When the BC Lions take to the grid-iron this season, they will undoubtedly look very different thanks to the absence of just one player, that being Geroy Simon. However, wide receiver Marco Iannuzzi tells us the leadership gap on this team isn’t as wide as many might think.

Iannuzzi is entering his third season as a Leo and should see full-time minutes with the aforementioned absence a stark reality. Iannuzzi had five touchdowns and 353 yards on 30 receptions, all career highs, last season and says his mindset is to get better each and every day.

Marco isn’t from British Columbia though. He’s a Calgary boy, born May 21^st, 1987 and so it begs the question, was he a Stamps fan growing up? Of course he was.

“We had two season tickets that were sort of passed around the family growing up. So I was fortunate enough to get to three or four games every year,” says Iannuzzi.

That childhood relationship took a major hit when Calgary passed up Iannuzzi in the 2011 CFL Draft. Calgary had traded up with BC handing over their Number 6 pick for BC’s Number 3. Marco was then drafted by the Lions and hasn’t looked back.

“I think the weird factor went away the second the Stamps passed me up in the draft and I was happy to come over to BC. The organization has been great to me. Coming out here, my wife and I were laughing that we used to vacation in BC growing up and now we get to live year round where we vacation so we can’t complain there.

Secondly and like I said, the organization was great to me the whole time leading up to the draft.  The Lions were perfectly straight with me and what they said would happen ended up happening. I can’t say the same for Calgary so we’re happy to be in BC.”

I was happy to come over to BC. The organization has been great to me.

That draft swap is one Lions fans and management can look back on and be pretty happy with. Calgary took Vancouver, BC native and Calgary Dino Wide Receiver Anthony Parker 3^rd overall. In 2012, Parker didn’t put up a single yard for Calgary.

Iannuzzi has put himself in a pretty good spot mentally heading into 2013 having just signed a shiny three year extension with BC. However, the last several weeks haven’t been the easiest because Marco once played four years of college ball at Harvard and also attended MIT, the site of a fatal shooting just days after the Boston Bombings.

“I was there for four years of my life.

I used to be a real estate agent and rented many units along Boylston Street. So just seeing the images, it hit very, very close to home. Fortunately, I contacted most everyone I know that’s still in the area and I don’t think anyone was injured.

I did see many pictures from friends on social media who were having searches done on their houses and I thought that was pretty scary and traumatic.

Though no one [I know] was physically hurt, psychologically there’s a ton going on there and it’s a shame to see.”

On the bombings putting football into perspective, Marco says, “Sure, that puts everything into perspective, let alone football.”

Back to the topic of football where not just Iannuzzi, but all of his team-mates got in some early prep for the 2013 season. The organization held a mini-camp in the middle of April which Iannuzzi says, “was great and specifically because we had a couple new receivers out there. To get them into the playbook early and for the guys that have been around and may already be familiar with the stuff, we have new additions and wording and language to learn.

Even though we only got three days in, we still have the next six weeks to think about those things so I think we’ll be coming into camp a full week ahead of where we’d be had we not had the mini camp.”

A couple of those new guys are Portland, Oregon born Elvis Akpla and Catawba, North Carolina native Justin Harper. The 24 year old Akpla is a complete newbie in the CFL having signed as a free agent with BC this past April. Harper on the other hand was coast-bound when Geroy traded in his orange kicks for a green Superman logo.

“It’s tough to see Geroy leave.”

Harper had 95 yards on 9 receptions with 0 TD’s for the Riders last season.

Marco, being the grizzled veteran that he is, thinks they’ll be fine but has some modest advice.

“They’ve played in pro organizations before but like I said, the BC Lions have been very fair to me from the business end of things and opportunity-wise. You’ve just got to keep doing your thing and prepare yourself for training camp because training camp is only so long and you have to prove yourself somewhere along the way.”

If guys like Akpla and Harper can perform well at main camp in a couple weeks, perhaps the loss of Arland Bruce and Geroy Simon to other CFL foes won’t be such a big deal. Iannuzzi is confident in his squad’s current state of leadership.

“We have great leadership here but yes it’s tough to see the greatest of all time go because you can’t replace him. But as far as the leadership gap goes, we have Paris Jackson still around and he’s become more vocal; actually he’s always been a vocal guy. Now we have the opportunity to step up for young guys or guys that have already been in a leadership role like Travis [Lulay] and Angus [Reid].

Iannuzzi continues, “It’s tough to see him [Geroy] leave but I understand what happened and why he did it so no hard feelings. We’re moving forward like our organization is now.

If you look at last year, specifically the last half a dozen games, we played without Arland [Bruce] and Geroy for the bulk of those games so to say we’re all new, fresh faces isn’t really an accurate statement and I think we’ve proven that we can play and we’ve shown what we’ve got on the field.”

Does this mean Marco, an Investment Advisor with RBC Dominion Securities, has changed his game at all? Nope.

“I’ve kept my game the same my whole life and it’s not a matter of thinking I’m good enough. It’s about getting better. I stick to how I’m training and believe in it and that’s done me well for the past 20 years so I’ll continue to do it as I progress in my career.”

Marco LITERALLY laughed out loud when we asked him who he hates more, Ivy League rival Yale or CFL foe Saskatchewan.

“Definitely Yale. That rivalry has been going for 130-some odd years so it’s in my bones a little more.”

The first meeting between Yale and Harvard occurred on November 13, 1875 and Yale leads the all-time series Yale leads 65–56–8.

“I don’t hate or avoid going up against anyone.”

Is there one defensive player in the CFL Marco hates going up against?

