Mike Gillis' patience is running out

Does that picture break your heart or what? Sundin will get it going, mark my words. Unfortunately he doesn't seem to be able to lift the team out it's funk, and is being part of the problem. The references to Mark Messier are alive and well now, but I'm not biting. When the team does get rolling again, Sundin will play a positive role in it. I do believe that.
On to Mike Gillis...
Kudos to a poster at the CDC Forums for finding this Globe and Mail article that was circulating before the loss to the Wild yesterday, where Mike Gillis stated:

"Your patience level is obviously determined by how you're playing," Gillis said. "My patience is at an end with the way this group has performed."

The article leaves the possibilities open as to what Gillis may do to shake things up. Most fans want Alain Vigneault's head on a stick outside of GM Place on Pacific Drive, but I am not one of them. I think Gillis is standing by his coach, and I think the players are too, minus Demitra.
I believe a trade is in order, and it could happen sooner rather than later.
I've heard many people say that the Sedins should be traded, as they become free agents in the summer and a deal has not yet been reached with them. I say it is going to be difficult to move both of them at the same time. Hell it's going to be difficult to sign them both at the same time. But the brothers really aren't that bad. Sure they can make you want to stab your eyes out with a pencil sometimes the way they cycle and get no results. But then you look at their stats and they are the most consistent Canucks on the team. I would not trade them at all at this point. No way.
Alex Burrows' name has been brought up in the article as he too becomes a free agent this summer. But I wouldn't part with a guy like that. I think he should remain as part of the core of the team for so many obvious reasons.
Guys like Pyatt, Bernier and even Demitra should be the ones on the block, in my opinion. Demitra is a cancer I think. Pyatt and Bernier have not turned out like we had hoped as far as offensive production goes. Maybe Raymond and O'Brien are expendible too. You know that Vigneault and Gillis are in close conversation with who is or isn't working out on the ice and in the locker room. They have been preaching 'character' all year.
We'll see what happens. We know there are some sellers out there already (Leafs, for example). That's why I was almost joking around earlier in the week that maybe Gillis and Burke were talking, as Burke said he was finally getting some serious offers recently. Hey, you never know.
Trade talk is trade talk. I just hope this current squad pulls out of the funk, more importantly.

OTHER SLUMPING TEAMS:

Detroit has lost 5 straight.
Montreal has lost 5 of their last 6 games.

T Tags: Canucks Mike+Gillis+grows+impatient trades firing

Canuck players defend Vigneault / news links

You won't catch any players bad-mouthing Alain Vigneault's system in these tough times. When asked if AV was to blame Alex Burrows belted out:

"I think it's completely, bull****," said Burrows.
"We've lost seven or eight in a row, but he's not the problem. We've been in some different games where we've had penalty trouble, some other games we haven't been able to score, some others we couldn't keep the puck out of our net. So he's not the problem. He's not why we're losing. We just have to go back to work just like we did today and . . . get ready for Saturday and have a good game against the Wild."

Bernier chimed in:

"We all know it's the players on the ice who are doing the job," said Bernier.
"It's a good system. We just need to follow it. If we do it, we'll be back to where we were before these struggles. It's not the coach's fault. Sometimes you try to do somebody's job, and that's where you get caught. It's the same system we were winning with at the start of the season."

The anger from the fans and the rumors don't affect Ryan Kesler.

"I don't order the paper, I don't listen to the radio, and I don't watch TV, so it's not affecting me at all," said Kesler

. More at the Province.Hey this coach-defending is cute and all, and I think the players are going to do their best to come together. But if they don't succeed, the coach usually gets the axe.

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Some arenas have questionable rules in regards to taking pictures. For example, you can snap pics at a Canucks game but you can't have a superzoom lens. I almost had my camera confiscated at a Prince George Cougars game because I wasn't allowed to take pictures AT ALL. Suckers.
Earlier this month, a 17 year old volunteer at an Ontario arena was banned from the building after taking pictures of Don Cherry and talking to him. He is hoping Grapes will say something about it on Coach's Corner.

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Does Columbus' Mike Commodore know when to shut up? First he bad-mouths Mike Babcock and now Senator's GM Bryan Murray, who he played for in Ottawa.

"Bryan Murray said some things to the media that he shouldn't have," Commodore told the Dispatch in Columbus. "I'd have a meeting with him and he'd end up saying things to the media that he wouldn't say to my face.
I'm struggling, the team's struggling, and Bryan's telling the media that I'm a player with no hands and no ability. Then they'd come to me and I'd have to spin it somehow, or try to laugh it off."

Oh, but there's more.Way to start burning bridges, you idiot.

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Old news: Unlike his bald buddy from Sweden, Peter Forsberg has made it clear that he will not play in the NHL this season due to his nagging foot injury. He will play for Modo instead. Actually, he signed there today.

