Twitter is, for so many of us (yours truly included) the loudspeaker for a great deal of idiocy.  It’s also a permanent archive.  The latter is why I find it so disturbing that many Boston Bruins fans are playing the “nigger” card in calling out Washington Capitals 4th-liner Joel Ward for his overtime heartbreaker goal, thus crushing the hope of Bruins fans that there could be a repeat of their Stanley Cup theft victory from 2011.  Spout racist comments from behind closed doors or with your beltline polishing the brass rail at the local public house, and I will be disappointed but unsurprised.  Belt out your ignorance via Twitter and you are essentially telling me that you think there’s absolutely nothing wrong with insulting and denigrating an entire group of people simply because of their skin tone.

Kudos to Caps’ owner Ted Leonsis for taking a stand against such keyboard courage on his blog.  Let these tweets serve as a permanent display of the ignorance of their authors.

I cannot help but think that embers of this racism were most certainly fanned by Tim Thomas’ very public snub of Obama for the White House visit for Stanley Cup champs earlier this season.  His actions and words, along with those of the Tea Party that he so adamantly supports, very often cross the line into baldfaced racism when it comes to criticizing Obama.  In fact, the polarizing rhetoric of the past 5 years has likely led to a rise in racism (or at least a rise in the open expression of latent racism) in America, and it’s increasingly disturbing to see the various ways in which that seeps through the cracks in society.

The NHL (and hockey, and sports in general) has always maintained an awkward relationship with racism, as the infamous banana peel incident that started the 2011-2012 season illustrated.  Whether the banana peel was an oblique reference to NHL player Wayne Simmons’ race or not is up for grabs, but the fact that so many people leapt to assume that it was betrays what most of us already know — that racism in the ranks of the NHL, and its fans, is indeed rampant.  And that’s disappointing.

Where players such as Tim Thomas use their prominence to give rise to racist thoughts or ideas, the NHL has an obligation to institute campaigns, penalties, and programs to communicate to players AND to fans that this is NOT acceptable behaviour and that racism needs to be ejected from hockey and every other corner of society.  While it’s too late to police Tim Thomas, he could go a long way to establishing himself as a class act by speaking out publicly against this racism.

And to the Bruins fans who tweeted “what has Joel Ward ever done?” I will say this:

Joel Ward fought through two decades of bigotry and name-calling, exclusion and ignorance — on top of the hard work and uncertainty that it takes to get one of the fewer than 900 available jobs as an NHL player — so that he could score the game-winning goal that knocked the defending champions out of contention for the 2012 Stanley Cup.  All while you sat on your La-Z-Boy and tweeted about it.

First, here’s the elbow to the head of Savard (for those few who haven’t seen it) that started it all on Sunday Night:

You’d expect me to quote the Bruins’ Captain now, after we’ve learned that Savard is out indefinitely with a Grade 2 concussion… likely for the remainder of the season.  But no… instead one of the most vocal critics of the hit calling for Cooke’s suspension is his own teammate, NHL veteran Bill Guerin:

“If a guy gets hurt like that with a shot to the head, there’s got to be something,” Guerin said. “Actions happen. Guys don’t mean to hurt each other, but they do. You got to pay a price for that.”

Guerin said players must know they can play the game with protection against hits to the head, especially those that a player can’t see coming.

“We’re all under the same umbrella, whether the guy’s on my team and I’m sitting right next to him or he’s playing in California,” Guerin said. “It doesn’t matter. We’re all playing in the same league. We all want the same safety. We all want to be looked after the same way. I understand he [Cooke] is on my team but, hey, he’s in a tough spot.”

This says a lot about this situation.  Always known as a gritty player since he joined the Canucks, since being traded to the Capitals and later picked up as a free agent by Pittsburgh, he has become known around the league as something of a cheap shot artist.  He’s picked up two suspensions for dubious hits and has been expected to receive more, but the NHL is doing nothing in this case.  Other players are chiming in to see that these kind of hits aren’t overlooked again.  According to TSN, Lecavalier and St Louis have joined in the chorus, too:

“He’s got no respect for the players,” said Tampa Bay Lightning captain Vincent Lecavalier.  “Matt Cooke, he’s been doing that for a long time.”

Like much of the league, Lecavalier wants to see a change in the way that headshots are penalized, but he realizes that the majority of the onus remains on the players themselves to do the right thing.  Something Lecavalier believes that Cooke ignored.

“He knew exactly what he was doing when he came with his shoulder,” Lecavalier stated.  “He knew exactly that he was going to hit his head and that’s how guys get hurt.”

Lecavalier was not alone in his criticism, Lightning teammate Martin St. Louis was also vocal about his displeasure at the lack of suspension for a repeat offender like Cooke.

“There are certain players in this league, that you tend to see on the highlights with hits like that,” said St. Louis.  “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that it was given by Matt Cooke.  He’s a hard working player, I don’t want to take anything away from the way he plays the game but I think that there are times when guys are vulnerable and he still follows through.  If that hit is not a suspension, I don’t know what is.”

