As a Sharks fan who doesn't know much about the Canucks, introduce me to your franchise!

I've been watching the Sharks pretty extensively for the past three seasons and would love to learn more about other NHL clubs.

I really don't know much about your team other than that you guys eliminated us in the 2011 Conference Finals...

Why is Luongo hated so? Can you fill me in more in-depth? Like who are your underrated and best players, why? Who are your top prospects, and what are their playing styles? What has been the worst move your GM has made? What is one thing that will always hang over your guys' heads? (bogus no-goal call a la Gelinas, etc...)

Also, any tidbits from the past that you think is worth knowing. Fill me in on anything about your franchise past and present!

Posted Jul 22, 2012, 1:07 AM UTC

2341
Larents•

To get it out of the way:

Luongo isn't hated by Canucks fans, he is only hated by the idiots who need a scapegoat to blame whenever we lose an important game/a goal goes in against us/defence is poor/one of the Sedins so much as sneezes. Not to talk for the fanbase, but most fans actually like him a lot.

33
hilib•

The longer I watch this team, the more I start to realize that those idiots are Canucks Fans. Yes there are a select few that actually care enough to watch the games, think rationally, and realize, say, that 5 goals in 7 games perhaps was more the cause of us losing the cup then Lou letting in 4 in game 7. That being said, to discount the majority of people just because they are blatantly wrong, is wishful thinking.

6
idspispopd•

The people I know who hate Luongo are Canucks "fans". The kind that don't watch til the playoffs and basically just hate the team in general because they never win. The fans that actually watch the games and still don't like Lu usually don't hate him that much, or realize it's a more complicated thing than just "Luongo sucks".

6
L4cer8•

No true Scotsman...

1

lou let in 3, empty netter on the 4th

1
hilib•

Sorry. I was reminded a few months ago of the final score. I legit don't remember anything past the first 2 goals. Still a dark, dark day for me.

3
SeaplusplusOP•

I didn't actually know that!

5
pyrohaven•

it seems that for some reason canuck fans have always thrown our goalies under the bus whenever something goes wrong, wait for schnieder to let in a couple weak ones the same will happen to him :(

1
ebbomega•

Not always, I don't remember Captain Kirk being treated this way. I think it started with Cloutier's beach balls against the Wild (and subsequent years). Since then we've had some serious trust issues with our tenders.

3
[deleted]•

[deleted]

20
MaggieLizer•

Hey, I've seen you making the rounds in other hockey subreddits! Anyway, I haven't been a Canucks fan for very long, but here's a few things I've picked up about the team:

On the Sedins: They're really, REALLY great to watch. Their passing is simply superb, and Daniel was our top goalscorer last year. Hank is our captain and usually consider the playmaker, while Daniel is more of a goalscorer. I think many consider them the face of the franchise, both because of their skills and because of their character, most famously they've donated 1.5 million dollars to the Children's Hospital here in Vancouver. They generally get a lot of shit for being 'soft', but they take a lot of punishment from other people and still keep going, and Henrik has the second longest ongoing Iron Man streak after Bouwmeester. They tend to be fun to watch for a lot of reasons: 1 2 3.

On Burrows: Burr is a dude that has climbed his way up from ball hockey all the way to us. Honestly, even if you think he's a wuss who can't fight and is generally a jackass, I think he is a dude who is fully aware of how far he has come and is very humble because of it. He was really excited about playing for Canada a few months ago, which was why him getting a concussion was so frustrating to watch. Even if you don't like the chirper part of it, he's at least very creative about it. Not to mention he tends to come incredibly clutch: 1 2 3.

