Canucks Starting to Roll on the Road

Balanced scoring was the name of the game for the Canucks tonight as they managed to play a full sixty minutes on the road – an unusual sight – and defeat the Detroit Red Wings 6-3 at the Joe.  Ryan Kesler used the momentum from his strong Olympic play to pace the Canucks with two goals.  Daniel and Henrik Sedin each recorded three assists to break out their slump and Kyle Wellwood appears to have found his touch, at least for the time being by registering a goal for the second consecutive game.

One of the biggest concerns for the Canucks going into the trade deadline was whether they would have enough secondary scoring behind the top two lines.  If Kyle Wellwood is going to consistently play at the level he has in the last two games then it appears that the Canucks have little to worry about.  Not only did Wellwood tally a goal but Mikael Samuelsson added one of his own in the second period to essentially put the game out of reach for the Red Wings.

A major problem facing the Canucks during their road trip was the fact that they had given up the first goal in almost every single game.  The team has been nicknamed the “Cardiac Canucks” over the last stretch because they seem to wait until they’re behind by a goal or two before they start to get into the game.  Tonight they didn’t have that problem as Kesler was able to give the Canucks the lead as he slid a puck past Jimmy Howard at the 3:34 marks of the first.  Kesler was able to beat Dan Cleary off the wing and make a power move to the net.  Kesler also scored the last Canucks goal of the game after drawing a Kronwall penalty and tipping the pick through Chris Osgood who had essentially come in for mop up duty.

Roberto Luongo played relatively well in his first game back from the Olympics, however, the first Detroit goal by Jason Williams was probably one he would like to have back, or at least have another shot at.  After Zetterberg dominated the Canucks down low in the corner he was able to fire a pass to about the top of the circle to Williams who one timed a snap shot past the outstretched leg of Luongo.  Luongo never really got set to the shot and was playing incredibly deep in his net.  Credit to Williams for taking a quick shot but I’m sure Roberto would liked to have played it much more aggressively.

One probably can’t say enough good things about Alex Burrows this year and the way he was able to tip in the second goal and answer right back after the Red Wings had tied the game was definitely key.  Burrows was able to tip Daniel Sedin’s low shot just under the crossbar and beat Howard who had next to no chance on the play.  At that point it really looked like the Sedins got their game going and they were able to finish the game with three assists each.

After the Red Wings were able to tie the game, Wellwood managed to deliver in a clutch situation for the second game in a row.  Aaron Rome fired him a perfect stretch pass and Wellwood beat Howard just under the crossbar.  Sami Salo was next to score on a relatively weak shot from the point but the goaltender never saw it and his night was over.  The shoot first mentality of Samuelsson paid off late in the period as he stretched Vancouver’s lead to 5-2 with a shot near the side boards that Osgood wasn’t prepared for.  Perhaps Osgood was screened on the play but it seemed like a typical regular season Osgood goal that should have been stopped but for whatever reason he wasn’t prepared for.

A day after I ripped the defence for their work in Columbus, the blue line came up pretty big for the Canucks tonight.  Aaron Rome was a threat on offense all night as he made multiple stretch passes that led to breakaways.  Rome may have been the best defender of the game and finished a solid +3.  Christian Ehrhoff also had a strong game adding an assist of his own and an identical +3 rating.  Ehrhoff is now sitting 8^th in the league with a +26 on the season.

At the Trade Deadline

I thought at the deadline the Canucks might be serious players for a top four or even top two defenseman but due to cap issues that never really materialized.  There was also thought that the Canucks might add another depth forward.  At the end of the day, Mike Gillis added another depth defenseman with Andrew Alberts.  Gillis also dealt Mattieu Schneider to the Phoenix Coyotes for Sean Zimmerman and a 6^th round pick.  Anything in return for Schneider should be considered a win since he was never going to play another game with the team.  Yan Stastny rounds out the additions by Mike Gillis as he was acquired from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Pierre-Cedric Labrie.  The move is clearly one for the Manitoba Moose as Stastny will report to the AHL.  Labrie is likely most remembered by Canucks fans for him numerous fights during the pre-season.

