In celebrating the Vancouver Canucks' 40th anniversary, this season the club has introduced the Ring of Honour, an exclusive club of four members whose contributions to the franchise will be recognized. Since the club's inception in 1970, the franchise has seen its fair share of up and downs but through the good times and the bad, the Canucks have had its fair share of hockey heroes. On October 26, 2010, when the Canucks played host to the visiting Avalanche, Orland Kurtenbach, the franchise's f
Hello again!
It feels like forever since I've been back. Last year, I left this "Bleeding Blue and Green" blog (special thanks to Derek Jory for the opportunity, should he ever see this) after the website overhaul and started my own blog, Armchair Hockey. Check it out if you have a chance! There's some more recent stuff about the Rick Nash trade sweepstakes, the Kings-Flyers relationship and more.
The Canucks pick 26th this year, and unfortunately for them it's a strong year for defensemen
I think everyone's a little tired of the Stephane Auger-Alex Burrows incident. What had been said to Auger behind closed doors won't be revealed, but it'll probably be along the lines of, "well, you know, just keep your mouth shut before the game and watch who you talk to." The NHL was in a bit of a pickle here because they can't pick sides - whatever side they choose, it sends the message that the NHL acknowledges that they have refs who cannot stay impartial during a game but are really refusi
"I'm going to go out on a limb here and I'm going to say that the Vancouver Canucks will not make it out of the first round... no matter who they play," says Theo Fleury.
Soon after Fleury made those comments, he was lambasted on Twitter (@TheoFleury14) and accused of being a misinformed troll. Ah, the beauty of social media and the Internet. Now, before everyone here starts getting their pitchforks and lanterns in a city-wide manhunt, let's step back and discuss this.
First, while I disa
<img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JkKg_dKJQO0/S7k_bUctgwI/AAAAAAAAAk4/oR2sWN5UJ74/s1600/NHL-President%27s-Trophy.jpg"class="imageFloatRightFramed">Sitting at the top of the league with 55 points in 38 games, the Canucks are in an unfamiliar territory. Always considered a division favourite and top 5 team in the West, having not lost a game in regulation since December 5 vs. St. Louis and going 11-0-2 afterwards, a slim lead over Colorado has expanded to 10 points and 1 game in hand and
Hockey players have always stood out from basketball, football, and to a lesser extent, baseball players because they carry themselves on and off the ice with a certain demeanor. Some call it boring or calculated, while others say they're humble and down-to-earth. Some of the greatest leaders the NHL has ever seen, including Wayne Gretzky, Steve Yzerman, and Bobby Orr, were very soft-spoken players who did more with their stick than their mouths. They were professional and knew their place in th
It's playoff hockey time, my favourite time of the year. It's the time of year when lying on the couch watching playoff hockey at 4 PM and opening up the window for a nice breeze constitutes as "enjoying the nice weather." Whatever, with the MLB regular season and both NBA and NHL playoffs starting this might as well be my winter hibernation.
And lo and behold, the greatest time of the year has also given us the best possible matchup in the first round - and it's certainly not
The trade deadline is tomorrow and in all likelihood the Canucks will not be making any changes. It's understandable, given the status quo with the Canucks atop the league with a healthy 15-point lead over second-place Minnesota in the division. This team boasts some really high-end skill, but given the recent performances of Mason Raymond, the on-and-off play of Mikael Samuelsson, and the general ineffectiveness of the bottom six save Tanner Glass and Manny Malhotra on most nights, you have to
I must admit it's weird not seeing mounds of snow on the streets in December, seeing how as I have spent the majority of the past four winters in Nova Scotia. But either way, it's the season of giving. So, in honour of that, here are your 20 worst trades in the NHL since the lockout! In chronological order! Hooray!
August 3, 2005. Edmonton trades Eric Brewer, Jeff Woywitka, and Doug Lynch to St. Louis for Chris Pronger.
The advent of the salary cap and a potential new ownership meant the Blu
Like Trevor Gillies and his antics in the Penguins brouhaha, the league's negative headlines have far outweighed the good. Case in point - Sidney Crosby has now missed two months with a concussion and is now unlikely to return this season, and while that topic has dominated Maclean's covers and sparked talk of amending the rulebook in this week's GM meetings, the best story this season has been the playoff race. Never before do I remember such a close race in the West and two such intriguing sto
All things considered, Kevin Bieksa seems to be on the outside looking in. With the acquisitions of Dan Hamhuis and Keith Ballard the Canucks don't have enough room to keep everyone. Alex Edler and Christian Ehrhoff aren't going anywhere, so at $3.75 million Bieksa is a very expensive third pair defenseman. Salo, Hamhuis, and Ballard all have no-trade clauses. I imagine none of the three will be asked to waive those clauses and if asked would be unwilling. Ben Kuzma of The Province lists Anaheim
It won't be long before Ducks fans forget that there was another number 9 before Bobby Ryan. Ryan ranked third among Ducks forwards in hits and had almost half the giveaways Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry had while posting more takeaways. Ryan, a natural right winger, has had to shift to the left to play on a line with Perry and Getzlaf but it hasn't diminished his production at all, posting a team-high 35 goals last year while also putting up 81 PIMs. Ryan's not a sniper but he's got great hands
<img src="http://www.fan590.com/images/teams/NHL/All-Star-Logo_NHL-2011.jpg"class="imageFloatLeftFramed">The NHL just released it's 100-player All-Star Game ballot. And it's an absolute joke. I wonder why the NHL comes up with these lists anyway. It's chock full of players with big salaries but little talent. It's full of players whose best days are clearly behind them. There are so many snubs I don't even know where to begin. No one really cares that the captains get to pick their teams
So at the end of the day, still no Zenon Konopka. That's unfortunate. I really think he could've helped. But Mike Gillis had the most productive deadline day of his career, bringing in veterans Chris Higgins from Florida and Maxim Lapierre from Anaheim. On a day in which little activity was anticipated, in part due to the large number of trades that occurred weeks before the deadline, Gillis accounted for 1/8 of all total trades. This despite Vancouver supposedly being one of the quietest teams.
