Vancouver has built a club that could be Canada's Team for many more post-seasons after this year.
VANCOUVER -- You can debate the whole dreary topic of whether the Vancouver Canucks are Canada's Team this spring. Though, frankly, it seems nothing more than an exercise in jealousy emanating from markets whose teams simply are not as good as the Vancouver Canucks.
But when the question becomes which of the six Canadian teams has built the most solid, consistent winner, is there really any debate at all?
The Canucks may win it all this spring. Or they might yet be knocked out of this Western Conference final by San Jose.
But this much we know for sure: They'll be back next year, the year after that, and barring something totally unforeseen, for the next few years after that as well.
"We've been together, this core group, for a long time," said Henrik Sedin, who sits at the centre of that core with brother Daniel, after Year 2 of five-year contracts. "Bringing Roberto (Luongo) here, having a top-notch goalie like that, every year you know you're going to have a chance to win.
"Then guys like (Ryan) Kes(ler), (Alex) Burrows, (Kevin) Bieksa and all those guys... We knew at the time (each signed his contract) that we'd just get better and better, that we were going to have a good chance for a lot of years going forward from that deal."
You can look it up -- among Canadian teams, only the Montreal Canadiens have come close to Vancouver when it comes to consistent, top-echelon results in recent seasons. We're talking seven playoff rounds in the past three years; five first-place divisional finishes in the past seven seasons.
"To try and be an elite-level team over the next 3-5 years, we still have some work to do," said GM Mike Gillis. "And part of that may be determined by the success we have in this post-season."
Gillis inherited most of this core group, but he's done a nice job building a culture that has kept it in place, while augmenting with a Mikael Samuelsson here, and a Dan Hamhuis there.
It started with signing the Sedins to identical five-year deals with a $6.1 million annual cap hit. They could have made more on the free-agent market, but took a little less to stay.
Once the twins did that, others followed. Kesler, Burrows and Hamhuis all accepted a little less to play for a team that might win it all one day.
"I knew the dynamic of this team would be good going forward, and I wanted to be part of that," Burrows said, on the second off day between Games 1 and 2 of this conference final. "Vancouver was the team that gave me my first chance; I like the city, I like playing in Canada.
"And for a guy making 425 bucks a week playing in the East Coast League, signing for $2 million a year was a pretty good idea at that point."
That last line got a laugh. But in all seriousness, you can't ask anyone else to take less until the best player(s) on your team do it first.
"With the twins, we laid out what our plan was," Gillis said. "We committed to them, and that we were going to be a cap team ... that would do its very best to surround them with players who were going to help us win.
"We were able to pay the most we could, provided we could have a competitive team that could compete for the Stanley Cup. Every contract negotiation we went into we went into with that understanding."
Like every GM out there, Gillis has had his wobbles. We likely wouldn't be here today if Mats Sundin had signed the two-year, $20-million deal he was offered. He signed former client Pavol Demitra -- from Gillis' days as a player agent -- and right now, freshly inked Keith Ballard as a $4.2 million, eighth defenceman. For four more seasons, we might add.
By and large however, Gillis has maneuvered this Canucks team into a team with longevity.
The Sedins are 30, and could well finish their careers here. Luongo is 32, and despite his critics, is a top-flight goalie. Hamhuis is 28 and locked up for five more years. Alex Edler is just 25 and signed for two more years.
At 26 and signed for five more seasons, Kesler may be the best $5-million player in the game today. But it all started with Henrik and Daniel, the two drafts of former Canucks GM Brian Burke back in 1999.
"When the twins decided they wanted to stay in Vancouver, and they were prepared to do what it took to help us accomplish that, it changed the culture of our team," Gillis said. "It then allowed us to do a number of things we might not have been able to do."
They have become a magnet that draws good players to Vancouver, and entices those good ones already here to stay.
"They're really solid people, to begin with," Gillis said. "They're low maintenance... There isn't one thing you can suggest that is a negative about how they conduct themselves. When you have that as a calling card, it gives us a chance to attract other players."
Get used to these Canucks, Canada. They're going to be our measuring stick for a few years yet.
Canada's Team -- like it or not.
