by Ron Spence
The Canucks have achieved an 8-0-1 record over their past 9 games, and Vancouver has had to halt the fleet of bandwagons, in order to reinforce their springs.
They don’t want to have any breakdowns and traffic jams on Robson St.
But, no matter how the team does this season, I will always remember it as the year that Canucks showed that they have some class.
There are two instances, and peripherally a third one, that make my point.
The first, of course, was the celebration of Luc Bourdon’s life.
LUC'S MOTHER AND GIRLFRIEND IN FRONT OF HIS TRIBUTE WALL - courtesy of cbc.ca
The cbc.ca wrote:
Needless to say, Luc’s family were as touched as the Vancouver fans.
“We can say that Shippagan will be joined to Vancouver for a long time,” Luc’s mother, Suzanne told Iain MacIntyre. “People there will never forget this.”
And his girlfriend, Charlene Ward asked: “Please write — we want to say it tomorrow but we’re not going to be able to speak — to say thank you for Suzanne and myself and our family, for what our Canucks did, and the support of the fans, to make Luc’s dream come true.”
The Canucks had done the right thing in celebrating the young player’s life.
The second example of Canucks’ class also concerned players’ dreams.
Jannik Hansen, Mason Raymond, Rick Rypien and Mike Brown had outplayed Matt Pettinger, Jason Krog, and Jeff Cowan, and the Canucks kept the youngsters up on the big team, and sent the underachieving veterans down.
That was because their coach and management had promised that the best would play in the Big Tent, and the other would be sent to the minors, no matter what their contracts were.
The result is that Vancouver is paying a little under $4 million for the three – plus newcomer Michel Oullete – to play in the American Hockey League. Most NHL teams, are keeping the salaries, and dumping their kids back into the minors. And they’re using that old excuse, “It’s business.”
The Canucks are showing class by keeping their word.
Another example of “real class” is Canucks’ former GM, Dave Nonis who came to Vancouver for the Bourdon tribute.
Nonis’ example of class isn’t really a surprise, however. Dave Nonis has always taken the moral high ground.
How important is class and the moral highground? Well, it trickles down to the players.
Suzanne Bourdon said of her son: “But he stays himself. He does not change. Every time he came home, he was a son opening the door, not a hockey player.”
Luc Bourdon, God Bless Him, had learned the importance of class.
CrashingTheGoalie 