First Attempt - FEB.22.08
Entry posted by Chuck Stanley
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<table align="center" border="0" width="80%"><tbody><tr><td><img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/02/chuckstanley_sm.jpg" align="left" hspace="4">The NHL’s trading deadline is February 26. For hockey fans, it’s Christmas all over again. Canuck fans are nestled all snug in their beds, with visions of Mats Sundin on the power play dancing in their heads. Some fans, sadly, are like the kid who wants a pony for Christmas. They have such high expectations they’re sure to wind up disappointed. Here are 9 points to help you avoid that “lump of coal” feeling at this year’s deadline:<br><br>
<b>1. There is a salary cap. </b><br><br>
Even if Tampa agrees to send Lecavalier, Richards and St. Louis to Vancouver for Chris Levesque it cannot happen due to the salary cap. The Canucks have 2-3 million dollars to spend, so trades have to make sense not only hockey-wise but financially. <br><br>
<b>2. Other NHL GMs are not stupid. </b><br><br>
Atlanta GM Don Waddell may wind up trading Marian Hossa. Yes, the Canucks may wind up getting him. Waddell’s job, however, is to build a good team in Atlanta. He will not trade Hossa for Matt Cooke and a 4th round pick. <br><br>
<a href="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/02/022108_preds09_b.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/02/022108_preds09_t.jpg" align="right" border="0" hspace="4" vspace="1"></a><b>3. The Canucks do make big trades. </b><br><br>
Every year people complain that the Canucks never make any blockbuster trades. These people have the memory of a Commodore VIC-20 computer. Roberto Luongo and the Sedins prove this theory wrong. The Canucks make their share of trades. The reality is no team can “go for broke” every year. <br><br>
<b>4. Nobody will come here just because they’re from Vancouver. </b><br><br>
Joe Sakic and Paul Kariya have had several opportunities to sign with Vancouver over the years. Neither has done so. Playing at home does not mean as much to players as getting paid and getting a ring. <br><br>
<b>5. Take any rumour posted on a message board with a grain of salt. </b><br><br>
99% of people you see on message boards are honest, loyal Canuck fans. The other 1%, however, go onto these boards to a) start wide-spreading rumours, 
scoop everyone on a trade, citing his cousin’s girlfriend’s hairdresser’s mechanic’s uncle as his source, or c) toy with fans’ emotions by starting bogus threads like “CROSBY TO VANCOUVER!!!!”. For the sake of your blood pressure, just ignore them. <br><br>
<a href="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/02/jan3108_bolts10_b.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/02/jan3108_bolts10_t.jpg" align="left" border="0" hspace="4" vspace="1"></a><b>6. You have to give up something to get something. </b><br><br>
This is the NHL, not Playstation. The Florida Panthers will not trade Olli Jokinen to Vancouver for Jannik Hansen and a 7th rounder. To get the scorer the Canucks need, you have to accept that players like Edler, Bourdon or Kesler may have to go. <br><br>
<b>7. Dave Nonis knows the team is having trouble scoring goals. </b><br><br>
Like Galileo proclaiming the world is round, people go on the radio to inform us that the Canucks can’t score. Yeah, I know. The players know. My goldfish knows. We ALL know. Nonis knows too, and I’m sure he’s working on it. <br><br>
<b>8. There is very little demand for underachieving, overpaid players. </b><br><br>
No smart GM would trade a high draft pick for an overpaid underachiever. Anyone who thinks the Canucks will “get rid of Naslund” for a draft pick is dreaming. <br><br>
I think the Canucks will be active at the trading deadline. They may even pick up a major talent like Hossa or Sundin. Remember, though…Christmas is all about naughty and nice. The NHL trading deadline is all about dollars and sense. </td></tr></table>
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