Canucks Rant

Powerplays bail out Canucks

2006-01-08T12:54:00.000-08:00

First Canuck home game since the Canadian junior squad celebrated a gold medal victory at GM Place and I'll admit it was somewhat hard to get excited for this game. For whatever reason, the Canucks seemed to have the same problem as well coming out of the gate. Following a lackluster opening period where the Canucks spotted Calgary a 1-0 lead, the Canucks jumped out with a strong effort in the second nodding the game up 1-1 with a powerplay goal.

For whatever reason however, the Canucks failed to utilize that momentum and allowed Calgary to take a 3-1 lead. The down point of the period came with Markus Naslund and Mattias Ohlund getting crossed up with one another allowing Jarome Iginla to pounce on a loose puck and skate in uncontested and beat Auld blocker side. Game, set, match...no.

Thanks to the powerplays, the Canucks got right back in it beginning with an Anson Carter goal that got the Canucks within 1 before Salo's marker on a 6-on-3 man advantage (with the goalie pulled) tied things up sending the crowd at GM Place into euphoria and silencing those loudmouthed Flames fans for the first time in the night. Brendan Morrison, with family in attendance, capped off the comeback with (you guessed it) another powerplay goal after Todd Bertuzzi had drawn a tripping call in the extra frame (Vancouver's second powerplay of overtime...the first one was a result of a hold over from the third period).

While the Canucks should be happy they took the 2 points from this win, this team still needs to realize they're not out of the woods yet. They continue to sit behind the aforementioned Flames in the NW Division and, had it not been for the powerplay, Canuck fans would still be talking about how this team was winless against Alberta teams. 5-on-5, the Canucks were simply overmatched. Kind of reminds you of the 03-04 quarterfinals series doesn't it? New NHL or not, this team simply cannot rely on the powerplay each and every time. They tried that in the last playoffs and they got burned. Saturday night was a step in the right direction, but this team still has a long ways to go.

And while Calgary fans and players will no doubt complain about how they late powerplays, including two late in the third which left only 3 Calgary players on the ice when Salo scored the tying marker, let's not forget earlier this season when the Canucks had battled back against the Flames to tie it in the 3rd period only to watch a late 5-on-3 advantage for the Flames give Calgary the victory. Turnabout is fair play.

In response to Eklund's blog: "Canadian Kids Awesome-Fans: Not So Much"

2006-01-06T11:53:00.000-08:00

First off, having attended 19 of the 21 games that were played in Vancouver, I'd like to extend my appreciation to everyone single person involved with the WJHC tournament. From the volunteers, to all the players from each of the 10 teams involved, and of course, the fans.

What has me upset however, has to do with the last aspect, which is of course some of the fan bashing that has taken place recently over the booing in particular of the U.S. team. Not to sound inconsiderate or anything, knowing the fact these are teenagers who are representing their country, but what did you expect?

All pre-tournament, all Canadian hockey fans were hearing was how the U.S. team were a favourite to win the tournament, and on Canadian soil no less. Now, I believe Canadian sports fans aren't idiots who can't do simple problem solving. Team Canada belonged in the same pool as the heavily favoured Americans. Knowing the top team in each pool gets a bye to the semis which would undoubtedly have a big impact on who gets to the Gold Medal Game, anyone could tell you that in order for Canada to have a chance to win that pool, they would definitely need some help from the other pool teams against the U.S. (as it turns out, that was the case as if not for their tie against Switzerland, there's a good chance we could be talking about an American gold medal right now). Now I'm not naive enough to suggest this is the sole reason that fans began cheering against the Americans, but as a sports fan who is also a Canadian fan, this was my sole motivation.

Now..."cheering against" and "booing" are two completely different matters. Prior to the U.S./Canada game, I don't recall Canadian fans booing the Americans at all. Sure the crowd predominately cheered the other team, but they didn't "boo" the Americans (I'm not talking about that after goal booing either, that's to be expected in any sport). For the most part, I thought the fans had what I would consider a quiet respect for the Americans. Sure they didn't openly cheer them (why would they? their team was Canada's biggest rival), but they didn't go out of their way to boo them. The booing began in the heavily hyped Canada-U.S. game, but even then it was still limited to the after-goal variety. Where it really took off was the Johnson elbow to Steve Downie. Now, remember at the time Canada scored a goal on the play and that was definitely what most fans eyes had been glued on. It wasn't until after things settled down after the celebration that they saw a Canadian player laying motionless on the ice. That's when hostilities boiled over and you had chants of "U.S. Sucks" and the first actual booing of the Americans. For those at the game, this was very much in the heat of the moment.

Now...fast forward to the quarterfinal game between the Czechs and the Americans. Again, there was the typical after-goal booing but this time, there was an added dimension as fans had (expectedly) began to boo Jack Johnson for his cheap shot to Downie. Where I feel people really got the wrong idea was when one fan held up a "U Suck America" sign which was met by laughter and applause. Now, anyone who has ever attended a sporting event knows you get caught up in the moment. Your first reaction isn't "how can I make a political statement?", it's "I see something funny, I'm going to cheer." It would be the same if one encountered a "Flames Suck" sign or "Oilers Suck" sign at a Canucks game. I somehow doubt the fans who cheered that would be considered anti-Canadian, but yet, perhaps because this was an international hockey game, some people took that to heart. Now, Shane Foxman, who was actually the reason that sign got on the jumbotron in the first place as there was an in-house segment featuring him and a fan had that sign draped behind him and it took him a few seconds to realize why the fans were cheering, began to laugh and jokingly made a statement that went along the lines of "hey let's show some respect to our guests" as he moved away from the sign so the camera would follow him. The crowd response was a mock boo, but once again, this got taken to heart by some Americans.

Rightly or wrongly to boo, for Eklund to suggest that we should be embracing the Americans in hockey simply because they are our neighbours is ridiculous. This is sports. It would be suggested Canuck fans should embrace the Flames or Avalanche just because we're all in the Northwest Division. He continually refers to the Americans as "U.S. kids", and that's supposed to make us feel bad we booed them? And he isn't the first one to take issue with the booing of "kids." A certain CKNW talkshow host and hockeybuzz blogger, who shall remain nameless, also took issue with this on his show. But hold on, this isn't like the crowd booing bantam or peewee hockey players and to compare the these U20 juniors to "real kids" is ridiculous. Are sports fans not entitled to boo simply because these players are teenagers? Have they never watched a CHL game or American college hockey game? Please. It's not as if Canadian fans threatened any American players or challenged them to a parking lot brawl.

Where I take most issue is these two paragraphs by Eklund:

To me, an American Hockey fan, who loves and does all he can for a Canadian sport, it is very upsetting...I think America deserves better than this....I am not going to go political, don`t worry.

I am simply going to say that the Canadian sport of hockey and the NHL is highly dependant on fans like me in the US. US money helps make the NHL the NHL. If we had two leagues like we do in football, the NFL and CFL, things would be very different. The best players still largely come from Canada.

Exactly how high and mighty does Eklund sound here? Does he honestly think, if the situation were reversed, the opposite wouldn't happen? (Assuming Canadians don't invade the arena as they did at the Salt Lake City Olympics or last year at the WJHC in North Dakota?) This isn't politics. It's sports. And while I have the utmost respect for all the players who played their hearts out at this tournament, I'm sick to death of all this fan bashing. This is sports...and sometimes feelings get hurt.

However, to boo our kids and rout for Finland and Russia over us is just wrong. Very arrogant...We are neighbors and we should act like them.

What about those "kids" who played for Finland and Russia. Now suddenly they're the bad guys. Please. Get off your high horse.

Just another day at the office...

2006-01-03T10:13:00.000-08:00

About a crowd of just under two dozen gathered outside section 308 at General Motors Place starring at the television monitors stationed just outside the entrance to the Rickard's Brewhouse. The crowd, comprised mainly of GM Place staff and security guards, as well as hockey fans on their intermission break from the WJC game that had the Swedes and Finns deadlocked at 0-0 in the first intermission, were watching the Canucks take on bottom feeder St. Louis. 1-1 read the score in St. Louis as the crowd small crowd oohed and aahed watching Vancouver on the powerplay. Moments later, Blues forward Scott Young took a pretty pass and snapped a shot past Alex Auld. The crowd groaned. Shortly thereafter, former Canuck Mike Sillinger finished off a three-way passing play that simply made the Canuck defenders look foolish.

A passerby looked up at the scoreboard and let out a sly "hah!" Slowly, the fans began to disperse, most of them heading back to their seats in time for the second period to begin. There was not so much a sense of shock, but rather a sense of disappointed acceptance. Nothing out of the ordinary...

LUUUUUUUC

2005-12-31T00:03:00.000-08:00

Tis the season to give...

2005-12-24T00:28:00.000-08:00

...but maybe the Canucks are taking that a little too far.

The first three of the five Calgary goals tonight were a direct result of a Canuck neatly gift-wrapping the puck and handing it to their Flames' counterpart who proceeded to put it into the net.

On a night when the Canucks manage to get 5 pucks past Miikka Kiprusoff, they allow the Flames, who haven't exactly been the exemplar of an offensive juggernaut so far this season, to put five past Alex Auld and then two more in the shootout. If not for the Grinch-like effort from the likes of Bertuzzi and Naslund, the Canucks would have left this game with just a lump of coal rather than a single point.

One has to wonder whether the Canucks' Christmas party will turn out to be a farewell party for some players as you have to believe Dave Nonis is just be waiting for the Christmas roster freeze to lift before he shakes up the team.

There certainly is very little Christmas cheer in Canuckland right now. Perhaps the New Year will bring in better luck. As one panhandler outside GM Place was heard saying, "they're ruining my Christmas."

On a more positive note, congrats to Markus Naslund, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Mattias Ohlund. Jarkko Ruutu, and Sami Salo for being named to their respective countries' Olympic Team.

Also on a personal note, after painfully sitting through the last 4 Canuck games, I'm looking forward to taking a 2-week break away from the Nucks and switching my focus towards the Canadian junior boys as they attempt the repeat at this year's WJHC. Hopefully the Canucks tune up their game over the next two weeks while I tune out.

Merry Christmas Everyone.

TEAM CANADA ANNOUNCED!

2005-12-21T15:09:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Todd Bertuzzi, Ed Jovanovski, and the 24 other players selected to the Team Canada Olympic Roster/Taxi Squad.

Thoughts with an International Flavour

2005-12-21T10:10:00.000-08:00

On Ed Jovanovski:

A recent analyst on Sportsnet (I believe?) had suggested that perhaps the reason for Roberto Luongo's struggles this season was due in large part to the fact he had been nervous about being named to the Olympic team. I wonder if this has been the same reason for Ed's struggles this season as well. Obviously some people handle the pressure better than others (Turco, Heatley etc.). Regardless, Ed should be a lock for Team Canada when it's named today at 2:00pm PST (TSN, Sportsnet) and I'd like to think that would kick start Jovocop back to form starting with tonight against the Edmonton Oilers.

On Todd Bertuzzi:

If Team Canada is about putting together the best team possible, there's no question Todd's name will be called this afternoon. If it was about putting together only those who were hot at the moment or the 'flavours of the month', then Todd's chances of making the team decreases. With all due respect to the likes of Eric Staal and Jason Spezza, one good half year does not necessarily warrant a selection to this camp. And while I'm all for giving young players a chance to shine in the international spotlight, this selection process has to be about building the best team possible, not about the hottest players at the time. There's no telling what shape any of these players will be in anyways by the time February rolls around anyways. If the likes of Rick Nash and Jarome Iginla are considered locks, and the likes of Lemieux and Yzerman having guaranteed spots (before they both respectively declined the offer), there's no reason Bertuzzi shouldn't be there as well.

On WJHC Fan Fest:

The fun never stops. Hockey fans will be doing themselves a great displeasure if they don't at least check out the RBC Fan Fest that will run from Boxing Day until the 4th of January. Fan Fest will also feature a large jumbo screen showing all of Team Canada's games so if you can't get a ticket in, this might be the next best thing. Full details here: http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.cfm/ci_id/17621/la_id/1.htm

On the Czech Republic Junior Team:

First the good: Nice to see the Canadian boys squeak out a victory over the Czechs in last night's exhibition game. Now the ugly: The news gets worst for the Czech team however. According to MOJO 730AM in Vancouver, the Czech team, who are currently staying in Chilliwack, had their hotel rooms robbed from over the weekend. These players, who are only teenagers mind you, had stolen from them their money, clothes and souvenirs. Again I have not heard any other source on this matter in the time being so I'll take it with a grain of salt. But if this report is true, this is absolutely disgraceful and those responsible should be ashamed as it not only looks bad on the Chilliwack community but puts a damper on this tournament before it kicks off. Absolutely disgraceful. I have not heard whether efforts have been taken to help these kids replace what they have lost but I would think that to be a no-brainer at this point. Let's not forget that hockey issues aside, this Czech team is a guest not only in our city but our country and they, like all the other participants in this tournament, have given up their Christmas holidays to play the game they love. They don't deserve this.

My apologies for ending on a sour note. If any players on the Czech team happens to stumble onto this blog or anyone from the Chilliwack community that may have more information on this situation, I'd love to hear from you.

canucksrant@gmail.com

Must be a slow news day

2005-12-20T13:49:00.000-08:00

It seems there's a new golden rule of hockey journalism: When news in the hockey world is slow, write something about Bertuzzi...then watch it blow way out of proportion.

Example 1: http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/connected.jsp

December 20th; 9:38am entry - It's the latest fad! The Bertuzzi trade rumour without naming sources. Wow indeedy! The Montreal Canadiens are interested in acquiring Todd Bertuzzi!! Surprise, surprise. Call your friends. Call your neighbours. Call Dan Russell. But most importantly, call on your senses...and call the bluff. I'd be surprised if Montreal wasn't interested in Bertuzzi. Heck, if the 29 other GM's in this league weren't interested in Todd Bertuzzi, they wouldn't be doing their jobs. Means nothing...let's move on.

Example 2: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=147690&hubname=

Todd Bertuzzi on the bubble to make Team Canada? Well duh. So's the other 23 guys. So what's the big deal? This CP article makes it sounds like Team Canada brass has suddenly had a change of thought regarding whether to take Todd Bertuzzi. Funny enough, this article has no quotes or information from Wayne Gretzky or any other members of Team Canada's management. So what's changed? Just the average reader's perception. Has Bertuzzi ever been a lock for the team? No. Is Bertuzzi on the bubble? Yes. Has his situation changed between the opening of Team Canada's camp and now? No.

Slow news day indeed.

Thoughts from Canucks vs. Kings 12/19

2005-12-20T09:48:00.000-08:00

On those dreaded 2 goal leads:

In a reversal of the Canucks' problems from earlier in the season, the Canucks seem to have no problem getting out to good starts lately but seem to have a problem keeping the foot on the pedal. As they did on Saturday night, the Canucks jumped out to an early 2-goal lead only to see it evaporate. For the second game in a row, the Canucks are outshot and outchanced in the 3rd period and have not scored a goal in the final frame.

On the new video montage:

Monday night featured new highlights with the intro video. Most noticeable subtraction from the highlight package was Dan Cloutier who was not seen in the video at all. Additions included much more clips of Alex Auld as well as the use of play-by-play voiceovers from Shorty and Tom on the goals shown in the highlight package (nice touch!).

On Todd Bertuzzi:

Yet another solid game for big #44. Held off the scoresheet but was into the action all night long and played a big part in the opening goal.

On the Three Brothers Line:

Biggest difference between the Sedins today, and the Sedins of the past three or so seasons? They're still cycling the puck, but now they're doing it with a purpose. A big reason for this has been the addition of Anson Carter. A lot of people questioned the addition of Carter in the off-season, even if it was only for $1 million, calling him a floater who had lost his touch. Well so far Anson Carter has silenced his critics. Carter added another 2 assists to his point totals against his former team, the LA Kings, and has especially in recent games, shown he's got finish, something many former linemates of the Sedins (be it Brookbank, King, Klatt etc.) had trouble with.

---Other Thoughts---

On Racial Slurs:

Very, very disappointed to hear about what transpired in the Chicoutimi/Moncton game in the QMJHL where racial taunts were hurled at the direction of coach Ted Nolan. This is certainly one of the worst incidents involving racial taunts from fans that I have witnessed in recent history. Definitely there were the stories of the incidents during the NHL All-Stars overseas tour during the lockout where fans had taunted and apparently threw debris (bananas?) at Anson Carter. But in North America, and particularly Canada, it's difficult to fathom this type of behavior. Yes, we've had fans boo the American National anthem but I think even that was on a totally different level than this incident. Shame on those fans, but kudos to the Saguenees organization for publicly apologizing to Ted.

On Phyllis Gretzky:

Our condolences go out to the entire Gretzky family during this sad time. Phyllis, 64, passed away on Monday at around the same time the Canucks hit the ice against the LA Kings. Phyllis is survived by her husband, Walter, 5 children, and 12 grandchildren.

A look around the league

2005-12-18T16:32:00.000-08:00

On a lazy Sunday afternoon, watching the Avs-Rangers tilt on the NHL Network, I take a look around the league in this unofficial "1/3 of the way there" report:

Early MVP favourites:

Miikka Kiprusoff - The Flames have 77 goals for in the NHL ahead of only the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets. Yet somehow they're sitting 2nd in the NW division as of this writing, only one point behind the Canucks. Not hard to point out one of the key reasons for this team's successes.

Dany Heatley - No offense to Marian Hossa, but 3 months after the big trade that sent Heatley to Ottawa in exchange for Hossa and de Vries, it's safe to say at this point that Ottawa came out major winners in that deal. Heatley had that long point streak to start the sason and is a key member of the NHL's top line with Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson, both of whom are also among the leaders in the NHL points race.

Jaromir Jagr - As of this writing, the New York Rangers find themselves on top of the Atlantic division, a place most hockey observers couldn't even fathom the Rangers would be at before the season began. A large part of this has been due to the resurgence of Jaromir Jagr who finally looks like he's playing like the MVP Jagr of old. Jagr leads the league in scoring and deserves Hart Trophy consideration particularly if he can lead the NYR back to the playoffs for the first time in 8 years.

Best Rookie not named Crosby, Ovechkin, or Phaneuf:

Marek Svatos - Began to make himself a name back in 03-04 when he joined the Avs in the playoffs, Svatos has really been lighting it up for the Colorado Avalanche helping Avs fans forget about the departed Peter Forsberg. He sits third in rookie scoring behind only Crosby and Ovechkin.

Petr Prucha - A former 8th round draft pick, Prucha has been turning heads in the Big Apple with his stellar play so far. His 15 goals on the season is behind only Alexander Ovechkin in terms of rookie goal scoring.

Andrej Meszaros - Big, stud defenseman (ex-Vancouver Giant I may point out) is having a standout year with the Ottawa Senators. Has a stellar +24 rating and Brian Murray is not afraid to put him out against some of the opposition's top lines.

Surprise Teams (Good):

Nashville Predators - One of the more quieter teams during the off-season when teams were busy re-tooling their lineups, the Preds are a prime example of sticking to their game plan and have now built one of the strongest teams in the NHL. Biggest move in the off-season was bringing in former Ducks captain Paul Kariya and the move has worked wonders as Kariya has been lighting it up in Music city. Nashville currently sits 4 points behind the Detroit Red Wings for the lead in the Central Division but have 4 games in hand. Could be a playoff darkhorse this season.

New York Rangers - Few could have predicted the Rangers would be where they are now, yet somehow they've defied most hockey writers and find themselves sitting at the top of the Atlantic division, ahead of pre-season Cup favourites Philadelphia Flyers. Jaromir Jagr has been a major part of this charge by the Rangers and, barring a second half collapse, should be a lock for the playoffs.

Buffalo Sabres - Amid early season goaltending controversies and having the unfortunate pleasure of being in the Northeast Division (what some consider to be the strongest division in the East), the Buffalo Sabres have found a way to come out of the gate charging led by pre-season trade bait goaltender Martin Biron. The Sabres sit 2nd in the Northeast Division, behind only the red hot Ottawa Senators, with a 7 point lead against 3rd place Montreal Canadiens and a whopping 10 point lead ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Surprise Teams (Ugly):

St. Louis Blues - One has to wonder, had the Ottawa Senators had a goaltender other than Patrick Lalime for the past 3-4 seasons, how many playoff rounds or (dare say it) Stanley Cups would the Sens have won? Perhaps it's unfair to pin all the blame on Lalime but it sure does look like for the last few years he's been hiding behind that great defense in Ottawa. His arrival in St. Louis has been nothing short of disappointing to the point he now finds himself in Peoria with the Blues' AHL farm team. Ownership issues, out of shape players, and injuries have also led the once proud Blues to the Western Conference basement. Looks like that long playoff appearance streak will finally come to an end.

Columbus Blue Jackets - This team could not have any worst luck. Rick Nash, injured early in the season, returns to the lineup, injured for yet another extended period of time. Gilbert Brule, injured early in the season, returns to the lineup, injured for yet another extended period of time. And these are two of the Jackets' top players as well. Nikolai Zherdev has been largely a disappointment so far this season and the move to bring in Sergei Fedorov has not worked out at all. Looks like another year of futility for the Blue Jackets.

Colorado Avalanche - A number of other teams probably are more deserving of being in this category. After all, the Avs are sitting in a playoff spot and are 4 games above .500 (now after having won the game against the Rangers today) but who would have thought the Avs would be at the bottom of the playoff picture as opposed to being at the top. Their 38 points are only 3 ahead of the Phoenix Coyotes for the final playoff spot and they sit 4th in their division. Goaltender David Aebsicher has been awful this season and finds himself on the trading block. 3rd stringer Vitaly Kolesnik, who began the season in Hershey (AHL), finds himself as the team's starter while the Avalanche are said to be looking to unload one of their three goaltenders - David Aebischer, Peter Budaj, and Kolesnik - with David Aebischer likely being the odd man out.

Some Thoughts on Oilers/Canucks 12/17

2005-12-18T01:11:00.000-08:00

On the officiating:

Yet another potentially great game ruined by the O-show. Brad Meier and Mick McGeough were absolutely brutal tonight and this isn't just the biased Canuck fan in me talking. In particular, the calls in the third period which at one point saw the Canucks take 4 penalties in a row were absolutely brutal. And perhaps this is the bias in me speaking, but it did seem that some of the calls against the Canucks were particularly iffy. Bertuzzi's intereference penalty which halted what would've been a Canuck 2-on-1 and Kesler's hooking penalty with the Canucks already shorthanded come to mind. Not surprisingly, the best hockey in this game came in the first and second period where it was free flowing with much end-to-end action. The teams combined for 8 penalties in the first and second periods. The third period alone matched that. Brutal.

On the Oilers coming back:

Phantom penalty calls are one thing, but full credit to those pesky Oilers for sticking around and gutting out a victory. Being down 2-0 before the game was even 10 minutes old, it would have been easy for them to call it quits. Jussi Markkanen was particularly impressive in relief of starting Mike Morrison. He gave up 2 goals which he didn't have much chance on but stood tall in net for the Oilers. His stop on Bertuzzi early in the overtime period was tremendous.

