Winter, who took issue with the theory being floated that he was the unnamed person in a Tony Gallagher column talking about Cody Hodgson’s icetime, went on at great lengths to express his disdain for the current state of journalism, narrowing his focus more specifically on sports journalism and how they’re constantly in a rush to be first and not factual.

Of that, there can be no dispute. Plugged-in hockey fans have sniggered over TSN or Sportsnet passing on an Eklund rumour or, worse, taking a completely made-up rumour and passing it along like it was the gospel truth. There were a group of folks on a hockey board I used to frequent who fabricated a ‘hockey insider’ personality and used careful planning and organisation to make him seem legitimate.

Bob McKenzie, arguably the top hockey writer in Canada, even gave this person a shout out.

We’ve also had unfortunate incidents like when CTV Ottawa had reported that Pat Burns had passed away, only to receive a phone call from Pat Burns correcting them of their mistake.

More recently, there were the rumours regarding contract extensions for Ron Wilson and Steve Tambellini. Wilson’s eventual contract was nowhere near as long as the original, but folks picked it up and ran with it like it was the gospel truth.

I joked about Tambellini, but made note that this wasn’t confirmed and that it was very much a rumour. I had no idea of knowing, and no legitimate hockey press was corroborating my story.

Winter wasn’t happy that he wasn’t contacted regarding his story and that the speculation upon which the entire blog post hinged on, that he was the one who was griping about Hodgson’s icetime, wasn’t immediately diffused.

I love Pass It To Bulis. Harrison and Daniel are great guys who churn out a ridiculous amount of content. I have nothing respect for them, and the fact that Harrison’s taken on responsibilities at Puck Daddy is awesome. Makes me think I might be able to make something of myself one day.

I also love Ritch Winter. Anyone who can rip the Calgary Flames in the manner he did gets a gold star and a beer of his choice any day of the week. It makes for great reading material and copy.

So, in a situation like this, it’s like Owen Hart vs. Bret Hart, or CM Punk vs. Brian Danielson. Pitting my favorites against each other. Not cool.

That said, I have to agree with Ritch Winter.

The main complaint from bloggers is that they aren’t taken seriously. Damien Cox rails against ‘bloggers’ (like we’re a collective, organised mass, or an easily constructed, easily dismissed stereotype.) The Edmonton Oilers want nothing to do with bloggers. Steve Simmons, based on my experiences with him, isn’t a fan, either.

There’s a desire for legitimacy from bloggers. For good reason. In this day and age, we live in such an information rich society, newspapers aren’t really the gatekeepers that they once were. Information flows a lot more freely, and it’s entirely feasible that you could ‘compete’ with a legitimate organisation if you find the right niche or area to specialise in.

And I get it. Pass It To Bulis isn’t a 100% serious blog. There is a strong comedic element to their content (heck, in a discussion that’s going on AS WE SPEAK Harrison jokingly asked me if I even read his stuff when I asked if bloggers want to be taken seriously) and, to be entirely fair, the PITB Twitter account did acknowledge that they may be more careful moving forwards.

That said, when you offer up serious criticism about someone like Damien Cox (random note: I didn’t know there was a shout-out to me in the linked post until just now) or write the black players/Atlanta Thrashers story, and delve into ’serious’ blogging, you can’t hide behind ‘we’re all about the Photoshops. Honest!’
A lot of people have been dismissive of Winter’s complaints, though, and I think it’s doing a disservice to the blogging community and the people who are cranking out solid content. When a blog like Pass It To Bulis gets a stamp of legitimacy from the Vancouver Sun, reader expectations rise. People may (arguably unfairly) put the Bulis Boys on the same level as the Sun and, as a result, have the same expectations.

And, unfortunately, legitimacy isn’t going to be handed over to you. Otherwise Eklund would be God-Emperor of the Internet and I would have ended it all in a tragic bloodbath by bludgeoning people to death with an oversized letter E. Harrison and Daniel have earned their little corner of the Internet by cranking out solid material that is well written, funny, insightful and engaging.

But getting that endorsement from a legitimate media outlet, you still have to be careful, in my estimation. You have to give Winter a chance to respond, mostly because that’s what a legitimate newspaper or news outlet would do.

The other issue is that blogging and online media is still very much a developing medium. I don’t think blogging-as-news (or as a substitute, depending on your views) has been completely fleshed out yet, and we’re probably one website or app or idea away from really solidifying things. So there’s still a lot of finding your way.

I’m not saying that PITB was doing anything intentionally malicious or duplicit. There’s no way that would be the case. I do think that there are considerations to be made and that it isn’t fair to dismiss Winter as being another out of touch ‘old’ person who doesn’t ‘get’ blogs.

It’s awesome that PITB is taking this in stride. I just think other folks out there need to be cognizant of this as well.

Earlier today, Chicago Blackhawks forward Dave Bolland talked some trash on Chicago radio, making fun of the Sedins by calling them sisters. Vancouver Canucks fans were, predictably, outraged at yet another public figure making fun of the Sedins. Honestly, it’s nothing particularly new.

Hilariously enough, the ‘Sedin Sisters’ name has a long history. One that originated in Vancouver. By both the media and the fans. See, these days, it’s very much the vogue thing to adore the Sedins and view them as being pretty freaking awesome. Unfortunately, there was a rather loud vocal contingent of Canucks fans who were very keen on jettisoning the ’soft’ and ‘weak’ ‘Sisters.’Heck, even Mike Gillis wasn’t a fan when he first became GM of the Canucks.

Even as recently as 2009, there were serious thoughts being bandied around about not re-signing Henrik and Daniel. Insane thoughts, like signing Marion Gaborik and Marion Hossa, both players well known for their tenacity, were being seriously proposed by some…enthusiastic fans.

