Nucks Misconduct

Rangers vs Devils Game 6 Open Thread

2012-05-25T23:00:27Z

GAME TIME: 5:00 PST

TV: CBC, RDS, NBCSN

GAME PREVIEW: NHL.com

No hockey yesterday and with history repeating itself with a Rangers-Devils Game 6 in the semi-finals you just know that the media had a field day with this:

I remember watching it. I remember being blown away by what Messier did. Man, Patrick Elias was 18 years old when that happened and still playing in the Czech League.

But it's 2012. Screw Messier and the Rangers. LET'S GO DEVILS!

Report: Luongo Wants Trade Out Of Vancouver, Vigneault Says

2012-05-25T04:33:35Z

The wide-spread blame for the loss to Boston in the 2011 Finals. The emergence of Cory Schneider. Schneider finishing the series against the Kings. Luongo stating after the series that he would agree to waive his no trade clause if that was what was best for the team.

Then today, Alain Vigneault tells French TVA show Le Match:

"First of all, that is what he wants right now," Vigneault said. "What we need to do is what's best for our organization and our team. We have to look at what's best for our organization and Roberto."

And on Luongo being the scapegoat to fans after the Boston series:

"Roberto has been blamed more than any other [for the elimination of the Canucks]," Vigneault said in the interview. "Especially after the defeat against Boston. It was not fair."

Only the smart fans know that wasn't fair. Get ready for a crazy off season, folks.

Update: There is word out there that the word "if" was left out of Vigneault's response. If that is the case then expect Vigneault to clarify ASAP. However, I think that given the way things shaped up this past season that a trade is inevitable.

Update (May 25): Gillis has told the Team 1040 today that Alain Vigneault corrected what he said. Check out the interview here. Gillis maintains that he will have both goaltenders fighting for the #1 spot next season (yea right).

While Some Women Watch Hockey For The Hockey.....

2012-05-24T20:09:36Z

As we all know, there are probably a few hundred million fans of hockey around the world, lots of whom are dedicating endless hours of time this spring to watching the playoffs. Also, considering the demographics of hockey fans, there are going to be a lot of incredibly bored wives out there having to put up with the lack of attention from their husbands, and the lack of control of the remote.

It's because of this that CBC has decided to promote a blog called "While The Men Watch" for the rest of the playoffs. This blog, written by a couple women whose men watch a lot of sports, talks about things in sports that would interest women, such as hot athletes, ugly coaches, fashion, and a little bit of basic knowledge about the games themselves. CBC likely sees this as a way to draw in the Canadian female demographic, who would have to watch the games on CBC to know what the girls are talking about on the blog.

However, not everyone is seeing it the same way. The NHL blogosphere has erupted over this, particularily the female demographic of the NHL fanbase. This Toronto Sun article features a bunch of tweets at the bottom of the article about this, with reactions varying from "setting female sports fans back a decade" to "disgusting, disappointing and offensive" to a bunch of sarcasm about all women participating in this while cooking and cleaning. Being the resident female writer at this blog, I've been asked for an opinion.

I will be honest, I did not witness the uproar yesterday, so I had to do some investigation. My first stop: the blog's homepage. Due to their recent promotion to CBC, there are a good number of hockey articles up right now, with a couple about football, baseball, basketball, and Khole Kardashian's hubby.

One of the first things I checked was their "About" page, which talked about how the blog started, and a bit about who they are. Lena Sutherland and Jules Mancuso are two friends who, out of frustration with their men constantly watching sports, started up live play-by-play commentary online with discussion of the game. Their topics can range from the actual rules of the game to discussing who on the ice or bench needs serious fashion help. Sutherland's quick bio states that she is an Emmy award winning producer, however a Google search shows nothing to confirm that for me. Providing that she's telling the truth, I bet she has a few connections which are helping with the blog's publicity.

The first article I opened was called "The Ice Angel and The Devil", which detailed how they started their CBC adventure by hanging out in the broadcast trailer surrounded by $15 million worth of broadcast equipment, and how they helped 2002 Olympic champion Jamie Salé track down former Devils player Ken Daneyko in the Rangers crowds for an interview. All I have to say about this is that those girls are incredibly lucky.

The next article was called "7 Phrases To Yell Out If You Don't Follow Hockey", which has a relatively self-explaining title. Most of these are actually just fine, provided they are used in the right context. "Use the boards", "Cammon" (they intentionally spell it wrong), "Set it up, boys" and "Where's the penalty?" are perfectly fine, while "Pull the goalie!" and "Say Goodnight" obviously have their setbacks. I have never shouted "ATTACK!!!!!" midgame, however.

Then I get to the fun stuff. "Sex On Game Day: Does He Lock It Up Or Love You Down?", graced with a picture of Canuck heart-breaker Kevin Bieksa, talks about different male personality types when it comes to whether or not to have sex on gameday. As most of us know, there is that belief out there that sex before games will use up their energy, and they'll end up playing terribly. Unless you're Alex Ovechkin, of course, who once claimed he has sex before AND after games. He'd be between the "Loverman" and "Action Hero" types.

Ah, another fun one. "Top 10 Elimination Excuses And What They Say About Him" gives a bunch of excuses, and their interpretation of their man's personality when they use them. I think this is incredibly silly, especially since I have seen 9 out of these 10 excuses used in the comments here on our blog. They are generally the standard excuses: fire the coach, key player injured, stress is now gone, they can rest up for next year, and so on. The last one is something I would never expect to hear.

