Canucks Hockey Blog Twitter Updates

March 8, 2010

Catching up with Canucks prospects

I like Cody Hodgson, but he better not be the next coming of Sami Salo.

From Ben Kuzma (Vancouver Province):

When Cody Hodgson fractured a toe on his right foot while blocking a shot during an OHL game in Sudbury on Feb. 12, the Vancouver Canucks prospect wasn’t concerned because X-rays at the time revealed that it was more likely just a deep bone bruise. Not so.

When the pain persisted for three weeks, the Brampton Battalion centre had another X-ray and this one showed a hairline fracture that will keep the first-round draft choice sidelined until the OHL playoffs. Despite playing with a broken toe, Hodgson had managed 17 points (8-9) in that span and has 20 points in 13 games since returning from a bulging disc in his lower back that kept him sidelined more than four months.

*****

Could Jordan Schroeder join the Manitoba Moose for their stretch drive?

From Ken Wiebe (Winnipeg Sun):

Although there has been no official word, there’s been plenty of speculation that Schroeder (who helped Team USA win gold at the world junior hockey championship in Saskatoon) plans to leave college after his sophomore season is complete and he could also join the Moose for the stretch drive.

Arniel isn’t sure how many players will be brought in or how many will get into the lineup as the season wears on.

“We’ve talked to Vancouver and we’ll talk some more about whether we’re going to bring all the prospects inhere or just a few in here,” Arniel said before his team departed for a two-game road trip against the Grand Rapids Griffins.

*****

With 3 games left in their regular season, Kevin Connauton now shares the Vancouver Giants franchise record for most points by a defenseman.

From Steve Ewen (Vancouver Province):

Kevin Connauton, who finished a plus-5, had an assist on the Gallagher marker and now has 67 points on the season, tying him with Brent Regner’s 2008-09 effort for most points in a season by a Giants blueliner.

His 67 points place him 2nd in scoring among all WHL defensemen and 2nd among all WHL rookie scorers. Considering the other defensemen that have suited up for the Giants in the past – Andrei Meszaros, Jonathan Blum and Cody Franson among others – that’s quite an accomplishment for the Canucks’ 3rd round draft pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

March 8, 2010

Party in the USA

I almost spit out my coffee when John Shorthouse referenced Miley Cyrus’ song at the end of the Canucks’ 4-2 win over the Nashville Predators yesterday. Better than daddy Billy Ray’s Achy Breaky Heart, I suppose.

As you all know by now, it was the 9th time this season the Canucks had overcome a 3rd period deficit to come back and win the game – that’s 3 wins more than any other team in the league. While it’s disconcerting that they seem unable to produce the proverbial 60-minute game, it’s also remarkable that they somehow manage to find a win anyway.

Here’s Roberto Luongo (via Gordon McIntyre, Vancouver Province):

“How many times have we come back in the third to win on this road trip?” Roberto Luongo said, including the pre-Olympic stretch as well. “It’s probably four or five.” [It's five].

“If there’s anything positive, it’s that even if we don’t play our best hockey, we can always come back if we just keep battling.”

And coach Alain Vigneault (via Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun):

“You never critique a win,” Vigneault lied. “It was another comeback-from-behind game. We played better in the third, but obviously we had moments in this game where our puck management wasn’t very good and gave them momentum. They played a strong game, but we were down by a goal going into the third and again we found a way to get it done.”

How does this keep happening?

“Our guys have the mentality that they never give up,” Vigneault said. “Conditioning is a huge factor. I think we’re No. 1 in the league now at coming back and this is not an easy league to come back in.”

Yesterday’s win was the Canucks’ 40th win of the season. With 17 games left in the season – and 10 of those games at home – they’re within reach of setting a franchise record for win in a season. (When the Canucks set their current franchise record of 49 wins in the 2006-2007 season, they had 5 wins in the shootout. So far this season, they only have 3.)

Count me among those impressed that the Canucks are even in this position. 12 games into their record 14-game road trip, they’re 7-5 and assured of a .500 record. They still lead the Northwest Division with a game in hand over the surprising Colorado Avalanche, who, incidentally, they play tomorrow night. They’ve done this without two of their top-4 defensemen in Willie Mitchell and Kevin Bieksa for almost a full quarter of the season. In fact, they’re 12-5 since Mitchell suffered a concussion against the Pittsburgh Penguins on January 16, and the Canucks, until the Andrew Alberts acquisition, have had to rely on a combination of Aaron Rome, Nolan Baumgartner and Brad Lukowich as their 3rd defense pairing.

