On Monday morning, the NHL launched a new promotion called "The Greatest Moments of the 2019-20 Season ... So Far." They've chosen 64 events and set them up, bracket-style. Each day, they'll present a pair of events for fan votes, on Twitter and Instagram Stories.
Here's the first one:
The first matchup in the Greatest Moments of the 2019-20 NHL Season... So Far bracket is here!@RyanMiller3039's Thin Mint trade vs. the @Avalanche scoring six goals in eight minutes.
I had a chance to speak with the league's chief content officer, Steve Mayer, about this initiative and how the NHL's in-house production team is as busy as ever, creating content while working from home — with lots more ideas coming down the pipe in the days and weeks to come.
Here's my story on how the league is trying to keep fans entertained and engaged, with lots of interactivity and player access that wouldn't be possible if we were in the last week of the regular season right now.
Starting Monday, the NHL will start its quest to determine the greatest moment of the 2019-20 season so far through a fan-voted bracket. It's just one initiative from the league's very busy in-house production team.https://t.co/VPHVmN1I8B
Canucks content includes the Sedins' jersey retirement night — up against Vegas being the second-fastest team in history to reach 100 franchise wins. Also, Quinn Hughes reaching 50 points in his rookie season is up against Filip Forsberg's lacrosse goal. That one might be tougher to win.
The Canucks are also in the background on several other moments — Bobby Ryan's hat trick in his return to Ottawa after dealing with his substance abuse issues, Jack Hughes scoring his first NHL goal against Quinn and the Canucks, and Ottawa's Mark Borowiecki foiling that robbery when the Senators were in Vancouver earlier this year.
The league is also did a couple more video conferences today, this time with players from the Atlantic Division. Zdeno Chara had the most memorable quote of the day when he informed us that he wouldn't want to be quarantined with Tuukka Rask — because of his farts. Who knew?
Now — did you watch the throwback games on Saturday?
I was a little surprised that they ran the Versus broadcast of the Canucks/Blackhawks Game 7 from 2011 rather than the Canadian broadcast, but I'm sure there must have been a good reason in terms of broadcast rights. Other than some early technical difficulties, I thought the broadcast team did a really good job on the call — and showed the Canucks a lot of respect along the way. It really was an incredible matchup for the first round — the Presidents' Trophy winning Canucks, who'd led the league in virtually every statistical category, against the defending Stanley Cup Champions.
I'd forgotten just how much of a game of highs-and-lows it was for Alex Burrows — that he scored both Vancouver goals, but also that he missed on a penalty shot, and took a crucial penalty in the game.
The stats sheet at NHL.com is pretty limited, but it's also interesting to note that Burrows led all Canucks with seven shots on goal in that game — and that the Canucks outhit the Blackhawks 41-17, with lots of physicality throughout the lineup.
Earlier on Saturday, Sportsnet also played Game 7 of the 2004 first-round series between the Canucks and Flames, which didn't end quite so well for Vancouver.
I haven't spent nearly as much time thinking about *that* game over the years, so it was an even more interesting viewing for me. I was fascinated to look back at a younger Darryl Sutter behind the Calgary bench — and see how the Flames' game plan so closely mirrored the grinding style that he deployed a decade later, when he won his two Stanley Cups with the Los Angeles Kings.
The Canucks' lineup in that game was really intriguing, too. It was Vancouver's last game before the year-long lockout, so it included some players we never saw again — like trade-deadline acquisition Martin Rucinsky and checking center Artem Chubarov, and grinder Brad May. Mike Keane had been brought in for leadership, in his final NHL season.
I remembered how deeply the Canucks were impacted by losing Todd Bertuzzi to his suspension following 'the incident.' But I'd kind of forgotten that in addition to the West Coast Express, that roster also included veterans like Trevor Linden and Mattias Ohlund as well as the up-and-coming Sedins — and, for 28 games in the regular season but no playoff games, the freshly-drafted Ryan Kesler.
And I'm not sure Matt Cooke had recached supervillain status around the league at this point, had he? I remember him being an agitator, but I'd forgotten that he stepped up to score both goals in this game.
And I'd forgotten that Alex Auld got pressed into duty for the final three games of that series — with just 15 games of NHL experience under his belt over parts of three seasons. That was a very high-pressure situation against a really good Flames team that had Jarome Iginla at the peak of his powers — and that went on to push Tampa Bay to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final before the lockout stopped everything.
Back in the present day, we're starting to see more and more NHL players speaking with the media, which should help to keep us entertained.
In addition to "Tiger King," which almost all the players on the NHL calls have been watching, a few of them mentioned a Formula 1 series on Netflix. Has anybody watched that?
My weirdest TV moment this weekend — I stumbled on a "Baywatch: Hawaii" marathon on MTV. I never watched the show back in the day, but its assembly of beautiful people and scenery and unlikely storylines reminded me a bit of an old favourite of mine from that era, "Melrose Place."
After starting in California, the show relocated to Hawaii for its final two seasons, from 1999 to 2001, due to rising production costs.
My favourite part? About five names into the opening credits, who should pop up but a very young Jason Momoa. Those eyebrows are unmistakable, aren't they?
Jack Eichel mentioned he's been watching "The O.C.," which is another throwback option and a pretty non-traditional choice for a hockey player. He's a well-known classic rock aficionado, too — kind of an old soul.
Music-wise for me, INXS popped into my head yesterday. I'm going to listen to "Kick" as soon as I finish up with this blog!
Finally — what better way to end than with a new puppy? Meet Brock's new boy, Milo!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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