“I don’t hate or avoid going up against anyone,” boasts Marco. “It’s the joy of competition and each week you prepare. Obviously each week you prepare for specific opponents but I don’t dread anyone.”

This interview may or may not have happened if it weren’t for Twitter so we asked Marco what draws him to social media, Twitter in particular.

“I love Twitter because I’m able to talk to the fans. They really show a lot of support and obviously you can’t go out and have an individual conversation with every single fan but Twitter allows a lot of them, if they have something to say, to say it. You can see what they’re thinking, reach out to them and thank them for their support.

It’s been great this past off-season hearing the support.

You know, there are comments from time to time about what their concerns are and how the media interplays with that, you just get a better feel for what’s going on in the league.”

We’re talking to Marco Iannuzzi here, a guy that hoisted the Grey Cup in his very first CFL season. If you’re wondering, yes he did play in the Grey Cup victory over Winnipeg and the West Final before that. On hoisting the Grey Cup, Iannuzzi says, “It’s fantastic. It’s one of those feelings you want to have happen again so you do everything you can to make it happen.

When you’re actually sitting their hoisting it, it doesn’t sink in but as a year passed and now two years, I realize I was fortunate enough to hold my whole childhood dreams above my head and it’s definitely a feeling I’m striving to achieve once more.”

A final message for the fans from Mr. Marco Iannuzzi: “Thank you for the support and we look forward to seeing you up in the crowd this season.”

You can follow Marco Iannuzzi on Twitter @IannuzziMarco.

The CFL pre-season gets underway for BC June 14^th, ironically, on the road in Calgary.

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Canuck(s) Nation [which one is it?] is on the edge of its collective seat right now wondering what in the name of Luongod Thursday’s noon press conference starring Michael D. Gillis could be about.

The mystery around the contents of said presser is so dense and dare I say dark that we felt compelled to make some educated guesses as to what it may just be.

Zack Kassian’s trip to the barber

The Canucks just got swept in the first round and could the Kassassin’s musty mullet have had something to do with it? We think so which is why it remains a possibility that when Thursday’s lunch hour rolls around, Gilly may just be announcing Zack Attack’s trip to the local MagiCuts (You’re welcome for the free advertising MagiCuts; keep up the good work).

That thing growing on the back of Zack’s head was nowhere near as successful as the circa early-90′s Jagr duster and it certainly never scored a Stanley Cup winning goal in OT à la Patrick Kane but i’ll give it a semi-impressive rating.

Perhaps it can one day live up to Marty McSorley standards…without, ya know, a different type of chop to the head. Too soon?

Nonetheless, it’s about time Mikey finally made the executive decision everyone’s been waiting for and crop that mop top.

End of the season presser time

Enter Peter Andersson

Who the hell is Peter Andersson you ask?

He’s only Mike Gillis’ 2009 5th round, 143rd overall draft pick of course.

We figure tomorrow Mikey G might do the unthinkable and exile Peter to Sweden and Finland where he must beg the Swedish team’s coaching staff to allow him on their World Championship team. Gillis’ logic for this would be to play alongside the twins and Alex Edler.

After all, Andersson is the next coming of Nicklas Lidstrӧm.

Andersson will not be in attendance at the press conference Thursday and he will find out about this course of action while watching Sportsnet on The Score. He’ll be confused by the former and then perplexed by the latter and finally get his balls together to call Gilly M and discuss.

“Either do it or be traded to Buffalo,” says future Gillis.

Aquilini soup

“I’m firing the Aquilini’s!”

*crickets in the Norm Jewison media room*

“Wait…I can’t do that?”

Gilliban the refs

Many are saying the Vancouver Canucks didn’t lose the series and get swept by the Sharks just because of the botched calls in Game 4 and those who are saying that are probably half right. The Canucks likely wouldn’t have been swept if it weren’t for the zebras but there’s no doubt they were the inferior team from the get-go.

That said, it’s my own personal opinion (because you care about that) the refs were actually inferior to the Canucks in Games 1 through 4, at least in terms of performing the skills they’ve been trained to do so correctly.

“Henceforth it shall be known,” says Gillis, “that no referee of any kind will ever be allowed to officiate another Vancouver Canucks game until the end of time.

After much deliberation alongside Francesco Aquilini, we have decided to hire the baby giraffe that died at the local zoo recently and a murder of crows from the Georgia Viaduct to call all games at Rogers Arena forever more, forever more.”

An ‘I Quit’ match

WWE’s latest PPV event is coming up in just 11 days and Mike ‘I Breathe Through My’ Gillis will be on hand Thursday to announce his career will be on the line in an ‘I Quit’ match against Alain Vigneault.

Thanks for the memories AV. (And the Wins)

The premise of an ‘I Quit’ match is that the two opponents must beat the pulp out of each other until the other says, “I quit,” usually into a microphone.

There are no pin-falls, tap-outs or disqualifications. It’s more or less a no holds barred slugfest upon which the loser not only admits inferiority, but loses his job.

The match goes forward with Mike the Gillistener taking the victory but only before Vince McMahon comes out and fires him from the Canucks on behalf of Francesco Aquilini anyway because Mike refuses to kiss Vince’s ass.

Ya dig?

That’s Booker T for, “Do you follow?

I’ll tell you what doesn’t follow Thursday’s press conference with Michael D. Gillis and that’s another day on the job for Alain Vigneault.

 Tell us in the comments section what you think the presser may be regarding!!!

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There’s probably no disagreeing that the Canucks team awards are a lot nazzyer, or snazzier, than the trophies Juno winners get. However, it’s almost certain the fan choices for these awards differ from one section of Rogers Arena to the next.

Let us appease the devil and be his advocate here.

