One of the NHL’s most prominent pests is vowing to cut down the chirping.
In fact, he might not chirp at all anymore.
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking,” Canucks forward Maxim Lapierre said Monday, as per The Province. “It’s going to be a physical game when we get back and I don’t think I’m going to talk as much on the ice. I even think I’m not even going to talk at all. I’m going to play my role and play physical. Do what I have to do and get back to the bench.”
With Ryan Kesler expected to miss the start of the season (and potentially much more), Lapierre, a center, could see his ice time increase dramatically from the 11:14 he received in 2011-12.
Add to the fact Manny Malhotra hasn’t been the same since his eye injury and Cody Hodgson was traded to Buffalo last year, and there’s a reason that 1) Vancouver will need Lapierre on the ice, not in the penalty box and 2) the Canucks are hoping to get a center in return for Roberto Luongo should they end up trading the goalie.