Under Further Review – Douglas Smith with Editor Bill Morphy. Special thanks to our regular contributors including Jordan Moss, Ian MacPhee, Dave Kittle, Ted Tait, Peter Hucul, Glen and Bill Myles, Howard Steiss and Rob Wagner. This week, panic in the streets in Vancouver. We have plenty of NHL notes, an NFL Draft Primer and some March Madness.

Canucks Notebook – OK. It’s time to turn up the Concern-O-Meter. The Canucks are floundering and the timing could not be worse. The playoffs start in two weeks. Time for a wake-up call.

This is no bump in the road. The Canucks are 10-10-and-2 in their last 22 games dating back to February. That’s more than a quarter of the schedule. As Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre noted, in that time, the Canucks are 24th in scoring and 14th in goals against. The special teams have been anything but special. The power-play is ranked 22nd in that stretch while the PK is 23rd. Sure, the team has been without Thatcher Demko but the problems run deeper. The bottom-six scoring has gone missing.  Only five teams have scored at a lower rate than the Canucks. The list includes the Canadiens, Ducks, Kraken, Blue Jackets and Blackhawks. All of them lottery-bound. The sample size is large enough that there should be concern. You can see why the Canucks were searching for a productive top-six forward at the trade deadline. The Canucks had better not meet the L.A. Kings in the playoffs but then again, who COULD they beat right now?

The Canucks clinched a playoff spot and how were the loyal fans rewarded? With playoff ticket prices that are absolutely criminal. The cheapest tickets for the opening round were around $250 and they went quick. Base ticket prices are over $400 including fees. More expensive seats start at around $700 and go up from there. What a slap in the face for long-time supporters who will not be able to afford to buck up the asking price? Great way to alienate your fan base! After- market sellers are screwing everyone and the team is doing nothing about it. The Canucks haven’t played a home playoff game at Roger Arena since 2015. Nice way to reward your fans!

Elias Pettersson is finding out that signing a mega-contract comes with elevated scrutiny. The spotlight just got a whole lot brighter. When you are making $11 million per season, you are expected to carry a team and drive play and so far, EP has not done that.

Granted, we can cut him some slack because I don’t see Mikko Rantanen or Leon Draisaitl on his wing. Mikheyev, Suter, Lafferty, Boeser and Hoglander have all spent at least 150 minutes on Pettersson’s wing this season. It’s not exactly a Murderer’s Row of goal scorers. Still, at that price you need more.

If you look ahead to the next couple of NHL drafts, the Canucks are short on picks as a result of previous deals. They are without first and second-round picks this summer. The first rounder will go to Calgary as part of the trade to acquire Elias Lindholm. The second-round pick is now owned by Chicago thanks to the ill-advised deal for Riley Stillman that also cost the Canucks Jason Dickinson. If you are wondering, that was a Jimmy Rutherford move aimed at dumping Dickinson’s salary.

The Canucks still hold their own 2024 third-round pick and have New Jersey’s fourth-round selection from the trade of Curtis Lazar to the Devils. Their fifth-round pick will go to the Leafs for Sam Lafferty. The Canucks hold all their picks in 2025 and 2026 expect for both third rounders. In 2025, it will go to Montreal for Casey DeSmith and in 2026, to Calgary for Nikita Zadorov.

It will be a critical summer for the Canucks with no less than nine pending UFA’s and a very tight salary cap. Dakota Joshua has earned a healthy pay hike. The question is whether the Canucks can afford to keep him. Currently, Joshua is a bargain at $800,000. Projections have him jumping to the $3-$3.5 million range. He should be an off-season priority. Joshua sits at 16 goals for the season. Every goal he scores increases his career high.

It’s a perfect example of what happens when lesser lights on winning hockey clubs break through with strong seasons. Reminiscent of Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow in Tampa Bay. Joshua is sure to draw attention on July 1. Don’t be surprised if a team comes along and offers over three million with term. The Canucks had better hope it’s not a team from a tax-free U.S. state.

NHL Notebook – The frenzied playoff chase in the Eastern Conference has everyone’s attention. As of last night, only one point separated four teams looking to land one of the two wildcard spots. The playoff teams seem to change on a nightly basis. Don’t be surprised if some tiebreakers come into effect when it’s all over. There’s no drama in the Western Conference. Only the seedings are left to be decided.

