Salo, O'Brien and Johnson injury updates / Canuck players' reaction to Sundin signing

O'Brien is day-to-day
He will play against Chicago Saturday.

Salo is out for a month with a broken rib.

Ryan Johnson will miss 3-4 more weeks with a broken finger and a broken foot.

T Tags: Shane+O'Brien Sami+Salo injry+updates December+19+2008

There no doubt the Canucks are excited to have Sundin join the club. Luongo played it cool, Daniel Sedin can hardly contain himself, and Demitra knows he is going to play with a world class player. Mike Brown will switch to #15 and said it is his honor to give Mats the #13. Check out the TSN footage here.

Report: Sundin is waiting for Rangers to clear cap space **UPDATE** Sportsnet: Decision by Friday-*edit*:believe nothing you read or hear

From our "fave" reporter from the New York Post:

Mats Sundin is waiting for the Rangers to clear enough cap space to present him with a full-season $6 million contract offer before he commits to joining the BlueshirtsNew York Rangers , The Post has learned.

Thus, with the NHL holiday roster freeze going into effect Friday night at midnight and lasting through midnight Dec. 27, Sundin - who has a $10M offer on the table from the Canucks that he obviously is in no hurry to accept - is likely to remain unsigned until late in the month.

The 37-year-old former Toronto captain had recently established Friday as his target date for committing to one of the two finalists bidding for him, but unless Rangers GM Glen Sather can engineer multiple moves within the next day, that soft deadline will not be met.

J.P. Barry, Sundin's North American representative, said yesterday that Sundin might accept a conditional offer from the Rangers, but that is nonsense.

Yeah, I believe this story actually. It's like one fan said, that basically the Rangers will make up his mind for him. They will clear the cap space to offer Sundin what he wants or they won't.

UPDATE 11:33AM

According to Sportsnet:

Sundin's agent J.P. Barry said he's very confident the ex-Maple Leaf captain will make his decision by Friday, according to Daren Millard, who spoke on Thursday's Hockeycentral@Noon radio program in Toronto.

Heard this shiz before. Not holding my breath.


T Tags: Mats+Sundin+update December+18+2008 Sundin+to+Rangers

Luongo not accompanying Canucks to Edmonton

That is what the Vancouver Sun reported today. Alain Vigneault mentioned that the goalie is feeling some soreness in his groin.
So, he probably did aggravate it a bit on Wednesday when he left practice early.
I think we can almost assume that Luongo is going to need the full 5 weeks to recover. It has been 3 weeks since the injury. It could be fair to say that he may not be back until after Christmas.
It's probably better to assume that because waiting daily for his return just isn't worth the mind strain. We are going to have to put our trust in Curtis Sanford that he gets us through the month of December.
Personally, I trust him. He has looked great lately.
Until then, we don't need Luongo further complicating matters for himself. I'll bet Luongo is ultra-frustrated right now. But he can't let that impatience ruin his long term plans. That groin has to heal 100% or we could lose him for the year.

T Tags: Luongo+groin+injury+update December+12+2008 still+sore Curtis+Sanford+is+god+now

Canucks' practice: Bieksa injured, Bernier demoted and Demitra should play Saturday; Luongo's new mask

Maybe Kevin Bieksa should never play against the Predators again. In this year's first game against the Preds Bieksa took a Michel Ouellet slapshot off the foot and actually fractured it. He has played a few games on that foot but no longer. He is expected to miss about 2 weeks. Damn it. The injuries on D CURSE is happening again!

According to Elliot Papp of the Vancouver Sun, Alain Vigneault had the slumping Steve Bernier on the 4th line with Hordichuk and Johnson. Pavol Demitra was playing on line 2 with Wellwood and Pyatt.
Steve Bernier has seen his output decline game after game. He has 4 goals and 8 points in 16 games. I think we are expecting more goals from him. But with Pyatt improving, Wellwood continually looking like he belongs and Demitra returning, why not demote Bernier and see what the new line 2 can do? Seeing Demitra play with Wellwood is something I'm looking forward to (and so is he). Maybe they'll click. God knows Wellwood can pass. He needs a bonafide finisher. Aside from that I have not missed Pavol. He had better play a good 2-way game when he returns because everybody else is.
By the way, Demitra returning on Saturday is not 100% confirmed. He is still day-to-day. He can shoot the puck well but not take the hits quite yet.
As a couch coach, I would say that Vigneault needs to play Wellwood with the Sedins on the PP ALL NIGHT on Saturday. Against the Avalanche, Woody never saw time with the sisters until the 3rd or 4th power play. That's not right, because we know those 3 click.

From Canucks.com: Salo and Bieksa missed practice today. Glass Salo has a sore shoulder. He is listed as day-to-day. (Jeeziz) Bieksa is sore somewhere on his lower body but is expected to play on Saturday.

Roberto Luongo was flaunting a new mask at practice (pictured, from Canucks.com). It may look sharp, but I like his Johnny Canuck-themed mask better.
More images found at Canucks.com.

T Tags: Canucks+practice update line+changes injuries Demitra+returns

Rypien goes from viral infection to sports hernia surgery

Well this is a bummer indeed. From TSN:

Rick Rypien is having sports hernia surgery and will be out indefinitely. He came home from the road trip early because of a virus, began skating on his own recently and felt a "tweak" in his abdominal area, got it checked and they discovered the hernia. He's had a history of groin and abdominal problems.

That will put him on the shelf for quite a long time. That means Krog will stick around for a while longer, or at least until Demitra comes back.
I was beginning to like seeing Hordichuk and Rypien play together earlier on. There was some chemistry there.

Sami Salo will be a game time decision for tomorrow's game against the Bruins.

T Tags: Canucks+injuries+update Rick+Rypien+injured+again groin Sami+Salo+to+return October+2008