It’s a topsy-turvey world when the “worst” are illogically held-up as the “best”! The refs who are too slow, too blind, too ingratiated, too egotistical or simply too grumpy to be dispassionate, have no business officiating in games of elimination or of such importance…especially when players’ legacies, livelihoods, big-money contracts & other potential awards, can all be effected by their incompetent-whims.

The IIHF vets their officials well. They treat every game as important. They do their best to eliminate any hint of bias. If officials botch a game or demonstrate that they have lost control over discipline & maintaining a proper standard of conduct upon the ice, they will not get the do-over with these same teams. The IIHF will avoid the controversey & situations of possible carry/over justice. The NHL however, considers botched games with lots of drama, injuries or suspensions - to be “experience” & repeatedly sends out the same ol’ dubious crews to stir the drama-pot, again. I think there’s more to be said for wiping a slate clean & letting each game play-out on its’ own merits. In today’s NHL, the ranking, vetting & deployment of their referees at play-off time is more accurately akin to bias-planting, if you ask me.

Nothin’ to do with reffing, you say? Deserving of a penalty, perhaps yes, but, it wasn’t just a “minor” penalty that this particular officiating crew assessed. Let’s make a few more comparisons to assess who these officials are & what they’ve repeatedly done to Canucks players in dramatic fashion - past to present. Rome was actually tossed from the game, by the same “calibre” of crew, who let Duncan Keith STAY in a game, after he & his teammates threatened D.Sedin at their bench & D. Keith followed thru with flying elbow & stick-knobs to his head as Daniel unsuspectingly glanced up at a puck flying overhead. No puck was being played. In a non-combative situation, the more honourable player foolishly expected his opponent to just play hockey…after-all, everyone signs a contract to be union bros & it’s not the WWE. ^I can’t help but think,…what IF one of these more dubious officials had just called ANY kind of penalty on this one? (Moore hit on Naslund) The intact & healthy West Coast Express may well have led the highly-ranked & favoured Canucks onto winning the SCup that season! Which referees were involved in this & so many other infamous on-ice debacles involving the Canucks? I guarantee, at least one or 2 of the dubious 3 or 4 were involved. Being responsible for your hockey stick, as a player, is commonly accepted. How about everyone being held to proper account & owning it with a few harmless apologies, on all fronts afterwards, …especially from these officials! Otherwise, the public will not see the learning curves & can only assume there’s continued ill will or some corruption involved. Especially, when the same ol’ mistakes involving the same teams/refs/players keep happenin’, again & again! Duncan Keith’s hit WAS retribution, plain & simple, for a pedestrian fly-by hit received early-on in a game when enthusiasm for a strong Canucks’ start was high. At this time, ANY player should be anticipating being hit along the boards…just not by the milder-mannered D. Sedin, right? ^Was Keith embarrassed by his lack of anticipation, here? Then that entitled vigilante, received the “benefit of the doubt” or “permission” from a very common-set of dubious officials, to self-police. He received just a minor penalty & stayed in the game to further distract & in-sense his opponents….on a play that the league thought warranted a 5 or 6 game suspension later on. But, in the actual game that “mattered”…everything was fair, uh-huh,..riiiiiiight? Which of these hits could be a simple miscue or hockey-play gone bad? Did these officials have any clues that there was some real “intent to injure”? When a player says he’s going to try & do something out there,… why not believe ‘im?! If a younger upstart player violently over-reaches, officials should be calling a very proper standard & let ‘im know to curb it! But, sadly it’s also a part of this league’s mixed-messaging propaganda machine! Some markets welcome the additional violence & drama to their fill-up their rinks or just comply with their old-school season-ticket holder fan base expectations…while other organizations respect the game, the players & their new & younger fans, more. If dudes can just skate away miffed, & no one’s hurt or decides to drop their gloves over a hit…do Bettman & Jacobs think that this will sell the game, better? Our team’s star-players were injured & side/lined after the incidents noted in these clips & for lengthy periods, at consequential times of the year. One star-player missed signifigant play-off action & his team dropped their 1st round series to the eventual 2012 champions. Was that a good thing?! Bettman & Jacobs would reply…that depends upon which team. What of the assailants? Keith got to rest-up prior to the post-season & didn’t miss a play-off game. His team them had the more successful run. The “right” teams in this scenario, therefore advanced. ^This happened in the 2013 play-offs the following year, as Keith’s impulse for undisciplined retaliation continued. But, apologies flowed more far freely this time vs the LA Kings! We’re still waiting for a hint of truth, accountability & proper reconciliation here for Daniel in VAN. I simply cannot cease booing the guy! He may only be lucky enough to get a reprieve from that, while in retirement. I put forth that - there’s a track record of bias favouring certain teams with highly-identifiable referees, who are aspiring to score brownie-points with the league’s most powerful team owners & power-brokers. That bias could pay-off well, in more lucrative post-season assignments & post-career jobs. Certain members of this highly-suspicious officiating-fraternity, by their “repeated inactions” at pivotal times, can no longer be viewed as the “best” referees that the NHL has to offer. A dubious 3, were selected to officiate in the 2011 SC-Final & most of us can now see why.