Andrew Alberts gets into a scrap during his time in Boston

The reputation on Alberts is that he is a big, tough and hard hitting defenseman with a huge mean streak.  The good news is that Alberts led the Carolina Hurricanes in plus-minus with a +6 rating this season.  Not bad for a player on a team that is all kinds of terrible.  Alberts also has 178 hits this season, which is significantly more than the next closest on the team (Glass-139).  If you’re interested in his offensive output, he has 2 goals and 8 assists in 62 games so far this season but as you probably guessed, that isn’t really his game.  He may not shutdown guys like Willie Mitchell but he should help play a similar game until Mitchell gets healthy, if he ever does.  At the very least he’ll be an upgrade over Nolan Baumgartner and hopefully over Brad Lukowich as well since Lukowich has been sent to the Moose.  Alberts is  signed through next year for a cap hit of 1.03 million.

Now the part about Alberts game that concerns me is that he could be considered a biger and stronger version of Shane O’Brien.  That potentially means double the bonehead penalties which is trouble for a team that isn’t great at killing them.  He is also not that great at handling the puck which could cause problems as far as getting it from the backend and up to the forwards.  In number five or six role where his minutes are limited I’d be much happier with the move but if he plays anymore then that it becomes a massive concern.

*Credit to CanuckHD on youtube for the videos

Canucks Place Lukowich on Re-Entry Waiver; Kesler Selected to U.S. Olympic Team

Brad Lukowich with the San Jose Sharks

After deciding to permanently part ways with Mathieu Schneider, the Canucks have placed Brad Lukowich on re-entry waivers with the intention of calling him up to the Canucks.  Lukowich would serve as the Canucks seventh defenseman behind the newly promoted Aaron Rome, after Kevin Bieksa was cut above the ankle and will miss the significant amount of time.  There is an outside chance that Lukowich could be claimed for half price by another team before the 24 hour claim period is over, but in all likelihood, Lukowich will be joining the Canucks on their road trip.  If Lukowich does indeed clear, he won’t have far to go to meet up with the Canucks as he’s been playing for the AHL’s Texas Stars this season.  In 29 games this season, Lukowich has 3 goals, 15 assists and 10 penalty minutes for the AHL’s Stars.

It seems like quite a while ago now, but for those with a short memory, Lukowich played fairly well in the pre-season for the Canucks this year.  He didn’t exactly set the world on fire offensively because that’s not his game, but he was a solid and physical presence on the blue line.  In my opinion he played well enough in September to be an NHL player but unfortunately for Lukowich, guys like Aaron Rome slightly outplayed him.  Rome has since come back to reality and played fairly inconsistent when he’s been inserted into the line-up.  In all honesty though, it is difficult to play well on a consistent basis when you’re only playing a few games a month.

Brad Lukowich in the 2009 Preseason with Vancouver

The rumours in the Schneider situation appear to be picking up by the day.  I always saw Schneider as a team guy and I was really surprised that he walked out on the team.  What’s even weirder is that Mike Gillis has refused to comment on the situation which only allows more and more rumours to go around.

Tony Gallagher was on the Team1040 prior to Thursday’s game in St. Louis.  He speculated that Schneider was saying things around the dressing room out of frustration to his diminished role in the line-up and pissed off the wrong person.  Whether that was a coach or a player from the leadership group like Luongo is anyone’s guess.  There is also some suggestion that Schneider wasn’t ready to play when he was called upon by Vigneault.  That would certainly be understandable since he was far from impressive when he did get into the line-up.  He wasn’t helping the power play at all which is basically the entire reason he was brought in.  Then there was also the speculation that he misrepresented his health to the Canucks regarding his off-season shoulder surgery.  That might explain why Mike Gillis is hesitant to comment on the situation.  The bottom line, however, is that Schneider is not welcome back to the team at things currently stand.

