Tag Archives: Vancouver Canucks

Off-season ramblings & still waiting on Doan…..

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The off-season in review:                                                                                                  Minnesota won the Parise/Suter sweepstakes.                                                                              Rick Nash was traded from Columbus to the New York Rangers, giving him a chance to benefit from offensive line-mates & have a realistic chance at playoffs.                                Weber created drama by signing a ridiculous 14 year $110 million offer sheet with Philadelphia forcing Nashville’s hand to either accept it or let him walk. 6 days after the offer sheet, Nashville decided to officially match the offer, making Weber a Predator for life(& perhaps setting a ridiculous precedent for other players future contracts).                    The NHLPA & NHL head honchos are in the thick of meetings regarding a new CBA agreement & hopefully to avoid a lockout next season(I would not deal with that very well, nor would any other hockey fan, BUT that hasn’t happened yet, so lets cross our fingers that it doesn’t!)                                                                                                                               Marty Brodeur signed a 2 year deal with New Jersey, which basically insures that he will finish his career in New Jersey, playing his whole career for one franchise. This guy is an incredible athlete.

Where oh where will Shane Doan sign? Will it be Phoenix? Or will he go somewhere else? Doan is really taking his time in signing a contract & really considering both sides, not who is trying to sway him with money but which team he will fit best with. Rumor has it that he has met with/or talked with many of the teams that have shown an interest in him. I think he’d be a great asset on any team, particularly in blue & green! But really wherever he ends will be lucky to have his experience and leadership. I would love to see Doan stepping onto the ice in Canuck jersey next year, but like everyone else I will have to wait until Doan announces his decision officially.

A big question remains for Philadelphia. If they were willing to take the plunge with that HUGE offer to Weber, what does that say about Pronger? Will Pronger be available to start the season or play at all next year? If they lose Pronger for an extended amount of time or permanently that leaves Philadelphia with a HUGE whole in their defense. I really hope that Pronger is not done, it would be a terrible way to end his career, to be forced into retirement because of his concussion. He was shut down pretty quickly last year, and his symptoms were quite severe. Pronger is a huge presence on & off the ice. Philadelphia has not addressed the possibility, but by making the offer to Weber that they did , it makes one wonder why they would go to such extremes to sign him if everything with Pronger is okay. I guess we shall have to wait for some sort of official word from Philadelphia, but I really hope that Pronger is not finished yet, that would be so unfair for him to lose the game he loves before he is .

In other news, the Canucks have agreed to terms with forward Dale Weise on a one year deal.

Columbus Captain is now –>Ranger NASH

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Wow…its official. The Columbus Captain(former face of the franchise) is now RANGER NASH! The New York Rangers acquired Rick Nash today from Columbus in exchange for Erixon(defenseman), Dubinsky(centre) & Anisimov(centre) & a 2013 first round draft pick. A lot of teams have been rumored to have been in the hunt for Nash(since last year’s trade deadline) & it has been known that Nash has wanted out of Columbus. The Rangers have acquired a great forward in Nash, and when he is surrounded by players that are also capable of being play makers & goal scorers creating a lethal combination. In Columbus, Nash was depended on to score as often as possible in order to win games with hardly any support from his team mates, but in New York he has the support of players like Callahan, Gaborik, & Brad Richards. It is Columbus that will be hurting in the loss of Nash’s offensive prowess. Columbus acquired some great hard working players who hopefully can help to bring back some excitement in hockey to Columbus(that has been missing since their playoff appearance in 2009). The Rangers with this trade have become one of the big players in the off-season, along with Minnesota(Suter & Parise), & the Weber drama still to unfold. Congratulations to the New York Rangers & to Rick Nash who finally got his wish to leave Columbus.

Its still quiet on the Nashville front regarding Weber with time quickly dwindling down & no decision has yet to be made. There is no winning this battle for Nashville either they say good-bye to the 2nd 1/2 of their defensive pair having already lost Suter, leaving no certainty on the defensive core. OR they keep Weber by matching Philly’s offer but as I mentioned before that doing so would cripple them financially & prevent them from being able to afford the pieces to build a quality team around him. Ultimately by Weber signing this offer sheet, it states pretty blatantly that he DOES NOT want to be in Nashville any longer now that Suter is gone.

Rumor has it that Ryan Kesler could be ready for the Vancouver Canucks 2012-2013  season opener October 11th. That could be amazing if it is true. As he had surgery much earlier this year(end of April rather than June), returning in time for the season opener is certainly plausible(*4-6 months recovery). However I would like to state that should he not be 100% for the opener then I would rather he waits & comes back when he is 100% & able to fully activate beast mode.If Kesler is 100 % & beast mode ready that would be AWESOME but that day comes in later October or early November that will just make his debut more exciting.

That is all for now as the NHL still awaits the final word from Nashville and any other off-season drama to unfold. October 11th cannot come fast enough for me:)!!! Until next time, nuck said.

Sarah E.L.

Still waiting….

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Well the days are ticking away as the entire hockey world awaits the Predators decision regarding Weber, will they let him walk, letting him leave Nashville? Or will they match? As the days of will they or won’t they continue, this week begins the arbitration hearings for the RFA’s determining their salary & whether or not they re-sign with their current teams. Change or no changes prior to the start of the season can make or break you….look at Philly last year…they traded BOTH Carter[to Columbus] & Richards[to LA] before the season even began to 2 separate teams BUT both by the end of the year were celebrating as part of the LA Kings victory). For LA who picked up both those players….it made all the difference by June & Philly wasn’t so lucky.