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From the Toronto Sun:

Several weeks ago, Brian Burke described the trade offers being presented to the Maple Leafs as "garbage."

That is not the case any more.

The Maple Leafs general manager admitted last night that talks are "heating up" as the March 4 trade deadline looms closer.

"I've had a couple of interesting calls in the past 48 hours," Burke said. "The talks are not boiling. And I would not say anything is imminent. But things definitely are heating up right now."

I wonder if Mike Gillis is one of the guys doing some inquiring. He may as well bring in Antropov and Ponikarovsky so Sundin has linemates that he can gel with. Send Bernier and Bieksa the other way. Did I say hat out loud? I'm kidding. We don't need Antro-karovsky here.

T Tags: Canucks+defend+Vigneault Mike+Commodore+bashes+Bryan+Murray jackass Brian+Burke Leafs+trade+talks Don+Cherry

Sundin apartment-hunting / Ohlund open to being traded

SUNDIN UPDATE
While the Canucks travelled to Nashville, Sundin practiced hard at GM Place and looked for an apartment, according to HockeyExpressen. His girlfriend Josephine will be coming to Vancouver soon to check out the place and perhaps live here.
Not sure if he partied with Ryan Johnson at all on New Years, but he said it was a possibility.

OHLUND MAY BE ON THE MOVE

You'll have to translate this Sportbladet article about Ohlund. He said that there is no progress in contract talks and that if the Canucks won't meet his demands he will try somewhere new.
If Ohlund seeks about $7 million per season I am pretty sure management will let him go by the trade deadline. Ohlund is not worth that much, I don't care how long he's been here. The return for Ohlund in a trade would be sweet I'm sure.
The article also mentions that the Sedins do not want to leave Vancouver, but they could demand $6-7 million each.

T Tags: Sundin+update apartment+shopping Ohlund+may+be+traded Sedins+contract+talks

Canucks lose to Flyers but gain Jason Labarbera

I missed tonight's game and that is good. Why? Because it doesn't sting as much when you don't invest your time watching them lose.

The acquisition of Jason Labarbera is interesting. I would like to know WHEN exactly they made that deal, rather than when it was announced (during the 1st intermission).
So we know Curtis Sanford has a groin injury now. But was this acquisition more about:
a) the Canucks not having faith in Cory Schneider
b) the Canucks knew Sanford was a leg kick away from his balls breaking
c) Luongo is going to be out of action for a fair bit longer yet
d) all of the above

More will be revealed soon. Here is a good interview with Assistant GM Lorne Henning about the trade.

How much faith do any of you have in BC Boy Jason Labarbera?

The jury is out for me. At least he's a big presence in net, unlike Sanford.

“I’m ecstatic,” LaBarbera said during the middle of Tuesday’s third period. “It’s something I’ve always dreamed of, being from the Lower Mainland. It’s huge for me. It’s going to be a lot different than playing in L.A., that’s for sure.”

OK, Barbie, just kick some butt between the pipes for us.

Here is some insight from a Kings fan's perspective over at A Queen Among Kings. Nice parting words for Labarbera (Barbs) there.

Salo out, Sanford in, plus a trade to announce

Let's start with the insignificant trade:
Jim Sharrow to the Hawks for a conditional pick in the 2009 Draft. Whoop.

Salo says his groin injury isn't as bad as the one he had earlier in the year (where he missed only 2 games). He won't be out long. To be honest, I'm losing patience with this guy. But if Lawrence Nycholat draws in I'm happy. I think he has done a fantastic job whenever he was called upon earlier this year.

Curtis Sanford, who was disappointed because he sat out the Colorado game, will get his chance to shine tonight against the Predators. Remember, he was playing terrific before his back gave out against the Jackets, stopping 11 of 11 shots. At this point I would definitely say I trust his play over Schneider's. Schneider needs more development and will only get better and better down the road.

I think we should almost expect a victory tonight. Well we really need one.We beat the Preds 4-0 in early November. Wellwood had 2 goals... his 5th and 6th in 7 games at that point. You can watch Woody's brilliance here.
But through all the Predators have been through the past 2 seasons they are never to be underestimated. Yeah, the Blues whooped them 6-3 last night, but Nashville beat the Wild 1-0, Colorado 3-2 and Buffalo 2-0 in a 3 game winning streak prior to last night's loss.
So which Nashville team shows up tonight?
Hell, which Canucks team shows up tonight?

GAME TIME: 5:00 PST
TV: SPORTSNET


Demitra is making news as one of the scapegoats in the Canucks' recent losing skid. Said Vigneault:

"Sometimes those skilled players just want to make one pass too many instead of getting more pucks to the net and keeping the play simple," head coach Alain Vigneault said. "He's got to keep plugging away and has to find a way to contribute. If not offensively, than he has to make sure he's really reliable defensively.