So if Canucks fans want to get enraged about other folks calling the Sedins ‘Sisters’, they really have no one to blame but themselves. It was a nickname foisted upon them by both the fans and the media and it’s stuck ever since.

A lot of discussion has been brewing over whether or not the Vancouver Canucks should obtain an enforcer. The Marc Methot hit a few weeks ago prompted an outrage from fans the likes of which hasn’t been seen since Alain Vigneault decided to start Roberto Luongo in a game.

Many folks were insisting that Mike Gillis immediately needed to address the lack of an enforcer, as Victor Oreskovich has, in the fan’s eyes, been seen to be a bit lacking. And in true Kurtenblog fashion, what better way to prove myself than to be several weeks behind the news cycle? I kid, I kid, I’ll probably be closer to a month or two behind the newscycle.

But do the Canucks really need to go out and trade for an enforcer? Nay, says I! There are plenty of options available within the Canucks organisation. You just have to be savvy enough to spot them.

#1) Craig MacTavish – The former Edmonton Oilers coach is currently the head coach of the Canucks farm team affiliate in Chicago (have you wrapped your head around that one yet? Me neither…) and would be a perfect candidate for the enforcer role.

How tough is he? – MacT was the last NHL player to not wear a helmet. Pretty brave, considering he was active in an era that had Al MacInnis slapshots and Marty McSorley doing his impersonation of the Star Wars kid with his hockey stick.

Why he’d be a great Canucks enforcer – He’d be a great enforcer both on AND off the ice. He was a part of that 1994 Rangers squad, so Canucks fans know he can inflict great pain and suffering. He’s also great at silencing  wagging tongues…perfect for dealing with the overzealous Vancouver hockey media.

#2) Cory Schneider – The Canucks current backup and bromance target #1 for 98% of the Lower Mainland. If the fans had their way, Ginger Bricks would be starting goaltender, assistant coach and be the guy who got naked photographs taken of himself for Sports Illustrated. He needs no real introduction, but, there you go.

How tough is he? – Dude has a Monty Python quote on the back of his mask. Quoting the Holy Grail? That’s like…one step away from Dungeons and Dragons, nerdboy! Can you imagine the reception in the locker room from Schneider’s fellow jocks?

NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERDS!

It is known that he was found dead, early Wednesday afternoon. Beyond that, things are unclear. Speculation has abounded regarding Belak’s cause of death, misinformation that unfortunately found the ears of his family before the proper authorities could do so. There are rumours going around that Belak committed suicide or that his death was related to misusing narcotics. Regardless, Belak’s death is tragic and is yet another instance of a young man dying way before his time.

There is going to be a lot of talk in the next few days regarding enforcers, the state of fighting in the NHL and what the NHL, the NHLPA and the respective teams should be doing to assist players. Again, I feel that this is an important discussion and is something that needs to be addressed and, time permitting, I will attempt to share my thoughts on that specific issue if I have the opportunity to do so.

That said, the ‘enforcer problem’ is a symptom of a bigger issue in the NHL. Bruce Arthur for the National Post notes that there aren’t 40 goal scorers or puck moving defencemen dying with regularity. While it’s hard to dispute that, I would argue that there are issues affecting non-enforcers in the NHL, it’s just that their behaviour and how they handle it has manifested in different ways.

The problems with fighting in the NHL and the toll it takes on enforcers has long been an ongoing problem and only now that there have been a rapid succession of deaths are people willing to discuss it. I’d suggest reading the aforementioned linked article, on former enforcer Brantt Myhres, another player who had substance abuse issues but also sought help and got it. The following quotation was rather eye opening for me:

Myhres said his stomach was churning before that Oilers game. He knew he’d have to fight Laraque, who, ironically, is also represented by Winter.

“I was in bed, sick in the afternoon.

I didn’t even eat a pre-game meal. I knew I was over the edge,” said Myhres, who started fighting in junior, in Portland in the early ’90s.

I’m probably going to come across as a grumpy, curmudgeonly old man who is hopelessly out of touch with reality here, but I think it needs to be said.

Nothing is really said about Patrick Kane’s drunken exploits which resulted in him assaulting a cab driver. Rather, Patrick Kane’s drunken escapades are, at best, laughed off or seen as ‘boys being boys.’ Ditto for whatever was going on with the Philadelphia Flyers and their locker room. Flyers GM Paul Holmgren was concerned enough with certain members of the team not taking care of themselves before games that he spoke out about it. Whether this had to do with the departure of team captain Mike Richards or Jeff Carter has been left up for debate, but again, these are rather high profile players whose off-ice behaviour has been a topic of criticism and, at least in Kane’s case, legal problems.

There’s been rumours (and I stress that word, rumours) regarding what exactly was going on with  Ottawa Senators Ray Emery and Wade Redden.  Grant Fuhr was an admitted cocaine user. Kevin Stevens was arrested in 2000 for possession of cocaine and had stated that he had been involved in the NHL’s substance abuse program prior to his arrest. Ken Daneyko was nominated for and won the Masterton Trophy for his efforts in dealing with his alcoholism.

Theo Fleury, perhaps the most widely known NHLer who had substance abuse problems had a long road to his recovery and Bryan Fogarty’s alcoholism claimed his life.

This isn’t meant to simply be finger pointing at other players, rather, it is to try and give insight into the larger NHL culture. All the players mentioned were the furthest thing from being goons and yet either had or were rumoured to have problems with substance abuse. I am sure there are many more that I am forgetting about at the moment, a fact which is more than a little disturbing.