On Maxime Ouelette:

In Crow's postgame comments, he mentioned the fact Maxime performed well enough to give the team a chance to win. I suppose the PK didn't help him out too much, but it looked like he tended to go down early. He clearly over-committed on the Oilers goals by Smyth and Reasoner (albeit nice passing plays). And of course I'm sure he'd like to have Horcoff's shorthanded goal back as well. Made a few nice saves throughout the game and seemed to have a fairly decent glove hand. All in all not the greatest of debuts (funny how the crowd seemed to cheer everytime he made a save...) but too early to write him off as a potential backup to Alex Auld. I shudder to think of the sports talk show callers and message board posters.

On #44:

Bert's on a roll! Whatever sparked him in that Ottawa game has continued on and once again he was one of the stronger Canucks on the night. Two goals, both a classic example of vintage Bert driving to the net. Named 1st star of the night and a deserving one at that.

-----Some Other Thoughts----

On Mrs. Gretzky:

As many probably know now, Wayne has temporarily stepped down as Coyotes bench boss and returned home to be with his mother, Phyllis Gretzky, who is battling lung cancer. Classy move by Wayne as family always comes first. I wish the entire Gretzky family all the best. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Phyllis Gretzky in her fight.

On Teddy Bear Toss:

Had a chance on Friday night to check out that "other" hockey rink in Vancouver (I speak of the Coliseum of course) and check out the local WHL boys. Personally, sitting behind the Giants bench, I had an opportunity that few hockey fans have almost feeling being on the bench. Hearing Don Hay bark orders, hearing the boys on the bench yelling, and seeing the excitement on their faces when they pulled off the near impossible coming back from down 3-0 in the third period to win in OT. OF COURSE...Friday night was also the annual teddy bear toss and if you haven't had a chance to check it out, well mark your calendar for next December. This great event, which benefits various children's charities by donating the stuffed animals deposited on the ice, makes for one of the most fun events of the season and a Giants win, to the shock of many in the building last night, is always a great way to cap it off. (I hope to post some pictures from this event in the near future). Though not feasible, I wonder what would happen if the Canucks pulled off a similar event. Imagine 18,630 fans bringing just one stuffed animal with them and throwing it onto the ice at GM Place...now that'd be a sight.

canucksrant@gmail.com

Some Random Thoughts

2005-12-15T23:54:00.000-08:00

On Yzerman's 19:

Kudos to Wayne Gretzky and Co. for not allowing any members of Team Canada's Winter Olympic Team to wear the number "19" at the 2006 Winter Olympics in deference to Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman who gracefully declined the invitation. Even without Gretzky explicitly saying so, this would not have been a number that would have been worn for this Olympics either way. It dates back to the World Cup of Hockey when Joe Sakic refused to wear the 19 out of respect to Steve Yzerman and no other "19" players, such as the likes of Thornton, Richards, and Doan, did as well. Not to say that "19" should be retired for all Canadian hockey tournaments, but for this tournament, it's a good way to pay tribute to a great hockey player who stepped down so another younger Canadian player could get a chance to play.

On expanding the playoffs from 16 to 20 teams:

No, no, and no! An 82-game regular season has already been ridiculed by some for having games that don't mean much, and 4 extra teams in the playoffs would just hammer that point even further. Besides, an extended playoff would only be feasible if the regular season were shortened. Not doing so would mean the Stanley Cup wouldn't be presented until some time in mid-June! Shortening the regular season would mean less games overall, meaning less revenue...well you get the idea. In the end, it'd only be "playoffs" by name, and it'd mean the real race at the end of the regular season would be who's in the top 6 rather than the top 8. Judging by the usual separation between those teams from 7-10 compared to the top 6, it might make for a much less interesting end to the regular season.

On Eklund:

If you've haven't had a chance to listen to the now infamous "Eklund" speak live on Dan Russell's Sportstalk on Thursday night, you might want to look at CKNW's archives at www.cknw.com. I must admit I half expected a faux expert, not unlike myself I'll openly admit, who had little to say but spreading various trade rumours that most Internet forum users did, but I was very impressed with Mr. Eklund on this particular night. I thought he had some excellent insight into the Flyers-Canucks tilt of that night as well as the fact he's now branching out onto other areas outside of rumoursville is great to see. Eklund's new site, Hockeybuzz, is extremely impressive and his lineup of blog writers are a joy to read. It'd be worthwhile to take a look. www.hockeybuzz.com

canucksrant@gmail.com

This Dog's Due

2005-12-14T15:20:00.000-08:00

...I've bashed the rumour creator...now I'll become one...

With word coming down yesterday of Dan Cloutier's surgery which will see the netminder sidelined for a minimum of four months, the usually already turbulent sea of rumoursville was hit with a massive tidal wave with fans lighting up radio talk shows and online forums suggesting potential replacements for the injured Canucks goaltender. One goaltender that has, at least for the time being, not been heavily bandied about is Coyotes goaltender Curtis Joseph.

Now, at this point there's no suggestion that the Coyotes are looking to unload the veteran netminder, who prior to the season signed a 1-year deal with the Coyotes for under a million. In fact, the soon-to-be 39-year old is one of the NHL's best bargains especially having enjoyed a renaissance in Phoenix this season after two disappointing, injury-prone years in Detroit. At the same time however, it's hard to believe that Phoenix's future plans will include the former Oiler netminder and its hard to believe Joseph, if given the opportunity at one last shot at the Cup, would decline the invite.

Joseph signing with the Coyotes was a desparation move on his part. For a netminder who had only four short seasons ago been named Canada's starting Olympic goaltender and led the Maple Leafs to the Eastern Conference Finals, it's hard to believe Joseph sought out a $900,000 contract with a team that many believed would have a tough time remaining out of the Western Conference basement let alone contending for a playoffs or, dare say it, a Stanley Cup. But nearly halfway through the season, Joseph has seemingly returned to the form that had many hockey fans considering him the best goaltender in the NHL without a Cup ring.

With all due respect to the Phoenix Coyotes, this team is, to put it gently, a long shot to contend for the Stanley Cup. They're a young, hard-working team that should challenge for a playoff spot, but up against a strong Western Conference, it's hard to imagine them winning three playoff rounds to advance to the Cup Finals. This is where CuJo's availability comes in play. Joseph will not go to Coyotes management and demand a trade. He's much too classy. Wayne Gretzky and Coyotes management knows however, that CuJo's shot at a Stanley Cup ring is quickly waning and in Phoenix, he's not going to get that shot. And while the Coyotes won't actively be shopping Joseph, if Coyotes GM Michael Barnett were to receive a call....

canucksrant@gmail.com

The art of the rumour

2005-12-13T10:07:00.000-08:00

They're fun. They're entertaining. But at the end of the day, it's little more than math blown way out of proportion. Yes, the rumour writer is much like the 7th grader who has successfully grasped the concept of algebra. It's nothing more than learning to balance equations. So why put so much stock in the rumour? Why read the Eklunds, the Codes, the Spectors of the world? Because they are the teachers. The ultimate mathematicians. They not only balance the equations, but they can show the math.

X + Y = Z + Y
therefore X = Z
where Y = Ed Jovanovski + Dan Cloutier = Roberto Luongo
where X = Z = Todd Bertuzzi = Jay Bouwmeister

...now show your work

Luongo = struggling
Bouwmeister = not living up to potential
variable: Mike Keenan = madman
------
Bertuzzi = wants out; wants fresh start
Jovanovski = loves Florida; wants to go back
Cloutier = injury prone
variable: Dave Nonis = desperate to put mark on team

...and for those bonus marks, throw in:

Source: Hot dog vendor at General Motors Place spots Mike Keenan
Analysis: Trade imminent

Source: Todd Bertuzzi's neighbour's, cousin's, son's, girlfriend's, hairdresser thinks Bertuzzi is struggling because he's unhappy
Analysis: Todd Bertuzzi has approached Canucks management and close friends and has demanded a trade

----

See how easy it is?

Now it's my turn. Of course, unlike the Eklunds and Codes, I will name my sources. All the following rumours have been pulled from the lower extremeties of my backside. With any luck, tomorrow they'll end up on Eklund's blog or some forum suggesting a "behind-the-scenes" (pun intended) source in location unknown has reported the following...

---
To Vancouver:
Patrick Marleau

To San Jose:
Brendan Morrison

Analysis: With the arrival of Joe Thornton, Sharks management is looking to cut some salary. The Sharks stand to save nearly a million on the deal and feel Brendan Morrison is more than adequate as a second-line centre having played with Naslund and Bertuzzi. The Canucks, on the other hand, are looking to jump start the top line and feel Marleau to be a perfect compliment for star winger Markus Naslund and power forward Todd Bertuzzi.
---
To Toronto:
John Leclair

To Pittsburgh:
Jason Allison

Analysis: With both the Big 'E' and Jason Allison struggling, Leafs management is set to pull off a deal to with the Pens to acquire John Leclair in hopes of reforming the Legion of Doom line in Toronto. With Mario's health issues, the Penguins are in the market for a centre and feel Allison still has many good years ahead of him. The Leafs are also in talks with Mikael Renberg on a possible return.
---
To San Jose:
Rick Nash

To Columbus:
Patrick Marleau
Evgeny Nabokov

Analysis: Looking to re-unite a hot combo from the World Cup of Hockey as well as HC Davos during the NHL lockout, San Jose Shark GM Doug Wilson has placed a call to Doug Maclean of Columbus inquiring about the services of injured forward Rick Nash. While not normally entertaining offers for the injured superstar, Wilson's package is believed to be "too good to pass up" according to one anonymous source. The kicker in the deal appears to be the goaltender. San Jose is said to be hoping the Jackets will take Vesa Toskala but it appears the Jackets are pushing hard for Evgeny Nabokov and will only make the deal if "Nabby" is included. Marc Denis has fallen out of favour in Columbus while management feels Pascal Leclaire is not ready for full-time duties.
---

...and to think...I only got a C in math.

canucksrant@gmail.com

myTEAM CANADA ... adjusted for Lemieux pulling out

2005-12-10T12:07:00.000-08:00

...in no particular order

FORWARDS

Joe Sakic
Vincent Lecavalier
Brad Richards
Joe Thornton
Simon Gagne
Dany Heatley
Martin St. Louis
Jarome Iginla
Todd Bertuzzi
Kris Draper
Jason Spezza
Shane Doan
Sidney Crosby* (sorry Eric Staal...but this is more about marketing and promoting hockey and the NHL more than anything else)

DEFENSE

Scott Neidermayer
Chris Pronger
Wade Redden
Ed Jovanovski
Rob Blake
Robyn Regehr
Dion Phaneuf*^

GOALTENDERS

Martin Brodeur
Curtis Joseph
Jose Theodore*

*denotes extra
^denotes wishful thinking

canucksrant@gmail.com

myTEAM CANADA

2005-12-09T16:45:00.000-08:00

...in no particular order

FORWARDS

Joe Sakic
Vincent Lecavalier
Brad Richards
Joe Thornton
Simon Gagne
Dany Heatley
Martin St. Louis
Jarome Iginla
Todd Bertuzzi
Kris Draper
Jason Spezza
Shane Doan
Mario Lemieux*

Defense:

Scott Neidermayer
Chris Pronger
Wade Redden
Ed Jovanovski
Rob Blake
Robyn Regehr
Dion Phaneuf*^

Goaltenders:

Martin Brodeur
Curtis Joseph
Jose Theodore*

*denotes extra

^denotes wishful thinking

canucksrant@gmail.com

Time Out

2005-11-20T11:17:00.000-08:00

Essays and Exams means Canucks Rant is on vacation.

We will be back.

Burkey Blockbuster...sort of

2005-11-15T15:17:00.000-08:00

Sportsnet.ca is reporting that the Anaheim Mighty Ducks have dealt star forward Sergei Fedorov along with a 5th round pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Tyler Wright and Francois Beauchemin.

Fedorov is the biggest name to exchange teams during the season so far this year (the previous biggest trade this year also involving the Jackets who had shipping Geoff Sanderson to the Phoenix Coyotes.) Fedorov is arguably the biggest name player (definitely the biggest name Russian player) to have been traded by Brian Burke since he unloaded Pavel Bure to the Florida Panthers as GM of the Vancouver Canucks.

Fedorov had been rumoured to be on the trading block although there had been no confirmation that Burke was looking to dump the Russian superstar. Fedorov has seen limited action this season due to injury and only recently returned to Anaheim's lineup.

Week in Review: Nov. 6 - Nov. 13

2005-11-07T20:37:00.000-08:00

Coming off a loss to the Flames on Saturday, the Canucks entered the new week with a chance at revenge against the Flames. Monday's effort was a much stronger one than the previous night's and one of Vancouver's best efforts on the season. Despite this however, the Canucks came up short after the officials more or less handed Calgary the victory in the late stages of the game penalizing Vancouver three times with under 5 minutes to go and Calgary managing to squeak one out on a 5-on-3 powerplay courtesy of rookie Dion Phaneuf. Vancouver led 2-1 after two periods on goals by Bertuzzi and Naslund but lost the lead in a span of under a minute as Roman Hamrlik and Jarome Iginla scored twice early in the 3rd. Unfazed, the Canucks kept battling and once again, the big line hooked up with Bertuzzi setting up Markus Naslund for his second to tie the game. It was all for not however, as Vancouver falls for the 2nd straight night to division rivals Calgary.

On Thursday, the Colorado Avalanche came into town to challenge the Canucks but it was apparent in the first period that perhaps the Canucks were still stuck in Calgary. A horrible first period led to an early 4-0 lead for Colorado and despite a valiant effort in the 2nd, Vancouver could not muster enough goals to tie the game. Ed Jovanovski was particularly brutal in the 1st period as his mistakes led directly to 3 of the 4 goals in the 1st period. On a bright note for the Canucks, Todd Bertuzzi scored for his second straight game.

On Sunday, the Canucks welcomed the best team in the NHL into their building and unlike Thursday night, the Canucks were actually here to greet their opponent. After spotting the first goal to the Wings, Todd Bertuzzi promptly took his team by the collar and almost single-handedly dragged them to a victory against the Red Wings. In what was Bertuzzi's breakout party, the power forward finally reminded fans of what he truly can do scoring a hat-trick, with 2 goals that were simply vintage Bertuzzi. Anson Carter added the other goal as the Canucks took down the Wings 4-1 to end (begin?) the week on a high note.

Player of the Week: Is he back? Is he backkkk? 6 goals in 3 games this week...Todd Bertuzzi looks like he's finally regaining the form that saw him score 41 goals in 02-03.

Disappointment of the Week: Ed Jovanovski was just absolutely brutal on Thursday and looked somewhat shaky at certain times against the Wings. Being counted on as being this team's #1a/1b defenceman, Jovo's going to need to be better. We'll chalk up Thursday night as being just an off-night.

95 and counting:

Sunday night against the Wings was the 95th consecutive sellout at General Motors Place for the Vancouver Canucks (counting regular season and playoffs). The Canucks will hit the century mark for sellouts on December 9th when they host the Ottawa Senators.

Just Friends:

During the game, the NHL ran an ad featuring the upcoming movie Just Friends starring Ryan Reynolds and Amy Smart. Hockey fans can enter an online contest at http://www.nhl.com/justfriends for a chance to win a trip to the 05-06 Stanley Cup Finals with a star from Just Friends.

Week in Preview: Nov. 6 - Nov. 13

2005-11-06T17:00:00.000-08:00

A relatively light week ahead for Vancouver, so we'll break with tradition and preview the next 3 upcoming games for the Vancouver Canucks.

After having a 2-game win streak snapped on Saturday in Calgary, the Canucks will get another shot right away against the Flames as they meet again on Monday. Not much to report on the Canucks front as it appears their lineup will remain virtually the same as the team that lost Saturday 1-0. Expect more of the same when these two teams hook up again, that is a tight, grind-it-out style game likely to be decided by one goal.

The Canucks get 2 days off following Monday's game in Calgary before taking on the Avs in Vancouver. The Canucks have dropped 2 straight against the Avalanche after beating them 6-4 in Vancouver on October 22nd. The Avs dropped a 4-3 shootout decision on Saturday to the Dallas Stars and play host to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday before flying out to Vancouver for what is their 5th matchup against the Canucks in the last 4 weeks.

The Canucks wrap up their mini 2-game homestand on Sunday when they host the Detroit Red Wings. The Wings have 3-games prior to meeting the Canucks in Vancouver, including a home date with the Minnesota Wild on Friday night. The Wings, as of this writing, are on a 2-game losing streak after dropping games to the Oilers and the Coyotes. They play the Blues tonight in St. Louis, and will also host the LA Kings and the aforementioned Minnesota Wild this week.

Who to watch for:

Markus Naslund - As far as goal production goes, Markus Naslund has been relatively quiet in the recent week. He did pick up a goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets albeit into an empty net. Look for Nazzy to make some noise in the coming week.

Jarkko Ruutu - With two games aganist divisional rivals this week, look for the fiesty Finn to be in the face of the opposition. While he might not put up much points on the scoreboard, expect Ruutu to be quite noticeable this week.

Stamped and Delivered:

With the Calgary Stampeders defeating the Edmonton Eskimos on Sunday, it means the CFL's worst ever 12-6 team, the B.C. Lions, will advance to the West Final which will be played on Nov. 20th. As a result, the Lions will not host a playoff game on the 13th on the same night the Canucks are scheduled to play the Red Wings. This should hopefully limit the amount of downtown traffic on that night.

The West Final however, which is scheduled to be played at 3pm PST on November 20th, will conflict with parts of the 3rd period for Canuck fans who are expected to attend the West Final at B.C. Place. The Canucks play Brian Burke's Anaheim Mighty Ducks on the 20th in a game that is slated to get underway at 1:00pm. With the average NHL hockey game lasting approximately 2.5 hours, this should mean the Lions are set to kick off about before the end of the Canuck game on November 20th.

Reading with Fin:

For those who do are not aware, the Vancouver Canucks launched a new reading program named Fin's Friends this past October. The new program will launch in 25 elementary schools in Vancouver, New Westminster, and Burnaby. More information on this program can be found on the Canucks website at: http://www.canucks.com/subpage.asp?sectionID=536

Week in Review: Oct.30 - Nov. 5

2005-11-05T21:29:00.000-08:00

Returning home from after 2 straight losses in Colorado, Vancouver played Wednesday against the pesky Wild. After a good first half that featured goals from Ed Jovanovski and Jarkko Ruutu, the Canucks allowed the Wild to take it to them for most of the rest of the game. Perhaps the most exciting part of the game came in the last 2 minutes where Vancouver penalties to Bertuzzi, Kesler and Salo gave Minnesota an extended 5-on-3 powerplay (6-on-3 after pulling Roloson) but failed to connect in time to tie the game.

Friday night saw the Canucks take on the Nash-less Blue Jackets. After spotting a 1-0 to Columbus courtesy of Nikolai Zherdev in the first period, the Canucks with 3 goals in the 2nd courtesy of Ohlund, Salo and Henrik Sedin and led 3-2 after two. Anson Carter scored the eventual game winner early in the 3rd period capping off a strong outing by the "third twin" who finished the game with 1 goal and 2 assists while being named the 3rd star in the building.

On Saturday, the Canucks flew into Calgary to take on the Flames in what was an example of how the old NHL continues to live on today. Calgary scored the only goal of the game in the first period courtesy of Marcus Nilson and grinded it out the rest of the way en route to a victory. Vancouver's best chance to tie up the game occured in the 3rd period when handed a 5-on-3 powerplay for 2 straight minutes but generated only two good chances, one by Salo off the post and the other by Jovo who was stoned by Miikka Kiprusoff. The last half of the 3rd period featured 1-man in, 4-men back and dump and chase hockey. Perfect for the Calgary Flames.

Player of the Week:

Anson Carter had a good week in which the Sedin line was the top line of the week. Carter picked up 3 points, all against Columbus.

Disappointment of the Week:

Todd Bertuzzi, nuff said. After having perhaps his best week of the season last week, Bertuzzi took another big step backwards this week. Canucks fans should hope after getting rocked by Rhett Warrener, perhaps that'll wake the sleeping giant who has, for the most part, looked terrible this season despite putting up 11 points in 14 games.

Beware the traffic jam:

Following the BC Lions loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday night, should the Edmonton Eskimos prevail against the Calgary Stampeders on Sunday, the Lions will host a playoff game on Sunday, November 13th, the same night the Canucks play the Detroit Red Wings at General Motors Place. Despite different start times, football and hockey fans should beware of traffic in the downtown core particularly with the Lions game scheduled to end at about the same time as the Canucks game is schedule to begin. Just another reminder, this note ONLY applies should Calgary defeat Edmonton in CFL action on Sunday (perhaps the only time this year Vancouver fans will cheer for a team out of Calgary).

Bert Watch:

Canuck regulars who have, to date, scored fewer goals than Todd Bertuzzi on the season...

Nolan Baumgartner
Bryan Allen
Trevor Linden
Lee Goren
Steve McCarthy

Nash out...again

2005-11-03T23:03:00.000-08:00

The Canadian Press is reporting a knee injury will sideline Columbus Blue Jacket's forward Rick Nash for Friday night's game against the Canucks. Nash, who had missed 11 games this season, returned to Columbus' lineup on Wednesday in a 5-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Nash was injured Thursday night against the Calgary Flames.

Yet another update...and not a good one

2005-11-01T17:16:00.000-08:00

The Vancouver Canucks released word today that forward Matt Cooke fractured his jaw in practice and will be sidelined indefinitely. Cooke has just 2 goals this season for Vancouver but had looked strong skating on a line with Ryan Kesler and Todd Bertuzzi. The club announced they would not releasing any more word on Tuesday but expect an emergency call-up to replace Cooke's spot in the lineup prior to tomorrow night's game versus the Minnesota Wild as Vancouver is short one player after salary cap constraints forced Vancouver to carry only 1 extra player above the 20-man roster limit.

Who the Canucks decide to call up to replace Cooke may be a telling indication of how long Bryan Allen is out of the lineup as well. Should Vancouver elect to re-call a defenseman, it may signify that Allen will be out longer than expected. In that case, Wade Brookbank would likely make the switch to forward. The good news for Canuck fans however, is that Allen is expected to return sooner rather than later.

An addendum to the Week in Preview

2005-11-01T16:44:00.000-08:00

According to Sportsnet.ca, the Columbus Blue Jackets have activated injured players Rick Nash and Rotislav Klesla for Tuesday night's game against the Edmonton Oilers. Barring further injuries, both players should be in the lineup Friday when the Canucks host the Blue Jackets.

Pavel Bure retires, named GM of Team Russia

2005-11-01T09:43:00.000-08:00

You can't help but feel a bit saddened at today's announcement of Pavel Bure's official retirement as a hockey player. Despite the writing having been on the wall for some time now, it's still disappointing when one of the most exciting players to ever have laced it up officially announces his retirement due to, among other factors, his chronic knee problems.

The NHL's loss is Russia's gain however, as Bure takes over a Russian national team that has been in turmoil recently. While stepping into a managerial position, especially one as high as the GM spot, directly from being an active player is undoubtedly a tall task for anyone especially for a team as chaotic as the Russian national team, there may be no better man than Bure for the job. Bure, who last played in the NHL in March 2003, should be more connected and have a better relationship with the Russian players in the NHL, the best Russian players in the world. While it may take quite a bit of work to smooth things over between the Russian national program and the NHL Russians, many of whom vowed would never play for the Russian team.

We wish Pavel Bure the best of luck on his future endeavours.

