10-09-2009-As most Canucks fans should know by now, the Moscow Molester as I call him, Sergei Shi-RO-kov, was assigned to the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League. This being his first stint over in Winnipeg, I was slightly irked, and when I’m irked, I write, and when I write, it means it’s not a game day for the Canucks because if it was, I’d be getting snacks ready, making sure I have at least half a 2L of Coca-Cola in my fridge and making my humble abode neat and tidy for the people I’m having over to watch the game with me.

Anyhow, back to Sergei! Yes, it was announced yesterday that he would go down to play with the baby Canucks, and I got to thinking, the simplest of simple questions. Why?

Why was a player who was the leading scorer in the pre-season, a player who had just as much, if not more SUCK surrounding him on the team in the first three games as much as him, sent down. I think he’ll be back up, and soon at that but let’s take a look at just what I’m talking about when it comes to the suck factor of all the roster-men during the first 3 games of the regular season:

-After 3 games, Shirokov was an abysmal -4; 7 other players also had minus ratings, including the likes of Kesler, Samuelsson, Edler, Salo, Johnson and Rypien.-After 3 games, Shirokov had 0 points and 3 shots; Wellwood had 0 points and 1 shot, Johnson had 0 points and 0 shots, Hordichuk had 0 and 0, and O’Brien & Rypien had 0 points and 4 shots.

-On top of that, Shirokov had ZERO penalty minutes, while only 8 other players could boast about the same thing after 3 games played.

-Oh and Capitano Luongo, as much as I love him dearly, had a disgusting GAA and Save %, albeit due to the fact that the Defense was a little sievey to start the campaign.

Now don’t get after me for comparing apples and oranges, those being defencemen and forwards, as I did with Welly and SOB this past offseason.   At this point, a player is a player and they have ALL played well under par!

Who to step in but Tanner Glass , the free agent off season pick-up from the Panthers who is currently on a two-way deal with the Canucks. During those first three games, he sat in the pressbox if I’m not mistaken, and got to watch the hell that unfolded in front of him. The team carried both Shirokov and Glass through the first three games. Now they have the Pocket Russian Rocket in Manitoba and whether or not it’s for a conditioning stint, I still disagree with it. Yes, he said before the season that whether he was going to play in Vancouver or Manitoba, he would give it his best and strive to make the big club, but I still disagree with the transaction. You put the guy through training camp, not to mention a preseason, where not only does he lead the team in scoring, but he’s pitted in an epic battle with Cody Hodgson for a roster spot and he makes the team out of training camp. He has made the big club and he’s probably more confident in himself now than he has ever been, then like a blow to the frozen head of cryogenically frozen Ted Williams, he get’s re-assigned to the AHL. Let him experience the 4 days off if the re-assignment was in fact for conditioning or extra play. Or just let him wallow in his own pity for a day, and them move on with the rest of the big guys on the team, if it did in fact happen because his play was less than stellar.

This is a guy who had 56 points playing against men last season in the KHL, compared to his fill in, Mr. Glass, who had 0 points in 3 games with Florida and 13 points in 44 games with Rochester Americans of the AHL last season. I don’t care if Glass is a Cinderella story out of Training Camp to make the team or if he’s the next Nobel Peace Prize winner like Obama, Sergei ‘the Chernobyl Choo-Choo’ Shirokov (and thanks to @GutsMctavish24 on twitter for that) should still be in Vancouver prepping for this Sunday’s tilt with the Stars of Dallas.

            I just want to say to Richard, if you read this, you were right to hype the hell out of Shirokov. Although, I think we both agree that Cody ‘the G is silent’ Hodgson gets well soon.

            I have a vision of a return for Shirokov to the Canucks lineup within a week. But don’t quote me on it, because Hodgson is already not winning the Calder. ;)