Locker rooms and social occasions within and around the NHL community are about to become very frosty places for Matt Cooke, according to Sheldon Souray:

“Two guys punch each other’s lights out, then you go to bar and you have a couple of beers together.  When you’re Matt Cooke, you go to the bar that night and there is no camaraderie. There are no friends.

“When you fight, there is something honourable in that. But you flip that switch — you start hurting guys — there is noting honourable in that.”

Unfortunately, there’s a rematch in store for the Bruins and the Penguins next week.  It’s likely Matt Cooke will dress for the game.  And because the league has not enforced a penalty in this blatant case of endangerment, it will be up to Boston’s enforcers Shawn Thornton and Milan Lucic to exact a penalty.  Will there be a repeat of the dreaded Bertuzzi-Moore revenge incident?

Six years hence, the NHL continues to prove itself thoroughly incapable of protecting the players.

For the sake of the game, I hope that Penguins’ coach Dan Bylsma finds a reason to scratch Cookie from the lineup March 18th.

These are the things that define a Franchise player.  And in twenty years, though he’s graced two cities with his presence and leadership, Sakic has only played for a single NHL team.

How often will a cradle-to-grave career with a single team happen in the modern, cap-driven NHL?

Detroit actually has three such franchise players, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, and Lidstrom — none of whom have played for any other NHL team.  And as they’ve already experienced, it’s a very big challenge to keep your high-priced toys and build out a balanced team.  Lidstrom will, very likely, retire as a Red Wing.  This will make it doubly difficult to retain Zetterberg and Datsyuk in the long-term as more of a burden will rest on them for leadership — and if the team declines they’ll likely head off in search of more rings elsewhere..

Eventually Iginla will hang up his Flames’ jersey, and Modano will fall behind the pace of play in Dallas.  It’s likely that Pittsburgh will ultimately have to choose among Crosby, Malkin, and Staal.  Which of the three will go the distance with a 20-year career on the Penguins?

With salaries for superstars nudging the $10 Million mark, and the Salary Cap remaining reasonably constant at around $55M (with GMs trying to exert downward pressure) it will be VERY difficult to retain talented superstars in their senior, so-called paycheck years, while continuing to develop new talent and surrounding them with a passable squad so that they can put bums in seats and take a stab at the cup one in a while.  There may even be some kind of inverse probability that high-paid stars will get a shot at winning a cup because of this.

Sadly — as Sakic, Iginla, Lidstrom, and Modano make their way to the exits — we may just have seen the last of the career franchise player.  Perhaps teams should start selling player jerseys to fans with velcro nameplates on the back.

Well, whaddya know.  I forward these photos free from judgment… but the Penguins appear to be having a pretty good time with sporting’s most famous trophy at Mario’s palace in Pittsburgh.

A tradition lives on!

It’s a pre-game faceoff between Stan Smyl and Mario Lemieux, with Michael Jackson (yes, here we go again) doing the honours.  Jory asserts that there is actually a confluence:

• The Canucks hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Pacific Coliseum on November 16, 1984 and beat them 7-6.
• Michael Jackson’s Victory Tour stopped in Vancouver to play three shows on November 16, 17 & 18 at BC Place.

It’s possible this is the correct date.  1984 was Lemieux’s first season in the NHL, and (there is no C on his sweater) was not yet captain of the Penguins.

On the contradicting side, Jory also points out that there’s “no red carpet” as there is in this photo.  However, if you look behind Michael Jackson, you’ll notice the penalty box.  The red carpet typically extends from the players’ benches for these sorts of things, since the penalty boxes and scorekeeper’s bench do not have exits, and those benches are clearly behind the photographer.  Furthermore, the photog is clearly standing on the ice, and for safety reasons would only be standing on carpet himself… so just because you don’t see the carpet doesn’t mean it’s not there.

I did some digging and here’s a photo of Michael from 1984, wearing what seems to be the same outfit.

I’ve got to say he really foretold the whole bedazzled revolution, didn’t he, Wal-Mart shoppers?  Must’ve liked that jacket, because here it is again (also in 1984) with the sleeves rolled up.

So there you go, sports fans.  I have resolved this issue of critical importance to the hockey nation.  Michael Jackson did in fact drop the puck at Mario Lemieux’s debut game in Vancouver in November, 1984.  Please now relax, drop an ambien, and head to bed happy.  The speckled one loves hockey.  Though perhaps not as much as Gary Coleman:

These competing cliches have become a touchstone of sorts in the case of a certain recently dethroned uber-goalie, and a number of local Canucks bloggers are hot-under-the-collar in response to journos insisting that the team’s only path forward is moving Luongo out to free up cap space.

