Higgins Enters Season with Renewed Focus
The following article featuring former Yale standout Chris Higgins appeared October 6 on the Province Web site.
BY BEN KUZMA
THE PROVINCE
The labels stuck like gum to their shoes.
Chris Higgins wasn't the consummate professional. Maxim Lapierre had the gift of gab but didn't bring much else to the table. That baggage accompanied the well-travelled forwards to Vancouver last season at the NHL trade deadline, but it didn't take them long to get rid of it. Arriving at the right place and at the right time in careers that were clearly at the crossroads, Higgins and Lapierre became versatile and invaluable performers during a march to the Stanley Cup final.
You can argue the Canucks wouldn't have advanced to a seven-game showdown with the Boston Bruins without Higgins able to play second or third-line wing, score four playoff goals and be willing to drop in front of shots. And the same can be said for Lapierre, who scored three times in the postseason, drove the opposition crazy and did more than just fill in for the injured Manny Malhotra as a third-line centre. It's why Higgins was signed to a two-year, $3.8 million US extension and Lapierre a two-year, $2 million extension.
Complete article can be accessed via the Province Web site by
clicking here.
