Westgarth, Smid, Butler, Blair Jones, Lane, Bieksa, Weise and Garrison all ejected.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) January 19, 2014
Great message from Kesler. Much leadership there. Two USA teammates fighting about the CDN goalie
— Mark Spector (@SportsnetSpec) January 14, 2014
Sestito with all sorts of #BreakinTheRules. He won't be back tonight. 17:30 minutes left in the 1st.
— LA Kings (@LAKings) January 14, 2014
"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
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
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| Orca logo, 1997–2007. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun --- Through 129 AHL and 286 NHL games, the Vancouver Canucks winger liked to think he had earned a reputation as a hard-working, honest player who played the game the right way.
So Hansen was more than a little disappointed about the one-game suspension he served Thursday night for his hit two nights earlier on Chicago forward Marian Hossa.
Sure, the $7,297.30 Hansen forfeited for sitting out Thursday night's game hit him right in the wallet, but Hansen said he's more concerned about having that mark on his record.
"Of course, you know that you are a repeat offender now if something happens again," he said after participating in Thursday's optional game-day skate at American Airlines Center. "You are trying to play an honest game and play the right way and not step too far over the line and it's unfortunate. But that's the way it is right now."
Other than the video that the NHL posted on its website, Hansen said he received no further explanation for the suspension.
Hossa: "(Hansen) said he was reaching for the puck. I didn’t buy it. When you reach for the puck you don’t hit s'one that hard in the head."
— Tracey Myers (@TramyersCSN) February 21, 2013
Vancouver, B.C. - Vancouver Canucks President & General Manager Mike Gillis announced today that the Canucks have re-signed left wing Alex Burrows.
Burrows, 31, collected 52 points (28-24-52) and 90 penalty minutes in 80 games played in 2011.12. He also set a career high for most game-winning goals in a season with seven, ranking 11th in the League in this category. Following the conclusion of the season, Burrows represented Team Canada at the World Championships.
Burrows has played in seven seasons over his NHL career, all with the Canucks. He has recorded 270 points (139-131-270) in 522 games. The 6’1”, 195-pound left winger ranks second in franchise history for most shorthanded goals (16) and 10th for most game-winning goals (22). Burrows has been the recipient of multiple club awards, including the Vancouver Canucks Most Exciting Player (2008, 2009, 2010) and the Fred J. Hume Award as the Canucks Unsung Hero (2008).
The Pincourt, Quebec native has also appeared in 58 career playoff games, recording 28 points (16-12-28) and 90 penalty minutes in four post-season appearances. Burrows holds the club record for most career overtime playoff goals (3) and is tied for most series-winning goals (2). Burrows originally signed as a free agent with Vancouver on November 8, 2005.
The fact that Alex Burrows is resigned by the Canucks will give me reason and I will have no problem continuing to hate the #canucks
— Eric J. Burton (@goon48) September 14, 2012
“I think the only thing I can say is it’s a first offer,” Schneider told Papp via phone from his offseason home near Boston. “It’s a starting point. We’re going to consider it and figure out what our counter-proposal is going to be. Yes, it is a little shocking when you first look at it but, again, that’s how negotiations work. You aim high and then try to move back from there.
“There is going to have to be a lot of give and take for us to come to an agreement. So we’re not too worried and we’re not panicking right now. We’re just going to take it one meeting at a time.”
Schneider added that it was far too early to assume another lockout was inevitable based on the league’s first proposal, with training camps not slated to open for another two months and the regular season almost three months away. “There is still plenty of time,” he remarked. “I mean, we’re not thinking in those terms yet. I think we’re both trying to get a deal done here, but it takes time and it takes negotiations.” [Elliot Pap, Vancouver Sun]
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| Vancouver Canucks center Maxim Lapierre during a game against the Colorado Avalanche on March 16, 2011. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
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?
Orland Kurtenblog --- The $5 mil total also proves that, if you want to make some serious money in the league, you should try speedbagging a Sedin.Brad Marchand plays on the edge all the time and during the Stanley Cup finals Marchand was up in Daniel Sedin's grill for most of the series... Just a little reminder in case anyone forgot, how about this move by Brad Marchand as he showed Daniel Sedin if you going to keep skating after the whistle Marchand is going to protect himself. [Click to view video] Again, did people expect Marchand to just let Sedin run him?
