Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Canucks won't miss Bieksa and Lack, but we will
Considering the success the Anaheim Ducks had last summer in prying an impact player out of Vancouver for very little, it's hardly surprising that, this summer, Jim Benning's phone rang once again.
And once again, the Ducks got their man, adding Kevin Bieksa to their collection of former Canuck pests. Now they need only Alex Burrows and they'll finally have all three blue properties. Then they can start building houses and hotels.
Bieksa joins Ryan Kesler, and while their journeys to the Honda Center are but a year apart, they're very different. Kesler jumped ship. Bieksa nobly swore he was going down with it. Either way, they both washed up on the same island. Turns out loyalty isn't worth much in hockey.
In the end, the Bieksa trade turned out to be a small one. When it looked as though he was headed to the San Jose Sharks, there were more pieces involved in the trade. But now he goes to Anaheim, and in return, the Canucks get a second round pick.
Perception of Eddie Lack as a backup hurt trade return
Canucks fans had mostly come to accept that Eddie Lack would be traded heading into the draft. They weren't happy about it, but had accepted it. The combination of the Ryan Miller signing and Jacob Markstrom's outstanding season for the Utica Comets made it inevitable.
The hope, however, was that the Canucks would get good value for the fan favourite. Some wildly optimistic fans began imagining trade packages that might fetch a high first-round pick, while others simply hoped for a second round pick, perhaps in a package with other picks or prospects.
Instead, Lack fetched just a third round pick and a seventh in 2016. Sure, it was a high third round pick, but the return was underwhelming and disappointing.
The problem is a matter of perception. Many Canucks fans saw Lack as a number one goaltender, only prevented from being so by a veteran goaltender in front of him. The rest of the league, however, seemed to see him as a backup without much upside and, for a backup, a third and a seventh is an understandable return.
PITB Buys In
A little over four years ago, Harrison and I brought Pass it to Bulis to the Vancouver Sun. As of today, our partnership with the Sun has come to an end. The newspaper industry is going through a great deal of change. Until now, that's been a good thing for us. This time it wasn't.
A lot has changed for us as well in those four years. I now have two sons and a third likely to be born within the next two weeks. Harrison moved to Vancouver. These are both very expensive changes. Harrison would argue equally expensive. Harrison is a dope.
Since PITB is not longer at the Sun, we are no longer being paid to write about the Canucks. This may just be a temporary state of affairs, however.
This doesn't mean we'll stop. We enjoy what we do, and we've simply worked too hard to let PITB die. It will likely mean less content for a little while, as we need to find ways to feed kids/pay for outrageously expensive Vancouver housing.
We feel a little like Galadriel: We will diminish, and go into Blogspot, and remain Pass it to Bulis.
For the time being, we're back where we began five years ago. We hope you'll continue to read and support us as we figure out the next step.
We feel a little like Galadriel: We will diminish, and go into Blogspot, and remain Pass it to Bulis.
For the time being, we're back where we began five years ago. We hope you'll continue to read and support us as we figure out the next step.