Just over a week ago, we put out the call for some hockey-adjacent questions for our weekly mailbag. We wanted to step aside from discussing roster construction, trade possibilities and salary cap issues. It seemed like a fair ask in the middle of July.
Then, the Vancouver Canucks went and made a pair of trades addressing roster construction and salary cap issues. But we had so many good questions last week that we weren’t able to get to that we’re going to dig into the same pile for this week’s mailbag. There is still plenty of time to address hockey-related topics in the weeks and months ahead, but this is Part II of our Outside the Box summer mailbag:
Let’s go with the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners are sort of scuffling along with a legitimate shot at a playoff spot. Again. Every season sort of feels the same for the M’s. They’ve got an MVP candidate in Cal Raleigh, much the way the Canucks have a superstar in Quinn Hughes. But how far can one extraordinary player take his team? The Canucks and Mariners share Pacific Northwest vibes, and both teams are still seeking their first championships. One team has a moose for a mascot, the other has an orca. Otherwise, there are plenty of similarities over the years, and that includes where both teams are in their competitive cycles. 
I think Nils Höglander would be fun to play Uno with. He presents a pretty quiet demeanour, but it’s clear he’s a competitor with the way he plays hockey. I imagine he’d be a bit of a card shark, too. And Max Sasson looks like he’d be a good board game guy, and he would make for solid company, too. So I’d be up for a night of cards and board games with Höglander and Sasson.
I’m going to say yes, because I think it’s pretty clear the Sedins are high achievers in everything they do. Can you imagine the breakouts those two would have created? They probably would have cycled the puck out of their own end. I don’t know if they would have become Hall of Famers, although I wouldn’t bet against it. I’m not sure who would have to play the right side – maybe Henrik would pull rank and send Daniel to his offside. But, seriously, if the Sedins had trained and developed as defencemen, they would have been incredibly smart, well-positioned blueliners who would likely have transformed the position. As we’ve seen with so many modern-day defenders, it’s not all about being big bruisers in today’s game. It’s about using stick and body position to defend effectively and spending as little time as possible in the defensive zone. Mark my words, the Sedins would have been very good at that.
There are a couple of things to address here: the club has done a very good job at retaining players as evidenced by extensions for Elias Pettersson, Filip Hronek, Kevin Lankinen, Marcus Pettersson, Drew O’Connor and, this month alone, Brock Boeser, Thatcher Demko and Conor Garland. The next challenge, of course, is convincing Quinn Hughes to remain. Winning is the best cure for just about everything in professional sports. So the club could certainly win more. But even with a recent 50-win & 109-point season, there have still been internal issues. Stability and continuity from the top down would help.. There has been a lot of coaching turnover in recent years. Too much drama, too. A practice facility is long overdue, and a commitment to finally build one will send the right message to players and agents about the way the team is conducting its business off the ice. But, overall, I’m not sure there are too many stones to overturn that the team isn’t currently doing. I just think the Canucks need to show they have a well-thought-out plan to build the team into a contender. If they are able to convey that to the rest of the league, they will get noticed for the right reasons.
This isn’t a question, but I wanted to include it in this week’s mailbag because I heartily agree. Even though every player in the league wears a helmet, and it’s often difficult to see the kinds of hairstyles the players are rocking, so much of it is about attitude. And, I concur, that hockey could use a few more players who ooze the confidence required to stroll into the rink with a mohawk or a mullet. We still occasionally get a glimpse of hockey hair, but not like we once did. This is an outside-the-box mailbag, and I’m appealing to players around the NHL to embrace the opportunity to grow out some glorious locks. The problem is that too many players wear toques to every game, even if they had an outlandish haircut that should be on display for all to see and enjoy, they most likely would keep it hidden away because, well, there is no good reason. 
I’m going to start with Jim Robson and Tom Larscheid. I don’t think that’s up for debate. They meant everything to Canucks fans for so many years when the team wasn’t much to see or follow. Robson was as good as it gets describing the play-by-play, and Larscheid was a showman who brought the passion and energy that you so often wished the team he covered could emulate. 
I’m going to put Tony Gallagher on there, too. Gallagher pulled no punches in his coverage of the hockey club. He was an incredible columnist who brought his biting commentary to radio as he branched out into electronic media. He was stinging in his criticism when necessary, but he also had an ability to earn the trust of players and their agents. 
Finally, I’ll add John Shorthouse. I think Shorty has earned his spot with longevity and his ability to mix the essentials of television play-by-play while adding his own personality to the job. Even when some of the games aren’t much fun, the broadcasts usually are. 
Mount Rushmore discussions are great summertime fodder. They rarely reach a consensus. In this case, some may look more at a separate case for broadcasters and those who cover the team on a daily basis. But the question didn’t stipulate, so I went with anyone who has held a press pass to cover the Canucks, regardless of the job description.
Please don’t lose any sleep over this. League rules require a trade to have parts heading in opposite directions, so rather than allowing teams to simply give players away, there is a need to offer up something in return. And that’s where the always popular future considerations come into play. Maybe, on occasion, there is a handshake agreement to return the favour somewhere down the road. Perhaps, on a rarer occasion, one manager will offer to buy his counterpart a steak dinner. Or maybe it’s just a nice way to cover the fact that fringe players really have no trade value. The whole notion of future considerations seems nonsensical, so I understand your pessimism. But it’s one of those things that somehow crept into professional sports that doesn’t show any sign of going away anytime soon.
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