Don't let this get out, but I think Leafs fans are more loyal than Canucks fans. This is hard to judge though. Maybe it is just the bandwagon jumpers on the Canucks side of the equation that is more noticeable living in the west and guessing there are as many Leafs fans on and off the bandwagon in Toronto/Ontario. Maybe the percentages are all the same?

Too many fair weather Canucks fans for a climate with a lot of rain.
- hillbillydeluxe

Vancouver - roughly 2.3 million pop
Toronto - roughly 5.5 million pop

Rogers Arena Capacity: 18,910
Air Canada Centre Capacity: 18,819 (19,746 with standing)

With arenas virtually identical in capacity but Toronto more than double the population of Vancouver, it's not hard to figure out why MLSE have no issues selling out their arena regardless of on-ice product.

A truer test of fanship would be against the other Canadian franchises, none of which have the same cushion as Toronto does (and some of which are struggling). I made a quip earlier but in truth it has little to do with fanship and everything to do with the size of the markets.

Any idea if we get another regular blogger who might be local, that will replace Ian?
- Marwood

What's with the big hard on with replacing Todd with a local blogger .... Was Ian not living in Calgary ? No one complained about him not being local .... As long as Todd blogs consistently and accurately then what's the big deal ? I find Todd's Canucks blogs refreshing .... Ian got a lot of hits from writing with Canucks glasses on

Would Ryan Jones (Waivers) be an upgrade for the 4th line?
- 1970vintage

Edmonton has depth issues just as we do. If they're dumping him there's a good reason.

On a similar note, Jonthan Blum was waived by Nashville. He was once a highly touted D prospect. Might be worth a pick-up to try to get him back on track, like the Leafs did with Franson.

Between Cody Franson, Ryan Ellis, and now Blum that organization seems to be burning once promising D men on a regular basis. If they do the same with Seth Jones it might be enough to forget Weber and Suter successes.

Would Ryan Jones (Waivers) be an upgrade for the 4th line?
- 1970vintage

Is he better then Weise or Sestito?? Yes. Yes he is.

What's with the big hard on with replacing Todd with a local blogger .... Was Ian not living in Calgary ? No one complained about him not being local .... As long as Todd blogs consistently and accurately then what's the big deal ? I find Todd's Canucks blogs refreshing .... Ian got a lot of hits from writing with Canucks glasses on
- Redmile247

I would have preferred a local blogger the last time. Also, I didn't mind Ian having a bit of a homeristic slant, isn't that the point when blogging for your team? A local guy would have the advantage of getting the vibe from the 'street' or the more grassroots fan base. It just makes more sense to have someone local. Would you like a Calgary blogger from Montreal?

Is he better then Weise or Sestito?? Yes. Yes he is.
- fiveandagame

I think he is too, but this team cannot afford a 4th liner who might not be a regular at a 1.5 million dollar cap hit. And Alex pointed out, if Edmonton is waiving him then there's some concern, although they're pretty good at the wing positions when healthy.

I don't know for sure but id imagine there's way more van fans ... Thought that was kinda insinuated in my response ....
- Redmile247

I'm asking out of interest. I don't watch Flames, or Oilers or Jets or Leafs games as a habit, and was wondering if other teams get the same kind of support out of market as the Canucks do. I know from years of going to Canucks games in Vancouver, that when Montreal comes to town it can be as much as 50/50 for fan support (at least in the past, its probably not quite as much now). There are plenty of snow birds, they can't all be Canucks fans.

I think he is too, but this team cannot afford a 4th liner who might not be a regular at a 1.5 million dollar cap hit. And Alex pointed out, if Edmonton is waiving him then there's some concern, although they're pretty good at the wing positions when healthy.
- Nucker101

It seems to me they have basically replaced Jones with cement head. Canucks have the cap space, if Jones was replacing Weise it would only be a difference of about $600k

Edit - also, I've seen quite a few posters who seem ok with picking up a C from Waivers to play on the 3rd line, not quite sure what the difference is...

no rebuild needed

we will be one of the better teams
we have 2 of the top five players in the world. this entire sedin decline stuff is crap.
henrik has cored more points since 2007 then every single player in the league other than ovechkin. Fix the power play have a horvat or shink or gauce or kassian turn into a top 9 and we are fine
- The_Kuze

Did we trade for Sid OV Malkin Dats or Chara?

It seems to me they have basically replaced Jones with cement head. Canucks have the cap space, if Jones was replacing Weise it would only be a difference of about $600k

Edit - also, I've seen quite a few posters who seem ok with picking up a C from Waivers to play on the 3rd line, not quite sure what the difference is...
- 1970vintage

The 4th line scares the hell out of me this year. They will only be able to play 4-6 minutes a game. They can't score, hit, fight or create energy.

Would Jose Theodore be an upgrade on Lack as a backup goalie? He made $1.5m last season, would likely play on a 1 year deal at +/- $1m

It seems to me they have basically replaced Jones with cement head. Canucks have the cap space, if Jones was replacing Weise it would only be a difference of about $600k

Edit - also, I've seen quite a few posters who seem ok with picking up a C from Waivers to play on the 3rd line, not quite sure what the difference is...
- 1970vintage

I'd rather save that cap space to potentially upgrade elsewhere later during the season if the team is playing well and we could use an upgrade at a more important position. Also cap space becomes more and more valuable with pro-rated cap hits later during the season which opens up more possibilities. I'd say he's a bit better than Weise/Sestito, but not worth 600k more.

