A frustrated Luongo suggested the Canucks are playing down to the level of the NHL's also-rans instead of rolling over them, and said in no uncertain terms that has to change.

"We need to bury them, that's the bottom line," Luongo said after the Canucks ended a four-game road trip by dropping a 3-1 decision to the St. Louis Blues.

"A number of times we have talked about the same thing against teams like that and we keep shooting ourselves in the foot."

• Some post-game pieces. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province), Brad Ziemer (Vancouver Sun)
• Sopel and Smolinski were okay. Not great, not terrible, just okay. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province), Brad Ziemer (Vancouver Sun)
• Bad for Marc, good for the Moose. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province), Brad Ziemer (Vancouver Sun)
• The common reaction after yesterday's trade deadline - the West got a lot, lot better. - Tony Gallagher (Vancouver Province)
• On trade deadline day, Nonis rested. Well, not really, but after getting Smoke and Sopes, he didn't get anyone else. - Ben Kuzma (Vancouver Sun)

About the game around the blogosphere

• Game recaps from Waiting For Stanley, The Chief Canuck and Canucks Fangirl.

My 3 Stars of the Game

1. Curtis Sanford (STL): 25 saves and is now 5-0 lifetime against the 'Nucks.
2. Doug Weight (STL): Veteran stepped it up in the third period and scored two goals.
3. Daniel Sedin (VAN): Scored a goal. Would have had at least a couple of assists if Santala could shoot.

Official Statistics

• Scoresheet
• Stat Sheet
• Shift Chart

Labels: Blues, game recap, Smolinski, Sopel

Labels: Eklund, Sportsnet, trades

Check the not-so-subliminal message at the bottom of the pic.

Thanks to the Chamberlands for sending it in.


[update: 02/27/07, 10:10 AM]

Following this New York Daily News article, the Rangers have traded Aaron Ward to the Boston Bruins.

Coincidence?


[update: 02/27/07, 9:56 AM]

You know, the only thing I've found out from Sportsnet's trade deadline show so far is just how much I'm craving pizza right now.


[update: 02/27/07, 9:44 AM]

Oh great, the Canucks get to face another Moore eight times a season. (Kukla's Corner)


[update: 02/27/07, 9:38 AM]

I'm sure this isn't much of a surprise but Marc Chouinard has cleared waivers (HF Boards).

Everyone else was claimed. Okay, not everyone, but most of them did: Michael Leighton went to the Habs; Niko Kapanen went to the Phoenix Coyotes; the Columbus Blue Jackets replaced Ty Conklin with Brian Boucher; Denis Hamel went to the Philadelphia Flyers (the Flyers kinda feel like an expansion right now, don't you think?); and the Atlanta Thrashers grabbed Jason Krog.


[update: 02/27/07, 9:20 AM]

Freakin' Sharks. (TSN.ca)

Thornton, Marleau, Cheechoo, Guerin.


[update: 02/27/07, 8:56 AM]

Darren Dreger (TSN) is reporting that Bill Guerin has been traded. Who are we gonna talk about now?


[update: 02/27/07, 8:45 AM]

Feel like trying to anticipate some trades? James Mirtle (Globe and Mail) has a list of pending unrestricted free agents.


[update: 02/27/07, 8:39 AM]

Per TSN: Laraque to the Penguins.


[update: 02/27/07, 8:36 AM]

More from the Phoenix Coyotes camp courtesy of The Fourth Period.


[update: 02/27/07, 8:31 AM]

And there you have it, the first "What the heck were you thinking when you traded Roberto Luongo" volley from the TSN panel to Mike Keenan. Good times.


[update: 02/27/07, 8:29 AM]

How not to ask for a trade (Arizona Republic):

Center Jeremy Roenick made it clear he wants out.

"I would like to go to another team to try to get back into the playoffs and feel that energy again," Roenick said. "But I question whether someone's going to take a chance on someone who has been buried on the fourth line for half the year and is a 10-minute (per game) player. I don't know if that's going to pan out. It's unfortunate."

