Official NHL shop roasted for selling autographed Messier Canucks puck

When the offseason gets so slow for the Vancouver Canucks that fans and writers alike have run out of things to talk about, it’s usually a good time to reflect about the Mark Messier captaincy.

Messier spent three seasons as Vancouver captain from 1997-2000, taking over from Trevor Linden immediately following a high-profile free agent signing. But while Messier is highly regarded in Edmonton and New York as one of the game’s all-time best leaders, Vancouver largely remembers him as the face of the franchise behind an era that went kaput.

Vancouver went 78-119-41-8 across Messier’s three seasons as Canucks captain, missing the playoffs three times and finishing dead last in the 13-team Western Conference in the 1998-99 year. He returned to New York following the expiration of his contract, where he spent the final four seasons of his career.

It’s an era most Canucks fans would like to forget, but if you’d like to mark it with a piece of memorabilia, a few official NHL merchandisers will grant you that chance.

One clever Reddit user — who goes by the handle ‘Qklese’ — pointed out a “cursed” autograph for sale on lids.ca: a Canucks logo puck autographed by Messier himself.

Messier’s puck retails at $174.99 (with the same deal offered for a signed Messier Rangers puck), while pucks signed by Canucks legends Daniel and Henrik Sedin retail for $119.99 each.

“Something is wrong here,” Qklese added in a comment on the r/canucks subreddit pointing out the discrepancy between the prices.

“Use it as a urinal puck,” 94NGV added.

“lol I wouldn’t pay 3$ to use a street hockey puck,” dmancman2 commented.

The exact same pucks are actually offered at the official NHL shop by way of Fanatics — Lids’ parent company — deal with the NHL, with Messier’s puck currently available there for for  $131.24 with the promo code NHLDEAL through 9 pm PT on Sunday.

Meanwhile, each of the Sedins’ pucks at the official NHL shop are retailing for $89.99 with the same code.

No Messier products are available via the Canucks’ official online store, who at least seems to have their pulse a bit better on the local fanbase.

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