I would have preferred a local blogger the last time. Also, I didn't mind Ian having a bit of a homeristic slant, isn't that the point when blogging for your team? A local guy would have the advantage of getting the vibe from the 'street' or the more grassroots fan base. It just makes more sense to have someone local. Would you like a Calgary blogger from Montreal?
- Marwood

I guess I can see your point there ... I do agree a but if homerism is good but I felt sometimes Ian would get crazy ....kinda like if Colin wrote something along the lines of I think David jones is gonna get 30 goals or something extremely off based ... I do think you guys will get someone new eventually tho ... But for now be happy you have Todd

What's with the big hard on with replacing Todd with a local blogger .... Was Ian not living in Calgary ? No one complained about him not being local .... As long as Todd blogs consistently and accurately then what's the big deal ? I find Todd's Canucks blogs refreshing .... Ian got a lot of hits from writing with Canucks glasses on
- Redmile247

Ian was too much of a homer, but local bloggers tend to be a bit more insightful on the local environment and delve into those "this is what I believe will make the team better" topics as opposed to "this and that happened" which can come across more as a press release than anything insightful.

The 4th line scares the hell out of me this year. They will only be able to play 4-6 minutes a game. They can't score, hit, fight or create energy.
- fiveandagame

When was the last time the Canucks had a 4th line that could play 12 minutes per night? Seriously, I have no idea.

The 4th line scares the hell out of me this year. They will only be able to play 4-6 minutes a game. They can't score, hit, fight or create energy.
- fiveandagame

I would have liked to keep Lapierre, that way you could have had one of Richardson/Santorelli on his wing, giving you two thirds of a decent 4th line. Don't think he would have gotten along with Torts though so I see why Gillis let him walk. Or sign a guy like LaRose, but that ship has sailed since they could have offered him a tryout but chose not to. I would have brought in both Mueller and LaRose on tryout spots to increase competition and potentially improve overall depth.

When was the last time the Canucks had a 4th line that could play 12 minutes per night? Seriously, I have no idea.
- 1970vintage

Have they ever? I have no clue either. I don't think we've ever had capable 4th lines like teams like LA, BOS, CHI, DET, etc have had in recent years.

Would Jose Theodore be an upgrade on Lack as a backup goalie? He made $1.5m last season, would likely play on a 1 year deal at +/- $1m
- 1970vintage

Lack looks like sh!t at the moment.

Crazy as this sounds, with a new defensively tight shot-blocking system I think Bryzgalov might actually be worth a look if he can come in at the 1m mark. he's definitely take some of the spotlight off Lu that's for sure.

When was the last time the Canucks had a 4th line that could play 12 minutes per night? Seriously, I have no idea.
- 1970vintage

I think it was around the same time they actually had some secondary scoring beyond the 1st line.

Lack looks like sh!t at the moment.

Crazy as this sounds, with a new defensively tight shot-blocking system I think Bryzgalov might actually be worth a look if he can come in at the 1m mark. he's definitely take some of the spotlight off Lu that's for sure.
- AlexF

Torts, Lu and Bryz.....holy poop the media would love that.

I think it was around the same time they actually had some secondary scoring beyond the 1st line.
- fiveandagame

What is this "secondary scoring" that you speak of? Sounds made up.

I would have liked to keep Lapierre, that way you could have had one of Richardson/Santorelli on his wing, giving you two thirds of a decent 4th line. Don't think he would have gotten along with Torts though so I see why Gillis let him walk. Or sign a guy like LaRose, but that ship has sailed since they could have offered him a tryout but chose not to. I would have brought in both Mueller and LaRose on tryout spots to increase competition and potentially improve overall depth.
- Nucker101

No idea why they didn't look at either Brunner or Mueller on PTO at the very least. I'm assuming they thought Brunner might be too expensive but Mueller would come cheap. But maybe MG has more insight on his health than we do.

I would have liked to keep Lapierre, that way you could have had one of Richardson/Santorelli on his wing, giving you two thirds of a decent 4th line. Don't think he would have gotten along with Torts though so I see why Gillis let him walk. Or sign a guy like LaRose, but that ship has sailed since they could have offered him a tryout but chose not to. I would have brought in both Mueller and LaRose on tryout spots to increase competition and potentially improve overall depth.
- Nucker101

Nothing is stopping Gillis from offering LaRose a contract. I think you are absolutely right. It would give the team 2/3 of decent line.

I'd rather save that cap space to potentially upgrade elsewhere later during the season if the team is playing well and we could use an upgrade at a more important position. Also cap space becomes more and more valuable with pro-rated cap hits later during the season which opens up more possibilities. I'd say he's a bit better than Weise/Sestito, but not worth 600k more.
- Nucker101

Fair enough.

I don't think there will be any magic deals available during the season to upgrade however. I don't want Gillis to save space only to end up spending under the cap at the end of the year. And, if I understand it correctly, there is really no such thing as "pro-rated" salaries. It's not like you can afford a $6m player near the end of the year if you can only aford a $2.5m player at the beginning. The pro-rated comes in as you have $X.00 to spend over the remainder of the season which would equate to a certain salary for the full year. The $2.5m Gillis has to work with now isn't going to get any bigger unless he trades a player (Kesler ) LTIR also doesn't really help, it only provides a cushion for the time that the player is injured, so you can't put Booth's salary in the bank and use it at the TDL to acquire a top 6 forward...

What is this "secondary scoring" that you speak of? Sounds made up.
- Nucker101

It's out there. It's just not native to the Pacific Northwest.