Week in Preview: Oct.30 - Nov. 5

2005-10-30T14:39:00.000-08:00

Following a glass half-full/glass half-empty road trip, the Canucks return home and kick off a short two-game homestand on Wednesday before departing for Calgary for yet another away-away series this time against the Calgary Flames.

Despite picking up 3 out of 6 points last week on a 3-game road trip, Vancouver can't help but be disappointed in handing the Avs 4 points allowing them to gain 3 points on the Canucks. Vancouver needs to bounce back against Minnesota, the team that currently sits second in the Northwest Division, and not allow the Wild the gain any ground on Vancouver. The Wild currently sit 4 points behind Vancouver but will play in Calgary on Tuesday night prior to landing in Vancouver. Vancouver should be the rested team however, having a season high 3-days off prior to facing Minnesota, who as mentioned, play the night before in Calgary.

From there, the Canucks host the struggling on Friday Blue Jackets minus star forward Rick Nash who has been sidelined since a brief appearance in game 1 for the Blue Jackets. Vancouver fans will be particularly disappointed with the absense of Gilbert Brule in Columbus' lineup, who is also on the injured list. Brule, who starred with the WHL's Vancouver Giants, was taken 6th overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by Columbus.

The Canucks then take to the road on Saturday for a HNIC matchup against the Calgary Flames. The Flames, who many picked prior to the season to be a cup contender once again, have yet to show the form that took them all the way to the Cup in 2003-04. While Miikka Kiprusoff has rebounded from a poor start, the Flames continue to struggle to find goals. However, Jarome Iginla has begun to show signs of life lately and could very well break out of his goal scoring slump soon.

Who to watch for:

Todd Bertuzzi - Big Bert had his best week of the season last week and arguably his best game on Saturday in a losing effort. Canuck fans hope that Bertuzzi is beginning to return to the form that saw him score 41 goals in 2002-03. Another big week for Big Bert as all eyes will be on him once again.

Alex Auld - Assuming Dan Cloutier has not been cleared to return, expect Auld to start all 3-games this week. The Canucks have recalled Rob McVicar from the AHL's Manitoba Moose but Auld should carry the load this week assuming Dan Cloutier is out of the lineup for an extended period of time.

Predictions:

After enjoying a 6-game win streak, Vancouver is now mired in their worst slump of the season. Yes, it's only 2 games, so no need to push the panic button yet. Expect Vancouver to bounce back this week with another clean sweep of the week's action.

Week in Review: Oct.23 - Oct. 29

2005-10-30T01:52:00.000-08:00

Heading into the game riding a 5-game win streak, which began the last time the Canucks were in Minnesota, the Canucks jumped out to a good start after Jarkko Ruutu knocked home a rebound for his first of the season giving the Canucks a 1-0 lead in the first period. A lead however, that did not survive into the intermission after Alexandre Daigle notched a powerplay late in the 1st to tie it at one apiece. Unfazed, Vancouver reclaimed the lead in the 2nd period after Naslund put home a pass from Todd Bertuzzi on a nearly botched 2-on-1. Henrik Sedin doubled Vancouver's lead on a powerplay goal late in the 2nd and that was all she wrote for this one. In what was a classic road game for the Vancouver Canucks, this game was quite different than the earlier games in Minnesota where the Wild had been able to capitalize on chances that came against the flow of the play. Instead, the Wild seemed contain tonight and did not appear to mount much of a fight.

Thursday night marked the first of a 2-game mini-series against the Colorado Avalanche and while everybody expected a hotly contested matchup on Wednesday, they were treated instead to an Avalanche domination. Vancouver did not mount much of a fight as Colorado scored 5 consecutive goals between the 1st and 2nd periods en route to a 6-2 blowout of the Canucks. If there was one positive note in Wednesday's game, it was that the Canucks set a new team record for fewest shots allowed in a period, zero, when they outshot the Avs 23-0 in the 3rd period. Todd Bertuzzi played one of his strongest games of the year in the loss but despite having numerous scoring opportunities, he was held to just one assist.

Saturday's re-match was much better for Vancouver as they played a strong game but for the second game in a row, they came out on the wrong side of the scoreboard. Things went from bad to worst in this game for Vancouver, however, as starting goaltender Dan Cloutier was injured and taken out of the game in the first period following a collision with defenseman Nolan Baumgartner. Vancouver actually held two separate leads in this game but were unable to find the killer instinct to put the Avs away. After Andrew Brunette opened the scoring, on the same drive that injured goaltender Cloutier, Matt Cooke responded just 35 seconds after Brunette's goal set up by Bertuzzi. Brendan Morrison gave the Canucks the lead in the 2nd period, only to see it vanquished by a Colorado's second consecutive 5-on-3 powerplay. Henrik Sedin scored a nifty goal in the 3rd to give the Canucks a 3-2 lead only to see Alex Tanguay notch a beauty of his own to tie up the affair sending it to overtime. In overtime, an ill-advised move by Steve McCarthy attempting to keep the puck in the offensive zone left Avs forward Ian Laperrier wide open for a breakaway and he made no mistake moving in on Auld, who had replaced Cloutier in the 1st period, and beating him 5-hole.

Standings Update:

Despite a solid road trip picking up 3 of a possible 6 points, this road trip will best be remembered not by the points earned, but the points given up. Allowing the Avs to make up 3 points on Vancouver this week, the Canucks remain atop the Northwest Division with 18 points but now sit only 5 points above Colorado. The Wild are second in the division sitting 4 points behind Vancouver.

Player of the Week:

Alex Auld had a terrific game on Tuesday as Vancouver held the Wild to just 1 goal en route to a 3-1 victory. Auld was excellent again after replacing Dan Cloutier in the 1st period on Saturday in Colorado and despite taking the loss in overtime, he earns this week's player of the week honour. Honourable mention to Todd Bertuzzi who had perhaps his best week of play while picking up 3 assists in 3 games.

Disappointment of the Week:

Hard to just blame one guy with 2 losses back-to-back against the Avs, particularly in Thursday night's game when nearly the entire team looked horrible, but since the lasting image Canuck fans this week will have is Ian Laperriere's uncontested breakaway in overtime on Saturday, this week's disappointment will go to Steve McCarthy, who made a poor choice to pinch in during overtime that led to the breakaway.

Back-to-back woes:

So far the new scheduling quirk of having back-to-back games in the same city has not been kind to Vancouver. The Canucks have dropped 3 out of the 4 games in these back-to-back scenarios. They will need to improve on this drastically as they will face this situation 4 more times before the season ends. On two of the remaining four occasions, the back-to-back will take place at GM Place.

An addendum to the Week in Preview

2005-10-24T14:28:00.000-07:00

A report on TSN, which took its info from the Pioneer Press, is reporting that Marian Gaborik re-aggravated his groin injury following Minnesota's 4-2 loss to Chicago on Sunday. In addition, defenseman Alex Henry, who is serving as Minnesota's captain for the month of October, also left the game with an injury.

Week in Preview: Oct.23 - Oct. 29

2005-10-23T23:13:00.000-07:00

Following a successful home stand that saw the Canucks sweep their 4 games at the Garage (and on a 5-game winning streak overall), the Canucks head back onto the road for 3 in a row this week beginning with Tuesday night in Minnesota.

Vancouver has played Minnesota twice already this season, both times in Minnesota thanks to a scheduling quirk that saw them play back-to-back games in Minnesota. Vancouver dropped the first game 6-0 before rebounding with a 5-3 win. Minnesota is coming off a loss Sunday against the Chicago Blackhawks that snapped their 3-game win streak. The Wild however, have had a strong start to the season and sit second behind the Canucks in the Northwest Division. Marian Gaborik, who missed the earlier games against Vancouver due to injury, had 2 goals for Minnesota against Chicago and will suit this time around against the Canucks.

From Minnesota, the Canucks will take their show to Colorado where the big story will surround Todd Bertuzzi and his first trip to Colorado since the Steve Moore incident. Vancouver played Colorado Saturday night at home and walked away with a 6-4 victory. With Colin Campbell in attendance on Saturday, the fireworks some had anticipated never did occur and the game finished problem-free as far as potential retribution. The games this Thursday and Saturday however, both in Colorado, should be somewhat more emotional for the Avs being in front of their home crowd, the majority of whom will be relentlessly booing Todd Bertuzzi each time he steps out onto the ice. Former Canuck Brad May will be a player to watch as there appears to be no better time for him to win over the fans in Colorado than by getting physical against the Canucks.

Who to watch for:

Todd Bertuzzi - Not much more needs to be said about this. From an emotional standpoint, these 2 games in Colorado will be tough for Bertuzzi as he will undoubtedly be hounded by the local media and he will take more abuse than normal from the fans in Colorado. How he plays against the Avs in Denver will be really telling of whether or not he has indeed put the whole Steve Moore situation behind him once and for all.

Dan Cloutier - This could be a huge week for the psyche of Dan Cloutier. Dan has played quite well over the homestand last week going 3-0 but has given up 8 goals over those 3 games, nearly half of those in the last 3 minutes of the game against Colorado. While he has played strongly, his numbers to this point (in terms of Save Pct and GAA) have not reflected that fact and certain fans have criticized Cloutier for that. With 3 divisional games coming up, this week could be the week Cloutier silences his critics (at least temporarily) if he has a good week but, should he falter, the bashers may be out in full force. Expect Dan to start 2 out of the 3 games this week.

Predictions:

Minnesota has always proven to be a tough test for the Canucks and while many have said how the Canucks should have learned their lesson after a humiliating 6-0 loss earlier in the season against Minnesota, Canuck fans should hope what happened late in the Colorado game this past Saturday doesn't signify a step backwards. Cloutier's record in Minnesota hasn't exactly been stellar either and this may be a good time to give Auld a start since Cloutier played the last 3 games of the homestand. With 2 days off however, take the Canucks in a close one against the Wild on Tuesday.

Colorado will be pumped for this one and as often the case in back-to-back games, the teams usually split them. Thursday night should be particularly emotional for the Avs being the first game and they should be particularly jacked up for this one. Take the Avs on Thursday before Vancouver bounces back on Saturday with a victory.

Week in Review: Oct. 16 - Oct. 22

2005-10-22T23:09:00.000-07:00

Coming off a 2-1-1 road trip, the Vancouver Canucks took on a Stars team that was playing its 3rd game in 4 nights after defeating Vancouver's divisional rivals Calgary and Edmonton during their Western Canada swing. Vancouver jumped out to an early lead thanks to undisciplined penalties by the Dallas Stars. Daniel Sedin and Sami Salo scored back-to-back powerplay goals in a period in which the Canucks were unlucky not to led by more than 2-0. Vancouver's early start would be overcome by the Stars in the 2nd period as back-to-back goals by Jere Lehtinen tied the game up heading to the 3rd. The Canucks got a huge lift as Lee Goren gave Vancouver the lead back tipping in a Jarkko Ruutu shot less than 4 minutes into the third, a lead the Canucks would not relinquish this time. Alex Auld then took over stopping all 7 shots he faced in the 3rd (18 of 20 overall). More undisciplined play led to Vancouver scoring an insurance marker courtesy of Todd Bertuzzi in the 3rd period. The goal, which was initially credited in the building to Ed Jovanovski, was Bertuzzi's 200th NHL career goal. Richard Park scored his 3rd goal of the season late in the 3rd to found out the scoring.

Opposition penalties once again got the Canucks jump started on Tuesday facing the Blackhawks sans Tuomo Ruutu. After a scoreless, and for the most part dull, first period, the Hawks ran into penalty trouble in the 2nd resulting in 2 powerplay goals for Vancouver in the 2nd to go along with 2 even-strength goals in the period. Mattias Ohlund scored twice for Vancouver while Sami Salo had his third of the season. Brendan Morrison broke out of his slump in the 3rd period with a pretty backhander past a sprawling Nikolai Khabibulin, who was the target of the Canuck fans' taunts for most of the game. Daniel Sedin and Markus Naslund also picked up markers for Vancouver. Todd Bertuzzi turned in one of his best performances of the year up to this point recording 3 assists and numerous scoring chances.

Thursday night featured a game that was probably closer than it should've been. Despite dominating the early play, Vancouver found themselves only up by a goal after Ed Jovanovski nodded his first of the season. Tied 2-2 after the 2nd period, Vancouver got the winner early in the 3rd on a disputed goal after Jovanovski drove to the net and appeared to interfere with Phoenix goaltender Curtis Joseph while knocking the net off its moorings as Matt Cooke followed up and shoveled the puck into the net. The Canucks managed to hang on to the 3-2 lead although they were a Shane Doan goalpost away from potentially losing the game in OT or in a shootout.

Saturday was the game many Canuck fans had circled on their calendars as the Colorado Avalanche rolled into town for the first time since the infamous Bertuzzi-Moore incident. Vancouver were able to fend off some early penalties and were able to capitalize on a powerplay of their own. Bryan Allen opened the scoring for Vancouver in the 1st just as a penalty to Brad May had expired. Another Colorado penalty late in the 1st allowed Ed Jovanovski to put in his 2nd of the season. After the teams traded goals in the 2nd period, Vancouver seemed to put this game away in the 3rd thanks to goals from Brendan Morrison and Daniel Sedin's 2nd of the night. If nothing else, the Canucks should pick up from this game the fact that there are 60 minutes in a game and not just 57. Brad May scored on an end-to-end rush with 3 minutes remaining to cut the lead to 5-2 and that's when the Avs appeared to be sparked. Just 17 seconds after May's goal, Patrice Brisebois scored to cut the lead to 5-3. After a phantom hooking call to Sami Salo, with the goaltender pulled, Colorado inched closer again as Alex Tanguay put home a rebound off a shot from Joe Sakic to cut the lead to 5-4. Despite 3 goals in 1:40 however, the Canucks can thank their lucky stars their breakdown occured with under 3 minutes left in the game as they managed to hang on for a 6-4 victory. Trevor Linden's empty net goal sealed the deal.

Player of the week: Brendan Morrison and Ed Jovanovski share this week's honours. After a solid outing against Dallas, Brendan Morrison finally broke out of his scoring slump with a goal against the Blackhawks. Morrison also added a goal against the Avs. Ed Jovanovski has really shone so far with the new NHL rules. This week, the Canucks all-star defenseman picked up 2 goals against Phoenix and the Avs.

Disappointment of the week: Hard to name a player that was too disappointing in a week when the Canucks win all their games (as predicted by your's truly). So rather than choosing someone for the sake of naming a disappointment, we'll forego this ritual for at least this week.

Beware the Comeback: Getting the lead early is important, but so is the way you finish the game. The Canucks almost had to learn this the hard way twice. After jumping out to an early start against Dallas, the Canucks allowed the Stars to tie the game before being able to put them away in the 3rd. Similarly, Saturday night could have proven disastrous for the Canucks. Holding a 5-1 with under 3 minutes to go, the Canucks allowed Colorado to nearly perform a comeback of epic proportions as the Avs scored 3 times in the final 3 minutes of Saturday's game and came close to tying the affair before Trevor Linden's empty net goal with 8 seconds remaining averted a near disaster. 60 minute efforts will be key in the coming week, particularly Tuesday in Minnesota where the Wild have been known to come up with excellent 3rd periods.

Bits and Pieces from Canucks vs. Blackhawks Oct. 18

2005-10-19T09:08:00.000-07:00

Seemed to be a number of no-shows as looking around the arena bowl there were a few seats unoccupied
Canucks announced ticket sales for the upcoming Superskills competition will go on sale this Saturday, Oct 22nd. Lower bowl tickets for $10 and upper bowl for $5, plus applicable taxes. Season ticket holders do have a pre-sale date so anyone who is dying for tickets to this event, which sold out the last time around in 2003, should be nice to season ticket holders. Their pre-sale starts tomorrow, Oct. 20th.
Seems the officials are still working out how to use their new mics. One of the officials, Rob Schick I believe, would explain the penalty at the crowd but would stop right before actually naming the penalty. For example, he'd go as far as saying, "Vancouver, #2, 2 minutes for..." and then just indicating the appropriate signal. Sorta defeats the purpose of having a mic if you're not going to give us the goods at the end of it all.
More technical difficulties as the Province blimp, that cylinder shaped blimp that gives out prizes during the intermissions, malfunctioned in the first intermission and ended up landing on the fans in section 113 or 114. Suffice it to say, the blimp did not make a return appearance.
Mattias Ohlund moved into sole possession of 3rd place in Canucks all-time defensemen scoring. This was revealed on the radio broadcast as well as the PPV broadcast but was not pointed out to the fans at the game. Ohlund did receive the loudest cheer among the 3 stars (Ohlund was named the first star).

An addendum to the Week in Preview

2005-10-15T21:02:00.000-07:00

Curtis Joseph returned to action for the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday night so it looks like he'll be good to go on Thursday against Vancouver. Phoenix will still boast one significant change to their lineup versus opening night as Saturday also marked Brett Hull's retirement from the NHL.

Week in Preview: Oct.16 - Oct. 22

2005-10-15T01:26:00.000-07:00

The Canucks kick off their first extended homestand of the year on Sunday when they face off against the Dallas Stars. Coming off a 4-game road trip in which the Canucks finished 2-1-1, the Canucks get to build on the momentum of a big 5-3 win in Minnesota taking on a Dallas Stars team that has swept the two Alberta teams on their current Western Canada swing.

The Canucks welcome former Canuck Adrian Aucoin and the Chicago Blackhawks to town on Tuesday. The Blackhawks are coming off a big shootout win over the Colorado Avalanche on Friday and faceoff Saturday against the San Jose Sharks before heading to town. Thursday marks the second and final time this season Wayne Gretzky and the Coyotes will come to town. Canucks fans can expect at least one lineup change for the Coyotes compared to their opening night roster with Curtis Joseph on the shelves and Brian Boucher out as well, fans can expect to see David LeNeveu in goal for the Phoenix Coyotes.

While the Canucks should not look past any of their opponents this week, you can forgive their fans if they're already looking for to Saturday's game. The much anticipated bouts pits Todd Bertuzzi against the Colorado Avalanche for the first time since the Steve Moore incident and while the Canucks would like to bill it as just another game, one can expect some bad blood when these two teams hook up. Former Canuck turned Av Brad May also makes his first appearance back at GM Place since signing with the Avs in the off-season. One can only guess what the fan reaction for the former fan favourite who now dons the jersey of the bad guys. Saturday's game marks the first out of three games these teams will hook up in the span of a week.

Who to watch for:

Brendan Morrison - With 2 points in 5 games, Brendan's in a slump. Look for him to snap out of it and get on the scoreboard.

Todd Bertuzzi - All eyes will be on Big Bert especially on Saturday. Bertuzzi picked up his first goal of the season against the Minnesota Wild on Friday albeit an empty netter. Look for Bertuzzi to continue his improvement and to finally bag a goal, this time with a goaltender actually in the net.

Predictions:

First game backs are always tough, but the Dallas Stars will be playing their 3rd game in 4 nights. Canucks should have no problem against the Hawks and the Coyotes as long as they don't overlook them as they seemed to do on Wednesday against the Wild. Saturday's game against the Avs will be a toss up. It could very well depend on which team is pumped up more for the game. The optimist in me says the Canucks can sweep the week. The realist in me thinks 3-1 is more likely. But I'm in a good mood, take the Canucks going 4-0 this week and all to be well in Canuckland for at least a week.

Week in Review: Oct. 9 - Oct. 15

2005-10-14T19:54:00.000-07:00

Vancouver started the week on the right foot on a couple of fronts this week breaking a couple of nasty little tidbits that had haunted the Canucks in their first two games. For the first time this season, a forward other than Markus Naslund scored goals. In fact, 4 different Canucks got on the scoreboard on Monday night. Matt Cooke, Henrik Sedin, Anson Carter and Richard Park all picked up their first goals of the season. Also, for the first time in three games, the Canucks did not give up a goal in the final minute of the third period and managed to hold onto a third period lead to knock off the previously undefeated Detroit Red Wings in Motown 4-2. Canucks backup goaltender Alex Auld got his first start of the season and had a very solid outing picking up his first win of the new season.

The Canucks were not able to build on the momentum from the game in Detroit however going into game 1 of back-to-back games against the Minnesota Wild. Coming off their best performance of the season against the Red Wings, the Canucks followed it up with their worst performance of the season against the Wild. The lone bright spot in a 6-0 crushing by the Minnesota Wild was Todd Bertuzzi's first fight of the season in the 2nd period against Minnesota Wild Alex Henry. Bertuzzi, who had been the target of Canucks fans' ire for his lack of point production as well as physical play in the early season, at least showed he wasn't opposed to the physical play. His lack of point production however, continued to be a worry for the Canucks. Dan Cloutier was in net for all 6 goals against.

Dan Cloutier was back in nets for Vancouver's rematch against the Wild. This time, a much better effort as Vancouver largely dominated the game but only managed to squeak out a 5-3 win over the Wild. Richard Park, playing against his former team, had a huge night for Vancouver scoring the game winning goal as well as assisting on two others while playing with Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison. The biggest goal of note to most Vancouver Canuck fans however, came off the stick of Todd Bertuzzi who picked up his first goal of the season scoring into an empty net with the Wild goaltender pulled for an extra attacker in the dying moments of the game.

Player of the week: Richard Park. Park picked up his first goal of the season, albeit into an empty net, against the Red Wings on Monday and picked up a goal and two assists on Friday in a 5-3 win against the Minnesota Wild. 2 goals and 2 assists for one of the newest Canucks in 3 games. Honourable mention goes to Anson Carter who picked up 2 goals this week including the GWG in Detroit.

Disappointment of the week: Brendan Morrison. Brendan usually falls victim of being overlooked particular when playing with Naslund and Bertuzzi, and the same thing is happening now but for a different reasons. With all eyes being on Bertuzzi, Morrison's poor start has slipped somewhat under the radar. However, the incumbent number one centre for the Canucks has just 2 points in 5 games (both assists) so far this season and none of them came this week.

Bertuzzi watch: Big Bert still hasn't found his form yet, but he is at least showing signs of improvement. Bertuzzi's physical play picked up this week and he manage to notch his first of the season against the Wild on Friday into an empty net.

Back-to-back games will only serve to intensify rivalries, hatred

2005-10-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

Say what you will about the new NHL's skewed schedule, but when it comes to scheduling back-to-back games, especially in the same building, between the same teams, the NHL has really hit the nail on the head when it comes to building up the hate between two already bitter rivals. This has not so much to do with the players on each team however, but instead with the way fans who take in these back-to-back games will react. Tonight, the Vancouver Canucks will get their first regular season taste of back-to-back games in the same city outside of their hometown when they faceoff against the Minnesota Wild tonight and again on Friday and if there's one thing they'll notice, it's that they'll face an even more hostile crowd than before if that's possible.

Back-to-back games in the same building are nothing new, but as far as the regular season goes, they're rarely, if ever, seen. Typically a staple of playoff time and the pre-season, playing back-t0-back games is more for the hometown fan than for the players themselves. The players are no stranger to rivalries ahd they typically have long memories. What's frustrating however, is the time between re-matches. As most players will likely attest, revenge is a dish best served fresh and there's no better time to dish out a fresh serving than the game right after. For fans however, this is especially important. Often times even when there are re-matches that happen a week or two down the line, they typically tend to occur in the opposition's building. While the teams certainly will remember the bad blood, the crowd in opposition's building may not necessarily have as long a memory as the players or were aware of what happened 1-2 weeks ago in another building.

