Staring down a 100 mph slap shot is terrifying at the best of times, so it takes a special kind of insanity to willingly volunteer to face dozens of them on a nightly basis. Goaltenders are as diverse a group as you’ll find among NHL players, but the one thing most of them have in…
Over the course of the Unmasking series, we’ve been able to get a glimpse inside the minds of former Canuck goaltenders and take a look behind the scenes at the stories that influenced their masks. What we haven’t gotten to do, at least until today, is talk to the man who designed them. My chat…
After a pretty stellar junior career with the Kamloops Blazers in which he helped his team head to two-straight Memorial Cup tournaments, winning it the second time, Corey Hirsch then made his way to the pros where he would eventually become a reliable backup goaltender for the Vancouver Canucks. Of course, the Canucks weren’t the…
As the Canucks moved past the dead puck era and into the colourful future, the goalie masks saw an uptick in creativity. It wasn’t just the starters that had a jazzy looking lid but the backups did, too! My next conversation features a popular Swede who went from Manitoba to Chicago in the AHL and…
As the Canucks transitioned from the highly-questionable “Flying V” jersey to the skate logo, which had versions of yellow, black, and eventually white, so did the team’s roster. In the early 1980s, “King” Richard Brodeur backstopped the Vancouver Canucks to a Stanley Cup Final appearance, but towards the end of the decade and well into…
The Canucks’ slogan for their 50th-anniversary celebrations has been “Colourful Past, Bright Future” and when it comes to their goaltenders and the masks they wore, they couldn’t be more spot on. In a series of interviews, I ask former Canucks goaltenders about the most important part of their equipment, well maybe second after their cup:…
THE INTRO Winning one game doesn’t make you a playoff team but the Canucks hope that it’s a good start. Tonight, the Canucks (might) play the Arizona Coyotes in a very important late-season matchup. There hasn’t been this much anticipation for a game that involves the Canucks and Coyotes since the Sedins’ final days. As…
THE INTRO Listen, the Canucks aren’t serious yet. If they were, this would be over already. Desperation hasn’t quite set in yet but they’re almost there. Tonight, the Canucks take on the visiting New York Islanders, a team that also needs those two points. Are the Canucks ready to bump their slump? Possibly. The Canucks…
THE SKINNY What could have been a great bounce-back game after blowing the lead a week ago turned into a snoozefest at Rogers Arena on Sunday night. This game was about as pretty as a mud painting when my kids were four, it wasn’t something I will remember. Columbus quarantined the Canucks for the most…
THE INTRO Every point is so crucial this time of year and tonight is no different. The Canucks welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets to their rink this time in a very meaningful March tilt. A win tonight would bump the Canucks to 78 points, still one point back of the 6th place Flames. Columbus could…
THE INTRO The playoff race is heating up for the Vancouver Canucks and a visit from the Colorado Avalanche doesn’t make it any easier. Tonight, the Canucks will look to bounce back from their four-game losing streak in which they didn’t score a single point. Injuries are an easy target for why things haven’t gone…
Not every powerhouse looks like a powerhouse at first glance. While the Canucks have struggled as of late, they’re still in a similar position to the one a fairly recent Stanley Cup champion found themselves in just before their historic run: The 2012 Los Angeles Kings. Just how good were the 2012 Los Angeles Kings?…
