ARE CANUCKS CONTENDERS OR PRETENDERS THIS SEASON?
Winning a few games before Christmas would help prevent another regime change
With Christmas just around the corner, we offer the both holly and jolly musings and meditations on the world of sports.
■ The Canucks are now approaching the halfway mark of their season and it appears this year can go one of two ways.
The first scenario is the Canucks will hang around the final playoff spot in the West until mid-March before they fall out of contention. That was the opinion of most observers back in October, who believed some combination of the core group’s inexperience and the lack of quality throughout the lineup would ultimately betray the Canucks. Still, the team figured to be improved, and given the dumpster fires the faithful have endured the last four seasons, that represented a win for the franchise.
There is, however, a second possibility to consider and it’s much darker. Back on Nov. 5, the Canucks were 9-3-3 and registered as one of the NHL’s surprise teams. Since then they’ve gone 7-11-1 and dropped to 10th in the West, four points back of the second wild card spot. While this season isn’t lost, there’s something disturbing about the last month and a half.
Yes, the Canucks are improved. Great. But that’s only in relation to the pitiable standard they set over the last four seasons. They might be closer, but they’ve also looked overmatched too many times in too many games over the past six weeks to be taken seriously as a contender.
That, in turn, raises an existential question for this team. What if that’s who they are? What if they go 7-11-1 over the next six weeks and fall out of the playoff picture by the end of January? General manager Jim Benning was given a contract extension largely because he sold the Aquilinis on a plan where the Canucks would become a playoff team in a shorter window than former team president Trevor Linden had projected.
This is now year 2 of the Benning plan and if it fails, will the Aquilinis invest in a third year? What about Travis Green, who’s in his third year behind the bench? Will he pay the price if the Canucks fall off the map?
If history has taught us anything, it’s taught us anything is possible with this ownership group. There’s one way to prevent another regime change for the Canucks and the ask isn’t too demanding. Stick around. Show improvement. And it has to start with their four home games before Christmas.
The Canucks need something from those four games. Mostly they need to send the message this is a different team with a different story to tell.
■ On a related subject, the signing of Jacob Markstrom has to become a priority for Benning. Markstrom might be a lot of things, but he represents stability at the game’s most important position.
As uncertain as things are for the Canucks right now, they can’t afford to gamble with their goaltending. If that means losing Thatcher Demko in the expansion draft, so be it. The Canucks’ share of Seattle’s expansion fee is $21.6 million.
It seems fair they give up something for their cut.
■ One other thing on the Canucks front. There was some suggestion Benning had devalued Sven Baertschi’s trade value with his comments over the weekend. Among other things, Benning said the Canucks have been trying to move Baertschi since October and the winger’s “soft” skill set didn’t fit in with the Canucks’ plans.
Sorry, this is a surprise? Every NHL team had the opportunity to pick up Baertschi on waivers at the start of the season and again over the weekend. They all passed, not because they read
Benning’s comments but because they all know Baertschi is a soft skilled player with a history of injuries who has two years left at $3.366 million per.
NHL teams don’t get their information from Twitter. They employ hockey departments at considerable expense to know these things.
You hope Baertschi gets another shot in the NHL but, unless the Canucks are ravaged by injuries, it won’t be in Vancouver.
■ New B.C. Lions head coach Rick Campbell has been quiet about naming his assistants but Mark Nelson’s name has popped up. Nelson has coached in the CFL for a decade and was on Campbell’s staff in Ottawa. He’ll likely take over special teams.
■ This is a crazy stat from the Seahawks. With their 30-24 win over Carolina on Sunday, the ’Hawks became just the second team in NFL history to record 10 wins in a season by eight points or fewer. The 1978 Houston Oilers of Earl Campbell fame were the first.
Pete Carroll’s team is also 10-1 in games decided by a single score this season. It isn’t exactly the recommended formula for success, but the Seahawks are in first place in the NFC with an 11-3 record. Argue with the standings.
■ And finally, Scott Oake, the longtime — and we mean longtime — host of Hockey Night in Canada has succeeded in raising some $12 million for the construction and operation of Bruce Oake Recovery Centre in Winnipeg. He’s also $4 million short of his goal.
Oake lost his oldest son in 2011 to a drug overdose. The Bruce Oake Recovery Centre is a 50-bed facility set to open on Aug. 22, 2021, Bruce’s 36th birthday.
We are all one degree removed from someone who’s battled some form of addiction; someone we know, someone we love, someone who needs a chance to reclaim their lives. This time of year, that would be a precious gift to offer.
Donations can be made through the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre website.