If there's another thing the players will attest to, that is the fact that the electricity of the home crowd plays a huge factor in motivating the team. Fans with short memory will definitely play a big role in these back-to-back situations and surely the home team will feed off the hostility of the home crowd towards their opponent. Just imagine a little taste of the playoffs in the regular season. Some fans might complain about the lack of variety but that shouldn't deter from the quality of the game itself. If anything, these back-to-back games may be the best games fans can attend this season up until the playoffs.

Week in Preview: Oct.9 - Oct. 15

2005-10-09T19:47:00.000-07:00

After picking up a possible 3 out of 4 points in their first 2 games, the Canucks continue their 4-game road trip in Detroit on Monday after losing in a shootout in Edmonton on Saturday night. After facing two teams that are expected to finish below the Canucks in the standings this season, the Canucks perhaps their biggest test to date taking on the not-so-mighty Red Wings after being bitten by the CBA bug which saw them having to part with the likes of Darren McCarty and Derian Hatcher. The Wings are coming off a big win against the Calgary Flames on Sunday night improving their overall record to 3-0-0.

Canucks follow the game in Detroit with a pair of back-to-back games in Minnesota. Minnesota started off the season with a bang knocking off the defending Western Conference Champions Calgary Flames in their opener before falling back down to earth with a loss against the Coyotes in Wayne Gretzky's first win as a head coach. The Wild are coming off an overtime loss on Sunday against the Los Angeles Kings.

Who to watch for:

Alex Auld - Expect the Canucks to start Auld for at least one game during the remaining three games left in this road trip. Speculation has it Auld will start in Detroit.

Todd Bertuzzi - After a disappoining first couple of games, look for Todd Bertuzzi to rebound this week. It is unsure whether or not Bertuzzi's back problems dating back to early in the pre-season are still bothering the Canucks winger. Bertuzzi's going to need to turn it up sooner rather than later before the love fest in Vancouver wears off and the fans start getting on his back for his poor play.

Predictions:

Look for Vancouver to rebound after Saturday disappointing loss with a much better effort against the Red Wings on Monday. Take the Canucks over the Wings before splitting the two games against the Wild.

Week in Review: Oct. 5 - Oct. 8

2005-10-09T12:26:00.000-07:00

The Vancouver Canucks kicked off the new NHL season Wednesday in style with a win against Wayne Gretzky's Phoenix Coyotes on Wednesday night. While not a classic by any means, the Canucks managed to squeak away with a 3-2 victory thanks in large part to 2 goals from Canucks captain Markus Naslund and a solid outing by Canuck goaltender Dan Cloutier who was particularly strong in the first period turning aside 16 shots in a period largely dominated by the Coyotes. Cloutier stopped 30 of 32 shots in the game.

The Canucks then hit the road for Edmonton for their first road game of the new NHL season. With all the hype coming into the game on how the Canucks and Oilers would truly put on a show given their history of games featuring free-flowing, end-to-end action combined with the new NHL rules, the Canucks and Oilers largely disappointed on this front in a game dominated by special teams. In total, 19 powerplays were handed out with 5 of the 6 regulation goals scored with the man advantage. Vancouver was outplayed in most of the game but managed to take the lead in the third period thanks (you guessed it) to a powerplay. However, specialty teams would come back to haunt the Canucks as Mattias Ohlund took a delay of game penalty in the dying moments that allowed Raffi Torres to tie the game in the late stages and eventually win the game in a shootout. On a positive note for the Vancouver Canucks, Markus Naslund continued his strong early play despite suffering an injury in the pre-season and Dan Cloutier once again had a solid outing for Vancouver.

Player of the Week: Markus Naslund. Hard to choose between him and Dan Cloutier, but with 4 goals in 2 games, the edge goes to the Canucks captain.

Disappointment of the Week: Todd Bertuzzi. In actuality, the entire Canucks offense (with the exception of Markus Naslund) has been disappointing in two games so far. But since Bertuzzi will be someone everybody will be keeping their eyes on this season, he's an obvious target for the inaugural disappointment of the week. Bertuzzi picked up 1 assist in 2 games, particularly disappointing since his linemate picked up 4 goals over those 2 games.

Where's the offense?: So far in two games, Markus Naslund has been in on 5 of the 6 goals the Canucks have scored this season. In fact, since their first goal of the season, the Canucks have yet to score a goal without the Canucks captain on the ice. From all we've heard about this team's depth and how great the Sedins and Carter will be, how great Matt Cooke and Richard Park will be, one has to wonder, where exactly have they been over the first two games. Naslund has scored 4 of the Canuck's 6 goals this season. The other two have come from Mattias Ohlund and Sami Salo.

TSN Bashers need to chill

2005-10-07T00:09:00.000-07:00

Two things come to mind following the Canucks 3-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes on opening night:

Canuck fans are incredible passionate...
...sometimes about the wrong issues.

Radio call-in shows and fan message boards have been buzzing about TSN's now infamous delayed arrival to General Motors Place for the start of Wednesday night's Canucks game and, to put it quite bluntly, some fans need to get a grip.

It's completely ridiculous for fans out here to start framing this as an East vs. West bias or accusing TSN for spotlighting the Maple Leafs. That's complete horseshit and any fan with half a brain functional, which there really doesn't seem to have given the reaction of many, would agree. The fact is you missed six minutes. Six lousy minutes. You've waited almost a year-and-a-half and now you're complaining about six more damned minutes? Give your head a shake.

The fact is there was NO player introductions yesterday. There was NO banner raising ceremony. I'm sure most fans will survive not having seen Kurtenbach, Smyl and McLean come out briefly before the National Anthem. Let's get things straight here. We're talking about a game, regardless of who's playing, that's going into overtime and then a history-making shootout (the first in the National Hockey League) vs. the first six minute of a Canucks vs. Coyotes game.

As was first revealed on Canucks Lunch with Blake Price on MOJO Radio, TSN could not have transferred the feed in B.C. only even if they wanted to. As they put it, according to CRTC regulations, TSN being the national broadcaster can only split the feed once to account for blackouts or other regional coverage. They had already done that last night in Alberta. So what else would you have preferred them to do? Cut the Leafs feed and probably piss off the rest of the country who wanted to see how that game ended just to watch the first six, I repeat, SIX minutes of a Canucks vs. Coyotes game? Watch split-screen hockey for the entire time? Tape delay the Canucks game even further just so you can watch the first damn SIX minutes in it's entirety? Give me a break.

The fact is TSN didn't have a choice. Even if they did, they would have ended up doing the right choice. If the situations were reversed, you'd be arguing on the other side. Yeah, it's disappointed because you've waited so long for Canucks hockey to be back and you want to watch the game start, but some things are just out of your (and their) control. If you want to blame someone, blame the Leafs for the late start time. Blame Sundin for getting injured which caused a delay in the game. Blame the linesman for getting injured causing a further delay. Blame Daniel Alfredsson for tying the damn game. Don't blame TSN for something they couldn't control.

When Canuck fans whine, it looks bad on all of us, and makes you (the whiner) look just as bad as them. The Canucks have 81 more regular season games remaining. That's 4860 minutes left barring overtime. You've missed 6 minutes. Get a grip.

Comments? Complaints? Suggestions? E-mail canucksrant@gmail.com

Bits and Pieces from Canucks vs. Coyotes Oct. 5

2005-10-05T23:37:00.000-07:00

No Banner Raising ceremony. The Banner was already up although the Canucks winning the 2003-04 Northwest Division Championship was mentioned a few times throughout the night.
Prior to the game, the Canucks honoured Orland Kurtenbach, Stan Smyl, and Kirk McLean as part of the Canucks 35-year anniversary.
Canuck game night programs, which previously cost $5 to purchase, are now free of charge (or at least for 5,000 lucky fans). Canucks announced that 5,000 programs would be complimentary at all home games.
Bertuzzi looked okay in his first regular season game back. He assisted on Naslund's first goal of the game with a nice one-timer pass to send Naslund in on the breakaway. He doesn't seem to be quite in his groove yet although it's very early. Bertuzzi got a nice ovation throwing his first hit of the year early in the first period. He also drew a couple of penalties by simpling overpowering the opposition defense.
Sedins and Carter had a few good shifts but didn't seem to click the way they did against the Oilers in their final pre-season game.

What to expect in the future:

Canucks Rant won't feature post-game reports (at least they won't be coming from myself). Too many places have that and they can do it much better than we can. If there are any interesting issues that arise from the games, we'll cover those as well as bringing you regular articles and rants on anything Canuck or NHL or local hockey. For a few select home games, there may also be a "Bits and Pieces" rant.

Expect starting next week, to have a Canuck "Week Ahead" feature where we preview the upcoming games of the week.

Comments? Complaints? Suggestions? E-mail canucksrant@gmail.com

This...is what it's about

2005-10-04T10:56:00.000-07:00

It’s about that long hike from the parking spot to the arena, where often unflattering comments are heard about the $20 parking.

It’s about that saxophone player on the side of the street playing a jazzed up version of the Hockey Night in Canada theme song to the passersby on their way into the arena. It’s about that little stand that fills the air with the scent of fresh off the grill hot dogs marking the cheapest food you will find being this close to being inside the arena.

It’s about that crowd of people filing into the building 30 minutes before puck drop, everybody trying to squeeze through so as to get into the building as fast as they can ensuring they won’t miss a second of the action. It’s about those scalpers who try to make one last quick buck enticing those around the arena to purchase tickets.

It’s about the yells of the 50/50 ticket guy and the constant pressuring of the credit card sign-up staff. It’s about the $7 beer and the $5 pretzel.

It’s about finally finding your seat after taking a circle around the arena and watching that seemingly endless scoreboard clock wind down. It’s about the lights going off with about 3 minutes left on the score clock and watching that pump up video that sends chills down your spine.

It’s about the P.A. announcer’s voice blaring: “…and here are tonight’s starting lineups.” It’s about catching that first glimpse of the goalie stepping on to the ice following immediately after him the rest of the hometown heroes.

It’s about the Star-Spangled Banner and Oh Canada.

It’s about seemingly waiting a lifetime for that puck to finally drop.

This…is what it’s about.

Are you ready?

…only 1 day left

A Correction, miked Refs, and a Gift

2005-10-03T12:19:00.000-07:00

In a previous post, I pointed out that goalies would be wearing a form-fitting jersey in time to start the season. According to MOJO AM730 Radio in Vancouver (the clips played on the Arthur Griffiths Show on Monday morning), Colin Campbell has said that these jerseys will NOT be in use for 2005-06 so for this year it looks like we'll be seeing goalies wearing the same jerseys as the rest of the team. However, given the clips from that press conference this morning with Campbell, it seems likely than we'll see these alternate goalie jerseys sooner rather than later.

Also...two pieces of news notes to pass along:

The NHL announced today that on-ice referees will be miked for the purposes of announcing penalties (think football). For single or off-setting penalties, the on-ice referees will announce the penalties to the crowd in English. The PA announcer will continue to announce ALL penalties.

For those fans attending any Wednesday night opener around the NHL, you may have heard of a premium gift being offered to ALL fans in attendance to those games. The NHL revealed today that this gift will be a miniature replica Stanley Cup and will be given to everyone who attends a game on opening night. Individual club teams will still plan their own giveaways on that night. It is unsure whether or not the mini-Cups will be available at games for the other 15 teams' openers who are not scheduled to open at home on October 5th.

...only 2 days left.

If you haven't, give B.C.'s Canucks preview a read as well as A.C.'s Northwest Division Preview.

...8, 9, 10! Ready or Not, Here We Come!

2005-10-02T23:30:00.000-07:00

Pre-season Report: Canucks' Rapport

For the Vancouver Canucks, the pre-season is now all but over, and the regular season is just around the corner. Like my previous blog mentioned, undoubtedly, there were many questions that were asked of the Vancouver Canucks' "dismal" performance to start that pre-season; questions that needed to be answered.

And in a big way they were.

As the Canucks began watering down their roster to the now 24-man roster, we see a pattern emerging. The fewer players on the roster, the better they performed and played. One must recognise that the team's performance in the beginning was inevitably influenced by the influx of new players introduced into the system who haven't had much NHL experience, like Luc Bourdon, who, by all rights, was one of the best out of all the newcomers. And now, as we see more and more experienced players take back the reins of the team, we see that the Canucks are slowly, but surely, gaining back that extra "umph" in their steps that made them Stanley Cup contenders the year before. As a recent Vancouver Sun article mentioned, of all the players who didn't play at all during the lockout, there are 3 groups of players. Those who are sore, those who are really sore, and those who are too sore to play, listing Bertuzzi as one of the casualties for the Canucks. There are several things that Canucks fans can feel good about all the things I've said so far:

Bertuzzi played decently well in his first game back with the Canucks in over a year, and that's when he was rusty. Wait until he comes back having blown off all the dust that's been gathering over the course of a year, and he'll continue to be the force that he was 2 years ago that powered the Canucks all the way to top spot in the Northwest Division, taking it away from the Colorado Avalanches for the first time in what seems to be eons.
The defense has not been sloppy, just inexperienced; and even at that, we still did pretty well. No large deposits of goals into the Vancouver net, they generally played their positions well, and generally kept the Canucks in games when they were down, but not out. And now, with the return of Mattias Ohlund looming just around the corner, it'll just add more depth, experience, and talent onto the now-super-thick blue line.
The only consistent things Cloutier's done in the last few years with the Canucks are getting 30+ wins, and being inconsistent. The only way he can answer Vancouverite critics about his inconsistencies is to carry the Canucks deeper than he has been able to do thus far. In all fairness, he was battling the flu earlier on in the week, and as those of us who've played hockey with the flu, it's not easy; but his performance against the Oilers on Saturday definitely showed us what he can do. If he can do that in most of his games, the Canucks have a good surfboard to ride this wave. Let's also not forget Auld who, although may not be consistent himself, is still a decent goaltender, and has shown to be able to step in and fill Cloutier's skates when need be. However, given what happened against the Flames last year, he's got some proving to do as well.
Just as they were two years ago, Vancouver's special teams stats have been phenomenal in the preason, with both their powerplay and their penalty kill in the top 10, I believe (Powerplay might actually be 3rd). The Canucks have picked up where they left off two years ago, and definitely, doing well on special teams situations are going to help them pick up points all along the way.
Fans needn't worry too much about injuries affecting the team. The management crew of the Vancouver Canucks seems to have done a pretty good job at finding players that can temporarily fill in the shoes of certain regulars in the lineup. Josh Green, Sven Butchenson, Luc Bourdon, and all those who've been cut, save a few, have definitely shown lots of prowess during these few exhibition games. Shall a few regulars fall, the Canucks management team does have enough pillow to fall back on.

The biggest question, however, on most Canucks fans minds is probably this: Are we ready to make a run for the Cup?
B.C.'s answer: With this Canucks roster, I'd say it's as good a time as any for the Canucks to make a decent run for the Cup. For the last few years, the team has proved itself to be a serious contender (although at the same time proving that it can fall flat on its face at crucial moments), and with the addition of speedy wingers like Richard Park (for whom I reaffirm my adoration), and gritty-but-skilled wingers like Anson Carter, this team definitely has enough skill to go against the best. I'm sure no team dares to look down upon the Canucks.

This team's got guns, and they're not afraid to use them.

News and Notes from Canucks Rally

2005-10-02T16:46:00.000-07:00

The following are a number of interesting tidbits stemming from Sunday's Season Ticket Holder event "Canucks Rally":

23 players in attendance including both goaltenders and the previously injured Todd Bertuzzi and Mattias Ohlund (Canucks have 24 players on their roster which are the 23 who were involved at today's practice plus the injured Jason King).
Lee Goren, Tyler Bouck, Fedor Fedorov look to be the three players vying for the last spot on the 4th line (assuming everything else goes according to plan).
Nolan Baumgartner looks to be rounding out the 6th defenseman spot with Wade Brookbank being the 7th defenseman (no Luc Bourdon for those fans who wanted to see him at least start the season in Vancouver).
Attendance filled up a majority of the centre ice sections on both sides (this event was open to STHs only although each season ticket account was allowed to "purchase" up to 4 tickets per account).
It looks like those rumours of goalies wearing a different jersey than the rest of the team aren't rumours anymore. John Shorthouse pointed this out. The new goalie jersey are essentially the team's practice jersey, which are the newer, somewhat tighter-fitting jerseys designed by Reebok. I would guess the game-worn jerseys would feature the names of the goalies on the back. The practice jerseys do not have any name or numbers.
Auld and Cloutier are the two goaltenders the Canucks will start the season with (no surprise here).
More cuts may be on the way although the Canucks are under the 23-man roster right now (with Jason King on the IR). If the Canucks intend to stick with the 21-man roster as many have speculated, it would again be a battle likely between Bouck, Goren and Fedorov.

Canucks start the season Wednesday when they host Wayne Gretzky and the Phoenix Coyotes at General Motors Place. Faceoff at 7:30pm.

The Greatest of All Time

2005-10-01T13:53:00.000-07:00

Greatest Canuck ever if not greatest pure goal scorer ever in the nhl. another reason why. http://www.nhlcanucks.com/video/pavel.mpg

not only did he have the highest GOAL:GAME ratio in the past decade ( better than lemieux, wayne, etc.) but he did it in the era where clutching and grabbing ruled the nhl (ie. early 90's till the day he retired.) and no trevor and markus do not even come close. trevor greatest person/leader but player in terms of "skill/playin ability" not even close. and ill take this back if nazzy can ever come thro clutch in the playoffs and be a gamebreaker and steal us games.

Northwest Division Preview

2005-09-29T21:53:00.000-07:00

1. Vancouver

Biggest off-season newcomer: Anson Carter, Richard Park

Biggest off-season loss: Brent Sopel, Marek Malik

The Skinny: Dave Nonis took after mentor Brian Bruke's philosophy of "keeping the core together" and played it safe without making a big splash in the free agent market. Despite the rumours of Niedermeyer, Forsberg, Khabibulin, etc. joining the Canucks to push them over their playoff hump, their biggest signing was within the organization as they re-signed captain Markus Naslund. As well, re-signing key players like Morrison, Ohlund and Cloutier and having a re-energized Bertuzzi reinstated was key in keeping the West Coast Express and Canucks from being derailed. But the biggest test once again will be the same question asked every year: Is Dan the man?? With the new look NHL in order, Vancouver should have no trouble scoring, especially with their talented group of forwards and deep backend that consists of many offensive defencemen. With the loss of Malik and Sopel, the slack must be picked up by Allen, McCarthy, as well as their other defensive prospects. But with Salo, Ohlund, and Jovo manning the blueline, Canuck fans shouldn't be too worried about the puck being in their net. Although a disappointment throughout his first few years after being drafted 4th overall, D-man Allen is finally coming of age and will very likely breakthrough and may just win the most improved player of the year award for the Canucks (but would be Fedorov if he is finally given a decent chance). With Bertuzzi looking more determined than ever, the Sedin's finally having a steady partner, Allen looking like a monster, and most of their core intact, the Canucks will breakthrough and be the cream of the crop in the toughest division in the NHL by far. But the questions will remain all year because no matter how successful the Canucks are in the regular season, once playoff time hits, goaltending is what usually makes or breaks the team in the playoffs and until then, we can only ask, "is Dan the man?"

2. Colorado

Biggest off-season newcomer: Andrew Brunette

Biggest off-season loss: Peter Forsberg, Adam Foote, Teemu Selanne, Paul Kariya

The Skinny: Many may be shocked that I predict the Avalanche will finish second ahead of the all mighty Alberta teams, but if you look at their #1 line, you may agree. With Hejduk, Tanguay, and Sakic as your #1 line in the new NHL, not many people can argue with this prediction. This line, rivelled by only the WCE, is argueablly the most explosive and offensive line in the NHL. With blue chip prospect Marek Svatos ready to finally breakout, and other youngsters such as Wojtek Wolski, the Avs future offence still looks bright because of their great drafting. Yes they lost Forsberg, but we all know what Forsberg brings to the table, and that is averaging 2-3 points per game, but only for a quarter of the season. The season hasn't even begun and Forsberg has already been placed on the DL. Their greatest loss will be hard nosed vetern Adam Foote, leaving Blake all on his lonesome to handle the defensive duties on the Avalanche. But still, not many teams can say they have a Rob Blake on their Defence as well as breakout star in Liles. The likes of Skrastins, Brisebois, Boughner, and Vaananen will round out the top 6 giving the Avs one of the most sound and vetern defense cores in the league. Goaltending may be suspect but who in the league besides New Jersey can say they have a proven and established goaltender especially with the new crackdown on goaltending equipment. Aebischer proved himself in the last year of play and will continue to do so again as you can better believe the Avs will be in the playoffs.

3. Calgary

Biggest off-season newcomer: Tony Amonte, Daymond Langkow, Roman Hamrlik

Biggest off-season loss: Craig Conroy, Martin Gelinas, Toni Lydman

The Skinny: Someone needs to tell Flames fans to snap out of their dream because the Flames are not favorite to win the cup nor even return to the finals. They may have difficulty even making the playoffs especially with the new format of enhancing divisional play and the Flames having to play teams in the toughest division in the NHL. But because of big time powers such as Colorado and espcially Detroit suffering from the new economic system, the Flames should be able to grab a playoff spot. Given that, it wont be because of their great offence, but instead, because they argueably have the strongest defence core in the league. With Robyn Regehr, Roman Hamrlik, Jordan Leopold, Rhett Warrener, Andrew Ference, Dion Phaneuf making up their top 6, it is scary how good and deep this defence core is from pairings 1-3 as any of those pairing could very easily be the #1 defence pairing on any given night. But with the new "nhl" focusing on offence, the Flames in no way upgraded their crop of forwards as much as they would like to brag and will struggle once again to score goals with the exception of Iginla. Once again, all the focus will be on stopping Iginla and their #1 line. Although they acquired Langkow and Amonte, I don't know how anyone can consider that and upgrade from the past. To make matters worse, the Flames have NO depth at forward after that as a 2nd line of Simon, Reinprecht and most likely Donovan will not scare nor intimate even the worse team in the league. They will heavily rely once again on Iginla to do all the scoring and Kipper to do all the stoppping. Lets just hope what Kipper did in the last season wasn't a fluke or Flames fans may be in for a rude awakening when they find themselves battling till the end just trying to get back into the playoffs. So don't get too ahead of yourselves Flames fans, because if Iginla ever went down, who would score all the goals?

4. Edmonton

Biggest off-season newcomer: Chris Pronger, Michael Peca

Biggest off-season loss: Eric Brewer

The Skinny: With the new economic system in place, the Oilers finally have a chance to add instead of subtract in terms of star players. They showed that when they acquired Pronger in the offseason as well as Peca. The Oilers would have been ranked higher, but the fact that their goaltending is the most suspect of any of the teams in the very strong NW Division place them here. But that all may not matter because in the offensive new nhl, their star youngsters may finally breakout and if players such as Hemsky, Schremp, Stoll, Torres, and Pouliot can step up, their offence will definately make up for their suspect goaltending. With Pronger anchoring the Oilers defence, Conklin may be a little bit more relieved but until he proves himself, the Oilers will be battling for the 7 and 8th spot in the western conference. But if veterns such as Dvorak and Peca can ressurect their careers and break out offensively added with their talented youngsters, the Oilers may very well finish ahead of their Alberta rivals in the standings.