"I think he has more to contribute like a lot of our other guys on our team."

Yeah, you can't single out Demitra only. But he is the highest paid guy however. Said Demitra:

"I felt like when I was playing with the Sedins we dominated the puck but just didn't get any goals," Demitra said. "I've been feeling good lately and I just feel if I score one goal, all of a sudden I'll score 10. I just need a lucky bounce.

"My biggest thing is how I feel on the ice. Are my legs going? Am I getting scoring chances? And I am. Obviously, I want to score. I want the numbers every single game but it's not always going to happen, especially on the road."

T Tags: Salo+groin+injury Sanford+returns Canucks Predators game+preview December+9+2008
Canucks+trade+Jim+Sharrow+to+Blackhawks

Canucks trade Krajicek and Simek to Lightning for Ouellet and O'Brien

Alright this comes as a bit of a shock. I'm trying to digest this. I know the Canucks are deep on defence, but I am a huge Krajicek fan.

"They (management) told me that Tampa wanted me for quite some time," Krajicek told CKNW in Vancouver. "They said I would play more minutes there and in every way it should better for me."

This comes down to Gillis wanting even more offence and Tampa needing a top 2 defenceman.
We know Ouellet has a lot of skills and was a victim of the Lightning having way too many forwards. Last season, he missed several games due to a shoulder injury, but he still managed 17 goals and 36 points in 64 games. Best of all? He was a +11 on a lousy Tampa team. He is a right winger by the way. You know what that means..... somebody may not be wearing a Canucks jersey in the near future. Is it Kyle Wellwood? Apparently he was given a vote of confidence from Mike Gillis on some radio station this morning.
I hope it's Taylor Pyatt. God, his lack of skill irks me, and he is pencilled in as a 2nd line winger. He may be hitting the waiver wire soon.
Then again, TSN did say that O'Brien will report to Vancouver immediately and Ouellet will go to Manitoba. That doesn't necessarily mean somebody else is not getting moved.
Shane O'Brien needs no introduction. Especially if you are familiar with goons. The thing is, O'Brien is better than a goon. He had 4 goals and 21 points in 77 games las season. Tack on 154 penalty minutes to that. But he fell out of favor with John Tortorella and was benched for the last 5 games of the season.
Mike Gillis promised he would change the team and he continues to do so. Let's just say he continues to address the "scoring issues" by getting Ouellet. Krajicek will get more playing time in Tampa and now Alex Edler will get more playing time in Vancouver. He has earned that.
Canucks.com has a video up of interviews with Gillis and Vigneault in regards to the trades. Michel Ouellet will start the season in Manitoba and as Gillis puts it: "He will have to earn a spot on the Canucks' roster like everyone else has."

What does this mean for Ohlund and his contract negotiations now? Is management planning on keeping him? He sure as hell was playing great in preseason.

Ouellet on YouTube

- Ouellet highlight video from his days with the W-S and Pittsburgh Penguins. Sweet hands.

- Ouellet on making it to the NHL.

O'Brien on TouTube

- O'Brien vs Scatchard. His first NHL fight.

- O'Brien vs Boogaard. Gets his ass beat in, but he definitely doesn't lack courage, and stands up for his teammates.

- O'Brien vs Ohlund. Not much here.....damned refs.

- A lot more O'Brien fights here.

Fan reactions

we just got tougher to play against, O'Brien's a mean piece of business infront of our net

we've got plenty of D that can carry the offensive load, Edler, Ohlund Salo and Bieksa are all very capable 40+ point D-men

we needed that extra bit of grit, it really bothered me to see Travis Moen ( a legitimate tough guy) drop the gloves with Ohlund -- now we have another deterrent that allows our skilled players to be skilled players
and in the fact of Ohlund, not to be worried about making a big hit from time to time, we've got the guys now to cover his back - 82 Nucksfan

I'm wondering if Gillis might try Oulet wtih the Sedins and, if there's chemistry, maybe moving Bernier to the 2nd line?
This might be the beginning of the end for Pyatt in Vancouver.- babych

I had the same thought actually. Bernier looked a little lost last night. Today, Bernier said: “I need to figure out what they are thinking and when they are doing something,” Bernier, 23, said after Monday’s practice.

“They are very good at getting the puck in the corner, protecting the puck. I used to always be the guy to go get the puck. Now I don’t need to do it all the time. What I have to learn is to go somewhere (and wait to) get the puck and have a good scoring chance.”So he'll need more time to adjust.

