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Michael Jackson’s mystery appearance with the Canucks

June 30, 2009

At the Canucks Fan Zone, blogger Derek Jory asks the question (of no one in particular — they don’t allow comments) whether the following photo, ostensibly from 1984, is real:

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NHL goalie salaries and playoff impact

May 16, 2009

It’s such common wisdom to say that your team gets you into the playoffs but your goalie gets you to the final that the phrase has become a hackneyed cliche. But there’s a new cliche in town:  One lesson is starting to become clear in the new NHL is that you’ve got to build it, [...]

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The Armchair GM’s Rx for the #Canucks in 2009/2010

May 13, 2009

Once man’s recipe to salvage the Vancouver Canucks’ chances at a playoff run in 2009/2010

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More NHL teams should salute their fans

March 8, 2009

Since the 1970s, Vancouver hockey fans have endured a club that has been roller-coaster at best and horrifyingly bad at its worst, often never making the playoffs and even more often getting drubbed in the first or second rounds by clearly superior teams.  Since my childhood the team has withstood four different ownership groups and [...]

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Miss Virginia needs some stealthy goalie pads

January 26, 2009

A kid in New Hampshire has developed stealth goalie pads, which he claims have increased his save percentage.  Stupid, but novel…. not unlike Gary Bettman.  What do I think, you beg?  Over the years I have used many different leg pad designs including a white maple leaf inset, white triangle insets, slashes, and all other [...]

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Doug Alward Should Light the Flame in 2010

January 14, 2009

The funny thing about Canadians is that we’re not very good at standing in the limelight.  While our neighbours to the South take their star turns for such staggering feats as winning a game show, it is a uniquely Canadian attribute that some of our greater contributors tend to go completely unredeemed.
For that reason I [...]

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Mats Sundin: Summer Rental

December 18, 2008

Welcome, Mats Sundin, to Vancouver.  I will enjoy the six months you spend in our fair city, but I won’t expect to see you for much long afterward.  In the meantime, I hope that too many deckchairs aren’t reordered to make room for you, because all of that will be torn down at the end [...]

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Ian Rides the Canucks’ Rickety Roller Coaster w/ Dave

October 22, 2008

Last week I stopped by the new Irish Heather for a fireside chat about all things hockey with DaveO, ostensibly to promote my team management service, RosterBot. I really enjoyed the chat, and DaveO got me a wee bit tipsy on Kilt Lifter ale and elicited my opinions on hockey (which are always tough to [...]

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Most Popular NHL Teams on eBay

October 16, 2008

With the season firing up last week I encouraged my friends at Terapeak to take a look at the transaction data around the various franchises on eBay.  Here’s what they came up with … not entirely unexpected.

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Hey Kyle, Do Some Situps!

September 24, 2008

The Canucks picked up Kyle Wellwood on waivers this summer from the Leafs, who apparently gave up on him after three consistent seasons of injury-plagued poor performance. He’s known in the league as an enormously talented player with lots of potential — but just that… potential. Here’s a candid photo of Wellwood’s summer training regime:

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