On Luongo: I think some dude on r/hockey has me RES tagged as 'in love with Luongo' which is horrifyingly accurate, but I'll try not to be biased. Luu IS a pretty great goaltender, currently holds the record for most wins with the Canucks (as well as the Florida Panthers - he's the first goaltender ever to hold the record on two franchises simultaneously) and, from what I understand, was the first good goalie we had after a long dry spell of shitty goaltending. Vancouver tends to be pretty hard on him, though, which I despise. Although the guy has issues, he also tends to be used as a scapegoat whenever we do poorly, getting a lot of extra criticism that the rest of the team doesn't get (while generally not being comparatively celebrated when he spends a month basically pushing wins out of shitty playing for the rest of the team. Oh, February 2012...). I really admire him, because even when he has stupid shit raining on him from all directions he still goes out and plays. He's amazing to watch when he's on top form. This is my favorite tribute to him. And erh, this got really long, sorry.

Players on twitter: As a Sharks fan I bet you don't really like him, but Kevin Bieksa is a must-follow on twitter, dude is hilarious when he tweets, not to mention that 50% of what he updates is him chirping Ryan Kesler, who's been kinda funny on twitter lately, as well. Roberto Luongo's twitter account has technically never been confirmed, but it's 99.9% him for sure- and it's the best twitter account in the team.

Phew, that was long. I could probably do more players, if you want! I like my whole team right now (up to and including a few that have left us already :( ).

20
ebbomega•

One thing to add to the Sedin's generosity. At first they wanted it to be a silent donation - they just wanted to provide the money and not take the claim for it. However, when the Children's Hospital came back to them and said that if they made it public, they could use the publicity to encourage other people to donate to the Hospital, they allowed them to say who gave the donation.

I think they exude an amount of class that makes me happy to consider them the heirs to the great humanitarian legacy amongst the captaincy that Trevor Linden left behind.

13
SeaplusplusOP•

More more more!

3
MaggieLizer•

Haha, OK!! I'll do my best.

On Kesler: Kes is the center of our second line, and his wingers tend to rotate (although when Booth and Higgins are playing there, they are known as the American Express line, for obvious reasons). He has an unfortunate reputation as a diver, because he does tend to amp that during the playoffs, but he's otherwise a really good player, one of our bests. You can see the best of Kes during the Nashville series from last year's playoffs where he almost single-handedly carried the team towards the western finals. He can be kind of a grump, sometimes, but he's honestly pretty funny when he's in the mood for it.

On Bieksa: I think, without a doubt, Bieksa is our most outspoken player, and the dude the local sports radio always wants to get because he can give them the best quotes. Among all the famous stunts he's pulled, you can find him[ pretending to be Kesler] (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjOHQwbLBlo) (coincidentally, I think I read Kes didn't find it really funny), quoting LMFAO at Scott Oake from CBC (now with its own montage), not to mention he's generally great in interviews. I personally think he's one of our best fighters. He was really close with Rick Rypen, and he's been one of the most vocal supporters of MindCheck, an initiative by the Canucks to promote awareness of depression and related issues. He's a pretty great dude overall.

On Malhotra: Manny is a fourth-line center, and dude is pure heart. Last season he suffered an eye injury when he got hit by a flying puck, and many thought he might be done with hockey for good - if he didn't lose sight of the eye. But because dude is amazing, he came back for the second game of the SCF - and I wish I could find a clup of the pre-anthems moment when you could hear the whole stadium chanting Manny's name. He's pretty good on the defensive faceoffs, plus he's one of those guys EVERYONE likes because he's such a stand-up dude. Here's a fun goal he scored.

On Lapierre: I'M MOSTLY WRITING ON THIS DUDE BECAUSE I HAVE HIS JERSEY. I like him a lot, actually, though a lot of people feel the same way about him as they do about Burrows: that he's a loudmouth that can't fight and can't play. To be fair, Lappy makes it very easy for people to hate him, and sometimes he has a hard time shutting up. Nonetheless, he's a very hard worker, and I think a lot of his goals reflect the way he will just keep at it until he gets what he wants. He's been fighting more lately, if only to seemingly reject the notion that he'll talk shit but won't fight, but he's still only halfway decent at it. He and Higgins have a very bromantic friendship going on, and he can be a bit of an airhead sometimes.