Who should have really taken home Canuck bronze Thursday night?

Most Valuable Player: Center Henrik Sedin
Real Winner: Goaltender Cory Schneider

This is easily the most difficult selection to argue with but it’s Cory Schneider’s start that brings him down a notch in my books. With a 5-4-1 record through 10 games, it wasn’t what the Canucks were hoping for when Ginger Bricks usurped Roberto Luongo in last season’s playoffs, which by the way was a no turning back decision by Alain Vigneault.

The point was made that having Roberto around would be too much pressure for Schneids and it seemed that way indeed. Although Ginger Jesus eventually proved me wrong by taking the ball and running with it, even with Lu around, Roberto did win more than 1/3 of the Canucks games.

Mr. Henrik Sedin on the other hand has been consistent from the start. He’s only gone 16 games this season without a point and only once went three games without a point. Add on top of that a +19 rating and an extrapolated 19 goals through 47 games and we have a winner.

Henrik would have a three year high in goals, matching his Cup Final season total. Hank has been a Captain through and through and is my MVP.

Most Exciting Player: Right Wing Alex Burrows
Real Winner: Right Wing Jannik Hansen

No offense to the Danish Dynamo, but there are four other guys I would give this award to for 2013. Alex Burrows takes the cake with a team leading 13 goals and a tied for 4^th 24 points through 47 games. Alex has proven this season he is Captain Clutch scoring timely goals again and again.

Snubbed? Who should have really taken home Canuck bronze Thursday night?

A +15 rating and deadly ability to cycle, set up and score with the Twins make him the most exciting player.

On a side note, how many breakaways did Jannik Hansen NOT score on this season? Answer: way too many. Perhaps when Hansen was playing in Finland during the lockout, he was bitten by the same snake that took a chunk out of Sami Salo.

For the record, the other three who beat out Hansen are Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin and Mason Raymond, which brings us to unsung hero.

Unsung Hero: Left Wing Mason Raymond
Real Winner: Right Wing Jannik Hansen

Mase hasn’t been his early season self during the last couple weeks of the regular season but when things were uncertain, he was stepping up. He was stepping up in the face of never ending trade speculation and scrutiny for falling down too much. The heat he’s taken is paralleled by few others on this team.

His extrapolated 37 points through 47 games is far from a career high but the 27 year old Cochrane, Alberta native could have easily mailed it in and blamed a lack of production on a bad back.

Clearly the guy trained hard during the extended off-season and he provided a somewhat unexpected source of points to the table.

Not to say his input went completely un-noticed but he deserves a little extra credit for bringing his a-game this season when no one saw it coming.

Top Defenceman: Dan Hamhuis
Real Winner: Dan Hamhuis

This is a pretty easy choice as consistency, composure, and capability describe Hamhuis’ performance.

Tied for 5^th in team scoring with one game to go, Dan Hamhuis would be on pace for 41 points in an 82 game season, a career high.

He’s been a beacon of hope in a season where things weren’t always hopeful and looks to be someone Canucks fans and his team-mates can rely on in the playoffs.

Coach of the Year: No one
Real Winner: No one

You might think Coach Vee would win by acclamation but nay. Alain Vigneault has survived yet another season with über talent at his grasp. The players have melded and formed a working, winning team on their own despite him.

Chronic line juggling and the mishandling of players like Zack Kassian and Jordan Schroeder are just the beginnings of Vigneault’s ineptitude.

It’s about damn time management realized his presence behind the bench means next to nothing. Okay, congrats on being the winningest Coach in Canucks history.

Or should YOU be thanking your players for that Alain?

If the Canucks fail to win the Stanley Cup, he should be out the door the day after elimination.

But hey the playoffs begin really soon so glass half full right? Go Canucks Go.

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Canucks Nation knows full well that their team has had more costume changes over the years than Justin Timberlake as host of Saturday Night Live, but could there be one final changing of the guard?

We’re talking something permanent; something that will last 100 years like the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs world-wide recognized brands. It may not be a popular idea, considering the alterations that seem to occur every couple seasons, but let’s for argument’s sake say there will be one more.

Next season’s still unconfirmed Heritage Classic at BC Place could be the venue for the Vancouver Canucks’ organization to test something new, or old, out.

Am I suggesting the retirement of the beloved Orca? Perhaps that is the easiest option regardless of its popularity, which is split down the middle. The club added the killer whale to its uniforms back in 1997, two years after Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment was founded. Of course Orca Bay no longer exists and the organization has been trending away from the logo anyway.

With huge pushes in recent years of the ‘Johnny Canuck’ and ‘Stick-In-Rink’ brands, our orca may go the way of the dodo bird sooner than later.

Let’s get one thing straight: with the retirement of the Orca comes the dawning of the stylized, ‘Stick-In-Rink,’ era. It would become our permanent first jersey and would stay that way until the end of time.

Will Johnny Canuck uniforms be coming out soon?

So when you read the following possibilities, imagine the Canucks’ current 3^rd as their potential, future, primary logo/jersey.

Hello Johnny

A popular idea is making the ‘running Johnny Canuck’ a main part of the Canucks’ set of logos, but this will not be the jersey the Canucks wear on home ice at BC Place. This game is all about heritage and so it will be something we’ve already seen before.

That’s not to say this couldn’t be an option if a permanent switch were to come, but even then you’d have to think this would be the new permanent 3^rd jersey or secondary logo as mentioned.

The colours would be blue and green–of course–with identical trim. The issue here is we don’t actually know how these jerseys look. The club could line a few players up at center ice and they may look really freakin’ unappealing to our eyes, but by then it’ll be too late.