It was with the goalie-gets-you-there hypothesis that many Canucks fans simply assumed that Roberto Luongo, with his ostensibly justified high salary, made it a foregone conclusion that the Canucks could go deep this year (and last year) into the playoffs.

But is it true?  Can you buy your way deep into the playoffs by splurging big on a marquee goalie?  I decided to test the theory. 

Here are a couple of quick tables that map out goaltender salaries, starting with Conference Finalists:

Chicago Blackhawks
	Starting Goalie: Khabibulin, Nikolai AGE:  35 $6.75 Million	Backup: Huet, Cristobal AGE:  32 $5.625 Million
Pittsburgh Penguins
	Starting Goalie: Fleury, Marc-Andre AGE:  23 $5.00 Million	Backup: Garon, Mathieu AGE:  30 $509,000
Detroit Red Wings
	Starting Goalie: Osgood, Chris AGE:  35 $1.417 Million	Backup: Conklin, Ty AGE:  32 $750,000
Carolina Hurricanes
	Starting Goalie: Ward, Cam AGE: 24 $2.667 Million	Backup: Leighton, Michael Age: 27 $600,000

… and here’s another showing the dropouts from the Conference Semifinals:

Vancouver Canucks
	Starting Goalie: Luongo, Roberto AGE: 29 $6.75 Million	Backup: Labarbera, Jason AGE:  28 $461,000
Washington Capitals
	Starting Goalie: Varlamov, Simeon AGE: 20 $155,000	Backup: Theodore, Jose AGE: 31 $4.5 Million
Boston Bruins
	Starting Goalie: Thomas, Tim AGE: 34 $1.1 Million	Backup: Fernandez, Manny AGE: 33 $4.333 Million
Anaheim Ducks
	Starting Goalie: Hiller, Jonas AGE:  26 $1.3 Million	Backup: Giguere, JS AGE:  31 $6 Million

Here’s what may have changed:  with today’s salary cap consciousness, overspending on a goalie means that it becomes more challenging to build a team in front of him.  This is a reality which, as I pointed out the other day, is hitting Gillis in the face at the moment with the Sedins asking for a fortune and more than 10% of the team’s salary budget tied up in one player, Roberto Luongo, and another big chunk presumably being allocated to The Twins.

Perhaps more interesting than the above table is this chart I whipped up (covering the regular season, 2008-2009) which shows that splurging on goalies doesn’t necessarily deliver absolutes either:

What’s the lesson from all this data?  First:  clearly, individual salary is not entirely predictive of individual performance.  Second:  When you account for outliers like Chicago, Detroit and Carolina, there is a slight inverse corresponence to goals against and goalie spending (ie. you get scored on more when you spend less on goalies) for NHL teams.  However, the margin of difference is only about 20%, and this year four of the six biggest goalie spenders were gone within the first two rounds.  Only Chicago (which is extremely top-heavy on goalie salary) and Pittsburgh (at $5.5M) remain among the big-spending playoff teams.  What makes the difference at the top end?  A hot rookie.  Or, in the case of Detroit, an underappreciated veteran with a bad agent.

Chicago found itself in a fortunate position this year with a fairly low player salary budget (so many rookies and sophomores) that it could invest in fairly known quantities in Huet and Khabiboulin.  That’s depth that may be required to take them through the next two rounds in the playoffs, and it is a strategy that is quite unique to the NHL — but shows that Chicago is the first team to truly embrace the cap and turn a limitation into a key advantage.

So for the playoffs this year, there’s a really interesting opportunity to see which strategy prevails.  What does this mean for the Canucks?  As the very sage Ben Nevile, one of my commenters pointed out the other day, Schneider could be the difference — but for now, he’s very much a wildcard.

The Canucks could indeed trade Luongo if Schneider were to make a Cam Ward-ian appearance at the beginning of next season, and this could provide the team with an immense advantage overall … but until then?  Gillis is hamstrung, unless he can throw together a deal to move Luongo and get a veteran lower-priced goalie in return as a part of the package, which is quite possible.  But few teams have the cap room, and you’d hope to move him to the East Coast so as to prevent having to deal with him on a routine basis all season long (I doubt very much he’s interested in moving to Edmonton anyway).

The major lesson of the above analysis, therefore, is that a goalie on his own might get you through a season — but not the playoffs.  That takes a broader depth chart, thanks to video preperation, off-ice scoring strategy, and the isolation of a goalie’s weaknesses that emerges from playing him 6 or 7 nights in a two-week period.  Had Luongo not been injured and had such a slow recovery when he did return, I’m sure he could have propped the Canucks up to a league-leading points total … but with modern-day goalie-busting techniques, such as he and Varlamov felt in their respective final games, teams can no longer (if they ever could) ride the goalie through the playoffs.

The Canucks in particular are at a dangerous precipice between the pipes… but from threat comes opportunity.  Do the Canucks trade their best player to address both?

