Am I not a Canucks fan if I like Mark Messier?

[JamesOwnzSam11]

Hindsight.

Also to say Messier planned that 10 game losing streak is just stupid.

I also had more fun watching the Canucks 99-00 then 05-06.

[JamesOwnzSam11]

Oh, and not to give this a bump or anything....but he was our best player in 99-00.

[SRsez]

Oh, and not to give this a bump or anything....but he was our best player in 99-00.

And you're the site's resident idiot.

[JamesOwnzSam11]

That isn't very nice...

Had he not gotten injured he would have passed Naslund in points most likely and the Nucks easily make the playoffs.....even with Potvin.

[JCardinal]

I hated Messier ever since he skated by and pushed Linden to the ice while he was crawling back to the bench after Graves had whacked him in the head with the butt of his stick in the '94 playoffs.

To me that was still one of the most cowardly and cheapest hits I've ever seen in hockey.

[JamesOwnzSam11]

I hated Messier ever since he skated by and pushed Linden to the ice while he was crawling back to the bench after Graves had whacked him in the head with the butt of his stick in the '94 playoffs.

To me that was still one of the most cowardly and cheapest hits I've ever seen in hockey.

Not to me...Messier did worse.

But there have been a lot worse hits not done by Messier...they're fairly commen..

the Hit on Cole

Thie hit on Bertuzzi

The Hit on Brasher

What Brasher did in the minors

[JCardinal]

But there have been a lot worse hits not done by Messier...they're fairly commen..

I know, a lot of worse hits no doubt, but for sheer "cheapness" going out of your way to skate across the ice and hit a guy that is already crawling injured to the bench is pretty damn cheap.

[Farhan Lalji]

In your guys opinions of course.

I like the Canucks I do, I wouldn't say i'm a diehard but I cheer for the Canucks because I've lived in Vancouver almost all my life ( I won't state what my first team was but it isn't the Rangers or Oilers)

Anyways I always get sh*t from friends for having this Mark Messier poster ( He is my favorite player after all..) saying I can't be a Canucks fan if I like him.

What do you guys think?

I think Mark Messier did get a lot of unwarranted criticism while he was here. Although Messier was brought in to be the "final piece of the puzzle", the Canucks problems were far bigger that year.

The team, although highly skilled, were extremely soft and had zero grit.

Ultimately, people's expectations were far too unrealistic and bloated. Messier took the fall for it since he was captain.

I'm still a huge Messier fan, and I'm disappointed that his stint in Vancouver was a failure for the most part. On the plus side, Messier did help mold Markus Naslund.

[Jyrki21]

[
On the plus side, Messier did help mold Markus Naslund.

You know, Markus is a good guy, so he says this to be polite... but I'd still like any shred of evidence before I'll believe that Messier even acknowledged who Markus Näslund was, let alone helped to mold him. I'm guessing that the only sentence ever exchanged between them was something like, "Pass the tape."

If Messier did ever show any concern for Näslund, I'm guessing that it'd be after Näslund broke out on his own – in spite of the Messier-Keenan regime, not because of it.

[Farhan Lalji]

[
On the plus side, Messier did help mold Markus Naslund.

You know, Markus is a good guy, so he says this to be polite... but I'd still like any shred of evidence before I'll believe that Messier even acknowledged who Markus Näslund was, let alone helped to mold him. I'm guessing that the only sentence ever exchanged between them was something like, "Pass the tape."

haha,

So you'd like me to provide you evidence that Messier helped mold Naslund, but you don't mind believing that Messier barely acknowledged Naslund in the lockerroom (despite the lack of evidence!). I kid, I kid.

Naslund's stats did jump quite a bit when he was put alongside Mess if I'm not mistaken. After his stint with Messier, Naslund showed an ability to bring out the best in others.

Another thing with Messier. Why is that we criticisize Messier (36 at the time) so heavily for his poor performance here, while being pretty forgiving of Trevor Linden? (36 last year as well if I'm not mistaken). If "SALARY" is the answer, then shouldn't we ask ourselves, "if someone offered ME 6 mill to do ANYTHING, wouldn't I jump at the opportunity?"

If anything, blame McCaw for overpaying Messier. I don't think Messier deserves that much blame. Blame McCaw for (idiotically) believing that Messier was the "final piece" to the puzzle (a team that missed the playoffs the previous season).

If people want to blame Messier for "disrupting the core" and "wanting changes", then all he did was point out the obvious.....the obvious, being that the team he was on was not capable of winning the cup.

I don't think I even have to comment on how greatly respected Messier was in Edmonton and New York. Shouldn't that be evidence that Messier was a great leader?