It’s happy times for sure for Canucks fans, and after a month and a half away from GM Place, it’ll be good to see them come home with a modestly successful record. If they get at least 2 more points on this road trip, they would have survived it without giving up any ground to teams like the Predators, Detroit Red Wings and Calgary Flames, all of whom are battling for the final playoff spots. Party time indeed.

March 5, 2010

Canucks go for win number 40

The Canucks head into the windy city having not done half bad on this road trip. With a win tonight they can finish no worse than .500 on the road trip. When you consider who we’ve played and the length of the trip I’d say that’s not half bad. Come to think of it, we really should be well above .500, but when you run into goalies like Halak who are just blind on nights there’s not much you can do. The Canucks losses haven’t been bad losses and I think that’s something to reflect upon once this road trip is over.

Tonight the Canucks go for win number 40. Now lets throw things into perspective. The Canucks are sitting at 39-22-2. They are one win away from 40 wins and it’s game 64 tonight. Two seasons ago the Canucks total wins were 39. Lets look at this a little more. The Canucks have 19 games to play and to hit 50 wins they would need to go 11-8. That’s a winning percentage of .578, not unattainable when you look at the Canucks winning percentage over the season which through game 63 is .619.

So, let say the Canucks hit 50 wins. This will be the first time the Canucks have ever broken that 50 win plateau and it would set a new franchise record. The previous franchise record is 49 wins set by none other than the 2006-2007 Alain Vigneault Canucks which started their season on the blockbuster trade by then GM Dave Nonis that saw Roberto Luongo bring Lu’s to this city. Oh, and that Lukas Krajicek kid came over too, but the Lu’s weren’t for him.

We cribbed earlier in the season about not having over time losses, but when you look at the pace the Canucks have been winning at, and really the pace they’ve been dominating with, it’s no surprise that they’re close to this milestone. With an offense ranked 4th in the league and 3rd in the West, this is really the best poised Canucks team we’ve seen in a while.

As the Canucks go for the big 4-0 tonight we’ll also get to see Andrew Alberts suit up in a Canucks uniform for the first time. He has several ties to this team before joining which is interesting. He played college with Cory Schneider, played in Boston with Andrew Raycroft and Yan Statsy (who ironically was also picked up at the deadline) and he played internationally representing the US on a team with Ryan Kesler. The 28 year-old handles the puck like a train, but also hits like a train. There’s nothing that says “Hey Fans, my name’s Andrew Alberts and I’m glad to be a Canuck” more than railing Dustin Byfuglien, so here’s to hoping he just wrecks B-Fug tonight.

March 4, 2010

Cory Schneider’s Canucks Shelf Life

Photo credit: canucks.com

Cory Schneider remained a Vancouver Canuck after yesterday’s trade deadline. But for how much longer?

According to Mike Gillis, the Canucks have significant plans for him:

“We had a number of teams call about Cory but there wasn’t anything that we felt was appropriate,” Gillis said. “He’s a great young player in our organization, a fully developed goalie who is ready to step into the NHL, and that’s not something you would trade away lightly. We have significant plans for Cory. We’re going to get into those plans with his agent in the next couple of weeks and try to get him re-signed.”

IMHO, those significant plans have about a one-year shelf life.

See, Schneider is an RFA this off-season, but unless Gillis signs him to a multi-year contract extension, he may very well be a UFA by July 1st, 2011. To be honest, I don’t see Schneider signing any more than a one-year contract extension.

By July 1st, 2011, Schneider will be 25 years old. (He turns 25 in March 2011.) If he doesn’t play at least 30 minutes per game in at least 21 NHL games between now and July 1st, 2011, he’ll be a Group 6 UFA.

And this is where I get a bit concerned about his asset management.

My best logic says that the plan is for Schneider to be Luongo’s back-up next season. From Schneider’s point of view, he’ll get an extended opportunity to prove that he can translate his excellent play in the AHL to the NHL. From the Canucks’ point of view, they’ll hope that Schneider can prove he belongs in the NHL to further boost his trade value.

The problem is, I don’t see Schneider playing 21 games as Luongo’s back-up. Or to put it another way, barring injury I don’t see Luongo starting only 60 games. The problem is, regardless of what the Canucks have planned for Schneider or how he performs, the most likely result is that he will be a UFA at the end of next season.

And what’s the market value for a UFA-to-be goaltender?

March 3, 2010

A Look at Andrew Alberts

The Canucks went out looking for another defenceman, especially with the uncertainty that looms around Mitchell’s return, and came back from the deadline party with Andrew Alberts now formerly of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Take a look at the video’s below. He’ll be the first real threat of size the Canucks have had this season, and come the playoffs that’ll help when other teams try running Luongo to throw him off his game.

