The Right Thing To Do

Joe Paterno's career at Penn State started out being about weeks, the distance from one college football Saturday to the next.

In then became about years, then decades, then, well, about no time period at all. Just indefinite. As forever as sport can be for any human.

Then, at some point in the past two weeks, like one of those crazily accelerated clocks you see in film to demonstrate time travel, Paterno's career path reversed.

It became about weeks again, but almost immediately, it became about days as the powder keg the school had been sitting on finally exploded. By yesterday afternoon, it was about hours, and then, the wake of his firing last night, it became almost minute-to-minute as police dealt with the situation on campus that erupted and turned out to be relatively mild as these things go.

Paterno went from having a statue in his likeness outside Beaver Stadium to being curtly dismissed over the phone in what seemed to be the blink of an eye. Once the steamroller started, the most powerful individual in the history of one of U.S. college football's most noteworthy programs was helpless to stop it. Those who had seen the school benefit from Paterno's football program to the tune of more than $50 million in profits last season alone suddenly discovered he was dead weight that needed to be jettisoned as fast as possible.

He didn't go alone. The Jerry Sandusky scandal has already produced all kinds of collateral damage outside of the tragic victims themselves. One phone call from Paterno to the police could have changed some, if not all of this. But that phone call was never made. There are those who want to believe this was a one-time error of judgement by Paterno. Maybe. Or perhaps it was just the way he looked as such issues. As the Orlando Sentinel reported again today, Paterno's comments in 2006 before a bowl game when the opposing school kicked a player off the team for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman was revealing. 

"He may not have even known what he was getting into. … A cute girl knocks on the door. What do you do? Thank God they don't knock on my door. I'd refer them to a couple of other rooms," said Paterno.

Yikes.

From afar, we Canadians look at U.S. college football with a certain level of puzzlement. Or awe. Some might compare it to junior hockey is this country, but the scale is something else entirely. There isn't a junior hockey team in Canada that creates the same mass-scale, blind loyalty as unsuccessful NCAA Division One progams, let alone the biggees like Notre Dame, Michigan, Alabama, Florida, Ohio State and, of course, Penn State.

So how to put the Paterno/Sandusky story into any kind of Canadian context, and how to imagine what the correct decisions are for the Nittany Lions and the school going forward?

Well, for Torontonians, there was the Maple Leaf Gardens sex scandal. Assaults of children at the Gardens by inside workers began in the 1970s, and by the early 1990s those who had succeeded Harold Ballard as caretakers of the arena and the team were contacted by victims looking for action to be taken. Martin Kruze told Gardens executives of the abuse he had suffered at the hands of men like Gordon Stuckless and George Hannah, and his silence was temporaily bought for $60,000. Four years later, however, he took his story public, and the appalling tales of boys exploited by a Gardens sex ring, their innocence purchased for sticks and pucks and autographs, exploded. Steve Stavro and his fellow Gardens executives stalled and stalled, failing to recognize the enormity of the tragedy. In one infamous press conference, Stavro's lawyer, Brian Bellmore, offered the same defence that would echo with the Paterno case years later, suggesting the Leafs didn't go to the police after hearing from Kruze because they weren't legally bound to do so. Ken Dryden's greatest achievement as Leaf president, however, was that he did understand the disastrous tragedy, and took action. When Kruze committed suicide, Dryden had the flag at the Gardens lowered to half-mast, and initiatives were undertaken to recognize and assist the many victims of the abuse that stained the building once seen as a Canadian institution.

There were certainly elements in common between what happened at the Gardens and what has happened at Penn State. If there's a difference, it was that no senior individual associated with the hockey club was ever implicated in either the abuse or the silence. Stuckless, Hannah and John Paul Roby were familiar to those who had been around the Gardens for years or even decades, but no evidence ever revealed that a coach or GM or player or team president was aware of the pedophile ring. That said, it all happened under Harold Ballard's watch, and he was dead by the time the scandal broke. We'll never know what he knew or didn't know.