5. Minnesota

Biggest off-season newcomer: Rolston

Biggest off-season loss: Brunette, Park

The Skinny: One cannot help but feel for the Wild. Especially with their successful first few years in the league, the Wild will be struggling for awhile to find themselves and a new identity in the new NHL that is anti-trap. Putting their offensive hopes on the shoulders of Gaborik (especially after he had a disappointing season the last nhl year) may be overwhelming. The wild hope that youngsters such as Bouchard and Koivu can live up to their expectations and shoulder some of the offensive load and hope that Daigle can keep up his ressurected hockey career. But with the NW division being stronger than ever and the wild playing each of the other 4 teams a minimum of 8 times, the Wild can most likely kiss their season goodbye and can look forward to another year in the basement. But hey, if your an optimist, they'll most likely have a high pick in next years draft as well as having a lot of cap room to sign free agents for the next year.

-AC

Introducing...

2005-09-29T21:52:00.000-07:00

As some of you may have noticed, there's a new blogger on our list of contributor and he goes under the initials of AC. AC is a hockey specialist with a keen eye on prospects and he's willing to say things that other people afraid to.

As a long-time follower of the Canucks, there's no better person than AC to analyze the final division remaining on our preview of the National Hockey League teams.

Comments turned off

2005-09-29T21:51:00.000-07:00

Due to spamming, Canucks Rant has now disable ALL comments on individual blogs.

If you would like to contact us, feel free to e-mail us at canucksrant(at)gmail.com. **Replace the (at) with @**

Thanks for your understanding.

Pacific Division Preview

2005-09-28T12:55:00.000-07:00

1. Mighty Ducks of Anaheim

Biggest off-season incomer: Scott Neidermayer, Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf

Biggest off-season loss: Steve Rucchin

The skinny: After a disappointing 03-04 campaign, the Ducks are coming back and they're doing so with a vengeance. New GM Brian Burke scored perhaps the biggest free agent on the market by snatching Scott Neidermayer away from the New Jersey Devils. Even without Neidermayer, Burke should already have started counting his blessings having inherited a team with up-and-coming talents Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf to go along with his already strong core of forwards including the likes of Sergei Fedorov, Petr Sykora and Joffrey Lupul. Bringing back former fan favourite Teemu Selanne could also prove to be a big payoff if Selanne regained his form prior to his lackluster year in Denver. On the backend, Scott Neidermayer helps round out a solid core of defenseman that includes the likes of Sandis Ozolinsh and Vitali Vishnevski. Like many other teams, the Ducks biggest question mark lies in goal. However, should J.S. Giguere return to the form that brought the Ducks to the Stanley Cup finals just three short years ago, this team could very well challenge for top spot in the conference.

2. San Jose Sharks

Biggest off-season incomer: None

Biggest off-season loss: Vincent Damphousse, Mike Rathje, Mike Ricci

The skinny: While the consensus is that the Sharks are going to take a nosedive this season after clearly losing more than they gained in the off-season, given the state of the Pacific Division that saw most teams get worse in the off-season (with the exception of the Ducks), the Sharks could still find themselves in the top half of the division. Aside from the loss of Mike Rathje, this team has really not changed much from the last season they played. Yes, the likes of Damphousse and Riici will be missed, but certainly their offensive contributions to this team can be replaced. It is perhaps their leadership qualities that may be missed, although this is where Patrick Marleau should step in. Evgeni Nabokov is as good as any other goaltender in this division and while the Sharks can't be said to be a better team on paper than the last season they played, they should still remain a competitive force.

3. Dallas Stars

Biggest off-season incomer: Stephane Robidas

Biggest off-season loss: Pierre Turgeon, Scott Young, Valeri Bure, Teppo Numinnen

The skinny: The Dallas Stars find themselves on the verge of re-building though not quite at that point yet. Having veterans such as Turgeon, Young and Numinnen removed in favour of younger players such as Steve Ott, Niko Kapanen and Trevor Daley can attest to this fact. Yet, the team continues to stick with the likes of Guerin, Modano and Zubov perhaps indicating that this re-building step might be put off for some time yet. The Stars are in that unique position where they could follow one of two paths: If the team falters, deal the veterans and begin the rebuilding process now. If the team performs well, stick with the vets and go for a Cup run. The Stars certainly have the talent to challenge for the Cup and they're supported by arguable the best goaltender in the Western Conference in Marty Turco. 3rd in the division seems to be a safe place to slot this team although they could conceivable finish anywhere from 1st to last in their division.

4. Phoenix Coyotes

Biggest off-season incomer: Petr Nedved, Curtis Joseph, Brett Hull

Biggest off-season loss: Daymond Langkow

The skinny: Much like the Stars, the Coyotes find themselves in a situation where they have an interesting mix of veterans and younger players which could see them go either way. Perhaps the biggest factor for this team will be having Wayne Gretzky behind the bench. This may encourage this team to be better on the ice than they are on paper. Their biggest problem remains in net. Boucher is inconsistent. Joseph is trying to prove he's not washed up. Should be an interesting battle. Nobody is expecting this team to do much this year despite having the Great One behind the bench but watch out, this team could turn out to be a darkhorse in the playoff race.

5. LA Kings

Biggest off-season incomer: Jeremy Roenick, Pavol Demitra, Mathieu Garon

Biggest off-season loss: Roman Cechmanek, Ziggy Palffy, Josef Stumpel

The skinny: It's hard to imagine this team anywhere near the top of the division. This team has just endured too much change and, despite being in a relatively weak division, they haven't done anything to upgrade. In fact, the Kings have been struggling just to keep up with all their losses they haven't had the time to see what everyone else has been doing. The biggest question mark the Kings face will be in net after goaltender Roman Cechmanek bolted leaving Mathieu Garon as the number one goaltender despite having less than 40 games of NHL experience on his resume. Garon, who has spent most of his NHL career as Jose Theodore's understudy in Montreal, will lead a team seemingly destined for a re-building. Unlike the Stars and the Coyotes, there's very little doubt which path the Kings will be taking as this season progresses.

Up next: What you've all been waiting for...

WHA plans for pro league dead

2005-09-27T12:30:00.000-07:00

In and out before anyone barely even noticed, the second coming of the World Hockey Association (WHA) has seemingly been put to rest, this time for good.

The league had been hoping to capitalize on the NHL lockout by creating rival league that would eventually link up teams in both North America and Europe in hopes of creating a truly international league.

The league went as far as holding a team draft as well as a rookie draft and had tentatively placed teams in various cities across North America including Dallas, Toronto, Quebec and Vancouver. Lack of ownership support as well as management fiascos at the top levels of the league led to the downfall of the WHA.

The WHA has now turned their focus towards Junior hockey and is in the process of developing 6 teams for play in the Florida division of their "Super Junior League" for 2005-06. The WHA website, found at http://www.worldhockeyassociation.net or http://www.whalive.com, has been changed to reflect this new focus.

Central Division Preview

2005-09-26T16:08:00.000-07:00

1. Detroit Red Wings

Biggest off-season incomer: Chris Osgood

Biggest off-season loss: Curtis Joseph, Darren McCarty, Derian Hatcher, Ray Whitney

The skinny: Some teams are winners and some teams are losers, and while the Red Wings will still do their fair share of winning this season, as far as the off-season goes, they were one of the biggest losers. Gone are long-time wings Darren McCarty and Mathieu Dandenault, along with a number of other key guys. Although it could have been worse for Detroit as at one point both Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg were thought to leaving Detroit behind for the apparently greener pastures in Europe. The Wings are also looking to the past at least in net as 2-time Cup winner, cut loose in St. Louis in favour of Patrick Lalime, returns to Motown although his injury will prevent him from starting the season leaving Manny Legace to shoulder the load. 2005-06 should also mark the farewell tour for Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman and perhaps defenseman Chris Chelios so if there was ever any motivation to make a run for it all, this should be it. However, it seems that age and the new CBA have finally caught up to the Red Wings. Expect them to get progressively worse as the season rolls along. Their perch atop the Central could be in jeopardy.

2. Nashville Predators

Biggest off-season incomer: Paul Kariya

Biggest off-season loss: None

The skinny: Nashville is one of those teams that will be difficult to gauge. On the positive side, in the last NHL season, they made the playoffs for the first time in team history and one would think they'd be looking to build up on that momentum. On the down side however, the Preds were quite quiet in an off-season that seems to favour those teams that managed to make some moves. The Preds did pick up a potential steal in Paul Kariya, a signing that seemed to fly under the radar for most people. Kariya should be a good fit into a team system that preaches hard work and offense. If all goes well, that meaning guys such as Scott Walker, Steve Sullivan, Adam Hall, Martin Erat, , Jordin Tootoo, Marek Zidlicky, and Tomas Vokoun continue on their current developmental path, this team could conceivable take the division. Have a bad year, and this team could find themselves in the basement. It's tough to call for this team, but one would think under the leadership of Barry Trotz, the longest serving head coach of an expansion team, the Preds should continue to build on their successes of the past despite the lack of movement.

2. Columbus Blue Jackets

Biggest off-season incomer: Adam Foote

Biggest off-season loss: None

The skinny: While the Jackets didn't exactly cause tidal waves in the free agent pool this off-season, they certainly did make a big splash, the biggest being bringing in ex-Avalanche defenseman Adam Foote into the fold as well as bringing in Brian Berard giving the Jackets a well-rounded defensive corp along with the likes of Rotislav Klesla and Luke Richardson. The Jackets aren't pushovers up front either, with the likes of Rick Nash and Nikolai Zherdev leading the offensive charge. Vancouver hockey fans will be familiar Gilbert Brule, who is making a strong push to join the team. Alexandre Picard would also be a good name for Jacket fans to remember if he makes the team. The Jackets' biggest questions lie in goal, although if his previous season stats are any indication, Marc Denis is only going to get better and this may just be the year he takes his team to the next level. If not, there's always Pascal Leclaire waiting in the wings. This team, like Nashville, could finish anywhere from first to last in this division although chances are, they're more likely going to be in the upper half than the lower half.

4. Chicago Blackhawks

Biggest off-season incomer: Adrian Aucoin, Nikolai Khabibulin

Biggest off-season loss: Jocelyn Thibault

The skinny: As far as free agent goaltenders are concerned, the Blackhawks made the biggest splash this off-season by snatching Nikolai Khabibulin away from the defending Stanley Cup Champs Tampa Bay Lightning but even he may not be able to lead the Blackhawks to the promise land, at least not this year. This team is very much in the building stage. While they've got a lot of promising pieces that could very well turn this team into a contender for many years to come, it is not likely this team can do much this year. Newcomers Adrian Aucoin, Martin Lapointe, and Matthew Barnaby along with long-time Hawk Eric Daze will be asked to lead a relatively young team featuring the likes of Tyler Arnason, Tuomo Ruutu, Cam Barker, and Brent Seabrook. If all their youngsters develop, the Hawks will be a team to reckoned with in the future though for this year, growing pains are likely to be the story.

5. St. Louis Blues

Biggest off-season incomer: Eric Brewer, Scott Young, Patrick Lalime

Biggest off-season loss: Chris Pronger, Pavol Demitra, Al Macinnis

The skinny: Oh how the mighty have fallen. Given the losses this team has suffered along with the internal team turmoil surrouding the state of the franchise in St. Louis as well as having the NHL's second highest paid player, Keith Tkachuk, showing up to camp doing his best impersonation of the Pillsbury Dough Boy, it's tough to imagine this team doing anything in the playoffs let alone contending for a playoff spot at all. The Blues have done little to replace the offense lost from the departed Pavol Demitra and while picking up Eric Brewer was a nice move, losing Chris Pronger in a trade to Edmonton and Al Macinnis to retirement are major losses. Patrick Lalime is an upgrade over Chris Osgood, but even he can't be expected to single-handedly lead this team to the post-season. It looks like that long streak of consecutive playoff appearances could finally come to an end.

Through Thick and Thin

2005-09-25T11:16:00.000-07:00

First off, all the power to Bertuzzi for finally being able to come back. And now, the blog:

When looking at teams who're 3-0-0 like the San Jose Sharks and the Philadelphia Flyers, many Vancouver Canucks fans probably seem very disconcerted with our seemingly dismal record of 0-1-2, especially in Edmonton when it was our game to lose leading 3-1; well, we lost that too.

Having said that though, a lot of people seem to forget that the Canucks playing here doesn't consist of everybody from their usual lineup. If we look at last night's game, Mattias Ohlund was a healthy scratch, along with Trevor Linden, Sami Salo, and Richard Park, who was, I believe, the number one star in the game against San Jose. The Canucks may be 0-1-2, but it's certainly not a result of a lack of effort. I do agree, however, that the big line of Bertuzzi, Morrison, and Naslund, isn't really working up to their potential yet; but then again, neither is the whole team. To be fair, the passes have been off in the past few games, especially in last night's game against the Ducks, when the whole team just seemed a little off in all the wrong places. Fedor Federov has been pinpointed by many to have made the more unacceptable mistakes given his prior experiences in the NHL, combined with mistakes made by the rest of the team all those other offsides passes, these are pretty good indicators not of the team's status as a whole, but that the Canucks regulars need to get back in form, and that the newcomers have a LONG way to go before they can crack even the fourth line of the regular lineup, although some are better suited than others, like Lee Goren who's been doing very well of late.

On the other side of the coin, I absolutely must talk about Corey Perry. Those of you who watched highlights of the game surely must have seen that absolutely phenomenal goal by the former London Knight who scored over 130 points in just 60-odd games. Now we know why. The skills that he has is unimaginable - a spinerama right in front of the net fooling both the defenseman and the netminder. I think he's gonna make it big in the NHL, no questions asked.

And now back on topic, there isn't much to be said of the preseason yet. We all know that the Canucks management are still trying to figure out whom to cut from the lineup and such, so these few games have been merely experiments for the management to see who's fit to play and who isn't. We mustn't let the results of these preseason games completely affect the way we feel about the Canucks, and think that these games are a part of an accurate gauge of the Cancucks by any means. Admittingly, some of the regulars definitely do need to come forward and do better than they've been doing so far, but given their effort, I say the Canucks do deserve more than an 0-1-2 record.

As a Canucks faithful, I believe that this team will make it through thick and thin, and hopefully be able to go deeper into the playoffs this year.

Good luck.

P.S. OMG I'M SO HAPPY RICHARD PARK IS PLAYING HERE.

P.P.S. There is no p.p.s.

P.P.P.S. ....*whistles and twiddles thumbs*...

Northeast Division Preview

2005-09-22T17:08:00.000-07:00

1. Ottawa Senators

Biggest off-season incomer: Dominik Hasek, Dany Heatley

Biggest off-season loss: Patrick Lalime, Marian Hossa

The skinny: Perennially a contender, always ending up a pretender, that has been the song and dance for the Ottawa Senators in the previous seasons and rightly or wrongly, most of the blame for Ottawa's poor post-season showings have been squarely placed on the now departed Patrick Lalime. So Ottawa goes out and brings in Hasek, a goaltender who in the last 3 seasons, has been through a retirement, a failed comeback due to injury, and a lockout, in that order. And this is the guy that's going to lead the Sens to the promise land? Should Hasek falter however, he'll be backed up by one of the best defensive cores in the league. Look for Andrej Meszjaros to have an impact if he makes the team. Outside of the questions in goal, the team also faces questions involving their forward situation. Gone are Radek Bonk and Peter Bondra, meaning the likes of Havlat and Spezza will need to really step it up. Don't think the swap of Hossa for Heatley is a no-brainer for the Sens either. Hossa has been Ottawa's most consistent scorer despite accusations that he tends to disappear in the playoffs and now, Ottawa is replacing him with a player who is clearly still suffering mental issues from the tragic death of his former Atlanta Thrasher teammate Dan Snyder and has yet to really show he can bounce back to his former self. Regardless, Ottawa should be in line for a division title.

2. Boston Bruins

Biggest off-season incomer: Brian Leetch

Biggest off-season loss: None

The skinny: From a team that had many pre-lockout questions surround their ability to even ice a team, the Boston Bruins have quickly responded with one of the tougher rosters in the East. Former Calder trophy winner Andrew Raycroft should continue his development while leading the Bruins this year and he'll have to shoulder much of the load as the Bruins are currently without an experienced NHL backup. On defense, the aging Brian Leetch, his name synonomous with New York Rangers hockey, will don his third jersey in less than half an actual season. His presense will provided much leadership for the Bruins back end. Up front, the additions of Alex Zhamnov and Brad Isbister will hopefully help the Bruins take some of the scoring load off Thornton, Samsonov and Murray. This team should challenge the Senators for the division title and, barring another first round upset, could make some noise come playoff time.

3. Montreal Canadiens

Biggest off-season incomer: Radek Bonk

Biggest off-season loss: Patrice Brisebois

The skinny: Building on their success from 2 years ago, the Montreal Canadiens are hoping to make another run towards the playoffs and like all teams, this push will start in goal. Jose Theodore, despite the personal problems and the earlier rumours of Florida, should once again lead his team into the playoffs. Prior to the lockout, the Canadiens addressed their issues at depth at the centre ice position by acquiring Radek Bonk from the Ottawa Senators. Their ability to hang on to Alexei Kovalev as well will be a major boost for this team. But what this team has been all about has been the development of their young players and this will once again be key this year. The Habs need players such as Mike Komisarek, Mike Ribeiro, Michael Ryder and Marcel Hossa to take them to the next level. Like all teams in the new NHL, the days of building around multiple free agents are over and the era of the development of internal assets has begun. Montreal has had a good head start in this category and this should bode well for them this season.

4. Toronto Maple Leafs

Biggest off-season incomer: Eric Lindros, Jeff O'Neill, Jason Allison

Biggest off-season loss: Joe Nieuwendyk, Gary Roberts

The skinny: The new NHL is all about learning to build from within. Obviously, the Leafs must have missed that memo. The Leafs continue to try and build from outside replacing departed aging veterans Gary Roberts and Joe Nieuwendyk with slightly younger, but seemingly rapidly deteriorating veterans Jason Allison and Eric Lindros. The Leafs most solid acquisition was Jeff O'Neill, and even he is coming off a subpar season by his standards in 2003-04. Rather than focusing their efforts on building their young stars such as Carlo Coliacovo and Matt Stajan, the Leafs are stubborn to stick with their old methods. The story is simple and, for the most part, it's the same. The Leafs have placed all their eggs in the respective baskets of newcomers Lindros and Allison together with the aging Ed Belfour and Mats Sundin and their success will ultimately lie in these four individuals. This team should challenge for a playoff spot, but little else beyond that.

5. Buffalo Sabres

Biggest off-season incomer: Teppo Numinnen

Biggest off-season loss: Miroslav Satan, Alexei Zhitnik

The skinny: Unlike the Maple Leafs, this season for the Buffalo Sabres will mean trying to improve from within. Unfortunately for the Sabres, they're going to have to go without long-time household name Sabres Miro Satan and Alexei Zhitnik. The likes of Maxim Afinogenov, Daniel Briere and Chris Drury will be asked to shoulder even more of the offensive load with the now departed Satan. Teppo Numinnen and Tony Lydman should help fill the void left by Alexei Zhitnik. With young, rising talent such as the aforementioned Afinogenov, Briere and Drury along with the likes of Tim Connolly and Taylor Pyatt, goaltenders Biron, Miller and Noronen, not to mentioned prospects such as Drew Stafford and Marek Zagrapan on their way, this team is well positioned to becoming a competitive club in a few years. This year however, don't expect them to make much noise.

Coming up next: THE WEST

Our Apologies

2005-09-21T18:09:00.000-07:00

Due to an error in the Blogger and the Blogspot software, some of you may have been unable to access the Canucks Rant Blog within the last 24 hours. As a result, we were not able to post and updates as well. The Northeast Division Preview will be further delayed as a result but rest assured, it will come out shortly.

Keep checking back for more updates! Thanks for your continued readership!

D.F.

An INCREDIBLE Deal for Hockey Fans

2005-09-20T23:21:00.000-07:00

I feel I would be committing a terrible crime to the wonderful hockey fans of Vancouver and for the readers of this blog if I did not point out this deal going on right now.

If you browse onto the Vancouver Giants website, hidden in the corner is a bottom right corner is a link to a Save-on-Foods promotion where, until October 31st or when supplies run out, you can purchase season tickets to the Vancouver Giants at a discounted price of $499 (with 35,000 Save-on-more points redeemed) or $699 (with 5000 Save-on-more points). Regular retail for Giants season tickets are upwards of $750 plus tax.

But...that's not all. Included in this deal are a FREE, I repeat, a FREE 7-game package to this year's world junior hockey championships taking place in Vancouver. The games in this 7-game package include Canada vs. Finland and Canada vs. the United States as well as 2 playoff games. Keep in mind that the main packages for this event are SOLD OUT so, if you don't have tickets already, the only chance you have of watching the best junior hockey players in the world duke it out will be going through the scalper route.

The Canucks are back this year, but don't forget about the guys who play at that arena the Canucks used to call home. The Giants are on fire this season after going 8-0 in the pre-season and that has been without their starting goaltender Dustin Slade, their top-2 defenseman from last year Mark Fistric and Andrej Meszjaros and their leading scorer Gilbert Brule, the latter two expected to heavily challenge their respective NHL clubs for a job this season.

Do yourself a favour and take advantage of this incredible offer. I am not affiliated in any way with the Vancouver Giants or Save-on-Foods (I highly doubt either of these entities know I even exist) so I don't get anything out of this. But simply, this is a deal you can't not afford. The Canucks are a hot item this year, but the Giants will be as well. Take advantage of this deal while you can.

For more information, visit the Vancouver Giants website or the Save-on-Foods promotion site.

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Comments? Questions? Rants? Drop us a line. canucksrant@gmail.com

Justifications and some other notes

2005-09-20T14:17:00.000-07:00

To answer some questions of why we would list, in our previews, "None" under off-season losses, this isn't to reflect the fact that these teams haven't lost any players but in the long run, they have not lost any players that will likely make an impact on their team. Florida losing the likes of Donald Audette and Lyle Odelein, for instance, might be seen as key losses but given the direction the team is building towards, they aren't necessary big losses.

Sportsnet.ca has posted up a short preview of all 30-teams and lists in them all the incomers and losses of each team following the long off-season. You can access this article by clicking here.

Okay so I know I promised this blog wouldn't be your source for sports news, although it might interest some of you to know Matt Cooke has apparently re-upped with the Canucks. The numbers are 3-years/$4.6 million.

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Do you like what you read here? Do you absolutely hate it? Are we totally off our rocker with our team previews so far? Do you think you can do a better job than us (you probably could!)and want to write for us to prove it? E-mail us at canucksrant@gmail.com

Readership for this blog has hit an all-time high in recent days and this is likely due to everyone being excited about hockey season starting. We thank all our visitors for dropping by. We're interested in hearing from you guys, especially from those of you who are dropping by from outside of Canada and the United States. We've had at least one visit from someone in Hong Kong today (tomorrow?) and we'd love to know how you guys found our site. Please drop us a line. We want to hear from you. canucksrant@gmail.com

As promised, the Northeast Division preview should be up today or tomorrow so check back frequently.