Albert is a big boy. He’s 6 foot 5 and around 230 lbs. He’s 4th in the league in hits, leads a horrible team in plus/minus and is one of the league’s top shot blockers. The Canucks need size, something that will really help come playoff time. The fact that he’s one of the top shot blockers also is an positive considering Ryan Johnson the Canucks shot blocking machine from last season, has looked out of sync at best this year.

The Canucks will be Albert’s 4th team after he’s spent time in Boston, Carolina and Philadelphia. This’ll be his first West Coast team and I think he’ll really get to use his size as the Western Conference is a whole other beast. When you’re playing teams like San Jose, Calgary or even Chicago you need that aspect of size and it’s clear players like Hordichuk aren’t working out. While Rypien is the best hitter and fighter pound for pound, the Canucks needed size and I think this is the first big player the Canucks have really had since Gillis came in. Alberts should fit in right at home and is a great replacement for Mitchell who’s as good as gone for the rest of the season at this point.

March 3, 2010

Welcome back to NHL land

I didn’t really get around to blogging much during the Olympics. Whoops! But what a party, huh? The hockey was incredible and seeing Lou win a gold medal in his “home” town was pretty damn awesome. I may or may not have cried a little. Rumours have not been verified. Besides the hockey I absolutely adored the figure skating, biathalon, ski cross, and skeleton. If you haven’t already, I recommend watching Stephen Brunt’s video essay on the Olympics and Canada. It’s absolutely wonderful and will leave you feeling patriotic as hell. I would LOVE to make media like that for a job.

Now, it’s back to normal and loving the Canucks as the hockey gods intended. That game last night was kind of heart attack worthy, wasn’t it? Down 2-0 and come back to win it 4-3 in OT. Not exactly what I had planned to watch but fun all the same. Gillis picked up Andrew Alberts today from Carolina. I admit my first reaction to him was WHO? but now I’m coming around.

- He’s 6′5” !!! Louie’s probably all “Yeah, bishes. It’s bodyguard time.”

- He’s great at blocking shots and tends to lead his team in hits. And judging by youtube the hits are mostly BAD ASS and nasty. Not just “Oh hey I tapped you against the boards”

Welcome aboard AA!

March 3, 2010

NHL Trade Deadline Day 2010

Welcome to Canucks Hockey Blog’s chat/live blog of the 2010 NHL Trade Deadline. Today, we’re linking with Jonathan Willis from Hockey or Die. We’re also expecting some of your favorite Canucks bloggers and Twitterers to come by and share their thoughts on today’s rumors and trades. Feel free to share us yours as well.

March 2, 2010

Can the Canucks afford to keep up with the joneses?

It’s not a secret that the Canucks need to make a trade or two to keep up with the joneses. With Kevin Bieksa skating but not quite ready for game action and Willie Mitchell still suffering from post-concussion symptoms, the Canucks need some defensive depth. With Kyle Wellwood and Steve Bernier having inconsistent seasons, they need an upgrade in their bottom-six.

Can the Canucks afford to make these moves?

There’s been a few trades already since the trade freeze was lifted on Sunday night, and so far, it seems the price to upgrade is a high draft pick and/or a decent prospect. The Nashville Predators traded a 2nd round draft pick to acquire Denis Grebeshkov. Ditto the Ottawa Senators when they traded for Andy Sutton, and the Pittsburgh Penguins when they acquired Jordan Leopold. The Penguins also sent a very good prospect in Luca Caputi to acquire top-six forward Alexei Ponikarovsky. Of course, other players can be had for less (like the Nick Boynton for futures and Brett Westgarth for futures) but I’m not sure these guys are upgrades over who the Canucks currently have on their roster.

Already, the Canucks don’t have their 2nd round draft pick in this year’s draft; Mike Gillis traded that (and last year’s 3rd round draft pick) to Buffalo for Steve Bernier. Cody Hodgson and Cory Schneider are top prospects that can potentially get good returns. To a lesser extent, perhaps so can guys like Michael Grabner and Jordan Schroeder. The issue is, as good as these guys are, I’m not sure the Canucks have enough of them in the system to be able to afford and give them up in trade.

Let me put this another way: If the Canucks trade a Cody Hodgson, a Michael Grabner or a Cory Schneider, do they have others in the system that can take their place? Do the Canucks have enough depth in their system that trading a Hodgson, a Grabner or a Schneider doesn’t hurt the team next season and past that? When Wellwood and Pavol Demitra don’t get re-signed, who then replaces them in the lineup? If either Roberto Luongo or Andrew Raycroft get hurt, who then gets called up? Certainly, the Canucks’ prospect pool is better than it’s been in years, but I’m not sure it’s deep enough that they could give up prime long-term assets for short-term upgrades.

There’s no denying that the Canucks need to upgrade in a couple of areas. The question is, how much of the future are they willing to sacrifice to do so?

March 2, 2010

Waiving Lukowich and Fuzzy Math

Alain Vigneault admitted that waiving Brad Lukowich this morning was a salary cap move. It gives the Canucks some flexibility approaching the trade deadline tomorrow and I’m going to attempt some fuzzy math to show how much flexibility this gives them. (Dangerous, I know, but please do correct me if I’m wrong.)

With Lukowich on the roster, the Canucks were carrying $306,360 in daily salary, about $12,059 more than the maximum allowable $294,300 teams are allowed to carry. Without Lukowich, the Canucks now carry $298,243 in daily salary.

Because Kevin Bieksa is currently on LTIR, the Canucks can technically carry $313,730 in daily salary (the maximum allowable of $294,300 plus Bieksa’s daily salary of $19,430). This leaves the Canucks with about $15,487 in daily cap room. (Well, not really cap room per se, but they can use Bieksa’s LTIR exemption to add $15,487 in daily salary to the roster.) Without moving any other salaries from their current roster, this means that the Canucks can acquire the equivalent of about $2.989 million in annual salary.

The wrinkle to all this is that Bieksa is scheduled to come back in a week or so. When he does, the Canucks will have to comply with the cap. At this point, we have to assume that Willie Mitchell is out for the remainder of the regular season and the Canucks will have to put him on LTIR. (As far as I can tell, Mitchell is on IR right now, not LTIR. Again, please point out if I missed something here.)

Because Mitchell’s daily cap hit ($18,135) is slightly smaller than Bieksa’s, then the LTIR exemption is obviously smaller. Once Mitchell is on LTIR, then the Canucks can only carry $312,435 in daily salary. Using his exemption, the Canucks can add, without moving any other salaries, about $2.739 million in annual salary.

Just some food for thought as the NHL trade deadline approaches and the trade rumors come fast and furious.

March 2, 2010

Two Sides of the Demitra Coin

Not too long ago, in fact about 2 and a half weeks ago, in the ramp up to the “first deadline” before the roster freeze everyone had marked Demitra as on their trade block. Then came the Olympics and Canucks fans are already excited to have him back on the team. I knew from the beginning that Demitra was only going to get better during the Olympics and he showed that from game to game. Heck if Halak and the rest of the Slovak team hadn’t imploded in the 3rd period of their bronze medal game it would be Pavol not Sami coming home with the medal.

Demitra was playing some inspired hockey and it’s clear that he’s found his stride. I don’t doubt when he returns to the lineup tonight in the NHL he’s going to be better than he was before the Olympics but when playing with linemates like Wellwood and Bernier, I fully expect his level of play to regress a little. He’s slated to start on the 2nd line tonight but I doubt playing alongside silver medalist Ryan Kesler can spark him the way Hossa and Gaborik did.

Demitra’s play at the Olympics made his value spike, but that being said trading him isn’t going to give us all that much more cap room. While he has a 4 million salary cap hit over 82 games, it’s pro-rated over the games he’s played and the games he has remaining, so really his cap hit is more in the area of 1.2 million. Right now with a struggling set of bottom six forwards, Demitra’s play isn’t going to thrive. That being said the Canucks can never have too much scoring so it makes sense to keep him around. So what do you do?

The original rumours of Demitra to the Rangers look better than ever. Especially if he got to play with fellow Slovak Gaborik and re-spark what they had at the Olympics here in Vancouver. If that were the case the Canucks would likely have to throw a couple other players in and swing some sort of package deal but in moving a big name like Demitra, you’re going to want something back. The Canucks are not in the business of selling at this deadline.

Bottom line is while Demitra’s value has gone way up because of his play at the Olympics the Canucks aren’t likely to get what they need at this deadline in return for him. Right now they need a defenseman and the list of teams that would want Demitra aren’t the same list of teams that have a top 6 blue-liner capable of filling our needs. At the end of the day Demitra’s value to this team keeps interesting. Demitra gets to slot back into the PP taking that point shot away from Raymond/Samuelsson, and he has the potential to really ignite that 3rd line and give the Canucks another offensive weapon. With the playoffs coming up we’ll need a guy like Demitra on the team and unless Gillis gets offered some sort of no-brainer in return for Demitra I don’t see him moving at this deadline