What all of this indicates to me is that there is a larger problem within the NHL regarding substance abuse in general. I refuse to believe that Boogaard’s drug problems stemmed solely from his being an enforcer. Being a part of professional sports culture, which for some includes lots of partying, draws you that much closer to substance abuse and makes rationalizing such behaviour that much easier. If Patrick Kane can get a slap on the wrist and a writeup on DeadSpin for his antics, it’s probably okay for me, some 6′4 player making the league minimum to pop some Percocets or have a couple of beers after the game.

If NHL teams would rather ship players out for excessive partying than actually deal with the problems, how can they be expected to confront serious mental health problems or things like the ‘enforcer problem’? How do players, who are already on the fringe of the NHL as it is, feel comfortable speaking up and asking for help…particularly when they can be readily dumped into the AHL and be promptly forgotten about?

I’m not saying that the NHL or any team in particular is this callous. Keep in mind, the Vancouver Canucks organization stood behind Rypien 100% and gave him all the help he needed. The NHLPA also has their Substance Abuse and Behavioural Health program, along with, I’d imagine, other resources for players. But for vulnerable people, impressions can go a long way and can discourage folks from speaking up. As I wrote in a piece for Canucks Army, this is a sports culture where players are routinely praised for toughing things out and playing through serious injuries. What do you expect the response to be with personal issues like drug or alcohol abuse or mental health problems?

I liken it to the Sopranos, particularly the first season. Tony Soprano is incredibly anxious about seeing a therapist. For the old school Mafia crowd, it’s seen as a sign of weakness and Tony goes to great lengths to hide it from everyone he knows, simply because of the perceived attitudes folks have towards mental health. When Tony eventually sits down his crew and has the big revelation, they really don’t care or have idle curiosity (Christopher’s ‘Is it like marriage counselling?’) Unfortunately, Tony was so worked up about the perceived response that he kept it a huge secret. (Granted, there were a few extenuating factors, like the ultra-traditional Uncle Junior having a huge problem with his seeing a shrink or Tony’s mother using it as an excuse to try and get him killed, but my point is that the general mindset Tony has isn’t exactly an uncommon one for folks going through therapy…and most folks seeking therapy aren’t New Jersey mob bosses.)

The Patrick Kanes of the world slide by while folks that are lower on the NHL’s pecking order get the hairy eyeball. It’s not fair and is hypocritical when talking about the underlying problems in the NHL. It’s also ignoring the other suicides in recent years, folks like Tom Cavanagh, Trevor Ettinger, Roman Lysahenko or Terence Tootoo (whose suicide came off of a DUI arrest.) Cavanagh died earlier in this year and was dealing with schizophrenia, an illness he was incredibly tight lipped about. The latter three, Ettinger, Lysahenko and Tootoo all committed suicide within one calendar year of each other, with Ettinger and Lysahenko dying within weeks of each other.

The NHL will probably examine the ‘enforcer issue’ and try and make sense of an antiquated part of the game. However, the NHL  has to look at how it deals with mental health and changing attitudes about mental health in the locker room. They also have to look at how they handle all of their players, not just the easily expendable.

Yesterday, an article was posted dealing with the death of Rick Rypien on their website. In it was a quote that was attributed to Mike Gillis describing Rypien as being ‘crazy.’ A rather bold and out of character remark from Gillis, given how much respect and privacy he had afforded Rypien when he was with the Canucks organization. Also something that the local media in Vancouver would have been all over were it actually something that he had said.

Doing some digging, it turns out that the quote in question came from a Rick Rypien’s vandalized Wikipedia article. For those that aren’t familiar with Wikipedia, it’s an online repository of knowledge that anyone can contribute and edit. While there are efforts to make sure that all information on Wikipedia is presented as being factual, there are individuals who come along and vandalize Wiki pages. Stephen Colbert popularized it in a segment a few years back where he implored viewers to go and edit the Wikipedia article on elephants to state that the population had tripled in the past six months. Wiki pages for hot topics or recently deceased individuals are popular targets for vandals and are frequently targeted.

Wikipedia also archives all pages to guard against vandalism, which is how I found the offending quote. For those who are lazy or find Wikipedia confusing, here it is:

Another incidence of vandalism, the “nuttier than a fruitcake” bit can also be seen. As you can see, the quotation is word for word the same one that is used in the now edited article, but with the omission of the words “but crazy.”

Michael Woods is the person whose name appears on the byline, so it would appear that it would be he is responsible for it. He also appears to be recently graduated or currently enrolled in post secondary, so you would imagine that the dangers of Wikipedia would have been pounded into his head over and over. I know when I was in undergrad, I was continually told by numerous professors that Wikipedia is unreliable and it shouldn’t be used as the foundation for any serious research.

That isn’t to say that Wikipedia isn’t useful. It’s great as a jumping off point for information and as a collection of relevant news articles for certain topics. I use it quite frequently to get information, but I’m always careful about it. I’ll check the references section at the bottom and try and use the original material rather than the Wikipedia article.

I also find it a little insulting that Woods, who was tasked with writing this article, seemed to be completely oblivious about his topic. The secrecy surrounding Rypien’s personal problems is well documented and to call someone ‘crazy’, especially a very prominent and public figure like Mike Gillis, is insensitive and should’ve raised an alarm bell. This is assuming that Woods had actually done the appropriate research on the topic he was covering. Given the nature of journalism, where tight deadlines reign supreme,this may have been a very bad gaffe on his behalf. That the crazy remark didn’t register as unusual to Woods also shows a disregard towards Rypien’s situation, as apparently he found nothing wrong with the boss calling an employee who is going through a rough patch as ‘crazy.’ Insensitive and speaks to some of the issues I have in a forthcoming blog post.