As long as the over-hauling of their defensive corps continues, any smattering of continuity may be helpful. Stick with something awhile, so that the players can actually gel a little bit, will ya huh, Allvin? Good grief, it’ll be another whole season behind the 8-ball, smoothing-out the rougher edges of their in-game synergy, I bet.

Thomas was also permitted by the O’Rourke/crew to take-down H. Sedin with impunity, in game 3. As a goalie, who has the advantage of wearing large pieces of equipment that other players do not, like a blocker, heavier lumber & a more configured helmet, Thomas should not have been allowed to head-butt, or thrust his blocker & stick at an opposing player to impede their progress. There was some generous Bruins’ entitlement here - instead of the standard roughing, interference or cross-checking penalty being called. This is just another small example of the ways in which Canucks’ scoring-opportunities were robbed…in the moment & via another unawarded-penalty situation. Nobody on the broadcast feed below, thought to mention, the high possibility of yet another serious injury being sustained by a signifigant & impactful Canucks’ player, in this moment, either. Thomas’ choices were to make the save &/or play the puck, but he chose a 3rd option,..which was to bank upon the gratuitous good will of this gaggle of enabling referees, instead and - voila! It worked out for him, but the hockey-gods all know that Henrik Sedin wouldn’t have been allowed to interfere with Timmy T! If goalies are so easily permitted to cross-check & use their equipment is such a way,…player injuries would most surely go up around the league & be just as imminent. BTW: This commentary is via a Bruins feed.

No call on the Johnny Boychuk pitch-fork sending Mason Raymond awkwardly into the boards & breaking his back,…thought that the injury was supposed to lead to greater on & off-ice scrutiny of the call? Rome didn’t “blow-up” Norton with some vindictively premeditated dirty-play. It wasn’t an egregious-hit,…not by a long-shot! Previously concussed, Nathan Horton threw some caution to the wind, & after being stood-up, fell backwards, banged the back of his head on the ice, while wearin’ a loose helmet. He already had his vulnerabilities to begin with & was likely playing, again, a little too soon. Any previous injury was just made worse, by the reckless wearing of his equipment & the optimism that he was 100% when suiting up. I suspect, as his lack of sharpness &/or awareness out there showed… that he wasn’t.

Hahaha. The BOS vs VAN series was totally refereed in an opposite-way to this one, then. In 2011 SCup Final, the team doing most of the punching, slashing, hacking, spearing & what-not between the whistles, was causing the drama that went relatively UN-penalized. Sutherland (O’Rourke & O’Halloran) dug deep, back then, for embarrassing ways to negate awarding an advantage to the President’s Cup winning team. Remember when “A” wearing Daniel Sedin was given a “10 minute misconduct” for truth-speaking & being too-disciplined to fight? That happened, at a point in the game, when the Canucks sought catch-up goals, which both twins often facilitated or provided. The official in question could no longer feign blindness & hoped to call off-setting penalties. The infamous misconduct was merely a vindictive response, after being embarrassed into calling a 2 min “roughing penalty” on entitled super-pest Brad Marchand. Marchand’s MO was to ramp-up the drama in post-whistle scrums, to be misinterpreted by the sketchiest zebras. A “10-minute misconduct” is a measure of discipline, typically reserved for the most egregious on-ice behaviours or for serious & oft-repeated insubordination to the officials or the rules that govern play upon the ice. Team Captains & Assistants have every right to call-out officials - who fail to: 1) apply the rules in the NHL rulebook, 2) see incidents in their fullness, 3) conduct themselves without bias. Requesting somebody clarification on such matters is the expected norm…not some aberration?! Bettman’s so-called best inexplicably punishes the more disciplined player! Say what?! Bostonians cheer-on the sh!t-disturber, jeer the peacemaker & somehow find the gall to character assassinate ‘im afterwards!! Perennial BOG Chairman (Bruins-owner - J. Jacobs) within striking distance of hoisting Lord Stanley’s mug, had clearly arranged for a hand-picked crew of loyalists to officiate for him. Crews who indicated early on that honourable ethics or fair play weren’t going to be selling points - during “those” play-offs, anyway! It was shockingly unfair back then & totally ironic, how it all shook down differently, with these same dubious persons involved, this time around….don’t ya think?