Below is a chart on several key players, some relevant data, and what I think I might try to do:

	Roberto Luongo Age: 30 Salary:  $6.75mm Expires:  2010 W-L:33-13-7 GAA: 2.34
It becomes quite difficult to solidify a reputation as the best goalie in the league when you continually play for dog teams that can’t perform in the playoffs.  This team (and every team you’ve played for) leans far too heavily on your unique talent but east of Cambie street you get very little respect in this league.Giving you the captaincy (even without the C sewn on) was a bullshit PR move and could only have served to cause you to lose focus and get off the bead of what it is that you do so well.  Get back to being “just” the greatest goalie ever, stick with us through some changes, and for emotional balance leverage the two guys you have in your own back yard that have lots of mental toughness and carried weak teams through the playoffs:  Richard Brodeur and Kirk McLean.  The armchair GM would be happy to hire them as consultants to focus on the mental aspects of your play.
	Mattias Ohlund Age: 32 Salary:  $3.5mm Expires:  2009 25 points
I think we’re going to lose you to an East Coast team in bidding this summer. Vancouver fans don’t respect your contribution enough.  I think you’ve had a tough couple of years trying to fit into the Vigneault system, which has required you to take too many penalties and lose focus from your offensive play.I don’t want to lose your grit, but the budget’s tight.  I’d like to sign you to a multi-year contract at your present salary, but I doubt you’d go for that considering who’s been calling.  So I would hope to keep you here with a two-year at $2.5mm — and it’ll be hard to find room under the cap for that.  You’re a franchise player.  Stay here 3-4 more years and we’ll retire your jersey, give you a shot at a cup with some rebuilding, and you can play in front of the home crowd for Sweden in 2010.
	Sami Salo Age: 35 Salary:  $3.5mm Expires:  2011 25 points
What, are you made of porcelain?  We need you to play a whole season.  Please ensconse yourself in bubble wrap and suspend yourself with bungee rope in a lcoked room between games.  We’d like the keys to your Porsche — we’ll be sending a driver in an armoured, padded vehicle with a 7-point safety harness to pick you up for games from now on.If you can put together a full season you’re awesome — but we can’t keep backfilling you.  Fans love you.  I like saying your name with a Squire Barnes lisp.  What the hell: you can’t go anywhere, we’re not trading you… get out of my office and back to the gym (though please pick up some tensor braces and make sure you stretch thoroughly in order to prevent injury or strain).  Please do not buy a Segway or any two-wheeled vehicle.
	Taylor Pyatt Age: 27 Salary:  $1.575mm Expires:  2009 19 points
You are six-feet four, and you weigh 235 lbs.  In today’s NHL that is neither lean enough to be fast, nor thick enough to be tough.  You’re a UFA this summer.  I don’t understand why Vigneault continues to throw you on the ice in critical situations — end of the game, power plays, penalty kills, etc.  You are almost always behind the play.You were a healthy scratch several times in the past two years.  You are being given chances to showcase your skills (probably because we were hoping to trade your ass) but you’ve really let us down.  19 points in 69 games, especially given the guys you’ve played with, means you haven’t been a factor at all.You have NO grit, speed, nor puck-handling dexterity.Happy to let you go — but if you want to stay here 1) figure out what kind of player you are, 2) hire a personal trainer and develop this summer, and 3) we’ll pay you $1M on a one-year contract.  Sorry about your tragic loss, but this is a business.
	Mason Raymond Age: 23 Salary:  $833.33K Expires:  2010 (RFA) 23 points
In your case, I don’t think the stats have told the story.  You’re a hungry, fiery player with grit and I feel that AV has completely underutilized you.  For a 6’0 guy to be the team’s fastest skater is impressive.  You’ve gotten your feet wet in the league, you played your way onto this roster, and you’ve tasted the playoffs.  Now you need to play your way up to the second line.  I think you could be huge as a forechecker and your hands are awesome.This is your sophomore NHL summer.  You’re only 165 lbs. soaking wet.  Would like to see you bulk up without losing speed, just to prevent you from getting knocked around too much.  Work on the upper body, not just the legs, and eat a sandwich once in a while.  You’re great kid, now get out of my office so I can deal with the next guy.
	Willie Mitchell Age: 32 Salary:  $3.2mm Expires:  2010 23 points
Hockey loves the hometown boys.  Port McNeill is pretty close to Vancouver.  Check.OK somebody liked you last summer and gave you a pretty rockin’ deal despite a weak season.  This year you did a lot better, so she time is right to keep that momentum and own the zone.  At times this year I watched you and you seemed to have your head in the clouds, crossing over inexplicably and floating the puck when a slap-pass was required.  Your turnover stats look pretty bad.  You are, though, a big part of the breakout.  If Ohlund goes this summer, you’re a huge part of the defensive corps and the younger kids will be looking to you for leadership.  At times you seem disinterested in defensive play.  Get angry in September and find your grit.Step up, and we’ll renew next summer — no probs.  Want you to finish your career here.