Bygones be bygones

2005-09-19T14:05:00.000-07:00

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, a crowd of over 14,000 packed into General Motors Place for the first "official" Canucks hockey action since losing to Calgary in game 7 of the Western Conference quarterfinals in 2003-04 and as the lively crowd at General Motors Place will tell you, hockey is back in Vancouver and the fans clearly harbour no ill will towards the players who, along with the billionaire owners for the 30 NHL club teams, engineered the saddest period in the NHL's history.

Yet on Sunday, of the 14,000+ who attended the Canucks, there were no visible signs that these fans, at least a handful of whom likely spent the lost season calling into sports talk radio shows and complained about the greedy players, had any leftover feelings of bitterness or resentment to display. The talk at the rink was not about the CBA, about the lockout, or about months and months of failed negotiations. Instead, heard around the rink were talk about the new rules, the shootouts, and the "who's that player, I've never seen him before" chatter.

The talk around the league, at least what has been reported by the mainstream media, is consistent with this as well. There has yet to be a mass boycott of the games or visible displeasure at the players upon stepping out on the ice so far in the pre-season. There are no fans bringing signs reading, "Screw you players!"but instead, "Welcome back!" If it is true that absence makes the heart grow fonder, then it seems to be the case now that it seems people care for hockey now more than ever. In hockey-crazed markets such as this one, one has to wonder if that is even possible.

Hockey isn't just back. It's rejuvanated. Just look around, you can feel it.

Southeast Division Preview

2005-09-17T15:44:00.000-07:00

1. Tampa Bay Lightning

Biggest off-season incomer: Sean Burke

Biggest off-season loss: Nikolai Khabibulin

The skinny: The defending Stanley Cup champions will be doing just that come playoff time, defending their title. How far they get in this defense however, will rely on their new starting goaltender. We know what we can expect from this team, and that is they will be shooting the lights out on their attempted march back to the top of the hockey world. Minus a Cory Stillman here, adding a Vaclav Prospal there. The biggest question is whether Burke, at 38 years of age, can lead the Lightning back to the promise land.

2. Florida Panthers

Biggest off-season incomer: Joe Nieuwendyk/Gary Roberts

Biggest off-season loss: None

The skinny: This may be the year for the Florida Panthers to return to the hunt. The additions of veterans Joe Nieuwendyk, Gary Roberts, and Martin Gelinas should help this team's youngsters, like Steven Weiss, Nathan Horton and Anthony Stewart, mature and challenge for a playoff spot. This may also be Roberto Luongo's year to take this team to the next level. Jokinen and Huselius, along with new comers Chris Gratton and Jozef Stumpel will really need to step up for this team to have a shot but if everything falls into place, Florida could be a darkhorse to watch out for.

3. Atlanta Thrashers

Biggest off-season incomer: Marian Hossa

Biggest off-season loss: Dany Heatley

The skinny: In the perfect scenario, this team would have been pencilled in as ready to make the next big step. But losing Dany Heatley is going to shake this team up quite a bit despite the Thrashers bringing an excellent player back in Marian Hossa. Heatley and Kovalchuk were believed to be on their way to being the best duo in all of hockey and whether Hossa and Kovalchuk can re-create the magic that Heatley and Kovalchuk had remains to be seen. Whether Atlanta can get Kovalchuk under contract also is an issue and might be the key to whether or not Atlanta finally reaches the post-season. The additions of Holik, de Vries and Mellanby should also help this team. Much like Tampa, much of this team's success will also depend on their goaltending. Kari Lehtonen, Mike Dunham, Jani Hurme, and Pasi Nurminen all have solid cases showing they should be one of the two goaltenders starting in Atlanta. This team should challenge for a playoff spot, but too many off-season moves may mean Atlanta gets off to a slow start trying to come together as a team.

4. Carolina Hurricanes

Biggest off-season incomer: Ray Whitney/Cory Stillman

Biggest off-season loss: Jeff O'Neill

The skinny: One of the more quieter teams during the long off-season, Carolina's biggest move was what they lost. Long having been the only name hockey fans outside of Carolina recognize as being able to score for the Hurricanes, Jeff O'Neill was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs shortly after the tragic passing of Jeff's brother. Carolina needs big years from the likes of Cole, newcomers Ray Whitney and Cory Stillman, as well as former first rounder Andrew Ladd to even have a shot of making the playoffs. Carolina also has major issues in net as Martin Gerber is the only NHL proven goaltender in their system, and his previous role has only been backup. Don't be surprised if Carolina deals for another goaltender before the regular season starts.

5. Washington Capitals

Biggest off-season incomer: Alexander Ovechkin

Biggest off-season loss: None

The skinny: Mr. Ovechkin goes to Washington, but even he won't be able to pull this team out of the bottom of the NHL's basement. While the Flyers are consensus pick to win the Cup by Las Vegas oddsmakers, the Caps are the consensus pick to finish dead last. The 35-year old goaltender Olaf Kolzig needs a huge season for this team to finish out of the basement. Even he might not find himself in Washington by season's end. Expect Olie the Goalie to be on his way out, likely to a contender late in the season. This is little more but a re-building year for the Caps. Expect to see Maxime Ouellet or Ratislav Stana in a starter's role for this team by season's end.

Coming up next: Northeast Division

Atlantic Division Preview

2005-09-16T11:38:00.000-07:00

With the NHL set to kick off its pre-season schedule tonight on three fronts, marking the first "official" National Hockey League on-ice action since the World Cup of Hockey, it seems there is no better time now than to begin our look at each individual team starting with the Eastern Conference's Atlantic division. Teams are listed by rank in which we predict they will finish. (I.e. We believe the Flyers will finish first in their division.)

1. Philadelphia Flyers

Biggest off-season incomer: Peter Forsberg

Biggest off-season loss: Jeremy Roenick

The skinny: Yeah, J.R. put up the points and he was entertaining as hell, but Forsberg is Forsberg. Even the biggest J.R. fans in Philly aren't going to mind this trade-off. While we listed Forsberg as being the biggest off-season incomer simply because he made the biggest splash, the guys that might have the most impact on this team are Jeff Carter and Mike Richards. They lit it up for the AHL Phantoms after suiting up with them going into the playoff run last season and they're going to be a big hit with the Flyers and their fans this coming season. Perennial Cup contenders but always seeming to fall short, this might just be the year of the Flyers.

2. Pittsburgh Penguins

Biggest off-season incomer: Andre Roy...no really...who did you think? Sid the kid, DUH!

Biggest off-season loss: None

The skinny: If ever there was a dictionary definition of what a 180 degree turn for a franchise in professional sports was, this has to be it. From a team with financial problems and rumours of relocation to Winnipeg or Portland, hockey is now rejuvanized back in Steeltown and it really is all thanks to Sidney Crosby. Whether he lives up to the hype is another thing, but Sidney has already done for Pittsburgh more than anyone could have imagined and he hasn't even played a game yet. The additions of Gonchar, Leclair, Palffy and Thibault should make this team a playoff contender. A healthy Mario Lemieux might make them more than that. The addition of Thibault should allow M.A. Fleury to remain with the big club but not having to shoulder the load for the team. However, even if Fleury did have to carry the team on his back, it certainly would be a much easier task than it would have been in years past.

3. New Jersey Devils

Biggest off-season incomer: Alexander Mogilny

Biggest off-season loss: Scott Neidermayer

The skinny: Oh how the mighty have fallen. Well, let's not be too dramatic, but this team has certainly taken a hit from the last time they were on the ice. While the biggest loss has to be reigning Norris trophy winner Scott Neidermayer, losing team captain Scott Stevens is no laughable matter. Nothing against the likes of Dan McGillis and Vladamir Malakhov, but don't think for a second they're going to just step right in and replace what Neidermayer and Stevens bought to this team. The formerly financially shrewd Lou Lamoriello should plead temporary insanity for dishing out the money he did for Alexander Mogilny, a player with a history of back problems and is certainly not the same player he was when he first joined the Devils. However, in hindsight, this might turn out to be a good and necessary move given the fact it looks like the Devils will be without Patrik Elias at least to start the NHL 05-06 season. The good news? They still have Martin Brodeur in net...but without the two Scotts...well now is the time to find out just how good Marty is. Should challenge Pittsburgh for second in the division. Playoff team nonetheless.

4. New York Islanders

Biggest off-season incomer: Mike York

Biggest off-season loss: Adrian Aucoin

The skinny: This may be the new NHL, but Mad Mike will forever be Mad Mike. What were those rumours again about a 15-year deal for G Rick Dipietro? But alas, even Mad Mike has to abide by the rules of the new NHL CBA and losing the likes of Adrian Aucoin and Mike Peca are certainly going to hurt this team. Satan and York should help with this team's offense, and bringing in Sopel and Zhitnik will also beef up the offense from the backend. This team's defense, both at the back and forward positions, are a bit suspect. However, if this is truly the new NHL with an emphasis on offense, then maybe adopting a run-and-gun style will be good for this team. With that said however, leaving a largely unproven Rick Dipietro and a much smaller looking Garth Snow at the mercy of other team's shooters can't exactly have Islander fans too confident.

5. New York Rangers

Biggest off-season incomer: Marek Malik

Biggest off-season loss: Mark Messier

The skinny: Some things will never change...or if they do, they won't change for a very long time. Such is the case with the New York Rangers who you can fully expect to find at the bottom of the NHL standings once again this season. When your team's official website's roster page lists only 16 players, none of which stand out as anything particularly special with the exception of Jaromir Jagr, you know you're in trouble. Slats, the genius from Edmonton who went cuckoo once he got to the Big Apple, is truly faced with a rebuilding process now, something he should have started the minute he got to New York. While this team still has its share of veterans on board, make no mistake, by season's end you can expect most of these guys to have been dealt out to playoff contenders leaving the Rangers with a large assortment of prospects playing out the season. While Mark Messier's retirement should be classified as the Ranger's biggest loss, it may in fact be a blessing in disguise for the Blueshirts who at least now know what the plan is, and it isn't to go out and sign more free agents. Barring a miracle, this team is going to battle for Eastern Conference basement supremacy. Sorry Ranger fans, but at least in the new NHL, the Rangers will be losing for a much different reason than in the old NHL.

Coming up next: Southeast Division

Twice as Nice

2005-09-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

Did you know...

A selection of the articles that you enjoy reading here at Canucks Rant can now be found on the Hockey Leaks Hockey Opinions Board?

To go there, simply follow the link to Hockey Leaks on our side bar and click on Hockey Opinions and follow the links to their board. All articles from us are posted under the name "canucksrant".

Hockey Leaks is one of the new emerging premier hockey rumour blogs that are in the process of developing into a fully loaded website. Their content includes not only the latest news and rumours from around the National Hockey League, but also Q&A's with various hockey insiders including The Shadow (of Eklund fame) andAdam Proteau (The Hockey News). Hockey fans, do yourselves a favour and go check out this blog.

http://hockey-leaks.blogspot.com

It wasn't all Mess-ed up (yeah really, who are we kidding?)

2005-09-12T22:05:00.000-07:00

Say what you will about Mark Messier's time in Vancouver, but on the day when the 2-time Hart trophy winner and 6-time Stanley Cup Champion retired from the National Hockey League, it seems the last thing that is appropriate on this day is to look back and bash Messier based on his performance in Vancouver. Yet, with that said, here are our picks for the top 5 "Mess-es" in Vancouver. You can take that whichever way you want...:

5. July 30, 1997, the day Messier signed with Vancouver. Yes, Mark came with the promise of finally delivering a Stanley Cup to Vancouver, and we all know how that story turned out. But let's not pin too much of the blame on this guy. After all, the signs had been pointing in the direction that the Canucks were needing to rebuild already. The team had missed the playoffs the previous season, and were a sub .500 team the year despite making the playoffs and getting knocked out in the first round by Colorado. Bringing in Messier was more an issue of poor timing, rather than picking up a poor player (although some could argue it was both). But hey, for that whole off-season at least it got some people to thinking.

4. The 1999 All-Star Game in Vancouver. Aside from Pavel Bure, Mark Messier was the only Canuck who was selected to participate in the (formerly) annual hockey showcase which was in Vancouver.

3. Points producer. The one thing you couldn't knock Messier for was despite his age and the struggles of the team, Mess still put up more points than we thought he would. Messier's 60 points in 82 games in his first season in Vancouver was good enough to earn him second on team scoring behind only Pavel Bure (shows how good that team was). This despite it having been Messier's worst campaign in the NHL up until that point. His 22 goals that year also put him second to only Pavel Bure, who put up 51 goals in his final campaign as a Vancouver Canuck. Despite injuries in his final 2 years in Vancouver, Messier still managed 48 points in 59 games in 98-99 and 54 points in 66 games in 99-00. One thing was certain, during the time he was in Vancouver, the Canucks were a better team with Messier in the lineup than without...but then again they did make the playoffs the year after Messier left too...

2. 600 goals. On October 23, 1998, Mark Messier became only the 10th player in NHL history to score 600 goals and he did it in a Canucks uniform. The milestone goal came in a 5-0 Canucks win over the Florida Panthers. Messier, set up by Alexander Mogilny, beat ex-Canuck Kirk McLean for the milestone goal. Can't bash this accomplishment, not too many players have done it and unless the new NHL keeps its promise to deliver the good ol' days of scoring back, not many players will do this in the future.

1. The emergence of Markus Naslund. The legend goes like this: On Messier's last game as a Canuck, he skates over to centre ice and gives his protege Markus Naslund a big hug. Later, he presents his gameworn jersey to the man who would become Messier's successor as captain of the Canucks. Inspired, Naslund sets out to prove himself after having been under the tutelage of one of the greatest leaders in NHL history and leads the Canucks to a Stanley Cup (well I guess we're still waiting for that last part). But you get the idea, no matter who you talk to, there's no doubt Messier had a tremendous influence on the development of Markus Naslund from trade bait with Anaheim to one of the premier players in the game today (we'll conveniently ignore the fact Messier tried playing GM at the same time and probably may have been the reason Naslund was on block in the first place). But hey, the last guy you'll hear knocking Mark Messier will be the current Captain Canuck, justified or not.

Congrats on the career, Mess. Fans in Vancouver will probably never look back on your career here fondly (in fact many fans would probably like to forget the so-called 'dark years'), but at least when you were around, we didn't complain about the goalies as much.

Canucks fans should say NO to NBA

2005-09-09T17:04:00.000-07:00

In Friday's edition of the Vancouver Province, columnist Tony Gallagher shed some light on a possible return of the National Basketball Association to Vancouver since the Grizzlies hit the road for Memphis in 2001, this time at the expense of the Hornets, who may not have the facility to play the 2005-06 NBA season in the hurricane-ravaged city of New Orleans. In a move apparently being spearheaded by Canuck co-owners John McCaw and Francesco Aquilini, one has to wonder however, should such a move prove successful, what impact it would have on the Canucks fanbase that has only in recent years began to truly embrace the Canucks once again.

Despite the the high times currently in Vancouver involving the team's season ticket sales and long shutout streak dating back to the 2002-03 season, whether Canuck fans would care to admit it or not, the bandwagon has not always been full. Not surprisingly, the ex-Vancouver Grizzlies' final season in Vancouver coincided with the Canucks' return to the playoffs. Prior to that, the team had suffered through five consecutive years of sub .500 records and dwindling fan interest that once resulted in former Canucks GM Brian Burke's infamous "it takes 25 cents to move this team" speech. While the fan marketplace for the NHL and the NBA cannot be said to be the same, there is no doubt that the Canucks benefitted from the exit of the Grizzlies from the Vancouver sports scene.

The Canucks already face tough competition from at least two competitors who have, thanks in part to the lockout, sparked major interest from the Vancouver market. The CFL's B.C. Lions currently enjoy crowds upwards of 30,000 a game and, with a 10-0 record and a Grey Cup to be played in Vancouver, will keep their audience interest levels extremely high until the Grey Cup is awarded in November. The WHL's Vancouver Giants, who did their part in satisfying the hungers of Vancouver hockey fans during the NHL lockout, may experience some drop off thanks to the NHL's return but thanks to a guaranteed trip to the Memorial Cup in 2007, this may be the time for fans to hop onto their bandwagon. Just remember the Canucks have yet to go head-to-head with these organizations at the time of their current high points.

As for a potential Hornets move to Vancouver, while such a move would at this point be deemed as temporary, the fact is that it may take years before any professional sport can comfortably re-enter the New Orleans market unless the league itself is willing to foot the bill. Unless the NBA intends to make Vancouver a one-season stop over before awarding the team to another city, its most likely the case a move to Vancouver would be a "permanent" one assuming ownership groups and other issues are resolved. While there has been a recent spark of interest in the Canucks once again thanks to the return of the NHL, history will tell us that no empire can stand forever and for the Canucks, no high times can last forever. As the NBA's departure sparked a resurgence for interest in the Canucks, one has to wonder if a return by the NBA may start a downward spiral in terms of fan interest.

The Canucks have only just reached the point where fans have begun to embrace the team as they should. A new force in the marketplace can only serve to disrupt what the Canucks have built in recent years. There simply are not enough numbers to allow for a new team to enter the sports scene while not affecting the fan support allocated to existing teams. Undoubtedly, if the NBA does return, there will be people who are interested. But just remember, Vancouver, all the slaps in the face you had to endure from the Grizzlies and their owners and management as well as the NBA during while they were here. Just how much are you willing to once again listen to NBA players run their mouths about how much they hate the rain or watch overweight first-rounders make $10 million a year. Not having Matt Cooke signed is already a big enough headache. Thanks, but no thanks, NBA.

Datsyuk move may be part of disturbing new trend

2005-09-07T00:29:00.000-07:00

When Detroit Red Wings F Pavel Datsyuk set a labour day weekend deadline to get a deal done with his NHL club, many fans took that as simple an idle threat. After all, how much does it make sense for a young player, about to enter the prime of his career, to leave the National Hockey League and return to their homeland where surely they would not be given the same lucrative offers that they otherwise could have received in North America. Yet, such has been the case with Datsyuk, the 27-year old who, as of Monday, bolted from Detroit in search of apparently greener pastures in Russia by signing a deal with Avangard Omsk.

Datsyuk's situation should surprise nobody. In fact, the signs have been pointing in this direction for quite some time. Beginning with the NHL lockout leading to the Russian squad Ak Bars Kazan attempting to load up by signing the likes of Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards, Nikolai Khabibulin and acquiring Dany Heatley midway through the season. While it is true that none of these players were compensated the way they would have been had there been a NHL season, but these players did not go there for charity. These Russian teams have some money to spend and they are not afraid to show it.

The most recent sign pointing to this trend was the recent rejection of the Russian Elite League to sign the NHL-IIHF transfer agreement. Clearly, Russia's relationship with the National Hockey League has not exactly been smooth sailing and they are out to prove to young, emerging Russian superstars that leaving home is not necessarily a better choice. After all, individually, they could potentially stand to make more in Russia than they could in the NHL after the new salary cap on individual players.

And then, there are the high profile players who have clearly made it shown they are not averse to playing in Europe. Despite being swept under the rug after the cancellation of the 04-05 NHL season, people tend to forget many players had agreed to contracts without out-clauses had the NHL resumed. Atlanta's Kovalchuk, for instance, would not have been permitted back had the NHL started after Christmas. Kovalchuk had the option to opt-out of his contract before the deadline passed, but instead, chose to remain with his Russian squad despite the fact there had been slight optimism at that point that a resolution may be reached. Many European players have made it known in the past of their desires to finish off their careers in their native homeland, and these are not the Artem Chubarovs of the world either. Premier players, such as Naslund and Forsberg, both who have the NHL to thank for the large amount of 0's sitting in their respective bank accounts, would have no seconds thoughts about returning to Sweden regardless of the money. In all likelihood, both players would probably be in Sweden had their experiences during the lockout not soured them on the thought. If the European teams, like the Russian league, suddenly had the money to dish out for players, even those who did have reservations about playing overseas may suddenly find it not such a bad idea.

Let's not forget now that many NHL players, especially those who in the past would have little to no desire to play in Europe, have had a taste of playing overseas and not all the stories coming out have been negative. For now, the biggest advantage the NHL has is its reputation as being the top hockey league in the world in terms of talent and style of play. However, if the new rule changes don't turn out the way they should and there are an increasing amount of Pavel Datsyuks out there who decide playing overseas is not such a bad idea, then the NHL better watch out. As if the lockout did not do enough to threaten the NHL's position at the top of the hockey food chain, the aftermath of its new CBA may do just that.

Calling Cooke's Bluff

2005-09-04T14:36:00.000-07:00

Matt Cooke can put on his best poker face going into the final weeks before training camp is set to start, but unfortunately in this poker game, Cooke is on the short stack and holding a 2-7 off-suit versus management's pocket aces. The fact is for Cooke, considering his compensation over the past few seasons and then losing a whole season's worth of pay due to the lockout, he is not about to let this hold-em game with management turn into a holdout.

Cooke, who has often been said to have been underpaid during his time in the National Hockey League, is in a vulnerable position financially. Unlike the upper echelon players who have been well compensated over their careers, as well as the not so top tier players that have probably received more than they are worth over the years, Cooke is not in a position where he is able to let his wallet speak for him in terms of holding out for an extended period of time.

Despite the comments, the threats and any other bargaining tactic Cooke might attempt to use to help improve his position, at the end of the day, holding out does not make sense for Matt Cooke as much as it would perhaps another player. What Cooke needs to know is despite his popularity amongst Canucks fans in Vancouver, a player of his calibre and skill set are not in short order and certainly do not command the type of money he is asking for as has been reported in the media. The Canucks hold the cards and the chips and can see right through Cooke's stone cold bluff and even if Cooke decides to go the distance and hold out, the fact remains Cooke will miss the Canucks, or more specifically his National Hockey League paycheck, more than the Canucks will miss Cooke.

Auld on the block?

2005-09-02T01:13:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, the Vancouver Canucks announced they had come to terms with veteran goaltender Brent Johnson and for presently second-stringer Alex Auld, it's the same old story only this time, it may signify the end of Auld's Canuck stint as a Vancouver Canuck.

Often touted as the heir apparent to goaltender Dan Cloutier, this move represents the second season in a row in which Alex Auld has been penciled in as a backup only to watch a late off-season acquisition send the 6'4" goaltender back to the minors. Twice Auld, who was acquired by Vancouver in 2001, battled to win the backup position late in the season only to see his position usurpred by an incoming player. After taking the backup job away from Peter Skudra in 2003 and appearing in one playoff game against the Minnesota wild, Auld found himself back in the minors again the following season after the Canucks acquired Johan Hedberg from Pittsburgh. Despite eventually gaining the starting position in the Canucks' short playoff run, it appears that Canucks management is not sold on the 24-year old's ability to step into a fulltime role in the NHL.

Despite playing more than half of the Moose's regular season games last season, Auld found himself on the sidelines come playoff time having been outplayed by Wade Flaherty. While the acquisition of Johnson likely means Auld will step into the starter's role in Manitoba, the same could have been said regarding Auld's role during last year's cancelled NHL season. Johnson, at 28, is relatively young and is a fairly proven commidity in the NHL which translates into a greater likelihood he sticks around long-term and may even battle Dan Cloutier for the starting job. Yet, with a 2-year deal in starter Dan Cloutier's back pocket as well as goaltender prospects such as Julian Ellis-Plante, Lukas Mensator and Cory Schneider waiting in the wings, Auld's future with the Canucks remains very much in the air. For now, the Thunder Bay native Auld can only hope history does not repeat itself or else before long, he may find himself packing his bags.

