Cheers and Jeers: December 12th

What a week the Canucks have had. One win and a handful of losses since we last checked in, not all of which have been inflicted on the Canucks record.

If it doesn’t already feel a bit like last season, another couple losses (or injuries, for that matter) will surely send the message home. Here’s to hoping that isn’t the case. I think I speak for everyone when I say this season’s been far more enjoyable than the last to date, even if the results aren’t that different.

It’s a mixed bag, just like CanucksArmy’s newest (and oldest) weekly feature, Cheers and Jeers. With that, let’s get to it!

Cheers to Nikolay Goldobin for scoring his first goal of the season mere hours after I posted the re-launch of Cheers and Jeers. In four games with the Canucks this season, Goldobin now has two points (a goal and an assist) and two shots. I’ll also reward Canucks head coach Travis Green with some cheers for putting Goldobin into a goalscorer’s position when he does play him, which isn’t often enough, in my humble opinion.

Jeers to Nic Dowd’s first two games as a Canuck (an important distinction between that and Dowd himself). I don’t have a strong opinion of the Dowd-for-Jordan Subban trade one way or the other. It’s a 13th forward for an older defensive prospect with dwindling hopes of ever seeing the NHL. And I don’t think we need to write Dowd off as wholly useless yet, either. Don’t get me wrong — it’s an ugly two-game sample. Dowd is without a point, has four penalty minutes and a -16 on-ice shot attempt differential at even strength. Here’s to hoping he turns it around.

Cheers to Jacob Markstrom for earning his first career shutout! Admittedly, I had moments where I wondered if it was ever going to happen. Markstrom came so damn close against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Then last Tuesday, against the Carolina Hurricanes, Markstrom sealed the deal. The grin he had as he celebrated that moment with his teammates was something to behold. It was ear-to-ear, and obvious to see even behind the grill of his helmet. An awesome moment, indeed.

Jeers to the Canucks current run of injuries, which has Bo Horvat, Sven Baertschi, Brandon Sutter and Erik Gudbranson sidelined by some sort of malady. The good news: Sutter and Gudbranson should be close to returning to full health; the bad: Horvat and Baertschi both have at least three weeks of rehab ahead of them. Can the Canucks remain in the hunt in spite of this misfortune? I had my doubts that they could with a healthy team. The early returns suggest they haven’t a hope in hell without Horvat and Baertschi. According to the website ManGamesLost, which tracks injuries and the man games lost to the teams they’re visited upon, the Canucks had the ninth-highest man games lost to injury on December 7th, which barely accounts for Horvat’s time out of the lineup and doesn’t include Baertschi. That number ought to be a lot higher when they update their database.

Cheers to Jordan Subban. Has he done anything worthy of recognition? Hardly. This season was shaping up to be his worst in the Canucks organization before they traded him to the Los Angeles Kings. You know what’s cheers worthy, though? That Subban is getting a fresh start. He desperately needed it. It’s been clear for years now that this Canucks front office wasn’t a believer in Subban; he was never getting a shot as a Canuck. Now he gets a chance to reinvent himself in the Kings organization. Subban is on the older side for prospects, but for perspective, he’s only about six months older than Goldobin — the window is hardly shut! I wish him the best of luck with the Kings. Hopefully, he’s in the NHL at some point.

Jeers to house fires. One of CanucksArmy’s own, Jackson McDonald, has had to suffer one recently, and it’s put him and his partner in a challenging situation, and in a tough time of the year to be in one at that. I’ve copied a tweet where you can follow the link to a GoFundMe page setup in Jackson’s name to try and recoup some of the funds that this fire has cost him and his partner. Any donation big or small will be greatly appreciated by everyone involved!