What can you say about Sidney Crosby? He’s refusing to give up on the Penguins playoff hopes. Sid is now 36 but still playing at an MVP level. He just racked up his 19th consecutive point-per-game season, a feat matched only by Wayne Gretzky. The Penguins have won four in a row and are unbeaten in eight. If Pittsburgh does land a playoff spot, it will be on the back of Crosby.

In any other year, Crosby would be a great MVP choice. This season, however, the Hart Trophy list is crowded. Nathan MacKinnon remains our choice. Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov and Auston Matthews are also putting up record seasons. Three players – MacKinnon, McDavid and Kucherov – will score over 130 points this season. That hasn’t happened in 31 years. Kucherov deserves a ton of praise. He’s scored 41 points more than any Tampa teammate. The Norris Trophy is hard to handicap. Quinn Hughes looked like a sure-fire choice but may now be running second to Roman Josi.

The St. Louis Blues are a case study in what happens when you have a number of underperforming, high-priced veterans. The Blues will miss the playoffs again this season and you can point to four defencemen with lofty paycheques. Colton Parayko, Torey Krug and Justin Faulk are all earning $6.5 million. Nick Leddy is on the books at $4 million. All four are signed beyond next season and have no-trade clauses. Blues GM Doug Armstrong will probably have to attach draft picks just to get any of them off the roster.

There’s going to be some difficult contract negotiations this summer for several teams. Sam Reinhart is a UFA and will be coming off a 50-goal season. Will he take a haircut to stay in tax-free Florida? Mitch Marner and Leon Draisaitl will be heading into the final year of their contracts and seeking extensions. Both will be demanding big numbers.

John Tavaras’s contract is a heavy anchor for the Maple Leafs. Next season is the final year of his seven-year deal that carries an $11 million AAV. There’s no chance they can move the contract and a buy-out seems highly unlikely. The Leafs will just have to live with it for another season. Problem is the contract severely hampers their ability to make roster moves. Tavares wants to stick around in Toronto past next season. Perhaps he will sign a sweetheart extension to remain as captain. The Leafs have had success with veterans signing for a discount. Jason Spezza, Joe Thornton and Mark Giordano all signed on the cheap in order to give the Leafs added cap flexibility.

No position in the NHL is more volatile and unpredictable than goaltending. Adin Hill’s career was in jeopardy in San Jose before he landed in Vegas. Suddenly a door opened and Hill ended up guiding the Golden Knights to a Stanley Cup title. Things can change in a hurry.

Charlie Lindgren was an after-thought in Montreal. He got a second chance in Washington and has kept the Capitals season alive with some first-rate netminding. After arriving in Washington, Lindgren signed a three-year extension at $1.1 million per season. What a bargain!

How about what Casey DeSmith has done in Vancouver especially after the injury to Thatcher Demko. It seems like very season there are redemption stories among NHL goaltenders. It can also go the other way. Think Detroit is happy to have dished out big money to Ville Husso in free agency? Husso has two years remaining at $4.75 million and can’t hold onto the number one job.

Look out for the Tampa Lightning. They are 11-2-1 since March 1 and talk of their contention window being closed may be a little premature. It’s remarkable to think that only eight players remain from the roster for a team picture taken in February 2022. The remaining eight, however, are all top-notch. Along those gone from the last Stanley Cup team in 2019-2020 include Ryan McDonagh, Yanni Gourde, Ondrej Palat and Alex Killorn as well as Coleman and Goodrow.

The Carolina Hurricanes have been on a heater since the trade deadline. They are 11-3-1 since acquiring Jake Guentzel from Pittsburgh. Guentzel has 20 points in 13 games. Who says you can’t change your fortunes at the deadline?

You have to feel for Buffalo Sabres winger Jeff Skinner. He just played in his 1000th NHL game. Skinner has never appeared in a single NHL playoff game. That’s got to hurt.

March Madness Finale – It’s UConn and Purdue in Monday night’s NCAA basketball final. UConn will be looking to become the first team to repeat since Florida in 2006-2007. Purdue features Canadian giant Zach Edey, the two-time national player of the year. It’s the Boilermakers first trip to the Final Four since 1980.

