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nikkeisimmer · 3 months

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Warning: Non-Sims Hockey Post

As most people who follow me know, I'm a hockey fan (almost required to be Canadian) and I'm a Vancouver Canucks fan which means that for most other teams' followers, they hate my guts. 🤣

July 1st for me, most always includes Free Agent Frenzy Day as well as Canada Day. And this year was no different. As of July 6, 2024, Jim Rutherford (or as I like to call him "Trader Jim" (the original Trader Jim)) will have been at the directional helm (as President of Hockey Operations) for almost two and a half years (has it been that long? - it's gone by in the blink of an eye) and two years and almost 4 1/2 months since Patrik Allvin has been hired as General Manager of the Vancouver Canucks.

Considering the sad shape that the Canucks were in in December of 2021, I did not hold hope that there was going to be such a turn around and frankly 2022-2023 season did not disappoint in my books. In fact I will go on record as stating:

Even Scotty Bowman wouldn't be able to win the

Stanley Cup with these idiots...

I meant the efforts of the on-ice team in the fact that they had absolutely no direction and that they were losing more than they were winning. With Travis Green the Canucks were losing and he got fired in December of 2021 and outside of a sudden spurt of winning effort when Bruce Boudreau was hired in December of 2021 right after Green was fired. Under Bruce the Canucks at the end half of the that 2021-2022 season went 32-15-10 and nearly made the playoffs missing it by only 5 points. And we thought that was going to be our Pacific Street Miracle. But 2022-2023 season and our fortunes did a complete 180°. In fact, not only was the winning record in the pre-season illusory, but the Canucks were on their way to a league worst opening season. It was a pretty sad effort all around. The Canucks stumbled out of the gate losing to the Edmonton Oilers in a match-up that ended 3-2. Surprisingly they won the next game against the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4; which was surprising to me which for a long-time fan, having seen the Flyers come into GM Place (now Rogers Arena - and I'm sorry, I just can't call GM Place Rogers Arena - it's too ingrained in me - Sorry, Ted) and essentially ROFLstomping the Canucks on a regular basis - the Canucks getting these infrequent wins seemed like an effing miracle.

But by the time the first ten games of the regular season were over, the Canucks had compiled a 2-6-2 record and were pretty much enroute to shitting the bed and making certain that their coach Bruce Boudreau was going to end up getting sacked. The question was when not if. In fact it looked as though the entire Jim Rutherford/Patrik Allvin experiment wasn't going to go the way that everyone had hoped and that this was all a mistake that they should rectify in a hurry. As usual our reactive fanbase was calling for their heads. It also meant that something had to be done. But it dragged on and on for the entirety of half a season while poor Bruce was trying to do everything in his power to get a team going that just wouldn't listen to him. It appeared that the team had tuned him out. In fact, I was not happy with the guys on the ice more than I was unhappy with Bruce. I kept saying to my wife that "God help the players on that team, because if I were the general manager on this team, I'd be having a fire-sale on players and try to bring in some players with a will-to-win." I'd be firing these players out the door like the slingshotted Bombbird on Angry Birds. God knows that Boudreau was trying his damndest to get something out of a team that just wasn't doing the right things to win. And of course the management was dumping all over Bruce every chance they got when they should have been questioning the work-ethic of their players. Anybody who was in Vancouver at the time knew the coaching drama that was going on in Rogers Arena. It was practically front-page news and the topic of damned near every sportsfan in Vancouver. So I wonder just how long Bruce Boudreau has, because he looks like he's a marked man.

Yeah, well, that pain lasted till January 22nd, 2023 - while the Canucks compiled a 18-25-3 record that was a hole that was seriously going to be difficult to climb out of. And fans were getting on the Tank for Bedard train. Yeah, I hate to admit it, I was one who was hoping that every loss would bring us closer to getting the coveted #1 draft pick. But I knew the NHL. They would do everything to make sure that we didn't get the number one. As a long-time Canucks fan from the very beginning (with Captain Orland Kurtenbach) I knew damned well the hockey gods would conspire to make sure we didn't or we would have had Gilbert Perrault. Instead we got Dale Tallon at #2.

Luke Schenn, one of the players that I think was actually trying on the ice, said it best "Obviously, we feel like we let him down in the room. He deserves better. I think that's on us as players," Yeah, no shit. This was entirely on the heads of the players and their "will-to-win". They were playing to get their coach fired. And that was the bottom line.