Rumor has it Doan who the Canucks & five other teams are actively pursuing(having offered him a formal contract) & even more teams that have interest in him; is taking even more time to come to a decision that best suits him. In his case when he says he’s not in for the money, I believe it unlike say with Weber who said the same thing($14 million….seriously not in it for the money??! is he serious?! mind still = boggled by that number!!). I like that he’s wanting to see where he’d be the best fit & which ever team does land him, gets a guy who can still score & play defensively but also brings maturity & experience. I’d love to see him in Canuck colours next year, but odds are high that he stays with the one & only organization that he has ever played for. Doan is the type of player that you hope others emulate, and that everybody respects. Any team will be lucky to have Doan as a member of their team.

Each day gets us a little closer to October and you know that means?!It means hockey is finally back!! (heck I’d even settle to watch a pre-season game right now!) Just a warning I will get super excited when the 11th finally arrives & might drive a few of you crazy(my family would prefer that probably!) But I digress, until next time & more drama unfolds to comment on, nuck said!

Sarah E.L.

Hello world!

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Hello fellow hockey fans & bloggers!

I decided it was time for me to start a blog about my hockey obsession & the team that makes me crazy(according to my father anyway!)…the Vancouver Canucks.The Canucks are the team that I love to cheer for & of course yell at when I ‘m watching the games on TV or live at the arena.There is nothing like watching a game live at the arena, its an atmostphere unlike any other when the entire crowd sings the anthem in unison or cheers for the team & yells at the refs in unison. It really is something almost magical.

Like any other true Canuck fan, I cheer in the good & bad times of any season. I am a constant optimist & refuse to give in to the negativity that the media seems to always partake in. I watch every game & keep up on the stats of the other teams so that I can keep up on how the Canucks stack up against them.

The Canucks have provided many memorable moments over the years:

The 1994 unlikely playoff run with Captain Kirk’s heroics, or Bures unbelievable goal against the flames which spiraled the Canucks on a roll that led to the unbelievable 7 game series against the Rangers. Linden serving as Captain following in the steps of Smyl. The acquisition of NAZZY(Markus Naslund) who set many records in the franchise over the years. 2007 quadruple overtime against Dallas with Henrik as the hero but LOUUUU keep the ‘nucks in it with 72 saves!!! Burrows being united with twins & becoming their ‘other brother’ or as I call them the “triplets!” in that fateful February game or the next season when Burr had back to back hat tricks….I mean come on..that guy came into this league undrafted!!!  The 2011 playoff run- Game 7 vs. Chicago..are you kidding me?! could that have been any more dramatic?! It was like watching a game in near utter silence not wanting to jinx the outcome. Burrows gets the opening goal…misses on his penalty shot & then in sudden death overtime Burrows steals the puck for the goal on Crawford & the ENTIRE city breathed a collective sigh of relief & cheered endlessly as Chicago had finally been thwarted!!                  Game 5 vs. San Jose…talk about another great moment! Double overtime(on May 24th…just like ’94) & JUICE(aka Kevin Bieksa) gets some help from the stanchion to score the goal that set this city in complete celebratory uproar that will only be topped when the Canucks win the Stanley cup…(which we all know has to happen at some point…every team will have their moment eventually!)

Sorry I got carried away there remembering many great Canuck moments! I can’t help it. Anyways the point of me creating this blog is so that I can share my thoughts & opinions on the team that makes me crazy as my family says, but I know I’m not the only one who yells at the TV when the ref misses a call or when a player does something completely stupid. I look forward to sharing many more thoughts & opinions with all of you in the future! Nuck said:)!

Sarah E.L.

Rumor has it….

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Rumor has it Shane Doan has been offered a 3 year contract by the Canucks….along with offers from 5 or more other teams including Phoenix. Rumor has it he has yet to decide where he will play next year though most people expect him to remain loyal to the only franchise he has ever played for.

Rumor has it that Luongo may or not be traded in the near future. I despise this idea, but that is because I think it is wrong to trade a proven #1 starter and depend on a yet proven goalie who (yes he has been exceptional, extremely so) has only played 59 games. I like Schneider, really I do, but he will never Luongo, maybe he will be great, but maybe he won’t be. I’m not sold 100% on this idea just yet. I respect Luongo’s decision to leave if the opportunity presents itself as the media & many others have forgotten the amazing things he brought to this city(a desire to win, 2010 Olympic gold medal, playoffs in 5/6 years, 2 presidents trophies!, a Western Conference championship, etc.). I really do not wish for Luongo to leave, but if he were to be traded it had better be for more than simply draft picks because despite what some people in the media say, Luongo’s value is high. Like I said I really do not like this idea, but I know that it is a possibility.

Rumor has it there is still drama to be had in this NHL off-season to come. Mind you probably nothing quite as dramatic as both Parise & Suter signing identical $98 million deals in Minnesota or the J.Staal trade to Carolina, but you just never know what might happen.
Nuck said.

Sarah E.L.