This is a terrible trade, we could have picked up Ouellet for free on waivers and O'brien is just another depth defenceman. I really believe Krajicek would have benefited from this counter attacking game we are playing right now. Terrible trade IMO.

At least the Nucks traded him to a team where he'll get more icetime and we got tougher in the process. Remember how badly the Ducks were kicking our asses in the playoffs 2 seasons ago...


T Tags: Canucks+trade+Krajicek+and+Simek+toLightning+for+Shane+O'Brien+and+Michel+Ouellet

Ducks finally move Schneider...to Atlanta

From the OC Register:

The salary cap-strapped Ducks finally pulled the trigger on the long-awaited Mathieu Schneider trade Friday, sending the veteran defenseman to the Atlanta Thrashers for two veterans, defenseman Ken Klee and left wing Brad Larsen, and minor-league left wing Chad Painchaud.

The trade is contingent on Schneider passing a physical before 5 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday. Until he does so, the new Ducks acquisitions will not be allowed to practice with the team. Schneider, 39, has not been in Ducks camp since players reported Sept. 19, having received permission to stay away while awaiting a trade.

The move clears Schneider’s $5.625 million salary-cap hit off the books for the Ducks, who pick up cap hits of $1.25 million for Klee and $535,000 for Larsen, whose actual salary this season will be $560,000. Both are set to become unrestricted free agents after this season. Painchaud, who is on a two-way contract, does not enter into the salary-cap equation.

The net cap savings of $3.84 million is more than enough to offset the approximately $3.05 million the Ducks had been above the NHL’s $56.7 million limit, but more moves will likely have to be made for the club to create enough room to sign unrestricted free-agent right wing Teemu Selanne.

I wonder what kind of moves those will be. Good for Atlanta. Not good for the Blues, who really could use a guy like Schneider. I wonder what Burke was asking for from the Blues in return.
So Burke's tie is choking him a little less now. Nice depth addition of Klee. He's steady. Larsen is a 4th liner.
So who is this Chad Painchaud kid?
-Product of Mississauga Ontario
-Drafted in the 4th round by the Thrashers in 2004.
-Not rated very high by Hockey's Future:

Good acceleration and straight line skating. That, combined with his good puck control, makes for rushes along the outside, finished with a direct route to the net to shoot or pass off late. He is not shifty or particularly strong though, and has trouble getting around defensemen.
Sometimes he can become invisible in games outside of his own end, watching plays develop and waiting for something to happen instead of initiating offensive opportunities. Needs to work on his effort level and defense.
Effort will get him more ice time, and maybe a call-up to the AHL, but Painchaud's vision probably isn't good enough to be an NHL-level playmaker, and his shot is not good enough to be an NHL-level goal scorer.

Career minor leaguer I suppose.
-Here are his stats at Hockey Database.

T Tags: Ducks+trade+Schneider+to+Thrashers Ken+Klee Brad+Larsen Chad+Painchaud

Canadiens acquire Lang

Lang to Montreal in exchange for a 2nd round pick in 2010 going back to Chicago. What can the 37 year old Lang bring to the Habs? I would say about 20-25 goals and about 50-60 points. Lang scored 21 goals and 54 points in 76 games with the Blackhawks last year. But he could put up more points with a higher talent base in Montreal. 2 years ago in Detroit he scored 20 goals and 62 points in 72 games. The year before that (2003-04) he scored 29 goals and 74 points in 63 games with the Capitals. His career stats can be found here.
The Habs also resigned Patrice Brisebois today. I don't know how much Brisebois will make, but I do know he was making $700,000 last season. Lang will make $4 million this season and then become an unrestricted free agent next summer. Tack about $4.7 million onto the Canadiens' cap spending and that should put them around the $54.8 million mark.
What does that say about what Bob Gainey thinks about the chances of landing Sundin? He made his move NOW and is moving on. Of course, Lang could always be traded later on, but I doubt it.
Lang is a natural center, so Montreal is deep down the middle: Koivu, Plekanec, Higgins, Lang, Lapierre..pretty solid. Is Lang the #3 center then? Yeesh.
Lang is another one of those guys though.....great Olympic success for his Czech homeland, but no Stanley Cup. Playoff numbers aren't that spectacular either. But hey, who's to say, right?
Montreal is looking really good as a contender right now. Can they handle that label? We shall see. Kudos to Bob Gainey for being aggressive.

T Tags: Blackhawks+trade+Robert+Lang+to+Canadiens

What is available out there via trade route for a top 6 forward?

I found it ironic that Mike Gillis traded Ryan Shannon so quickly after the Sundin radio interview. It's also a possible tell that Gillis acquired Nycholat to further increase the Canucks depth on D in order to pull off a trade for a top 6 forward. We know that this is one of his options. Like Gillis said: "

We are going to be in search of the best players we can find but unless you have depth, it is awfully difficult to make that sort of transaction," Gillis said. "You just don't have depth players to fill in."