2010 Winter Classic

Just to make a note on the Winter Classic, I was thinking to myself when it was 1-0 heading into the late stages of the third period that it wasn’t looking like the game would be much of a classic.  While the game wasn’t really that entertaining all the way through, the ending did provide quite a bit of drama.  Mark Recchi’s tip in was a perfect veteran play when the Bruins needed it the most.  It was so important for the home crowd to finally get something to cheer about.  If he hadn’t scored, the Bruins losing on Tim Thomas’ blunder, while trying to get back at Scott Hartnell for bumping him, would have been a terrible way to lose.

Marco Sturm scores the OT winner in the 2010 Winter Classic

The overtime was equally dramatic as both team had quite a few chances to win the game.  The Flyers had quite a few chances to put the game away in both regulation and overtime before Sturm made a sweet tip in to win it.  The celebration will go down in the Winter Classic archives along with Sidney Crosby scoring the shootout winner.  People are calling for this year’s Winter Classic as the best one yet, but I don’t think it quite beats out the original from Buffalo three years ago.

Kesler Selected for Team USA

One of the other things I was looking forward to during the broadcast was to see the U.S. Olympic team announced just so I could see Ryan Kesler get his due.  He was really a lock so there was no surprise that he was selected but to make it official was nice.  The United States are really going with a young roster this time through.  I can’t see them winning a medal over the likes of Canada, Russia and Sweden but they’ll get plenty of valuable experience if the NHL goes to Russia in 2014.

Blast From The Past: Canucks Sign Matt Pettinger

Pettinger (wearing #25) plays for the 07-08 Canucks

The Canucks injury problems have now become laughable after hearing that Michael Grabner injured his ankle while warming up playing soccer prior to the game against the Avalanche on Sunday.  Vigneault said that Grabner “could be out a while.”  In a bizarre twist, the Canucks signed Matt Pettinger to a contact.  It’s a blast from the past for Pettinger who will be getting a second go around with the Canucks after being acquired by the Canucks two years ago at the deadline for Matt Cooke.  Pettinger was waived prior to last season.  He was playing on a pro-tryout basis for the Moose this season.  Pettinger was only recalled after hearing word that Guillaume Desbiens is currently nursing an injury.  Desbiens of course was called up earlier this year to fill in on the fourth line.  The likes of Dan Gendur and Colby Genoway might want to spend their days waiting by the phone because someone is bound to go down against the Rangers on Tuesday night.

The injury to Grabner really did come at the worst of times, not just for the Canucks, but Grabner himself.  He was really forming an identity for himself on a line with Raymond and Kesler before coming down.  For a guy who has had a tough time staying consistent and proving that he belonged at the NHL level this could really be a big blow to him.  I’ve always been a big fan of the skillset that Grabner has so I’m hoping he doesn’t miss a beat when he comes off the IR and that there will still be a place for him in the lineup when he is healthy.  The latter part seems pretty likely at this point.

The Canucks have gotten some good news on the injury front.  Guys that are currently on the IR have made strides towards return, but I suppose that is inevitable when you have so many guys hurt.  Roberto Luongo is expected to miss the next two games still but will go on the road with the team.  Vigneault said that players that go on the road trip are going because they have a chance to play and not just be a cheerleader so that’s good news for the Canucks.  There is certainly no rush to bring him back right now as Raycroft is playing admirably in Luongo’s absence.

Daniel Sedin is also getting close to returning.  He got his cast taken off last Friday and was put into a walking cast.  He is to get more tests done on Friday and after that it might just take a few practices until he is back in the lineup.  The timetable right now is roughly 10 days for the Swede to return.  It could be a situation much like Wellwood; as soon as Sedin can get his foot into his skate he should be close to returning.

Other injures to note are:  Jannik Hansen who is also expected back in about 10 days after breaking his hand in a fight.  Ryan Johnson will be out for a while after crashing into the end boards on Tuesday.  Vigneault described Johnson as having “overall body soreness” and would not be making the trip but all things considered, Johnson could be a lot worse off.

