I was lucky enough to attend the December 17 Canucks game against the much despised Oilers, where Trevor Linden's #16 jersey was hoisted to the rafters, retired, to the delight of the (228th straight) sell-out crowd at the Garage. The ceremony was fitting for a player of Linden's stature, one who has worked as hard off the ice for the community as he has on the ice. Bravo, well deserved! The mood was electric...and the Canucks had guaranteed a win that night.
During his speech, Linden said he wanted to be remembered as a player who always worked hard, game in, game out. And he did. But hey, Trev, as hard as you've worked all those seasons for the Canucks, do you know how hard it's been to be a Canucks fan all those years of disappointment?!?
The records will show that the Canucks fulfilled their promise, defeating the Oilers 4-2. What the records won't show is what a lousy, boring game it was, and that the Oilers very nearly came back from a 3 goal deficit late in the third, after the Canuckleheads fell asleep. After a few golden saves we got an empty-netter to make the score respectable.
But what annoys the crap out of me is that the Canucks play the most boring hockey I've ever seen. Every Canucks game is the same. The first period is a draw. They score in the second. They fall asleep in the third and usually squander their lead, either losing or going to a shootout. Too many Swedes leads to boring European style hockey. And now good 'ole Sundin is joining his country-mates to ensure there is no excitement at the Garage, just mechanical cycling and mindnumbing defensive hockey.
Remember when Pavel Bure played for the Canucks? Maybe he was a prima donna, a one man band, an ego maniac...but I remember well those nights at the Coliseum when the entire crowd would rise to its feet every single time Bure had the puck...because everyone knew he would at least shoot the bloody puck, and often scored! Those magical, electrifying days are long gone in Vancouver. Yawn.
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