"I felt good after the meeting," Daniel said. "I talked to Henrik in the car after and it felt good. Mike is a nice man. I like his ideas on the team. He wants to play a more exciting style of game. We had an open dialogue."

More than anything, Daniel and Henrik Sedin went to dinner last night needing to be needed. But Mike Gillis isn't the warm and cuddly type.

The two sides will learn to like one another. And Wednesday's bread-breaking was probably a pretty good start.

In truth, Gillis has made it known for a while that he wanted his best two forwards to remain Vancouver Canucks beyond next season.

In truth, a contract offer has been on the table most of the summer. In truth.

But the universal perception -- shared by the twins -- is that Gillis was unsure about his leading scorers from Ornskoldsvik and might view them as former general manager Dave Nonis's leftovers.

That perception was largely shaped by Gillis. And not only because of his famous April quote questioning if the Sedins were "players the team will be built around moving forward," but because he didn't contact them in the following four months to provide the context he admits was missing from his remarks.

Gillis described his meeting with the twins as a get-to-know session.

"We didn't discuss it last night, and I'm not going to discuss it publicly with anyone," he said Thursday. "We want to keep quality players here, we want to have players that want to play here, and the strategy for any player is to try and accomplish those goals. You know, we've had a strategy in place for some time, and we're gonna follow through on it."

You can argue Daniel and Henrik aren't "dominant" first-liners or "dynamic" first-liners or "intimidating" first-liners. You might even claim they're not "good enough" first-liners, but you must have awfully high standards because by any statistical measure, Daniel and Henrik are elite forwards.

In the last two seasons, Daniel has 158 points and Henrik 157. Mats Sundin, who has left Gillis hanging on a two-year, $20-million offer and whose only contract right now is with an online poker service, has 154 points the last two seasons.

Only 18 players have outscored the Sedins. There are 30 NHL first lines -- by definition, 90 first-line players. So the twins not only score like first-line players, but are among the better ones in the league.

The twins, after all, aren't exactly negotiating from a position of weakness. For starters, they are one year away from unrestricted free agency. They also represent an alarming share of the Canucks' -- for wont of a better term -- offence. (Last season Henrik accounted for 76 points and Daniel had 74. The next closest returning Canucks were Ryan Kesler and Taylor Pyatt with, ta-da, 37 points each.) And when you come right down to it, the numbers they've put up in the Canucks' no-goal system compare favourably to some of the NHL's elite.

Over the last three seasons, for example, both Henrik and Daniel have put up more points than Brad Richards, Patrick Marleau and Marian Gaborik. Of those players, Marleau will be the lowest-paid this season at $6.3 million. Uh, if we can figure that out, rest assured there are others.

Labels: Sedin

Labels: Linden

For the past decade, Glen Wesley helped shepherd the Carolina Hurricanes from homeless vagabonds in North Carolina to Stanley Cup champions.

Now, the last remaining original Hurricane is calling it a career.

After 20 seasons in the NHL and 13 as one of the most popular faces of the Hurricanes' franchise, Wesley announced his retirement Thursday because of family reasons. The team then gave the defenceman a job in the front office and pledged to retire his No. 2 jersey.

• A thank you from CasonBlog
• A tribute from Canes Country

Labels: hindsight is 20/20

The departure of Jim Hughson from Sportsnet Pacific to the hallowed halls of Hockey Night in Canada at CBC has left a large hole in the broadcast landscape for Vancouver Canucks fans. But that might be changing in a matter of hours.

Rumors out of Sportsnet have it that John Shorthouse has agreed to a deal with the network to call all their televised Canucks games this season, while still maintaining his gig at TEAM 1040 for those games being televised on other networks.

Labels: Shorthouse

Labels: Bourdon

Vancouver Canucks defenceman Luc Bourdon was killed in a motorcycle accident in northern New Brunswick on Thursday. He was 21.