	Alex Burrows Age: 28 Salary:  $2mm Expires:  2010 51 points
You have played your way onto every team throughout your career.  With 52 points in 82 games you have really delivered in 2008-2009, particularly since AV has not always played you on top lines.  You’re probably the fittest player on the team, and a role model for guys making twice your salary.Your unique attribute is your work  ethic.  You need some bulk up top, because when you eventually settle into second line left-winger status you’re going to get tossed around like a bean bag.  I think you’re going to look like the bargain of the century in two years.  We’ll get you a speedy centre to get things going.
	Kyle Wellwood Age: 25 Salary:  $998K Expires:  2009 27 points
I’ve known and played with a lot of guys like you who never got the chance to play in The Show.  You’re immensely, naturally gifted as a player but as a teenager it always came so easily to you that you never really developed a work ethic.  After a few years with the Leafs you became a guy constantly on the bubble, and nowadays that is what is driving you.Wake-up call:  We signed you and put you on waivers (for no really good reason) last year after you failed the fitness test, and nobody even called.This is it.  I’ll sign you right now for $800K for a year because I know I’m the only guy who’ll take a chance.  You’re still on the bubble.  We saw flashes of brilliance this year, but you’re still falling behind.  That’s OK if you use this summer as your time to train like crazy, make me a liar, and come back to camp in lean and mean shape with some speed that can match those hands.  Keep skating all summer.
	Mats Sundin Age: 38 Salary:  $7mm Expires:  2009 28 points
You’re no Neidermeyer.  You’ve proven that you can’t sit out half the season and expect to compete in the NHL.  You came back from semi-retirement old and slow and not nearly pissed-off enough.  You hoped the Sedins and Luongo would carry you to your ring but we did not get the leadership on the ice I’d expect to see from a guy who’s been a consistent 70-80 point-getter for 10 years — and one that we paid $4 million bucks for.So yes, this is goodbye.  There’s no role on this team for you, but I think you knew that.  I always knew you were a summer rental.  See you at the retirement press conference, and enjoy the flight back to Sweden.  And when the Rangers call?  Don’t do it.  You’ll smear your glorious Leafs legacy (choke).
	Ryan Kesler Age: 24 Salary:  $1.75mm Expires:  2010 59 points
When we originally signed you, we thought you were the next Trevor Linden.  It hasn’t exactly been an easy path, and so you were often on the bubble.  This past year you really shined.  What I’d like to see you deliver is a 75-80 point season in 2009/2010 as a center.  If so, you could be our future and we’ll hit you with a contract at least as sweet as your wild-eyed three-year, $2.475-million entry level contract a few years ago.Time to step up and deliver on the promise that we saw when we passed up Mike Richards and Corey Perry for your ass.  I’d like to think you could be the captain of the team but not yet.  One more season like this year’s and we’ll talk about it when you’re up next sumer.  You play better when you’re hungry.  You ought to be a second-line centre by now.
	Kevin Bieksa Age: 27 Salary:  $3.75mm Expires:  2012 43 points
This was the best year of your career, despite a couple of injuries that had us leery.  You’ve showed real toughness at times and delivered 43 points offensively which made you the top-scoring D-man on the team.We have however noticed your defensive play suffering.  You’ve made some brutal bets on the pinch and lost, creating momentum-killing 2-on-1s and leading to some highlight reel goals for other teams.  Luongo can only do so much to cover for a defenseman who’s not even in the play.  Additionally, while we like your grit, we hate your timing.  Pitchforking that guy in Game 5 vs. Chicago with 6 minutes to go almost definitely cost us a Game 7.Clean it up and work on your D game and you’ll be worth every penny.
	The Sedins (H D) Age: 28 Salary:  $3.58mm Expires:  2009 82 points each
You each got 82 points this year — one each per game — with no injuries.  Once again, you were absent for much of the playoffs.  You need to understand that people will key in on you and work with the Right Winger we give you.  Because you are a package deal, any team that signs you to a big contract is going to mortgage their whole future to do so.  I know the Rangers will call. Anyone who can sign you both won’t be able to field a very good team beyond your line.We have invested a lot in you and consider you to be franchise players.  I would match any offer up to $4mm each and for 3-4 years, but above that I’m pretty hamstrung by trying to surround you with the league’s best goalie and a strong D.  But ANYONE who signs you at your presumed asking price, given that there are two of you, will be challenged to surround you with a talented team.