Roenick made harsher comments in a television interview."(I've been) swept through the mud, so to say," Roenick told TSN. He also said the Coyotes had "driven (him) down to the basement." Roenick's comments enraged members of Phoenix's management team.

... He still isn't healthy enough to play, meaning any general manager willing to roll the dice on the ex-Vancouver Canucks’ player will have to make his decision sight unseen. Bertuzzi has not played since early October after undergoing back surgery. One GM said Bertuzzi’s ongoing health issues means that if he does move as a player rental, the cost would be minimal – and probably involve one or more conditional draft choices. That’s not to rule him out exclusively.

In the first conversation, the Blues expressed "serious intent" in re-signing Guerin, who has been garnering a lot of interest leading up to the NHL trading deadline today at 2 p.m. (St. Louis time).

"We had a bit of a discussion about signing Billy," Murray said. "They were general discussions, not negotiations back and forth. We talked about parameters and we have left that with the Blues. At this point, it's in their quarters, whether they want to take the next step ... if they want to trade Billy or take a further step."

Labels: liveblog, trades

The Vancouver Canucks addressed two pressing needs Monday by acquiring centre Bryan Smolinski from the Chicago Blackhawks and defenceman Brent Sopel from the Los Angeles Kings.

Smolinski, 35, was acquired for a 2007 second-round pick while the Canucks surrendered a second-round pick in 2007 or 2008 and a fourth-round pick in 2008 for Sopel, 30. They'll be in the lineup tonight in St. Louis, where the Canucks face the Blues.

Considering the reasonable prices before today's noon (PST) trade deadline -- and heightened hype over Stanley Cup potential -- general manager Dave Nonis remains cautious.

Before the all-members meeting of the Stanley Cup parade committee, Vancouver chapter, is convened, a word of caution.

After watching 20 trade deadlines come and go, the only thing we know for certain about deadline deals is we don't know anything for certain about deadline deals.

Moves that appear to be brilliantly conceived -- Theo Fleury for Robyn Regehr and other stuff at the 1999 deadline -- blow up in a team's face. Moves that are scarcely worth an inch of six-point type -- Calgary acquired Ville Nieminen and Marcus Nilson at the '04 deadline -- help spark a deep playoff run.

So to paraphrase the immortal Joaquin Andujar, you can sum up deadline trades with three words: You never know.

Luongo and coach Alain Vigneault have raised expectations, but not enough to rationally explain the disparity between projections made for this team in September and February.

The reality is the Canucks are an average team with exceptional goaltending and excellent special teams. In regulation time, they are 23-21-18. They are difficult to play against and were going to make the playoffs before Monday's trades, and their post-season success, as with the regular season, was going to be determined largely by Luongo and special teams.

Smolinski and Sopel might help, but the Canucks still will win or lose on Luongo, the power play and penalty killing. What Nonis has done is increase Vancouver's margin for error, but only fractionally.

"We got Sopes? No way, that's great," defenceman Kevin Bieksa said after Sami Salo read out the deals to a group of curious players.

The news came as a relief to a group who, despite public proclamations to the contrary, knew they needed depth both up front and on the back end to have a legitimate shot at making a long playoff run this year.

"I think these are two pretty good moves," centre Brendan Morrison said. "It's confidence from management that this group has the potential to do something this year and that's how we feel in the room."

Marc Chouinard said he was surprised and disappointed to learn Monday he had been put on waivers by the Vancouver Canucks.

Those same words could also describe Canuck management's reaction to his play this season.

Labels: Smolinski, Sopel, trades

So what's it going to be, Dave Nonis, deal or no deal?

Chances are we are going to have to wait until about noon Tuesday to find out.

The Canuck general manager joined his team in Dallas on the weekend after attending GM meetings in Florida and said Sunday he's not close to anything.

Of course, that can change with one call to the cell phone that Nonis spent quite a bit of time on his during the Canucks' 2-1 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars.