But suppose Woods missed it. If Woods wasn’t aware that the ‘crazy’ quotation was in there, it speaks to an ignorance of his own work and gives an even lazier impression as to how he approaches his work. Some would say ‘that’s what editors are for’, but editors can’t be expected to check every quotation, every factoid. That’s the writer’s responsibility.

Either way, it’s a really bad situation and I hope that Mr. Woods has learnt a valuable lesson.

]]> http://trevorpresiloski.com/2011/08/the-dangers-of-wikipedia/feed/ 2 http://trevorpresiloski.com/2011/06/a-rare-postscript-is-it-over/ http://trevorpresiloski.com/2011/06/a-rare-postscript-is-it-over/#comments Tue, 07 Jun 2011 04:07:16 +0000 trevor http://trevorpresiloski.com/?p=1056 Tonight’s game actually motivated me to write a blogpost, as I wanted to go over something that has been infuriating me for a while now.

Specifically, Alain Vigneault’s treatment of Keith Ballard. I could go back even further and trace this into his attitudes about Brendan Morrison, but that ship has sailed, fought in a few wars, been decommissioned and is now used as an artificial reef somewhere off the coast of Australia. A digression.

A lot of talk is being made about Aaron Rome’s hit on Nathan Horton. While I don’t want to get into that, as it’s going to be discussed ad nauseum over the next couple of days, I will say that I hope that Horton is okay and makes a full recovery. Bruins fans have already had their hearts torn from their chests with Marc Savard’s concussion woes and it wouldn’t do to see another talented player get sidelined. Imagine losing Ryan Kesler and Daniel Sedin to injuries. Yeah.

Anyway, I found Alain Vigneault’s decision to put Andrew Alberts into the lineup to be an intriguing one, mostly because I really didn’t get why a sometimes effective, bottom pairing defenseman was getting put into the Stanley Cup Finals over Keith Ballard, a guy who has shown he’s capable of being a second pairing defenseman. I guess Vigneault was getting cute and figured what’s the worst that could happen? Andrew Alberts could log significant minutes if needed…right?

Well, with your top blueliner, Dan Hamhuis, out potentially for the entire series and another defenseman getting ejected tonight Canucks fans got the answer to those questions. Respectively, 8-1 and no, absolutely not.

Alberts was on the ice for 4 goals against, 2 even strength, bringing his +/- to -5, tied with Henrik for second worst on the team. (Christian Ehrhoff, who hasn’t had the best playoffs this season, has the worst at -10.) He looked slow and ponderous out there, with shades of his whistle chasing behaviour rearing it’s ugly head in front of Luongo’s net.

This makes me wonder: why is Keith Ballard not seeing any icetime? Ballard has been on the ice for 2 even strength goals against in 9 playoff games. The Canucks are 7-2 with Ballard in the lineup. He’s played more hockey than Alberts has, both in the regular and post-season. Heck, Alberts hasn’t seen regular icetime since February.

Ballard has provided huge hipchecks, including an awesome one on Jamie McGinn in the Sharks series. He’s a guy who can log more icetime than Alberts and, in a situation like tonight where Rick Bowness was forced to shuffle his lineup because of Rome being ejected, could have handled those minutes, even if Vigneault is loathe to give him any playing time.

Vigneault’s fascination with grinders and guys with size has been one of the things that has annoyed me immensely since he’s been the Canucks bench boss. I don’t know if Alberts being 6′5 and Ballard being 5′11 is one of the factors in Vigneault’s decision making process, but frankly I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case.

Unfortunately, this is the Stanley Cup Finals. This isn’t a regular season game where a single loss can be shrugged off and adjustments can be made. Everything matters. One win can swing the momentum back in favour of your opponent and you can’t take chances in putting questionable players into your lineup when there are better options available to you. It’s not as though Ballard has been injured or is off rescuing kittens from burning buildings in Madrid. He’s right there on the team, has shown he can contribute and be a positive addition.

So the question is, why doesn’t he play? Your guess is as good as mine. It could be size. It could a personality clash with him and Alain Vigneault. But, barring a serious injury of some kind (and there has been nothing to indicate that such is the case) Ballard should be playing, especially with Ehrhoff looking like a mess and Dan Hamhuis being out of the lineup.

Instead, Vigneault opts to go with Andrew Alberts and Aaron Rome. Potentially burning bridges with Ballard. Maybe eroding some confidence.

And now, with the Canucks getting a thorough jolly rogering from the Bruins, Vigneault may just have to turn to a player he has alienated for no discernible reason or purpose and expect him to provide a high level of play in most important set of hockey games in Vancouver Canucks history. This, while leaving his star goaltender to languish out on the ice for the entirety of those 60 minutes, leaving two huge question marks/messes on the Canucks hands going into Game 4.

The word that comes to mind, when thinking of Rome and Vigneault? Stupid.

Let’s hope it’s not too late.

The Canucks are in the Stanley Cup Finals?!

Yes, we’re all perched on the precipice of what could be Vancouver’s Greatest Hockey Moment. Less than 24 hours from puck drop and I’m still having problems processing it. This entire season that I’ve watched, sometimes in pubs and bars with friends, sometimes after long shifts at 4 in the morning thanks to the wonders of PVR, other times with the folks I know through Twitter, has been utterly surreal.

A second consecutive Art Ross title for the franchise.

A Jennings trophy shared between (arguably) the best goaltending duo in the league.

A President’s Trophy, the franchise’s first.

A Hart trophy nomination.

A Vezina trophy nomination.

A Jack Adams trophy nomination.