In both cases, delayed action compromised the integrity of those that did know, or were told after the fact.

On a much smaller level, two Canadian universities have been hit hard by football-related scandals in recent years, and in both cases, the football program was shut down.

In Oct., 2005, McGill cancelled its football season after a hazing scandal involving players being assaulted with a broom was revealed. The coach, Chuck McMann, was not fired.

In June, 2010, the University of Waterloo suspended its football program for one year after it was revealed several players had tested positive for steroids.

So what happens next at Penn State?

Well, as with Graham James, police and prosecutors intend to move swiftly and aggressively against Sandusky, and there is all kinds of speculation that the depth of the scandal and the number of victims could expand.

While James committed his crimes in secret and was able to successfully hide his activities from those who employed him as a coach, it seems apparent that there was some kind of a cover-up in the Sandusky case that involved a number of senior personnel at the 95,000-student university. As with Watergate, the crime is one thing, but it's the cover-up that brings everyone down.

It's not clear whether the NCAA has any authority to act as it has in various recruiting scandals in football and basketball. But it's the school, really, that needs to recognize the enormity of what has happened and act. This weekend's game against Nebraska, a match of enormous implications to U.S. college rankings, could produce an ugly spectacle if those backing JoPa insist on making their case at the game. It would have been far worse if Paterno had been on the sidelines.

More important, continuing with the game, and counting the gate receipts after, suggests business as usual at a school where it should be anything but. Seriously, go online and read the Grand Jury Report on Jerry Sandusky. Talks of things that happened in Penn State football locker rooms. Then tell me it would be appropriate for the Nittany Lions to come running out of the tunnel on Saturday.

The game should be cancelled, with Penn St. forfeiting to the Cornhuskers. It would just be morally wrong to play the game after all that has happened this week, and an insult to the victims, many of whom are just emerging to tell their stories. Accountability is what is necessary now for Penn St., not a big win.

And beyond this weekend? Penn St. football, it's clear, needs a dramatic re-set, both as a sports program in which any number of incidents involving football players have been hushed up over the years, and as a functioning part of the university. Paterno can still help. He can come clean with exactly what he knew, and when. He can explain why Sandusky was allowed to remove himself as an assistant coach at a relatively young age but then continue to operate a foundation on school property. Paterno can really start thinking of the university rather than himself or the football program, and come clean. His old legacy is gone; honesty, true honesty in the face of scandal, can be his new legacy. Lord help him, however, if his knowledge and actions were far greater than what has thus far been revealed.

It's worth remembering other U.S. schools are also in the midst of enormous football scandals. At the University of Miami where a booster has admitted to providing players with cash and prostitutes for years, it's unclear what the fallout will be. Officials at the University of Central Florida, including the athletic director, were fired on Wednesday for recruiting violations involving the football and basketball teams. In recent months there have been all kinds of unseemly stories involving Cam Newton, Jim Tressel, the Oregon football team and the Fiesta Bowl. 

Yet its clear the Penn State scandal goes beyond any of them. It's quite possibly the biggest scandal in the history of U.S. college sports. You simply cannot minimize it. You cannot try to let the games go on. This isn't about tattoos or $10,000; this is about children, perhaps many children, being sexually abused by a predator. You can debate whether young men from difficult circumstances are in any position to reject offers of cash and cars. You can't debate that when there's suspicion of a pedophile being active the right thing to do is call the police. There is no debate, and there wasn't in 1998, or 2002. Or six months ago.

If Penn State voluntarily suspends it's football program - unlikely - or is forced to, there will be those who say it unfairly affects student-athletes who weren't involved in the scandal. Well, that's what always happens, folks. The old one-bad-apple story. Look at what happened at USC in the wake of improprieties involving Reggie Bush. When SMU received the "death penalty," it's not as if every player was implicated.

Same goes for many of the football players at McGill and Waterloo. Was it fair to all of them? Of course not. But the schools most definitely did the right thing.