"I'm not close on anybody." Nonis said. "I'm having lots of conversations, but there isn't much coming out of them. That can change quickly, but right now, as we stand here, no, we're not close."

Both on and off the ice this weekend, the Vancouver Canucks made their trade deadline target for help up front abundantly clear -- a centreman or bust.

Off the ice, the Canucks had no interest in trying to re-acquire winger Anson Carter, Vancouver's leading goal-scorer last season and, according to fans, the team's most exciting player.

On the ice Sunday, an awkward line featuring Markus Naslund, Jan Bulis and inexperienced centre Brad Moran was, well, awkward.

For two periods, Naslund looked like he was handcuffed to a couple of frat boys unsure of what party to attend. The line meandered around the ice unable to produce a single scoring chance or even a shot on net.

Then in the third, Naslund was set loose with the Sedin twins. He produced three scoring chances on his first two shifts.

It's believed Anaheim GM Brian Burke has turned his attention to Blues RW Bill Guerin after failing to acquire LW Keith Tkachuk from St. Louis. Ten teams are interested in Guerin -- including the Senators, Leafs, Canucks and Penguins -- and St. Louis is weighing its options.

Labels: trades

• Price paid for too many penalties. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province)
• Penalties cost Canucks a win. - Brad Ziemer (Vancouver Sun)

About the game around the blogosphere

• Waiting For Stanley blames Bulis.
• The Chief Canuck mentions him as well in his roundup.
• Canucks Fangirl laments the loss of Pyatt to injury.

Official Statistics

• Scoresheet
• Stat Sheet
• Shift Chart

Labels: game recap, Stars

The Canucks are just four points behind the Ducks with a game in hand for second place in the Western Conference. The proximity to such lofty heights seemed unfathomable before Christmas when Anaheim had a cushion on the Canucks that was more than 20 points. But a 19-3-3 run will tend to have a dramatic impact on the standings.

The Canucks have already played the Stars three times this season, winning two. Each of the games has ended 2-1.

• Both teams have 36 wins for the season.
• Only a point separate the Canucks (61 GP, 76 pts) and the Stars (60 GP, 75 pts) in the standings.
• Neither team put a lot of pucks in the net, both being in the bottom third in the league in scoring. The Stars are 23rd, averaging 2.62 goals per game; the Canucks are 24th, averaging 2.61.
• Both are in the top of the league in goals against - the Stars are 2nd in the NHL, allowing only 2.37 goals per game; the Canucks are 4th, allowing only 2.48 goals per game.
• The Stars score on 18.2% of their powerplay opportunities; the Canucks score on 17.8% of theirs.
• The Canucks' penalty-killing unit are tops in the league with an 88.7% success rate; the Stars aren't too far behind with an 84.1% success rate.

• A memo from Luongo to his defensemen. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province)
• And you thought some of the trade rumors out there were bad. - Ed Willes (Vancouver Province)
• Ryan Kesler proclaims his rehab to be two weeks ahead of schedule. - Ben Kuzma (Vancouver Province)
• The Stars have claimed ex-Canuck - and our dog's namesake - Baumer and may have him in the lineup today. - TSN.ca

Labels: game day preview, Stars

You can catch a glimpse of Johnny Canuck painted on the side of Roberto Luongo's mask on nights when the local team wears its vintage blue, green and white uniforms. And the question begs: "Is the artwork on Luongo's mask a hint of things to come?"

The modern day Canucks' marketing machine has instructed its large army of merchandising retailers to stand by for an announcement on Aug. 1.

"Right now we're ordering next year's inventory blindly," says the owner of a sporting goods outlet in North Vancouver. "All we've been told is that the colours of the uniforms will be blue, green and white, but we don't know what the crest is going to look like. The current killer whale [or orca] jersey, as we understand it, will be kept in reserve and occasionally be used as a 'classic' uniform."

Labels: jersey, logo

Labels: Sabres, Senators

Somewhere in a reverse engineering class, someone should be studying the Vancouver Canucks.