A Selke trophy nomination.

An absolutely amazing team, an absolutely amazing season, with the potential to bag the most coveted of hockey trophies: the Stanley Cup.

I guess now would be a good as time as any to make a return to blogging!

100 games, with as many as 7 left to go for this season, all on the 40th anniversary of this club’s founding.

There’s been talk, lately, of ‘Canada’s Team.’ Despite throwing that term around jokingly on Twitter and to razz a few Flames fans, it’s not really something I’ve given a lot of thought.

On the one hand, yeah, given that the nation has shared in the return of NHL hockey to Winnipeg and there’s some sort of national pride behind the sport of hockey, you’d think that the Canucks could get in on that. If you go off what Ipsos-Reid has to say, support is running pretty high for the Canucks. Good on ya.

On the other hand, does it really matter? Since when has assimilation ever been a desired Canadian trait? There’s no need to press gang everyone from Alberta to Ontario onto the Canucks bandwagon. If they want to come along for the ride, great. If the folks in Manitoba want to fret over the  Winnipeg NHL Team, more power to them.

But this sense of entitlement? I don’t get where ANYONE is coming from on this. Who gives a good goddamned if Toronto is or isn’t cheering for the Canucks. Last I checked, there was a great deal of moral outrage when this musical abomination was forced upon us.

The presumption that any NHL club could dare to speak for the rest of Canada (particularly the widely loathed Toronto Maple Leafs) ticked off lots of Vancouver faithful.

So why, then, is it okay to embrace this silly melting pot style behaviour and try and inflict it upon the rest of Canada?

I’m not from Vancouver, heck, not even from British Columbia, but one of the things that has always struck me, an outsider, about Vancouver is how inclusive and varied the whole city is. To me, that sense of multiculturalism, that there’s Hockey Night in Punjabi, that the team’s captain is a Swede, one of the most important players on the team is an American and that there are Finns, Germans and people from just about every region of Canada is something that is uniquely Vancouver and should be celebrated as part of the hockey culture. (Except for Keith Ballard, cause man, AV seems to hate that guy…)

I could be out to lunch with this, I’ll freely admit. I’m an Albertan who spent a lot of his time in Ontario, so I might just have a distorted view of how things ‘really’ are in Vancity. But bottom line? Who cares if the Canucks aren’t accepted as being ‘Canada’s Team’? They’re Vancouver’s Team, a team which is uniquely Canadian.

The Canucks front office has been largely keeping mum on the severity of his injury, although rumours that Malhotra ‘lost an eye’ have been debunked. Current word going around now is that Malhotra’s injury has caused such severe swelling around the eye that determining just how serious the damage is indeterminable for now.

The injury is horrific and I believe most hockey fans wish nothing but a full recovery for Malhotra.

That said, there has been a lot of hand wringing going on amongst Canucks fans once news broke on Malhotra’s season being done.

Irreplaceable and indispensable are two words that have been thrown around describing the Canucks third line centre, with, if Twitter Monday afternoon was any indication, his absence from the team being a serious crimp on the Canucks Stanley Cup chances.

Honestly, it’s hard not to see why so many fans are upset about Malhotra’s absence from the team. Manny is first in road faceoff percentage, second in the entire league in overall faceoff percentage, third in shorthanded faceoffs won and logs the most PK time for the Canucks number one ranked penalty kill. He is a huge part of why the Canucks have the absolute best penalty kill in the league. Obviously losing Malhotra is going to hurt.

I’m also of the mindset that having strong centre depth is important for any team that has aspirations of going deep into the playoffs. The Blackhawks last year had Toews, Sharp and Madden. The Penguins the year before had Crosby, Malkin and Staal. Detroit had Datsyuk, Flippula and Hudler. Anaheim had Getzlaf, Pahlsson and Andy McDonald. Carolina had Brind’Amour, Staal, Weight, Stillman and Cullen.

In the past two years, the Canucks have had Kyle Wellwood, Ryan Johnson, Mats Sundin and Pavol Demitra as the guys behind/alongside Kesler and Henrik Sedin. All of them have had varying problems (Wellwood was considered too small/soft for a bottom six role, Johnson was hot garbage despite being touted as an amazing PK/FO guy and was injury plagued on top of that, Demitra was also injury ridden and was showing signs of aging. Sundin was also slowing down and also missed half the season so wasn’t in top form) and weren’t seen as ideal pieces.

Manny Malhotra was seen as being an almost ideal fit for the Canucks. I recall, at the time of his signing way back last summer, that there were a lot of shrill cries of Manny being overpaid and not worth his contract. I think, over the course of the season, he’s demonstrated why that particular line of thinking is complete bunk, and now he’s universally mourned.

That said, are things as horrible for the Canucks as the doomsday prophets would lead you to believe? I’d say no, for several reasons.

First off, the Canucks bottom six is a lot more robust than it has been in previous years. I sort of alluded to this before, but the makeup of the Canucks bottom six last year consisted of guys like Darcy Hordichuk, Rick Rypien, Ryan Johnson, Kyle Wellwood and Steve Bernier. Arguably the best player of the bunch would be Bernier, and he’s been regulated to a healthy scratch/fourth liner in Florida, of all places. Hordichuk barely passes for a hockey player and didn’t see much playoff action at all when he was a Canuck, while Rypien’s style of game isn’t well suited for his 5′11 frame.