Bourdon, a promising young defenceman who played his junior hockey with the Moncton Wildcats, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles and Val d'Or Foreurs of the QMJHL, split his first pro season in 2007-08 between Vancouver and the American Hockey League's Manitoba Moose.

He scored two goals and was a plus-7 in 27 games with the Canucks last season.

It is with deep regret that the Vancouver Canucks today announced defenceman Luc Bourdon passed away in a motor vehicle accident on Thursday morning. Bourdon was 21 years old.

“We are deeply saddened by today’s news and on behalf of the entire Vancouver Canucks organization, I would like to extend my sincere sympathies to Luc’s family,” said Canucks General Manager, Mike Gillis. “Luc was an extremely talented player with a bright future. He brought great passion to the game and was a valued team member on and off the ice. He will be greatly missed.”

• Luc Bourdon 1987-2008: 'He was going to be a special, special player' (Ed Willes, Vancouver Province)
• Bourdon spellbound by the 'power and beauty' of bikes, mother remembers (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
• Not forgotten in hometown (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
• Canucks GM Gillis vows to take action on risky activities (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
• Canucks struggle with death of Luc Bourdon (Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun)
• Remembering the real Luc Bourdon (Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun)
• NHL player Bourdon killed in motorcycle crash (Allan Maki, Oliver Moore and Matthew Sekeres, Globe and Mail)
• Moose in mourning (Ken Wiebe, Winnipeg Sun)
• Crash cuts a promising hockey career very short (Tim Campbell, Winnipeg Free Press)
• Canucks’ Bourdon killed in motorcycle accident (Willy Palov, The Chronicle Herald)
• Hunt shocked by news of death (Greg Harder, Regina Leader-Post)
• Luc Bourdon: A life that ended far too soon (Wade Babineau, The Guardian)

Labels: Bourdon

"When I took the warmup and saw how many people were down in our end, I kind of had that feeling. As the game went on, it was quite overwhelming. You think of all the tremendous athletes that have played their respective sports, for me to receive that response is incredible. It's very special."

- via Jim Jamieson (Vancouver Province)

Forget the fact that the Canucks ended the season with a 7-1 blowout loss to the Flames. Forget that, in the last two weeks, they lost seven of their last eight games when all they needed was three more points to make the playoffs. On Saturday night, those were irrelevant. Some people said Saturday was a mean-nothing game. This may have been true standings-wise, but for the fans, this game meant a lot of things.

For me - and obviously a lot of Canucks fans - it meant a chance to say thank you and farewell to Trevor Linden, and even, Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison. Though with all due respect to Naslund and Morrison, the night was undoubtedly about Trevor.

It definitely was a special night. The fans gave Trevor many standing ovations: one when he started the game with Kesler and Naslund and again; another when he started the third period; another during his final shift with a minute left in the game; another after the game was over and his teammates congratulated him; another as the Flames, one by one, came back on the ice and shook his hand (pure class by Jarome Iginla, Robin Regehr and the rest of the Flames); another as CBC, ceremoniously, named him the game's first star and he skated around the rink; and yet another when he gave the jersey off his back to a lucky fan.

In case you missed it, here is the video of his final skate around GM Place:



As long as I've followed the Canucks, and with the exception of those dark years in the late '90s, Trevor has been part of this team. Like every other Canucks fan, a lot of my memories of the team includes him. He was the captain the first time I ever watched a Canucks game on TV. He scored the OT game-winner the second game I ever saw live (1994, game 6 vs. Calgary). I remember the '94 run, the 1998 Olympics, his hit on Jeff Norton, game 7 vs. St. Louis and game 7 vs. Dallas. There are many more, of course. While I agree that it's time for Trevor to walk away, at the same time it's hard to envision a Canucks game without number 16.

His on-ice accomplishments were only a small part of what he's meant to this team and this community. He's always made himself available to many charities. He's a fixture at Canucks Place and BC Children's Hospital. He's a spokesperson for the Canadian Cancer Society. We don't usually hear about these instances, but that's because he never draws any attention to them. The NHL noticed and awarded him the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 1997. So did the Government of BC which awarded him the Order of British Columbia in 2003.