Rick Tocchet became the new Canucks Coach and a lot of fans were unhappy the way that it was presented to them. I know I wasn't too happy either, but I was one of the ones willing to give Coach Tocchet a chance. Besides...he wasn't the one that was responsible for Coach Boudreau's ignonimous departure. Frankly that was 100% to blame on the front office and the shitty way they handled things. The second Coach Tocchet took over the bench, it seemed like fortunes had turned around. The Canucks seemed to listen to Coach Rick Tocchet in a way they hadn't for Coach Boudreau. There was a new work ethic being instituted in the locker room. Coach Tocchet demanded hard work without being overbearing. We learned that he was a player's coach as he had been a players' player; that he had two ears and one mouth and used them in proportion.

He was bloody tough to play against as a player as most of the 80s and 90s players will tell you. He was a hard-nosed player who went into the corners, was gritty and tough-as-nails, was capable of throwing down the gloves and chucking knuckles and I hated him when he used to come into the Pacific Colisseum and take on my 'Nucks. But now...

Seeing him in Canucks colors on the ice helping players become the best versions of themselves they can be - I'm just glad that we have him.

Less than ten days after that, one of the main issues in the dressing room (the contention between Horvat and Miller) was addressed. I'm certain that there was friction between the two. The Canucks gambled on an older Miller and fired Horvat out the door trading him to the New York Islanders for Anthony Beauvillier (was later traded to Chicago for a fifth round pick in for in the now complete 2024 draft), Aatu Raty (now a stalwart in Abby) and a protected 2023 first-round draft pick (ended up going to the Islanders for Filip Hronek) and extending J.T. Miller instead. In retrospect, that was definitely the right decision to do, however it sure pissed off a lot of fans even more than they were already about the Boudreau firing.

Over the off-season we were thirsting for news about the Canucks. Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin had instituted a practical information lockdown and we could only speculate what was being done during the off-season to change the on-ice dynamics and work-ethic of the team and whether or not the Canucks players were buying in. The Canucks front office would toss us out crumbs from the draft table at the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.

Canucks drafted Jonathan Lekkerimäki at 15th overall in the 2023 draft. And Allvin did some major fine-tuning during the off-season picking up Hronek,

And then 2023-2024. HOLY SHIT!!! It's like we'd somehow acquired a whole different team with the faces of the players we'd had before. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought that humankind had perfected cloning because we now had players with familiar names that had "work-ethic" coming into games. None of this holiday resort type atmosphere, it was what we knew now as "lunch-bucket" hockey, crack-your-knuckles" and get to work.

We were seeing a lot more of these kinds of celebrations on the ice. It was a far cry from the dejection. It was fun to be a hockey fan again (not that I ever left, but those losses hurt). And the loss to the Edmonton Oilers in the 2nd round of the NHL playoffs hurt like hell, but we know that playoff hockey is back in Vancouver and that there will be more playoffs to come.

Yes, there were losses throughout the season, but somehow we knew the Canucks would dig themselves out. This was a whole different team and the man responsible, the man behind the bench.

The fact that we have Adam Foote as an Assistant Coach is incredible.

Again as a long-time Canucks fan whose young adulthood coincided with Tocchet's and Foote's time on the ice as players. Footey was an Avalanche player, again tough to play against and he was one of those players that got under your skin because he was so damned good at what he did.

This is how I remember Adam Foote - tough, gritty and basically would clear players from in front of his net and this was the skillset that he was now teaching to our Canucks players as Canucks assistant coach. These were guys with Cup winning pedigrees.

We can't miss out Sergei Gonchar who was with Crosby when they won the first of two Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh in 2009.

Sergei Gonchar is now our Defensive Development Coach and he goes into the intricacies of what constitutes how to play good defense. It's great to see him on the ice teaching our young Canucks.

And the best damned thing about these three is that THEY WANT THAT for our Canucks - in fact the coaching staff may not have been former Canucks players, but they are Canucks in the fact that they are our players' guiding lights. They're not going to be satisfied until Lord Stanley's Cup is raised in Rogers Arena and neither are Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin.

The 2024 offseason so far, as short a period as it's been has been tumultuous. Both Lindholm and Zadorov (is still loved in Vancouver - and he deserves his new contract, but it's a bit too pricey for us) are now Boston Bruins and we just inherited a shit-ton of new Canucks (ex-Bruins in return) that we signed in free agency.