They seem to be defying physics and the most basic laws of nature with their current pattern: No matter how poorly they play they can't seem to lose.

Nearing the end an abysmal final period, Kevin Bieksa scored off a feed from Markus Naslund to give the Canucks a 3-2 win. The goal went in at the 16:04 mark of the third period.

At the time, the Canucks were getting outshot 13-2.

"It was a game plan well executed in the third -- spend the whole period in our zone and make sure the goalie's cold on the other side so we can get one," Roberto Luongo deadpanned.

The Canucks insist all these one-goal games are not part of their master plan. They'd like to win big, but can't seem to put teams away until near the end of games.

"I don't think that's part of the plan," said captain Markus Naslund, who set up Bieksa's winning goal as well as an earlier one by Brendan Morrison. "I didn't think it was a well-played game, especially us taking way too many penalties, but it's another win and you have to be happy about that."

• Brendan Morrison's first game as a Vancouver Canuck was in March 2000 when he had a goal and an assist. He hasn't missed a game since, and last night, broke Trevor Linden's franchise record of 483 consecutive games played in a Canucks uniform. - Ed Willes (Vancouver Province)
• After Tommi Santala drew into the lineup last night - centering Markus Naslund no less - everyone is asking the same question. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province)
• Vigneault's wishlist - and mine - includes another top-4 defenseman before the trade deadline. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province)
• Here's a postgame piece from La-La land's point of view. - Chris Foster (LA Times)
• Anze Kopitar, rookie superstar and new face of the Kings' franchise. Will forever be the comparison point for Luc Bourdon. - Brad Ziemer (Vancouver Sun)

About the game around the blogosphere

• The Chief Canuck and Waiting For Stanley give their postgame recaps.

My 3 Stars of the Game

1. Lubomir Visnovsky (LA): Loved the way he moved the puck. One goal and five shots.
2. Sami Salo (VAN): Solid, solid, solid especially on the PK.
3. Michael Cammalleri (LA): Won 66% of his faceoffs and was dangerous around the net. One assist and six shots on goal.

Official Statistics

• Scoresheet
• Stat Sheet
• Shift Chart

Labels: game recap, Kings

Rebecca takes a healthy scratch on this episode while the rest of us, even Dave, gather together to take a look at the last four games against Minnesota, Chicago, Colorado, and Anaheim. Things have been looking really good lately, and we all feel incredibly excited at the fact that the playoffs seem more and more in sight.

Record as of this episode: 35-21-4
Northwest Division: 1st
Western Conference: 3rd

With 22 games left in the season and the trade deadline looming, there’s a lot to talk about, but none of us are really too sure as to what we can expect. Something is bound to happen, and we all have our own theories as to who might go or stay. A listener from London checks in with a question about a possible Canucks game next season in the U.K.

A lot of things are going well, but as fans, we know that we have to be careful to not get too far ahead of ourselves. However, listen to our episodes from early this season and the mood was incredibly different. Oh how things can change…

Labels: podcast

Alain Vigneault wanted to put an end to any goalie controversy before it began.

"Louie's playing [tonight]," Vigneault said with a laugh after Wednesday's energetic practice.

The truth, of course, is there never was a doubt.

Despite Dany Sabourin's impressive win, Roberto Luongo will be back in net trying to regain the rhythm that helped him to a 17-3-2 record in his past 22 games with a 2.18 GAA and a .935 save percentage.

Centre Tommi Santala, who hasn't played for the Canucks since Dec. 8, will likely dress tonight. He skated on a line Wednesday with Markus Naslund and Jan Bulis, although Vigneault said he hasn't decided exactly where he will play Santala.

"I think Tommi is going to go in tomorrow," Vigneault said. "I'm not sure where yet. I wanted to see how he fit in there."

He's had more linemates than he cares to count. He's been playing on the third line.

But Canucks captain Markus Naslund isn't complaining.

"He hasn't said a word," coach Alain Vigneault said.

"It's been, 'Whatever you want, Coach.' That's the attitude you want. When you have a team-first attitude, he's proving without a doubt that he's a great leader and a very good captain for this team. He knows what he needs to do. He wants to win like everyone else."

Naslund endured a 17-game goal drought earlier this season and his offensive game seemed out of sorts. Lately, he has been a more consistent contributor to a Canuck offence that seems to finally be living up to that scoring-by-committee mantra we heard so much about at training camp.

In his last 18 games, Naslund has eight goals and 21 points.

"I'm feeling better and better about my game and I'm feeling that the confidence is coming back, which I think is such a huge part of anyone's game and especially if you are an offensive player," he said. "It's fun. It's fun to win and it's fun to be on a roll like we are right now."

A poll on nhl.com in this age of electronic ballot stuffing isn't exactly hard science, but there is enough recent anecdotal evidence to support the results from the one the league had up Wednesday.

The poll question was simple: Who deserves the Jack Adams award as coach of the year?
Three were running away with it -- the Pens' Michel Therrien, the Predators' Barry Trotz -- and Vancouver's Alain Vigneault.

Canuck defenceman Sami Salo admitted he, personally, wouldn't have made the trade, and winger Matt Cooke warned: "You can criticize [a GM] for not pulling the trigger, but you give up that much, it better work out."

Later, Cooke added: "The best mindset [for Canuck players] is to approach the deadline like nothing will happen and prepare yourself to win with the guys we have here. That's what we're doing. It's expensive right now. We don't agree with giving up everything for one guy."

So in the short term, the Canucks may not be thrilled to see Forsberg in a Predator uniform for the rest of this season. But in the bigger picture, there's no question that Dave Nonis made the right move by making no move at all—at least as far as paying through the nose for a guy like Forsberg.

That's not to suggest for a moment that Forsberg wouldn't have looked good in a Canuck uniform. But the timing of such a move wouldn't have made any sense for an organization that appears to be two years away from being in the position to make a big-ticket purchase at the trading deadline.

When it became abundantly obvious Mike Johnston's interview to become head coach of the Vancouver Canucks was nothing more than a courtesy waste of his time, he followed Marc Crawford to L.A. where they both knew the going with the Kings was going to be tough.

Labels: game day preview, Kings

During several barrages on the Canucks net Tuesday, you couldn't help but wonder: Was that Roberto Luongo hiding under Dany Sabourin's white alien mask?

Sabourin whirled himself around the ice, threw everything he had at the puck and with sheer effort kept the Canucks in a game in which they were often getting pounded, out-played and out-classed.

"He has been working hard all year and I couldn't be happier for the guy," said Roberto Luongo, who got a rare night off. "He was the first star in my book. He made some huge saves, especially in the first period and then late in the game."

• It's kinda funny that the Canucks won the game on a cheesy, Scott Niedermayer hooking penalty. The league was supposed to discuss exactly what constitutes hooking. (To be fair, I don't think what Scotty did merited a hooking penalty; but then again, Brendan Morrison was similarly called on a cheesy holding penalty in the first period.) - Ben Kuzma (Vancouver Province)
• Here's something from the Ducks side of things. - Dan Wood (OC Register)

About the game around the blogosphere

• As usual, The Chief Canuck has the good, the bad and the ugly.
• Waiting For Stanley and Canucks Fangirl also recap the game.
• Despite the Canucks win, Earl Sleek of Battle of California fame won a bet.

My 3 Stars of the Game

1. Dany Sabourin (VAN): I'm taking Louie's advice on this one. 38 saves on 40 shots from a dangerous Ducks team.
2. Markus Naslund (VAN): One, goal, one assist and looking more and more like the Markus of old.
3. Ryan Getzlaf (ANA): Good Canadian kid a threat all night. Six shots on goal plus a few more chances.

Official Statistics

• Scoresheet
• Stat Sheet
• Shift Chart

Labels: Ducks, game recap, Sabourin