I believe this was said after the Shannon trade. And he was referring to depth on defence.
So it's probably fair to say that Gillis is giving up on Sundin for now and concentrating on what he can do now to make sure the team is ready. To that I say...great!
With Shannon (a center) being moved, that is also a sign then that our top 3 centers are set: Hank Sedin, Kyle Wellwood and Ryan Kesler. So Gillis may look for a player to play the wing on the Wellwood-Demitra line. At one point, I thought Mason Raymond was that guy. If he isn't, then you'd have to assume he's on line 3 with Kesler and Burrows. Well, that puts Taylor Pyatt on line 4. So you can start to see that a possible trade involving a Canucks defenceman and maybe even Taylor Pyatt could happen.
That being said, here are a list of teams that are currently over the cap (according to NHL Numbers) and perhaps the players we could attain.
Keep in mind that the NHL cap is $56.7 million this season.

Anaheim-($58.13 million)- Will probably only need to move Schneider to make room for Selanne. We don't want Schneider.

-Calgary (sitting at $58.18 million)- I don't know who they'd offer up and who we would give them in return for them to free up enough space. They already have a stacked defence. I've always been a fan of Matt Lombardi though. I think the Flames need to buy out Anders Eriksson's $1.5 million contract.

- Chicago ($59.21 million)- It's just a matter of time when Khabibulin gets traded and that's about all they have to do.

- Philadelphia ($61.22 million)- Geez, that $8 million invested in Kimmo Timmonen smarts. I don't see the Flyers parting with Jeff Carter, or Scott Hartnell. Maybe Mike Knuble, who becomes a UFA next summer is an option. I think he'd suit the Canucks. He can snipe. That would only relieve the Flyers of $2.8 million in salary though. Any word on Mike Rathje? He's injury prone and eating up $3.5 million cap space.

- San Jose ($56.9 million)- so close to being under. How about we trade Taylor Pyatt for Ryan Clowe straight across?

- Tampa Bay ($54.145 million)- All those players signed and still under the cap. But take a look at their forwards? This team is run by offence whores. I see about 17 forwards there that can play in the NHL. Hey, we'll take one off of your hands! Vancouver is defence-heavy while Tampa is offence-heavy. This should make them a favorite as a trading partner. How about we give Tampa Kevin Bieksa and a 2nd round pick for Mark Recchi and Michel Ouellet?

Restricted Free Agents to possibly take a stab at:

-Patrick O'Sullivan. It doesn't matter what he's asking for. He has potential to be even better and we're rich.

UFA's left over:

- zip. Anybody want Gelinas back? I'm tempted. How about Curtis Brown? Nah.

For the a list of remaining free agents check this out... and weep.

Hey, I'm just brainstorming here. Anybody have any other ideas? Agreements? Disagreements?
If any of the above info is wrong in any form, let me know so I can correct it.

T Tags: Canucks Mike+Gillis+trade+options unrestricted+free+agents

Gillis traded Shannon out of mercy

From the Province:

"I just saw him as a player who has to play in the top six in this league to be effective," Gillis said. "We made some moves with [Steve] Bernier and [Kyle] Wellwood, and are in the hunt for another top-line, top-six player.
It would be very difficult and very challenging for Ryan in that environment."

Shannon is a top 6 player, even if he is under-sized. "Under-sized" shouldn't be a word in today's NHL by the way. But the speedy guy hasn't had enough of a chance to build up his value yet, and wouldn't get that chance in Vancouver.
But maybe MG could have got more than just Nycholat in return, but not according to him:

"We had him rated as one of the top three or four defencemen in the AHL, pushing for the No. 1 spot," Gillis said. "We're looking at him as a guy who can play games for us.
"Right now, as it sits, we need depth, particularly with our travel schedule. He will come in here and compete for our seventh defenceman's job. We thought he would be the perfect depth guy for us for a variety of reasons."

Gillis is not ruling out a trade for a top 6 center yet either. For more on that, check out the Province article.

T Tags: Canucks+trade+Ryan+Shannon Senators Lawrence+Nycholat Mike+Gillis+explains

McCabe and a 4th round pick in 2010 officially traded to Florida for Mike Van Ryn

I have waited years for this day to happen.

You're so stupid Florida. You're so stupid. But thanks!
Check out Jay Boumeester's reaction to the McCabe signing. Am I reading it wrong, or does he seem quite indifferent to the whole thing? Like his opinion of the Toronto media! Blunt.