I can’t say I agree with all the ‘Vancouver’ on the chest haters but that still hasn’t grown on everyone since they sort of just threw those at us out of nowhere.

Maybe the Vancouver Sun could hold a 3^rd jersey design contest similar to what they did in 1987 prior to the Canucks home uni switch from puke yellow to piss-in-the-snow white.

Money, Money, Money

A lot of speculation after the Canucks wore throwback Vancouver Millionaires jerseys back on March 16 revolved around whether or not the club could bring them out of the closet periodically in the future. While I have to agree they are very sexy jerseys and a one-off would be disappointing, the Nucks of present day don’t deserve to wear those jerseys.

They may represent winning, but not for this franchise. One argument would be to have one ‘Millionaires Night’ each season to make it a special occasion.

If, however, you bring them out four or five times each year, that’s just as bad as the fact the NHL is planning six outdoor games. It would be watered down and no longer unique unless management is willing to make it the official third jersey. But again, not our franchise, not an option I support.

Become Pastafarians

There is no question, Canucks fans have been clamoring for the old, ‘flying plate of spaghetti,’ to make its triumphant return. Since the NHL introduced its Vintage Hockey line, there’s really only one significant set of colours the Canucks are yet to resort back to. If you’re wondering, I don’t mean the burgundy, purple, blue and silver.

My best guess and highest hope is that when the Vancouver Canucks take to the ice at hopefully an open-roofed BC Place on March 2^nd, 2014, they will be donning the good ol’ ‘flying skate’ with the black, yellow and red majestically stitched into Reebok Edge form.

No other set of colours has given the Canucks more success. Granted, the 1982 final appearance was with the ‘Flying V’, and Luongo forbid they wear those.

Could these be part of the new uniform lineup? (canucks.nhl.com)

Think about this: every Heritage Classic is preceded by an Alumni Game and most of our highly worshiped Canucks legends wore the ‘flying skate.”

Here’s a sampling of some players we could see back in those colours  Pavel Bure, Trevor Linden, Kirk McLean, Gino Odjick, the Courtnall brothers, Greg Adams, Cliff Ronning, Dave Babych, Stan Smyl and oh yeah, Markus Naslund. What an event that will be!

So once the Heritage Classic and 2013-14 NHL season are all wrapped up, I propose we see the ‘Flying Skate’ become the official, and I repeat, permanent Canucks 3^rd jersey.

While it’s not traditional for a team’s 3^rd to have an entirely different colour scheme from their regular home and away, this is Vancouver and we’re special in so many ways, so why the hell not?

Just in case you didn’t catch this in the last paragraph: yes the colours stay the same with a black/red/yellow stick-in-rink or Johnny Canuck shoulder patch.

Canucks fans may not collectively feel up to another change of jersey or logo but it’s probably something we know is coming with the unceasing push of the Johnny Canuck brand we all don’t seem to mind.

So let’s make it permanent and something we can be proud of forever. Let’s quit whining about the fact Gary Bettman is a greedy little Count and embrace the fact this is happening.

Let’s make the most of it Michael D. Gillis. Whaddya say?

If it’s any consolation, the Vancouver Whitecaps having altered their primary jersey this season will have had as many changes as the Canucks do after 42 seasons by their 20th^th in the MLS.

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It’s the kind of loss that leaves you speechless until J.S. Giguere pulls a fist pump out of his helmet upon which point you have to laugh because the Vancouver Canucks just won four in a row and are 18 points ahead of last place Colorado.

Not to say the Vancouver Canucks delivered their A-game Saturday but where are they right now in relation to the panic button? Ah yes, miles and miles or kilometres and many, many wilometres (as Grapes would say) away.

Alain Vigneault is however, as stale as ever while his players rise up headed towards the playoffs.

Alain Vigneault’s lack of influence on this team’s success doesn’t really need any more beating but we can’t forget about it completely. This team doesn’t need AV to win and they don’t need him to lose. That’s when you know you’ve worn out your welcome.

That aside, you also have to question the team’s decision to fly into Denver two days early. It was Thursday when they arrived and it brings us to something the one and only Don Cherry brought up in a segment on Hockey Night in Canada in recent weeks.

Grapes said in his time as a Coach in the NHL, which includes six 80 game seasons and a Jack Adams award, that you never, ever fly into Denver two days early.

It’s the kind of loss that leaves you speechless

How about one day before?

Cherry approved of that and in fact said it’s best if you fly in the day of. Now no team in today’s NHL will actually fly in on the day of a game unless there’s a snow storm forcing them into that dilemma but in all the time this organization has spent flying into the Mile High City, you’d think they’d have learned something similar.

The team was clearly sluggish and their slow start was epitomized by them letting in that precious first goal. It would have been more than that after 20 minutes if it weren’t for Cory Schneider…who, by the way, didn’t have his best game either.

For this one, he cannot blame his team-mates a la Giguere.

This leaves the Canucks where?

Certainly the panic button remains in a distant land and with seven games to go in the regular season, the playoffs are a lock along with probably a Northwest Division title. It’s day to day management that needs to be cleaned up.

The much hyped sleep doctors and trainers that work for this hockey club need to be more on the ball with the travel arrangements when it comes to situations like the one on this particular excursion.

Mike Gillis really needs to find a substitute for Tom Sestito. Might I suggest Jordan Schroeder, Andrew Gordon or recent signing Kellan Lain?

The players?

They just have to continue to mesh. Derek Roy is due to bust out in a big way. Despite not scoring a goal in green and blue as of yet, he has looked solid. Even Ryan Kesler has looked like his old self in the few games he’s played since returning.

