Wake With Elias: Coming Beau-me and Bruce There He Is (On My TV)

Canucks News

• It was an eventful night on Long Island, as Anthony Beauvillier and Bo Horvat scored against their respective teams in a 6-5 win. Boeser had four points as well. It was also an unfortunate night for team tank, though, as the Isles could be a key tanking brethren. Hard to complain about the entertainment value though, I suppose.

• Former Canucks bench boss Bruce Boudreau has joined NHL Network once again as a study analyst. I’m sure he’ll be good of course, but I’m waiting for that NDA to come to an end. That’s when the juicy stuff will come out. Or maybe in a book one day. Either way, good for him, and I’m sure I'll listen in if I can ever figure out how to access NHL Network.

• JT Miller hit a big milestone the other day, putting up his 500th career point. Listen, I’ve been critical of him this year, but the man is still on pace for 75ish points, so you have to respect that. Do I still think they should be shopping him around a bit? Well, yeah, kinda.

• Quinn Hughes also hit an interesting millstone, moving into third for multi-assist games by a defender. You have to think he’ll top this list in like, two years, and that by the end of his tenure he'll be the runaway leader. Really puts it into perspective how weak the historical blue line has been for this club, and how special Hughes is. Frankly, I think we take him for granted a bit. He’s sixth in the league for points by a defenceman!

• Here’s a story that’s a few days old, but we hadn't really covered so I’ll do it here: this whole Jim Rutherford saga. Apparently there’s talk of him wanting to leave, but I just so highly doubt it. Yes, he’s old, but he’s been in the job for barely a year! He’s completely remodelled the front office, and now he has his own head coach. For him to leave would be the height of absurdity and while I obviously have no inside info, this feels like one guy maybe kinda said something and then people sorta ran with it. I would be absolutely stunned if this happened.

• And here’s another story we didn’t really cover, but Elias Pettersson won hardest shot at the All Star skills competition. Now, I did not watch the all-star game or tournament (sounds like I didn't miss much!), but I do think this is pretty cool. We’ve always known Petey is a sniper, and now the league does. Hardest shot does tend to be a marker that sticks, so hopefully EP40’s star grows from this.

• Finally, two years ago yesterday, TSN 1040 was abruptly shut down. This day was wild and upsetting, but I’m glad grassroots initiatives have come up in its place. Always hate to see a giant corporation shutting down a beloved sports community. Good thing that's never happened to me or anyone I know.

Hockey News

• I thought this story out of Philly was pretty funny and interesting. They’re giving season ticket holders free games at the end of the season because this season has been so horrible for them. Now, kind of ignoring the Flyers angle (that team is in the dumpster and their long-term plan is nonsensical), I wonder if we would ever see something like this in Vancouver. Well, maybe I don’t wonder. I don't think Francesco would ever do that. But I think if I was in the marketing/PR/business/whatever team, I would be strongly considering it to build up some goodwill among the Canucks faithful.

• A cool milestone for women’s hockey, as it joined the Olympics 25 years ago. Very cool and of obvious cultural significance here in Canada.

• Dylan Cozens got a big extension in Buffalo. This seems maybe a tad high on first glance for now, but it will definitely age well. Smart long-term thinking here.

• And we have a big trade on our hands, as Vladimir Tarasenko heads to New York. My gut reaction is that this is a decent, fair return for him. Definitely a boom-or-bust type deal. It’s entirely possible he goes off and his a stud for the Rangers, but also, he could flame out completely. So definitely swinging for the fences in New York, and I think the Blues got a return that is at least “fine”.

BC Place Bulletins

BC Place Bulletins is a Friday WWE feature summarizing scores and news from the local Vancouver sports scene.

• A big move for the BC Lions. Instant reaction online from people more educated than I is positive, so I will take their word for it.

• Ditto on this move. People seem fine with it, so I guess I am as well. I do wonder how Adams holds up all year, though.

• And a cool initiative from BC Place itself. Very cool!