Riviera82

I dont necessarily think there is any clear cut rigging. I do think the four Canadian teams that lost the cup in 7 games were good enough to win and quite possibly good enough to win in fewer than 7 games. I dont include Ottawa in the conversation because they were wiped out quickly by an obviously stronger Ducks team. As for the four Game 7 cup losers, I for one dont think anybody could say that officiating didn't play a noticeable role in the outcomes of those series. That's not to say that the winners are predetermined indefinitely, what I think is that the on-ice officials are instructed by Bettman or one of his cronies to tilt the ice in favor of the league's preferred team without being terribly blatant about it. This has resulted in 4 Final series' which have gone the entire distance with all but the 2011 Canucks losing the cup by 1 goal. I think it's very safe to say that Bettman and the NHL are more pleased to have the Rangers, Lightning, Hurricanes, and Bruins win Stanley Cups over any Canadian team. Two original 6, Two sunbelt, who better to win at the expense of the teams from Canada. I dont think it is impossible for a Canadian team to win a championship, I just think that the Canadian team will need to be noticeably stronger than their opposition in order to overcome them and the officials. Again I'm not saying that there is any true fix, but Bettman himself does speak of "game management", why not series management as well? The officials do have the ability to give the league's preferred team a helping hand, one example that we've all seen was the Canucks quarterfinal against Chicago in 2011, not to mention last year against San Jose as well. Although if the referees were trying to hide their bias in that series they failed miserably, that was ridiculous. Speaking of the on-ice officials, does anyone else find it a little suspicious that they seemingly dont have to be held accountable for their actions? They dont have to be questioned by the media after games, players almost never point the finger at them when their team gets jobbed, they dont get suspended when they clearly appear to be incompetent, and if a coach or GM questions or says any ill word about them then Bettman slaps said coach or GM with a hefty fine. It all seems a bit shady to me.

That's what the four Game 7 Final losses were for since Canada's last cup win. Make it seem as though Canadian teams have a chance and let them get as close as possible without winning.

I wont be devastated if Torts stays into next season, but it wouldn't bother me at all to see him go either. Regarding the bolded part, perhaps the Canucks would be best served to try and find a coach who is somewhere in the middle in terms of style and personality. AV was too much of a soft touch and Torts is a bit too much of a hard-ass lunatic, what we need is a happy medium.

Ryan Smyth should end his career with a victory, go Oilers.

I think under the circumstances we'll get to see a barn-burner tonight. 7-5 Avs.

I love this move by the Canucks organization, Trevor is a great guy and I think he will do very well. Whatever he might lack in experience with this job he more than makes up for in likability. Personally I think that goes a long way when doing business.

Bold maybe, stupid definitely. He chucked away to #1 goalies for a prospect, a third liner, and a goalie who cant play until the games are meaningless.

Well as far as I know he's the only non-1040 radio personality out there, plus I also really his 'McLean Monday' segment.

I'm looking forward to what Dan Russell has to say about this tonight.

Yeah but but but, with Gillis we made it to Game 7 and won a few creampuff division titles in a row. I agree with you.

I think that would be fantastic.

That's what all the Lu-lovers said as well. Aint happening for either of them.

Let the cleanup begin!

Outscored 21-6 through 4 games against the Ducks this year. Tonight we get officially eliminated, hopefully they put us down quick and clean.

Not exactly, we'd still need a miraculous amount of help as well as winning our last 4 in a row. Luongo and the Panthers just didn't allow our thread to snap today.

Just seen that mafia looking guy behind Sutter again, he must be a season ticket holder.

I'd like to see Lack get his 5th goose egg of the season in a shootout loss.

I was wondering about this too, I dont like it.

Just lose the game please.

Totally agree, the morning show would be a lot better if Pratt was on his own or had an actual sports guy as co-host. Bro Jake should stick to classic rock. I appreciated what Gillis said in his interview but I'm still not convinced he's the right man for the job. In a way it seemed like he was throwing Torts and the ownership under the bus to save his own ass, or at least make it look a bit better.

How many beers did you have last night?

Prediction: AV will be chuckling at the end of this game and chewing his gum in a relaxed and satisfied fashion.

I hope his hand is broken, cripple the Ducks playoff chances.

Anybody think we can hit 9-1 again?

On the positive side we go home now for all but 1 of our remaining games, if I'm not mistaken. It's too bad we didn't beat the Avs but 3 out of 4 points on the road in a back to back is ok, especially with one of the games in Denver where the air is much thinner. Write the season off indefinitely if we lose one of our home games, until then...