Certain Canucks players and fans may not be so quick to make bold statements, but here's mine: write it down, the Vancouver Canucks are your 2011 President's Trophy winners. No other team in the NHL has cracked the century mark and the Canucks are already 5 points over. Now that's settled, I want to shift you attention to the big March tournament. No, not the one where Mike Krzyzewski's helmet-hair and Kansas' Morris twins are the prime time feature. The OTHER NCAA tournament, the one with Canuc
Christmas for the hockey fan is coming soon. As the deadline approaches, several teams have started to jump the gun. This is the first time I remember deals being completed several weeks before the deadline. Some of the big names have already been moved while I imagine others are waiting for the market to settle down. With Ottawa and Toronto both getting a head start on selling their assets, I don't imagine there will be a lot of big trades on deadline day but that won't stop the TSN crew from r
With Ryan Getzlaf healthy and Corey Perry's emergence as the West's best power forward, the Ducks boast one of the league's best duos. What should be concerning is their defense. The Ducks are expecting Brett Festerling, Brendan Mikkelson, Stu Bickell, Luca Sbisa, and perhaps Cam Fowler, if he makes the team, to log consistent NHL-calibre minutes, but if they can't then the Ducks' atrocious 251 GA (fourth-worst in West) could look even uglier. Offense: B, Defense: C+, Goaltending: B-
Other
It's no secret that the Canucks want to keep Ryan Kesler. But the other 29 teams in the league want him as well. The Selke nominee becomes a restricted free agent on July 1 and Mike Gillis wants to keep Kesler in the fold, preferably for the foreseeable future... but contract talks haven't gone well and have been put off until the end of the season.
Reports indicate that the Canucks have made a pitch for roughly $4 million per season, but Kurt Overhardt, Kesler's agent, and his camp have cou
Another week, another countdown. Expect the races to get heated especially after Steve Yzerman announced that the team will be announced on December 30th, moving it up one day. Brian Burke has announced that he will be picking his Team USA too, as just for kicks I've done so as well.
GOALTENDERS
1 (3) Roberto Luongo, Van (best Canadian goalie this week: 2-0, 1 SO, .970 SV%)
2 (1) Martin Brodeur, NJ (NJ now division leaders with 103rd SO but 5 GA vs. Luongo)
3 (2) Marc-Andre Fleury, Pit (g
When Ilya Kovalchuk scores, Atlanta was six games over .500. When he doesn't, they were five games under. Even Nicklas Bergfors, who averaged a point per game with more quality in ice-time since his departure from New Jersey, is re-signed, expecting 40 goals out of him is like hoping Sami Salo's body can stay intact for an entire season. The rest of the roster is filled with former Chicago depth players and a bunch of inconsistent youngsters like Bryan Little and Angelo Esposito. Nik Antropov ca
Growing up in a hockey-mad city, I idolized the Canucks. As a kid, you don't pay as much attention to wins or standings or special teams efficiency, and although the adrenaline rush of watching your team win is unmatched, you're always rooting for a single player. But given the economics of the league, players are drafted, signed, traded, waived, or bought out, coaches and GMs are hired, fired, and re-hired. For me, the appreciation of a single player was enough to keep me interested. When I att
As promised, my rundown of potential bodies that could be moved at the deadline:
Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Toronto, $6 million; Tomas Vokoun, Florida, $5.7 million; Pascal Leclaire, Ottawa, $3.8 million
Given that all three teams are out of the playoff race, it would be wise to deal the three starting goaltenders for the future. Giguere is unlikely to return next season, and although he is still the best (excuse me while I hold my judgment on James Reimer) and most experienced goalie on Toro
Even though the animosity on the ice between the Blues and the Canucks is real, it looks like upstairs in the front office it may be quite amicable. The Globe and Mail has recently reported that there is a potential deal in the works, with John Davidson having scouted the Manitoba Moose recently and Mike Gillis taking in the Blues-Habs game rather than the CHL Top Prospects game.
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The Canucks finished November with a 8-4-1 record, but there was one game everyone had their eye on: Saturday, November 20, a nationally-televised matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks. While Chicago may have lost several pieces to Atlanta and other teams, they were still the team that had eliminated the Canucks two years in a row from postseason play. The Canucks were overcoming two straight losses, a tough 4-3 OTL in Buffalo, extending their winless streak at HSBC Arena to seven-plus years, a
I love hockey fights. They should stay in the league. But there comes a time when it goes too far and hockey becomes a petty, score-settling, free-for-all that becomes an absolute disgrace to the best game in the world. That Islanders-Penguins tilt last night was the prime example.
Did it all start with Wednesday night's Bruins-Habs match-up that resulted in 14 goals and 12 fighting majors, now known as the
in Boston? I thoroughly enjoyed the first two and half periods of the game. Carey P
