I'm going to offer a piece of subtle advice to Vancouver chiropractors in an ambulance-chasing sort of way.
Start chumming around Roberto Luongo. Right now.
Trust me, his frame is about to give out.
Considering how Luongo has strapped the Canucks to his back in the past couple of years, it is a wonder he is still vertical.
In defense of Dave Nonis and the suits in the Canucks front office, when you are forking out $6 million and change for your goaltender, odds are you are going to be spread thin in other areas. But unless I am indeed as dumb as I look, the object of the game is to see the other's team's red light turn on at least one more time than your own on any given night.
With or without Luongo, that is going to be a tough task for the Canucks.
Simply put, the Vancouver offense is verily offensive, in a crusty sock smell sort of way.
Crossing paths with a handful of west coast writers I have worked with, most were adamant, often animated, in their views of the ‘Nucks a year ago. The team, they stressed, lacked any significant scoring punch to be a serious contender and while the Canucks went off on a spirited little run last spring, the scribes called it right.
So, with the obvious stumbling block for this team staring them right in the face, the Canucks upgrade their offense with the likes of Ryan Shannon, Byron Ritchie and Brad Isbister, who put up 30 points in the NHL last season.
Between them.
That's an upgrade all right, if you consider a '74 Pinto an upgrade on, well, a '73 Pinto.
‘Tis a funny hockey world we live in. A few years back, the Canucks were regarded as an outfit just a goalie away from a Cup parade.
These days, they have the best stopper on the planet and, with a couple of exceptions, not much else.
Should the Canucks not correct this little dilemma in a hurry, not even Roberto Luongo will be able to save them.