Pinch me. This can’t be real.
Alex Burrows scored two goals (his first two of the season), Vancouver outplayed their opposition in the third period, and the Canucks won…
Actually, if it’s a dream, I’d rather not wake up. Not that there was anyone in my blogger’s basement to pinch me anyway.
1. So close to going the wrong way
This is how close the game came to being yet another heartbreaking loss for the Canucks.
Yikes.
(Credit to @SchneidersTeeth for the gif.)
2. Captain’s reaction
Henrik Sedin was interviewed by the Team 1040 after game:
“We’ve been battling extremely hard in the last week. We should’ve had three wins.”
“If we can string a few wins together, you never know what can happen down the stretch.”
He’s hopeful! Okay, I’m cancelling that holiday in April.
3. Lamest reaction
Burrows finally scored his first goal of the season, 36 games into the season, which he followed up by scoring a second goal right out of the air, and this was one “fan’s” reaction:
I’m glad he’s got a couple, but cut the shit – Burrows still has 2 in 41.
— Mitch (@MitchEmDee) March 13, 2014
Talk about negativity.
Luckily Burrows stayed positive. This is him after the game:
“It’s always tough not scoring. It’s tough to put in words. You just have to keep believing in yourself”
3. Sup with Kesler?
An update on Kesler’s injury status:
Kesler will be going home to Vancouver
— Jason Botchford (@botchford) March 13, 2014
He’s done for the roadtrip, we know that.
Injury aside, there are tons of rumours and ideas about what’s going on in Kesler’s head right now. After not being traded last week, he sure sounded upset. Then Kevin Bieksa went on CBC’s After Hours and said Kesler never requested a trade.
The Province’s Ben Kuzma had some thoughts in the Province Live Chat today:
The Canucks are trying to coax Kesler that help is one the way. Trading Luongo, a compliance buyout of Booth and the cap going up would allow them to dip into free agency and Kesler a proven veteran. But UFA wingers Vanek and Callahan are going to command big bucks and would they want to play for Torts? That’s why Kesler is watching the coaching situations so close.
While the CBC’s Elliotte Friedman had some other thoughts on why Kes wasn’t traded (from his 30 Thoughts):
It would not be the least bit surprising if an interested team or two told Vancouver it could be involved at the draft, but not now, for cap reasons.
A lot of speculators think Kesler’s value will never be higher than it was at the trade deadline… maybe they’re wrong.
4. What’s the deal with Torts?
Everyone’s wondering about John Tortorella’s future. Will he be fired if the Canucks lose another game? After the season? Or maybe the Canucks will make the playoffs and this topic will die?
Friedman (again, from his 30 Thoughts):
If (the Canucks) had lost last Saturday against Calgary, there was a belief (which I shared) that someone’s head was going to roll.
The head rolling, he said on air Saturday, would’ve been Tortorella’s.
Kuzma (from the Province chat):
Take a closer look at that coaching hire, folks. Gillis really liked Stevens. One theory is fiery Italian owner liked fiery Italian coach. Makes sense because there’s an obvious disconnect between the GM and coach.
There’s more…
5. Gillis responds
Mike Gillis spoke to the media after the GM meetings in Florida. He was asked about Tortorella’s job safety.
I’m not commenting on that because then it lends credibility to whats out there with bloggers and all kinds of people.
So he can’t tell the truth for fear of making bloggers look good.
Talking about who’s responsible for the team’s abysmal results:
It’s all of our responsibility. I don’t want to focus on John (Tortorella). We have a hockey team. We have an organization. To focus on one or two people in that organization is unfair. We have to win as a group.
Avoiding the question is fair. Not wanting to make bloggers look good is understandable.
We know Gillis can’t comment publicly on what’s been discussed behind closed doors, and we don’t really expect him to, but one thing to remember:
Two years ago, whenever fans thought Alain Vigneault’s job was at risk, Gillis constantly defended his coach, saying he was not the problem. Right now, we’re not hearing any “Torts is our guy” speeches.
Sure doesn’t sound like Gillis has his back. But we don’t even know if Francesco Aquelini has Gillis’ back.
The Canucks may have won, but these guys are still on thin ice.