Now? The Canucks have a bottom six consisting of guys like Tanner Glass, Chris Higgins, Maxim Lapierre, Raffi Torres, Jannik Hansen and Jeff Tambellini, with guys like Victor Oreskovich, Cody Hodgson and Alex Bolduc waiting in the wings. It’s a lot better looking crop of forwards who can all contribute in varying degrees. And, for the record, I will admit to being surprised at just how far Hansen has come this year. All of these guys, with the possible exception of Bolduc, could slot in on the third or fourth lines and contribute in a meaningful way. The overall skillset of the Canucks bottom six has improved year over year and makes losing a guy like Malhotra far easier.

Not to mention that the Canucks overall forward depth is incredibly strong, what with having eight 25+ goal scorers on the team and two of the best centres in the NHL in Kesler and Henrik Sedin. Kesler, who is being seen as Selke favourite this year, can help take on some of the defensive burden Malhotra’s absence will provide, while Lapierre finds himself in an almost ideal position to succeed: head coach Alain Vigneault has coached him before and is amicable towards him. Between the two of them, it should be hoped for that they can make up for no more Manny.

The path to hoist Lord Stanley isn’t an easy one and the loss of Malhotra isn’t an easy loss for the Canucks to take.

Gutcheck time.

What was going on, though, was the implementation of advertising overlays on the glass behind both goalies nets, something which only TV viewers at home could see. BCIT and some vacuum cleaner company were the two that I remembered, but they were switching around rather frequently.

Unfortunately, the fan response to the advertisements was rather predictable. Most folks didn’t like the advertisements and felt that they had no place. The complaint that we were veering towards the ‘Europeanization’ of hockey, where players are so bedecked with advertising trappings that they more resemble NASCAR drivers than anything, was bandied about, while a lot of folks chalked up the decision for this new advertising scheme as being pure unadulterated greed on behalf of the Canucks organization.

While I am not a huge fan of advertising and have complained about things like McDonald’s being the ‘official’ restaurant of the Olympics (as though Olympians would continually seek out and eat McDick’s) in the past and am not trying to say ‘advertising is good’ I will say that advertising is, rather, a necessary evil when it comes to things like professional sports. For example, one of the biggest hurdles stopping NHL (re)-development in the city of Winnipeg is the lack of corporate sponsors. Corporate sponsors are the ones who buy up those box seats and sink in money for season tickets, as well as arranging advertising and sponsorship in other areas. The owner of the Calgary Roughnecks recently had to post a rather humbling open letter because he was unable to pay the members of his team on time, partially due to a lack of corporate/local government support. While the NLL is a far cry from the NHL, there are historical precedents for Canadian NHL teams being in trouble. Which brings me to my first point…

- Sports teams need to plan ahead. The Oilers were on the verge of relocation to Houston before a coalition of local businesses stepped in to save the Oilers. The Flames were also in serious danger of being moved, as were the Canucks, all in the dark ages of the 90s. While yes, the Canucks and almost all Canadian franchises are doing very well for themselves financially, all the Loonie has to do is drop back down to being worth .60 and things start looking really bleak. Being able to pad the warchests helps to guard against potential future problems or financial hiccups, while experimenting with different methods of advertising opens up new revenue streams before they may be required. Having a warchest is handy, too because,

- Running a professional sports team is expensive. I’m not just talking about the salaries of the athletes. You’re looking at the training staff, the facilities, amenities and other bells and whistles that are available to the team. A lot of ink has been devoted to the strides Mike Gillis has made in transforming the Canucks front office. There were the sleep specialists that were brought in, dietary consultants for guys like Kyle Wellwood, renovations to the team’s locker room, having a team psychologist on the payroll (Len Zaichkowsky), having a ‘capologist’ with Lawrence Gilman, among many other things. Stuff like that adds up and, if you want to continue providing such things and becoming a ‘world class’ organization, on top of paying for player salaries and spending damn near close to the cap every year to boot, costs money. It also allows the Canucks to bury players in the minors, like what the New York Rangers did with Wade Redden and his $6.5M contract.

Last year, the Canucks ended up putting Mathieu Schneider’s $3.5M contract in the minors until they managed to work out a trade with the Coyotes. Brad Lukowich also spent part of the year in the AHL, despite having a $1.5M cap hit. I’m not saying the Canucks should be constantly burying players in the minors (that’s a sign of bad management), it is nice to be able to afford to take the financial hit and have that particular option available. It also opens up the opportunity for Jason Krog (remember him?) deals to be signed. For those unawares, Krog, who has pretty much become a career AHLer, was signed to a deal that paid him quite a bit while in the AHL, with the Canucks footing a significant chunk of the bill. The deal was primarily done to give the Moose some sorely needed scoring depth, rather than help out the ‘main’ club. All that money has to come from somewhere and hey, advertising is one method of generating revenue. Which brings me to my third point…

- The ‘Europeanization’ of Hockey. Ignoring that this disturbingly sounds like something Don Cherry would say about visors, I really don’t think that there’s a lot to worry about here. While advertisements on hockey jerseys are garish and ugly and European jerseys are almost all uniformly (pun intended!) ugly, I don’t see it being an issue here in North America. The biggest reason for me is that merchandise sales are one of the big money movers for NHL teams (or, heck, most professional leagues in North America.) Start throwing McDonald’s logos or Budweiser logos on jerseys and you will have a very angry fan backlash, which will more than likely translate into less jersey sales. Another way to look at it is, would the money lost from slapping ads on jerseys be offset by the money gained from a corporate ad jersey sponsorship? Doubtful. (On the other hand, the money gained from overlay ads on televised games offsets the lost revenue that would come from people turning off the game and boycotting Sportsnet.)

