Canucklehead, I’m really enjoying the added value of your morning posts to NM! For the fans out on the east coast (or elsewhere), you give us something to read during the day, wheres most Canucks related updates tend to come out a lot later in the day for us. Kudos!

This is turning out to be a very intriguing season. Yesterday both Detroit and Chicago lost (along with the Kings), we are even with Calgary, with two games in hand…it seems like this season is up for grabs for anybody who wants it badly enough.

The Canucks have a real chance to take over their division in the next couple of weeks, they should grab the opportunity. Edmonton looks pitiful these days, but it is very dangerous to approach this game as playing with the losers, it had backfired at the Canucks before.

I am thrilled with all the positive feedback my posts have received. Soon I might even be able to pay per post and not per word as I am right now…
heh just kidding… thanks to Sean and Mike for bringing me aboard what I think is one of the best damn Canucks blog on the internets

we are in a pretty good situation heading into this road trip, barring a total disaster we should come out of it just fine… and we are starting to see some chinks in the armor of the Blackhawks… will we see a late season/1st round collapse from them? I won’t be entirely shocked if that happens

Seriously, I am very excited for a Canucks game that doesn’t, y’know, spark league-wide controversy. Fingers crossed.

from the always solid Tom Benjamin: http://canuckscorner.com/tombenjamin/?p=1417

“But fine, Auger did not explicitly threaten Burrows. Here’s MacLean again:

"It’s inconceivable for an official to tell a player he’d get him back. It’s not inconceivable that he would do it."

Exactly. And that "conceivable" idea – that Auger would give Burrows penalties in one game for actions taken in another – is the only issue. That is the accusation. That’s the integrity issue and that’s the issue Colin Campbell has not addressed. Ex-referees like Paul Stewart and unnamed existing officials have acknowledged that it happens. It should not.

Does Burrows make life difficult for the officials? Sure. That’s Auger’s motive, his reason for abusing his power. The Smithson tape is evidence against Auger, not against Burrows. Payback is okay as long as the referee doesn’t explicitly threaten payback before he does it? That’s nonsense. The only good defense of Auger involves defending the calls he made on Burrows. At best, both were extraordinarily bad calls and I don’t buy coincidence as the explanation.

I don’t want to see Auger referee another NHL game. I don’t trust him. "

It’s inconceivable for an official to tell a player he’d get him back. It’s not inconceivable that he would do it."

Exactly. And that “conceivable” idea – that Auger would give Burrows penalties in one game for actions taken in another – is the only issue.

Isn’t the only issue whether or not Auger TOLD Burr he was going to get him and then did. From what I have read Refs have a long history of targeting a guy to get him back for events of earlier games. They just don’t tell the player they are going to do it. And that was the issue. I say was cause I think this story is, thankfully, dying.

oops…Was is the right thing to say. The way this has got us all nipping at the subject, the fact, our opinions, and each others’ heels in an attempt to rationalize it away has been quite the ride . I have not seen this in our sport for a hell of a long time.

Its like, as Hunter S. used to say, “its like judging people on whether they voted for Nixon in ’68. …That treacherous old wardheeler….” and so forth.

I will be judging those members of the media that turned into a ravening pack on Vancouver and its fans forevermore. Cox, or course, but some of the others were more surprising. Admit it, who saw MacLean doing what he did?

I used to, for instance, occasionally like Damien Cox. I will never read that MF again.

Some used it to make a point, others used the noteriety of the situation to make money.

TSN, for instance, had their guys all pull the party line and mention Burr’s “rep” at every opportunity.

SNET was much better. Yet, both show lots of NHL games…hell, we see more of the ’Nucks on SNET Pacific then anywhere else!

Funny of how that works huh? Both rights holders, but one didn’t sell their soul to the “MAN”.

Anyhow, apart from using the term “Auger” as a verb in the future for marginal calls, I vote for doing what AV said…and Section ( who has been the foil for a LOT of us the last week. Thx again Mr. 312 ) seconded.

Lets just STFU about it and move on.

The Oilers are there to give a good swift kick too, we have a bunch of forwards that will require a move soon.

Our 1st line STILL kicks ass, Burrows is still Mr. Everything…

And the COTU fuckers that used our little crisis to kick us when we were down can STILL kiss out asses. Even the Flames fans that ventured over the past week were better than that bunch!

Not here on SBNation of course…but the comments sections on some of Canada’s newspaprers in the last week on this story were pretty illuminating…to say the least!