On January 24, 2007 the Vancouver Canucks were represented in the All-Star Game by goaltender Roberto Luongo. But the team and fans came close to sending another player to the celebration that weekend.
It wasn’t Daniel Sedin or Henrik Sedin. It wasn’t Markus Naslund or Brendan Morrison. It was journeyman defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick. This week in Canucks history, Rory Fitzpatrick should have been playing in the NHL All-Star Game.
If you aren’t familiar with the story, long before there was John Scott or Zemgus Girgensons, Fitzpatrick was the first fan-driven attempt to elevate a blue-collar hero to all-star status.