Bieksa accuses Sharks of embellishment

"Whether you think we’re embellishers or not doesn’t take away the fact those 2 guys are doing it as well. Forget about the past." - Bieksa
— Mark Spector (@SportsnetSpec) May 6, 2013

This is funny stuff... apparently, Vancouver Canucks Defenseman Kevin Bieksa is accusing the San Jose Sharks of embellishing and head snapping. You can't make this stuff up. Seriously! This is coming from a guy that has on it's team roster such clownish buffoons as Alex Burrows, and Maxim Lapierre, two of the biggest frauds in the NHL. I don't know how he can say this with a straight face. Let's not forget that this is the roster that also includes accomplished divers Henrick and Daniel Sedin and Ryan Kessler, evidence included below. This is way too funny. Maybe Bieksa should worry about his own team first.

More Bieksa: “Those are 2 Canadian guys who are supposed to be playing the game with integrity. Maybe our team has to do more of that.”
— Mark Spector (@SportsnetSpec) May 6, 2013

(This stuff is gold.) Bieksa: “Couture has been snapping his head back. This isn’t my opinion. The evidence is in the video.”
— Mark Spector (@SportsnetSpec) May 6, 2013

Wes Walz pokes fun at the Sedin twins

I suppose in today's world someone will take offense to this and probably will complain. To be honest with you, I hate the Vancouver Canucks, I think their a bunch of divers, cry babies and frauds. So, I am inclined to cut Wes Walz some slack and laugh with him on this one... Plus, he's a former Bruins and Wild player.

NHL goes light on Jannik Hansen

I am tired of watching the NHL Department of Player Safety go light on players that should be suspended for multiple games, this was a situation, that I believe warranted a 2-3 games suspension. By going light on Jannik Hansen you pretty much guaranteeing he's going to be a marked man in the next game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Vancouver Canucks.

In summary, there is "no" justification for that dirty, bush league hit, and I don't care what anyone says,you can not defend that dirty hit either. I don't care what Jannik Hansen is doing. Everyone knows that Marian Hossa has just returned from a concussion and you can connect the dots, the Blackhawks are the best team in the Western conference. This was a definite attempt to injure another player.

The Canucks Ryan Kesler show us how to dive and then get a penalty

Diving is ruining the game of hockey, on all levels and there is no excuse for it. Punish the offending players and it will evaporate from the game of hockey, almost over night.

Vancouver Canucks forward Ryan Kesler is dead to me, there is no excuse for the way he plays the game of hockey, while he might be a great young American forward, he's a fraud. Kesler is no better than his buddies  Alex Burrows and Maxim Lapierre who are also a disgrace to the game of hockey.

All three of these clowns are a text book examples on how to flail, dives, embellish. Disgusting.

Kesler and Lapierre told to zip it.

Vancouver Canucks center Maxim Lapierre during a game against the Colorado Avalanche on March 16, 2011. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I couldn't resist with this one. The most unlikable team in the NHL has told a few of their players to quit yapping. You can't make this stuff up. I guess the coaching staff for the Vancouver Canucks figured out that the rest of the NHL was tired of the Canucks antics.

Mark Spector, Sports Net --- "Ryan and Alex rarely at any point have shown that aspect -- they toned it down last year and that’s externally driven," said head coach Alain Vigneault.

Translation: "We told them to quit yapping and they have complied."

On the other hand ...

"Max has done it on a couple of occasions and has been told to shut up and play. And that's what we expect from him," said Vigneault.

Vigneault’s count of "a couple of times" is generous. Lapierre is truly the mouth that roared, seemingly unable to skate to the bench at shifts end without jabbering at an opponent.

Why this line combo, at this point in the series?

Canucks' Raymond 'will never be the same'

Here is a follow up on former on former UMD Bulldog Mason Raymond, sounds like he had a very long painful struggle to get back to the NHL. This story was in today's Vancouver Sun, the video of the hit in question is included above.

