Published: Saturday, October 06, 2007
Why couldn't Jeremy Roenick have done the honourable thing and just spent Friday night at Keg Caesars?
The Canucks certainly would have been happy to pick up his bar tab.
Instead, the Canucks fished a couple pucks out of their own net courtesy of JR, who emerged from a brief retirement this summer and signed with the San Jose Sharks.
His two first-period goals sucked the life out of a General Motors Place crowd that had gathered to celebrate the Canucks' regular-season opener, which San Jose won 3-1.
Roenick, of course, created a stir last season when, after being scratched by the Phoenix Coyotes during a visit to GM Place, he headed to the Keg Caesars on Hornby rather than sitting in the press box.
"I don't know, that steak at the Keg was really good," Roenick joked when asked if he enjoyed Friday's visit to Vancouver better than that one last season. "They serve a really good steak, there's no question about that. But I'll take the two goals instead."
San Jose coach Ron Wilson got into the act, shouting "JR's taking everyone to the Keg for a steak dinner. . .the coaches anyway," before he began his post-game scrum with the media.
The Sharks raised some eyebrows around the league late this summer when they signed Roenick to a one-year deal for $500,000 US. Roenick had announced his retirement earlier in the off-season and didn't give many signs last season that there was much left in his 37-year-old body.
Wilson is happy to have him.
"We certainly respect what he has done in his career," Wilson said. "I have known him forever and [Shark GM] Doug Wilson was his first roommate in Chicago, so there is a bit of a comfort factor for JR. We're not asking him to do too much, just to come in, be a part of the team, be positive in the room and he's been great so far."
Roenick's two goals came within four minutes of one another midway through the first period. He fought off a check by Canuck defenceman Lukas Krajicek at the edge of the crease to convert a pass from linemate Torrey Mitchell at 11:48 of the first and then tipped in a point shot by Douglas Murray to put San Jose up 3-0.
"It's just being in the right place at the right time," Roenick said. "It's going to the front of the net, the puck was there and I got fortunate. Sometimes you get rewarded, I guess.
"We talked about it before the game. We wanted to come out and really take it to them. It's tough playing in another home opener in a Canadian building. There are so many expectations for them and they are going to come out excited. We knew that after last night's performance [a 3-2 shootout loss in Edmonton] we were going to come out much better. We took the crowd out of the game early and that was important for us."
The two goals give Roenick 497 in his career. Mike Modano, with 507, and Joey Mullen, with 502, are the only American-born players with more NHL goals than Roenick.
Roenick played on a line Friday night with Mitchell and Milan Michalek and joked that he has trouble keeping up.
"I've got two young 'uns and the veteran old
guy," he said. "I've got to really get a head start or a good wind-up to catch
up with them. . .I just add a little knowledge to that line."