The second reason is that European hockey leagues and the NHL are operating in completely different stratospheres and, subsequently, completely different operating budgets. Leagues such as the SEL simply cannot throw millions of dollars at a single player because they do not have the money available to do so. Why? Because they are making less money. Yet, despite making less money, these teams are having to deal with the same day to day operating costs that their NHL brethren do. Thus, different ways of trying to make money are explored and, as a result, ugly jerseys.

Additionally, if the motivations for doing so are ‘pure greed’, then why haven’t the NFL, MLB or NBA gone down this dark road and started slapping on corporate ads on their jerseys? I’d say that it most likely is tied into fan outrage and fear of the terrible backlash they might face were such an idea were implemented.

While having more advertising creep into telecasts isn’t my ideal, perfect world of How Hockey Should Be Enjoyed, it is something that needs to be done in a multimillion dollar league where the goal is to be the very best. As the menu on McDonald’s states, smiles are free…and smiles won’t get you the Stanley Cup, no matter how many there are.

Since the regular NHL season is pretty darn close and there’s a lot of hype surrounding the Canucks, I thought I’d take the spotlight off them and focus it on the rest of the Northwest Division. First up is a team that probably has had more hype and attention this offseason than any other team that is not the Toronto Maple Leafs: the Edmonton Oilers.

I thought it’d be fun to take a not-serious approach to things, and try and get all the other NW Division teams written up as well. We’ll see how it goes through the next couple of days.  Keep in mind this is all in fun and is not meant to be a serious take on the Oilers, so calm down before sending me an angry e-mail.

The Oilers have long been a franchise living in the shadows of the past, fans fondly looking back at glory days that happened decades ago, alumni from those glory days doing a poor job of running things.  Historically, they’ve been plagued with problems of all kinds (ownership, management, coaching, players, free agency, etc.) with a brief glimpse of hope mixed in (the 05/06 trip to the Finals), it’s easy to see why Oilers fans are looking for something, ANYTHING that would renew their hope in their struggling franchise.

Enter the ‘youth model’ of the new look Oilers. Armed with some solid draft picks, including the #1 overall pick from this year’s entry draft, the Oilers are looking to rebound from a horrible 09/10 season and are looking to have a strong 10/11 season.

FORWARDS

Taylor Hall

The anointed one. A highly touted draft pick who is excited to be playing in Edmonton and will probably be making the opening day roster at age 18. Like most talented prospects drafted by the Oilers, expect Hall to bolt for greener pastures at the earliest opportunity and/or have his development completely ruined by a schizophrenic franchise that has no real idea on how to properly manage and develop talent. Added bonus: Hall is rumored to have attitude issues and is seen as being a bit of an asshole. Kind of reminds me of another ‘franchise’ player who used to play for the Oil…

Shawn Horcoff

Hero. Champion. Superstar. Words fail to describe the agent who represents for this piddling, middle of the road hockey player, who managed to earn him a sweetheart of a deal that saw him getting paid $7M this season and $6.5M this season. Horcoff is the oldest forward on the Oilers roster and is a living, breathing reminder for Sam Gagner and Andrew Cogliano of what they will probably be turning into in the next six or seven years. Hyped up as being one of the amazing talents on the Oilers roster up until he actually received his monstrous contract, Horcoff is the perfect embodiment of what the Oilers franchise stands for these days: average talent with a superstar pricetag.

Gilbert Brule

With former Oilers executive Scott Howson jumping ship to Columbus and Kevin Lowe being moved from the GM position, it was important that the Oilers stay focused on their mission statement, which is taking promising young talent and bungling it in as horrific a fashion as possible. Gilbert Brule presents an interesting case study for the Oilers, as he was a promising young talent who was rushed into the NHL and handled by a just-as-incompetent GM in Columbus in the form of Doug MacLean. Always keen on finding new ways of ruining good things, the Oilers snapped up Brule when the opportunity presented itself, and are busy trying to sort him out. In typical Oiler fashion though, they managed to screw even that up: the former Vancouver Giant actually had a solid season last year under coach Pat Quinn.

Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson

Real deal did you hear he might be the real deal he’s the real deal REAL DEAL scored a hat trick against the TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING real deal. Real deal real deal real deal.

Dustin Penner

Another leftover from the Kevin Lowe regime, Dustin Penner was yet another in a long list of promising talent that failed to live up to expectations playing for the Oilers. Will forever be known as ‘that dude who Kevin Lowe and Brian Burke had a year long slapfight over.’ Like Brule, Penner was another player who went on to have a decent season under Pat Quinn and looked to be rebounding back into the player he was while with the Ducks. Naturally, the Oilers reaction to seeing two players who were struggling start to round into form was to can the head coach and bring in the brother-in-law of another member of the Oilers franchise.

Ales Hemsky

At age 27, Hemsky is just entering his prime and is ready to make his debut within the NHL. Oilers fans look forward to seeing a decent return on Hemsky, who was brought in as part of a trade that saw a then-young Bill Guerin leave the Oilers development system, who then went on to win the Cup in Pittsburgh.

Sam Gagner

Captain material, is pretty darn good at hockey. One of the Oilers ‘young guns’, Gagner’s not quite the level of talent to be in high demand and get shipped out a la Arnott or Weight, so he’ll probably stick around with the club until the team decides to take him out behind the woodshed and execute him, a la former captains Ryan Smyth and Ethan Moreau.

Jordan Eberle

Oilers fans are incredibly excited about this youngster. Per a preseason broadcast on Sunday, they were impressed with Eberle’s ability to ‘outshine’ a young prospect who had just recently returned from a 14 month long back injury. Other notable feats for Jordan Eberle include being able to totally deke out this 9 year olds playing ball hockey on his street, winning NHL 11 games against people with no thumbs and being able to dress himself.