Vancouver Sun --- Run into the boards by Boston Bruins defenceman Johnny Boychuk, who held down Raymond’s head as he rammed the Canuck backwards, Raymond suffered not only a fractured spine but damaged nerves and tissue.

“It’s a serious injury that’s going to take some time,” he said. “Things have changed back there. It will never be the same. I’m not going to get into specifics, but I had some serious damage back there. I’ve got issues back there. I’ve got to deal with them all the time. That’s part of life. Is it going to be perfect? Probably not. But I’m at a stage where it’s very good and I continue to work and do things that are going to make me feel I’m in a good spot.”

Raymond spent most of last summer in a back brace and when training camp began in September the 26-year-old from Cochrane, Alta., was still unsure if he’d play again in the National Hockey League. Sometime in the fall, he crossed the threshold between “if” and “when” and three weeks ago he began practicing with teammates.

Related articles

• Canucks' Mason Raymond 'ready to roll' (vancouversun.com)
• Canucks' Mason Raymond nearing return from Cup final-ending back injury (vancouversun.com)
• Canucks' Mason Raymond not sure he'll play again, still out indefinitely with broken back (vancouversun.com)
• Canucks' Mason Raymond 'excited' about impending return from Cup final-ending back injury (vancouversun.com)
• Canucks welcome Raymond back to practice (tsn.ca)

Use of Visors mandatory?

Image via WikipediaThis is the latest argument that has come up, some want to make the use of visor mandatory in the NHL, the AHL visors are already mandatory. Me personally, I think it should be up to the individual player, if they don't want to wear the visor them it should be up to them.

Hockey News --- For most players, like sidelined Flyers forward Ian Laperriere, they simply haven't abandoned their outdated attitudes that wearing a shield means a player isn't tough. Facemasks aren't hip—and only the real macho players are willing to take the ice without them.

Some players once felt the same way about helmets and other protective gear. Now, keeping heads safe is mandatory. Eyes could be next.

The time could be near when visors are as much a part of the game as sticks and gloves.

"Sometimes you have to save the players from themselves," said Pierre McGuire, an NHL analyst for NBC and Versus.

Added Vancouver Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault: "Visors should be mandatory."

Canucks fume at ruling

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeAgain more whining from the Vancouver Canucks about the Aaron Rome suspension. I say again; imagine if the shoe was on the other foot and Boston Bruins tough guy Shawn Thornton had smoked Ryan Kessler, Alex Burrows or one of the Sedin sisters twins at the blue line with a questionable check? Would they not expect the same kind of a ruling from the NHL?

Matthew Sekere; Globe and Mail ---- The Vancouver Canucks were furious with the four-game suspension handed down by the NHL to defenceman Aaron Rome Tuesday.

One day after head coach Alain Vigneault and captain Henrik Sedin admitted Rome's hit on Boston Bruins forward Nathan Horton was late, the Canucks were singing a different tune, more defiant in their characterization of the hit, and outraged at the league.

And there’s good reason for that. Several of them, in fact.

For starters was Mike Murphy’s admission that he consulted with Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke, a former NHL disciplinarian, before arriving at his decision. The mere mention of Burke’s name elicits anger from the Canucks, because his relationship with team owner Francesco Aquilini is toxic.

There were other reasons: Rome’s despondency at missing the rest of the Stanley Cup final; the stiffest suspension ever administered in the final; and the lack of disciplinary consistency and perceived injustices from earlier this postseason.

If it had stopped at that, there would have been plenty of bad tidings to go around. That Burke was dragged into it only fanned the flames.

General manager Mike Gillis would not comment when asked directly about Burke’s involvement, saying only that “we’re disappointed but we’re moving on.” Reached via text message, Aquilini said he would be making no comment until after the playoffs.

“I'm talking about Brian Burke. I don't like to mention people who I deal with,” Murphy said in a press conference. “He was one gentleman who I did speak with. There's a lot of other people I spoke with, too, not just Brian.”

