Name a random Canuck

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I have your gold medal Zippy!
Oct 1, 2015
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Hiding under WTG's bed...
I can't even imagine what the response would have been like if the Vaive/Tiger trade happened today. Giving Toronto their first-ever 50-goal scorer for Funny Hobby Horse Rider Man? Woof.
No question the trade was horrible but I don't think Tiger Williams gets enough credit for what happened in 1982. Yeah Richard Brodeur deserved all the allocades he got for his performance but without Tiger, that team wouldn't have gotten out of the first round. He shutdown a legit HHOFer (still in his prime - McDonald would score 66 goals the following season) in that first series & provided valuable real veteran experience (unfortunately at a cost that was way too high). This was a team that won a grand total of two post-season games before Tiger put on that Canuck uniform (out of 10 post-season games). Franchise "highlight" to that point was reaching the .500 record twice (granted, when a .500 still meant at least something).
 

geebaan

7th round busted
Oct 27, 2012
10,193
8,751
Uhhhh Mason Raymond? Mikael Samuelsson?

Random one I remember is getting Aaron Miller as a free agent formerly with the Kings. He was supposed to bring veteran leadership, but instead was a completely forgettable non effective defenseman lol.

good times
 

Mr. Canucklehead

Kitimat Canuck
Dec 14, 2002
39,974
29,802
Kitimat, BC
Zenith Komarniski has to be an entry in the “all name” team. He hung around the organization for a while, actually.

Tom Fergus has a really nice half-season with the Canucks in the early 90s, and his line with Nedved and Sandlak was dynamite in the playoffs that season, too.
 

David Bruce Banner

Nude Cabdriver Ban
Mar 25, 2008
7,947
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No question the trade was horrible but I don't think Tiger Williams gets enough credit for what happened in 1982. Yeah Richard Brodeur deserved all the allocades he got for his performance but without Tiger, that team wouldn't have gotten out of the first round. He shutdown a legit HHOFer (still in his prime - McDonald would score 66 goals the following season) in that first series & provided valuable real veteran experience (unfortunately at a cost that was way too high). This was a team that won a grand total of two post-season games before Tiger put on that Canuck uniform (out of 10 post-season games). Franchise "highlight" to that point was reaching the .500 record twice (granted, when a .500 still meant at least something).

Yeah Tiger did some good work, but he also killed us with bad penalties as those playoffs went on. IIRC, he tried a couple of times to get in Billy Smith's head, but failed and put us on the PK. As much as many here dream of a Canucks team with Tkachuk on it these days, back in the 80's it would have been pretty cool having both Neely and Vaive instead of Williams and Pederson (and a bit later on, Keith Tkachuk instead of Shawn Antoski).



I remember thinking Weaver would get killed there. Surprising outcome to say the least.
 

LuckyDay

Registered User
Mar 25, 2011
1,733
1,146
The Uncanny Valley
I can't even imagine what the response would have been like if the Vaive/Tiger trade happened today. Giving Toronto their first-ever 50-goal scorer for Funny Hobby Horse Rider Man? Woof.
No question the trade was horrible but I don't think Tiger Williams gets enough credit for what happened in 1982. Yeah Richard Brodeur deserved all the allocades he got for his performance but without Tiger, that team wouldn't have gotten out of the first round. He shutdown a legit HHOFer (still in his prime - McDonald would score 66 goals the following season) in that first series & provided valuable real veteran experience (unfortunately at a cost that was way too high). This was a team that won a grand total of two post-season games before Tiger put on that Canuck uniform (out of 10 post-season games). Franchise "highlight" to that point was reaching the .500 record twice (granted, when a .500 still meant at least something).

I think the Tiger trade benefited us more than it did TO. Tiger wasn't adverse to calling out teammates (Hlinka, Gradin) and even ownership (Arthur Griffiths Jr) and never backed down from anyone. He lead the team in scoring thefirst season he was here. His leadership was immense and he became a part of the community in a way unlike any other. I wish he'd come back.

I've never thought of Vaive as a Maple Leaf, probably because I was really young at the time. I've always thought of BJ MacDonald as a Canuck but the dig on him that he got got screwed because of the draconian expansion rules followed him to the end of his career. But its guys like him and McSorley's 40 goal season that show Gretzky was beyond amazing.
 
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Hit the post

I have your gold medal Zippy!
Oct 1, 2015
22,288
14,030
Hiding under WTG's bed...
Yeah Tiger did some good work, but he also killed us with bad penalties as those playoffs went on. IIRC, he tried a couple of times to get in Billy Smith's head, but failed and put us on the PK.
Well Smith was a guy known for being really cheap with his stick and drawing penalties with his diving. Only slim chance of beating that legendary Islanders team full of legit Hall of Farmers (including Vezina goalie like Smith) was getting him off his game like Tiger did with McDonald. Smith gave as well as he took (didn’t get the nick Battling Billy Smith for nothing).
 
