Jump to content
The Official Site of the Vancouver Canucks
Canucks Community
  • entries
    19
  • comments
    126
  • views
    46,531

History Will Be Made, Celebrating 40 Years, The Samuelsson Effect


Opmac

1,202 views

History Will Be Made

<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="

name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="
type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>

40th Anniversary Jerseys?

Icethetics is reporting Reebok indicates that the Canucks will not switch to their current third jersey as their home jersey next season as previously rumoured. It is also speculated that the Canucks will introduce a vintage jersey commemorate the team's 40th NHL season. It was suggested that uniform will be the stick-in-rink uniform.

<img src="http://i43.tinypic.com/8xu2de.png" class="imageFloatRightFramed">Under the NHL Vintage Program in the 2003-04 season, the Canucks wore both the white and dark stick-in-rink jersey numerous times. Then the jersey was used as the team's third jersey in the 2006-07 season and was worn in most home games in the playoffs. The team's current third jersey, introduced in the 2008-09 season is a modernized version of that jersey.

Even though the stick-in-rink was the team's first jersey, they will probably want to wear something they have not worn before. There are plenty of other options considering the number of jerseys the franchise has gone through in its 40 year history.

How about those old orca jerseys? Or the red skate jersey? The flying V?

There is also designing a brand new jersey, but that does not commemorate your history very well. Two of the best seasons in franchise history came in 1982 and 1994 with the skate jersey, so I think we will most likely see those worn to celebrate 40 years.

Ideally, I would like to see all of the jerseys in franchise history worn once to celebrate, but it is just the 40th anniversary, not the centennial like the Montreal Canadiens, so it's unlikely the NHL will allow the Canucks to do this.

Statistics Indicate Grabner's Feeling the Samuelsson Effect Sunday Night

Mikael Samuelsson was written in on the lineup card as the third line right wing, while Michael Grabner was written in as the second line right wing. One game into Samuelsson's return, statistics from Sunday night's game indicate Grabner has already felt the Samuelsson effect.

Grabner had a season low 9:20 of ice time which was only more than Darcy Hordichuk's 3:16. In addiiton, Hordichuk averaged 49 seconds per shift, while Grabner only averaged 40 seconds; lowest on the team. Grabner also received a minuscule 47 seconds on the power play, lowest amongst players with power play time, with third liner Kyle Wellwood next at 3:40.

<img src="http://i44.tinypic.com/mwdu1c.png" class="imageFloatLeftFramed">Yeah, the Minnesota Wild had 8 power plays, but on Friday night when Grabner scored the hat trick, the Anaheim Ducks had also had 8 power plays, but he still managed 13:37 of ice-time.

Samuelsson had 16:33 of ice time on Sunday night and on the season he has averaged 17:18. As we approach the playoffs, we can only expect a veteran and Stanley Cup winning player like Samuelsson to see his ice time go up, not down.

Grabner was also benched with five minutes to go in the third period and replaced by Jannik Hansen for one shift as Vigneault went with makeshift lines to defend a lead.

One game ago he scored his first NHL hat trick, 17 games into his NHL career, and just the next game his ice time decreased by four minutes following the return of Samuelsson. It makes his future with the team this year look bleak with Steve Bernier's impending return to the lineup.

According to @VanCanucks, the official Canucks Twitter feed, Steve Bernier "should be cleared to play Tuesday" against the Colorado Avalanche.

Love Bernier or not, when he is healthy, he will be put back into the lineup and given minutes. He is not going to simply replace Darcy Hordichuk and the four minutes a night he gets, he's going to play four minutes and more.

The fact that Grabner did not see an increase in ice time following a hat trick, casts a dark cloud over his future with the team for the rest of the season.

Image Credit: Rich Lam/Getty Images/Canucks.com

6 Comments


Recommended Comments

I would love it if they brought back either the old orca third jersey (the red / blue one) any of the skate jerseys or heck, even a flying V jersey. They have used the stick jersey for too long now, we need something new and fresh! or, uh, something old and not used anymore...

Link to comment

Compare even strength ice time. Grabner got about as much as any of the other top 9 forwards.

PK and PPs is the reason he got less ice.

Link to comment

A jersey isn't going to see us to another run to the stanley cup, versatility on the blue line might though. wouldnt mind seeing some of that.

Link to comment

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...