	Alain Vigneault2007 Jack Adams award winner 2007/08: 39-33-10 2008/09: 45-27-10
Some coaches are able to work their magic in the locker room, some do it by running perfect practices, and others do it behind the bench.  In the regular season great practices, and solid locker room and off-ice leadership keep teams healthy, prepared, and in-the-game.  In the playoffs, though, coaches do their work behind the bench.As this was your first career NHL playoff run as a coach, I guess we can’t be too harsh with you for losing.  I have to be honest — watching what happened in Chicago, where the Hawks clearly changed the entire complexion of the play without any adjustment or response from the Canucks — I wanted to fire you.  But then, reflecting on the stats of the regular season, I think we just need to develop you and get you some help.Speaking of which…
	Trevor Linden Requires no introduction.
Hey Trev, ‘sup?  Feeling refreshed after a year off, freed from the shackles of watching Naslund flail as a Captain and watching the NHLPA eat itself alive trying to maneouvre with that weasel Gary Bettman?We miss you.  Fans still show up to games wearing #16 jerseys.  You cast a long shadow, my friend, and rumour from some former Canucks players has it that even thought you didn’t wear the “C” these last few years in Vancouver, you were.  Suffice to say:  You cast a long shadow.Within the next 16 months, Ryan Walter or Rick Bowness will be moving on.  I’d say you’re a shoo-in for Assistant Coach.  The salary sucks, but face it — you bleed blue and green.
	Cody Hodgson Age: 19 Salary:  $875K Expires:  2011
I think we made the smart decision growing you slowly this year, sending you to the Battallion, letting you play on Team Canada in the Canada-Russia series, and now pulling you up to the Moose.  Your play has been exceptional — now you know what it’s like to spread your wings and rock the ice and be a dominant force.Next season please arrive at camp prepared to play in the NHL.  Speed and dexterity are your biggest assets, and you’re big enough not to get tossed around.  Toughness and grit will have to come over time.  You’d make a great roommate for Burrows — only you’re a little more talented than Burrows — because he’ll keep you focused on your fitness and work ethic.  Don’t let this go to your head, we’ll give you a lot of PP ice time next year, probably playing on the Right Wing.
	Marian Gaborik MINNESSOTA Age: 34 Salary:  $3.2mm Expires:  2009
Wanted:  RIGHT WINGER who can hold his own with the Sedins, stand in front of the net when he has to, and wire shots top-corner while hapless defensemen chase the Swedes around in the corners.  Hey Marian, know anybody?Oh that’s right… your pal Pavol is on the Canucks, hit 53 points, and will be here til summer 2010.  Unless of course we can’t attract you as a free agent this summer, in which case we’re going to trade his ass (he nets a $4 million salary).  Since your injury makes you a bit of a risk, I’ll throw $3.5mm on a one-year contract to you but would discuss anything up to $4.0mm on a two-year deal.  If the latter, then you’ll be riding to games in the bubble van with Sami Salo.We’ll try you with the Sisters, and if that doesn’t work out I’m sure you’ll enjoy spinning around the ice with Demitra.  And hey, Willie’s here too… you remember him?
	Ossi Vaananen Age: 28 Salary:  $1mm Expires:  2009
I checked my magic 8-Ball: “future hazy”.  Will re-sign for 2 years at $875K.  Otherwise, seeya.  Thanks.  See you in September.  PS – there are too many vowels in your name.
	Alexander Radulov Age: 22 Salary: $919K Expires: 2009
Ok now, if ever there is a Russian player destined for first-line greatness in the NHL, it is 22-year-old Alexander Radulov.  He is, though, the centre of a huge controversy between the NHL and the Russian Kontinental Hockey League.  Last year, though he was signed to a pithy $1mm contract with the Predators, he ended up inking a three year deal worth $13mm with the KHL’s Salavat Yulaev Ufa.  This contract was signed days before a treaty agreement was reached between the NHL and KHL regarding transfer of players. The Russians view this as payback for the yanking of Ovechkin and Malkin, among a host of others, into the NHL from domestic clubs. What’s happened to the Preds now is essentially what might have happened to the Canucks had they not been able to lure Bure overseas after picking him so many years ago.  This summer, the stage is set for a Battle Royale between the NHL and the KHL’s Alexander Medvedev — the outcome of which might mean Radulov’s return to the National Hockey League as an unrestricted free agent.  This will be THE story of the summer.
	Maxim Afinogenov Age: 29 Salary: $3.5mm Expires: 2009
Building on the Russian Right-Winger theme:  Hey Max!  How would you like to play with the twins?  I know things have been sucking in Buffalo lately.  You need a change of pace!  Your scoring is off, but I think you’ve got potential.I’d throw you a three-year, $3.0mm bone to head over to Vancouver where the ladies will love ya, the Sedins will pass to you, and you can head back up the roster to the first line and net around 75+ points.  Sound good?  Sign here.

