new Canucks coach

The Vancouver Canucks are currently looking for a new head coach having fired Marc Crawford last week. I will now look at each of the top candidates to replace Crawford as coach of the Canucks:

Paul Maurice
This is a guy who led the Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in '02. He has a very defensive style of coaching. I see him as being the next coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs as he has been familiar with the team through the AHL Affiliate the Toronto Marlies.

Pat Quinn
As a former head coach of the Canucks Quinn should be and will be considered a top candidate to replace Crawford behind the bench. When Quinn was fired in 1996-97, the team had current players Trevor Linden, Mattius Ohlund, and Markus Naslund. Quinn is considered to be a players coach who has the tendency to be too soft with certain players. The upside is that he trusts back-up goalies more than Crawford did which is what the team desparately needs to be successful. I'm not entirely sure if Quinn is able to adjust to the new NHL, however, his familiarity with the team must be taken into consideration.

Don Hay
Hay has done a tremendous job as coach of the Vancouver Giants. He has taken the young team under his wing and guided them to WHL finals. This proves that he can handle the younger players such as Ryan Kesler and Ryan Rypien and help turn them into prominent hockey players. His coaching style emphasuzing work ethic and hard work is just what the new NHL is all about. The downside to hiring Don Hay is that he only has half a season under his belt worth of experience when he was briefly interim coach of the Calgary Flames. Also, although he has done well in the junior level of hockey, the NHL is leaps and bounds above the WHL in terms of the development of the players and the the speed of the game. Nonetheless Hay should be given a lot of consideration

Scotty Bowman
This is a coach who hasn't coached since he retired after winning his final Stanley Cup in 2002. It's unlikely that he will come out of retirement to lead a team that's as fragile as the Canucks are unless he wishes to challenge himself. Also, the NHL has changed a lot since he last coached and it would be a real risk that he would be effective in the new NHL. That Sais, if Bowman was willing to come out of retirement to coach the Cannucks, the team would be getting one of the best coaches in the history of the game with a proven track record.

Kevin Constantine
He has a good track record as an NHL head coach, however he has not coached in the NHL since '02. He has also never made it past the second round in the playoffs as an NHL coach. Like Don Hay, his proven track record in the WHL will make him attractive to Dave Nonis as this proves he can work well w/ the younger players.

I believe that Pat Quinn or Don Hay will likely end up as coach of the Vancouver Canucks. Although, current coaches in the Canucks system such as Mike Johnston and Stan Smyl will certainly be looked at, I believe the team should hire a coach with whom the players are unfamiliar with. That said, Quinn would make an excellant choice still because he left before Ohlund and Naslund really matured and Linden thrived under Quinn's tutelage.

NHL Playoffs

I just want to make a quick comment on the NHL Playoffs. I am not surprised to see the New York Rangers become the first team knocked out of the playoffs. Reason being: the NYR were only as good as their top line. Once Jaromir Jagr was injured in Game 2, the Rangers were effectively done. Another point I want to make is on the goaltending thus far. Mikka Kiprosuff (sp?) is displaying the same pattern in the 1st round that he displayed in the 1st round in '04 against the Canucks (where he has one good game, one not so good game). Thus my prediction is Flames will close out the series at home Wednesday night. There are two main reasons I don't like the Edmonton Oilers chances of moving past round 2. First they are giving up way too many power play chances to the mighty Red Wings and finally, Dwayne Roloson is giving up way too many juicy rebounds. That said I believe the Edmonton Oilers will have enough to make it to round 2 because the Red Wings are too old and slow and Manny Legace isn't quite good enough to hold off the Oilers attack. The San Jose Sharks should go far in the playoffs thanks to the 2 lethal lines featuring the likes of Neil Ekman, Jonathon Cheechoo, Joe Thorton, Patrick Marleau, who is the 5th cousin of a family friend, and co. The Colorado Avalanche will move on to the second round only, mainly because of the goaltending uncertainty of Jose Theodore. Ottawa should at the very least make the Eastern finals, however, they have aa large question mark in goal with the yet unproven Ray Emery holding the fort until and if Dominik Hasek returns to play. On that thought I doubt Hasek will be ready until round 3 at the earliest and likely not until round 4, if the Sens make it that far. Montreal will prevail as far as Christabal Huet can carry them. That said, Montreal has to reduce the number of shots being fired Huet's way, or they can start booking tee times. Finally I believe Bufallo will finish off Philadelphia because the Flyers have major goaltending questions.

Eagle Bluffs Protestors

Another Eagle-related story I have to vent about are the so-called Eagle Bluffs Protestors. First of all, let me say that these protestors are completely hypocritical. What about the protestors million-dollar homes? I admit that some of the protestors probably don't live in these homes. However, by going home to shower, these protestors are showing the public that they ae not serious about their position. I hope that these protestors are kicked out of the area soon to allow much-needed upgrades to the Sea-to-Sky highway to continue.

Bald Eagle webcam

Hey all out there in blogland,

I just wanted to encourage everyone to check out the Hornby Island bald eagle. It's not too often that one gets the opportunity to see an eagle egg being hatched from up close. Here's the link for those interested http://www.infotechbusinesssystems.com/wildlife/. BTW, I heard on the news that eagle eggs typically hatch in 36 days after being laid. Eagle egg #2 is on its 36th day tomorrow.