According to Quinn Hughes. Kiefer Sherwood had pissed off the entire team while playing for Nashville

New Canucks team-mate Sherwood harassing ex-Canuck, now Bruin Elias Lindholm. "Welcome to Vancouver" Kiefer.

The Bruins stole two of our players (yeah, I know they were free agents and they wanted too much for the Canucks to pay them what they wanted but they were our players, dammit!) so Allvin returned the favour and signed Jake DeBrusk. Big Z no matter what team he plays for made an impact in Vancouver and will be a loved player here just as much as Kuzmenko was.

They will be missed.

Lindholm, well, he was just a rental.

Well, good luck in Boston, Elias.

Danton Heinen came home (He's a Langley boy) after playing with the Bruins for the past year after playing with the Penguins for the prior two years to that.

And he's so looking forward to playing for his hometown team. He gave the hometeam discount in order to come play for them. He wants to help the Canucks win and well, he remembers the 2011 playoffs too well and wants to change that outcome.

He's also an ex-Penguin so he knows the regime over here having played with them for two years recently. Heinen returned to the Bruins after being drafted by them back in 2014 becoming a regular in the lineup in the 2016-2017 season.

Derek Forbort is a monster. He may not be the most fleet of foot, but he's effective where he places himself. And evidently he can hit like a Mack truck and clear the area around the net which is what Tocchet will want him to do. 6'4" of pure unbridled aggression and "get out of my team's net".

Hopefully Tocchet will be able to help Jake DeBrusk find some consistency and the fact that Jake acknowledges that he has some work to do is nice to hear. But he's one of the most promising of the signings next to Kiefer Sherwood. He's also the "power forward" that Tocchet wanted lining up with Elias Pettersson hopefully to get him going during the playoffs. DeBrusk is a gritty player, a good two way player and able to make defensive plays as well as generate offense. And hopefully Tocc will be able to take him to the next level.

Not much is known here about Nate Smith (Nathan Smith) other than the fact that he spent most of his past two seasons in the minors and that he had a promising season back in 2021-2022. But in 4 games in 2022-2023, he had 0 points.

Hopefully he becomes a good pickup for Abby or that maybe Tocchet will be able to spark something in him during camp.

Last of the pick-ups on opening day of Free Agent Frenzy was Vincent Desharnais from the Oil who will now be plying his trade making sure that Petey is protected rather than plowing into him as seen here.

At 6'7" he's a replacement for 6'6" Big Z. And can clear the net as well as his new team-mate Derek Forbort.

Abby needs a new goalie and well, it's going to be a two-way race with Jiri Patera (Vegas Golden Knights) now possibly contending for backup position to Thatcher Demko against Arturs Silovs who played phenomenally against the Edmonton Oilers and drew them to a seven game series after Demko went down in Game 1 versus Nashville. Demko did not return for the duration of the playoffs and it was Casey DeSmith and Arturs Silovs for the rest of that series. Then it was all Silovs against the Edmonton Oilers.

My gut says that Silovs will ultimately get the nod to become the permanent back-up to Thatcher Demko and Patera will become the lead goaltender for the Abbotsford Canucks.

So in a nutshell, that's Vancouver's offseason acquisitions for you. As far as I can tell, the Canucks made some solid acquisitions early in the Free Agency Frenzy on July 1st, because it was clear that they weren't going to land the big names being floated around.

Frankly they would have shot themselves in the foot if they had gone after Jake Guentzel and we've seen that kind of thing happen before. (Hello, Mark Messier...and Oliver Ekman-Larsson).

“Other than some inexperience in Vancouver, which is probably the thing that they're lacking the most right now, you've got to look at their team as being really positioned well to play well in the playoffs.” ~Mark Messier

Yeah, Mark, thanks, do us a favour next time...and keep it to yourself.

Mark Messier with the "invisible Cup" that he was going to win for us. 🤮

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antis0cial23 · 6 months

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The Pride of the Navy

Prologue

Summary: Graduation is right around the corner, and so are new assignments...

