Thanks for all the diverse and entertaining dialogue on the last message board. I've been grateful for those of you that have hung in through the quiet summer months! It should get fun as things start to ramp up for another season of intrigue. It won't be long now.
Just a brief blog today to kick off the weekend.
I wanted to share this Eric Duhatschek column from The Globe and Mail, where he supports the whispers of NHL expansion coming down the pipe ahead of the league's 100th anniversary in 2017.
Duhatschek reads into the changes in Gary Bettman's rhetoric that indicate a shift in the league's thinking since the end of the lockout. Of course, last year's realignment also supports this belief. And as he points out, the trick to running a successful team in Las Vegas would be to lock in the hotels as your major season ticket and suite holders, then have them dole out the tickets to their guests. With the biggest money in sports these days coming from TV broadcast rights rather than ticket revenues, attendance isn't the be-all end-all that it once was.
I think the lack-of-talent argument against expansion is a red herring. Hockey's growth in the U.S. has been enormous over the last two decades, and looks poised to expand exponentially going forward. Believe it or not, my cousin's six-year-old son in Phoenix, of all places, is playing!
If we see more top U.S. athletes from around the country opting to specialize in hockey over football or baseball, we'll see more than enough new talent coming into the pipeline to support the addition of new franchises.
The bottom line, as Duhatschek points out, is that Gary Bettman is charged with growing the NHL on behalf of his stakeholders, just like the CEO of any other corporation. The league won't want to comment officially until they have their desired owners and arenas in place, but I don't think the expansion story is going away.
I'm keen. It would be great for the Canucks and their fans to see a team in Seattle.
Who Wore It Best?
My afterthought, Garth Snow, was leading the Canucks.com selection, Cesare Maniago, by a nose in our poll when I checked this morning. Apparently we have some fans of goalie fights, gigantic pads and erratic general managing among our readership.
So—our final official batch of nominees to compare with the winner. For No. 31:
Troy Gamble: Drafted in the second round in 1985, Troy Gamble was best-known as Kirk McLean's backup as the Canucks climbed the standings in the early '90s. In fact, in 1990-91, Gamble played 45 games and put up better number than McLean's—goaltending controversies and our love for backups is nothing new.
Gamble's career was brief, however. He suffered from concussion symptoms and was out of the NHL by the end of the 1991-92 season, at age 24. He played a few years in the minors, wrapping up his hockey career in 1995-96.
The Canucks were Gamble's only NHL team. In 72 games, he went 22-29-9 with a 3.61 goals-against and .875 save percentage.
John Garrett: Certainly the best-known present-day personality, John Garrett will be returning to Rogers Sportsnet TV broadcasts this fall to share more details of his favourite foods and how he likes them prepared and combined.
Once upon a time, Garrett was a Canucks goaltender. After a solid career spent primarily in the WHA, Garrett was traded to the Canucks from the Quebec Nordiques in February of 1983, in exchange for Anders Elderbrink. Garrett was 31 when he arrived in Vancouver and spent two more years with the Canucks.
In total, he played 56 games but put up a winning record: 22-21-5. His goals-against was 4.11 (don't forget, those were the Gretzky years) and his save percentage was .843.
As you know if you hear Garrett on TV, his most memorable moment as a Canuck was playing in the 1983 All-Star Game as an injury replacement for Richard Brodeur. Garrett played so well that he was voted MVP of the game—but then Gretzky let loose and scored four goals in the last 10 minutes. A re-vote was held and, naturally, went in Gretzky's favour, but Garrett was granted a memory that would last a lifetime.
Corey Hirsch: I believe the first time I ever heard a Canucks' executive say "goalie graveyard," it was Brian Burke talking about the rough ride that Corey Hirsch endured during his time in Vancouver.
Hirsch was acquired from the New York Rangers in the spring of 1995 as a potential goalie-of-the-future—an Alberta boy who'd played his junior hockey with the Kamloops Blazers and won a silver medal at the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer—immortalized as the goalie who got beat in the shootout on Peter Forsberg's gold-medal winning goal.
Hirsch essentially took over once Kirk McLean was traded, but couldn't solidify his position on a team that was heading for the cellar. He played 101 of his 108 NHL games in a Vancouver uniform, putting up a record of 32-42-13. His goals-against was 3.12 and his save percentage was .896.
Hirsch wasn't re-signed after the end of the terrible 1998-99 season, where he played just 20 games. He spent the last few years as goaltending coach in St. Louis, but was fired this spring after the Blues' playoff collapse.
Other Canucks who wore No. 31 include Rick Heinz, Manny Legace, Bob Mason, Lubomir Vaic and Steve Weeks.