The sooner the Vancouver Canucks take a bullet and end the misery of a season gone wrong, the better for the Manitoba Moose.

The Canucks, in their panicked fury to secure a playoff spot in the Western Conference, are beginning to hamper the more realistic title hopes of Manitoba.

The Moose, in theory, operate under the protective arm of the Canucks and in servitude to the big club. The affiliate in this case, however, has ceased to be the poor relation. The Canucks are whistling in the wind at this stage while the Moose are singing in full chorus. Vancouver is going nowhere this season despite the heroics of Roberto Luongo but the Moose, if the Canucks can keep their hands out of the mix, have a chance to win a round or two in the annual Calder Cup rumble.

Vancouver is well within its rights to fidget with Manitoba's lineup as they see fit. That's the arrangement they have with the Moose and they send lots of green Manitoba's way for the privilege. But the deal can at times be a little galling. Sunday afternoon, for example, the Moose were forced to sit out defenceman Nathan McIver when both his excellent play and physical presence were needed. And the decision, for both the Moose and the Canucks, was expensive.

The Canucks planned to recall McIver sometime Monday and use him in their home game against the Phoenix Coyotes. Not wanting to risk injury to McIver, Vancouver had the Moose scratch the defenceman, so the club used a combination of rookies Dylan Yeo and Travis Ramsey in his place. Nice fellows and perhaps players in the future, but at this stage the two don't add up to one McIver.

So with the P.E.I. native looking slightly uncomfortable in a $1,000 suit watching from the press box, Hershey Bears forward Louis Robitaille felt safe in his decision to take a run at Moose sniper Jason Jaffray.

The hit was legal, even if it left some a touch queasy, and finished the day for Manitoba's leading goal getter. Early reports suggest Jaffray has a separated shoulder and will be out anywhere from two to six weeks.

Now, there's no accounting for Robitaille and his thought process. He's made a living intimidating people and his willingness to put the health of others at risk is well documented. He's a bully and the only way to counter such vermin is with pest control. Hello, Nathan McIver.

Hershey's Jason Morgan rammed Manitoba's Kevin Estrada into the boards on Saturday night and immediately ate McIver's fist for his trouble. Like it or not, the threat of a beating is a deterrent and when Robitaille looked down the ice during warm-up and saw McIver missing, he knew he could run a little wild without having to answer for it.

Sure, Manitoba's Danny Groulx skated to Jaffray's defence and wrestled with Robitaille after the incident and a number of other Moose players had words with the Bears goon. But McIver is a different strain of potato. He's a legitimate heavyweight in the AHL. He recently gave longtime NHL tough guy Darren McCarty a thrashing and his name in the lineup gets noticed by the likes of Robitaille.

McIver makes folks accountable. But not from the heights of the press box. The Canucks are mostly on life support and far from a threat in the West. Not with Detroit, Anaheim, San Jose, Dallas and Calgary splashing around in the deep end. The Canucks are decidedly shallow-end swimmers and might be better off staying out of the playoff pool altogether. Save the heartache of a first-round dismissal and take the improved draft position.

The Moose on the other hand are winners of six straight, have as strong a one-two goalie punch as there is in the league, enough scoring, depth on the blue line and a nice ratio of veterans to youth.

With a little help from Vancouver -- McIver, Rick Rypien and Mason Raymond quickly come to mind -- coach Scott Arniel might have enough horse under him to get into the backstretch.

We're not so sure about a run for the roses but one can easily envision this club playing for a conference title. From that point on it's anybody's guess.

But as long as the Canucks insist on wheezing their way around the edge of the playoff picture, things will remain cloudy for the Moose.

Sure, that's life as an affiliate but that doesn't take away the mounting feeling frustration. So give us a break Vancouver, take a dive.

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca