6 Reasons Maxim Lapierre Will Fit In Just Fine

Some have voiced concern over Maxim Lapierre's potential effect on the dressing room. He'll be fine.

By now, you're probably aware of deadline acquisitions Chris Higgins and Maxim Lapierre, the two forwards the Canucks picked up at yesterday's trade deadline (and also: MacGregor "NC" Sharp, where the NC stands for "Nobody Cares" but, true to the nickname I just gave him, nobody cares). It's been almost 24 hours since the deals went down, so we apologize for being a bit slow on the take. Now seems like a good time to point out that PITB's not in the business of strictly covering the news. News reporters do that. We're bloggers, and as such, we're much more adept at waiting in the weeds to disagree with people. And being unemployable.

Anyway. Speaking of disagreement, I'd like to take a moment to address the negative reactions to the Maxim Lapierre acquisition. On paper, Lapierre fits the Canucks' needs. It was well-known that the team was after a gritty, depth center with some recent playoff experience, and Lapierre met those requirements while coming relatively cheap, both in asking price and cap hit. However, Lapierre also has some attributes that give pause. Most assumed the Canucks would pick up a mature, seasoned, veteran type--quiet, likable and disciplined. Lapierre is not those things. He's got a reputation as a yapper and a pest, prone to infuriating as well as the occasional undisciplined penalty. These, of course, are qualities from which the Canucks have successfully moved away in recent times. The immediate concern is that Lapierre might disrupt the delicate balance in the dressing room.

But that's probably not gonna happen. Here are six reasons I suspect Maxim Lapierre will fit in just fine:

Winning the Games They're Supposed to Win

Tony Gallagher wrote an article after the Canucks downed the Maple Leafs 4-1 on Saturday criticizing the effort from the Canucks and wondering how much longer they could play lackadaisical hockey and expect to win. He came just short of accusing the Canucks of playing with the Maple Leafs like a cat with a mouse. There's an inherent expectation in Gallagher's article that the Canucks need to build proper habits now in the regular season so that the habits are properly ingrained come playoff time. Never mind that it's only December, the Canucks should be playing with playoff intensity now.

I'm used to hearing the opposite from Canucks fans and media. I'm used to hearing after every loss to a supposed "inferior" team, The Canucks should be able to beat these guys! or These are the games you have to win! and my favorite Good teams don't lose to bad teams!

The fact is that good teams do lose to bad teams: even the worst team in the league wins a few games and by definition that means they beat "superior" teams. But the complaint has been especially acute amongst Canucks fans. The theory is that the Canucks continually play down to their opponent's level and lose games they should win. Witness the 2005-06 Canucks, who lost all 4 of their meetings with the last-place St. Louis Blues, finishing 3 points out of a playoff spot. Their inability to beat the worst team in the league became the story of that season.

I've even heard the complaint in reference to last season, as some of my more cynical friends pointed to 2 losses against the Edmonton Oilers, the team that finished 12 points behind Toronto for last in the NHL. So is this the case? Did the Canucks play worse against lesser opponents, squandering points that might have put them in a better position in the playoffs?

This Year's Canucks are Very Zen

In the aftermath of Vancouver's last regulation defeat, a 3-2 home loss at the hands of the St. Louis Blues, Province writer Jason Botchford questioned questioned the Canucks' grit. "The Blues forwards were rarely touched," Botchford wrote, "Even after they shoved around Luongo. In one incident, BJ Crombeen took a shot at the Canucks goalie without even getting a passing glance from the rest of the Canucks." But it's not as if they didn't see it. You know if Botchford saw it, the Canuck players did too; they simply chose not to respond.

This is uncharacteristic for the Vancouver team fans have come to know. In fact, Vancouver has long held a reputation for employing spirited chirpers and pests who can't help but get involved in scrums around the net, especially in the Alain Vigneault era. Canuck games, especially against past postseason opponents, are always full of spirit and high in penalty minutes. In the past, reactionary chirping would have been automatic, but that appears to have changed. Rather than engage teams who take cheap shots, this year's Canucks simply ignore it, put their heads down, and make their line change. It isn't that the Canucks are missing that gritty element, they've merely decided to opt out.