Rumours and Revelations: More Messier Ads, Lame Chants, Booing Kesler and More!

It’s time once again to get caught up on the minutia of the world of hockey with a segment I like to call: Rumours and Revelations!

Power Play

It looks like the Canucks will be changing their first unit power play up.

Lots of PP practice for #Canucks this a-m. Edler and Weber on points on PP1

— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) November 17, 2014

Linden Vey, who had been playing on the first unit, practiced as the extra forward on Monday and is likely to be a healthy scratch. Despite the recent struggles of the Canucks’ power play, I really like the role Vey has played with the man-advantage. Of course Yannick Weber has all the tools to excel on the power play, but I have not been impressed with him over the last two seasons when given spot duty on the first unit.

In my mind, Daniel Sedin needs to play a much larger role than he has. Something that I have wondered about is having him switch spots with Henrik Sedin. Henrik spends most of his time on the half wall, while Daniel is a passing outlet on the goal line. So essentially Daniel is in a pass-only spot for most of the time while Henrik is in a position where he can pass or shoot… But this is Henrik Sedin we’re talking about, so there are no shots coming. Give Daniel the occasional look on the hallf wall and maybe it’ll force opposing teams to respect his shot and open up holes for his teammates.

UFAs

I don’t think it has been the topic of discussion from many people but the Canucks will have some decisions to make after this season with regards to unrestricted free agency. Brad Richardson, Shawn Matthias, Derek Dorsett and Tom Sestito are all UFAs on July 1st. Bo Horvat and/or Linden Vey are likely to grab the third and fourth line centre roles and Nicklas Jensen should be knocking on the door for a permanent third line winger spot. I assume Sestito will be gone and it will be important to lock-up Dorsett. But what about Richardson and Matthias, who currently make-up 2/3 of their third line?

Eddie Lack is scheduled to be a UFA after next season, so that might be something to keep an eye on as well. Will he want to re-sign in Vancouver? Will his trade value plummet if they hold on to him? Does he have enough value that we should care?

Dale Weise

I wasn’t a big fan of Dale Weise in Vancouver, but I am now. Montreal Weise has become the Bruin killer. Not only did he come up big against Boston in last year’s playoffs, he also got a Gordie Howe Hat Trick against them last week.

The Bruins got blown out 6-1 and 5-1 against the Leafs and Habs, respectively last week as well. Good times.

Messier Commercial

You know those Messier commercials you hate that are always on TV with that family of Canucks fans? Well guess what our writer Steve Lancashire saw in Edmonton…

I should have known that the Cameron family has been in cahoots with Mark Messier this whole damn time… pic.twitter.com/djRck11jP9

— Steve Lancashire (@lankey22) November 15, 2014

So they were Oilers fans all along. They must not have been able to find actual Canucks fans to pose with Mark Messier.

Supporters Group

I wrote about how quiet Canucks games have been recently and one of the most common responses I received was that Canucks fans should emulate Whitecaps fans. As it turns out, the Ottawa Senators are already trying this with the Red Scarf Union.

This is an old video, but apparently they used to randomly chant “Alfie Alfie” randomly at 11:11. Very strange. I didn’t quite believe it, so I asked for confirmation.

@RobTheHockeyGuy @jameshyunsuplee In the past we counted down from 11:11 to 11:00 and then chanted Alfie over and over again yes.

— Red Scarf Union (@redscarfunion) November 16, 2014

So yes, they actually do that. I think we can do better, personally.

Nashville has a supporters’ section called Cellblock 303 and they are pretty instrumental to the atmosphere at Predators games. Here’s a sample of some of their chants:

When Paul’s announcing the visiting team’s starting lineup:

(Player’s name) – SUCKS!
(Player’s name) – SUCKS!
(Player’s name) – SUCKS!
(Player’s name) – SUCKS!
(Player’s name) – SUCKS!
(Goalie’s name) – SUCKS!
(Coach’s name) – AND HE SUCKS TOO!

Not exactly creative, but I’m sure it gets the fans going.

After Predators goal during “Rock”n”Roll Part Two,”also known as “The HEY Song,”:

HEY! YOU SUCK!

It’s like the chants were written by me at age 14.

Watch for start-up signal from the guys in front and center of 303

OSSSS-GOOOD (example)
OSSSS-GOOOD
OSSSS-GOOOD
YOOOU SUCK!
(then)
IT”S ALL YOUR FAULT
IT”S ALL YOUR FAULT
IT”S ALL YOUR FAULT
IT”S ALL YOUR FAULT (repeat until it dies out)

That one’s actually not bad.

A supporter’s section could work in Vancouver, but it’s likely to have a lot of growing pains. These kinds of things can be pretty geeky to start with, until they gain traction and get more of the stadium involved.

Booing Kesler

Image: canucks.nhl.com

I don’t think Rogers Arena will be devoid of noise on Thursday night when Ryan Kesler makes his first return to Vancouver since being traded to Anaheim this offseason. He will get booed, but should he? I will be at the game and I’m torn.

Say what you want about Kesler’s ego, but he was a warrior for the Canucks for 10 seasons. He sacrificed his body and his desire to win can never be questioned.

He demanded a trade despite being under contract, which was probably best for all parties involved. Kesler wanted a change of scenery and a chance to win a Stanley Cup. The Canucks needed to get younger and change their mix, which was made difficult by the number of no-trade clauses contracts on the team.

My issue with Kesler is that he screwed over the Canucks (and by extension, the fans of Vancouver) by submitting such a small list of teams that he would be willing to be traded to (Anaheim and Chicago, who didn’t have cap space). As such, general manager Jim Benning was forced to accept less than ideal trade.

My thought: if you stood and cheered proudly for Pavel Bure (who held out while under contract in 1998-99) and are planning to do the same when Roberto Luongo (who initially refused to waive his no-trade for anyone but Florida), then you are being a little bit hypocritical. Sure these scenarios differ somewhat, but are they really that much different?

Intro “Song”

I have been slagging the Canucks’ goal song so much lately that I completely overlooked how bad their intro song is. Tune-in at the 3:30 mark:

http://youtu.be/iPHQog5DEks?t=3m30s

The “song” is actually more of background beat. It’s slow and it’s all wrong for a hockey team hitting the ice in my humble opinion. It has me yearning for the days of Where the Streets Have No Name, and I wasn’t a fan using that song either.

If you want an example of a team that does it right, check out the LA Kings.

Notice their song choice during the video montage, when the Kings are walking to the ice and when they hit the ice. Pretty simple template to follow, no?

If it’s one thing the Kings know how to do, it’s follow a template:

Image: kings.nhl.com