Black Ice Vancouver

“Anxiety is the state in which a being is aware of its possible nonbeing.” –Paul Tillich

Before the First World War there was a particular code that European generals followed in battle. It was an extension of the gentleman’s code practiced by European men all over the continent since ancient times. A code of courage and mutual respect (very different from mutual love or admiration). The dropping of the Atomic Bomb and the rise of the cold war essentially saw the death of this particular code from military practices.

It was the mutually assured destruction of the United States and the USSR that relegated conflicts between the two superpowers into satellite theatres such as Vietnam and Afghanistan. But for both the US and Russians these lacked the social grace of a previous generation of warfare. It lacked gentlemanly conduct. It lacked a code. After all, nobody wants to win a fight with an unfair advantage.

One could say then that the rise of professional sports in post-war America (and Europe of course) was a reaction to this global ceasefire. After all, even the world’s only superpower needs a pissing contest now and then.

It was the cold war that propelled professional sports such as hockey into the gladiator realm. It was only here that combatants could compete with an equal advantage. It is on this stage that the Vancouver Canucks and the Chicago BlackHawks are set to do battle in Game #2 of the Western Conference Quarter Finals.

Game #1 was the best game I’ve seen the Vancouver Canucks play in an awful long time. They looked great. They hit hard. Scored timely goals. Killed penalties and shutdown one of the leagues top offensive pairings in Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. Aside from Luongo, the best player on the ice for Vancouver was Maxim Lapierre and Yannik Hansen. That’s says a lot about a team boasting the talents of the reigning Hart Trophy and Art Ross trophy.  It speaks a lot about a bunch of things but mostly it says that while the depth of our anxiety as fans may run deep, the depth of talent on our squad this year may run deeper.

Maybe.

What is most impressive about the team and the series thus far (and I know it is early) is the parity between the Canucks and the Hawks. Make no mistake Canucks fans, we could still lose this series. We could lose the game tonight. Anything goes in the Tabula Rasa of the NHL playoffs. I get the feeling, however, that a lose won’t be judged so much on negation, but rather description. How exactly will a win look like for the BlackHawks? How will the lose look for the no-luck Canucks? Nobody can seriously settle for anything less then a Cup Final appearance here in Terminal City.

Win or lose at this point, appearance is everything.

–Joseph F. Delamar

It was announced that the naming rights for GM Place have been purchased by Rogers, the Canucks will now be playing at the newly christened Rogers Arena. Blah, Blah, Blah. I actually sort of, kind of liked GM Place (sorry Naomi Klein), but I’m sure I’ll adjust. I’m not as attached as Torontonians were to their beloved SkyDome. Alas, the winds of change are blowing.

In other news of relative consequence, the Canucks announced this week that assistance coach Ryan Walter got the pink slip and will be replaced by Newell Brown.

(Could it have something to do with this?)

I’m all for a little coaching shake up, especially something that could bring a little consistency to a flaccid penalty kill (18th overall last year) and a bullshit goals-against (20th overall). Whether this falls under Browns jurisdiction isn’t known yet. If MG has any foresight he will keep the coaching staff on a short leash this year as the expectations on this nucleus run pretty high. Given the fire-sale of key support players in Chicago this summer you gotta wonder if the Canucks main arch-rival this year may be simply themselves.

In other news, word on the street is that Canucks brass have a few moves up their sleeve that may be exercized in the coming weeks. MG has been making little moves like signing Lee Sweattin May that could have huge upswing for a team aching for a bonafide support cast. The talent on this roster is indisputable, but this talent needs a figurative vitamin-E shot in the guise of a dark-horse-blue chip or Cody Hodgson. That might be enough to put em over the top.