Desperate Canucks call up the Moose to take over for playoff drive

Afraid that the franchise may miss the playoffs again, the Vancouver Canucks have taken extraordinary measures.

Placing a phone call late Monday night, GM Dave Nonis has replaced the entire Canucks’ roster with that of the Manitoba Moose, a desperate but daring bid to shake up his lethargic squad.

Rumblings of the move were making the rounds of Vancouver watering holes late Monday, despite the remarkable play by the regular Canucks on Saturday.

Instantly, the feed back was one of shock, as Vancouver fans seemed stunned to silence with rumours of the move.

Leaving aside the monetary aspect of the process for a moment, the move may be the kind of emotional boost that the city needs, as the young and eager to impress Moose make their way to Vancouver to take over the final three home games of the year.


Facing a rather stern test, the new version of the Canucks will still be hard to scout for the likes of Colorado, Edmonton and Calgary as the season winds down.

On the other side of that equation of course, is the shocked state of the Canuck roster players who now will be taking over for the Moose in the AHL and an always entertaining rivalry with the Chicago Wolves.

Ordinarily the prospect of switching entire line ups would seem beyond comprehension, but the Canucks have let the season almost slip away in the last few weeks, Nonis clearly must be concerned that vital playoff dates are at risk.

Lending a sense of urgency to the matter, the project was a closely guarded secret with only a few close advisors to the Canucks kept in the loop, even the head coach had no idea as to what was going on until April 1st.

Season ending slides need to be corrected quickly; it’s a daring move and one that will surely have many folks shaking their heads in amazement at just how outside the box the Canucks have gone on this first day of April…