For guys that are in the lineup right now these recoveries could mean the end of regular playing time which is unfortuete for some because they have made and impact.  Tanner Glass has been relatively effective this season and even chipped in a goal on Sunday aginst the Avs.  Yes, it was fluky but it counts just the same.  The Glass-Wellwood-Rypien like was actually one of the most effective lines on Sunday and directly lead to the Kesler goal after they spent roughly a full minute in the Colorado zone.

Mario Bliznak is getting his first taste of NHL hockey because of the injures will likely be sent back down as soon as a couple of guys get back from injury.  He was fairly effective against the Avalanche on Sunday too, getting in on the forecheck on a line with Hordichuk and Rome.  I realize he probably shouldn’t be on the roster but I’m pretty excited that he is getting a chance on the Canucks after watching him play a few years with the Vancouver Giants.

Here’s to hoping the Canucks can keep it going on Tuesday night against the Rangers.

Vigneault Signs Extention.

Canucks fans will be seeing a lot of Alain Vigneault

Well, the inevitable finally happened.  The rumored for weeks, three-year contract extension has finally been agreed to for Canucks head coach, Alain Vigneault.  I debated whether Vigneault was the right man for the job just a little while ago.  I obviously still have my doubts as to whether he is truly capable of leading the Canucks to the Stanley Cup, but like I said earlier, I’m not necessarily going to complain about the new signing.  I’ll keep an open mind about this one and hope that he does indeed get Vancovuer to the promised land.

One thing that fuels the debate as to whether he is capable of leading a team to the finals is the fact that he’s never won the entire biggest championship at that particular stage.  He did lead Hull to the QMJHL championship, but they eventually were defeated at the Memorial Cup.

To read my old post on whether he is the right guy for the job, go here.

Roberto Luongo Signs 12-year Deal

The Vancouver Canucks announced today that they have locked up their captain, Roberto Luongo to a 12-year contract extension.  The new deal is worth $64 million and an annual cap hit of $5.33 million.  Luongo will play the 2009-2010 season under his current contract which calls for him to be paid $7.5 million.  At 30-years-old, the extension ensures that the Canucks will retain Luongo for what is likely to be the remainder of his career, unless they work out a trade with another team in the future.

Mike Gillis took the opportunity to lock up one of the best goaltenders in the league.  One only has to look at the Canucks record when Luongo was out of the lineup for the Canucks last season to see the proof of how valuable he is to the team.  Luongo was 33-13-7 for the Canucks while Sanford, Labarbera, and Schneider combined for 12-14-3.  Mike Gillis is aware that top tier goalies are hard to obtain and the best thing that he could possibly do was hold on to the one that he had for the long haul.

There will be skeptics of the deal that suggest that a 12-year deal is far too long for any player regardless of how good that they are.  Some will point to the oft injured Rick Dipietro who has handcuffed the Islanders with a 15-year contract.  Mike Gillis, in this case, has gambled on whether Luongo will remain a top five goalie for the remainder of his career and also whether Luongo plans to play out the entire contract.  The Canucks brass will likely be hoping that Luongo retires eight or nine year into his new contract and freeing up the cap space for someone else.

By offering years past what the Canucks hope will be Luongo’s last, they can still pay Luongo as if he was an $7.5 or $8 million dollar a year goalie.  As expected, Luongo’s contract is front loaded, meaning he’ll see a lot of money up front and less at the end of his contract, it’s further proof that the Canucks don’t see him playing the duration of the contract.  The first year of the deal in 2010-11 calls for him to make $10 million.  In the final two years of the deal he’ll make only $1 million.

What will be interesting to see now is if the NHL will step in and investigate this contract.  They announced recently that the Chicago Blackhawks are still under investigation by the NHL for trying to get around the salary cap by signing Marian Hossa to a 12-year, $62.8 million contract.  It appears as if Luongo’s contact will circumvent the CBA in the same way that Hossa’s does.  The problem for the NHL in this case will be trying to prove that Hossa or Luongo couldn’t play into their 40s when someone like Chris Chelios is actively doing it.

