Comparing the sons of Luigi Aquilini to the awful children of Logan Roy in HBO's Succession might seem a little harsh. Each one of them — Kendall, Shiv, Roman, and Connor — is painfully terrible in a unique way that seems uncharitable to each of the Aquilinis.
But the dysfunction at the heart of the Vancouver Canucks makes them ripe for the comparison, particularly with the report that Francesco Aquilini and his brother, Roberto, are at loggerheads over the team and its direction.
"Roberto’s never been much interested in the team’s affair, it’s been seen as Francesco’s ship, but if the family name was being sullied, and we know fans aren’t speaking well of ownership right now, then he’d be concerned, possibly even towards action," said Patrick Johnston of The Province.
The Canucks are definitely Francesco's ship, as he's taken a direct hand in the running of the team, to the point that he has been more than just the chairman of the Canucks but practically the team's president. An owner having the kind of direct influence over hockey operations that Francesco has had is certainly unusual but then he's always wanted to have his way.
There have long been reports that Francesco would even directly request specific songs from the arena DJ — he's partial to AC/DC. The late Jason Botchford even shared one story about Mike Gillis and Francesco in an article for The Athletic.
One of the arena’s undocumented legends is that during playoff runs Gilly would work to keep Francesco away from his phone so he wouldn’t be pestering the DJ booth during games about playing his favourite 1990s tracks.
The theory being a 40-year-old billionaire probably doesn’t have the pulse on how to jack up 18,000 fans in the 2000s.
If Roberto is getting involved, it may be that the direct hand Francesco has taken is a problem and this could lead to a power struggle among one of Canada's richest families. It's the type of power struggle satirized in Succession, which is why this excellent spoof of the show's opening credits feels so spot on.
From the sepia-tone filter at the beginning to the choice of clips, this is a wonderful piece of work by @jkmnew on Twitter.
One slight correction, though. When the video zooms in on an Aquilini brother 10 seconds in, it accidentally labels the wrong brother as Roberto. The brother on the left side of the picture is actually Paolo Aquilini, who has always been more interested in the charitable wing of the Canucks organization as president of the Canucks for Kids Fund and founder of the Canucks Autism Network, and is unlikely to get involved in any power struggles.
Still, the joke lands very well, with quotes from press conferences taking the place of the show's satirical news chyrons as punchlines.
Because you have to laugh, right?