The Huskies knocked out Alabama to reach the title game. The Boilermakers ousted North Carolina State. The 7-foot-4, 300-pound Edey usually has a big height advantage but that will not be the case in the national final. Edey will be matched up against UConn’s Donovan Clingan who’s 7-foot-2 and 280-pounds. Should be a dandy final. Purdue’s Cinderella season is likely to end. UConn is just a better team.

South Carolina won the Women’s title defeating Iowa and female basketball darling Caitlin Clark. It completed a perfect (38-0) season for the Gamecocks. South Carolina won the title despite losing all five starters from last year’s team that lost to Iowa in the national semifinals.

Iowa advanced to this year’s final by beating UConn. Canada’s Aaliyah Edwards was called for a questionable blocking foul with less than ten seconds to go that basically handed the game to the Hawkeyes. Needless to say, this should never happen. The outcry was loud and immediate. A game that big should never be decided by a referee’s whistle.

Blue Jays Notebook – The Blue Jays marathon season-opening 10-game road trip is mercifully over. The Jays finished the trip 4-and-6 and sit in last place in the AL East. In the six losses, the Jays surrendered 48 runs including being outscored 19-2 in the series in Houston.

When the Blue Jays open at home on Monday night against the Mariners, fans will get their first look at the final result of $400 million dollars in stadium renovations. Too bad the team on the field is so uninspiring. It figures to be a long season in Toronto. Last place is not out of the question which might be a good thing because it could spell the end for the Atkins and Shapiro tag-team.

It was no April Fools joke. The Blue Jays were no-hit on April 1 by Astros journeyman Ronel Blanco, a 30-year-old making just his 8th major league start. The game was a microcosm of the Jays offensive woes. They had 20 swings and misses in the game and showed a complete inability to adjust. Jays hitters made it easy on him, continually swinging at pitches out of the strike zone. It’s early but it looks a lot like last year when the Jays expanded the zone and failed to lay off pitches. Just a bad approach at the plate.

Selecting high school pitchers in the MLB draft is a major gamble. Left-hander Brandon Barriera was the Blue Jays’ first round pick in 2022. The 20-year-old was handed a $3.5 million dollar signing bonus. He pitched only 20 innings in an injury-plagued rookie season. Now, he may be sidelined again after leaving a game with Low-A Dunedin with arm discomfort.  Barriera is listed as the Jays No. 4 prospect by MLB Pipeline. His fastball touches 97 m.p.h. so there’s a lot to work with.

Meantime, Alek Manoah is a complete train wreck. The big right-hander lasted only an inning and two-thirds in his first rehab start after being shut down in spring training by shoulder tightness. Manoah surrendered six earned runs on five hits and four walks. You would have to think his once-promising career is in jeopardy.

MLB Notebook – The opening few weeks of the major league season have been hard on starting pitchers. The Yankees lost Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole and it’s questionable when he will return. Cleveland’s Shane Bieber is gone for the year after Tommy John surgery. Atlanta Braves star right-hander Spencer Strider has right elbow damage and his season is now in doubt. These are huge holes to fill.

The Miami Marlins opened the season 0-9. Bit of karma there after they way they treated general manager Kim Ng. She was baseball’s first female GM but left the team in the off-season despite leading the team to a playoff berth last season. The Marlins wanted to hire someone over her in baseball ops. Ng followed Derek Jeter out the door who also didn’t like how the team operated. If things aren’t bad enough, the Marlins will now be without star rookie right-hander Eury Perez who will be undergoing Tommy John on Monday.

The appetite among U.S. voters to fund new stadiums seems to be waning except perhaps in Vegas. Voters in Kansas City turned down a tax proposal for a new stadium for the Royals and a refurbishing of the Chiefs home stadium. Then there’s the A’s who will be leaving Oakland after the season is over. They will play at a minor league park in Sacramento until their planned new stadium is built in Vegas. If the move sounds like the Arizona Coyotes all over again, it is. The A’s will share the home ballpark of the minor league Sacramento River Cats which has a seating capacity of less than eleven thousand. The A’s plan to pay there from 2025-2027 or until the new park in Vegas is completed.

Oakland now has the distinction of losing a franchise in all four major North American leagues. The Raiders left for Los Angeles before finally settling in Vegas. The NBA Warriors moved to San Francisco and the NHL’s Oakland Seals moved to become the Cleveland Barons in 1976. If you’ve ever been to Oakland, you can understand why.

When you look at the Baltimore Orioles, it’s a case of the rich getting richer. The O’s are prohibitive favourites to win the AL East again this season. Their roster is stacked. Down on the farm, the Norfolk Tides, the Orioles Triple-A affiliate, is also bursting with talent. Norfolk crushed Charlotte recently 26-11, setting team records for runs, hits (29) and home runs (8). Heston Kjerstad, Kyle Stowers and Jackson Holliday combined for 13 hits, five home runs and 17 RBI’s.

NFL Draft Primer – The 3-day NFL Draft is set to take place in Detroit starting on Thursday, April 25. The consensus top three picks are all quarterbacks – Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye followed by wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. J.J. McCarthy has been shooting up draft boards and it would not be surprising to see a team trade up in order to land the Michigan quarterback. There’s even been some whispers that McCarthy could be the second quarterback off the board. Add in Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix and you could have a half dozen quarterbacks selected in the opening round. What are the chances all six become quality starters? The answer would be zero.

The Arizona Cardinals have the most picks (13) including six in the top 100 and No. 4 overall. The Washington Commanders have nine picks including six in the top 100 and the No. 2 overall selection. Green Bay has 11 picks including five in the top 100. The Seahawks have seven picks including No. 16 in the first round. They are without a second-round pick as a result of the Leonard Williams deal and won’t select again under No. 81 in round three. In terms of key positional needs, the Seahawks will be targeting the interior of the offensive line, linebacker and safety.

Expect Seattle to trade down if the right offensive lineman is already off the board. Trading down has been a Seahawks hallmark over the years. It hasn’t exactly worked out even though the Hawks have added plenty of draft capital. Although trading down hasn’t always translated, it doesn’t mean the Seahawks shouldn’t do it.

NFL Notebook – The NFL off-season has been a monumental bust for the Dallas Cowboys. They had a big roster drain as several players left in free agency and there was no money to add replacements. It’s been 28 years since the Cowboys advanced past the divisional round.

The finger-pointing has to start with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones who steadfastly insists on being his own general manager. Geriatric Jerry opted to bring back head coach Mike McCarthy despite last season’s early playoff exit. McCarthy will go into the season as the NFL’s biggest lame-duck. The Cowboys are fortunate to be playing in such a garbage division.

No NFL has lost more talent this off-season than the Buffalo Bills. They finally got tired of Stefon Diggs’ act and shipped him off to Houston. The Bills will likely target a wide receiver in  the upcoming NFL Draft. The Texans, meanwhile, are loading up for next season. They did some nice things in free agency including signing Minnesota Vikings edge Danielle Hunter. Shows you how valuable it is to have a top-flight quarterback on a first contract.

Bet Your Life – Professional sports is headed down a very slippery slope when it comes to sports betting. Last year in the U.S., a record $120 billion dollars was bet on sports according to the American Gaming Association. State governments love the cash flow. They took in move than $2 billion in 2023 in tax revenues. But there’s a price to pay and we are seeing an ever-increasing number of players and coaches suspended for betting on games.

The greater concern is the potential for game fixing. It gets really dicey with the advent of prop betting that can easily be tampered with. Case in point – Jontay Porter of the Toronto Raptors who’s currently inactive for what the team calls “personal reasons.” Porter is under investigation following unusual online prop bets which allowed gamblers to wager whether Porter would go “Over” or “Under” certain benchmarks for points, rebounds, assists and 3-pointers.

The two games being investigated took place on January 26 and March 20. In both games, Porter was removed early (for injury or illness), and bets on the “Under” for Porter prop bets were the most lucrative (or close to the most lucrative) for that night of NBA action according to reports by DraftKings Sportsbook.

So far, Porter has not been accused of any unscrupulous behavior. But the horses are out of the barn and you have to wonder where this is all headed. Investigators are looking at social media records and phone and banking records. Stay tuned. This story is far from over.

Getting NIL – Back on July 1, 2021, the NCAA started allowing student athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness (NIL). Thanks to large donations from sports-crazed alumni, athletes are now being seduced to join universities with promises of big endorsement deals, sometimes in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

For Canadians playing at U.S. colleges, however, there’s been no bonanza. International students are on F-1 (student) visas and are not allowed to engage in off-campus work even though foreign students make up 12.8 percent of all Division 1 athletes and nearly 14 percent of basketball players.