Why? Bettman likely helped to appoint (while colluding with Brian Burke - who’s under-qualified son directly received this perk) So-Cal retirees like Rob Blake to the DPS, where no matter how hard they may try, they simply cannot strip away years of indoctrinated bias, that favours the interests of their previous clubs or harms their former rivals. It’s that way with Chris Pronger, George Parros & other former head-shot artists getting rewarded for their tenures of success & service with SoCal teams. ^The seeding of bias upon such an important decision-making body affects games, league standings, play-off match-ups & can even impact careers! Say hello, to Raffi Torres! Don’t doubt that the calculated type of representation selected for inclusion within the “Department of a Player Safety” is by Bettman’s design. Mixed-messaging at best & with so much parity, there’s the possibility of game-fixing at worst…and with betting now involved, will the situation be getting any better…& for whom? Pun intended. Bring-on term limits for these appointees to positions of league power…or perhaps even allow the NHL players, who must abide by their very impactful rulings & who understand their reputations & characters best as their professional peers, to vote ‘em in as such.

Colorado won their 1st year in…altho’ this team was “relocated” from Quebec City, & far sweeter after the Patrick Roy “I will never play for this team again” fiasco in Montreal & the refusing-to-report-to-the-Nordiques-thing by Eric Lindros. The compensation the Avalanche team received for him, was also insanely generous. ^Those are just some of the inner sanctum machinations executed by the NHL for a fledgling owner’s benefit, right there!

OUCH!

Wow! I cant help but think that these people aren’t happy enough,…nor are they celebrating enough. Remember when Team-Canada won Olympic Gold in Vancouver? The Vancouver Canucks winning the Stanley Cup in VanCity, I honestly expect to surpass the frenzied-jubilation of that!

We , the Canucks & Canucks Nation as the 7th man, better be winning the Cup for them, sooner than not, then.

Mark Stone…you are one strong man!

OMG - did this dude just confess to bet-fixing for this owner???

Wow! And these folks are going to cheer heartily for Bettman. There ya be! Happy Stanley-Cup giftings all-around to one of the newest & most-ingratiated ownership groups, to find their way inside of Bettman’s pockets. Be loud & be proud in your thanksgiving for all that he has done for you…from the expansion draft, all-star games, betting action & award shows - go onward & upward! Cheers from the VGK for this NHL commissioner-for-life! No need for anyone different or new…for you!

This end-game & upcoming presentations will feel about as anti-climactic as flushing a clogged toilet. I appreciate the relief coming when the actions are concluded ,…but there is so very little joy in it.

The rope-a-dope ploy…bet it works!

Ah, uber-underdogs, taking on a NYI dynasty-team, sigh. Weren’t they swept? But, they would never say die, & were gritty about it, yah! Total respect! Tipping my hat to King Richard’s team & all of their efforts back then.

OMG. You had to remind us…sigh.

Makes the 1994 & 2011 SCup 7-game finals… all the more epic by comparison.

“Las Vegas!!! Your long wait for the Stanley Cup is over!” Love Gary Bettman… LOL… that’s about it. It’s one of the only hockey market places that won’t boo him. They’ve only been in the league a handful of years & have already hosted an all-star game & regularly host the league’s year-end award shows. Did anyone mention all the increased gambling ops on games & players as regularly advertised on NHL broadcasts? I’m not happy for ‘em, can’t even fake it a little. Watch Stone hoist it, then tune out.

Wow. VGK doing “interference” picks all over the place on that last shift. Not a penalty right now.

Robber Bob!