I was going to do a quiz for you, entitled “Hockey Penalty or Inappropriate Dating Strategy?”
Then I got to “holding the stick”, and knew I would make my dad cry.
This is what it means to be a nice blogger. Or a daddy’s girl. One of the two.
Anyway. Go Google “hockey penalties”, and you’ll see exactly what I mean.
And chuckle a little, if you’re lame like me.
Coming tomorrow: “Toilet Tissue Brand or Stripper Name?”
I’d edit it, but this email was fantastic all by itself.
My dad is a longtime hockey fan (who lost some of his love when the new NHL rules broke) who has been watching the Canucks organization beat itself about the head during the offseason with no small amount of chagrin.
Here are his thoughts…
***
iDaughter: (ed. note: that’s what he calls me via email)
In the past 24 hours, you have posted items both sad and sweet — but now you need to address something serious: the sad state of your beloved hockey team, and why they have lost their soul and their captain and have done nothing in free agency.
I offer an opinion. (ed.note: I am used to this…)
Ownership once again misfired and hired a GM who has no NHL experience as a GM — and worse, they hired a former player agent. Player agents are essentially parasites who really offer nothing of value to professional sports.
Players tolerate them (but don’t love them) and general managers hate them with a passion because they are responsible for players thinking they are worth more than they really are. Now, some general managers who likely have a serious hate on for Gillis are enjoying payback time and they won’t trade with him, and players likely don’t want to deal with him either.
When the Griffith family sold the team it was the beginning of a slow descent into mediocrity and less.
Come on now! Raise the ire of fans, challenge them to show management how they feel (don’t buy tickets, jerseys, pay-per-view, etc.) and perhaps ownership will realize that the Canucks fans will not continue to pour money into watching a losing team. (ed. note: This is hard for me, because I DO love the sport and I DO love lots of the players — it would be like management ruining things for them TWICE… and I’m not sure the lesson would get through to Gillis and his cronies anyway.)
They need a GM with solid, winning NHL experience — even on an interim basis — and they need a coach with a winning NHL record. They are one of the wealthiest teams in one of the richest markets in the NHL (I believe they rank # 5) so it is time to give the fans the management, coaching and team they deserve for all of their faithful support.
(ed. note: COULD NOT AGREE MORE!)
Amen! (ed. note: he is a Baptist minister. I think this is more of a “selah” moment, but….)
***
When I asked if I could post this “as is”:
“As long as you edit it for style, wit and panache (ed. note: not necessary), and mention that there are likely sports writers and broadcasters in Vancouver who think the same thing but are not permitted to print it or say it.”
Totally agree. And if they could, we might start to see some rumblings of change. But for now, it’s up to my dad to bring it!
Those were Trevor Linden‘s words at his retirement press conference today.
On the 20th anniversary of the 1988 draft that brought him to our city, he announced that he was leaving the game… and all over the city, even the tough guys got a bit misty trying to imagine the Canucks without Captain Vancouver.
He’s the face of our team, a natural leader, and the classiest ambassador of the sport we’ll ever have.
(I’ve even dropped his name around here a few times.)
One of my favourite things about him is that he isn’t the classic “celebrity athlete” with the bling and loud mouth and ragtag entourage. He seemed genuinely thankful for his career and his involvement in the sport, and humbled by any attention he got.
Which is why he seemed surprised and even a bit embarrassed by all the emotion at his last game in the NHL… a game I was actually at, which was fantastic.
Here were my thoughts at the time, on the radio with Buzz Bishop (who actually gave me the tickets — thanks, my friend!):
Here’s how we looked that night (yes, we were being silly… it was actually really fun to be there):
Here’s how he looked that night — every time his face came on the jumbo screen, the crowd went nuts:
We also went nuts when they showed his parents on the jumbo screen — you raised a good one, Mr. and Mrs. Linden:
Here’s Trevor with Fin, the Canucks’ mascot:
And here’s the entire Flames team lining up to say goodbye to Trev, although his retirement was still just a rumour:
It definitely felt like the end of an era, though we didn’t know for sure.
And what an era it was.
I can’t think of another player in the NHL who has engendered such a LOVE from a city like our Trevor. For many of us who enjoy hockey around here, Trevor IS our team… the heart, the soul, the class, the work ethic, the dream.
No one else shows that kind of dedication on the ice. No one else commits so much time to charity work in the city. No one else has maintained such an ironclad reputation for grace and fairness.
As my friend Jay (the biggest hockey fan I know) said via email yesterday:
“Trevor is the heart and soul of the Canucks and a man I will always look up to. He was a player that wore his heart on his sleeve and always played his best when it mattered. He is the best example of a guy that played for the crest on the front of his jersey, not the name on the back. He always put the team, fans, and everyone else before himself, he was a class act in everything he did and said, and that is why he was able to put a team on his shoulders and carry them as they followed the best leader in Canuck history… Perhaps even hockey history. There is a reason I proudly wear my Trevor Linden jersey and look forward to seeing it hang from the rafters of GM Place forever. No question, my favourite player and I find it hard to believe he will ever be replaced. He is the man.
If he was a girl, I’d leave my wife for him.”
(He’s kidding… I think.)
And from my friend Jaegen (another huge hockey fan, and my fellow mocker of Jay in our hockey pool):
“I would say that, of all of the disappointments over the last few years, the biggest one for me is that Trevor will never hoist the cup. That was the first thing I thought of while watching the Red Wings do that the other day. You know Markus would have just brought it straight to him, like Sakic did for Borque. That would have been nice.”
Amen.
Here’s me with Buzz again, yesterday, after Trevor’s announcement…
And the goofy little haiku I just said there… (because it’s not nerdy enough just to say it, I have to publish it…)
our best canuck man
cool on the ice, and hot off
legend, hero, stone cold fox
(Yes, I laughed the entire time I was writing it, but he IS cute.)
Here’s to you, Captain Vancouver.
You were the “C” even when you weren’t the “C”… and will continue to be in our hearts for a good long time.