Penn St. can still do the right thing, which would be to suspend the football program. At least for one year, allowing a entirely new group of administrators and football officials and staff to be located and hired. Unthinkable for Penn State? Maybe? But nobody forecast the possible death of the euro last month, and now it's being openly talked about as the European Union mess spreads.

That's what happens in these kinds of stories. The unthinkable becomes logical in a day.

And if this Penn State scandal does widen, it could be that such a seemingly extreme punishment, shutting down Nittany Lions football, will seem mild.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Raising the Bar

 

 

David Branch can never be accused of being afraid to take a hard line.

Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick Tomas Kuhnhackl found that out today when he was suspended 20 games for his head shot hit on Ryan Murphy of the Kitchener Rangers Friday night, a hit that left Murphy concussed and knocked out of the Super Series against the Russians next week.

Let's face it. Branch makes Brendan Shanahan look like he's soft on crime. This is the eighth suspension of 10 games or more handed down by the OHL commissioner this season after being directed by the league's board of governors in August to crack down on illegal hits to the head.

Kuhnhackl, playing for the Niagara IceDogs after being traded from Windsor this fall, appeared to leave his feet as he crashed into Murphy behind the Kitchener net. Murphy didn't have the puck when he was hit. He suffered a concussion and is out indefinitely.

Kuhnhackl, son of former German great Erich Kuhnhackl, is a fourth round pick of the Penguins. Murphy was taken 12th overall in last June's NHL entry draft and was expected to be part of Team Canada for this year's world junior championships.

His agent, Ian Pulver, said Murphy is improving slowly.

"I think this was a hit that was totally unnecessary and could have been avoided," said Pulver.

The incident was similar, but not identical, to a hit in almost the same place on the Kitchener rink two years ago when Erie's Michael Liambas hammered Ben Fanelli of the Rangers, leaving Faneilli with a fractured skull. Liambas was booted out of the league, while Fanelli has returned to play this season.

It's believed Murphy's injury is not as severe. But there is concern that he was permitted to play one more shift after the Kuhnhackl hit before being taken out of the game.

Branch has handed out five 10-game suspensions this season, along with one 12-game suspension and one 15-game suspension, in addition to the Kuhnhackl ban.

 

 

A Most Curious Switcheroo

Maybe the rumours were dead wrong all along. Maybe there was no chance Ken Hitchcock and his 533 wins were going to get a second shot at coaching the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Or maybe the buckets of money they're losing in Columbus with hockey's worst team meant the chance to shave more than $1 million off the payroll was just too juicy to resist.

See, anyway you cut it, it's odd in many ways that the Jackets, clearly uncertain how to turn this disastrous and pivotal season around, would give a divisional rival, the St. Louis Blues, permission to talk to and then hire Hitchcock. If Columbus is to turn around this season and make the playoffs, the Blues are clearly one of the teams they'll have to leapfrog, yet, at least in theory, they've now aided St. Louis.

Hitchcock, fired in 2010 by Columbus, had one more year and $1.33 million left on his deal. He'd been working as a consultant and had been around the Jackets' games and practices, fuelling speculation he would soon replace Scott Arniel as head coach. A 9-2 loss to Philly on Saturday night made that change seem inevitable.

But on Sunday, the Blues, soon to have new ownership with Matthew Hulsizer (I know, I know, we've heard this from this dude before) called and asked to talk to Hitchcock. With Doug Armstrong, a former Hitchcock colleague in Dallas, running the show with the Blues, it was a connection that made sense.

And Columbus GM Scott Howson said yes to the St. Louis request. This will, of course, be painted by Howson as not wanting to block Hitchcock's ability to coach in the league again.

But wouldn't Howson want to keep all his options open until he sensed a turnaround was in the cards? After all, if this is another disastrous week in Ohio, who's out there for Howson to turn to next? Pat Quinn? Jacques Lemaire? Marc Crawford?

The Blues begin a five-game homestand this week, and the Maple Leafs will be one of the first teams in with a Thursday game in Missouri. That's either good or bad; sometimes coaches give a new team an immediate adrenalin surge, and sometimes the problems are so deep it takes a few weeks to get the personnel and systems straightened out.