And now we get to the girly article. "Haute Hockey: The NHL's Best and Worst Dressed List" does have some good choice, with the best list featuring Bieksa and Henrik Lundqvist, along with Sidney Crosby, John Tortorella and ..... Okay, ladies, you should really know better than to put Don Cherry on a "best-dressed" list. Also, for the record, why would he waste thousands shopping in Brooklyn, when he can hit up Fabricland for much less? Featured on the worst-dressed lists are Ovie, the medical staff, the Fake Greenmen (they prefer our Vancouver originals), Claude Julien, and Carey Price.

So, what do I think of these ladies? At first, I really didn't care. Let's face it: I'm a female diehard hockey blogger, whose wardrobe mainly consists of jeans and fitted tshirts. I do have a few hockey crushes, such as Alexander Edler, and I do have a fancy for the young Swedish and Russian players, but I still watch hockey for the hockey. In the case of blogs that appear to be mainly for the stereotype-abiding puckbunnies, I generally avoid them. When reading While The Men Watch, I noticed that, despite their claiming to not being interested in knowing everything about the game itself, they do seem to have learned quite a bit about hockey.

Obviously, some people do not like the idea of CBC promoting this blog. Personally, I don't really mind. It appears that all their commentary will be online, so you would have to go out of your own way to access it. Relax, it does not appear that these girls will be replacing CBC's regular broadcast team anytime soon. While the men listen to Jim Hughson, the women can find their way online to talk to Lena and Jules. And if Lena and Jules are too girly for you, then you can always hang out at Nucks Misconduct.

Overhardt tells News1130 Sports that he's not impressed with Vigneault's insinuation that Kesler's...

2012-05-24T19:40:55Z

Overhardt tells News1130 Sports that he's not impressed with Vigneault's insinuation that Kesler's labrum injury was not the reason why the forward's production slipped this past season, suggesting that the Canucks' head coach should stick to coaching and leave the medical issues to the doctors.

What can I say? It's late May and the Canucks are not playing. This shit gets the headlines now. Go drama!

Devils vs Rangers Game 5 Open Thread

2012-05-23T23:00:13Z

GAME TIME: 5:00 PST

TV: CBC, NBCSN, RDS

GAME PREVIEW: NHL.com

OFF TOPIC: Jeff Angus talks about stud defenceman Justin Schultz and where he may end up. The Canucks are on the map here, FYI.

Let's Go Devils!

Alain Vigneault Signs Extension

2012-05-23T19:00:30Z

Via the mothership:

Vancouver Canucks President and General Manager Mike Gillis announced today that Head Coach Alain Vigneault has agreed to terms on a contract extension.

"Alain has established himself as one of the premiere coaches in the National Hockey League," said Gillis. "He has demonstrated a commitment to winning that has led to back-to-back Presidents’ Trophies and we are confident his dedication and hard work will continue to yield positive results. Alain has built a foundation of winning with this franchise and I feel he can continue to build on that foundation to achieve our ultimate goal."

"I am pleased to be signing this extension to continue as the Head Coach of such an outstanding organization," said Vigneault. "I look forward to taking the next step with this franchise in bringing the Stanley Cup to Vancouver. I feel fortunate to be able to work with such a dedicated group of management, coaches and players in this great city I love."

A 287-155-50 record in 492 games, a couple Presidents' trophies, the highest winning percentage in franchise history (.634), five NW titles and five 100+ point seasons. Hard to argue with this success when looking for a pit boss (though that won't stop me personally from trying for yet another year!)

Now, with this little bit of drama aside, AV and GMMG can watch the team that ousted them in the first round storm into the Cup finals and figure out what adjustments need to be made with just under a month to go before the NHL Entry draft. Tick tock tick tock...

Poll

Excited to see Vigneault back in the saddle?

Sell High on Hansen?

2012-05-23T17:22:00Z

Looking at the prospects moving up the charts for the Nucks there are a few guys that can likely make the jump to the NHL next year if given the chance, guys like Schroeder, Sweatt, Jensen, Kassian (he spent some time in the AHL last year) and Connauton. Looking at the present roster, there is obviously a gaping hole on the back-end for the Nucks where they don't have a good pairing for Edler and, with Salo likely heading to Europe or another destination, no one to QB the PP. Although Luongo will bring them some assets, b/c of his contract it will probably not be as much (i.e., not a premier player or prospect) so they may have to include another player/asset to get it done.

I love Hansen, but he could be expendable if the Nucks are serious about bringing Jensen up and letting Sweatt become a speed/energy forward for them that can also kill penalties. And as much as I would love to see Booth go I think his trade value has plummeted b/c of his itchy twitter finger.

So, that brings me to Hansen, he had a great year, has speed to burn, and would be an asset that any team would love. He is a good player, but not irreplaceable, and has a good contract to boot. He could be an enticing part of a package that brings in an elite defensemen that could solidify the top 4, and then leave room for Tanev, Ballard and Connauton to round out the rest of the group. He could also be replaced, speed/energy wise by Sweatt or Jensen, and open up some room for the prospects.

Kings vs Coyotes Game 5 Open Thread

2012-05-22T23:00:17Z

GAME TIME: 6:00 PST

TV: CBC, NBCSN, RDS

GAME PREVIEW: NHL.com

Obviously, the Kings have not lost 2 games in a row these playoffs. I expect a completely different effort / outcome from them in this one.

Off topic: A man called Horse put the Jackass guys to shame on America's Got Talent last night: