Nouveau Ninty-Foe

BEATING YOU WITH SKILL

KICKING YOUR ASS

Listen, Vancouver has admittedly been my second team for some years, ’94 was a year which I regret but don’t because Kirk McLean stands as one of my favorite goalies all-time. I feel like I’m admitting to cheating, but that’s ridiculous, and it would be foolhardy to critisice because it got me the title for the finals this year: Nouveau Ninety-Foe.

Mike Richter was a veteran goalie at the top of his game fighting for his first ever championship. He played incredible, and desperate, and should have been the biggest factor in that series: too bad the NHL was. The Canucks lost a tight series despite a red-hot offense and incredible will and determination.

Perhaps management felt a curse coming on, because entering the 40th year of their existence the Vancouver Canucks loaded a team up top to bottom with bonafide NHLers and gave it the depth to survive the harshest injury bug. Too bad that the increase in talent has been matched in goal by Tim Thomas, who I have to admit is my Nouveau McLean. His demeanour, intellegence both on and off the ice, as well as incredible presence (off and on) and on and on. He’s a quality goaltender and person, and at his age… Well I’m sorry, I wasn’t rooting for Raymond Bourque, but Thomas has my attention because I think this performance might be one of those ones for the history books.

Now we all get to poke Canuck fans with sticks.

This is going to be great, even better if it happens in six!