Canucks: 'We thought it was a clean hit'

Image via WikipediaBut of course they see nothing wrong with the hit that sent Nathan Horton to the hospital and ended his season. What a buffoon... I wounder if the tables had been turned; say that one of the Sedin sisters twins had been injured with a illegal hit like Horton was; I can't imagine the whining we would hear from the Vancouver Cancucks fan base, but also from the Canucks front office and their coaching staff.

While there is no winners in this incident, the Canucks got the better end of this deal, the Canucks lose a mediocre defenseman from their third defense paring while the Bruins lose one of their best forwards from the top line it's hardly a fair trade off in my opinion, I believe the four game suspension is about right. 

BOSTON -- The Vancouver Canucks disagree with the NHL's decision to suspend Aaron Rome for the rest of the Stanley Cup Final for his tardy hit on Nathan Horton that left the Boston winger with a concussion.

"It was a little bit late, but anybody that's played this game knows that you have to make a decision in a fraction of a second," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said. "He's engaged in the hit. I don't know how the League could come up with that decision really."

NHL Senior V.P. of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy made the call to suspend Rome for four games after talking to the Canucks defenseman Tuesday morning. Rome, who was issued a five-minute major for interference and a game misconduct 5:07 into the first period of Game 3, is done for the Stanley Cup Final, and if the series ends early his suspension will carry over into the 2011-12 season.

Related articles

• Aaron Rome Suspended Four Games, Will Miss Remainder Of Stanley Cup Finals (sbnation.com)
• Stanley Cup Finals: What to Expect from the Vancouver Canucks in Game 4 (bleacherreport.com)
• Nathan Horton Injury Will Keep Him Out For Rest Of Stanley Cup Finals (sbnation.com)
• Bruins' Horton out of Stanley Cup final with severe concussion (thestar.com)

Call the Canucks a Whambulance

We are going to have to call the Vancouver Canucks a whambulance. I mean seriously, the call against Alex Burrows for knocking over Tim Thomas was the correct call, you can't do that in any league. Also, I have never seen so much whining about the officials, every time there is a call against the Canucks the CBC cameras pan to the Vancouver Canucks GM in sky box for his reaction to the call on the ice. I was also wondering why CBC doesn’t pan the camera to the Boston Bruins GM’s box to see his reaction as well.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- The Vancouver Canucks were not surprised by Boston goalie Tim Thomas' outstanding play Wednesday night in the opener of the Stanley Cup final.

They simply took issue with where Thomas played.

Coach Alain Vigneault joined several Canucks in questioning Thomas' aggressive positioning well outside his crease, complaining specifically about a tripping penalty to Alex Burrows for bumping Thomas outside the blue paint.

But, as Thomas and Bruins coach Claude Julien pointed out ahead of Game 2 tonight, the goalie's right to stop the puck unimpeded is not limited to the crease.


"I have the right to go anywhere there's open ice," said Thomas, who made 33 saves -- many spectacular -- before Raffi Torres scored Game 1's only goal with 18.5 seconds to play.

"If I'm set, I have a right to that ice. If I'm out of the paint and I'm set, I also have the right of way to get back to the crease. That's the way I understand it."

There's no doubting Thomas, who joined Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo as a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goalie, is more aggressive than most. He relies on his ability to read and react to plays from his skates, rather than playing the more passive, on-the-knees butterfly style common today.

Related articles

• Thomas' Roaming Goaltending Perplexes Canucks (nytimes.com)
• Thomas' roaming goaltending perplexes Canucks (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• 2011 Stanley Cup Finals: Today's News on Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks (bleacherreport.com)
• Boston Bruins: Goalie Tim Thomas Is Using His Smarts to Help Thwart Canucks (bleacherreport.com)
• Bruins Vs. Canucks, Game 2: Boston Needs To Find More Offense, Somehow Stop Vancouver (sbnation.com)