I wanted to give the readers a list of the trades and signings that Mike Gillis has done while with the Vancouver Canucks. We can look at the major moves and give him an overall grade on the job so far. But before we do that, it might be interesting to note just who Mike Gillis is, and why he was chosen as the 10th Canuck's GM in franchise History. He’s currently tied Brian Burke for the longest tenure as a GM with this team.
Mike Gillis was actually drafted in the NHL. He went 5th overall in
Ryan Kesler, the Sedins. Our "game changers." The ones who are supposed to win the game for us on a few nights.
Right now they just aren't good enough. Plain and simple. The Canucks are 0-3 vs. playoff seeded teams in this current part of the schedule, where they face tough competition each night including the next 5 games. Anahiem on a back-to-back from the loss to L.A., Pittsburgh, St. Louis, L.A., Anaheim.
The L.A. Kings are a team that look confident beating the Canucks. They were lo
It appears Zack Kassian has caused a bit of a stir with a gesture he made towards the Edmonton Oilers players near the end of the game on Friday night.
David Perron and Luke Gazdic got into it with Kassian as a scrum ensued at the benches with just under a minute to play in the third period. As Kassian was skating towards his bench for a line change, Perron made an extra attempt to rough him up.
The players on the ice came in for some generic pushing and shoving before being led away by t
Zack Kassian is on the bench for the power play. Still.
Does anyone remember Dustin Byfuglien? There was a purpose for the big guy. Go to the net and cause trouble.
Kassian should be in front of the net. Hiding shots from the point by Garrison or Edler, making sure the goalie can't see them. The goaltender might save the initial shot but there is more chance for a loose puck.
Kassian should also be able to have at least one, if not two defencemen on him in front of the net. Essentially
The storylines in this game is a writers dream. A struggling team desperate for points, playing an equally bad team, in a stadium of 54 thousands fans who were upset with Roberto Luongo sitting on the bench.
Where to start.
Let's begin with the most pressing and somewhat dire situation. The fiasco that is now Roberto Luongo and the relationship with the Vancouver Canucks. It is a well documented affair that has the makings of a marriage just staying together for the sake of the kids. Or in
http://youtu.be/qePKiGYqbkY
Shawn Thornton. Remember him? He won a Stanley Cup right here on Vancouver ice. He also ambushed The Province's Tony Gallagher on a Boston sports show. Gallagher did not do a good job defending himself either.
The same Shawn Thornton is now flirting with a Bertuzzi like suspension after his UFC style take down, followed by a ground and pound that knocked the Penguins Brooks Orpik out cold. Orpik required a stretcher to remove his limp body from the ice.
Orpik
This year has been a fairly sensational one for back-up goalies around the league. With Roberto Luongo down for the next 7-10 days with an apparent groin injury, Eddie Lack is stepping into his first NHL week as a starter.
Lack is 6-2-1 this year, with a 1.93 GAA and a save % of 9.28. Slightly better than Luongo's 2.24 GAA and .920 save %.
Look at the following back-ups that have played more than expected this season through injury or stellar play.
1. Martin Jones - He's the 6'4" goalie
http://forum.canucks.com/gallery/image/3307-/ Stop trying to win so badly. That's the motto the Canucks should be carrying with only 4 games remaining. We all know with 100% certainty that the players will be golfing come playoff time. Of course, there are no NHL players in this league that are going to stop trying to win games, but there are other alternatives. Like playing Nicklas Jensen, Frankie Corrado, Zack Kassian and the younger core more. As in, first line minutes more. More im
Me with Trevor Linden, wearing a #17 Vrbata jersey. See below picture for the proof.
With last years triumphant end to a disappointing season somewhat in the rear view mirror, the memory of not making the playoffs lingers like the smell of grandmas perfume hours after she left.
This summer was by far the busiest the Canucks organization has been in quite some time which showcased an assortment of moves. Ones which have finally brought us to this years training camp. An unsettling feelin
VANCOUVER, CANADA - MAY 24: Captain Henrik Sedin #33 of the Vancouver Canucks poses with the Clarence Campbell Trophy after the Vancouver Canucks defeated the San Jose Sharks 3-2 in double-overtime in Game Five to win the Western Conference Finals during the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Arena on May 24, 2011 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Bieksa got the game-winning goal in the second overtime to win the series four games to two. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Lord Stanley'
Being a Canucks fan these days is not an easy task.
We currently have an 8th place team in the Western Conference that doesn't know how to score goals, can't beat teams above them, and is riddled with injuries. A two goal deficit for this team on any given night seems like an impossible come back opportunity.
What's most troubling is the leadership of this group. The Sedin's, Ryan Kesler, former Canucks captain Roberto Luongo, Kevin Bieksa and Dan Hamhuis are supposed to be the voices of r
PROJECTED LINES IF SEASON STARTED TODAY:
Sven Baertschi - Bo Horvat - Brock Boeser
Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Loui Eriksson
Sam Gagner - Markus Granlund - Thomas Vanek
Derek Dorsett - Brandon Sutter - Jake Virtanen
(Extra forwards: Reid Boucher, Nicolay Goldobin, Anton Rodin, Michael Chaput, Jason Megna, Alex Burmistrov, Scotty Upshall)
Alex Edler - Chris Tanev
Michael Del Zotto - Troy Stecher
Ben Hutton - Erik Gudbranson
(Ext
Connor McDavid just arrived at the 82 game mark in his NHL career and it got me wondering how he compares to other great starts in an NHL career.
Although Connor is no longer considered a rookie, he has played a season's worth of games.
I scrubbed the NHL.com database to find the top 10 NHL rookie seasons of all time.
SPOILER ALERT: I've included Bo Horvat and the Sedin's rookie campaigns at the bottom. Meaning they aren't in the top 10. But you already knew t
There is a new statistical number on NHL.com that they have just added, called SAT. It's supposed to rank players by how they benefit their team on the ice. It includes a players goals and shot attempts.
Here is the equation they use to define this number:
SAT (shot attempts 5-on-5) has the following equation: (Goals + Shots + Missed Shots + Team Blocked Shots) - (Goals Against + Shots Against + Missed Shots Against + Opponent Shots Blocked) when player is on the ice.
Which is actu
15 days covering 6 games.
That's the length of suspension that Canucks coach John Tortorella received after his well documented and over analyzed visit to the Calgary Flames dressing room on Saturday night. Lost in the controversy however was the 'Where's Waldo' situation involving Vancouver defenceman Kevin Bieksa.
If you watch the video above or on youtube, you can see that John Tortorella wasn't the only one who ventured into unwanted territory. Kevin Bieksa found, shall we say, an alte
If you haven't heard, the NHL is off to it's hottest start financially in the history of the game. Maybe the lockout wasn't such a bad thing.
When you start to break down the numbers though, you realize why ESPN has the NHL on the back burner when it comes to tv highlights and top 5 stories on their website.
Below are the different revenues for the big 4 sports in North America. The NHL, MLB, NBA and NFL.
Think we pay a lot for an NHL ticket?
The average ticket price for an NHL game
Are the Vancouver Canucks better without Alex Edler in the lineup this year? The Canucks don't appear to be struggling in his absence.
Think about this. There are 767 players that have played in the NHL this year according to NHL.com. Out of those 767, Alex Edler ranks 753 in plus/minus at -12. Mike Stanton is a +4 and Kevin Bieksa is a team high +10, so you can't blame it on the lack of goals.
Now granted, many don't believe in the plus/minus statistic. There is more to the story however.