McCammon's resignation begs Burke questions

2005-08-31T11:51:00.000-07:00

Dwelling on the past is not a habit that should be encouraged. Yet, with the Canucks announcing Wednesday that Stan McCammon is set to resign his position with Orca Bay in order to pursue other interests in his hometown Seattle area, the 'what if?' questions regarding ex-Canucks GM Brian Burke are sure to pop up amongst Canuck fans at least one more time.

McCammon, whose official title was President and CEO of Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment, the parent company of the Vancouver Canucks, will best be remembered for his alleged behind-the-scenes feud with then-Canucks GM Brian Burke which eventually led to Burke's dismissal from his post. Many fans, at the time, had attributed Burke's firing directly to McCammon's influence.

If not for the lockout, the timing of this move would definitely have Canuck fans up in arms. The Canucks have yet to play a game since Burke's firing, Nonis' promotion and now, McCammon's departure. In the press release from the Canucks on this matter, the quote taken from McCammon seemed to indicate he never intended to remain long-term with the Canucks organization. Had McCammon resigned prior to the end of last season, would Burke still be around? That seems to be the million dollar question. As much as Brian Burke will undoubtedly praise his new surroundings and deny, now, any desire to have remained in Vancouver, it should all be taken with a grain of salt. Burke's wife is from Vancouver, Burke was well-established in the community and, despite the lack of playoff success, Burke had taken a team that had finished consistently in the bottom of the league the few years before his arrival and turned it into a playoff team and a team that is one long playoff run away from being considered an elite cup contender.

Not to judge Dave Nonis before his team has even played a single game, but for Canucks fans knowing a new CBA was on the horizon (one that would fit into Burke's style of management) and knowing the team had progressed year-in, year-out and arguably, could have gone on a long playoff run had it not been for Todd Bertuzzi's suspension, how much do Canucks fans wish McCammon hit the road long before today's announcement? Unfortunately for Canucks fans, any Burke questions remaining will be left unanswered.

McCammon's departure follows a rash of front office employees that have left Orca Bay/Vancouver Canucks since the lockout including the aforementioned Brian Burke, Dave Cobb, and Chris Brumwell among others.

Stardust

2005-08-30T20:38:00.000-07:00

The Legendary Stardust Resort and Casino odds to win Stanley Cup as of 8/15/05:

Philadelphia Flyers 4/1
Ottawa Senators 6/1
Detroit Red Wings 6/1
Colorado Avalanche 7/1
Tampa Bay Lightning 8/1
Boston Bruins 10/1
Calgary Flames 10/1
New Jersey Devils 10/1
Vancouver Canucks 15/1
Dallas Stars 12/1
Toronto Maple Leafs 15/1
San Jose Sharks 15/1
Los Angeles Kings 18/1
Pittsburgh Penguins 18/1
Edmonton Oilers 22/1
Montreal Canadiens 22/1
New York Islanders 20/1
St. Louis Blues 25/1
Nashville Predators 30/1
Chicago Blackhawks 40/1
Anaheim Mighty Ducks 30/1
Atlanta Thrashers 45/1
Florida Panthers 50/1
New York Rangers 40/1
Minnesota Wild 50/1
Phoenix Coyotes 50/1
Columbus Blue Jackets 60/1
Buffalo Sabres 60/1
Carolina Hurricanes 60/1
Washington Capitals 100/1

Just how much have things changed?

2005-08-29T11:07:00.000-07:00

One look at the recent trend of transactions in the National Hockey League and one can come up with at least two conclusions: Big name players will still get their money, and teams will still have major difficulties trying to hang on to their own players.

The two issues, clearly, go hand-in-hand. The combination of a salary cap along with one or, at most, two players hovering close to that 20% single player cap limit has once again limited a team's ability to retain players, albeit for completely different reasons thanthe pre-salary cap era. Whereas before, only the small market teams were limited in such a capacity, now every team is. Even playing ground? Yes. Better for the game and the fans? Questionable. The worst part, however, is that while the new CBA is designed, effectively, to punish the teams that have overspent in the past, it has ended up targeting teams that have been the model of consistent spending in the overspending age of the previous CBA.

Take the Ottawa Senators for example, who last week unloaded forward Marian Hossa and defenseman Greg de Vries in exchange for Dany Heatley. Don't get me wrong, Ottawa should be thrilled with Heatley. But, at the same time, the move was just as much about the money as it was a chance for to acquire an up-and-coming superstar. The fact of matter is once Hossa started balking during negotiations, Ottawa began to have thoughts about moving the superstar. This is not something that you needed to hear through the rumour mill. The fact is with the salary cap, with any player who is in line for a raise, particularly a player who wants a raise more than the team feels he deserves or that they can afford, the team will consider moving him.

Perhaps this will change once the new system settles in but from what we have seen so far, "homegrown" talent continues to flee from their home teams although in an opposite pattern than the pre-salary cap days. Chris Pronger, a homegrown Blue, could no longer afford to remain with the team. The same goes with Darren McCarty in Detroit. The Vancouver Canucks, who in the new system have become the model of consistency in terms of player retention, have not been averse to losing homegrown talent either. While others may suggest differently, the fact that Brent Sopel was moved was because of his arbitration status. The Canucks are more than likely to lose at least one of Matt Cooke or Jarkko Ruutu before the dust settles.

Yes, the new CBA is designed to create a level playing field, but is has done so by handicapping each team. If, as predicted, the salary cap goes down next season due to a drop in hockey revenue, this point will be hammered down even further. If you thought this year's off-season was interesting in terms of player movements, wait until next summer when the possibility of a lower salary cap may become reality and teams are forced to further give up players due to the amount of long-term deals that have been signed. Sounds awfully familiar to the old world, doesn't it?

MGM and the Luxor

2005-08-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

Again, please read the disclaimer on the previous post. Enjoy!

MGM Grand as of 8/23/05 (in brackets, Opening Line 8/8/05):

Philadelphia Flyers 9/2 (9/2)
Ottawa Senators 7/1 (7/1)
Detroit Red Wings 8/1 (8/1)
Colorado Avalanche 10/1 (10/1)
Tampa (Bay) Lightning 10/1 (10/1)
Boston Bruins 12/1 (12/1)
Calgary Flames 12/1 (12/1)
New Jersey Devils 12/1 (12/1)
Vancouver Canucks 14/1 (14/1)
Dallas Stars 14/1 (14/1)
Toronto Maple Leafs 15/1 (15/1)
San Jose Sharks 15/1 (15/1)
Los Angeles Kings 15/1 (15/1)
Pittsburgh Penguins 18/1 (18/1)
Edmonton Oilers 18/1 (18/1)
Montreal Canadiens 20/1 (20/1)
New York Islanders 20/1 (20/1)
St. Louis Blues 20/1 (20/1)
Nashville Predators 20/1 (20/1)
Chicago Blackhawks 25/1 (25/1)
Anaheim Mighty Ducks 25/1 (25/1)
Atlanta Thrashers 30/1 (30/1)
Florida Panthers 30/1 (30/1)
New York Rangers 35/1 (35/1)
Minnesota Wild 35/1 (35/1)
Phoenix Coyotes 35/1 (35/1)
Columbus Blue Jackets 50/1 (50/1)
Buffalo Sabres 50/1 (50/1)
Carolina Hurricanes 50/1 (50/1)
Washington Capitals 75/1 (75/1)

Luxor as of 8/15/05 (in brackets, Opening odds 8/8/05):

Philadelphia Flyers 9/2 (9/2)
Ottawa Senators 7/1 (7/1)
Detroit Red Wings 8/1 (8/1)
Colorado Avalanche 10/1 (10/1)
Tampa (Bay) Lightning 10/1 (10/1)
Boston Bruins 12/1 (12/1)
Calgary Flames 12/1 (12/1)
New Jersey Devils 12/1 (12/1)
Vancouver Canucks 14/1 (14/1)
Dallas Stars 14/1 (14/1)
Toronto Maple Leafs 15/1 (15/1)
San Jose Sharks 15/1 (15/1)
Los Angeles Kings 15/1 (15/1)
Pittsburgh Penguins 18/1 (18/1)
Edmonton Oilers 18/1 (18/1)
Montreal Canadiens 20/1 (20/1)
New York Islanders 20/1 (20/1)
St. Louis Blues 20/1 (20/1)
Nashville Predators 20/1 (20/1)
Chicago Blackhawks 25/1 (25/1)
Anaheim Mighty Ducks 25/1 (25/1)
Atlanta Thrashers 30/1 (30/1)
Florida Panthers 30/1 (30/1)
New York Rangers 35/1 (35/1)
Minnesota Wild 35/1 (35/1)
Phoenix Coyotes 35/1 (35/1)
Columbus Blue Jackets 50/1 (50/1)
Buffalo Sabres 50/1 (50/1)
Carolina Hurricanes 50/1 (50/1)
Washington Capitals 75/1 (75/1)

HEYYY we're NOT dead!...Sin City Numbers

2005-08-27T23:08:00.000-07:00

Hey guys...

I hope we still got some readers out there although the blog hasn't been updated. So hopefully you guys are still out there.

What to look forward to in the next little while:

Picked up some Stanley Cup odds from Vegas from various casinos that might be of interest so I'll be posting those up in a while...but I'll start here with the odds from Aladdin Resort Casino

As a reminder, all these are for entertainment purposes only. We take no responsibility with the accuracy of these numbers. Use at your own risk.

Aladdin Resort Casino odds to win Stanley Cup as of 8/23/05:

Philadelphia Flyers 6/1
Ottawa Senators 12/1
Detroit Red Wings 10/1
Colorado Avalanche 15/1
Tampa Bay Lightning 18/1
Calgary Flames 15/1
Vancouver Canucks 15/1
Boston Bruins 15/1
New Jersey Devils 18/1
Pittsburgh Penguins 10/1
Toronto Maple Leafs 16/1
San Jose Sharks 22/1
Dallas Stars 20/1
Los Angeles Kings 22/1
Montreal Canadiens 22/1
Edmonton Oilers 25/1
Chicago Blackhawks 45/1
St. Louis Blues 25/1
New York Islanders 42/1
Atlanta Thrashers 38/1
Anaheim Mighty Ducks 25/1
Florida Panthers 35/1
Nashville Predators 25/1
Minnesota Wild 60/1
New York Rangers 35/1
Phoenix Coyotes 20/1
Columbus Blue Jackets 60/1
Carolina Hurricanes 60/1
Buffalo Sabres 60/1
Washington Capitals 82/1

Blog and some Canuck updates

2005-08-22T16:31:00.000-07:00

Good Monday to Everyone!

First off, just some news and notes from the past few days in Canucks land:

The Canucks released their training camp schedule, details can be found on the Canucks.com website.

Canucks picked up Steve McCarthy from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a 3rd rounder in 2007. Again, just wanted to note that for those who missed it but don't be expecting too many news updates from here as we don't do that. For more on this, check out Vancouver Canucks Hockey Blog or Canucks Hockey Blog.

Next, just wanted to get into a few updates on the status of the blog.

First, wanted to thank B.C. for his Azn Invazn article. It was an interesting read to say the least and it definitely sparked some comments. If you haven't read it yet, be sure to give it a good look over.

Second, the reader survey is still on-going. It will be running for the forseeable future so we encourage anyone who reads this blog to fill it out. I GUARANTEE it won't take more than 2 minutes of your time and in return, you'll get a chance to let us know what you think about the blog, whether you love it or hate it, and how we can improve in the future. Follow the link below to take the survey. It's painless, I promise.

Click here to take the Canucks Rant Blog Reader's Survey

Third, we're in contact with a fan we found at Canucks.com and we're hoping to bring you an op-ed piece on Canucks attendance compared to other teams (currently and historically) in the near future.

And finally, I'll be MIA for a week (even bloggers need vacations) so updates from myself may be limited, but with a new cast of of contributors (and more on the way), I'm sure the blog will be in good hands. In the meantime, don't forget to visit our friends at Vancouver Canucks Hockey Blog and Canucks Hockey Blog.

Have a good week!

P.S. If you're a hockey fan and you've got something to say, e-mail us at canucksrant@gmail.com

The Azn InvAzn

2005-08-20T01:21:00.000-07:00

All right, so not exactly an invasion, but there has been an increase in the recent media exposure of Asian sports players - albeit only a couple, but isn't that already an increase? I've always wondered to myself - why aren't there more Asian players in the NHL? There're always the "Because Asians are good with brains stuff, not body stuff," or the "Asians are good at finesse sports, not contact sports," and then there's the wonderful stereotypical "BECAUSE ASIANS SHOULD ALL BE EITHER IN MEDICINE OR COMMERCE AND NOTHING ELSE BLARGH!" Yes, I've heard some - no, all of them from my parents when I suggested playing hockey as a career. Oh, how the times have changed from zero to, well, two; but nonetheless, two is still bigger than zero.

There is already an almost steady supply of players injected into all other major sports organisations. Currently in the MLB, we have players like Ichiro Suzuki and Shigetoshi Hasegawa playing for the Seattle Mariners, and also Hideki Matsui playing for the New York Yankees. These are only a few of the JAPANESE players, not even mentioning the Korean players who have been on the active rosters for other MLB teams. And then we look at the NBA. The first name that comes to mind is, of course, Yao Ming. The giant hasn't exactly dominated the league like many people projected that he would, but he has definitely been an integral part of the Houston Rockets organisation. And then there's the lesser-known Ha Seung Jin playing for the Portland Trailblazers. I'm sure there are more, but I can't really think of any right now. Despite the fact that there're only a few, it's known that the NBA is being more active in opening itself up to the Asian market of basketball players, of which there are many skilled ones to be chosen. Let's look at another major sports organisation: The UEFA Championship League. Currently, some of the better known players are Park Ji Sung for Manchester United of England, and Ahn Jung Hwan for FC Metz of France. There are several more Chinese and Korean players, most of whom I had trouble finding because there're too many clubs.

All these other sports organisations have had a history, albeit a short/small history, of taking in Asian players. Let's look at the NHL. One Chinese player in history to ever play for the NHL, Larry "King" Kwong for the New York Rangers (AND ONLY PLAYED ONE FREAKING GAME!) way back when, and one Korean player, Jim Paek, who played for the Pittsburgh Penguins. All right, I'll count the Kariyas as well, but that's really only just four in history. Ever.

It is in lieu of this information that I'm glad to hear that Richard Park, another Korean player, has joined the Canucks organisation. No, this has nothing to do with my absolute adoration of just about anything Korean. I'm actually glad that an Asian has actually cracked his way into the regular lineup of an NHL team, and not just one game. There has also been reports of another interesting Asian character who has decided to try and make it big in the NHL. Japanese native of Hokkaido, Yutaka Fukufuji, has signed a 2-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings. This 22-year-old goaltender has to contend with the likes of Mathieu Garon and Jason LaBarbera for even a spot in the regular goalie rotation. Realistically speaking, I don't like his odds of making it big in the near future, but what I DO like is the increasing exposure of the West to Asian hockey players because there ARE talented hockey players in Asia, and I speak from personal experience of people I've met. I also like the exposure of Asia to the NHL, as people in Asia are beginning to know more and more about hockey, and the pride that can come along with playing in the NHL. There are big Asians out there, so Asians aren't just built for their brains (which we're not). Richard Park doesn't have an intimidating figure, but his speed and hard work definitely more than makes up for what he lacks in size. Asians who aren't big can bring finesse and good work ethics into the game too, and I certainly do hope to see that, in the not-so-distant future, I'll actually be able to think of more than two Asian players in the regular lineup of an NHL team. At least.

So you see? Size DOESN'T matter. That's right, you heard what I said.

NO-LN. No additional hockey for Canadian fans.

2005-08-19T15:24:00.000-07:00

Canadian hockey fans who were salivating at the announcement of the rights for NHL broadcasts being bought by Comcast and the Outdoor Life Network in the U.S. in hopes of getting additional hockey coverage this NHL season can stop the fantasy dream now. Canucks Rant has learned that the deal between the NHL and OLN in the U.S. will not result in additional hockey games being available to Canadian subscribers of the Outdoor Life Network.

The following is the letter sent from OLN Canada:

Dear Mr. xxxx,

The two-year broadcast partnership between the NHL and OLN U.S. does not include OLN Canada.

TSN owns the NHL national cable broadcast rights in Canada, as well as theToronto Maple Leafs regional broadcast package. TSN will be issuing its NHL national and Leafs regional broadcast schedules within the coming weeks.

Sincerely,
OLN

While this news should not be terribly surprising, it should be at least disappointing for Canadian fans hoping for bonus NHL coverage this season. Why the deal with OLN U.S. cannot be included with OLN Canada is confusing.

While it's true ESPN has a partnership with TSN and this could be viewed as a conflict of interest for the stations involved, TSN certainly has the ability to control what goes on with the stations under their control. Certainly, it would be understandable if TSN were happening to be showing exactly the same program (as is the case at times with coverage of auto racing on Speed or the WWE wrestling program RAW on SpikeTV), but given the fact that the OLN games are slated to be Mondays and Tuesdays (TSN features Wednesday Night Hockey), conflict of programming cannot be an excuse. Even if it were, TSN could simply choose to blackout those nights when they show exactly the same game. But even then, the OLN situation is not the same situation as with Speed or SpikeTV as these are competitors in Canada. OLN Canada is an affiliate of TSN in Canada. It would be like stealing viewers away from yourself. While TSN's national hockey coverage over the last few seasons should be commended, the fact that they would not allow (or not pursue) having OLN Canada broadcast games is boneheaded.

Voice your complaint.

Send them to audiencerelations@oln.ca or feedback@olntv.com or follow the links on TSN to submit a complaint.

Oopsies!

2005-08-19T10:45:00.000-07:00

Whoops!

It's been brought to my attention that the survey link was not operative. That has been corrected now.

Click here to take the Canucks Rant Blog Reader's Survey

Take our survey and some blog notes

2005-08-18T22:35:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody,

As you will have noticed, Thursday was a momentus day in the life of the Canucks Rant Hockey Blog as we have not one, but TWO...count 'em, TWO NEW columnists!!

Here's a little background on our two newest blog contributors, AK and B.C. AK is a big-time football fan as you'll note with his first blog entry and can be considered an NFL expert. He's also got a good knowledge on hockey and the Canucks and has graciously offered his time to write for this blog. B.C. is a big time, passionate hockey fan and he'll go to bat for anything he feels passionate for. B.C. is extremely knowledgable about hockey and Canuck matters and his insights and opinions are guaranteed to get people talking. Fan mail (or hate mail) for AK and B.C. can be sent to canucksrant@gmail.com.

And in case some of you were wondering what our other contributors, P.D. and R.B., have been up to, well they've been working tirelessly behind the scenes looking into bringing new things to the blog to enhance the blogging experience. These guys have been working on things such as the chatterbox and are looking into adding new, interactive stuff on the blog. Keep your eyes peeled, you never know when you might see P.D. and R.B. getting into the spotlight on the blogging action as well.

Now here's where we need your help. We want you guys to help us out by telling how we can improve the blog. Follow the link to our survey and give us some feedback.

Click here to take survey

Thanks for reading!

Cheers,

D.F.

What would it take?

2005-08-18T19:40:00.000-07:00

While I sat here a few days ago studying for my final exam for Chemistry, I decided to be lazy and take a short break. What did I do? I went to Sportsnet.ca and I started reading their headlines and articles; then I came across this one article that really got my blood boiling and teeth clenching to no end.

As I'm sure most of you very well know that the big 44, Todd Bertuzzi, has been officially reinstated by Commissioner Gary Bettman, and no doubt that has caused a lot of ruckus around the league on this (arguably) controversial decision. This was just the point of the Sportsnet.ca article that I just happened to strongly disagree with. If you all would like to take a quick read of this article, please go here. And now that you have familiarised yourself with the article, I would like to show my dissatisfaction with the unfair comments made against Bertuzzi. The writer of the article obviously looked too much into the mere numbers of the aftermath of the incident in March that I do admit shoud not have happened - the number of months of suspension, the number of dollar signs lost on the part of Bertuzzi, etc, but are these numerical values the only things that matter in Bertuzzi's punishment? They would if Bertuzzi were to not have any personal connections with other people, and if Bertuzzi had no emotions, and that all that affected him were numbers. What do I mean by that, one might ask. That's a very good question!

Let's start with what happened during those "mere 17 months" for which he was suspended from playing professional hockey. First and foremost, the Canucks' playoff run. One must admit that an offensive lineup is made up of just that - offensive players. What happens when one of the three is taken out of the lineup? It's no longer as effective of an offensive lineup. So what happens when one takes out Bertuzzi, a power forward that can do it all, from the number one lineup alongside Naslund and Morrison? You have 2/3 of a lineup. I'm sure Canucks fans everywhere would agree that no one could've ever filled the void that Bertuzzi left after he became suspended. How much did that hurt the Canucks? A 7-th game fight to the bitter end for the Canucks against the Flames in a first round playoff exit. One man doesn't make a team, but, heck, Bertuzzi sure does make up half of this team, and I'm certain that the offense missing from the Canucks during that playoff run, Bertuzzi most certainly could've contributed.

Secondly, Canadian hockey pride. To be one of the best in the league, to be one of the best in Canada, but to not be able to play for your Country in an international level hockey competition - would that not hurt your pride as well? Think of the pride, prestige, and honour he could've had if he were able to play for Team Canada, or even be invited to the camp. 17 months is not enough? Please - don't tell me having this chance skip over because of something you know you did wouldn't hurt your pride as well, nevermind the guilt you'd be feeling for what you did.

So what is the NHL supposed to do? Wait until later on when Moore's finally going to be able to be 100% and play in the NHL again? When would that be? Does that mean Bertuzzi's supposed to sit and play twiddle-dee with his thumbs all day until the day Moore returns? That'd be unfair for Bertuzzi, unfair for the fans, and unfair for the sport. This dark cloud needs not hang over the NHL for as long as Moore sits out and recovers from his injuries, and it needs not hang over Bertuzzi for the whole duration; that's just ridiculous. He knows what he did was wrong, and he feels remorse over what he did. He's ready to move on and make things right, Joe Sakic, as quoted in the article, is ready to move on - heck, even Brad May has signed with the Avalanche. So what's up with Moore not returning Bertuzzi's calls? Is he going to stick his glove through the phone and sock Moore in the face again? I really doubt that. Bertuzzi has made public apologies, as well as calling him himself to apologise. He may have done a bad thing, but as he's willing to admit what he did was wrong and apologise, and given that it's been over a year, it's just immature for Moore to be giving Bertuzzi the cold shoulder. I mean, you're suing him already, Moore. The least you could do is TALK to the guy you're SUING.

Don't get too attached to your players

2005-08-18T12:12:00.000-07:00

Alright guys, I've seen the people who complain about hearing players such as Matt Cooke being dealt simply for the reason that "he is my favourite player." Like it says in the title, don't get too attached to any one player. As an NFL fan, and "so-called" expert, I've seen some of the greats get waived due to the all mighty Salary Cap. If players like Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith, two of the greatest players in NFL history can be waived (released) due to a salary cap, what makes you think that the same won't happen in the NHL. There are also man instances where players have been traded, notably great players just so that they will not fit under the cap. Get used to the new types of championship teams.

