Hockey God

I don't know, can't go past Sawchuk. I would strongly recommend any book written about him, but the best one I ever read was The Legend of Terry Sawchuk. Opens your eyes to what the guy went through, the demons he faced, in the Original Six era. The guy was a train wreck of a human being at times, but somehow pulled it together on the ice. No star goalie, as far as I know, ever dealt with depression, alcoholism, spousal abuse (on his part), gambling addictions, philandering ... you name it, he had it or did it, and he still performed. Not an all-time best human by any stretch, but the best goalie for what he endured and did on the ice, by far.

Love these discussion about greatest at positions, or players ranked against each other all time. This one is tough, a lot of contenders for different reasons. The record books and the teams they played behind say it should be either Roy or Hasek for what they achieved (Brodeur benefitted from his era and Stevens and Niedermeyer too much to be #1, but his trophy hardware is compelling), but if you take into account the whole package, of how off ice affected/could have affected on ice performance, in my mind no one is better than Terry Sawchuk. For what the man went through and played through, to have won and played at such as high level throughout his career, no one at his position can compare to that. Greatest clutch goalie, though, could very well be Grant Fuhr. The Oilers of the 80s were all flash and dash, with no defensive awareness to speak of, and Fuhr made that whole show work because he was always there when needed (could be beaten by routine shots when not focused, but when he was ON, only his own player could beat him, which cost the Oilers a chance at 5 cups in a row). Take into account that he was coked up most of the time by his own admission, and that makes what he was able to do even more impressive.

The best player in a game is someone who the game has to adjust to, or be changed because of. Gretzky, Orr and a few others in hockey history have that distinction, but it's so hard to compare injuries, the effects of expansion, goalie equipment, etc we can only really have a Mount Rushmore of hockey greats, which in my opinion consists of Gretzky Lemieux, Orr and, in my own opinion, one of Rocket Richard/Gordie Howe/Bobby Hull (for very different reasons). However, I rate Gretzky higher than Lemieux, for one reason more than any other: his understanding of the game. Lemieux needed Canada Cup 1987 to learn what it would take to become a true leader and superstar. He had the tools, but he didn't understand how to be more than a scorer at that time. But, Gretzky never had that problem. Yes, he let his scoring do his talking for him at times, but he was very vocal as well. There were a lot of hockey games I watched early to mid 80s with the Oilers, and when they panned over to the Oiler bench, most of the time, if Gretzky was taking a break, you saw his glove indicating something to a teammate, him showing what could have or should have happened, or teammates leaning in to listen to him as he said something. No vacant stares, no chewing on the mouthpiece, just another free coach sitting on the bench with everyone else sitting under the learning tree. Saw the same thing n '87, and saw Mario's head nodding a lot on the bench listening to Gretzky. Could argue that Mario was more dominant in his prime years, but I don't think he would have gotten to that point without his time under the Gretzky learning tree.

Wasn't that only for the compliance buyouts of the past? Wouldn't stop them from trying it in a year's time, then. Plug in a returning Schenn for a year, bring back OEL after that if he heals up and shows he can still go, and boom, big brain move! Just trying to make sense of this ...

This management group would blow my mind if they now sign OEL as a free agent for veteran league minimum salary, whatever that is. Moneyball, hockey-style.

Money spent on declining, overhyped and overpriced players, or ... Free agent signings of declining, overhyped and overpriced players ... hmm ...

Nice to know he's living his best life!

I'm looking at that 3rd picture of Sutter, and thinking, "When did Bill Murray start coaching in the NHL?!"

Goldy is free? Well then ...

Craptastic

I don't know ... might have made more sense to keep the pick until the draft, see what was available, and then either choose or make this trade. I think Stevie Y made a good trade, might see something in the draft he covets.

Fully agree with points about him as a GM, but I tend to discount those player numbers a lot. Played in an era where the Zamboni guy could have put up .4 or .5 per game if he played on the right team.

He was a better player than a GM, and that's not saying much ...

Well, what do you know? Another underwhelming move by our resident mental midgets. Not surprised by the poor return in any way, as poor management = poor returns in player movement. Another half-decade of misery in store for the fanbase at the very least.