SOME EXTRAS: *Canucks react to Kesler's nude spread. *They get tested on Canada's provinces. Burr is surprisingly good at it. *Don't let anyone fool you, Henrik is totally the evil twin.
*And here is our coach, Alain Vigneault, completely losing it over Vernon Fidler's Bieksa impression.

Will do more later, if you'd like!

11
jobin_segan•

One correction. Lapierre can fight. He was one of our more consistent fighters last year.

3
MaggieLizer•

I think he's gotten better! But he also used to turtle a lot. I actually really like to see the way he's been fighting more and more, and getting better at it.

1
WeHaveMetBefore•

Here's a video of the Manny chant. Best I could find.

2
MaggieLizer•

Thank you! That was totally the moment I was thinking of. I remember watching it and feeling so overwhelmed, I can't imagine how Manny must have felt.

2
kurtios•

Not sure how he hasn't been mentioned yet for underrated league wide, but Jannik fucking Hansen. He's an all out beauty. One of, if not the hardest working players on the Canucks that I've seen in a long time. He's not the biggest player but he's not afraid to throw his weight around and he finishes his checks no matter what. He's an all out speed demon on the ice, and he uses it well.

14
tannerk37•

Personally I think he is really underrated as one of the best forecheckers in the league as well.

5
SpectreFire•

Often overlooked facts, the Canucks currently boast the deepest goalie pool in the league. They've got one of the best starters in Luongo, the best backup in Schneider, one of the best goaltending prospects in Lack and a very good one in Cannata.

11
Lord_Von_Fappington•

They've got one of the best starters in LuongoSchneider, the best backup in Schneider Luongo

FTFY.

-3
sub_xerox•

Nothing was really fixed, seeing as Lu is most likely getting traded to the Panthers. But, we do have Eddie Lack.

1

Canucks currently have the third longest consecutive sellout streak in North American pro sports only behind the Boston Red Sox and Dallas Mavericks. 407 straight games that began November 14, 2002.

9
BrohanFranzen•

These guys have all done a really good job so far, but I have one thing to add regarding your "one thing hanging over our heads" question.

The Stanley Cup Riots.

I'm you've heard this from all kinds of hockey fans and the media, but those weren't Canuck fans that were acting like a bunch of idiots. The actual fans were all drowning our sorrows somewhere and were absolutely ashamed by what happened and how it reflects on our city, and the fanbase.

4
[deleted]•

I suspect that hate for Luongo also comes with the contract he is under. He signed for $64 million, 12 year extension back in 2009. With that comes the expectation that he should regularly outshine the goalies of the opposing team, and be significantly better than our backup, Cory Schneider. Of course, that's easier said than done. But in most nights, he is generally the better goalie.

Sedins are our best players, particularly when they play together. When they play separately, they're noticeably less effective.

3
Xecellseor•

I suspect that hate for Luongo also comes from uneducated hockey "fans".

2
McLogan•

Heres a thread from a few months ago that sums it up pretty well.

2
SeaplusplusOP•

Sweet! Thanks.

1
outragez_guy•

Nice try, Boston!

1
SeaplusplusOP•

Haha, I'm based in San Jose and a Sharks fan. Around these parts I believe the terminology is: Fuck Boston. Did I say that right?

18
WeHaveMetBefore•

You, I like you.

13
Xecellseor•

Also, fuck Chicago.

6
braderoar•

I prefer "Buck Foston" but that's just me :)

1
rkriscastillo428•

Canucks fans use the term "Believe in Blue"

1
ebbomega•

WE ARE ALL BIEKSA.

3
airchinapilot•

Ive never ever heard that motto

2
L4cer8•

Well we've been using it since we switched jerseys.

1
rkriscastillo428•

Some people even say "Believe in Luu"

1
rkriscastillo428•

We don't hate Lu we hate his contract

1