The Canucks’ new third jersey has a ways to go to top this corker from the 1980s. (Denis Brodeur/Getty Images)

It’s time to admit it. John Mikl Thor was ahead of the curve.

Thor, the legendarily cheesy Canadian faux-metal singer and champion bodybuilder was savvy enough to copyright the name and logo of the defunct Vancouver Millionaires back in 1999 with an eye on marketing team memorabilia.

Eleven years later, he cleaned up by selling the rights to the Canucks ownership group. Since then, the team’s fans have been listening to rumors and waiting for the debut of a Millionaires-inspired third jersey.

It finally happens on March 16, when the Canucks take on Detroit.

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After 13 seasons, 207 goals and 706 points, it appears quite likely that the Bruins’ concussion-stricken center Marc Savard has played the 807th and final game of his NHL career. (Brian Jenkins/Icon SMI)

By Stu Hackel

The news out of Boston about Marc Savard is not good. “Marc Savard won’t play this year,” GM Peter Chiarelli told Fluto Shinzawa of The Boston Globe today. “Nothing has changed in our monitoring. He’ll be examined and he’ll be declared unfit to play….”

“Based on what I see, what I hear, what I read, and what I’m told, it’s very unlikely Marc will play again,” Chiarelli added. “Now, knowing the uncertainty of this injury, there’s always a chance [he could play]. But based on what I’m told, it’s very unlikely he’ll play. As an employer, I support him and hope he gets back to living a healthy life.”

This is not entirely unexpected news, but it’s not good news in any event. The NHL has taken serious and good steps to reduce the chances of concussion but, sadly, they may have come too late for Marc Savard. He’s not the only one whose career has been cut short in this manner, but everything should be done to make sure that deliberate hits to the head are no longer allowed in the NHL’s rules. Right now, that’s not entirely the case.
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