CrashingTheGoalie

by Ron Spence

The following quote has been altered throughout the years, but you can quickly get the jist of it.

“Suppose you were working at your job one day,” Jacques Plante quipped, “and you made a little mistake. Then all of a sudden a red light went on over your desk, and fifteen thousand people stood up and yelled at you that you sucked?”

It’s not easy being a professional athlete.

We all know this, but are still critical because the players have made their choices to be centre ice. And, we would like to be there ourselves, albeit if we were younger, and had some talent.

We all, of course, believe that we have the mental toughness necessary to play in the NHL….

Ironically, we expect more – on an individual basis – from our team’s players, than we do from our own sons, nephews, etc.

“My son failed his midterm. He hasn’t been himself since grandma died….”

Vancouver had gone 6-0-1 in the preseason, and had won their first two games against an emotionally intense, and physically aggressive rival – the Calgary Flames.

Also, over the span of the nine games, there had been: a new leadership group formed; a number of new players added to the team; repeated questions about last year’s poor finish; contracts discussed and one consummated; issues about fitness; some players sent down, some kept up with the team; the mourning over a teammate’s death; the preparation for the two game series; the games themselves; and the aftermath….

We all know this. We followed it on a daily basis – actually, on an hourly basis for us blogger types.

We celebrated, we fretted, we mourned, we cheered…

But then, like our first tired day back at work – after the Thanksgiving weekend – the ‘Nucks did the unthinkable – they personally let us down – they lost.

And not only did they lose, they lost badly.

That night, The Province’ s editorial room went at it with a vengeance.

The following morning, the mini headlines read:

VANCOUVER PROVINCE - October 14, 2008

Words like: “disaster, ditched, road kill, turkey, fading, aborted, messed with,” etc. were used – for the Canucks’ first loss in 10 games.

Now, I agree with Tony, that it’s “back to reality.”

The work in progress is now intensifying. We now know – first hand – why Bernier, Wellwood, and O’Brien were cheap acquisitions – two of them are with their third team now.

Today, the coach will have had everyone working hard.

Alain and his team now know – more than ever – that they have to play their own game – not someone else’s style of play.

Mike Gillis will be looking at trades to improve the top two lines, and monitoring his players in Manitoba. He has the luxury of his cap room.

For me, the ‘Nucks got kicked by the team – that if George McPhee has half a brain – could be the Red Wings’ successor as an NHL dynasty. I personally believe that they are better – with half decent goaltending – than the Penguins.

This Canucks team – that missed the playoffs last spring – and are hoping to play in the post-season in 2009, were beaten by a young, elite squad – a clear level or two above the Canucks.

Does anyone really believe that the current Vancouver team can get beyond the first round – if they make it into the playoffs?

No offense, but the Canucks need two or three good players to be a real contender.

And the score? I’m glad that they were kicked. Had they lost by 1 goal, then things would have been “the same old same old.”

“Well, you know it was close…we just have to…these things happen…we learned something tonight.”

The past 24 hours have been a period of self-searching for the boys. It’s part of their character development.

Something that Vancouver’s media and fans could work on….