It’s certainly affected Toronto’s Zach Edey. The only money allowed to come his way is through jersey sales. Otherwise, he would be cashing in big-time. Seems unfair since international athletes are helping universities bring in millions of dollars through sports including significant TV money.

Kingston’s Aaliyah Edwards is a star with the University of Connecticut. She lost out on potential NIL income and is planning to forego her final year of NCAA eligibility and declare for the WNBA Draft where she will have a work visa rather than a student visa.

Random Leftovers – Scottie Scheffler is the clear favourite heading into this week’s Masters. Scheffler leads the PGA Tour in 28 different categories and heads to Augusta with a pair of wins and a tie for second in his last three tournaments. His scoring average so far this season is a blistering 67.39. Scheffler has already earned nearly $11.5 million. As TSN’s Bob Weeks pointed out, that’s more than Tom Watson earned in his entire career.

The only thing holding Scheffler back had been his putting. He switched from a blade putter to a mallet-type TaylorMade Spider putter and it’s obviously been working. It would be no surprise if Scheffler donned his second Green Jacket next Sunday.

Four Canadians will play in the Masters including former winner Mike Weir. Nick Taylor qualified by winning a tournament but also due to being ranked No. 25 in the Official World Rankings. Players in the top 50 are invited to the Masters. Adam Hadwin (46) and Corey Conners (47) are also on the list of invitees. Mackenzie Hughes did not quality. He is currently ranked 63rd in the world.

Meanwhile, the Leafs haven’t won the Stanley Cup since Uncle Joe was movin’ kind of slow at the Junction, Petticoat Junction. The Leafs haven’t won the Cup since Jed was shootin’ at some food and up from the ground came a bubblin’ crude. Oil that is. Black Gold. Texas Tea. (The Beverley Hillbillies brought to you by Kellogg’s. The best to you each morning.)

Platter Chatter – Streaming services have taken over how music fans access their content. Spotify is one of the major streaming services but there are many others. We have just started using Qobuz which provides much higher sound quality than Spotify. If you are something of an audiophile, you may want to check it out. The tracks we showcase each time should be available on any major streaking service.

Here’s a few recommended tracks for this week that have popped up on our playlists.

JJ Grey and Mofro are an outstanding outfit from Jacksonville, Florida that you may not be familiar with. We recommend several tunes including Lockloosa off ‘The Choice Cuts,” Mississippi off ‘Country Ghetto,’ and Seminole Wind off ‘Olustee.’

The Ghost Hounds are a blues-rock band from Pittsburgh with several credits. We recommend Through Being Blue Over You and Still You from the album ‘You Broke Me,’ and the title track from ‘First Last Time.’

For some tasteful guitar work, check out Sliding Into Blue from Fleetwood Mac guitar player Rick Vito and his solo offering ‘Cadillac Man.’

Another instrumental we never get tired of is Homemade Ice Cream from the late Tony Joe White and the release ‘Deep Cuts.’

Eric Lindell grew up in the Bay Area and has become well known on the New Orleans music scene. Lindell has a very distinctive voice. We recommend checking out Sunny Daze and Give It Time off his 2006 release ‘Change in the Weather.’

Former Dire Straits member John Illsley has several solo albums to his credit. Listen to Picking up the Pieces and Double Time from the release ‘Coming Up For Air.’

For something a little different, have a listen to Pete Alderton. We recommend (She Said That) Evil Was Her Name from ‘Living On Love.’

In 2022, Chris Stapleton released a single called I’m A Ram. In case you missed it, definitely worth a listen.

YouTube Video Tribute – Back in October, 1971, the production crew of the TV show “Gunsmoke” decided to take off during a production break to film a barnstorming blues revue that was making its way across the country. They ended up in Eugene, Oregon where the cameras were rolling on Muddy Waters, Big Mama Thornton, Big Joe Turner and George ‘Harmonica’ Smith. Yes, that’s a young Pinetop Perkins on keyboards. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ATwmyuhmeY&ab_channel=musadiggari

Carrying on the tradition is Austin-based singer-songwriter and guitarist Jackie Venson. The 34-year-old sensation has released four studio albums. Here she is performing Rollin’ On from the release Love Transcends Live in Austin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1VztRpRf1A&ab_channel=JackieVenson

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