By Joel Smart (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: January 25, 2012
It’s probably not the most obvious time to look back at the year that was, but with The Cascade running a best of 2011 list for almost every category on the planet, it feels fitting to take a moment to look back at what the year meant for Canucks fans.
For a great number of us, it was the first chance to really experience a deep run into the playoffs – hey, 1994 was a long time ago! But, there was more to the year than that. It was also a year when the Canucks took home the Presidents trophy for the first time ever. It was a year to remember.
Since the 2010-2011 season marked the Canucks 40th anniversary, the team began the year by unveiling the Ring of Honour, which circles the stadium with some of the most influential names that ever played on the team: Orland Kurtenbach, Kirk McLean, Thomas Gradin and Harold Snepsts. Additionally, the Canucks retired Markus Naslund’s number 19 to the rafters of the newly-named Rogers Arena. A statue of 1982 Canuck coach Roger Neilson was also unveiled outside the arena to represent not only the team and their efforts, but also the tradition of waving a while towel during playoff games which has lasted until today. All these moves to remember and grow from the past seemed to spark the team. They finished the season with 117 points, ten above the second place team. Increasing their bragging rights was the fact that they scored the most goals of any team while allowing the fewest goals of any team, for a goal differential of plus-77 (26 above the next best team). Their record was also the best in the NHL both on the road and at home. To put it simply, they had a really good year.
Yet, when Canucks fans realized they were facing their most heated rival in the first round of the playoffs, a team that had sent them packing in the playoffs two years running, they were rightfully frightened. This was a Chicago team that couldn’t quite match the firepower they had the year before when they won the Stanley Cup, but they were still deadly. After the first three games, it seemed like the Canucks had finally found their number, but then the first real cracks in Vancouver’s hardened shell began to emerge – and so the series stretched all the way into a game seven overtime. Burrows scored the fateful goal that propelled the Canucks past the “Dragon” that had haunted them, seemingly providing all the confidence the Canucks needed to take a real stab at winning it all.
Kesler emerged next. It was his workhorse ethic and pure will to win that pushed the Canucks past the Nashville Predator’s elite goaltender Pekka Rinne in six games. That was when the Sedin twins finally arrived. With twin-power finally activated, even the ever-deadly San Jose Sharks could not match the ferocity of the Orca. Five games was all it took.
It was practically summer and the Canucks were still playing hockey… Vancouver and the surrounding regions were showing the games on the streets, in the local arenas and no one could think about anything else. The jokes about sweeping the Finals actually seemed like a possibility – especially after Vancouver took the first two games by sheer willpower alone. Burrows’ deke goal that won game two in overtime will forever mark the final moment of glory that Canucks fans will remember about the 2011 run. Though the series pushed its way to seven, many of the games weren’t even close. By the end, everything lay in rubble. Looting, burning cars, nothing was off-limits, but neither could any of it take away the crushing blow of another missed chance. The aftermath of the riot is still ongoing, with police trying to identify and charge those involved in the riots.
But, hockey goes on. And the 2011-2012 season began so quickly, there was barely time to fit the NHL Awards in between (in which Ryan Kesler, Daniel Sedin, Roberto Luongo, Cory Schneider and Mike Gillis were winners). For many Canuck fans, it almost seemed like an insult to see the Canucks playing again, just months after the devastating defeat. The slow start didn’t help. Yet, as the season progressed, the Canucks began to find their legs. For the Canuck faithful, it didn’t take too long to find reasons to get excited. This Canucks team might have even more going for it than the year before. David Booth gave the team more of an offensive threat, and Cody Hodgson began showing signs that he was ready to play a more prominent role on the team. Jannik Hansen was also stepping up as a more clutch player as well, scoring goals when they really count. By the end of 2011 the Canucks found themselves at the top of the Western Conference. Though they were just half way through the season, it was clear that they still consider themselves contenders. For fans, the message is clear: buckle up, because this ride could end up just about anywhere.
With almost unimaginable highs and lows, it’s tough to render a final verdict on how the last year has been for Canucks fans. They’ve found themselves among, if not, the most hated fans in the league. They’ve had reason to love and hate (mostly hate) CBC for their biased reporting. But, for a city (or a province) so reliant on one sport, and on one team, the Canucks have done a job better than could have been asked of them. They have been a quality team almost every year for over a decade, and they’re not done yet. Not many teams can say the same. In that sense, we’re a pretty lucky group. But, we’re also 40-year-old Cup virgins. That’s no reason to pout, though. It might seem like an old adage by now, but it’s never been more relevant: this really could be the year we win it all.
