There’s a wonky narrative out of wild-eyed Vancouver right now that Canucks forward Conor Garland is Public Enemy #1 in Edmonton, with a target on Garland’s back for tonight’s rematch from Saturday’s controversial game.
Huh?!
Strange as this notion is, many are pushing this hallucinatory storyline, including normally sane Sportsnet columnist Iain MacIntyre. “As the Canucks travel to the frozen dragon’s den to face the McDavid-less Oilers on Thursday, Garland is surely the first outlaw in history to find himself on ‘Wanted!’ posters for holding.”
And then there’s Vancouver sports radio commentator Jeff Paterson. “Canucks Garland on being Public Enemy No 1 heading to Edmonton: ‘I do not care. I just try to play each and every day and put forth a good effort. whatever happened, happened. I didn’t hurt him or slew foot him. I guess they’re upset about the hold. I didn’t try to injure him. Whatever comes with that, comes with that.’”
And the Vancouver Province, which today has the headline: “Canucks vs. Oilers Game Day: Will Conor Garland go from hunter to the hunted in rematch? — ‘I don’t care’ Nothing quite like bleak Edmonton in the winter, hyped-up fans and disturbed Oilers to test the Canucks’ mettle to match Saturday’s victory.”
Writers the Province’s Ben Kuzma says, “The buzz: Conor Garland is a fan favourite in Vancouver and in the crosshairs of considerable vitriol in Edmonton.”
Outside media have also picked up on the goofy narrative.
My take
1. Garland, Public Enemy #1 in Edmonton? That’s just bizarre.
Toxic opposition hockey players, from Billy Smith of the Islanders to Neil Sheehy of the Flames, from Ryan Kesler of the Canucks or Ducks to Mathew Tkachuk of the Flames and Florida, sometimes do attain that stature here.
But not Garland.
2. Lots of folks in Edmonton are furious with Saturday’s referees for letting the game get out of control, then for failing to call a penalty or thre on Garland for his 12-minutes of Stampede Wrestling holds on McDavid, but the most common sentiment I’ve heard regarding Garland is grudging respect for how he gamed the game by bending the rules.
Perhaps folks don’t realize in Vancouver that in Edmonton we gloried in Mark Messier’s brutality, not to mention Raffi Torres’ sneaky elbows. This is the city where Glen Sather was revered, the same Sather who was famous for saying: “If you’re not cheatin’, you’re not tryin’ ”
The beef this week in Edmonton is not with plucky, sneaky Garland. It’s more with Tyler Myers for his ludicrous crosscheck of pacifist Evan Bouchard, but it’s mostly with the NHL for its forever slack refereeing, and with NHL Player Safety, both for its super soft-on-crime $5000 suspension on Adrian Kempe’s recent slew foot of McDavid, and then for its over-reaction to McDavid’s crosscheck to the side of Garland’s padded and well-fortified helmet, which saw McD get three games.
3. On a side note, have you ever noticed how soft folks from Vancouver are when it comes to winter weather?
At the Cult of Hockey
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Staples on politics