Chapter Warnings: Swearing

NOT PROOF READ

A breeze was constant on the California shores. Soft and salty, changing with the tides. Just enough to give the evenings a chill that the breeze filled days lacked. The sweltering sun dulling its fire, slipping further under the horizon. Hues of fiery orange and soothing yellows, mixing with soft pinks colored the atmosphere. Sunsets on North Island were always colorful. North Island. The home of the famous ‘Top Gun’ pilot school. Only the best of the best graced such a place with their presence. Miramar legend in the Navy. Pilots only ever went once, if they even had the chance, that is.

Good fliers with headstrong attitudes, confidence present in their maneuvers. But there is always room to learn, to improve, even though it might not seem like some aviator’s egos could truly get any bigger. Now, some of her fellow fliers that joined her at Top Gun voiced their confidence and self-proclaimed importance, but not Quinlan. Actions speak louder than words after all.

“Cas! Get your ass over here!” A familiar voice of a fellow female pilot called Quinlan from her thoughts. The sun just below the line of the ocean, marking the end of her solitude. For better or worse, she didn’t know. Quin moved from her spot on the sand, not hurrying in the slightest over to her friend.

“Why must you interrupt my solitude so, Phoenix.” Quinlan sighed, stepping in tune with Natasha back to the steps of ‘The Hard Deck’. Alone time was always a necessity for an introvert, now add a major event soon to occur to the mix, and you’ve got yourself a hermit with the anxiety like that of any small dog breed.

“Because, my dear Casper. You are not allowed to go ghost mode on the last day we have to party before graduation. At Top Gun no less.” Phoenix laughed at her pun ‘ghost mode’, making Quin roll her eyes with a small smile. Before her third year of The National Flight Academy, her chosen callsign was ‘Sunset’, but everyone knows most callsigns aren’t chosen, they’re given. Mostly by fellow aviators, that is. Quinlan’s quiet demeanor and habit to ‘sneak’ in with no one noticing earned her the nickname ‘Casper’, like Casper the friendly ghost. Maybe friendly wasn’t the right descriptor for Quin, but the name Casper sure fit. And within a few months, it became her callsign.

Quietly, she followed Phoenix back into the bar, the rest of the soon to be graduates surrounding the pool table and dart boards. She settled in around the pool table, watching a few take shots. Vex, Phoenix’s WSO, lined up for a shot, Quin lightly smirked. Vex pulled back on the pool stick, about to shoot.

“Try aiming a lil more left.” Quinlan said, standing right behind Vex. Startled, to say the least, Vex skimmed the side of the white que ball, signifying his turn was spent.

“Jesus Christ Casper! You need a fucking bell...” Vex groaned, annoyed his shot was screwed. Rooster laughed at his poor attempt of a shot, winking at Quin, while she just smiled, eyes filled with mock innocence.

“That actually isn’t a terrible idea.” Phoenix loudly input, smiling from the side, a mischievous glint from her brown eyes. Quinlan raised a brow, internally praying she was joking.

“Y’all know it isn’t my fault for your lack of observation skills. A wonder you can all fly.” Quin’s lips curved into a satisfied small grin, ending her contribution to the larger conversation. Phoenix wormed her way through the group over to Quinlan, her smile never leaving, the setting of the bar fueling Natasha’s joy. Places like these were her cup of tea, not Quin’s.

“I’m totally buying you a bell necklace.” Phoenix whispered over to Quin, her tone playfully serious.

“And I will wholeheartedly cherish it.” She joked back, voice jovial. But that’s not where the depths of her mind resided. Quin couldn’t help to think what assignments her and Nat would be placed on after their graduation. Top Gun graduates got top picks, but within reason. She just hoped, maybe with more belief than she should have, that she and Phoenix would depart the same way they arrived, together. Same went for her and Rooster. Luck getting stationed with one friend was low. Make that two? No chance. Continuing watching the close game of pool, she watched Rooster sneak over to the jukebox, unplugging the machine.

“There goes Rooster, I was waiting to see how long he would last without playing. Made it an hour.” Phoenix pulled Quin over to the piano, standing right next to Rooster’s sitting self. Just like Phoenix, Rooster had made his way to the Top Gun academy with them. Although they didn’t share the same best friend relationship her and Phoenix did, it was one where they could always confide in one another, no matter what. They’d been each other’s therapists since the academy, helping the other through everything. And neither of them expected any different.

By the time Quin joined in, the whole bar was screaming “Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls of Fire!”. Rooster’s signature. The song died down, Rooster’s fingers no longer dancing over the keys with ease. He stood with a expression nothing short of joy-filled.