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LuckyDay

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Mar 25, 2011
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The Uncanny Valley
Yeah Tiger did some good work, but he also killed us with bad penalties as those playoffs went on. IIRC, he tried a couple of times to get in Billy Smith's head, but failed and put us on the PK. As much as many here dream of a Canucks team with Tkachuk on it these days, back in the 80's it would have been pretty cool having both Neely and Vaive instead of Williams and Pederson (and a bit later on, Keith Tkachuk instead of Shawn Antoski).

Flyers won two cups with goons. They kept your players safe and gave "room" for stars like Bobby Clarke to shine without fear.

Canucks were getting hurt and pushed around before Tiger came on board. Guys like Gradin were getting targeted. IT was a different era. Only Mike Bossy was against fighting and he had plenty of protection.



They also brought fans to the game.
 
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Hit the post

I have your gold medal Zippy!
Oct 1, 2015
22,288
14,030
Hiding under WTG's bed...
Guys like Gradin were getting targeted. IT was a different era.
Gradin didn't back down from the cheapshots & even was known to not just 'sit and take it':



(skip to about the 4 minute 35 second mark)

I just wished Daniel Sedin 'returned the receipt' on the rat Marchand. **** that Kelly Sutherland (puke from Richmond). Ref just stood there and let Marchand troll Daniel without raising his arm for a penalty. You think the league would let Tkachuk do that to MacDavid or Matthews?
 

Iron Mike Sharpe

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Dec 6, 2017
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Fans didn't really view the Vaive trade in the same way they viewed the Neely trade... and even the Neely trade didn't become "The Neely Trade" in Vancouver until he really caught on fire in Boston and it was clear we were dealt damaged goods. Williams potted 35 goals in his first full season and became a fan favorite in Vancouver, with the SCF run cementing his legend in the minds of the fans. I don't remember anybody complaining about it back then, and certainly never to the level of the incessant whining about Neely that went on for years.

It's interesting to wonder how well the Canucks would have done if Vaive and Derlago hadn't been dealt. When Jake Milford became GM, suddenly the Canucks had a competent manager, and the quality of drafting and talent acquisition went up immediately. After limping through the 70s, somehow we leave the decade with a young core more talented than any we'd had before: Gradin, Smyl, Fraser, Hanlon, McCarthy, Vaive, Derlago. 79-80 season saw the line of Fraser-Gradin-Smyl come together as the top unit under defense-conscious coach Harry Neale. Neale saw this unit as the future of the club. Vaive and Derlago, in contrast, had consistent problems that season, with Neale finally getting frustrated enough to call them out publicly for lack of effort and not backchecking. Captain Don Lever publicly went against Neale and defended them, so Neale had Vaive, Derlago and Lever shipped out.

So how does it impact the team if they weren't dealt? Well, the Gradin-Smyl unit stayed married as the top unit for four years before starting to slide to second unit status. Assuming they pick up their work ethic and win over Neale, Derlago-Vaive might be wedded as they were in both Vancouver and Toronto, what would that mean? Well, unless they started to seriously outplay Gradin-Smyl, they would've risen no higher than the second line, likely meaning that Vaive wouldn't have hit 50 goals as a Canuck. How would the Canucks have been composed in 82 for the playoffs? No Williams. If Lever is still here, no Rota or Boldirev, no Rota playing with Gradin-Smyl for his record-breaking season, possibly no C on Smyl or McCarthy.
 
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timw33

HFBoards Sponsor
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Nov 18, 2007
25,709
19,426
Victoria
Drake Berehowsky stepping out of the penalty box and getting a breakaway and going maybe 15km/h and spectacularly flubbing it, one of the funniest moments from the early 00's Canucks era.
 

Cucumber

The best
Feb 7, 2014
2,089
67
Kyle wellwood

The guy went over a whole season or something with not 1 penalty. Really nice guy irl doing some good things with concussions and mental health.
 

David Bruce Banner

Nude Cabdriver Ban
Mar 25, 2008
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Flyers won two cups with goons. They kept your players safe and gave "room" for stars like Bobby Clarke to shine without fear.

Canucks were getting hurt and pushed around before Tiger came on board. Guys like Gradin were getting targeted. IT was a different era. Only Mike Bossy was against fighting and he had plenty of protection.



They also brought fans to the game.


Don't get me wrong, I was and still am a fan of a good ol' donnybrook... but the Flyers era was past and gooning your way to a Stanley Cup wasn't a viable strategy anymore. Sure, toughness was still at a premium, but I'd argue that the Canucks were plenty tough without Williams. Delorme and Snepsts could tangle with anybody... and Smyl and Fraser were no shrinking violets either. Vaive could chuck 'em too, for that matter.
Times being what they were, tough guys didn't really deter other teams from targeting our Swedes, but it was Delorme who stepped up in the playoffs, beating down Mulvey for targeting Lindgren.
 

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