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.

Mats Sundin in "Summer Rental"

Welcome, Mats Sundin, to Vancouver.  I will enjoy the six months you spend in our fair city, but I won’t expect to see you for much long afterward.  In the meantime, I hope that too many deckchairs aren’t reordered to make room for you, because all of that will be torn down at the end of the season.  Many people are giddy to see you coming here, but I’m not so sure.  Why?

I have become, of late, a student of the NHL’s Salary Cap.  While new Canucks GM Mike Gillis will be painted a hero for the feat of luring Sundin here in a desperate bid to bring The Cup back to the West Coast, there is a reason he was only able to sign Mats for a year, and similarly a reason why Sundin is a hero for sitting half the season out.

The announcement today that this past summer’s $10M bid for Sundin’s services is pro-rated gives Gillis a break on the Cap Rule.  The Canucks couldn’t have afforded Sundin without moving some players at the $10M offer made in July. But if Sundin joins the Canucks after Christmas they’ll be just under halfway through the season, meaning that of the $10M offer he actually stands to collect $5.5M – $6M on the season.  As this table shows the Canucks could find themselves with about $2.5M of breathing room below the cap.

Sounds great, right?

Sure.  But here’s why Mats Sundin might just well be the NHL’s highest-paid Summer Rental ever.

Next July, Alexander Edler’s salary will be bumped from a paltry $550,000 to a princely $3,250,000.  As if that weren’t enough the Sedins, each earning $3,575,000 will become Unrestricted Free Agents which means that their salaries will be largely determined by the marketplace.  That’s bad news.  Guys with their stats will likely be fielding offers of $4.5M to $5M next summer.  Adding insult to injury our senior remaining Swede Mattias Ohlund will be holding his palm out, sacred cow that he has become, and asking for something a little better than his current $3.5M contract as another UFA.  There will also be some significant inflation in Alexandre Burrows rolling off his rookie minimum of $483,333.. let’s target him conservatively at $1.5M.

Doing the math, there are probably at least an extra $6.25M in costs just to keep the current roster active next summer — not including Sundin.  That leaves about $2.5M of room.  So it’s clear that unless the ‘nucks shed some weight over the summer, or unless Sundin sits out next season until, say, March — he’s just another example of a new owner desperate to make an early play for a cup and grabbing what’s available in the short-term.  Not that that’s a bad thing, mind you… it worked for Colorado.

Just about the only thing that could keep Sundin in Vancouver for another year next season would be a substantial increase in the salary cap.  Last year the cap increased by $6.4M, or greater than 12%.  But these are tough economic times and many teams are struggling financially, particularly US expansion franchises.  There is likely to be limited appetite for increases in the cost of doing business for the next couple of seasons.

The Sedins and Ohlund being the untouchables that they are, these obstacles to a Second Season of Sundin are pretty immovable.  Still, it’s worth a shot!  Move a player like Pyatt before the deadline in exchange for someone with a little more promise, and you might have something.  Even with $2.5M of cap room, you could pick up a second summer rental whose annual contract is about $6M with the salary cap’s pro-rating system.

So fans, don’t be too hasty running down to the store to buy your “SUNDIN” Canucks jersey.  The New Era that many bloggers are hailing is likely to be fairly short-lived.

Thankfully the Canucks’ new owner Francesco Aquilini has also realized that Nonis has no coherent vision for the team and it’s time to move on.

So now I’m gonna start the rumour mill. I highly doubt that Brian Burke will be back as GM of the Canucks next season. For one thing, he still has a year on his contract — and for another, Burke is actively engaged in watching his team compete for the cup at the moment, and I have to believe that Aquilini wouldn’t toast the Nonis without having another solution lined up. For Burke to be negotiating with another team at the moment would be pretty disingenuous and an announcement would be disruptive to the Ducks.

Therefore, my prediction is that this available post will be filled from within the confines of Vancouver, either by Steve Tambellini, who has been the shadow GM of the Canucks for a number of years; or by Pat Quinn, who lives in Vancouver and hasn’t been working since he was fired by the Leafs in 2006.

As an owner of the Vancouver Giants, Quinn has appeared before fans in Vancouver frequently since, and is still beloved by the crowd for leading the Canucks to fame in the team’s last Cup run in 1993-94.

That said, Quinn owning one team in town and being employed by another one might represent a troubling conflict of interest for Aquilini (Orca Bay, under different ownership, famously bought the Vancouer Voodoo in order to shut them down) but establishing a development pipeline from the Giants to the Canucks might benefit both teams.