The Blues, who are now on to their fourth coach in six years after dumping Davis Payne after only 22 months, are similar to Columbus in many ways. Both boast a great deal of promising young talent, and both have had their seasons undermined by dreadful performances from their ace goaltender.

In Columbus, Steve Mason was raked by the Leafs last week and has a .869 save percentage. In St. Louis, Jaroslav Halak is 1.6 with an even worse .856 save percentage. If not for the excellent play of ex-Senator Brian Elliott (5-1, .941) the Blues would be in even bigger trouble.

Payne is the first head coach fired this season in the NHL. Montreal did release assistant coach Perry Pearn last week.

 

 

Of Goalies and Value. Plus This Week's Mailbag

It was an intriguing day for the goaltending profession.

First you had a 29-year-old netminder who was an eighth round draft pick seven years ago, and after winning his first playoff series last spring, he's been awarded a massive seven-year, $49 million contract.

That's Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators, who went out an pitched a 35-save shutout Thursday night against Phoenix as if to proof his bosses made the right decision.

Then you have a 23-year-old goalie carrying a $2.9 million salary on the basis of the fact that three seasons ago he was viewed as arguably the best young goalie in the game. Since then, however, he goals-against average hasn't been south of 3.00 and on Thursday night he was pulled after an embarrassingly weak performance.

That's Oakville-born Steve Mason, the one-time sure thing of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

For San Jose, you have 25-year-old Thomas Greiss, drafted well ahead of Rinne in '04, but sent to Sweden last season to work on his game. In Silicon Valley on Thursday night, Greiss ($587,500 this season) outduelled Marc-Andre Fleury ($5 million) of the Penguins in a shootout as the Sharks overcame a 3-1 third period deficit.

Finally, you had a 25-year-old native of Spruce Grove, Alta., who played four full seasons at Cornell and, after being undrafted into the NHL, received his first NHL start against all odds on Thursday. Earning a salary of $600,000, he won with a 38-save performance.

That would be Ben Scrivens of the Maple Leafs.

Those would be the extremes of the NHL goaltending spectrum, demonstrating just how difficult it is to assess value to the masked men, even the best of them. 

Leaf fans, naturally, were entranced with the work of Scrivens, a young man signed by the Leafs in the summer of 2010 as a college free agent after Jussi Rynnas and with young netminders James Reimer and Jonas Gustavsson already in the system. Scrivens turned down offers from teams willing to peg him at No. 3 on their depth chart to join the Leafs at No. 5, primarily because he wanted the chance to work with famed goaltending guru Francois Allaire.

Scrivens wasn't just good in his first NHL game. He was excellent, remarkably poised and calm in the net. Surprisingly smooth and efficient and competent.

So now what do you do? With Reimer still out, the most sensible answer is probably to go back to Gustavsson who has played well enough to win three hockey games in five tries behind a pretty potent offence. But not once in those games did he look as good as Scrivens did in Columbus.

Combine that with training camp in which Scrivens was the better netminder and you have a curious conundrum for Ron Wilson. Gustavsson is two years older and an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, so it behooves the Leafs to get a clear reading on Scrivens now before it's decision time on Gustavsson.

I'd go with Scrivens Saturday night against Boston. See how he responds. My guess, however, is that Wilson will go with Gustavsson, and all this is assuming Reimer isn't ready to return against the Bruins.

The picture is now very, very interesting in the Leaf crease. The absence of a veteran hasn't, to this point, hasn't hurt the first place Leafs. Is it possible that given the chance Scrivens could jump in and run with it and do exactly what Reimer did last year? Seems unlikely, far-fetched almost. Scrivens is a kid, don't forget, who started last season in the East Coast Hockey League, after all. 

But with goalies, more and more, you just never know.