Andrew Cogliano

Back when the Oilers were truly horrid, Cogliano was held up as being a prime example of the ‘dynamic youth’ that they have at their disposal and how he and Gagner were going to become unstoppable. Last year’s finish showed just how unstoppable ‘Cogs’ was: there were no depths too low for the Oilers to go and he and Gagner led the way.

Ryan Jones

Picked up off of waivers by the Oilers last year, Jones is a hard worker who plays with a lot of hustle. Not very adept in either end of the rink, he looks to make a mark on the Oilers third line. Or, if former head coach Craig MacTavish ever makes a comeback, on the Oilers top line alongside Ethan Moreau and Fernando Pisani. What do you mean they’re no longer on the team?

Colin Fraser

Colin Fraser is roughly the 1,000,000th player to have been accquired by the Oilers post-lockout where the adjective ‘tenacious forechecker’ has been used to describe their latest accquisition. Hard working and a great third liner, guys like Colin Fraser are a welcome deviation from what has been the traditional Oilers pickup: useless bottom six slug. And hey, Cup ring! I’m sure the babby Oilers will benefit from Fraser’s 3 games played in the playoffs.

Zach Stortini

The NHL’s friendliest goon, Stortini isn’t afraid to hug anyone and everyone. Although ‘being able to punch and fight’ is part of his job description, Stortini finds that it is bad manners to actually engage in fisticuffs, behavior which he finds boorish and ‘unbecoming of a gentleman.’ Signed for one more year with the Oilers, Stortini will find a wealth of opportunities once his current contract is up, including re-upping with the Oilers and continuing his tenure as part of the Oilers Ineffectual Empire, getting signed to a bloated contract by Glen Sather or starring up season 3 of CBC’s Battle of the Blades.

Jean-Francois Jacques

A few years ago, the Oilers put out a DVD promoting what a wonderful city they were in an attempt to try and attract free agents. They got JF Jacques. The Oilers PR department considered it an ‘enormous success.’

DEFENCEMEN

Sheldon Souray

Is not welcome at the Oilers training camp. Hates the Oilers, think their management has no clue and cannot wait to be traded. Was put on waivers and had no one claim him. Is not expected to suit up for the Oilers at all this season.

Guy Incognito

Really loves the Edmonton Oilers and has always felt this way. Thinks management does a great job and understands that misunderstandings sometimes happen. Is totally not that Sheldon Souray dude, who, by the way, is a total dick.

Tom Gilbert

Is a pretty swell guy and actually a pretty decent defenseman. Set a franchise record in March 2008 when he surpassed Paul Coffey and Marc Andre Bergeron’s record for most goals scored by a rookie defenseman against Predators goalie Dan Ellis. ( #DanEllisProblems ) That goal, Gilbert’s 10th of the season, also set an NHL record, as it was the first time a single player was responsible for more than 50% of a teams Goals For.

Ryan Whitney

Oilers fans were delighted, nay, estatic to hear that management had swung a trade for a Pittsburgh Penguins player. As details began to emerge, the excitement ratcheted skywards. Former 1st round pick of the Pens? Has a no trade clause that he waived? Olympian? WHO COULD THIS MYSTERY MAN BE? Ryan Whitney? Oh. Ohhhhhh.

Jim Vandermeer

Per Wikipedia, Jim’s wife Stefanie resides in Scottsdale, Arizona with her three plugs, Jim, Dexter and Jackson.

Kurtis Foster

Winner of the 2003-04 Yanick Dupre award, Foster is looking to repeat that performance this year, which is why he signed a one-way, two year deal with the Edmonton Oilers this offseason. Could actually be called the ‘centerpiece’ in a trade, as the other player packaged alongside him was Jeff Cowan.

Ladislav Smid

One of the most highly valued and coveted players on the Oilers roster by GM Steve Tambellini, Smid was reluctantly included in the begging, pleading, cajoling and complete and utter loss of respectability and dignity that was the Edmonton Oilers offseason 2 years ago. A high-octane performer, Smid would be in the running for the Calder this season alongside teammates Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall and Magnus Svensson-Paarjavi were it not for the fact that he has already played 253 games. And has scored 4 goals and 34 points in those 253 games.

Jason Strudwick

Is not cool.

GOALIES

Nikolai Khabibulin

Has been enjoying working with new Oilers head coach Joe Arpaio. When asked about how he feels about the new coach, Khabibulin stated that while he is a bit of a slavedriver, he finds Arpaio’s methods more sensible than his predecessor Pat Quinn. Per Oilers goaltending criteria, Khabibulin fits one of two molds they like to have their goalies possess: being older than dirt and having a past due date of a couple of seasons ago. Thankfully, unlike the Oilers last geriatic goalie, Dwayne Roloson, Khabibulin doesn’t require the use of a walker to remain upright and doesn’t fall down when the slightest breeze happens to touch him, rather, he has difficultly standing given he’s typically sauced.

Jeff Deslauriers

Fits the Oilers second set of criteria in what they look for in a goaltender, which is being a youngster who is hopelessly outclassed and unsuited for the role. Expect to see mediocre goaltending for the majority of the season until the Oilers have been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, then prepare yourself to see some amazing netminding at the hands of this talented youngster.

Devan Dubnyk

Understudy to JDD. Part of GM Steve Tambellini’s plan to apply the magic of Voltron to the Oilers goaltending situation. Problem: Voltron, much like the Oilers, were last relevant in the 80s.

Martin Gerber

Understudy to Khabibulin, Gerber should be ready for the Oilers starting position in another 4 years when he is 39 years young. Signed in a moment of confusion when Tambellini said he wanted ‘that old Senators goalie.’ He had meant Dominik Hasek.