Hank and Dank are picking up points each game and that may be more important than anything at this point in the season.

This team can do better and has proven that so there should be no doubt a deep playoff run remains a possibility.

We’ll see what the next 14 days yield in the way of gelation.

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NHL Trade Deadline Day 2013 may possibly go down as the worst day in Mike Gillis’ tenure as General Manager of the Vancouver Canucks.

Of course not every single solitary transaction Gillis has ever orchestrated has gone awry and in fact the reasons which make April 3^rd, 2013 his worst day so far involve nary a transaction.

Before we delve into the disaster that was deadline day, let’s ‘Tarantino’ things. Trade Deadline Eve was actually a pretty decent day for MG, a constructive and productive one perhaps. You might even say Tuesday was a microchosm of Gillis’ tenure so far, some good and some you make a silly face at.

A trade, a re-assignment and  a re-signing (note the hyphen). I summed it all up HERE.

The more curious scenario that unraveled Wednesday was that of one Roberto Luongo

Derek Roy, announced a Canuck Tuesday, was instantaneously dubbed a beacon of hope expected to rejuvenate the roster and fill that gaping black hole that’s wreaked havoc on the Canucks in recent weeks. It’s chewed up and spit players back out, sucking them from one line to the next, skewing chemistry and production up and down the lineup. Surely though, Mikey wouldn’t believe Roy is the hockey-godsend, the missing link that would have toppled Boston in 2011 or help to overcome the titanic Penguins of 2013…right?

Mike Gillis would have to be admitted to the mental institution though if he ever thought that for even one second and nevermind the team still having to flip their switch in the three short weeks before the playoffs arrive, we’re talkin’ about Derek Roy here, not Marion Gaborik.

So what makes Wednesday Gillis’ worst?

On the eve of the deadline, Michael D. Gillis [snort] was quoted as saying he still hoped to make one or two moves before the noon expiration time the next day. Well talk about letting that notion go sour. If only Gilly had had the conviction Wednesday to pull those moves off.

You mean to tell me Mr. Wonderful couldn’t come up with a 3^rd round pick for Raffi Torres, a guy we all know can perform in the playoffs? How about a 7^th round pick for Jussi Jokinen?

Seriously Mike, if you’re going to go all in, then GO ALL IN.

You just traded your now former best defensive prospect in Kevin Connauton and you’re just going to roll with that?

Maybe deals just didn’t pan out with fellow GM’s, but when we’re talking deep draft picks going the other way, it’s hard to believe some more effort couldn’t have been given to make it happen.

So what makes Wednesday Gillis’ worst?

Sadly, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The more curious scenario that unraveled Wednesday was that of one Roberto Luongo, easily the greatest goaltender in Vancouver Canucks franchise history and Bobby Lu proved that in his unexpected post-deadline presser.

Says Luongo: “I’m gonna (sic) gather myself for the rest of the day and make sure that when I come to work tomorrow, I’m gonna (sic) be 100% dedicated to this team the rest of the year no matter what that capacity is.

I would like nothing better than to win a Stanley Cup here this year and whether that is starting or being back-up, that’s the end goal for everybody in this locker room and I’m going to give myself 100% to that.”

That is the type of guy you want on your team, as much of a ‘clutterbuck’ the situation is. Luongo would go on to say that he would actually scrap his contract with the Canucks if it meant his departure could be made easier.

The jury is still out on whether or not that’s even remotely an option (which I’m pretty sure it’s not), but what’s disturbing was Gillis’ response to Lu’s statement in his own presser, held about a half hour later.

“Well I think that he was very emotional and I think these days are emotional for everybody so when you have a day like this where your whole life could be turned upside down and then you speak to you guys [the media] right after, I think there’s an opportunity for things to be said that in the clear light of day might not be reflective of what he [Roberto] really feels.”

Reality check Mike

You’re wrong. Roberto’s depressing and strangely endearing Q&A session was the raw truth. Call it emotion, call it the heat of the moment, it doesn’t matter.

Your ego has grown larger than the term on Roberto’s contract and it’s certainly not something fans in VanCity take too very well. We want consistency, we want honesty and we want something favourable for our team, something you’ve become the opposite of. Humbling times are on the horizon my friend.

To come out and pretend as if Roberto Luongo, the guy YOU offered a 12 year extension to, was just speaking with a hot head, is asinine.

Roberto has had eons to think about this scenario and if he hadn’t already constructed a concise message to convey at this point, I’d be worried, which I am actually, for this organization.

For on top of all the previous things listed that I can assure you Michael, Canucks fans desire, we want a winning team.

That is something, that in 5 years, you have yet to give us and it sure as hell doesn’t look like it’s pulling up to Gate 16, Griffiths Way anytime soon.

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Relatively speaking, Kevin Connauton is not a big name in the, “anyone can be traded,” circle, but there’s certainly no questioning his departure is significant for the Vancouver Canucks depth chart.

The kid was easily one of the Canucks top three defensive youngsters yet to make their mark on the NHL and it simply can’t be ignored the Canucks current D-core is aging. The average age of that group of seven (not counting Cam Barker) is 28.4.

Some might say that’s young but why bank on always acquiring defensemen in the future when you can breed them in the minors through good drafting and development? “Going for it at the deadline,” doesn’t have to mean letting all your boiling eggs go.

On that note, Connauton is probably one of Mike Gillis’ best picks apart from Cody Hodgson, which again, blunders the mind as to why he’d part with the 23 year old.

The bottom line is this: Kevin Connauton is gone and left at the top of the Canucks defensive prospects list are Frank Corrado and Yann Sauve. That’s saying something since Sauve is playing in the ECHL right now and not with Chicago.