Now on to this week's mailbag:

Q: Hi Damien, Love your work, please keep it up. Got a Habs vs. league / media question: How come when the Habs fire an assistant coach, it is considered a classless move by EVERY ONE when every other team can fire its President, GM, Head Coach, Assistant Coaches and it is considered business as usual. I mean, Columbus had POTENTIAL replacements in the stands during a practice which set off rumours and no one complained about the lack of class by that move. Is it just the usual "anything the Habs do is wrong but if anyone else does it, it is OK" hate that the league and media have for the Habs? Even if such paranoia does not exist, the league (as in, the other teams, etc.) and media (the supposedly Toronto-centric one) sure do a dirt-poor job of showing otherwise.  Looking forward to your response.

Andy Woo, Montreal

A: Couple of things. First, it's extremely rare that a single assistant coach is let go this early in a season, or ever in a season. I'm sure it has happened, but I can't think of another instance. So that made this unusual. Perry Pearn is very highly regarded in the industry and is also well-liked in the media, which is why I think the reaction was that he was being scapegoated for Montreal's weak start. Finally, it's Montreal - everything gets scrutinized. A lot can happen in Columbus without anyone knowing, but nothing goes unnoticed - or uncommented upon - in Montreal.

Q; I'd like to believe the latest-look Leafs can at least get back into the playoffs, but is that a real possibility with bottom-three goaltending?

Eoin Kenny, Edmonton

A: I'm not sure they have "bottom three" goaltending. In fact, I'm not sure what they have, period. With James Reimer, they appeared to be set, less so when Jonas Gustavsson took over. Now, after Ben Scrivens' scintillating debut, it's hard to know what to think. I'm not saying it isn't bottom-three; I'm saying there are just too many moving pieces at the moment to fully understand what the Leafs have in net.

Q: Hi Damien, great article today on whether the Leafs are "for real".  Another factor to consider is the Leafs extremely poor penalty kill. I'm not calling for Wilson's head (as of right now), but how many chances does he need to get the special teams right.  There is no way we can maintain success long term without competent special teams. And that's all that’s really needed COMPETENCY, and we dont' even have that. Your PK or PP will save you or really hurt you in the dog days of the season between December and February. The recent Senators game as a prime example of the hurt!

For a team that's hardworking, it’s perplexing how we can't find success in something that the majority of the time simply requires hard work. Right now, this team is NOT for real. Expect a swoon in those "dog days" of the season if the special teams are not drastically improved. Thank you, and would appreciate your opinion on this. Tell Bob I said Hi!

Cheers,

Dilraj Sandhu, Mississauga

A: Will do re Bob. On the Leaf PK, it worked better against Columbus, but that was because Scrivens was sharp. Look, to me goaltending plays a huge role in penalty killing, and is often the culprit when the percentages go down. In terms of strategy/personnel, the one very noticeable thing is that when given a chance to clear the Leafs don't clear the zone. So they get trapped with tired penalty killers, start making positional errors and the PK looks awful. But yeah, it's hard to believe the Leafs will continue winning at this pace if they can't clean this area up at least a little.

Q: Hi Damien,

The Leafs went on a very good run right after Colton Orr got hurt last season. This year after 10 games in which Orr has played either 1 or 2 (same with Jay Rosehill), Leafs are near the top of the league. None of the Toronto sports media (print, radio or tv) have commented on this. What's your take on it? I think that with Phaneuf and Komisarek they don't need a designated tough guy. Phaneuf could win the Norris and Hart this year.

Thanks,

Allan Price, Toronto

A: I think ALL of the Toronto sports media have commented on this. Orr's absence has been duly noted. The Leafs are winning without a goon. Apparently they don't need one, although you can bet Brian Burke doesn't necessarily approve.

Q: I was watching a Leafs PK the other night and witnessed one of the defenders' stick break -- a problem, as we all know, with composite sticks. It made me wonder why players don't switch to more reliable wooden sticks on the PK, since PKers usually don't need to fire off blistering shots but do need active sticks for deflections, passing lane obstructions, and of course, clearing the zone.

