Vancouver - Canada's last hope this year

GO CANUCKS GO!!!

Cronie wrote:I would like NOTHING more for the Canucks and their fans to taste victory. What could be more fitting for Lord Stanley to have his home in Vancouver for the summer and then to enter the Winter with an even LONGER tradition finding it's way into Canada's neck of the woods... Of course I'm speaking of the 2010 Winter Olympics...

It would be a magnificent DOUBLE-WHAMMY for Vancouver and their populace/fans in my view.

GO 'NUCKS!!!

Well, the Nucks already have the parade planned...haven't you read?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Vancouver-paper-asks-for-Cup-parade-route-hocke?urn=nhl,158591


Thu Apr 23, 2009 3:30 pm EDT
Vancouver paper asks for Cup parade route; hockey gods tremble

By Sean Leahy

If there's one thing you don't want to do, it's anger the hockey gods. They are a fickle bunch that will lay their hands down and smote thee who dare disrupt the time-honored traditions of The Game.

The Vancouver Province is currently skating on thin ice with said hockey gods.
Yesterday, the morning after the Canucks swept the St. Louis Blues to become the first team to advance to the second round, the Province's hockey blog, The White Towel, asked fans to begin sending them the best Stanley Cup parade route.
Keep in mind, this is a franchise that's advanced past the first-round only three out of the past 13 seasons. I understand there's some excitement in British Columbia, but really? Confidence much?

Fans are encouraged to use Google maps to create their parade route and the most creative ones will be shown on The White Towel's page and the paper will "give them a print nod in Province Sports."

Worth pissing off those hockey gods 'Nuck fans?

Jumping the gun about winning isn't all that unusual in hockey of late. Please recall early Eastern Conference Champions gear for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Stanley Cup Champions Detroit Red Wings merch before their series even ended. Not to mention NHL.com goofing and releasing the Hart Trophy winner on a T-shirt.

In regards to the Penguins and Red Wings gear, both of those situations worked out and no egg was placed on faces.

But if the Canucks don't end up winning the Stanley Cup in June, you can be sure Vancouver fans will blame The White Towel for bringing the jinx.

ha! Actually Dave, I had NOT seen that... LOL

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

davetherave wrote:

Cap'n Clutch wrote:That's a tough one to answer since he was handed a big contract and played well below expectations for all but part of one season which happens to be his contract year. Does another GM get hood winked by this guy?

Boy, are you guys ever tough on Nik.

You forget he played behind a crappy D in Chi for his first two years.

Khabby has a Cup ring. There's a reason. He's one of the best.

He played sub par for Tampa leading up the playoffs when they won their Cup and he appears to be showing he just needs the games to mean something to step up so does a GM pay up to get Khabby just to show up in the playoffs? I don't know. Good question though.

Cap, I hate to correct you, but your cynical assessment is unfounded.

Oh my... interesting... bad karma? Or is that standard practice?

So his poor play during most of his time with the BlackHawks can be attributed solely on a poor team in front of him and unfortunate injuries? I don't buy it. They picked up Huet because they like paying an enormous amount on goaltending? So the fact that Tampa was planning on going with John Grahame to start the playoffs the year they won the Cup was a lie? They were also lying when Tampa were saying how unhappy they were with his play and if not for Graham missing a plane Khabby may not have even played that year in the playoffs?

Cap'n Clutch wrote:So his poor play during most of his time with the BlackHawks can be attributed solely on a poor team in front of him and unfortunate injuries? I don't buy it. They picked up Huet because they like paying an enormous amount on goaltending? So the fact that Tampa was planning on going with John Grahame to start the playoffs the year they won the Cup was a lie? They were also lying when Tampa were saying how unhappy they were with his play and if not for Graham missing a plane Khabby may not have even played that year in the playoffs?

Cap, sorry, my dear friend, you're fishing on this one.

Chicago was a TERRIBLE team when they signed Khabibulin.

Poor play? How many games did you watch those years?

Tallon got Huet to cover his bets as Khabby was in a contract year in 08-09. That gave the Hawks one of the best goalie tandems in the NHL. It also allowed Quenneville to rotate them to lighten the workload, and Huet held the fort when Nik was injured.

As for Tampa, I have only this to say: John Tortorella was notorious for destroying goaltenders...and I watched him do it for several years.

Nik is happy to be leading the Blackhawks--as his extraordinary performance last night demonstrated--and the team has rallied around him.

From Jonathan Toews in the post game:
“People started saying in Game 3 and Game 4 he wasn’t playing his best hockey,” Toews said. “He’s our best player and he proved that again tonight.”

Please show Mr Khabibulin, a true Champion who earned his nickname 'The Bulin Wall' as a Winnipeg Jet and ever since, the respect he deserves.

cool)

davetherave wrote:

Cap'n Clutch wrote:So his poor play during most of his time with the BlackHawks can be attributed solely on a poor team in front of him and unfortunate injuries? I don't buy it. They picked up Huet because they like paying an enormous amount on goaltending? So the fact that Tampa was planning on going with John Grahame to start the playoffs the year they won the Cup was a lie? They were also lying when Tampa were saying how unhappy they were with his play and if not for Graham missing a plane Khabby may not have even played that year in the playoffs?

Cap, sorry, my dear friend, you're fishing on this one.

Chicago was a TERRIBLE team when they signed Khabibulin.

Poor play? How many games did you watch those years?

Tallon got Huet to cover his bets as Khabby was in a contract year in 08-09. That gave the Hawks one of the best goalie tandems in the NHL. It also allowed Quenneville to rotate them to lighten the workload, and Huet held the fort when Nik was injured.

As for Tampa, I have only this to say: John Tortorella was notorious for destroying goaltenders...and I watched him do it for several years.

Nik is happy to be leading the Blackhawks--as his extraordinary performance last night demonstrated--and the team has rallied around him.

From Jonathan Toews in the post game:
“People started saying in Game 3 and Game 4 he wasn’t playing his best hockey,” Toews said. “He’s our best player and he proved that again tonight.”

Please show Mr Khabibulin, a true Champion who earned his nickname 'The Bulin Wall' as a Winnipeg Jet and ever since, the respect he deserves.

cool)

We'll just have to agree to disagree.

Or you could admit you're wrong on this one, Cap.

No shame in that, my friend. Happens to all of us.

davetherave wrote:Or you could admit you're wrong on this one, Cap.

No shame in that, my friend. Happens to all of us.

Haha. Nice. I would if you had presented me with anything to convince me

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

davetherave wrote:Or you could admit you're wrong on this one, Cap.

No shame in that, my friend. Happens to all of us.

Haha. Nice. I would if you had presented me with anything to convince me

Far be it from me to twist your arm...
cool)

Cronie wrote:I was just chatting with a colleague about Khabi.
Isn't he set to hit the FA market in July? I wonder how much $$ may be thrown his way, whether he hoists the Cup or not?

Well, depending on what happens from here on out, he'll be getting around the same kind of cash he's getting now. Even if they don't get much further, he'll probably get the same cash. Craziness.

SensGirl11 wrote:

Cronie wrote:I was just chatting with a colleague about Khabi.
Isn't he set to hit the FA market in July? I wonder how much $$ may be thrown his way, whether he hoists the Cup or not?

Well, depending on what happens from here on out, he'll be getting around the same kind of cash he's getting now. Even if they don't get much further, he'll probably get the same cash. Craziness.

I can assure both of you that Khabibulin's contract is the LAST thing he or management have on their minds right now.

Round Two and the Vancouver Canucks is the first thing.

Priorities.