No great overriding theme today. Just some Canuck-related news and thoughts from around the league.
Hextall Promoted in Philly
Cross one name off the Canucks' GM list. The Flyers have announced today that Ron Hextall will be moving into the GM role in Philadelphia, while Paul Holmgren moves up to President.
Click here for the story.
Babcock's Not Going Anywhere
I wouldn't get too excited about the prospect of Mike Babcock possibly leaving Detroit. As far as I can tell, this rumour is wishful thinking that has bubbled up—especially in Toronto—from the fact that he has a year left on his contract, but has yet to sign an extension with the Red Wings.
Here's a hopeful story from the Toronto Star, doing its best to argue that Babcock could be available.
I believe
this is the original interview. To me, Babcock and Ken Holland both sound very satisfied with their existing relationship. I suppose things could change over the next year if he's not extended, but Babcock's certainly not available in the near term.
Mike Johnston's a Real Possibility
Thanks to Nucker for posting Elliotte Friedman's latest "30 Thoughts" yesterday. The link to the full article's not working for me right now, but you can try here, or scroll back through Tuesday's comment section:
One name Friedman mentions as a possible Canucks' coach is Portland Winterhawks' bench boss Mike Johnston. Though I maintain that the team will probably get a GM installed first, I can see the appeal of Johnston. Not only has he done a great job in Portland since 2008, he was also an associate coach with the Canucks from 1999-2006, under Marc Crawford and has some pretty extensive international hockey experience.
Click here to read Johnston's full bio. It's pretty impressive. It's worth noting that he's also general manager of the Winterhawks.
Johnston does have one black mark on his record. In November 2012, he got hit with a big suspension and the Winterhawks were slapped with fines and had bantam draft picks revoked after the team was found to be in violation of player benefit rules.
Click here to read that story.
Of course, the Winterhawks went on to reach the Memorial Cup final in 2013 without Johnston behind the bench, and they're doing well again this year. The sanctions don't seem to have hit the team too hard just yet. It's also interesting to note that Johnston was replaced behind the bench during his suspension by none other than current Utica Comets head coach Travis Green—so there's another strong Canuck connection.
Did AV Give His Players an Excuse?
Found an interesting piece on the
Hockey News website yesterday, talking about Alain Vigneault's comments about the Rangers dealing with their "stupid schedule," where they've just played five games in seven nights.
Click here to take a look.
Vigneault’s decision to share his thoughts with the world, let alone his players in private, was a mistake. The man paid to lead, motivate and set a tone has given his players an excuse for losing by laying blame on a “stupid” schedule.
As writer Jason Kay points out, championships aren't won without a little adversity along the way. I think this sort of excuse-making is something we also saw from Vigneault in Vancouver, especially in the Boston series in 2011. It'll be interesting to see if the Rangers can get back into the series tonight—apparently Chris Kreider has been medically cleared, so he could add a spark.
Dale Weise! Dale Weise!
Dale Weise posted his second game-winning goal of the playoffs on Tuesday, on a gorgeous breakaway after a pass from—ex-Canuck Mike Weaver. The mind boggles.
He made a terrific move on Tuukka Rask, but what on earth was he doing cherry-picking at center ice in the first place, like he's Ilya Kovalchuk?
Overall, it's not like Weise isn't playing defensively responsible hockey. He's not playing big minutes—11:05 last night, only seven minutes in Game 2—but he was on the ice helping Montreal defend its one-goal lead with a minute to go in yesterday's game.
I'm not a Habs fan by nature, but I am impressed with what Michel Therrien is pulling from his group. Yesterday's game was a great effort from a team that could have sagged or quit after the late collapse in Game 2.
Arthur Griffiths Near Bankruptcy
The Province has a story today about former Canucks' owner Arthur Griffiths, who has filed for credit protection after a business deal gone bad.
Click here to read that.
Griffiths' parents owned radio stations CKNW and CFMI, and stabilized the Canucks' ownership situation when they took over the team in 1974. Arthur's father Frank passed away in 1994—he was commemorated by the "2 PTS F.G." patch you see on the Canucks' uniforms in the photos from the '94 playoff run.
When Arthur took control of the company, he built Rogers Arena, brought the Vancouver Grizzlies to town and was a key player in Vancouver's bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics. But he had a tendency to get in over his head. After bringing in John McCaw as a partner in the Canucks and Grizzlies, Griffiths sold his remaining shares in the company by 1997. The radio stations were sold to Corus in 2000.
In his filing on Monday, Griffiths has declared liabilities of over $2 million and assets of just $36,000.
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