A little more than halfway through the season, and Canucks are floundering.
Well, when I wrote my Canucks blog at the beginning of the season,I was hopping that my rant would be wrong, at least at the half point in the season. Here we are. Sundin the "saviour" has arrived and as anyone could predict obviously needs some time to adjust and start feeling comfortable with his mates.
Luongo is back and that is a good news. However when I look at some of the losses we had, goal-tending really wasn't an issue. But the scoring was. I believe that most of the localal scribes and radio types questioned that but the team did OK, the fourth line was banging and scoring, and Sundin was coming.
With all those road games out of the way, the future looked rosy. And than, the reality set in.
The failure to do something substantial to help the team at trade time, and the curious long interview between the new GM and the coach, in my mind, spelled trouble in the future.
Teams do jell at times and for whatever reason play as a team, and can achieve extraordinary results. But these are not permanent. It's a long season.
The "project" players we acquired in off season, Wellwood, Bernier and Dimitra, turned out to be just that. They couldn't make it anywhere else, so we picked them up, hoping for a miracle. Each one of them had their day in the sunshine. And each time the local media jumped, saying, this could be a turning point. Well, it didn't happen, and it won't happen. Remember Cowan? A hat trick didn't make him a star player.
So where are the Canucks headiing from here? As a club, they have a problem.
The owner, Mr. Aquilini, looks liike is not worried. Sold out arena and money in the bank under the cap. Mike Gillis, the one man show, will probably bear the consequences of the, "new way to run a hockey franchise", eventually.
I have an issue with the coach. If you listen to his post game commentaries, there is never any passion in his comments. Only the broken record of, we didn't do...,we have to be better, we didn't execute etc. Even I could make those comments after the games. Now take the St. Louis game.
Bottom feeders. easy points, right? Wrong. The Blues came out charging and before you new it the puck was in the net. And another. The Canucks were a disorganized group. I think, a good coach would call a time out and settle his team down, if not after the first, but certainly after the second goal. His comments of, we...., as a group... etc, are doing everything to get this team on track. Somehow I detect that AV is getting ready in case he gets his walking papers. Ready to say maybe, well, it wasn't always my decision???
His hiring, with a longest interview in history, in all fairness, must have been tough on him. How would you like to go for a job interview and after being interviewed and questioned about your method of operation for weeks on end, being told, that you and your boss are going to make decisions together, but you can run the show??!!Only with the Canucks.
With Calgary out of sight, I hope this group can find some pride,it wont be the coaching, to muster some effort and stay in the race for the playoff spot. Because that is what is going to be. A tough race.
I also noticed in the last few games that having an on ice player captain, who could lead things by example, is something the Canucks miss very much.
Due respect to Luongo, but he can do only so much from his spot in the net, when he is there.
But, we do things differently her. Just ask Mike Gillis.
In ending, as a Canuck fan, I hope we have a decent effort for the rest of the season and make the playoffs, even if don't get past the first round.
And really hope that I am wrong on all my comments.
