I like the Vancouver Canucks.
Of course, it's easy to like teams that win their first two games. But I really wanted to hate the Canucks after ownership fired former GM Dave Nonis last April for no good reason. Actually, there was a reason.
A small group of former Canucks were backstabbing Nonis to ownership throughout the season. You see, the owners didn't hire Nonis; they inherited him when they took over full control of the club, and, thus, Nonis was vulnerable. When the injury-riddled team fell three points short of a playoff spot, the deal was done. Nonis was gone, soon to be replaced (without much of an interview process) by longtime player agent Mike Gillis, who brought zero team-building experience to the job.
Fast forward six months, and the Canucks are 2-0-0 after a pair of wins over the overrated (in my opinion) Flames.
While it's ridiculously early, there's a lot to like about the Canucks, who still have Nonis' fingerprints all over the roster. (In case anyone has forgotten, Nonis was the guy who pulled off one of the best deals in league history, stealing Roberto Luongo from the Panthers in the summer of 2006.)
Up front, Daniel and Henrik Sedin have gotten off to fast starts. American-born Ryan Kesler is developing into one of the best two-way centers in the league. Alex Burrows seems to know how to get under an opponent's skin, while young forwards Mason Raymond, Jannik Hansen and Rick Rypien are fun to watch.
When healthy, the Canucks have a top-5 defense. In goal, they have "The Captain," Luongo, who figures to be better than he was last season.
I wanted to hate the Canucks because I don't like it when ownership does goofy things that set their franchise backward, especially in a hockey-crazy place like Vancouver. Luckily, the new GM has inherited a pretty good group from the old GM.
I like the Canucks (much more than I thought I would).
About last night ...
• I loved Wayne Gretzky's fury behind the Coyotes' bench during the final seconds of Sunday's 4-2 win in Anaheim. The Great One boiled over watching an unnecessary scrum that seemed to be initiated by the frustrated Ducks. Coyotes assistant coach Ulf Samuelsson had to grab Gretzky's suit jacket to keep him from coming over the boards. I hope he didn't rip it!
Gretzky's youngsters have gotten off to a nice 2-0 start. Kid forwards Kyle Turris and Mikkel Boedker (combined age is 37, or nine years younger than Chris Chelios) each scored their first career goals. Nice. Former Michigan star Kevin Porter picked up his first big-league point (an assist).
• Ducks forward Rob Niedermayer and Kings defenseman Jack Johnson left their respective Sunday night games with undisclosed injuries. We'll keep an eye on that.
• I hope the Oilers will wear their original uniforms more often during the season. They look great! They wore them last night in an opening-night, last-second 3-2 win over the visiting Avs. Edmonton forward Dustin Penner scored a pair, including the winner with just 5.4 seconds left in regulation time.
One more thing ...
I'm no economics expert, so I'm not smart enough to know what it really means to league business (I will be asking smarter people so I can find out), but the Canadian loonie (dollar) nose-dived to 83 cents against the U.S. dollar. That's down from a high of $1.10 earlier in the year. If you follow the business end of the league, you'll likely being hearing more about this in the coming days and weeks.
E.J. Hradek
