WWYDW: Erik Karlsson

When Elliotte Friedman talks, you listen. And today, he dropped a bombshell:

Apparently, the Canucks are kicking the tires on Erik Karlsson. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, necessarily, considering the team had interest in P.K. Subban just two years ago.

The rumour certainly adds a new wrinkle to the speculation that Trevor Linden’s departure was due in large part to believing the team is farther away from being competitive than the rest of the front office. Still, Erik Karlsson is probably the best defenseman in the league, and the thought of him in a Canucks uniform is intriguing to say the least.

Last week I asked: what changes, if any, would you like to see the Canucks make to their home, away, and third jerseys?

Let’s face it, the Canucks logos have been a mess. They have used five completely different logos in their history (rink, giant V, flying skate, orca, and lumberjack) and two completely different colour schemes (white, green, blue and yellow, red, black). And with the exception of Johnny Canuck, their logos have no connection to their name.

No more radical changes. Their current logo isn’t bad looking, but the “splash” where the C turns into a whale is overly complicated. Simplify that bit — perhaps getting rid of that weird jagged line in the C — and then keep to it.

The Canucks aren’t an Original 6 team imbued with tradition. The Canucks don’t have a single iconic jersey. They are the opposite of every team in the league and they should own that.

They should play in a new jersey every single year. Have a New York Fashion Week like event every year on opening day that reveals the jersey for that year.

Forget tradition and iconic. Be stylish, be new, be fashionable.

Spaghetti plate is nostalgic for me, the lumberjack looks good too, stick in the rink is simplistic, and that’s alright, but I think the orca is where its at. It identifies with a cool predatory beast on the coast, the blue and green colors do too, and has a West Coast aboriginal art vibe, an art form pack with symbolism. We should just stick with that.

I’ve grown to like the blue and green and the killer whale. Don’t think I’d change much.

Something I would like to see is some small adornments to acknowledge the fan base and contributions from our asian communities.

Have an indigenous artist redesign the Orca logo in an authentic First Nations art style.

I think people get a little bit too caught up with jerseys. NBA, NFL, and MLB often have several designs as one offs here and there. I don’t think its a big deal if Canadian teams wear a Remembrance day jersey, an original jersey, a mental health or cancer awareness jersey and auction them off to worthwhile charities. Its no big deal. Just keep the regular jerseys in the playoffs.

Get rid of the dopey “VANCOUVER” on the front of the jersey. No other team has their city name spelled out in bold on the chest. Other than that, leave it alone – the orca in this colour scheme is attractive, fits the city, and this team has had too many damn jersey changes over the years.