Canucks Aquire Ehrhoff, Lukowich; Sign Schneider

The Canucks Acquired Christian Ehrhoff in a trade

The Canucks announced today that they have traded Daniel Rahimi and Patrick White to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defensemen Christian Ehrhoff and Brad Lukowich.  Ehrhoff is coming off career highs in points (42) and assists (34) in 08-09.  The twenty-seven year old German had spent the first five seasons of his NHL career in San Jose.  The thirty-three year old Lukowich is perhaps best known for his time in Dallas where he spent five seasons.  The veteran from Cranbrook, BC has spent 11 seasons in the NHL with five different teams totaling 111 points.  He had 0 goals and 8 assists in 58 games last season.

In a separate move, the Canucks also signed Mathieu Schneider to a one year deal.  The deal had been rumored for several days before the official signing.  The terms of the deal and not immediately available, but the forty year old is expected to have signed for less than two million.  He had 9 goals and 23 assists in 67 games last season with Atlanta and Montreal.

The move to trade the Canucks 2007 first round draft pick, Patrick White should not come as much of a surprise.  White had clearly fallen into Mike Gillis’ dog house for the lack of progress in his development.  Although to be fair to White, Gillis was not all that pleased with the fact that his predecessor Dave Nonis had gone off the board to make the pick in the first place.  As a result of White’s lack of development, the Canucks have become concerned with the University of Minnesota’s ability to develop their players.  The concern reached its high point earlier this summer when the team tried to get its 2009 first round pick, Jordan Schroeder to sign a contract with the team and play this season in Everett.

The trade with the Sharks means that the Canucks have added a very good defenseman with Ehrhoff.  He has a lot of offensive upside and is solid defensively.  08-09 was the first time in his career that he finished as a minus player.  Ehrhoff will also fill the Canucks need for a puck moving defenseman.  The need for one was clearly evident last season during the second round series against the Chicago Blackhawks.  The Canucks also added a decent defenseman in Lukowich.  His best days may be behind him, but he is still a serviceable player on the back end.  Mathieu Schnieder will add a power play quarterback to the mix.  If the Canucks end up moving Sami Salo for cap relief this could become more important.  At forty, not much is going to be expected from Schneider in five-on-five situations as he’ll likely slot in as the teams number six defenseman.

The two moves by Mike Gillis today certainly shakes up the Canucks defense and ensures that at least one person from last years core is going to be the odd man out.  The addition of Ehrhoff adds 3.1 million to the Canucks cap hit, absorbing pretty much all of the relief that they had before the trade was made.  Lukowhich is slated to earn 1.567 against the cap this season.  Even if Schnieder signed for the bargain basement price of 1 million, the Canucks are going to be more than two million over the salary cap for the time being.

From a Canucks point of view, Sami Salo should be the first player that Mike Gillis tries to move.  When Salo is in the line-up he is one of the teams most effective and dangerous defenseman, however, that when has not occurred frequently enough in the last few seasons as Salo has missed significant time with a variety of injuries.  Knowing the Canucks cap situation, it will be difficult to find a team that is willing to take on his 3.5 million dollar contract.  The more attractable alternative is Kevin Bieksa.  With two more years left on his contract at 3.75, there aren’t too many teams that wouldn’t be interested in adding him to their lineup if they can fit him in.  He plays with an edge and will chip in offensively as well.

The Canucks will probably also attempt to move a guy like Pavol Demitra who hasn’t panned out as well as they had hoped.  At 4 million a season it is unlikely that the Canucks will be able to find a trading partner for the Slovak who used to be one of the leagues most offensively talented players.  The arbitration contract awarded to Kyle Wellwood will also look less attractive now that the team has put itself in this cap situation; however there was nothing the Canucks could do when Wellwood filed at an amount that would not allow the Canucks to walk away.