Tuesday March 26 - Vancouver Canucks vs. Anaheim Ducks - 7 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet 650
Vancouver Canucks: 76 GP, 32-34-10, 74 pts, sixth in Pacific Division Anaheim Ducks: 77 GP, 31-36-10, 72 pts, seventh in Pacific Division
As the Vancouver Canucks' season-ending seven-game homestand hits its midpoint on Tuesday, "Relentless" by Arkells is stuck in my head. This ad has run at every home game all year—and on TV too, right? Glad it's a good song by a band that I like!
After mounting live music at a museum, in a fountain and on the ice during the 2018 playoffs, the NHL's chief content officer Steve Mayer is dreaming even bigger this year. My story, for @ForbesSports:https://t.co/dIkgYLrjm3#nhl #stanleycupplayoffs
— Carol Schram (@pool88) March 19, 2019
When talking about which artists are right for which markets, Mayer namechecked Arkells and the Glorious Sons as two bands that could do very well in Canadian settings, and are also keen to gain exposure in the U.S. through NHL channels.
Both are excellent live; TSN's Bob McKenzie recently praised Arkells to the moon and back after seeing them during their just-concluded Canadian arena tour. Now with five albums to draw from, their shows are laden with hits. The band is full of energy and consistently eager to deliver the best possible show.
A couple of years ago, I worked with them at a sponsored event at the Commodore to celebrate the Blue Jays' home opener: we showed the game first on the big screen, then they played live afterward. After a long pre-game ceremony, it took another 3:31 to grind through nine innings as the Jays dropped a 4-3 decision to Milwaukee, and no runs were scored in the final five innings. Definitely *not* baseball at its best.
But the crowd was well-lubricated by the time the game was over. And despite having their start time pushed back and being eager to get packed up and Portland for a club show the next night, Arkells still played a full set—and were outstanding.
The band is currently back in the U.S., finishing up another run of club dates. If you happen to be in the L.A. area, you should try to catch them at the famous Troubadour in West Hollywood on Tuesday night.
I'm digressing because I don't really want to face the fact it could be argued that the best result for the Canucks on Tuesday against the Anaheim Ducks would be a loss. Vancouver currently sits just two points ahead of Anaheim; if the Ducks win in regulation or overtime, they'd move ahead of the Canucks in the standings. Better for draft lottery reasons—but not exactly ideal to be battling for position with a team that has struggled mightily this year.
Check out those man-games lost:
From yesterday, NHL injury visualization. Man games lost versus team wins. Bubble size represents cumulative quality of players lost (Lost-ps metric) https://t.co/tZGTkPWZdP pic.twitter.com/91kIrihwGE
— Man-Games Lost NHL (@ManGamesLostNHL) March 22, 2019
The Canucks have used 34 different skaters and five goalies this season, for a total of 39. The Ducks blow that away with 44 skaters and four goalies, for a total of 48.
I'm a little confused about all the talk of how Canucks fans should treat Ryan Kesler on Tuesday. No need to let facts get in the way of a heated debate?
Per ESPN/KABC on Monday, Kesler almost certainly won't suit up against Vancouver. He hit his 1,000th career game earlier this month and was presented with his traditional silver stick in game 1,001 on March 7, but hasn't played since.
As he hit the milestone, Sports Illustrated published a story outlining the tough road Kesler has been on for the past two years as he has struggled to rehab his injured hip.
As the Ducks honor Ryan Kesler for reaching 1,000 games, @alex_prewitt tells the story of how Kesler made it this far https://t.co/nmOis5xaQq
— SI NHL (@SI_NHL) March 7, 2019
Last week, Anaheim GM and coach Bob Murray suggested that Kesler might be at the end of his hockey road.
"I'm concerned with his quality of life going forward," Murray told reporters. "I'm not worried about hockey whatsoever right now. OK? Can we all understand that? I'm worried about his quality of life and what he's going to go through in the next little while.
"We got to get control of everything he's doing in order to play. Everything he's doing -- sometimes it just may not be the best thing for him going forward."
It certainly sounds like the last three years of that big contract extension that Kesler signed in Anaheim in 2015 will be paid out while he's on long-term injured reserve.
One by one, the Canucks' stars from their 2011 and 2012 Presidents' Trophy-winning teams are getting close to hanging up their skates. Roberto Luongo turns 40 next month and is also struggling to come to terms with his future.
Forced into relief duty after rookie Samuel Montembeault got shelled in Toronto on Monday night, Luongo admitted to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman that he can see the writing on the wall—that the Panthers are getting ready to move in a different direction.
"This season has been very difficult. We’ve got six games left. After, we’ll sit down — myself and the team — and figure this out," he said.
Luongo went on to add that he wouldn't be interested in a trade to a new team. "This is home," he said. "To move my family, my children from where they are happy? I couldn’t do that. Family comes first."
I've always assumed that the end of Luongo's career would also come with him being moved to LTIR—and all his talk this year of what he's going through with his body would seem to warrant such a move.
If he did opt for retirement at the end of this season, with three years left on his contract, he'd be leaving just $3.6 million real dollars on the table as his back-diving contract now tails off significantly.
According to TSN, if Luongo retired at the end of this season, the Panthers would be hit with a $1.29 million cap recapture penalty for the next three seasons, while the Canucks would be on the hook for $2.84 million a year.
That number's not so bad. I still don't think it'll be an issue, but it's a bit of a relief to see that if Luongo's retirement happens at this juncture, the penalty won't be especially onerous.
If he plays a little longer, then retires, the impact would be more serious—but again, very unlikely.
Here are the cap penalties from Roberto Luongo's contract for the Canucks if he retires early. Could be really ugly pic.twitter.com/0dNIQAipg6
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) March 4, 2014
After all that, here are your lineup notes so far from Tuesday's morning skate:
Hughes, Hutton & Leivo all taking part in morning skate. No Brisebois or Motte. pic.twitter.com/nVqnr9E5J7
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) March 26, 2019
Tyler Motte suffered an upper-body injury on Sunday against Columbus; Guillaume Brisebois looks like he's set to miss a second-straight game.
Even without Brisebois, the left side is getting crowded on the blue line with Ben Hutton, Quinn Hughes, Josh Teves and Derrick Pouliot all in the mix behind Alex Edler and Ashton Sautner.
Looks like it is Teves time tonight!
Extras on the ice at morning skate were Pouliot, Hughes, Hutton, Goldobin, Spooner.
— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) March 26, 2019
Brisebois and Motte are not on the ice. #Canucks
Enjoy the game!