Hardly.
A mere two hours after the Canucks’ victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night and people are already posting on message boards and on radio that Jason Jaffray and Mason Raymond are the answer to the scoring woes that have been plaguing them for the better part of two seasons.
Give me a break guys, the act is getting old.
Look, I could make a big fuss, give a bunch of bullshit about all this and say that Jaffray and Raymond are top-end players, but bullshit is exactly what it would be. I don’t want to take anything away from them; Jaffray was uncannily speedy and had a scoring nose and Raymond was fast and looked nothing like the Mason Raymond we saw at the beginning of the season. But to say they’re the solution — That makes me want to pick my brain a little.
Just because the guys had a goal and an assist each in the game doesn’t give them any more credibility than it would for any other rookie. Jaffray is a 26-year old who has been toiling in the minors, and for good reason: He isn’t a great skater (All the more reason I used the word uncannily above) and Raymond is still very, very young. The fact is, if we’re judging players based on one performance, the Canucks might as well go out and trade the farm to the Washington Capitals for Joe Motzko, an undrafted 27-year old who doubled his career goals total with TWO tonight in New York.
I’m not trying to be negative — I’m a very positive Canuck fan. I’m just trying to make sure that Canuck fans everywhere are being realistic here. If the two call-up kids can replicate this performance in San Jose tonight, then we can start making judgment. But after ONE game? Come on…
