Where are the Abbotsford Canucks' championship rings?

In A Christmas Carol, Scrooge begins as a miser, focused only on his own bottom line. But by the end, he has learned that there’s more to life than maximizing your margins, that the true meaning of the season is to look outward, toward the joys of companionship, of helping the less fortunate, and that wealth is nothing without the joy in your heart that comes from putting others first.

Somehow, the owners of the Vancouver Canucks didn’t get this message. Maybe they weren’t listening when the story was told when they were young. Maybe this is simply a misuse of absolution.

Whatever it is, lack of interest in recognizing those who do the work has long been a challenge for the Aquilinis. The latest iteration is the news revealed Friday by CHEK-TV’s Rick Dhaliwal and the Abbotsford News’ Ben Lypka that no championship rings have been distributed by the organization to the players, the coaches, or the staff. Measurements were taken months ago, but since then it’s been silence.

It does seem, though, that the reporting has led to some change as the Canucks, belatedly, revealed late Friday that yes, they have ordered rings, which they are planning to distribute some time in the New Year. Good. But you really do wonder how decisions get made inside Fortress Canuck.

“Calder Cup championship rings are the final piece of that celebration. A tremendous amount of thought and care went into their design, as they represent a piece of history the players will carry with them for the rest of their lives,” the team said in a statement. “Extensive time and attention were dedicated to their creation to ensure this moment is celebrated in a way that truly reflects the significance of the achievement. We’re excited to share them with the team in the New Year and look forward to continuing to celebrate this remarkable moment in our history together.”

It’s hard to not see this as just spin. “Extensive time” covers a lot of ground.

As Lypka noted in his excellent report, this just simply isn’t how other organizations operate. The pretty much standard move is to hand out rings either in public as part of the opening banner-raising festivities, or in a smaller private gathering. He’d asked weeks ago for information, but after a brief exchange, things went silent.

There are obviously logistical challenges to celebrating a minor league championship. There’s always a fair bit of roster turnover over the summer, meaning players who were on the championship-winning roster the previous June are now with other teams. But all that means is that as the season progresses, meetups are arranged with those players, allowing for a brief, but always upbeat, reunion.

At one point, the team site said there was a “mystery night” planned for Jan. 11, but that is no longer listed on the website. Notably, that game is set to faceoff at 3 p.m.

“Late” is sadly a theme with the Canucks. The seats at Rogers Arena were installed so late that they couldn’t finish a section in the lower bowl before the season, offering affected customers a $50 credit as an apology. Those seats won’t be replaced until the Olympic break. Other teams get renovations done like this in a summer.

But the Canucks always seem to be late. Late in finishing renovations to team spaces.

“Late” should not be acceptable for a professional sports organization. Get it right the first time. “Late” and blaming others, is pretty mom and pop. Or maybe that’s cruel to mom and pop operators.

It’s moments like this that should tell you why the Canucks don’t have a practice facility. There’s a nickel-and-dime element to this. A “really, do we have to?” mentality.

Properly run professional sports team put their players at the centre of the equation, of sparing no expense to make sure their needs are met. You don’t futz with medical staffing, as happened a few seasons ago when the Canucks actually weren’t at the minimum standard for athletic therapist certification.

Other teams in the NHL also make an investment in minor hockey in their community. Teams in the American sunbelt establish whole youth hockey organizations, but even Canadian teams are engaged in building and maintaining rinks in their community. The Toronto Maple Leafs, for instance, have poured money into renovating and upgrading community rinks around the region for years.

There hasn’t been a new sheet of ice added to the City of Vancouver in decades. The Canucks, were they willing to actually spend on a practice facility rather than asking partners to do the bulk of the work, could easily change that story.

But that’s never the story, is it? Instead, it’s seeing what the minimum they can get away with. Dragging their feet — the best interpretation here — is just typical. A professional sports organization that actually cares about its community raises everyone up, it doesn’t just look at everything as a bag of money to be pilfered.

No wonder Quinn Hughes wanted to leave.

pjohnston@postmedia.com