What types of teams you ask? Just think of the New England Patriots. The Championship teams of the futures will have no superstars. They will be pure teams in the sense that you play for what you get, and if you ask for too much, dont let the door hit your ass on the way out.

Okay, back to the NHL. Martin St. Louis will be a UFA next year entirely to Lecavalier recieving his huge deal. You can't blame Vinnie because he got his big deal, in this new league you have to pick and choose your players. The next time this might affect the Canucks is when Bertuzzi or somebody big gets involved and wants money. You can see it already. Rumours of Jovonovski on the way out, or Cooke, Cloutier, everybody has been named.

Welcome to the Salary Cap, and don't bitch when your favourite player gets dealt, it's all part of the game and enjoy it!

Carter a Steal

2005-08-17T17:45:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, the Canucks announced the signing of winger Anson Carter to a 1-year deal pending a physical. If the rumoured figures first reported by the Canadian Press are true, a $1 million deal for Anson Carter is a steal for the Canucks.

Since the arrival of the Sedins to Vancouver, it has been the same old story of finding a winger for the twins. Since their unofficial appointment as the team's second-line, this lack of success at finding a winger for the twins has translated into a lack of success at finding a 2nd-line winger. While the likes of Trent Klatt, Jason King, Jarkko Ruutu, Matt Cooke and, heck, even Wade Broodbank have taken turns with the twins, none of them have been deemed as suitable, permanent fixtures as 2nd line wingers.

Anson Carter is different however. Carter, unlike the players named above, is proven. Yes, he has been the subject of accusations of not playing up to his potential, being a disturbance in the locker room, and he had a subpar season last year after bouncing between three different teams. This, however, is Carter at his worst. And even so, despite a cross-country journey last season, Carter still managed 15 goals and 28 points. Yes, signing Carter can be considered a risk, but no more so a risk than trying to find someone internally to fill in as a 2nd-line winger and having that not work out. At least with Carter, the Canucks are getting someone with a track record of putting up at least 20 goals and 40-50 points a season. Even if Carter were a risk, considering the other "risky" signings so far in the NHL (Lindros and Allison to the Leafs for $1.55 million and $1.5 million each, respectively, Mogilny to New Jersey for $3.5 million, and even Kariya to Nashville for $4.5 million), this is a relatively low price to pay for someone who could provide much more in return.

Let's not forget Carter's most productive days in the NHL took place in the Northwest Division for the Edmonton Oilers, a team with a playing style similar to the Vancouver Canucks. For Carter, this is almost like a homecoming and the Canucks are hoping it will be a productive one for their newest winger. And if Carter does not work out for the Canucks, well, worst mistakes have been made for $1 million.

Does Brendan Morrison have a shot at Olympic team?

2005-08-17T11:23:00.000-07:00

When Brendan Morrison stepped onto the ice at General Motors Place on Monday, he received a birthday gift he thought he wouldn't get: consideration. Brendan Morrison's naming to Team Canada's Olympic Orientation camp late on Sunday after Mario Lemieux, many felt this was nothing more but a courtesy invite, a way to thank Morrison for his previous contributions to Team Canada while, at the same time, appeasing Vancouver hockey fans, many of whom who were displeased with the late announcement of Lemieux's no-show. Despite the invite, the conventional belief is that Morrison's chances of making the Olympic team is about as slim as the Maple Leaf's chance of hoisting a Stanley Cup come July. Yet, as Wayne Gretzky pointed out addressing Morrison's invite, Jarome Iginla was not expected to be on Canada's last Olympic team in 2002, yet when the time came, Jarome was front and centre and had his breakout party in Salt Lake City. So, who's to say the same can't be said for Morrison?

Brendan Morrison finds himself in tough competition for a spot on Team Canada's Olympic team. Not including Steve Yzerman, who has primarily played winger in his last few NHL seasons as well as at the 2002 Olympics, Morrison faces positional competition from at least 7 players invited to the Orientation camp, all of whom can be considered above Morrison on the depth chart. The most prominent on the list, Mario Lemieux, is virtually guaranteed a spot on Team Canada barring any health concerns. That leaves 6 players vying for 3 spots, perhaps 4 if Canada decides to take a centreman with one of its additional 3 spots in its 23-man final roster.

For Morrison though, he does not need any more motivating factor than simply knowing this may be his chance to finally be on the radar. After being overlooked and underappreciated as being "the guy" who put up a bushload of points simply because he played between Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi, Morrison's invite to this camp, while it may not result in an actual invite to the Olympic team, has gotten Morrison onto Hockey Canada's radar. And yet while Morrison is considered the underdog to make the team, his numbers are compared to the other centres at camp are respectable. As far as points production goes, counting the last three NHL seasons, Brendan Morrison ranks 4th among all centres at camp in terms of goals scored with 70 and 3rd in points produced with 198, a list that features Kris Draper, Vincent Lecavalier, Mario Lemieux, Mike Peca, Keith Primeau, Joe Sakic and Joe Thornton. Morrison's 198 points trail only Thornton's 242 and Sakic's 224 in the same three year period. Despite these competitive numbers, Canada will likely go with the younger Lecavalier and Thornton as well as the veteran Sakic as this will likely be his swan song for Canada. While chances don't bode well for Morrison's chances on the team, this invite should be seen as nothing but positive.

Morrison has nothing to lose and everything to gain. For the 30-year old entering the prime of his career with a new 3-year contract in his back pocket, not to mention a rejuvanated Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi on his wings, there is no better time for Brendan Morrison to show Canada what he's got. While an invite to this team is unlikely, simply getting on Team Canada's radar should get Morrison much more attention in 2010, particularly when the likes of Sakic, Primeau, Draper and Lemieux have moved on beyond their playing days. As for 2006 in Turin, don't be surprised if the often-overlooked Canucks centre finds himself in the red and white come February. Morrison's got his foot in the door, now all he's got to do is break that door down. He's certainly got the ability to.

Another excellent Canucks hockey blog

2005-08-17T11:11:00.000-07:00

Wow!

You can find a lotta great stuff being put out there by regular fans if you look hard enough. We linked to a great Canucks hockey blog a few days ago and now we're linking to another at:

http://canuckshockey.blogspot.com

Lots of great insightful articles and new perspective as well as news pieces. Some stuff outside of the Canucks as well. Be sure to check them out!

D.F.

Hockey Day in Vancouver Recap

2005-08-16T18:45:00.000-07:00

For anyone who missed out on yesterday's Hockey Day in Vancouver, here's a short recap of what happened. Despite the absences of Sidney Crosby and Mario Lemieux, the announced crowd of over 14,000 had a ball watching the Olympic NHLers come out and practice for about 90 minutes before giving way to the National Juniors for their intrasquad game.

Todd Bertuzzi stepped out onto the ice to a huge ovations. Fellow Canucks Ed Jovanovski and Brendan Morrison also received loud cheers particularly during the mini-shootout game. Jovo and Bert were both interviewed on the ice and received loud ovations, particularly Todd Bertuzzi who was greeted by a standing ovation that lasted about 2 minutes. Bert acknowledged the crowd by waving his hand.

In the intrasquad game, Team Red defeated Team White 4-3. Canucks draft pick Luc Bourdon and likely soon-to-be ex-Vancouver Giant Gilbert Brule had one assist each for Team Red. Goaltender, and Canucks draft pick, Julien Ellis gave up 2 goals in just over 30 minutes of play before being replaced by Carey Price on Team Red. The Vancouver crowd gave loud cheers for newest Canuck draft pick Luc Bourdon and North Vancouver native Gilbert Brule during their introduction for Team Red's starting lineup.

Top 3 funniest moments of the night:

3. Mike Peca getting booed during a 2-on-1 drill when he wouldn't pass the puck to Todd Bertuzzi.

2. Those guys in my section yelling at Scott Neidermayer. Among the things said: "Leave Anaheim!" "Come to Vancouver! Rob's on his way!" "We just traded Sopel!"

1. Ronald McDonald getting booed during the second intermission of the intrasquad game when he came out onto the ice and tried to get the fans to yell "I'm Loving It" for prizes.

Vancouver Canucks Hockey Blog

2005-08-16T18:38:00.000-07:00

Canucks Rant is now listed on the Vancouver Canucks Hockey Blog found at http://vancouvercanuckshockey.blogspot.com

This blog has Canucks news items neatly listed as well as new insight on the recent news and original content.

Visit this blog by clicking on the link above or in our sidebar.

P.S. Any one with a hockey and/or Canucks blog and wish for it to be linked on Canucks Rant, please e-mail canucksrant@gmail.com

Morrison In, Mario Out and once again, Vancouver snubbed

2005-08-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

Team Canada announced late Sunday that Mario Lemieux will not be participating in Team Canada's Olympic Orientation Camp due to committments with his NHL club team, the Pittsburgh Penguins. In his space, Canada has added Canucks centre Brendan Morrison.

Undoubtedly, Lemieux's decision to pull out will be disappointing to fans in Vancouver and Kelowna who had set out on being able to watch one of hockey's greatest players of all-time take to the ice. Fans in Vancouver will be left with an even more bitter taste in their mouths as Lemieux's snub, on the eve of the open practice scheduled at General Motors Place on Monday evening, will be the third major hockey player's snub of Vancouver in this calendar year. Pittsburgh Penguins' first overall draft pick in 2006, Sidney Crosby, had previously announced he would be skip the National Junior Team Camp also held in B.C. in order to attend the Penguin's rookie orientation. Crosby had previously snubbed the Top Prospects' Game in Vancouver where he had been heavily promoted to face off against Vancouver Giants forward, and Columbus Blue Jacket draft pick, Gilbert Brule.

For Lemieux to pull out at such a late date is a shot to many Vancouver fans, many of whom had been looking forward to Lemieux's participation in camp. Was it so hard for Lemieux to have announced this days in advance so as to not have to disappoint fans at the 11th hour? Somehow I find it hard to believe Lemieux would not be aware of such committments until today. Was it Hockey Canada's decision to withhold such information in order to sell a few extra tickets to tomorrow night's events? If so, shame on them. Despite this, I encourage anyone who is still on the bubble regarding whether or not do attend tomorrow to do so. Net proceeds from this event will go to support the Canucks for Kids fund in support of Canuck Place and Hockey Canada/Canadian Hockey foundation. It will still be a chance to watch the top NHL players as well as the top junior players in Canada get together to strut their stuff. Tickets are still available at Ticketmaster and are only $15 - $20 plus service charge.

Morrison's addition to the team comes on the heels of Team Canada adding Todd Bertuzzi to the 37-man Orientation Camp roster. Ed Jovanovski rounds out the Vancouver Canucks invited to participate in this camp.

Dealing Jovo would be a mistake

2005-08-14T15:07:00.000-07:00

About two weeks ago, rumours were rampant that Canucks blueliner Ed Jovanovski was destined to become a Mighty Duck. A rumour started by many Canuck fans in hope that Vancouver would move up in the draft taking Anaheim's 2nd pick and parlaying that pick into North Vancouver native Gilbert Brule. The Canucks would then go out and sign ex-Devils defenseman Scott Neidermayer. Unrealistic perhaps, but then Canuck fans have been known to throw out wild scenarios that never do, or never should, pan out. If you follow ideas thrown out by Canucks fans in the past, Ed Jovanovski would have been dealt to Edmonton for Eric Brewer a few years back, Todd Bertuzzi would have been traded straight up to Boston for Anson Carter, and Brendan Morrison would have been dealt about 30 times in the last 3 years. Now Jovocop, as the hulking blueliner has been affectionately referred to, is once again the subject of trade rumours among Canucks fans.

The speculation comes due to the fact Jovo is slated to earn $3.99 million this season after the 24% rollback coupled with the recent losses of Marek Malik and Brent Sopel, to the Rangers and the Islanders, respectively. With Mattias Ohlund filing for arbitration and likely commanding a salary upwards of $3 million, perhaps even close to $4 million (not surprising considering recent signings of Adrian Aucoin at $4 mil a year, Roman Hamrlik at $3.5 mil a year, and Adam Foote at $4.6 mil a year), that would leave the Canucks with two fairly high priced defenseman and at least one significant hole to fill on defense. The belief is that the best use for Jovanovski, who can qualify for unrestricted free agency next summer, is to deal him in exchange for two $2 million defenseman thus plugging the holes in the defense and not risking losing Jovanovski to unrestricted free agency.

Trading Jovanovski, particularly in this new NHL landscape, would not be a wise course of action. Sure, you fill in your holes on defense, but remember, you're still only filling in your 5th spot with a $2 million dollar defenseman, while replacing one of your top-2 defenseman with another $2 million dollar defenseman. Since your 5th and 6th defenseman aren't likely to command much ice-time, replacing these spots with depth defenseman from Manitoba or free agents who will command significantly less than $2 mil is not as bad an option as many Canuck fans might think, especially given the emergence of Kevin Bieksa on the farm. Keeping Jovo gives the Canucks arguably the best 1-2 punch on defense in the Western Conference, if not the entire league, given the fact many teams like Colorado (Adam Foote) and St. Louis (Chris Pronger) lost key defensemen in order to comply with the salary cap.

Yes, in keeping Jovanovski, the Canucks run the risk of losing him without compensation in the summer but with a continually changing landscape in the NHL with a fluxuating salary cap, one that has been speculated will decrease next season), the Canucks are in the unique position of being able to make at least one more run with their core group intact unlike any of the perennial contenders. And since all teams operate under the same salary cap with the majority of the teams operating towards the high end as opposed to the low end, if Jovanovski were to leave Vancouver next season, with an pay raise undoubtedly on the way, it is likely any team willing to pick him up will have to drop another player of a similar caliber to fit under the cap. Like this summer's free agency frenzy, with free agency ages dropping and salary cap restrictions, next year's market will not be short of any big names, ones the Canucks could potentially go after should Jovanovski decide to leave.

Unless Jovanovski decides to take substantially less money elsewhere, the new CBA system almost guarantees what goes around, will come around. And if Jovo were willing to take a significant pay cut in order to play somewhere else, one has to question his loyalty to the Canucks in the first place (see Paul Kariya with Colorado). In that case, it makes it a lot more easier to part with Jovanovski. Jovanovski's situation will have to be addressed sometime in the future, but for the Canucks, that time is not now.

Bertuzzi not bigger than Canada

2005-08-13T13:32:00.000-07:00

Sometime between today and Monday, when Team Canada's Olympic Orientation Camp passes by General Motors Place, Todd Bertuzzi will be surrounded by media members undoubtedly questioning him regarding his reinstatement to the National Hockey League and the impending civil suit filed by Steve Moore. Whether this gathering will be formally set up by Hockey Canada or the media will, effectively, ambush Bertuzzi remains to be seen. But one thing remains certain, the best thing for Bertuzzi and Team Canada to do, despite the fact it will not win Bertuzzi any fans in the media and would likely provide more fuel to the Bertuzzi-bashing fire, would be to have Bertuzzi decline to comment on anything regarding the Steve Moore incident.

This week-long Olympic Orientation Camp should be only about the Olympic team, the formerly 36, now 37, players who will be competing for a spot on the Olympic team in Turin. The last thing Hockey Canada needs is a sideshow to take away the spotlight on where it should be focused, that being Team Canada.

There's no doubt that Wayne Gretzky, and Hockey Canada, shot themselves in the foot when they invited the recently reinstated winger to the Olympic Orientation Camp. Yes, it is no surprise that Gretzky, and Team Canada, has long wanted Bertuzzi to be in the fold for Team Canada dating back to last August's World Cup of Hockey and, more recently, the World Hockey Championships. Yet, despite some fan protests insisting Canada name Bertuzzi to those respective team, if not for what he could potentially bring on the ice for Team Canada then to force the NHL into making a quicker decision on the Todd Bertuzzi suspension, Team Canada did the right thing and avoided the media circus by declining to name Bertuzzi to those teams. At least Team Canada had an excuse back then, that being Bertuzzi was still suspended.

Yet, moments after Gary Bettman handed down word of Bertuzzi's reinstatement, Gretzky was on the phone with Bertuzzi extending him an invitation to Canada's Orientation Camp. It's no question Gretzky would dearly love to have what Bertuzzi could bring to the fold and that, provided he return to his form prior to his suspension, Bertuzzi does have a lot to offer Canada, whether Gretzky's decision was a direct result of fan pressure and the fact the camp is being held in B.C. with one event at General Motors Place, home of the Canucks, remains a mystery.

Team Canada could have easily, and probably should have, refrained from inviting 'Bert' to camp. This is not a shot at Bertuzzi or his ability, but simply because naming Bertuzzi puts him in the media spotlight when that spotlight should be squarely focused on the team. It also sends a message that Bertuzzi is, in some ways, bigger than the rest of the team. No other potentially deserving players were added to the roster for the Orientation Camp and yet Bertuzzi, whom one could argue just how deserving he is, seems to have been handed a VIP pass to camp.

Bertuzzi could greatly benefit Team Canada if he can return to his form of before, but rather than creating such a circus around one player, all Canada should have done was release a statement saying the rosters have been set for the Orientation Camp but they are hopeful that Bertuzzi comes out on fire in the first half of the season and plays his way onto the team when it does get named. While it may disappoint the fans who are planning to attend Team Canada's open practice on Monday at GM Place, it is the right course of action. It would send a message that no one player is bigger than the team and for Bertuzzi, if he were to make the Olympic team, he would know he had done so based solely on his on-ice performance.

For now, Bertuzzi should keep his mouth shut and avoid media attention, something he has done exceptionally well during the NHL lockout. For Bertuzzi, sooner or later he will get a shot at addressing the media and the fans. For the media, come Canucks training camp in September, they will have their shot at Bertuzzi as well.

Welcome to Canucks Rant - Reader Submissions Wanted

2005-08-12T21:23:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

It just occurred to me I formally introduced the blog and the purpose of it. First of all, welcome to everyone reading this blog. The blog's been less than a day old and already we've had some traffic, a major site re-design and I'm taking heat for the Todd Bertuzzi piece I wrote.

Well it's all good I don't really mind. Any press is good press I suppose. So you may ask what the purpose for this blog is? Well, read the little box at the top =) Personally it's a way for myself to talk about a sport that I'm very passionate about and a team that I'm very passionate about but also, a way for people to get a chance to voice their opinions in a coherent, well-written manner. Yes, sometimes these opinions will look more like news pieces, but I can assure you we are NOT a news site. So if you're here looking for the latest NHL happenings, this is not the place for you. If you're here looking for reaction to NHL and, specifically, Canucks happenings, then I welcome you with open arms.

I also welcome those who wish to contribute to this site. If you have an opinion, whether it's a positive or negative one towards the NHL or the Canucks, I welcome you to submit it to canucksrant@gmail.com. Submissions may be edited for grammar and foul language but as long as it's coherent and insightful, they will be posted for the world to see.

Once again, thanks for stopping by. I hope this site becomes a hot spot for intelligent, insightful hockey comments.

D.F.

P.S. Stay tuned for my next article on Ed Jovanovski.

Thanks for the Memories: The 'Page' set to sign off for good in September

2005-08-12T19:00:00.000-07:00

Nothing lasts forever. While the writing may have been on the wall for a long time, nothing could have lessened the shock and disappointment yesterday when word came out that Sportspage will be signing off the air in early September after 28 years on the air.

Despite a rash of on-air talent departures and numerous station moves, the 'Page' was still the place to be at 11pm for many local sports fan as their coverage of local events was unparalled by any of the other sports stations. Yet, despite the claim of being "the most watched sportscast in the province", it was clear Sportspage no longer had the ability to match TSN, Sportsnet or The Score, stations that provided wall-to-wall sports coverage and highlights hours before Sportspage hit the airwaves at 11pm. In additional to losing viewership to these 24/7 sports networks, the 'Page' also lost a large number of personalities, many of them leaving for more lucrative opportunities. It is likely the year-long NHL Lockout resulting in the loss of Canucks hockey, in addition to the loss of the NLL's Vancouver Ravens and previous relocation of the Vancouver Grizzlies, played significant roles in Sportspage's diminished ability to attract viewership.

Current Canucks play-by-play man John Shorthouse (CKNW, MOJO), Don Taylor (Sportsnet, TEAM 1040), Dave Randorf (CFL on TSN), Sean McCormick (Sportsnet), Barry Macdonald (TEAM 1040), and Blake Price (TSN, MOJO) are among the talent that have departed from Sportspage in recent years.

Bertuzzi a target for ability, not action

2005-08-11T23:17:00.000-07:00

Remember Byron Ritchie-Bryan Marchment? David Ling-Rocky Thompson? Garrett Stafford-Alexander Perezhogin? You'll be forgiven if you have, or perhaps even hadn't heard about it. Yet when it comes to Steve Moore-Todd Bertuzzi, it seems everybody has an opinion and the general consensus seems to be that the NHL's decision on Monday to reinstate Todd Bertuzzi was one of poor taste. Yet, while Bertuzzi's actions clearly crossed the line, the fact he continues to be targetted by fans and media alike have very little to do with his actions against Steve Moore.

Yes, there is no doubt Bertuzzi's actions were among the worst the sport of hockey has ever witnessed, yet hockey is no stranger to acts of violence on the ice, many of which could be deemed as crossing the line. Take the aforementioned cases for example. Who here still remembers the incident involving Byron Ritchie and Bryan Marchment, an incident that took place shortly after the Bertuzzi incident where, in the tail end of a game with the Maple Leafs leading 5-0, Toronto defenseman Marchment took a run at Florida's Bryon Ritchie that broke his collarbone. As Florida's Olli Jokinen said at the time, "he could have killed Ritchie. He could have paralyzed him. He was very lucky." Sound familiar?

How about the Ling-Thompson incident, a incident hauntingly similar to the Bertuzzi incident where Thompson came from behind Ling and sucker punched the St. John's Maple Leafs' forward, the only difference is Ling got back up and Thompson was given a 5-game suspension. How about the Stafford-Perezhogin incident, an incident which paralleled Bertuzzi's incident in terms of how scary it looked at the time. Yes, the AHL banned Perezhogin for a year, but the Habs prospect was still allowed to play in Europe and was already penciled into the Habs lineup by TSN during their draft coverage. So what gives?

Hockey followers know the impact Todd Bertuzzi's return will have on the ice. Wayne Gretzky certainly knows as following the announcement of Bertuzzi's reinstatement, the Phoenix Coyotes' new head coach and Team Canada's executive director for the 2006 Turin Olympics immediately extended an invitation for Bertuzzi to join Canada's Olympic camp. As much as a Canucks fan can be scrutinized for defending Bertuzzi and calling for his return, the opposite can be accused to fans of any of the NHL's 29 other teams, those who insist Bertuzzi hasn't faced a tough enough suspension.

If these fans are truly disgusted over Bertuzzi's actions and truly follow the game of hockey, one has to wonder, why are these voices silent when it comes to Marchment, Thompson, and Perezhogin? Ask yourselves this, had it been Brad May instead of Todd Bertuzzi, or heck, Tyler Bouck or some other farmhand who knocked out Steve Moore, would the calls for these players' heads be as strong as the ones that are calling for Bertuzzi's now? I don't think so.