It looks even worse after @News1130Sports tweeted this Tuesday

Connauton says he”really wanted to play in that rink, wear that jersey and live in that city”. Wanted so bad to be #Canuck.

— News1130 Sports (@News1130Sports) April 2, 2013

THUMBS UP

Derek Roy is a Vancouver Canuck and should provide some flexibility down the middle but I don’t buy the whole Ryan Kesler on the wing idea. He’s a centerman and a damn good one so let him play that position when he returns, which should be soon after his CT scan Monday came back clean.

Two factors will decide whether or not this was a good deal in the long run. The first is winning a Stanley Cup this season. If the Canucks pull it off, boom, ding, you went for it at the deadline and you won. Should they not (which is more probable), it’s vital Roy re-signs with the Nucks so the loss of Connauton is not in vain.

Oh and don’t be foolish. Derek Roy alone is not going to put the Canucks, as they say, over the top.

Derek Roy alone is not going to put the Canucks, as they say, over the top.

The re-assignment

Solely based on Twitter reaction Tuesday, which I can’t say is ever completely reliable, the re-assignment of Schroeder to Chicago was a surprise to many.

The debate is focused mainly around the aforementioned Shredster and Andrew Ebbett as those two have been manning the middle of the ice in the bottom six recently. With Ryan Kesler set to return to the 2^nd line and Derek Roy to take over the 3^rd, one of them had to go.

There’s nothing difficult to understand why Schroeder should have gotten the nod. He’s 7 years younger, he’s faster, played almost twice as many games as Ebbett this season, has more goals, assists and a better +/- rating and has worked his Minnesotan arse off to get this far with the big squad this season.

THUMBS DOWN

Nothing against Ebbett because I’m sure he gives 110% too but even when you extrapolate his figures to Schroeder’s level, the young one’s are still better. I can’t understand this move in the slightest when you’re a team that needs scoring more than anything and the player sent down is the better scoring of the two options.

Don’t give me the, “Schroeder’s not a 4^th liner,” argument either. They are the same type of player with different amounts of facial hair.

In the end, I can’t see Schroeder remaining in Chicago for long if he produces in a game or two and Ebbett continues to be a plug.

The re-signing

Christopher Higgins has been just about everything the Vancouver Canucks ever wanted him to be. He was a catalyst upon coming to the team at the trade deadline in 2011, helping the team in a major way to a Stanley Cup final appearance.

Higgins was lights out last season and would have scored 20 goals had he not missed 11 games with an infection. When he’s not been good, it’s been during the same ups and downs the rest of the team has experienced.

What’s telling is his +6 rating and 62 points in 120 games as a Canuck. Those figures affirm to the organization and fans that he is a reliable forward defensively and what more can we ask for right?

ABS! Right…he has nice abs. My bad.

THUMBS UP

These are all reasons why the Canucks giving Chris Higgins a 4 year deal worth $10 million on Tuesday gets the rubber stamp from this guy. Additionally, Higgins has been pragmatic and has shown he can mesh with line-mates in the top and bottom six.

He also doesn’t complain about it which fans know is tough not to do sometimes with Alain Vigneault and the Ringling Brothers circus act he puts on with the lines sometimes.

In four years, Higgins will turn 34 and at that point the Canucks can re-evaluate his usefulness but for now, a solid thumbs up to Mike Gillis that he wasn’t getting 24 hours ago. Perhaps what may be interesting to see is who Florida selects with the 2013 3^rd round pick they received in the Higgins trade two years ago.

So one day before what should really be a statutory holiday in Canada, Mike ‘Stay Still’ Gill(is) decided he’s going to go for it. The possibilities involving the Canucks before noon Wednesday involve Roberto Luongo and even Mason Raymond but again for a team that needs scoring, it doesn’t make sense to trade away your second leading scorer.

It’d also be nice to get some draft picks back after giving one away for Derek Roy.

If you’re asking and if I’m betting, Roberto Luongo will be a Vancouver Canuck after Wednesday making for what is optimistically looking like a good chance at a deep playoff run. Yet Gillis made statements Tuesday that imply a move or two are in the works.

Regardless, if there’s one headline I want to read before 12pm Wednesday or hear out of Bob McKenzie’s mouth, it would have to start off like this: “The Vancouver Canucks have traded Head Coach Alain Vigneault to…”

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Gear down, take a deep breath and let us reflect on this now complete three game, victory filled road trip.

Four wins in a row after going 3-4-2 to start the month of March and oh look, Alain Vigneault is tied with the legen-wait for it-dary Jack Adams in the all-time wins category.

Let’s not forget about how before the Vancouver Canucks became devastatingly riddled with injuries, they were outscored in the initial nine game stretch to begin March by a count of 27-24 and at this point only have a +2 goal differential on the regular season.

That’s the second lowest of all Western Conference teams currently in a playoff position.

If we extend the aforementioned stretch to February 24 when Vancouver played Detroit, the Canucks lost 8 of 11 games ending March 18^th versus Minnesota. People were calling for Alain Vigneault’s head on a platter at that point including this guy (points to self). The funny thing is I still am.

If I may quote Abraham Lincoln here: “How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.” 

The Canucks didn’t win the last four games because of Alain Vigneault. They won in dire straits of their own volition. Sure, congratulations to Alain Vigneault. You earned it buddy. You’re on par with Jack freakin’ Adams.

The Canucks now have four wins in a row after going 3-4-2 to start the month.

Let’s get this straight, no team just wins four games after a prolonged slump with major injuries up front piling on each day and they certainly don’t win those games because their coach is doing something different because Vigneault isn’t doing anything different.

