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With the return of Eriksson and Burmistrov the lineup, Jakey V got the yank.

I was asked about Virtanen last week, and how I thought the market would react to a potential healthy scratch down the line this season.

In previous years, scratching a younger player would have been the equivalent of ordering a hundred Tim Bits and picking out each one, at 9am, on a busy Monday morning.

It would have gotten ugly, a cruller scene of violence you’ve never seen.

But my premise at the time was that Travis Green would have earned some leeway from Canucks Nation.

That people wouldn’t swarm him like they would have Coach Willie.

That Travis Green’s work so far would have earned him some respect from the fans, enough to make a Virtanen scratch not quite the nuclear explosion it might have been in the past.

As @nobikes points out, Green looks to have a consistent long term vision, which makes it’s easier to accept the day to day roster moves.

And although there were some spirited debates, people for the most point took it relatively well.

Debates were had, but overall, people were downright polite and civil in their discourse (minus an f bomb or two).

BEST EXCEPTION TO EVERY RULE

OK so there was one argument that felt like it was going to end in blows.

Hell, let’s be honest, it was like a scene straight out of Game of Thrones. The Stats Army vs The Intangibles.

At one point a dragon flew through the twitter timeline and almost killed Jamie Lannister.

It started out with JD from Canucks Army claiming that Dorsett was a false king, and that Virtanen was the true heir to the throne.

Rob starkly defended Dorsett on behalf of those hard working men and women of the North.

Soon, the Right Walker showed up, causing chaos throughout the lands. Words were exchanged, bordering on hostile.

The Right Walker settled back as more people flooded to the defense of King JD, but as we all know, a Right Walker is not the sort of person to relent.

It was honestly a fun debate to watch from afar.

It hit the core of the stats vs “watch the game” crowd.

Results vs how the results occurred.

Intangibles vs stats.

The battle that will never end.

And admittedly, there is a lot of fun (or anger, whatever floats your boat) that could be had from debating crediting a guy playing above his head, versus explaining away said success.

I would argue that cutting down a guy like Dorsett and exposing his flaws via advanced stats, is one of the reasons JD gets so much flack.

It’s the bedside manner of the thing. The romance of the sport often gets trampled on by advanced stats.

Imagine the Brabarian’s run in today’s market?

Jeff Cowan would score another goal, a bra gets tossed.

Except now there’s Canucks Army explaining how it’s not sustainable and that Jeff Cowan never should have even been in a lineup to begin with.

And what exactly is a bra? Can we even be certain that was a bra that was tossed? How can we as people call him a “Brabarian” without examining the undergarment first.

Was it even tossed in the first place? Or was it thrown.

That may read as an attack on Canucks Army and stats minded folks, but it’s not. I gladly trot out their conclusions because it makes for a lot of good insight.

And advanced stats wouldn’t be wrong about Jeff Cowan. His run wasn’t going to last.

But pure statistics do have a tendency to dull the enjoyment of parts of sports that are fun to watch.

The improbable and unsustainable stuff.

The kind of stuff legends are made of.

My first experience with “Santa Clause isn’t real, and neither is your beloved sports memory” advanced stats moment was when I was told by Drance in a bar that “clutch” wasn’t a thing, and that my boyhood hero Trevor Linden was not some playoff magician.

God damn it Drance, why didn’t you let me get deeper into professional sports writing first so my idolization could die a natural death.

But JD and his ilk are merely trying to debate sports, just like the rest of us.

Trying to figure out how things work, and why.

It can just be a cold endeavor at times, tis all.

Still, it IS a good discussion.

When is the right time to stop riding a guy who is flying high on the clouds of above average production?

Results usually grab the eyes, and ears, in the NHL though.

Dorsett getting scratched in favor of Virtanen was a long shot for many reasons, but production, due to whatever you want to attribute it to, was going to make it hard to scratch him.

A good fight and argument was presented by JD and Walker, however.

This is what makes this market an exciting one.

Everyone has something to say.

BEST FOLLOW UP POLL OF SPITE

Derek Dorsett has been ______ this season for the #Canucks? — Andrew Walker (@AndrewWalker650) November 11, 2017

BEST PREDICTION

::clears monday afternoon to read a 3,000 word deep dive on dorsett blog:: — Jason Botchford (@botchford) November 12, 2017

BEST ADDITION

Sports Page is going to get its own exhibit in the BC Sports Hall of Fame.

In a world before YouTube, Yulin’ With the Page was the world’s greatest resource of sporting highlights.

Every December the people of BC would wait for Yulin’ With the Page to roll around so we could see the plays of the year.

We’d spend the night with the Sports Page crew, making them part of our holidays.

Mention “Yulin’ With the Page” to anyone who saw it, and watch as their face lights up with a smile.

A tradition like no other.

The exhibit will have a dedicated section to Yulin’ with the Page, the Sports Page’s annual Christmas-themed program, which will showcase the annual Plays of the Year footage from the past, in a 1990’s era living room, complete with period fireplaces, furniture and Christmas decorations.

Awesome.