1-9 Rude awakening in store, and we will be tanking hard for Bedard

I think the things we have seen today and over the last few years indeed the entire history of this ownership’s time in charge, can be found in the following … In hockey, what happens on the ice is not determined by the actions of the players, the decisions of the coaches, or even the longing of each team's fans. Some call it “puck luck”, but really, the difference between winning and losing is in the hands of the hockey gods. True story: It's the night before November 6th, 2004, and a businessman and longtime fan of the Vancouver Canucks, who shall remain nameless, is in the last stages of finalizing a deal to buy a percentage of the Canucks. He thinks he can build a winner in Vancouver, using his hockey smarts as a fan and a wannabe GM, and has faith in his abilities to operate the team, but he knows if there's to be any chance at all of greatness in Vancouver at long last, he's got to get right with the hockey gods. So, he begs for an appearance before the council. They agree, and as quickly as Bobby Orr in his prime could skate down the ice on a one-man rush, he finds himself before the gods themselves. There are six of them, like mafia godfathers of old, and they're hanging out in the local Tim Horton’s, stocking up on some Turkey Bacon Clubs and a wide selection of the best doughnuts and coffee on offer, trading player cards, and being very grumpy over the imminent loss of the entire season due to labor issues. They were planning to visit their cousins, the football gods, to enjoy some good old-fashioned American gridiron, when the would-be Canucks owner comes knocking, bragging about his business skills, and how he is the right man to bring Lord Stanley to Vancouver. They’re not hearing him at first, because of course, cocky often does not sit well with the high justices of hockeydom. After all, look what happened to Alexandre Daigle. But, he wears them down, talking about how Vancouver deserves a winner, and how the hockey gods have had too much fun at the expense of the fans in Vancouver. All he’s asking for is the chance to own and build a winner in Vancouver. Is that too much to ask? The gods nod their heads, and even hide a smirk or two, but they know that they’ve done Vancouver dirty a few times in the past. God #1 even notes how, while having the captain as well as the head coach of the team to beat them in the Stanley Cup finals in 1994 work together to drive the team into the ground a mere few years later as their own captain and coach was a nice touch, it might have been a step too far in hindsight. Still, Vancouver fans are a resilient bunch, and they did give them a great return in that Linden trade …. But, now there’s a problem. Making a decision to rig the league for a season to give a team the Stanley Cup requires a unanimous decision, and the council is split – three of them think that this brash businessman may just be the best thing to happen to Vancouver as a prospective owner of a sports team, and three feel that seeing the fan base in Vancouver squirm at their team’s losing ways never gets old. Then, the supplicant plays his last card, saying that, “I’m not asking for me, but for the good of the game. Having a winner in Vancouver would energize the people of an entire city and province. A win like this, and we're talking a popularity explosion, we're talking the greatest thing to happen to hockey since, well, the birth of “The Great One” Himself”. Case closed. When Wayne himself is mentioned, all of the gods get a little teary-eyed at the goodness of Their work, and can’t help but grant the businessman’s request for a winning team in Vancouver. Unfortunately, he never said when that cup-winning team would arrive, and winning always comes at a price. So, while a Stanley Cup may be in the team’s future, the gods cannot help but continue to play around with the hearts and souls of Vancouver’s fans. While they granted greatness in the West Coast Express, they also debilitated that greatness, and while twin magic was also granted, that magic was nerfed with softness at key times. Their latest masterpiece? Having a great, enthusiastic and fun-loving coach in Bruce Boudreau be “quiet fired” and replaced by a convicted felon who has never won anything as a coach. When asked at these and other times why such things happened, the people involved always said that they had no idea what came over them, or why they did what they did. Man, the gods do love irony ….

I don't know. I've watched him a few times on the satellite, and he does have skill, but he just strikes me as Yashin 2.0 in too many ways. Some real bone-headed plays, and a sulky attitude when a play goes wrong, which makes me think that's why he hasn't gotten a fair chance at prime offensive opportunities. Gallant mixes his lines quite a bit, but he favors players who play a thinking kind of game, who know what needs to be done to win and can instinctively do it and make concessions for the good of the team. Scratched Kakko in the playoffs and others at times to win, and said as much. AF has talent, but he seems to be a one man show more than a team guy, and now that his growth has been impaired by the Rangers, who knows what we'd get in terms of him as a player. Bad fit on this team the way it is right now, so hard pass for me, but knowing the Canucks ...

Said it before, there is no core on this team, just a bunch of individuals. When that changes, the results will change as well.