Welcome to this edition of "From The Archive". In this recurring series, we open The Hockey News' vault and display some of the top Vancouver Canucks related articles from the past. Today's article comes from Volume 37, Issue 12, where Tony Gallagher wrote about the 1983-84 Canucks, which featured youngsters Patrik Sundström and Tony Tanti.
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Canucks Possess Abundance Of Potential, Volume 37, Issue 12, December 16, 1983
Hockey fans are inclined to become a little restless when the word potential is used to describe a hockey club. They prefer results.
But this is precisely the situation the Vancouver Canucks find themselves in the midst of their 14th year of existence.
They have more talent than at any time in the history of the franchise. If and when they find a way to get all the cylinders firing, the Edmonton Oilers may not be certain to advance to the Campbell Conference final.
The Canucks have two proven scoring lines, with five of the six key players on the roster making up those two combinations. Center Patrik Sundstrom and right winger Tony Tanti, two relative newcomers to the league, are used with several left wing candidates to form one group, and the line centered by Thomas Gradin with right winger Stan Smyl and left winger Darcy Rota is the other trio giving coach Roger Neilson added offense.
Tanti, the 20-year-old, blooming star from Toronto, is the most pleasant sight in Vancouver since the Lord created the North Shore mountains. He became the fastest Canuck ever to reach the 20-goal mark and unless he is badly hurt, he will almost certainly break Rota’s club record of 42 goals in a season.
It has always been said the Canucks simply needed that one sniper, the game breaker. It would appear Tanti is the man, though one hates to pin that pressure label on a young winger who by rights should just be getting out of junior.
Acquired from Chicago last year in a deal for Curt Fraser, Tanti has reinforced Oiler general manager-coach Glen Sather’s comment that it was the biggest trade (steal) in the league last year.
Tanti, of course, set all sorts of scoring records as a junior in Oshawa, but looked a little lethargic as a pro in his first year. Obviously, he was just maturing, and the Canucks recognized this.
“I knew they were counting on me this year and that things were expected of me,” said Tanti. “I worked hard in the summer on my skating. 1 lost some weight and Patrik has been playing much better. And the goals have been going in for me. I got lots of chances last year and couldn’t seem to score. This year is different.”
Sundstrom, the biggest Vancouver forward at 202 pounds, can do it all. He simply needed a year to get used to life in the National League. Having that under his belt, he has been outstanding. He draws penalties like Rembrandt. Every time he’s on the ice, it seems he’s beating a defender to the outside and cutting in. He can hit, score and pass extremely well, with the only improvement likely to come on faceoffs.
“Last year I started on right wing and I was not used to it here where the rinks are so narrow,” said Sundstrom. “I much prefer the center. On the wing, it seems there is nowhere to go. This year I’m more relaxed. I know what to expect in the league.”
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Tanti and Sundstrom have had Dave Williams on their line for the most part, though Lars Molin will likely be given a shot there when he’s fully recovered from the fractured leg suffered near the end of last season.
The other line of Gradin, Smyl and Rota is a mixture of hard work and skill.
Smyl, the captain, is a leader in every sense of the word. He hits every night and can score, too (88 points in 74 games last season). Yet most eastern observers would be scandalized if you mentioned his name in the same breath with Rick Middleton.
Every time Harry Neale picks up a telephone, somebody is asking for Smyl. In one candid conversation with Montreal boss Serge Savard, who was asking for ‘The Steamer,’ as he is known in Vancouver, Neale is said to have quipped: “If I make that deal, I’ve got to go with him.”
Gradin is another player underrated by most in the league. Often he is the best player on the ice on the road, where the Swedes are supposed to have difficulty playing. He is now second on the Canucks’ all-time scoring list behind Don Lever, in only five seasons in the league. He is expected to surpass Lever later this season, especially if his line is kept intact. Like all Swedes, he skates superbly and he passes extremely well to his left, which accounts for many of Rota’s goals. He is clearly the best player the Canucks have ever had (Tanti needs a bit more time before he can be judged fairly).
Rota has found a home in Vancouver and suitable linemates since coming from Atlanta and finally parting company with Ivan Boldirev in 1979-80. His 42 goals last season shredded the myth that Rota was not a goal scorer, something even he had always disclaimed. Another fast start this year has put him in position to land at least another 35 goals if he stays healthy.
Of course, the team depends heavily on Richard Brodeur in goal. If they are to get all the joints on the club oiled, he must be playing well and protected better than they have been able to manage so far in the first 25 games. Brodeur is still well thought of as a goaltender despite his higher average this year. Without him playing like King Richard of his Stanley Cup playoff form of 1982, there will be problems. Continuing improvement from Rick Lanz and more aggressvie work from Harold Snepsts would also be helpful for the Canucks, still hopeful of gaining second place in the Smythe Division and claiming the home advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
The potential is there. The trick is to make it kinetic.
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