"You know, sometimes I ask myself that because I'm overwhelmed. I'm flattered. I feel extremely fortunate, blessed, the way things have gone. But I have to be honest with you: I ask myself that, too. Sometimes I almost feel kind of like: Who deserves this? I can't begin to say the effect it had on me. I'm a guy from Medicine Hat who played a game he loved, and to get that kind of response was really amazing."

- via Iain MacIntyre (Vancouver Sun)

Trevor's response to Saturday's events is all you need to know about his character. He is a celebrity and a hero in this province, yet always humble. He is a tireless warrior, but respected even by his biggest opponents. He is a fierce leader and role model to every player that's ever donned the Canucks jersey not named Messier. In other words, he's embodied everything we've ever wanted a Canuck to be.

Trevor said he's fortunate and blessed and that's true. But so were we, Canucks fans, to have been witness to his career.

More tributes for Trevor from John Bollwitt, Joe Pelletier, Jes Golbez and Mike the Yankee Canuck.

______________
Comments/Questions: Feel free to post in the comments section or email me at gocanucksgo10 (at) hotmail (dot) com.

Technorati Tags: NHL, hockey, Vancouver, Canucks

Labels: Linden

Labels: Larscheid, Linden, Morrison, Naslund

Labels: game recap, Oilers

• Game day previews from the Vancouver side. (Ben Kuzma, Vancouver Province; Ben Kuzma, Vancouver Province; Cam Cole, Vancouver Sun; Matthew Sekeres, Globe and Mail)
• Louie's ready to go. (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
• Pyatt's not. (Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun)

Labels: game day preview, Luongo, Oilers, Pyatt

• March 25th vs. Calgary - They allowed two goals in 41 seconds in the third period.
• March 26th vs. Colorado - In the second period, they allowed two goals in 73 seconds and then another two goals in 62 seconds. Those four goals came in a span of only 6:47.
• March 28th vs. Minnesota - They allowed two goals in 5:44 in the first period and another two goals in 5:00 in the second period.
• April 1st vs. Colorado - They allowed three goals in 5:19.

• Game recaps from the Vancouver side. (Matthew Sekeres, Globe and Mail; Ben Kuzma, Vancouver Province; Ed Willes, Vancouver Province; Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun)
• Botchford blames Louie. (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
• Cole blames Nazzy. (Cam Cole, Vancouver Sun)
• Game recaps from the Colorado side. (Rick Sadowski, Rocky Mountain News; Terry Frei, Denver Post)

• Decent team is putting it nicely. (Waiting For Stanley)
• Tapeleg earned some bragging rights. (Jerseys and Hockey Love)

Labels: Avalanche, game recap, Luongo, Naslund

• The Canucks have won four of their last five at home.
• The Canucks have failed to gain at least a point in only one of their last twelve home games.
• The Avalanche have lost four straight games on the road, and since beating the Canucks at GM Place on February 27th, have lost five of six road games.
• At 18-10-2, the Avalanche have the best intra-divisional record in the Northwest Division.
• Despite averaging only 12 minutes of ice-time, Marek Svatos has eight points (5G-3A) and a +5 rating in five games against the Canucks this season.
• The other Canuck-killer, Milan Hejduk has four goals and six points in seven games against them.
• Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin lead the Canucks in scoring against the Avs this season. They have nine (3G-6A) and eight (3G-5A) points respectively.
• Taylor Pyatt is the only Canuck with a plus-rating (+3) against the Avs. He also has five points (2G-3A) in seven games against them.
• Last Sunday's heroes, Markus Naslund and Trevor Linden has had a terrible time against Colorado this season. In seven games each, Naslund has three points (0G-3A) and a minus-4 rating and Linden has zero points and a minus-6 rating.

