Spitballin’ (or Super Pass It To Bulis: All In, if you love adventurous acronymizing) is a feature that allows us to touch on a multitude of things really fast, because in the world of hockey, there are always lots of things to find and colour. Here are a few quick topics.
Trevor Linden finally said the R-word
This shouldn’t really be a story, but it only became one because of Trevor Linden and Jim Benning’s odd aversion to actually using the word “rebuild” to talk about the Canucks’, well, rebuild. Even when directly asked, Linden would tap-dance around the word in increasingly absurd fashion.
Even the players were saying “rebuild” on their media day at the end of the season; the refusal of Linden and Benning to do the same seemed, at best, weird.
But finally, first to Iain MacIntyre after Travis Green’s press conference and then on the radio with Matt Sekeres and Blake Price, he said the dreaded R-word.
Grudgingly and with more than a hint of “Fine, if that’s what it takes to make you happy,” but he said it! “It’s taken on a life of its own,” he said on TSN 1040, “it’s been a dividing term.” Sure, but only because you weirdly refused to say it for no good reason you weirdo!
Jannik Hansen knows it’s a rebuild
Before Linden finally admitted to the truth on Wednesday, Jannik Hansen made an appearance on TSN 1040 after his playoff run with the San Jose Sharks ended early. He was asked about whether the Canucks were rebuilding and he had a nuanced response:
Hansen was asked (TSN 1040) if he thinks the #Canucks are rebuilding.
— Omar A (@omarcanuck) April 25, 2017
Great answer... hopefully it doesn't take 10. pic.twitter.com/fAvL1qqULq
That’s a great take from Hansen, even if that last sentence is utterly terrifying.
Jack Adams finalists named; Willie Desjardins not among them
That mention of Willie Desjardins in the header might seem like a mean-spirited shot at the former Canucks coach, but I swear there’s a good reason I brought him up in this context.
The Jack Adams Award is an odd one, as there seems to be a general consensus that the best coaches in the NHL rarely actually win the award that is meant for the best coach in the NHL. Instead, it is inevitably awarded to a team that achieved a remarkable turnaround, such as going from the basement of the standings one season to a playoff berth the next, even if this turnaround can sometimes be explained more by a swing in luck, a goaltender playing out of his mind, or the addition of a first overall draft pick to the lineup.
Such is the case this season, where all three coaches up for the award presided over a team that went from a bottom-five finish last season to the playoffs this season. In fact, let’s look at those bottom-five teams from last season and where they finished this season:
- Calgary - Glen Gulutzan - 26th -> 15th
- Columbus - John Tortorella - 27th -> 4th
- Vancouver - Willie Desjardins - 28th -> 29th
- Edmonton - Todd McLellan - 29th -> 8th
- Toronto - Mike Babcock - 30th -> 14th
Sure enough, there are your Jack Adams finalists: Tortorella, McLellan, and Babcock. Gulutzan was robbed. As for Desjardins, I’m suddenly getting Sesame Street flashbacks.
Stick-tap to Jeremy Davis for the heads-up on this oddity.
That time Dan Cloutier fought Travis Green. Sort of.
Travis Green has been named the new head coach of the Vancouver Canucks, but it’s still unknown who will be joining him on his coaching staff. It seems likely that former Canuck Nolan Baumgartner will be one of his assistants, as he was in Utica, and Doug Jarvis is the lone Canucks assistant coach that wasn’t fired alongside Willie Desjardins.
There’s also goaltending coach Dan Cloutier, who also coached a bit with Green in Utica. But searching their names together gives you a much different interaction:
“Dan Cloutier has just lost control!”
This is less a fight and more Cloutier losing his mind. This was from the 2003-04 season, which happened to be Cloutier’s best season statistically, posting a career-best .914 save percentage and 2.27 goals against average. He still had that fiery temper, however, and Green, then a veteran third-liner for the Boston Bruins nearing the end of his NHL career, felt his wrath after Todd Bertuzzi pushed him into the goaltender.
All is surely forgiven now, but I still have to wonder what will happen if Green accidentally bumps into Cloutier in the hallway.
Stick-tap to r/Canucks for dredging up this video.
Canucks will be the first team to face the Las Vegas Knights
The Las Vegas Knights (who I will steadfastly refuse to call the Golden Knights, because that name is stupid as hell) don’t have a roster yet, but they do have a pre-season schedule. First on the docket for the expansion team: the Vancouver Canucks.
The Knights will be in Vancouver on September 17th, after which they’ll fly to Colorado to face the Avalanche on the 19th. I guess they wanted to ease the Knights into things before they face NHL competition.
