What exactly is the Canucks’ vision going forward?
Linden departure, pursuit of stars indicate team has dropped its slow rebuild plans
Still trying to get over the shock of another B.C. Lions loss and an esports tournament in our city which offered $25 million in prize money. While we ponder those developments, here are the Monday morning musings and meditations on the world of sports:
It’s obvious by now that the Vancouver Canucks have a better chance of trading for Elvis Presley than Erik Karlsson, but the story here isn’t whether Jim Benning was serious about pursuing the Ottawa defenceman.
It’s what it says about the Canucks in the post-Linden era.
Linden, the recently deposed president, lost his job because he favoured a patient, methodical approach to the team’s rebuild. He’s since told friends the Aquilinis wanted no part of that plan and when Benning presented a more aggressive approach, which included an offer sheet for John Tavares, Linden was dumped.
Karlsson would seem to be part of this new, aggressive approach. This is the third occasion — Karlsson, Tavares, P.K. Subban — in which Benning has made noises about pursuing a marquee name, which likely plays well with ownership.
But it leaves the faithful to wonder what is the vision for this team. The Canucks lone strength is its prospect pool. It’s the only reason their fans haven’t given up on this team.
So is the plan now to peel off three or four of those young assets to land a star? That’s the only way you’re going to land a Karlsson-type player and Benning knows that. He should also know making that kind of deal will further alienate a fans whose patience has been worn to a nub.
It’s just the latest example of an organization which trips all over itself trying to tell its story. The Canucks’ direction remains muddied but one thing is clear.
They’re not going to win back consumer confidence by changing course again.
Then there’s the Lions. No one wants to see Wally Buono go out this way but this is his team and right now he has to bear the responsibility for the Leos’ 3-6 mark. The slow starts, the lack of discipline, the familiar mistakes, all point to the head coach.
On Saturday, you could throw in a couple of new problems for the Lions. One, their receivers who aren’t Bryan Burnham couldn’t catch a cold in a meat locker and, two, they couldn’t gain a yard-and-a-half when the game was on the line.
First the receivers. There were seven times in the game that Lions receivers had their hands on the ball and couldn’t come up with a catch. Buono and Ed Hervey had their reasons for passing on Duron Carter, who signed with Toronto on Sunday, but the crying need for an impact receiver remains.
And that was before Manny Arceneaux went down with a knee injury on Saturday. This is now on Hervey to fix and he has two weeks to come up with a solution.
“When you can’t make plays you must not have the right guys,” Buono said. “That’s something I’ll sit down with Ed and we’ll go through it.”
As for the short yardage woes, the game essentially came down to one play — third and a yardand-a-half for the Lions from the Saskatchewan 46 late in the fourth quarter.
The problem isn’t that Buono passed on a game-tying 53-yard field goal. At that point there was still 35 seconds left.
The problem was that the play called — a quarterback sneak — was completely devoid of imagination and played right into the Riders’ strength. In each of their losses to Ottawa, Toronto and, now, Saskatchewan, the Lions were in a position to win but came out on the losing end of the three or four plays that determine the outcome. That’s why they’re a 3-6 team. With the Lions facing a bye week, Burnham was asked if the team needed that time to regroup.
“Depends,” he said.
“Guys are either going to go home and party and have fun or they’re going to reflect on what they need to do to turn this team around. It’s gut check time.”
And finally. Back in 2012 Brooke Henderson, then a guileless 14-year-old, received an exemption to play in the then CN Canadian Women’s Open at the Vancouver Club. Her potential was undeniable at that point but the game has also chewed up more than one prodigy. Who knew where she would end up? Six years later we know. Henderson, now verging on 21, gave this country an indelible moment with her win at the CP Women’s Open in Regina. That win will be talked about in historical terms by the mainstream press but there’s a bigger story taking place with Henderson.
Despite her tender years, she’s poised to become the greatest professional golfer this country has ever produced. She already has seven tour wins, which puts her one behind Mike Weir, George Knudson and Sandra Post among Canadians. Like Weir, she also has a major and she seems poised to establish a record for wins that will last for a very long time. She’s not the most interesting person in the interview room but she has charisma on the course, miles of game and she loves to compete. There will be ups and down to be sure but the burnout factor shouldn’t come into play for Henderson. She’ll be around for a while. Lucky us.