Another Year For Canada To Wait

That '93 Habs team just looks better and better as the years go by.

That was the last Canadian-based NHL club to capture the Stanley Cup, and the elimination of the Vancouver Canucks Monday night by the Chicago Blackhawks ensured that it will be at least 2010 before Canada gets another NHL champion.

REUTERS PHOTO

Daniel Sedin and other Canucks hang their heads.

Damn Hawks. On their own, they knocked out two of the three Canadian contenders, the Flames and the Canucks, creating a long summer of soul-searching in both Calgary and Vancouver.

But first things first. Monday night was a spectacular night for the sport of hockey, and the NHL.

All the negative stories in the world - the corporate brawl over the Phoenix Coyotes, the absurd non-suspension of Carolina's Scott Walker - couldn't obscure the fact that two games Monday night, the Canucks-Hawks thriller and the OT contest between Washington and Pittsburgh, delivered as much of everything as a hockey fan could want.

You can take your 1-0 and 2-1 games if you want them. Me, the 5-4 Caps win and the 7-5 Chicago triumph represented hockey at its best, a terrific combination of skill, hitting and passion that produced an entertainment package that no other sport could match if the NHL could ever find a way to deliver it on a consistent basis.

It's the greatest game on earth, particularly when it's allowed to be.

We'll leave the Caps and Pens for now since there's another game in that series to be played. Chicago, meanwhile, roared back from a 4-3 third period deficit and in so doing obliterated the myth of Roberto Luongo for now, if not for good. Luongo gave up 21 goals in the six-game series and is now a career .500 goalie in the post-season at 11-11. How on the basis of performance and results he could be projected as Canada's starter in the Olympics next winter strains the imagination. In fact, right now, he would be No. 3 in my books behind Martin Brodeur and Cam Ward.

The good news for the Canucks braintrust led by GM Mike Gillis is that Daniel Sedin delivered two beautiful, clutch goals, which should make it at lot easier for Gillis to throw millions at the Sedin twins this summer.

Ex-Leaf captain Mats Sundin scored a nice goal Monday night, but his dream of being part of a Stanley Cup winner - if that was indeed the point of going to Vancouver - ended once again in disappointment. Retirement now again stares Sundin in the face and while he ended last year with most believing he had miles still left on his chassis, there's far less belief in that notion now.

The Hawks, meanwhile, look likely to face their Original Six rivals Detroit in the Western Conference finals, with the Red Wings holding a 3-2 series lead on Anaheim heading into Game 6 Tuesday in Orange County. That would be a memorable matchup, the natural successor to the brilliant Pittsburgh-Washington clash which, unfortunately, will have to come to a conclusion Wednesday night in the District of Columbia.

Patrick Kane's hat trick paced the Hawks Monday night, but this is a hockey team that plays with breathtaking exuberance and doesn't seem to realize it shouldn't be experienced enough to get this far into the NHL post-season. The Hawks were within a few minutes of going down 3-1 in the series to Vancouver, but fought back late in Game 4 to create overtime and then win it.

They were the big Canadian killers in these playoffs, and who would say now they have no chance of taking this all the way to a championship?

Comments

[Henrik Oberg]

Totally agree about Sundin, but...He looked a hell of a lot better in the last 4 games, if he whants to play next year he NEEDS the preseason to get his skates moving like they did last night. it took him 3 months to give us a vintage Sundin game, preseason is a must. Then l think he can do a 60p season with some speedy wingers

[Peter]

Damien, what puts Brodeur ahead of Luongo? he didn't even make it to the second round. i can't wait to hear all the Sundin-bashing idiots to come out and start: it was all his fault.

[Guelphdad]

Peter, Brodeur is ahead of Luongo based on past performance. This year was an opportunity to show folks that he could rise to the occasion and pass a goalie nearer the end of his career. His performance in the playoffs failed to do that.

[DV]

Chicago is the new Buffalo, the sad part is that the odds are good the two young players will walk for more money in a few years. Enjoy it while you can Chicago!

[Chris Moltisano]

Another 2 games full of ridiculous penalties. When are we going to stop the refs from deciding games? That call on the Caps in the last two minutes was ridiculous. All this diving and acting and feigning is not Canadian hockey. Why are we allowing Bettman to alter the rules of Canadian hockey into a combination of European and US College hockey? Our game is the best, yet we allow foreigners to change it? And we just sit back and take it? I just have to shakes my head.

[Steve]

Frankly, how is Brodeur even top 3? He's 37 and is showing it. His playoff stats since 2002: 15-22 and 3.20GAA. We're not suiting up Joe Sakic in 2010 to reward loyalty and past performance, so nor should we be suiting up Brodeur. Ward, Mason, Luongo, heck even Roloson or Price before Brodeur.

[Guido]

Peter - What puts Brodeur ahead of Luongo is that you cannot give up 7 goals in such a huge game. And most of the those goals weren't exactly spectacular.

Sundin is done .. But if he's not I guarantee he comes back for the entire season. There is zero chance he'll try this again.