He’s still the lozenge sucking, cliché spewing, hilariously smirking Coach we’ve come to know and love since 2006.

Major kudos go to the players though for pulling together and playing more like a team than they have all year. Cory Schneider has buckled down as well, having potentially re-cemented his rightful spot as the Canucks #1 goaltender.

It’s pretty crazy how the team can win four games in a row, spanked with players in the press-box and yet have still gone on that terrible slump with most of the now injured players still in the lineup.

If anything, this is all a cue for optimism but the fact remains, Alain Vigneault, Rick Bowness, Newell Brown and Darryl Williams all need to go. You can’t just remove the king-pin in this situation because all four of them believe in the same system.

A new philosophy is needed in the dressing room if this team wants to win a Stanley Cup, which I may remind you is what we all want.

Volition will only take a team so far which one might argue is something that should take a team anywhere they want to go but nay!

The team shouldn’t have to rely on desperate volition when on paper, the skill and talent levels on this squad are through the roof. It was only until very recently that Jason Garrison was not on the point on the powerplay rather than Daniel Sedin, a prime example of Vigneault’s incompetence and that my friends, is reality.

The Canucks now fly home for a two-gamer against teams they should squash, apparently even with all the injuries. Those teams are Columbus and Colorado. Seriously, Columbus’ recent run is a mirage and they don’t just need water, they need a reality check too.

The Canucks will get their reality check soon enough because eventually Ryan Kesler, Zack Kassian, Steven Pinozzotto and oh yeah, Alex Edler will be back in the lineup and they’ll be facing tougher teams come the middle of April.

The question is: with Alain Vigneault more than likely not going anywhere until at least the end of this decent team’s coaching staff friendly shortened season, can their volition keep up with their enemies?

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If you’re expecting to read a rant aimed at just the staff and, “rules,” at Rogers Arena or solely at the, “fans,” that fill the majority of the seats each home game, you’re about to be disappointed.

Don’t be mistaken, the atmosphere people watching on TV notice all too often is everybody’s fault (except those watching on TV).

We (Vancouver Canucks fans) are so often referred to as the best fans in the league but a swift double take instantly reminds us who exactly is saying that: US! Literally 100% of the people who say that are Canucks fans.

I’m just going to go ahead and say that we’re a little biased perhaps?

Yes?

Okay. I repeat: it is everyone’s fault so let’s discuss the top methods that could just possibly up the air of dignity in Rogers Arena on game night.

Being allowed to cheer aloud

It’s been just over a month since a couple Vancouver Southsiders fans were kicked out of a Canucks game for allegedly causing some, “sightline issues for other fans,” and for standing.

See Feb. 14 article from 24 Hours Sport Reporter Hosea Cheung (@hosea24hours)

If you’re not familiar with the Southsiders, they are a group of fans that support the MLS’ Vancouver Whitecaps and typically engage in rambunctious and raucous but fan friendly chants during ‘Caps games at BC Place, and no one bats an eye.

It’s a staple of those games.

Hey Suits! Why do you even go to our Canucks games?

Yet you can literally go across the street to Rogers Arena where the Canucks are playing and the best clamour fans can come up with is, “Backstrooom.” More on that later but remaining with the staff and rules at Rogers Arena, they need to make revisions.  The Southsiders were there in a large group with only two getting kicked out but for what was seemingly a non-issue.

Note: It’s hard to find any solid rules and regulations on the Rogers Arena website but clearly excessively strict guidelines have been taught.

Staff never really gave a good explanation and so now fans are literally afraid of being given the boot and having their $100+ wasted because they aren’t allowed to get off their seats. Seriously, we can’t stand? Ugh.

Come on folks, let’s, “make some noise for the boys,” right? While we sit upright with perfect posture, butt at the back of our seat all night right? Heck, let’s bring a blanket to the game and we can snuggle underneath and play footsy while the, “boys,” hit the black disc thing around.

The Suits

Dear you people (what do you mean you people?),

Why do you even go to the games? You don’t cheer, you take up the best seats, and you’re on the phone more than Taylor Swift in her music video for ‘Never ever…,”whatever, who gives a Clutterbuck?

Call me Taylor!

You don’t appreciate the game because you’re not watching it. You’re never on the edge of your seat and you leave early. Who in their right mind besides press, team management, some arena staff and injured players, wears a suit to a hockey game or any sporting event for that matter? Have some fun and wear a jersey. It’s not unprofessional to do so. This isn’t the opera for Luongod’s sake.

Pro-tip: don’t buy the tickets. If you do, give them away. If you don’t, well at least people who actually give a flying five dollar frankfurter can buy them.

There are of course exceptions to every rule and I’m not one to paint everyone in a group with the same brush but really, buzz-kills are not welcome. Add that to your make believe rules and regulations Rogers Arena.

Bad chants at bad times

On Monday night, the Canucks were up 1-0 against Minnesota, a game which they would end up losing. Watching on the television, you could hear a pathetic and faint chant from the crowd to the tune of, “Backstrooom, Backstrooom.”

Are you freakin’ kidding me? Best fans in the league? How about some of the most idiotic and ignorant fans in the league?

Granted it was faint suggesting it was a small group of people but this isn’t the first or last time this event has been or will be experienced. Watching on TV, it really is embarrassing. You don’t serenade the opposing goalie when he’s only let in one goal. Don’t ask why. You just don’t.

It’s also cringe-worthy seeing the wave with five minutes to go and with the Canucks down 4-0. If you really cared that the Canucks were losing meaning if you were actually a fan who cared about results from game to game, you’re not in the mood to do the bloody wave.

Hey Vancouver Canucks organization! Are you listening? Make your tickets cheaper. That is all.

Pro-tip: Don’t get cocky. That’s how we lost the Stanley Cup in 2011. That’s how we lost to Minnesota in the first round of the 2003 playoffs. Just remember that your team does feed off your energy. That’s not just some myth made up to get fan-girls to watch or go to the games.

HONOURABLE MENTION: Hey Vancouver Canucks organization! Are you listening? Make your tickets cheaper. That is all.

Now it’s important to point out that will all of these issues comes one big flippin’ tragedy. It is actually better in nearly every way, shape and form to watch a game at home or at a bar than it is at Rogers Arena. For the hundreds of dollars one spends on a night out at, ‘The Ga-Rog,’ you’d think the tables would be turned.

There are cheaper eats, a washroom with no line, often unlimited instant replay, commentators, no beer being spilt on you and in the end, a better single person atmosphere, assuming you’re at home. You can stand up, fart, scream shout, switch seats and not have to pay $20 for a beer and burger.

Bars are great as well but it still doesn’t seem right that they provide a better experience than one apparently worth multiple hundreds of dolla-dolla bills yo!

Some of those things won’t and can’t actually change but unless a person in the stands is actually being obnoxious and spilling stuff on people, let them stand and cheer. More people should stand at the game on a regular basis now that I think of it.

For the love of Luongod Canucks fans, if that’s really what you are, if you go to a Canucks game, show that passion you claim to have because those of us who aren’t there, we’re watching and we’re at a loss for words.

Twitter Fan Reaction to the following tweet from @vancan19

Winning or losing, @rogersarena always seems dead during a #Canucks game. Kinda sad since we call ourselves the, “best fans in the NHL.”

— Josh Hall (@vancan19) March 20, 2013

@vancan19 @rogersarena yeah why is that? Is so weird… At #mtscentre your ears are ringing and you have no voice when you leave there!

— Jewels (@Hockeybabe3) March 20, 2013

@vancan19 it’s true. Fan base only picks it up during playoffs now. I went to G1 of the West final in 2011 vs SJ and crowd was great.

— Israel Fehr (@israelfehr) March 20, 2013

@vancan19 @rogersarena its because the Canuck fan mostly can’t afford to go to games #taxwriteoff

— What the whaaaat???? (@degroot73) March 20, 2013

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There was one scene near the end of Monday’s night tilt between the Canucks and Wild where Captain Henrik Sedin was surrounded by not one, not two, but three Minnesota players and with no other Nucks to be found.

As a fan, I was left shaking my head without cessation for over a minute and I end up having to ask myself where the hell is this team’s heart? Possibly a better question: where are their heads? Where are the good ol’ Vancouver Canucks we’ve come to know and love?

The answer is neither simple nor difficult.

What’s simple?

It has become clearer after each cringe-worthy loss in the last month that the Canucks are figured out. Don’t expect the Sedins to ever relinquish their cycling ways because that’s their bread and butter and world-class players always find a way to make it work.

However, a shake-up in systems is desperately needed. In simpler terms, Alain Vigneault and the rest of the coaching staff need replacing.

That statement is not made blindly. Not once in the entire span of my fandom though have I been this fed up with and ready to be rid of the coaches. The thing is Alain Vigneault has no trust with his bubble players. He need not worry about the twins of course.

They’ll have a bad game and no one bats an eye but Keith Ballard makes one faux pas and he’s in the dog house (and that dog house is heated by Alain’s ice-cold heart).

Admittedly, Ballard’s read on the 3-1 goal by the Wild Monday was poor but deep in the defensive zone, he’s as solid as anyone, or at the very least Andrew Alberts and Cam Barker for crying out loud.

Some people will clamour for AV’s job to be left alone citing the absence of Ryan Kesler, David Booth and Kevin Bieksa at various points this season but what about when the team was without Daniel Sedin a couple seasons ago.

The Canucks and Henrik of all people thrived off of that. The players came together and battled.

“Need advice? Hope for the best, prepare for the worst Canucks fans!”

Perhaps not explicitly and in the media, but it would be a solid assumption that the players are using those losses as an excuse for playing poorly in their heads and that does not breed success.

Vigneault has the audacity to say the team is, “trying their best,” and, “playing well,” after Monday’s game? Why don’t we just plan the parade route  Alain?

What’s difficult?

It’s extremely strenuous to get one’s mind around the Luongo-Schneider debacle. What on Luongawd’s green earth is Coach Vee going to do (if he’s still around) with the goalie situation come playoff time (if the Canucks make the playoffs)?

Vigneault’s biggest mistake was starting Cory Schneider in Game 3 of last year’s opening round playoff series against the Kings. That one move forced Gillis’ hand to signing the Marblehead, Massachusetts native to a contract extension when Mike Gillis had already made a lengthy commitment to the man who brought this team to within one win of a Stanley Cup just 21 months ago.

Here we are with 20 games remaining in the shortened 2013 season and Schneider has far inferior numbers than we would have hoped and numbers that I can almost guarantee would be higher had Roberto Luongo been traded before the season commenced.

We’re talking about the playoffs when they are far from a certainty but it’s a pressing issue. The Canucks and Coach Vee absolutely cannot go back and forth between goaltenders in the post-season like they have so far this regular season. It’s positively out of the question and the key for every issue raised in this entire post is consistency.

The Canucks have formed no on-ice routine (besides losing) to go with their off ice regimen of sleep doctor ordered naps and nutritionist advised high carb diets.

What now?

This is the easiest part Canucks fans and if you haven’t begun singing to the tune of this song just yet, it’s about time: “Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.”

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