Eric Ginestier, Toronto

A: Have often wondered this very issue myself. I guess the answer is that players want the best stick they have, period. I think we're going to be getting to the point soon that few NHLers will ever have played with wood. Hard to find, too. But the difference between wood and composite is so significant even in weight I'm guessing few NHLers would want to make the adjustment in game.

Q: Damien, re your pre-World Series article about the Colby Rasmus trade:  It was always pretty clear this year here in St. Louis that it was vital for the Cardinals to unload Rasmus and his dad. Fortunately, the Cards obviously received great value for him.  That trade was likely the biggest factor in bring the Series trophy to St. Louis this year.  St. Louis wishes Colby and his dad well, but we're glad they're not here.

Victor Perrin, St. Louis

A: And all of Toronto desperately hopes you're wrong. But congrats!

Hi Mr. Cox,

As always, I enjoy your writings. Why isn't there any talk on the upcoming unrestricted free agent status of Grabbo?

Cheers,

Dean Menchions, St. John's

A: Yes, interesting. Only Mikhail Grabovski, John-Michael Liles and Gustavsson loom as potentially serious UFAs. Grabovski is at $2.9 million now, which means he'll want to get north of $4 million en route to $5 million. They'll want to keep this guy, and this could well be something that gets completed during the season. But I agree - it's been very quiet so far.

Q: You're a hockey dad to a 13-year-old who plays net and some guy writes in to let you know you know nothing about the goalie position. Priceless!

My question is to you as a hockey writer in a major market with far more insider knowledge than the average hockey fan. Will you name four or five relatively big name NHL forwards along the lines of, say, Weiss in Florida, who will be available via trade by around mid-season should their teams be faltering that Burke would want on the Leafs? Personally, besides Weiss, I'd love to see Ottawa start a rebuild and make Spezza available to the highest bidder. I see fans always wanting Crosby for Bozak type trades, but realistically, who might the Leafs be chasing should they become available?

Gordon Steadman, Toronto

A: Can't. It depends so much on how the season develops. If Ottawa, for example, continues to succeed, they'll be far less likely to want to move the likes of Jason Spezza or Daniel Alfredsson. You hear Rene Bourque's name in Calgary, but his status depends on the Flames' ability to stay in the Western Conference race. We can guess that Kyle Turris will ultimately sign and be traded by Phoenix, but if it doesn't happen by Dec. 1st, Turris can't play this year. On Weiss, having moved David Booth, Panthers GM Dale Tallon is likely to be less interesting in moving his best centre. And what about the youngsters in Long Island, say somebody like Josh Bailey? Right now, Burke likes his team. The only name I would link at all to the Leafs should he become available would be Ryan Malone of the Lightning. Burke loves this guy. But Tampa would really have to fall off to move him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Avoiding The Silly Season

Alex Anthopoulos and Brian Burke know one another, and have compared notes from time to time on the differences and similarities between the industries in which they work.

What Anthopoloulos is dealing with today, Burke was dealing with on July 1st, and that's the inflated expectations of a fan base that has put up with years of mediocrity and now wants to see instant additions to the roster capable of transforming the team into a winner.

Yep, it's free agent time in baseball. And just as Burke had Leaf Nation in full throat back in July calling for millions to be thrown at Brad Richards - however many millions it would take to lure Richards to Toronto - Anthopoloulos now has dreams of Prince Fielder, Albert Pujols and Jonathan Papelbon dancing in the heads of Jays supporters.

The scenarios are worth comparing, particularly since both Toronto's hockey and baseball teams are young squads hoping to become winners.

The Leafs, and Burke, were bashed from pillar to post for failing to sign Richards, who went, just as everyone expected, to the New York Rangers. Burke was in Afghanistan visiting Canadian troops, in constant contact with his large crew of advisors and assistants at the home office, but was still visited with absurd allegations that he was somehow neglecting his duties at home, the proof being that Richards wasn't signed.