**UPDATE** McCabe told Nick Kypreos after the trade that he was only asked to waive his no trade clause once last season.
In an interview with floridapanthers.com McCabe said:

“Jacques was the ‘D’ coach (at the Olympics) so I got to spend some time with him,” McCabe said. “Jacques went out of his way to bring me here and I’m happy to be wanted. Jacques has done a great job (in Florida). He’s got good young talent. And, obviously, the acquisitions this summer have been great.
Bringing in Cory Stillman, a guy with two Stanley Cups…guys like that are few and far between. And the acquisitions of (Keith) Ballard and (Nick) Boynton is a big upside. With myself added, and Jay Bouwmeester, who is one of the best defensemen in the league, hands down, I think we have one of the best defensive units out there. Plus you have an All-Star goalie.”

Kind of sounds like the Canucks. The Panthers are going to need young guys like Booth and Horton to step it up on offence, but they do have a pretty good defence and goalie. Losing Jokinen and adding Stillman isn't exactly an upgrade or reason for the fans to get excited.
Time will tell if McCabe can become a consistently reliable guy on the back end. It's doubtful. We know he can put up the points though.


T Tags: Bryan+McCabe+traded+to+Panthers+for+Mike+Van Ryn

Canucks trade Ryan Shannon to Senators for Lawrence Nycholat

A strange deal of sorts for the Canucks. I guess you can never have enough spare defencemen in Vancouver seeing how they get injured all the time! That or Gillis is going to trade one of them.
I thought Ryan Shannon was going to push for a spot with Vancouver after they had signed him for 1 year back in July to a $605,000 deal. He played in 27 games for the Nucks last season, scoring 5 goals and 13 points. But none of his goals were more memorable than this controversial spinaroonie shootout goal.
So who the hell is this Lawrence Nycholat guy?
-a 29 year-old defenceman. Born in Calgary.
-wasn't drafted
-will make $600,000 this season
-about 6 feet tall and 200 pounds
-has played in 31 NHL games with the Rangers, Capitals and Senators, scoring 2 goals and 8 points.-Had a decent year with the Binghamton Senators last season, scoring 12 goals and 49 points in 77 games.

NycholatTube

- A Nycholat profile on YouTube.
-Nycholat fights Brian Sutherby.
-Nycholat was a captain of the Hershey Bears.

T Tags: Canucks+trade+Ryan+Shannon+to+Senators+for+Lawrence+Nycholat

Tanguay asked to be traded out of Calgary twice last season

From the Calgary Sun:

"I'm really looking forward to training camp", he said. "This is the most mythical hockey team. I feel like a baseball player just traded to the Yankees.
Twice last season I asked the Flames to trade me, and Montreal was on my wish list both times," he said, vowing to carve a permanent niche for himself in his home province. "I'm 28, and this is my ninth NHL season".

Tanguay, who only recorded 58 points last season, found himself on a "defensive" line with Craig Conroy and Owen Nolan, which ticked him off.

"I thought they traded for me from Colorado because I could generate offence."

So Tanguay was less-than impressed with Keenan and then agreed to waive his no trade clause to go to his dream team.
Like a said before, it's a francophone playing in Montreal, where he'll play his heart out. This will only benefit the Habs, who shed themselves of dead weight Michael Ryder and add an enthused Tanguay. Now if Carey Price proves Bob Gainey right this year (for trading Huet last season and making Price #1), then the Canadiens should win the East.

T Tags: Alex+Tanguay+happy+in+Montreal Canadiens trade Flames french

Senators trade Meszaros to Lightning for Kuba and Picard

The Senators just couldn't reach a deal with Meszaros. He is expected to sign a 6-year deal worth about $4 million per season with the Bolts. That's probably about $500,000 more than the Sens were offering.
So Ottawa saves $1 million, as Kuba makes $3 million this season until he becomes a free agent in the summer.
Kuba scored 6 goals and 31 points in 75 games last season.
Meszaros scored 9 goals and 36 points in 82 games.
So the points output is about the same. Skill-wise I suppose Meszaros is better.
Hence, defenceman Alexandre Picard was thrown in the mix to Ottawa as well. He has 28 points in 92 NHL games. Probably fair to say he's the 6th or 7th d-man in Ottawa.
Meszaros' reported $4 million contract will put the Lightning just under the cap. They could still use another defenceman though.

