Cheers and Jeers – Feb 17th

The Good and the Bad of this past week.

It’s Friday. So we close out the "Week That Was" with our latest volume of… "Cheers and Jeers!"

This week, I scold Marchand and idiot Canucks fans (it seems like they go hand-in-hand now), and wrap things up in regulation by applauding Luongo and playing hockey for a great cause.

JEERS to Brad Marchand. God, the Bruins are the gift that keeps on giving for bloggers and journalists everywhere. Much like Canucks fans (more on that later). So Marchand called the Montreal fans "classless" for cheering when Bruins captain Zdeno Chara took a puck to the chin. Brad conveniently forgot that Chara just about snapped Max Pacioretty in half last year. He also forgot that he low-bridged Alex Emelin in the same game (a diet of the type of hit he delivered to Sami Salo, earning him a suspension and a concussion to the Finnish veteran). Now look, I’m not saying that cheering for someone getting hurt is okay and it’s not something I’d do. But given the context of this rivalry and the victim, it’s somewhat understandable, if we’re being honest. Moreover if you need a spokesperson to deliver a message about anyone’s "classlessness", you could probably do better than Brad Marchand. Try Matt Cooke instead.

CHEERS to Roberto Luongo for finally winning a game in regulation! YEYYYYYY!!! Luongo set a record for taking six straight starts to a shootout. Lu and the Canucks bumped the slump by beating the Colorado Avalanche in 60 minutes (and NO MORE!) on Wednesday. Canucks fans rejoiced and celebrated by going to bed 20 minutes earlier than normal.

JEERS to anyone who thinks that Rick Nash is going to end up in a Vancouver Canucks uniform. CAMAN. The price is too high, his contract won’t fit in the Canucks cap structure and getting a player like Nash is not the Canucks’ primary concern (it’s getting a top 4 D). IT’S NOT HAPPENING, PEOPLE. Sorry to crush your dream, but Gillis, Gilman and co. are NOT traveling down this road.

CHEERS to Steve Yzerman for having the peaches to come out and declare "We’re sellers!", and for getting the ball rolling with an actual hockey trade leading up to the trade deadline. He pulled the trigger on a trade last night, sending Dominic Moore to San Jose, and announced that he will trade Pavel Kubina, and therefore yanked him out of the lineup to keep him from getting injured. Right now, Yzerman and the Lightning are the ONLY team that has directly stated that they’re moving players. We know that The Blue Jackets are sellers, but they’re still being weird and coy about their position.

JEERS to the complete ass-hat who vandalized Milan Lucic’s church in Burnaby. I’m at a loss to describe how pissed off, disgusted and ashamed I am about this. This now, once again, casts a dark shadow on decent, respectable, diplomatic Canucks fans. Now, we’re left to defend ourselves AGAIN, and try to prove that we’re not all complete clowns. And if you don’t believe other fanbases think we’re tools, go read the comments on the CanucksArmy article. Being a Canucks fan is sometimes a blessing, but mostly a curse.

And finally…

CHEERS to Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer – a project and event from the Canadian Cancer Society, using road hockey to promote fundraising and awareness for cancer research. Our friends at Pass It To Bulis will be at the launch event today, along with singer/songwriter Dan Mangan and former Canuck Darcy Rota. Head down to Rogers Arena, at the Roger Neilson Memorial North Plaza and find out about this great event and how you can help. This is a cause near and dear to my heart because I have a daughter who is a cancer survivor, and, of course, my love of hockey. Check them out on Facebook, Twitter, or their main website. And please help in ANY way that you can.