In this week’s Canucks mailbag, Patrick Johnston ponders what does it even mean to be a Canuck?
Another week of ugly, emotionless Canucks hockey.
While we all wait for management to do something — surely a trade is imminent — here are some fun questions from readers.
— Canucks72 via BlueSky
This person is not wrong.
Canuck legend Stan Smyl said the same during his brief tenure as interim GM in December 2021. These players need a refresher on all this.
What happened to the idea of team culture? Who are the culture carriers they used to speak of? This team doesn’t look like they’re willing to play for each other or their coaches.
— Tim of the West via BlueSky
But even with them around, I wonder — with whatever’s gone down around Miller — whether even having those two in the fold would have been enough counterweight to help the team push through.
It’s clear something big happened around Miller, but there are still too few puzzle pieces to work with.
There’s no doubt, though, that the emotions of this team are a mess and the result is what we’re seeing on the ice.
46 games played and still no top 4 defensemen added is inexcusable for this management, and they should be held accountable.
— Matt Boots via BlueSky
I don’t get it either. I said last summer that something was missing. The team got a pair of plodding penalty killers of varying quality in Derek Forbort and Vinny Desharnais.
Neither is a puck mover and the team has desperately needed another puck mover since last season, even with Zadorov and Cole in the lineup.
Obviously, if this team doesn’t improve with the players they have, that will write management’s ticket right there. It’s self-evident that it’s now on Patrik Allvin, no matter what else happens, to improve his defence corps.
— Sachmo via BlueSky
What would you do with your time? More skiing? That’s so expensive though.
Fan protests outside the arena might be an idea. Make your voices heard, even if you aren’t spending money inside the arena.
Businesses don’t like bad images associated with their brand.
If the Canucks trade Miller, what do you think of them going after Sam Bennett as a replacement in the off-season? — Jacob via BlueSky
I love it, even if they don’t trade Miller. But would Bennett want to come here?
How would Gary Bettman’s retirement affect the chances of Canucks winning the Cup? Not actually a serious question.
— Walter Siu via BlueSky
A succession plan for Gary Bettman probably isn’t all that intriguing, since you’d assume Bill Daly would simply be promoted into Bettman’s job, and he’s generally been lock-step with his boss since the beginning.
The NHL’s business philosophy has been pretty constant — do we have to do it, and if we do, what can we do to make it the most similar to what we’re already doing?
I found myself watching a clip of a somewhat famous brawl between the Oilers and Penguins in 1980 and it struck me how full the igloo was for this game, featuring a mediocre Penguins team and an Oilers team that had just come over from the WHA.
The fans went crazy for the violence, and even though we don’t have brawls anymore, that’s largely what fans still go to hockey for — the emotional stimulation a well-played game brings.
Canadian teams still drive the NHL’s economics, but the players now come from everywhere, more and more from the U.S., especially. The growth of the league, such as it is, kinda writes itself.
What if Donald Trump bans Canadian NHL teams from playing in the States, or Canadian players from playing in the U.S.? Stupid question?
— Larry Ward via BlueSky
Given how much of the NHL’s revenue is still derived from Canada, that would be a very awkward conversation between the NHL’s owners, who are undoubtedly pro-Trump, and President Trump.
Hard to really imagine it happening, but then again, a lot of ludicrous stuff is going on.