T Tags: Senators+trade+Andrej+Meszaros+to+Lightning+for+Filip+Kuba

Announcement of McCabe trade to Panthers likely Tuesday

According to Sportsnet:

A trade to send Leafs defenceman Bryan McCabe to Florida, first reported by Sportsnet, should be announced on Tuesday. The Leafs are expected to get defenceman Mike Van Ryn from the Panthers in return

Wow, Nick Kypreos really got the scoop on that one early. But he knows a lot of players. This is a day I have been waiting for for a long time. I won't attack McCabe's character away from the ice, but honestly I won't miss his insanity on the ice. He is just another one of those guys with a low IQ on the ice, much like Jovanovski was in Vancouver. They can blow your mind with some of their goals and offensive output, but the mental mistakes they make are more the center of the story.
I will say that this is another bad move by Florida. Like they needed anymore headaches there....
And a great move by Fletcher though. Van Ryn (if he's the player coming to the Leafs), can be a 37-40 point producer. He scored 37 points twice in his career recently.
The Panthers will be paying McCabe $6.15 million this season while Van Ryn will make $3.35 million. A huge savings by Fletcher. He will have plenty of icetime in Toronto to prove himself.
While I'll somewhat reserve judgment on Fletcher's over-paying of Jeff Finger ($3.5 million per season), I think the Leafs' GM is taking the team in the right direction right now. It's about time!
Gonna miss Darcy Tucker in a Leafs jersey though. Now we have to put up with him in Colorado. Damn!

T Tags: Bryan+McCabe+trade+to+Panthers Mike+Van Ryn announcement Leafs trades

Eklund "breaks" most insane rumor of the summer of 08: Sundin to Rangers and Gomez to Vancouver

Yeah I know there are plenty of Eklund haters out there and this shouldn't qualify as news. I am not a hater, I just think he's a master fabricator of rumors and is successfull at it. It is what it is, as Temujin would say.
But this Sundin to NYR and Gomez being traded to Vancouver rumor (rated e4)is bunk for several reasons.

1. Sundin is tight-lipped and has not made a decision yet if he even will play again. There is no news on that front and nothing has changed. I will admit that I have been reading online Swedish newspapers a lot lately waiting for some development there. Nothing yet.

2. Gomez has a no movement clause on his contract. Actually, both Gomez and Drury do. I hear there are a few different types of no-movement clauses, but I don't know what category Gomez's falls into. I would expect Gomez does not want to leave New York city regardless. No way. He's the man there.

3. The Gomez trade makes sense geographically, because Vancouver is the closest NHL city to his native state Alaska. And that is probably a big reason why the dumb rumor is fabricated that way. Because someone assumes that Gomez would like to live closer to his summer home. He does spend most of his summers in Alaska, where he holds an annual charity celebrity golf game in Anchorage to raise money for the Scotty Gomez Foundation. But still, refer to #2. You don't put a no-movement clause in your contract for nothing.

4. Is Glen Sather that mad that he would move his #1 center Gomez, who is only 29 years old, and take on 37 year old Sundin's contract? Sundin may only play for 1 year. Gomez has 5 years left on his contract. He will produce nearly or equal what Sundin will produce. He is a hell of a play maker. Oh and by the way, yes, I think Sather is that mad. But refer to #2 again.

Hey, I'd rather have Gomez than Sundin in Vancouver, but this just isn't going to happen.
Refer to reality, which is that Sundin has not made his mind up yet, for the 100th time....

T Tags: Sundin+to+Rangers Gomez+traded+to+Canucks lies rumors bullshit

Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos has learned that a McCabe trade to Florida is imminent

A deal "in principal." And Sportsnet's sources say that Panthers' defenceman Mike Van Ryn could be a part of the deal. The trade would occur after September 1, after McCabe collects the $2 million in bonuses owed to him by Toronto on that date.
Most outlets were suggesting it would be Jay Boumeester coming to Toronto. Time will tell.

T Tags: Sportsnet Bryan+McCabe+to+Panthers+for+Mike+Van+Ryn rumor trades Leafs

Bryan McCabe may waive his no-trade clause in about 2 weeks, says Fletcher

From the Toronto Star:

"Bryan is starting to think about possibly getting his career started somewhere else," said Fletcher. "We'll leave him alone. He's going to get back to us in a couple of weeks. There's not going to be any issues. I'm really confidant it's going to be resolved amicably before training camp."

It looks as though the constant badgering by Fletcher may pay off. We'll see. It will be a major burden off the Leafs' shoulders if McCabe does move on, in more ways than one.

T Tags: Bryan+McCabe+may+waive+no-trade+clause Leafs trade

Remembering the Gretzky trade in 1988

Shock, disbelief, tears and angry that my hero was leaving the Oilers to join an American team. Even as a 14-year old, I thought Gretzky belonged in Canada. Gretzky WAS Canada. All of my Gretzky hockey cards, stickers, photos, books and even my Wayne lunchkit from elementary school seemed worthless. I was angry.
But not nearly as angry as the Oilers fans I'm sure, who mostly blamed then-owner Peter Pocklington for the trade and even Gretzky's wife Janet, who I believe was living in California at the time. Hell, they were only married 24 days earlier and were expecting a child.
The original news audio and some Oilers fan reactions from that dreadful day can be found here at CBC's archives. Just listening to it gave me flashbacks.

