The Romer Award: Alain Vigneault

Two blog posts in two days!? I know, it's a little odd. However this is a very important blog post as its is the first time I am going to be introducing the Romer Award. The Romer Award is dedicated to Aaron Rome and is awarded to those every once in a while I deem to have exhibited enough stupidy and overall plug-ness to win this award. The award this time is going to Alain Vigneault who will probably be win this award again. Now those who know me know I am not a very big Vigneault supporter however I will admit he is a competent coach (barely). however I am here today to rip him for what he did to Cody Hodgson in the first pre-season game. Now the Canucks and Flames split their pre-season squads, each team keeping half their teams at home and sending half of them on the road. Cody Hodgson was sent to Calgary which isn't that big of a deal, but it was who he was sent with to play with the really pissed me (and Tony Gallagher apparently) off. Hodgson played on the "first line" in Calgary, but his "first line" wingers consisted of career AHLer Mike Duco and tough guy Todd Fedoruk who did not play hockey last season, as he sucked too much for any team to take a chance on him. Like WTF is Vigneault thinking. Here is your organizations top prospect who will be seriously challenging for the currently vacant 2nd line center job, as Kesler recovers from off season surgery, and you have him playing with plug A and plug B. Why wouldn't you play him with Marco Sturm and Anton Rodin or other guys who will be vying for a 2nd line job and see how Hodgson would look with those guys rather then pairing him with two guys who will be lucky to see 4th line time in Chicago. And I know the argument has been thrown out there that "this is just the first pre-season game, AV just wanted Cody to play well positionally and didn't care if he put up points," and to that I say bullshit. That's what Cody was doing last year when he was misused as the Canucks 4th line center near the end of the season. I know Cody is feeling confident coming into this season as he had his first healthy off season in a long time, but who knows how fragile that confidence is. A quick way to destroy it is tell the kid he has a shot at making the team as the 2nd line center and then play him with Dan Cloutier and Brett Lebda the whole pre-season and never give him a chance to exhibit his offensive prowess. Also , if this continues the whole pre-season and Mike Gillis does nothing about it, Gillis could very well be on the receiving end of a Romer Award. Vigneault better not screw this up because if Cody gets pissed, demands a trade and flourishes else where, I want Vigneaults head on a stick (not that I don't already after he got out coached two years in a row by Joel Quinville, almost a third, and then out coached by Claude Julien).