Well, the Leafs did end up signing Tim Connolly, and added a few pieces. None broke the bank, none have yet been particularly impactful. In fact, the most significant addition since the end of last season may have been David Steckel. Yet despite failing to make a huge splash in free agency last July, the team is off to a terrific start, perhaps suggesting that those who screamed that all was lost because Richards became a Blueshirt might have been off the mark a little. Indeed, seeing Richards second on the Rangers cap at $6.666 million per season until the completion of the 2019-20 campaign might make you blanche, particularly given his (52nd in league scoring) and New York's performance in the very early parts of this season.

He was probably going to the Rangers the whole way, but in the end, the length and sheer size of the deal didn't make sense to the Leafs, and they dropped out. Maybe they never really had a shot, but as of now, they're not regretting it.

That's the thing about free agency. As shiny as the available baubles might look, it still has to make sense.

So if Pujols wants 10 years at $200 million, Rogers probably has the dough, but would it make any sense? That's the kind of question Anthopolous has to deal with at a time when expectations are extremely high that he will be able to to significantly enhance his roster between now and the end of the baseball winter meetings in December.

If he does nothing, or something small, there will be disappointment. He'll just have to suck it up for now and wait until the hunting is more fruitful. But over-paying just to make the fans feel better makes no sense. As a hockey man of note once said, start listening to the fans too much, and you'll end up sitting with them. Or maybe it wasn't a hockey man. Seems a maxim that applies to all sports.

We'll see what happens with the Jays. The baseball free agent financial numbers are high, there are many needy and deep-pocketed bidders, and the appeal of Toronto as a destination for major leaguers is unclear. Anthopoulos has multiple needs - closer, second baseman etc. - which makes it trickier to prioritize and apportion dollars to specific needs and players.

Good thing Tony LaCava's sticking around. He's clearly what Dave Nonis is to Burke, the sombre voice of reason and second thought, something GMs need at this time of the year when it's easy to make a very large, and very expensive error.

 

 

 

 

Starting to Roll

Piece by piece, it's appears to be slowly coming back together for the Vancouver Canucks.

First the offence woke up Saturday night with seven goals against the previously dominant Washington Capitals. Then, Tuesday night in Calgary, the much examined Roberto Luongo delivered a near-shutout, beaten only in the final seconds for a meaningless goal as the Canucks hammered the Flames in Calgary, 5-1.

Presumably, Ryan Kesler will soon start getting up to game speed after managing just one goal so far in seven games since returning to the Vancouver lineup from hip surgery. Maybe David Booth will start to click as well, with the former Florida Panther still goal-less in three games with the Canucks since last week's trade. That he's already minus-2 with Vancouver after going minus-31 last season and minus-6 to start this season, well, that's probably not at the top of Alain Vigneault's worries at the moment.

This has been in recent years a team that has heated up in November, as has Luongo, and the current road trip on which the Canucks find themselves will go a long way to providing evidence as to whether the defending Western Conference champs are back on their game. After leaving Calgary, the Nucks now head to St. Paul, St. Louis, Chicago and L.A., before closing out their road road on Remembrance Day in Anaheim. Happily for Vancouver, other teams assumed to be Western Conference powers, like San Jose and Detroit, are experiencing their own troubles these days.

By mid-month, Kesler may be getting back up to the 21-24 minutes per game we were used to seeing from him last season, his best so far in the NHL. The Sedins are now starting to hum and sit 8th (Daniel) and 10th (Henrik) in NHL scoring. Alex Edler, meanwhile, is on fire offensively, making an early bid to insert his name into the Norris Trophy race. Luongo? Who knows? Cory Schneider seems capable of mounting a challenge for the No. 1 job, but Vigneault appears more than determined to keep Luongo's as his team's starter.

The very average start to the season for the Canucks actually makes some sense, what with Kesler recovering and many of the team's top players used very little during the pre-season in a strategic move by GM Mike Gillis. Now, those players are rounding into form.

The challenge for the west coasters, of course, is enduring the entirety of a regular season that, after falling one game short of winning it all last spring, seems to only hold the potential for perceived pratfalls. Glory? That will only come through winning the big trophy, and the reality is that unless Vancouver does win it this year, it will be seen as a failure.

That's what happens when you set the bar that high.