I mean, let’s be real here. Marchand is a good player and you can’t downplay his postseason effectiveness — but everyone knows how he made a name for himself, and it wasn’t for relentless back-checking. Marchand whaled on the Art Ross trophy winner, bragged about it, and everybody ate it up. Fans, media and television talking heads were tripping over each other to anoint him the rodent du jour, taking the “next Ken Linesman” label away from Dave Bolland (who, to be fair, took it away from Steve Ott. I think the point here is the “rat king” label frequently changes holders.) This wasn’t necessarily wrong, just overblown. On the list of things that prevented Vancouver from winning, Marchand’s agitation skills were somewhere in the middle
Image by Getty Images via @daylifeBruce Dowbiggen from the Globe and Mail has a head scratcher of an article in Sunday's Globe and Mail sports page.NEGATIVE IMAGESIs there a double standard when it comes to P.K. Subban? I don't believe so. What do you think?
As the NHL hands out its awards in Las Vegas Tuesday, it’ll be looking to expunge the media images from one of the nastiest Stanley Cup finals in recent memory. Most depressing was the image of thousands of young men in Vancouver who seem to have mistaken a riot for a South Park episode. The other was the sight of Boston Bruins rookie Brad Marchand using the head of Hart Trophy finalist Daniel Sedin as a speed bag – to the approval of hockey’s blood culture.
The league can’t do much for the street rioting but it could do something about the latter. Imagine an NBA rookie speed-bagging Dirk Nowitzki’s head going into a timeout or a first-year NFL player hitting Tom Brady in the head repeatedly after the play. What do you think the response would be from those leagues? They’d hammer the kid.
But the NHL stands by as useless as a Vancouver city cop watching his cruiser burn. Better yet, media types – some of whom piously decry fighting – blame Sedin for bruising Marchand’s knuckles and tell Vancouver to wise up and get some tough guys. Hope all the parents with kids in hockey are following this.
DOUBLE STANDARD
One final thought on rookie Marchand: How come when he abuses a superstar he’s applauded by Hockey Night in Canada and the media as a savvy kid who gets under the skin to win. But when Montreal Canadiens rookie P.K. Subban did the same, we were told by the same voices that he was a punk with no respect who needed to be taken down a notch? Is it because Marchand is a Bruin, a sacred squad on Hockey Night, because Sedin is a European or because Marchand is white while Subban is black, or all of the above. Take all the time you need to answer.
Ottawa Sun --- “I’m sure everybody knows what happened and they’ll keep a better eye on him next time,” said Bieksa of Peverley, whose slash went undetected by referees Kelly Sutherland and Dan O’Halloran.Now before someone says that I think that Kevin Bieksa deserved to be stuck in the groin with a stick, I didn’t say that he deserved it, however, Bieksa brought that reaction on himself by the type of game that he plays on the ice. I do believe in Karma like I mentioned earlier. I also want to be clear I am not a fan of using your stick to settle differences on the ice and Peverley deserved a penalty for his cup check, but this stick fowl nowhere comes close to a suspendable offense.
“There’s such a thing as karma. Whether it’s next year or the year after, he’ll get something from somebody else. He got me on the back of the knee. Luckily, it’s okay.”
Joe Sullivan, Globe Sports Editor ---- Vigneault also talked about the physical nature of his team and the series plus a reference to what he called a cheap shot by Rich Peverley of the Bruins.
"I think if you look at the stat sheet at the end of the day, we're hitting as hard as they are. If you look at the stat sheets throughout the playoffs, we're the team that's got the most hits. That's part of our game. Kevin (Bieksa) didn't get hit, he got a cheap shot in the back of the knee (by Peverley), so that's totally different. He went down because of something that obviously you don't want to see in the game. But at the end of the day, we know that they're a big, physical team. We can play a speed game, but we can also play a physical-type game, which I think we've shown throughout the playoffs."
Image via WikipediaFor the self congratulatory hockey pundits that had said there is a conspiracy for the Boston Bruins because Colin Campbell’s son Greg Campbell plays for the Boston Bruins; that conspiracy has been proven to be unfounded and has been shot full of holes to boot. Vancouver Canucks "hack" Alex Burrows will not be suspended for biting Patrice Bergeron. VANCOUVER -- National Hockey League Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy today announced that there will be no supplemental discipline on Vancouver Canucks forward Alex Burrows for an alleged incident in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
"After reviewing the incident, including speaking with the on-ice officials, I can find no conclusive evidence that Alex Burrows intentionally bit the finger of Patrice Bergeron," Murphy's statement