“We get to leave!” He yelled to the bar filled with fliers. Cheers, applause, agreements. Finding Phoenix distracted, Quinlan decided to slip through the packed space, out to the fresh air. She loved her companions, but the metaphorical battery powering her social motivation died a long while ago, before the sun had even set. She returned to the spot on the beach she once before occupied, sitting in the cooled sand. The bar quieted down ever so slightly as Quin watched the sky. The last bit of light fading from lavender to a beautiful navy. Footsteps sounded behind her, but she paid no mind. That was until they spoke at least.

“Peopled out, Cas?” his voice, still happy sounding, asked her sitting figure.

“Just thinking, Roost.” Quin answered as he sat next to her. Silence followed. Comfortable silence.

“What are you thinking of doing after we graduate, Cas?” His voice almost sounded detached, emotion void unlike his previous happy tone.

“I don’t know. Haven’t thought much.” Quin looked at his seated self. His head tilted towards the sky. Vulnerability was rarely something Rooster ever showed, but he felt comfortable around her. She never said anything unless she needed, so he knew anything she could possibly say was all she thought he would need, whether he wanted to hear it or not. He loved that. It reminded him of his mother. The comfort and safety he felt with her made the possibility of going separate ways daunting. Just the same as one would feel if they lost their safety net, too.

“I was thinking of joining the Black Aces, over in, uh, in Virginia Beach. They offered me a spot actually… And they said they had an extra.” He looked at Quin, expecting her to be looking back, but her face still pointed at the sky, the reflection of the stars speckling her icy eyes.

“You should take it Rooster. Maybe offer the spare to Phoenix. I’m sure she’d love that.” Quin knew his intentions, without a doubt, but she wanted to stay in California. In her safety circle, her comfort zone, if at all possible. Her ‘innocent’ suggestion of asking Phoenix was seen by Rooster as obliviousness. His inability to sense deeper emotion, whether intentional or not, shining bright.

“Actually Cas, I am offering it to you. That way we could be stationed together. We could still talk when I- when we needed. Be each other’s comfort person.” Rooster was usually of man of many words, his meaning hidden just beneath the surface. His inability to sense deeper emotion was only trumped by his inability to hide his own feelings within his words. He saw the small scrunch of Quin’s eyebrows, her processing his words.

“Pardon...?” Finally, Quin glanced over. Her mind, usually racing late into the nights, screeched to a halt. ‘When he needed’.

“I know comfort means uh… means a lot to you Cas…” His voice didn’t portray sincerity, it portrayed a man trying to wriggle himself out of a tight corner he had talked himself into moments before. Rooster had a way with words, he always had. A man of many, talking circles around Quin ever since they had met. Although one thing Rooster could never, ever, do was trick her. His intentions, emotions, right below the beautifully crafted lengthy crests and valleys of his speech. Anyone could see them, all they had to do was look. And look was something Quin, without a shred of doubt, knew how to do.

“Roost, the Black Aces are a big reputation to live up to. You ready for that?” Quin’s words were true to her thoughts. Her whispered words paired with a side glance, one that could be taken as skepticism if the person didn’t know her. But Rooster did. Yet, the words “are you ready” burned more that he assumed she intended, but the glance she gave poured acid on his wounds.

“Are you?” His response was crafted quickly, a bitter sting felt on Quin’s skin as he spoke. His gaze was intense. Not harmful, but forceful, nonetheless.

“No.” She looked forward once more. Unlike most young graduates in the Navy, Quinlan already had a family to worry about. Her younger sister, Emmelyn, was purely under Quin’s care. Currently asleep at home, with the watchful eye of a family friend. Emmelyn was Quin’s responsibility, her family to take care of, and to consider when planning her future. Em was only fourteen, enjoying the summer before she became a high school student, her last year of middle school coming to an end only three days before Quin’s graduation. Em had grown up for the better part of her childhood here, her friends and memories housed in California. She wasn’t ready to move on, move away, for Emmelyn’s sake, ignoring the decision she knew she would have to make. If there were anything in Quinlan’s life she would be willing to sacrifice her wellbeing for, it was her sister. With a glance at Rooster, deep down, Quin knew this wouldn’t end well. Maybe not tonight, but sometime soon, dangerously soon as she would come to realize, something was going to snap.

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