Canucks fans want Matheson to pay for hit
Seeing Panthers defenceman target rookie Pettersson’s head sent Vancouverites into a frenzy
It’s been a while, but we wake up today with winning records for both the Canucks and the Lions. Now here’s another reason to celebrate: the Monday-morning musings and meditations on the world of sports:
■ The NHL’s Department of Player Safety will be handing down its ruling on Mike Matheson in short order and you might say the faithful are on full alert.
The Florida Panthers will point out that Matheson doesn’t have any priors, his hit on Elias Pettersson wasn’t penalized and it falls inside the ill-defined parameters of a hockey play.
That, however, isn’t the way Canucks fans see it.
What they see is Matheson, after he’s embarrassed by Pettersson, charge into the Canucks rookie from behind, swing his left arm at his head while he jabs his stick between his legs, then, with Pettersson’s skates in the air, slam his head into the ice.
So let’s see. You’ve got premeditation. You’ve got Matheson targeting the head twice on the same play from behind. You’ve got the body slam. And you’ve got an injury to one of the game’s most exciting young players.
Like we said, the faithful are watching this one closely.
They’ve also seen this movie before and, unfortunately, that’s part of the narrative with Canucks supporters and the larger hockey world. This market is seen as irrational, as hopelessly blinded and Canucks fans can own some of that.
But there’s also a history here that is missed unless you’ve lived in B.C. The whole Steve Moore episode started when Moore concussed Canucks captain Markus Naslund with an elbow to the head. In the last 10 years the fans have seen Canucks defenceman Aaron Rome suspended an unprecedented four games in the Stanley Cup Final for a hit on Nathan Horton, Brad Marchand use Daniel Sedin’s head as a speed bag in that same final, Duncan Keith concussing Daniel with a flying elbow, referee Stephane Auger targeting Alex Burrows and last year, rookie sensation Brock Boeser crosschecked from behind by Trevor Lewis.
OK, maybe the same string doesn’t tie all of those incidents together. But there’s a pattern there that heightens the emotions of every Canucks fan and when they see Pettersson, who could be a franchise-changing player, injured under the those circumstances, you can excuse them for getting agitated.
■ Wasn’t exactly sold on the B.C. Lions’ reawakening before this weekend, but that victory in Calgary changed things. The defence is for real and they have a superior kicking game with Ty Long. The question, of course, is can Travis Lulay and the offence give them enough to take a serious run at a championship and let’s just say the jury is out on that one.
Still, whatever happens next, the turnaround to their season is due largely to the moves made by general manager Ed Hervey. Since the start of the season, Hervey has brought in four impact starters in defensive end Shawn Lemon, linebacker Micah Awe, running back Tyrell Sutton and receiver DeVier Posey, along with a valuable role player in Canadian receiver Anthony Parker. Defensive tackle Davon Coleman and offensive tackle Jovan Olafioye were also added during training camp.
It’s nice to see the team has rallied around Wally Buono in his last year, but that rally started when Hervey brought in better players. Funny how that works.
■ Micah Awe, who’s been superb since rejoining the team, didn’t finish the game Saturday with a knee injury, but it appears he escaped significant damage. The Lions will know more when they return to practice Tuesday.
■ And finally, former Canucks GM Mike Gillis came in from the cold last week with a radio appearance on TSN 1040, his most extensive public appearance since he was fired at the conclusion of the 2013-14 season.
It was about time. Gillis is a lot of things but, mostly, he was the general manager during the most successful run in Canucks history and that means something. So did his teams.
But since he was dismissed, Gillis vanished into the ether and that’s a familiar story with the current Canucks ownership group. It’s now been four months since Trevor Linden was let go and he’s yet to make a public appearance or statement. That’s Trevor Linden who belongs on a Canucks Mount Rushmore and it’s like he’s ceased to exist.
The same can be said for former GM Dave Nonis and, to a lesser extent, Gillis’s lieutenants, Laurence Gilman and Lorne Henning. These men were all Canucks loyalists who contributed greatly to the franchise.
Now they’re the disappeared.
Gillis didn’t address his relationship with ownership directly during his radio interview, but did drop a couple of nuggets. Principal among these were trades Gillis had arranged at the 2014 deadline that were abandoned due to “an organizational decision.” Three guesses what that means. He also spoke at length about John Tortorella. Seems Gillis wasn’t as enthusiastic about his hiring as others have suggested.
One member of the Gillis administration once said: “If you knew some of the things Mike put up with (from ownership) he’d be a much more sympathetic figure.”
There was a time when that was true. But that’s not important now. What is important is building some bridges with these men and mending some fractured relationships. Don’t know if that’s possible, but all that bitterness and acrimony isn’t healthy for an organization.
It might be worth a try.