Headshots September 14th
By Jeff Angus
11 years ago
Headshots are a Canucks Army feature where we link to the day’s freshest news, and other assorted Canucks web-goodies. If you’ve written a blogpost, produced a tribute video, birthed a clever .gif into existence, or have a hockey related cause you’d like to see promoted in this space – please e-mail Thom at thom.drance@gmail.com
Well now that the day is almost Doan done, let’s look back and see what transpired on quite a busy Friday.
Loyalty wins out. Shane Doan chose at the last minute to re-sign with the Phoenix Coyotes, remaining with the only NHL organization he has ever known. Doan’s contract is for four years and is worth $21.2 million. Although we are not privy to the details of Vancouver’s offer, I would guess that the term and dollar amount was quite similar. Yeah, it would have been great to see a leader and player like Doan join the Canucks, it is nice to see a player show such loyalty in today’s sports climate.
Speaking of loyalty, Alex Burrows was signed to a four-year, $18 million contract extension earlier today. Burrows will see his salary increase from $2 million to $4.5 million for the 2013-14 season. Even at $4.5 million per season, the versatile winger is still a terrific value. A great move all around – Burrows is beloved by his coaches, teammates, and the fans of the Canucks. He is also terrific in the community and a great story to all hockey players trying to break through against all odds.
I wrote an extensive profile of the Burrows story last fall, detailing his rise from the ECHL to NHL.
He loves the game of hockey, which is obvious to see. He has taken two significant pay cuts in a time when so many professional athletes follow the money. At the end of the day, he is still getting $2 million to play hockey, but considering what he could/should be getting, Vancouver management and fans should be counting their lucky stars Burrows values success and familiarity over money. If you take one thing away from this piece, I hope it is that there is a lot more to Burrows than what the media has told and continues to tell us. He’s a great ambassador for the city, for the game, and for sports in general. With a lot of hard work and even a small opportunity, anything really is possible.
CanucksArmy’s own Patrick Johnston will be appearing on CBC’s The National tonight to discuss the CBA and the lockout. Doan’t forget to set your PVRs if you can’t tune in live. (I promise, that is the last Doan pun). You can listen to Johnston’s appearance on CBC Radio earlier today here. (Scroll ahead to the 14:45 mark onward.)
The Canucks re-assigned a number of players to the AHL today, including Chris Tanev and Zack Kassian. I am looking forward to a top defensive pairing of Tanev and Kevin Connauton, and a top line featuring Jordan Schroeder, Zack Kassian, and (likely) veteran Darren Haydar.
Heading back to their junior clubs are Brendan Gaunce (Belleville), Frankie Corrado (Sudbury), and Evan McEneny (Kitchener).
More on Burrows – a look at his life away from hockey:
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