Going back over this post, I have committed the Canucks to around $50mm, give or take $2mm.  For instance I’d obviously be happy to say goodbye to Pyatt were Afinogenov to be lured to the team.  But with a cap of $56.7mm next season for team salaries, that leaves very little room and I have filled 15 of 23 roster spots.

According to HockeyBuzz O’Brien, Bernier, Rypien, and Hansen are also key free agents this year.  They will be demanding salary bumps and presently the four of them account for about $4.5mm all in.  Add to that Edler’s $3.25mm salary, Demitra’s $4mm, and various odds & ends, and that’s another $9mm unaccounted for in my planning.

The reality is that the Canucks are not going to be able to strengthen the roster substantially from within the Free Agency market.  The youth movement, as Chicago has evidenced, where underpaid young players overperform, is where teams get a solid strategic advantage these days. This places heavy emphasis on Hodgson to crack the lineup and be a dominant player in 2009-2010, as the Canucks don’t have much else under development.

That said, a couple of things happened this past year:  1)  Salaries inflated across the board, but teams are seeing revenue decline, and 2) The economy collapsed, and the NHL started talking about lowering the cap in the next few years.  This will see teams being far more conservative in their offers to Free Agents, which will be enhanced by the frankly startling diversity of talent that is set to hit the market in June.

So:  Will Ohlund take a pay cut to stay with the only NHL team he has ever known?  Will Bernier (and other teams) recognize that he’s not worth $2.5mm yet?  Will Hank and Daniel bankrupt the team that has developed them into Top 20 players by making a big cash grab, or would they like a shot at the cup?  If they reach for a $6mm salary each, as some suspect, the twins and Luongo alone could account for more than one third of the team’s salary cap at nearly $20mm.

Mike Gillis has a real problem.  If few or none of these situations plays in his favour, then I suspect it’ll be 5 or more years before they have a team in contention… and they’ll have to do something the Canucks are rarely successful at doing:  developing a group of players from the draft into top-line players right away.  It could be a very long winter indeed, even by Vancouver fans’ standards.

… all of which underpins the fact that, strong or not, this was probably Vancouver’s best chance at a Stanley Cup for the past 15 years, and at least the next 5.

Now that the Canucks are on the downward slope of the coaster, cruising past a few of the top teams in the league and looking at a bona fide winning streak, they need to remember the fans who supported them in getting there with a League-record 247 sellouts and the faithful purchase of a succession of horrifyingly ugly jerseys and fan paraphernalia. All of the money spent on these tickets, jerseys, and ball caps goes to support the exorbitant player salaries that players continue to demand (even journeymen like Alexandre Burrows – $2M?) even amidst what could be one of the greatest economic declines of the past 130 years.

Fortunately, there is a simple, no-cost way to send some of the love back to the fans who carry their home teams so far.  A trend is  slowly sweeping the hockey world that I think needs to take hold in Vancouver — a city that has not won a cup in the modern NHL and for nearly a century, and in particular a city that suffered through a terrible mid-season slump that even now threatens to cast the team out of cup contention with one of the highest pay rosters in the league.  This would also be a wonderful addition to other teams in the NHL.

When I was playing in Europe a few years ago it was tradition for the home to to salute the fans after the game.  Some would rather elaborately go back to the dressing room, don different warmup jerseys or remove their team jerseys, and return with their kids families to the ice to perform a “dance” of sorts for the fans… others would line up arm-in-arm and “sweep” the ice.  More simply, some just gathered at centre ice and lifted their sticks in a simple salute to their loyal supporters, most of whom are not anxious to leave the stadium early at the end of the game (some photos of the ERC Ingolstadt Panthers, which feature local boy Doug Ast, are below).

The result is a greater sense of cameraderie and family, but there is a deeper message here:  one of mutual respect, appreciation, and shared exhileration.  I realize that the lifestyle of a professional hockey player is difficult and challenging:  friends who’ve done the job are drained and spent for most of the regular season given the hectic travel and playing schedules.  As those of us who pay fortunes to play the sport appreciate, though, anyone who gets paid to do something so special as play hockey is priviledged.  It is vital to the health of the sport (and the long-term sustainance of those lofty salaries) that players feed the system that supports them.

Minor league teams like the Evansville Icemen have taken to saluting their fans now… a great way to support fans and teach young players respect for the institution of hockey.

And since a couple of seasons ago, the NY Rangers have paid tribute to their fans after each game with a simple salute.  You’ve got to admit, it just feels a little bit good to see this.  If players complain that certain arenas are a little quiet around the NHL, especially when compared to smaller but far more boisterous European arenas, perhaps it’s because the players never return the support and acknowledgement that fans give to them? Is it harder to hate a player who’s slumping when you’ve seen him skate out onto the ice with his new baby in his arms?  Do you feel as a fan like you’re more of a part of the big hockey family when there’s greater interaction with them in this manner?  The answer to all of these is “why wouldn’t you?”

So really, is it such a difficult thing to give the fans a little salute after the game before heading to the bike?  The Washington Capitals’ Ted Leonsis is a particularly enlightened and accessible owner … perhaps he’s a guy who could exhibit some leadership here?  Come on, players… let’s show the fans that the respect is mutual.