[Mario.garisto@gmail.com]

Hey Damien,

The Hawks can still be Canada's team..... More Canadians on that team than on Vancouver......

What is the stigma with Luongo, he has never proved himself in the NHL (as you have mentioned), he was just able to stop a lot of pucks for a bad hockey team.

As for Sundin, he looked slow, but that is to be expected (he is old) but he scored two clutch goals in the last two games of the series, that is what he was paid for not to carry this team. Vancouver had a great PK and they scored enough goals to win most games. The big glaring error is Luongo, and that is not good he is signed long term.

[Paul V]

I'm still buzzing from last night too. I ardently wished I had two TVs last night as I was madly switching between the two phenomenal games last night. It was a great night to be a hockey fan as all four teams played with so much impassioned skill and unrelenting drive. Can't wait for more.

[mark]

Hawks may be Canadian team killers.... but the team itself is stocked with excellent Canadian talent. Seeing the Swede dominated Canucks exit the playoffs made me happy. I'd love to see them do it to Detroit too; another team dominated by European talent. Not to say I don't appreciate the skill level that Europeans bring to the NHL (can you imagine how watered down the league would be without them..!), but it's great to see young Canadians like Toews go deep into the playoffs. That bodes well for future national teams.

[Mike Johann]

"the absurd non-suspension of Carolina's Scott Walker"

What was said on the ice? Do you have a transcript? I dont think the video tells the story.

[furcifer]

Chicago: Stanley Cup free since 1961.

[E On White]

AND, in your other story today, you have that sidebar showing that "while the Bruins respectfully disagree with the call... they will abide by the league's ruling."
What the heck would it mean if they did not abide by it?

[Brian]

So what happened to the savior, Sundin? This P/T player was suppose to bring the cup home, or rather to Vancouver. Too bad his so called talent has dried up and now we are forced to hear about his retirement for months to come. He blows!

[Luke]

There are more Canadians on the Hawks team than on the Canucks. Your argument is therefore flawed because Canada wins either way.

[Steve]

dear Canucks fans,

Think I'll forget the standing ovation you gave Bertuzzi on Fan Appreciation Night a few years ago?

Have a nice summer,
Karma

[Alan]

Grind power really dismantle the Canucks fizzling defense. I would like to see a Canadian team win but the Hawks really out played the Canucks who had no answers against the Seabrook and Walker defense. Hawks vs Wings...what a match up. WINGS should squeeze it out with both grit and talent.

Damien, do you feel Vigneault future in question here or just re-tweaking (especially the defense).

[sean]

What a series! Even as a Hawks fan, I feel bad for Luongo. I still think he is a premier goalie and this can't be laid on him alone. The young Hawks are resilient and aggressive -just hope they have enough left for the next round after a couple of tough series against two very good Canadian teams. Calgary and Vancouver may have taken too much out of Chicago, but Detroit is old and physically the geriatric Red Wings are in for a pounding.

And the 'Nucks would be fools to get rid of either Sedin! Even Mats has great games left in the tank -and like the other poster said, he needs a full season to show it.

[William P]

I never did understand the hype about Luongo. what has he ever won?.Ward and Brodeur are the real thing,no one has to stitch a C on their sweaters to make them leaders.
I would love to see a Chicago vs Pittsburgh or Carolina final.
They might not be the best teams in the league but they are the most fun to watch.
Vancouver was just too defensive and boring overall.

[gargalen]

Sundin would make a good secondary role player in Vancouver. I hope that if he does not retire he stays in Vancouver - it seems to be the best fit.

Brodeur, Luongo, Ward. Stevie Y enjoy.

[JTL]

Chicago is the next best thing to a Canadian team. Only Sharp, Havlat, Hjallmerson and Khabibullin are NOT Canadian. I'd take a good look at most of their line-up for 2010!

Not Sundin's fault. He actually played his best hockey of the year the last two games. Sedin's could have done more. But who else did Vancouver have? Kesler, Johnson and Burrows are great for "energy" but goals are what count.

[Bob Holden.]

That was a pretty hard fought series. It could have gone either way, but as the old saying goes, "whatever could have happened did". Canucks defense which appeared to a deep asset, proved vulnerable to the speed and forechecking of Chicago. I wouldn't write off Luongo just yet. he is pretty good.

[Tim]

What can be better than Caps and Pens 7 game series? Caps against Hawks. This would be first time that NHL finals backstopped by Russian on both sides, but it would mean that young Mostly Canadian 20 something Toews, Kane going against Ovechkin and Semin. Maybe Semin was right to talk about Kane being better than Crosby?

[Bold Bravado]

Damien, For the record, 21 of the listed 32 players on Hawks roster are Canadian.

I hope your reading this Brian Burke!!

[Confused]

Luongo #3? Brodeur #1 - what did Brodeur do recently to get ahead of Luongo? He has a better team in front of him and couldn't get past the first round. Ward? Yes, he had a good year with the run to the cup, but until this year I haven't heard his name mentioned since.