There was something Gretzky said in that interview that was absolutely true, even though fans may not have thought so at the time: "The Oilers are a good team with or without Wayne Gretzky."
Mike Krushelniski and Marty McSorley went to the Kings with The Great One in exhange for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, first round picks in 1989, 1991 and 1993, plus $20 million in cash. The cash seemed to be the kicker didn't it?
The 3 first round picks turned out to be Jason Miller, Martin Rucinsky and Nick Stajduhar. None of those players benefited the Oilers much. Wasters. In fact, the Oilers were pretty lousy at drafting after the Gretzky trade up to 1993. No wonder why they took a nose dive after 1990.
Speaking of 1990, this year in Oilers' history is what now stands out in my mind the most in regards to the Gretzky deal. The year that the Oilers won the Cup without Gretzky. It didn't take long for them to have success after Wayne did it?
Here is the Oilers playoff roster that made won the Cup in 1990:

FORWARDS

Mark Messier- New captain of the team. 31 points in 22 playoff games. A wrecking machine.
Jari Kurri- 25 points in 22 playoff games. How about his 93 points in 78 games in his first season without Gretzky.
Glenn Anderson- 22 points in 22 playoff games. Remember his end-to-end special in the '90 Finals against the Bruins? I believe that was the Cup-winning game as well.
Esa Tikkanen- 24 points in 22 playoff games. Drafted 80th overall by the Oilers in 1983.
Craig Simpson- 16 goals and 31 points in 22 playoff games in 1990.
Petr Klima- Marathon OT hero; garbage can helmut
Craig MacTavish- His 5th year with the Oilers.
Martin Gelinas- First year with the Oilers after being a part of the Gretzky trade as a rookie.
Joe Murphy- Was streaky but came through out of nowhere sometimes. Drafted 1st overall by the Red Wings in 1986.
Adam Graves- acquired from the Wings along with Petr Klima and Jeff Sharples in November 1989 in exchange for Jimmy Carson (a piece of the Gretzky trade), Kevin McClelland and a pick.
Kelly Buchberger- drafted 188th overall by the Oilers in 1985.
Reijo Ruotsaleinen- acquired from the Devils in March 1990 for Jeff Sharples.

DEFENCE

Kevin Lowe- with the Oilers since 1979.
Steve Smith- No one was laughing about you scoring on your own net the previous year, hey Stevie? One year later he wins the Cup to make ammends.
Mark Lamb- 17 points in 22 playoff games. Lamb was claimed off waivers from the Wings in October 1987.
Randy Gregg- The Doctor. Oiler vet.
Craig Muni- His 4th season with the Oilers. Signed as a free agent by the Oilers in August 1986.
Charley Huddy- with the Oilers since 1980.

GOAL

Bill Ranford- Was unbelievable in the 1990 playoffs. Won the Conn Smyth Trophy. Ironically, he was playing against the Bruins' Andy Moog in the '90 playoffs. Ranford was traded to the Oilers along with Geoff Courtnall in March 1988 in exhange for Andy Moog.
Ranford was so good in 1990 that Grant Fuhr ended up being his backup.

The most amazing thing is how much Mark Messier emerged out of the secondary role behind Gretzky after the trade, scoring a career-high 129 points and winning the Hart Trophy.

Gretzky was right. The Oilers were good without him.

T Tags: Edmonton+Oilers+after+Wayne+Gretzky+trade Mark+Messier 1990+Stanley+Cup+roster

Antoine Vermette to Canucks?

I am just posting this because Eklund isn't the only person speculating about this possible trade. Gillis may make a deal like this whether he lands Sundin or not, and I say: "go for it!"

Vermette is getting nowhere with the Senators as far as a contract goes. But he sure as hell improved his offence in his contract year. 81 games played, 24 goals, 53 points, 4 power play goals, 3 shorthanded goals, and played an average of 17:35 per game. As you can see here, his icetime and stats have gone up ever since 2003 when he started in the NHL.

Question is, which defenceman is Gillis going to surrender, Bieksa? He has 3 years left on his contract that pays him $4.25 million this coming season, and $3.5 per season the following 2 years. Ohlund? He will be playing in the final year of his contract that pays him $3.5 million per season. I'm sure a raise is coming there. Like a friend of mine said, defencemen are getting paid so much damned money in the offseason as free agents, that Ohlund could demand $6 million-plus. Sucky. Adiose.
We'll see. Krajicek has 1 year left on his contract as well.
Gillis has already hinted a couple weeks ago at a possible trade to acquire a top 6 forward. It's just a matter of time.

T Tags: Antoine+Vermette+to+Canucks? trade Bieksa Ohlund Krajicek