With goaltender Tim Thomas not even trying to mask his distaste for how the U.S. government runs things - ergo his refusal to go the White House with the Boston Bruins for a meet 'n' greet with president Barack Obama - it seemed a natural to ask the archrival Vancouver Canucks what they thought of Thomas's stance.

"My give-a-care meter with what's going on in Boston is not really that high," said a laughing Canucks coach Alain Vigneault, who had a war of words with his good friend, Bruins coach Claude Julien, after Brad Marchand ducked low and flipped Sami Salo on his head, giving the Canucks defenceman a concussion earlier this month.

"Tim Thomas? I'm not going to fall for that one. I appreciate the try, though," said Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo with a wide grin, refusing to be drawn into the controversy.

Would any Canucks turn down a visit to the White House or Parliament Hill to see hockey fan Stephen Harper, if they won the Stanley Cup? Certainly not Alex Burrows, even if he disagreed with some of the PM's policies.

"I'd love to experience meeting the president or the prime minister . it would be really cool, especially being back with my old teammates that I won the Stanley Cup with? Getting together with guys who've maybe left the team or retired. I wouldn't miss that for the world," said the Canucks winger.

What about Thomas's action? "I was surprised, but I don't have any comment on it," he said.

Website in memory of Rypien

The Canucks, who have a No. 37 decal on their helmets to honour Rick Rypien, who succumbed to mental health issues last Aug. 15 at his home in the Crowsnest Pass, are thrilled that there's a new website (Mindcheck.ca) in memory of their fallen teammate.

The Canucks players feel the website, in conjunction with the Canucks For Kids Foundation, the B.C. Children's Hospital, and Fraser Health and Provincial Health Ser vices Authority, will be Rypien's lasting legacy. It's a resource for people with mental health concerns, hopefully a guiding light to help.

"This is something Rick really wanted to do . he was close to speaking (about his depression) on a number of occasions. He wanted to go to schools and talk to children, to share his story with them. This is the next best thing," said Rypien's good friend Kevin Bieksa, one of the few Canucks who really knew of Rypien's battle.

"I think this will help a lot of kids who are suffering from mental health challenges. I know how they can be overlooked and under-estimated. To carry on his legacy is near and dear to my heart."

Whitney gets green light

Oilers defenceman Ryan Whitney got the green light to play his first game since Dec. 22, when his right ankle miseries reared up again.

He's not sure if he'll ever be 100 per cent again, but he's better off than Peter Forsberg, who went through hundreds of pairs of skates trying to get the right fit so his foot didn't slide in the skate boot.

"His problem was more with his heel," said Whitney, who still has some looseness inside the ankle after surgery a year ago to repair a dislocated tendon.

Oilers coach Tom Renney acknowledges that Whitney might not ever be the same player he was.

"I don't know if 100 per cent will ever exist again to where it was three or four years ago. Maybe there is a new normal for Whit now," said Renney. "Having to maybe reinvent yourself? That's not easy to do."

No further punishment

Edmonton Oilers winger Ales Hemsky didn't get any supplementary discipline after his knee caught San Jose defenceman Brent Burns' right leg in the third period of Monday's game. Hemsky got a major and game misconduct.

Brendan Shanahan, the NHL head of player safety, tweeted "spoke to Sharks staff. Knee collision unintentional. No history for Hemsky until now. Penalty on ice sufficient."

Burns hobbled from Rexall Place and didn't play against the Flames in Calgary on Tuesday, but it's not as bad as it first looked.

"It's more of a charleyhorse," said coach Todd McLellan.

Burns is the Sharks' second-best defenceman after Dan Boyle, so a bad knee injury would have been a crippling blow.

"I thought I was going to throw up (when he was down on the ice)," Burns told the San Jose media when he was down on the ice.

AHL outdoor game 'chilly'

Play-by-play broadcaster Kevin Quinn and his sidekick Louie De-Brusk, along with host Gene Principe, worked SportsNet's outdoor American Hockey League game between the Toronto Marlies and Hamilton Bulldogs at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton last Saturday.

There were about 20,000 fans in attendance.

"It got a little chilly in the second half when the sun went behind the stands. I was a little stupid for not wearing snow pants," DeBrusk said.

"Dress pants and dress shoes I had on, but our producer had those (heated) warmer things you can stuff around your toes.

"Couldn't beat the atmosphere though."

This 'n' that

- Ben Eager, who missed six games with a bad back from late November into early December, is out with back problems again.

- Under strange but true, Oilers radio play-by-play broadcaster Jack Michaels and SportsNet's Quinn both had birthdays on Monday. Michaels is 36. "I'm older than that," said Quinn.

jmatheson@edmontonjournal.com