• Team practices are optional the rest of the season... (Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun)
• ... and Luongo is taking full advantage. (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
• Inhospitable hosts. (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
• Needing the Twins to step it up. (Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun)
• Bieksa's back. Hopefully for good. (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
• A piece on Milan the Canuck-killer. (Marc Weber, Vancouver Province)
• Still anyone's game. (Cam Cole, Vancouver Sun)
• A preview from the Colorado side of things. (Rick Sadowski, Rocky Mountain News)

Labels: Avalanche, Bieksa, game day preview, Luongo

For the Canucks, the only salient facts to emerge from their 6-2 win over the Calgary Flames is they're now back in eighth place in the Western Conference and with three homes games left on their schedule, they control their own destiny.

This is all you need to know. Everything else is irrelevant. So save the deeper analysis for another time because it was out of place after this night.

It was an improbable throwback to a different era, an iconic image that infused hope into a fan base that had no reason for any.

As a smiling Trevor Linden glided across the ice after scoring his second of the game -- his biggest, most important goal of the season, the one that breathed new life into the Canucks' foundering playoff hopes -- his arms were outstretched to the heavens. The grateful, elated, relieved, in-love crowd showered him with a lingering standing ovation. It could have been his last as a player.

It was memorable.

So was Linden's play. So was Markus Naslund's. So were the Canucks, a team who somehow beat the Calgary Flames 6-2 Sunday when the mood, the momentum and the flow suggested they had no chance.

If they really will both be gone after this season ends, Trevor Linden and Markus Naslund gave us something to remember Sunday night.

They also gave Vancouver Canuck fans hope.

Linden and Naslund are two of the big reasons why we are able to put off the post-mortem and instead are once again talking about the playoffs.

• Ahead again in the playoff race. (Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun; Grant Kerr, Globe and Mail)
• Relaxed Roberto. (Marc Weber, Vancouver Province)
• From the Calgary side of things. (Scott Cruickshank, Calgary Herald; George Johnson, Calgary Herald)

• Zanstorm took in the game from GM Place... (Waiting For Stanley)
• and Temujin liveblogged it. (Waiting For Stanley)

Labels: Flames, game recap, Linden, Naslund

Labels: Naslund, Vigneault

After a roller-coaster season, it probably should come as no surprise that the Canucks are not going to make things easy on themselves as they head down the home stretch of the regular season.

Tuesday's game was in many ways a microcosm of their season. They were very good in the first period and then played terrible the rest of the way.

Who knows which team will show up tonight in Denver.

• Louie was hot, the team was not. (Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun; Ben Kuzma, Vancouver Province)
• A meltdown of epic proportions. (Ben Kuzma, Vancouver Province; Eric Duhatschek, Globe and Mail)
• Their best players were better than our their best players except for Luongo. (Ed Willes, Vancouver Province)
• Calgary's points of view. (Jean LeFebvre, Calgary Herald; Randy Sportak, Calgary Sun)

• Hannah adds another word to describe the game. (Canucks Fangirl)
• Sean walked into a bar, caught the last two goals... and drank. I would've too. (Waiting For Stanley)
• And this is after a Flames win. Tough crowd. (Hit The Post)

Labels: Flames, Luongo

On April 3, Giguere was enjoying a rare day off from hockey in his Newport Beach home when, about noon, his pregnant wife felt her water break.

Their son was arriving three weeks early. Known for his quick reaction time on the ice, Giguere called their doctor, packed some bags and drove to Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills.

"I had always planned on being home for the birth," said Giguere, who married Kristen in the summer of 2003 after the Ducks' last trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. "It's too important not to be there."

He called Kristen's parents, who rushed to the delivery room, video cameras in hand. He tied on a paper gown and stood beside his wife, holding her leg as she labored.

Then, at 12:20 a.m. April 4, he watched Maxime Olivier Giguere — all 6 pounds, 8 ounces and 21 1/2 inches of him — wiggle into life.

Later that morning Giguere text-messaged his teammates, who had joked all season about Giguere's fatherhood arriving during the playoffs.

Labels: Luongo