Today, it was revealed unto me that Miss Virginia, Tara Wheeler, is in fact a goalie.  Yes.  I repeat.  There was a one in fifty chance that the winner of the Miss America pageant held this weekend would be a goalie.  Just think — they only narrowly averted having someone with an actual ability win the pageant!

Frankly, I don’t know how she does it.  I gave up wearing my tiara on the ice years ago, and now for special occasions (such as when it’s well below freezing, nighttime, and I am on a backyard rink somewhere in Kelowna) I wear a toque.

Also today I became buddies with Alexander Ovechkin.  On twitter.  Which is almost as good as being his fake friend on Facebook or MySpace.  A couple of years ago your humble author ran into Caps’ owner Ted Leonsis in San Francisco and I cheerfully asked whether he could release Ovi to spare with my summer league team.  He said that he and Ovi were a package deal and he thought I should ask the Sedins.  They could use the practice, we agreed, but I didn’t think they’d enjoy being on our second line.

I know there is a really creative way in which I could combine these three stories, however it is late and I have things to do, people.

For that reason I have long been puzzled by, and wanted to meet, Doug Alward.  Who the heck is that, you might say?  Precisely.  We don’t know Doug very well at all, but it is his sacrifice that without a shadow of a doubt furthered athletic endeavour in this country on an unimaginable scale.

Terry Fox in Ontario, 1980

After all… we do, however, know and revere his good friend Terry Fox.

But here’s the thing not a lot of people know:  Without Doug, Terry could not have made his courageous run.

Last November the Vancouver Sun asked who should light the Olympic Flame at the 2010 Opening Ceremony in Vancouver.  There has been a movement afoot to nominate Betty Fox, Terry’s mother.  I think there’s a good intention here and I *really* like the idea of a nod to Terry Fox, who became even in his short life a beacon of inspiration to the world, and who is not infrequently referred to as one of the Ten Greatest Canadians.  Betty’s a wonderful woman and her connection to Terry is obvious, but she shuns the limelight, and at her tender age and conditioning would not particularly enjoy the opportunity of running a few kilometres into a crowded stadium, mounting some stairs, and lighting a giant flame.  It’s symbolic and well-intended, but probably impractical.

The infamous van, restored in 2007

In April 1980 there was only one person standing beside Terry Fox in St. John’s, Nfld as he dipped his toe in the Atlantic to begin the Marathon of Hope.

That person was Doug Alward.  An otherwise rational person by all accounts, Doug had been convinced by his best friend’s passion and dedication not only to help him train for the unprecedented task of running the world’s longest continuous highway, but to go with him.  For months Doug waited for his friend in a sweat-soaked, disgusting-smelling van at the side of the road.  As Terry approached Alward would greet him, provide any refreshments or anything he needed, and check on Fox’s health and emotional state.  Then, as Terry ran ahead, he would leapfrog the runner and drive ahead exactly one mile, stopping to repeat the process.

It had to be the most maddeningly slow drive across this country ever attempted.  He did this while their friends were off on their post-graduation trips to Europe, working at lucrative summer jobs, or preparing for University.  For much of the four-and-a-half months of the Marathon of Hope, Doug did this alone.  Still, Alward asked nothing of his friend but that he keep on running and stay healthy.

He asked nothing of us, either.  Except, perhaps, a donation to fight Cancer.

Doug Alward neither sought nor did he receive any of the limelight showered upon Terry during this heroic endeavour, yet he was there every step of the way.  It is a testament to his strength of character that he did not fall victim to the cult of personality that grew around his friend within a few weeks of beginning the run; he evidenced no jealousy of Fox’s growing fame or of the adulation of fans, politicians, and celebrities; he simply focused on his job within the team as coach, trainer, medical technician, cook, agent, manager, head of security, and fixer.

Can you imagine the entourage that would accompany such an endeavour today?  In 1980, for much of that journey it was only Doug.

Doug Alward in 2006

Perhaps 2010 is the time for us to honour his selfless contribution, just months short of the 30th anniversary of Doug’s greatest drive.  We should nominate Alward to light the flame.  Clearly it is a way for VANOC to remind the world of our local hero Terry Fox, and the fight to cure cancer that he prodded forward; but it is also a way to shine a light on the thousands of unsung heroes — coaches, trainers, sponsors, skate sharpeners, family, and friends — who truly power our athletes to the peak of their performance, as Terry surely was when he embarked on his run.

On a practical level, Doug Alward is once again a prolific runner, participating of course in the Terry Fox Runs but also in Sun Runs and other events.  He’s an active member of the Phoenix Running Club in Coquitlam.

I think it says something about Doug that I can’t seem to find a picture of him anywhere (finally did)… but perhaps now it’s time for him to enjoy a moment in the sun, for all he did for Terry… and all he did for us.

If you think this is a good idea, I’ve created a Facebook Group to advance the cause.  Join, willya?  And tell your friends.