A real Captain

Notice who was at the top of the Canucks scoring while the Swedes did the usual playoff disappearance. Who was the captain of the Canucks in 1994? Calgary has Jerome, Edmonton had Ryan until they traded him and lost 16 games in a row. Naslund is not the captain to carry this team past the second round. The Captain of Anaheim? Not a Swede. The regular season of ice capades has nothing to do with the playoffs and real hockey. You can build a team for success in the regular season which usually keeps fans buying tickets, but it's unlikely to advance in the playoffs. The comments above are just emotional babble. A true fan would be appreciative of Trevors efforts this year, especially in the playoffs. So yes it's time to part with a few more players here and search for a real Captain for the playoffs. I hear Scott Gomez might like to play here again, and it's closer to his home. Trade Naslund and pick up half his salary if required, time to cut the ties. Complete the make over and bring in a real Captain for the playoffs! If not be prepared to face the wrath of an angry Bobby Lou and his high expectations now he has a taste of the playoffs. He will dictate the future of the Canucks the next 5 years. If he wants goals you better go get someone who can score. Unless they jump up another two notches the Sedins cannot be the #1 line. Regular season maybe but not in the playoffs. No more patches. Open the wallet and bring in a first line.

Naslund is untradeable

$6M, 60 points. Who's that stupid? Doug MacLean's been fired, remember.

Also, Naslund has a no-trade clause and very likely wants to keep his house and family situation stable for his last year in the NHL.

He could well shed the captaincy though. Not cuz he's Swedish but because he's slipping. Modano lost it to Morrow in Dallas. Time for Captain Mitchell.

Ryan Smyth

I hear Smyth is coming to Vancouver. Pass it on.

Naslund better shed the captaincy--no team with a European captain has ever won the Cup. For real. Hope Cherry doesn't find out.

Linden is the goddamn heart and soul. Trade him and die.

canucks

goaltending is ok
Defense is ok

forwards are weak...too many specialized guys...this guys fast but can`t score...this guy could score but is slower `n molasses..this guy is tough but has no hockey sense..on and on..the new proto typical forwards are exemplified in the teams presently in the semifinals.
They are big ,fast ,tough, smart and can check or score.
With the canucks its " ok lets send out the guy who can score now"
The Canucks who best match the new forwards are Kesler, Cooke, Greene, Burrows...
Get: Mike Grier, Chris Drury and Scott Gomez
dump: Taylor Pyatt, Jan Bulis, Smolinski, Morrison the pride of Pitt River and Naslund if possible...the twins? Good for the regular season.

Pyatt too?

The female fans will go nuts if we trade away those blue eyes! I'd keep him here a while longer while slowly completeing the make over. Drury and Gomez, fans would be drooling... Grab a QB for the power play at the trading deadline!!!

I hate to say this but I think Anaheim might have the inside track now. NJ didn't do Buffalo any favours bowing out in 5 to OTT. This could be a real brawl in the east while Anaheim takes out Detroit Senior Wings in 5 max.

Pyatt ?

All I see positive with Pyatt is that he`s big. A lot of big Hockey players have fast hands but he doesn`t seem to. His skating can only be described as " lurching about"..as I see it. ..and he`s dumber than a stick.
He can lurch away wherever Smolinski goes.
Theres not a lot of room in this game for introspection..Markus is too sensitive a guy for hockey..ya want Sam Peckinpah not Ingmar Bergman in this game...I tell ya! Watching Naslund suffer ain`t my idea of entertainment. Ya gotta love it!

Hey ..the wings is pretty banged up..but the Dominator is coming up big and looks like the old weird and crazy dominator flopping and flailing away like a wounded crocodile out there.
Wings have a chance..

Ottawa should be a good series...too bad Muckler is involved with them..speaking of crocodiles.

The buffalos seem to have the MOJO.. the Mo-mentum..they`re wiry and stinky..I bet they don`t even change their gear after a game...just waitin` to get back out there!

The sports news opened up last night with a clip of some ottawa guy pounding on a buffalos guys head
(regular season) and the announcer saying " This could be a heck of a series coming up folks"

Jeez people from other countries must think we`re weird...ya gotta love it!

the new rules made it happen

This team was build with the old rules in mind. Now that speed is essential, they are struggling.

The Sedins (carter and Bertuzzi) were great when speed was not needed. And, please, please, someone tell them that the circle stuff by the board is so easy to predict and defend against,...

Naslund was getting better as the playoffs were going. Maybe he was hurt. Maybe he is getting older, but then Chelios is 45, so ... I think Naslund need smart hockey players and fast hockey players. Naslund has good vision. I am not too sure why he turns the puck over so often in his zone though.

Speaking of smart, can someone tell the Sedins to watch Anaheim players passing the puck with their back facing the board not the net.

ANyway, this team was build for the old rules and it shows. They were lucky to go past first round, thanks to Zubov and the post.

Bullis was impressive in terms of speed. Smolinsky showed potential. I say give the Sedins one more year and then ... let them go. Theyn are getting long in the tooth.

$700,000 for Linden?

Trevor only makes $700,000 a year, which is a lot of money to me and you, but barely minimum wage in the NHL.
There is little doubt that he is worth it for one more tear.
Naslund is over paid, but the Canucks will have to live with him for at least one more year.
Nobody is going to want him for 6 million a year.
I think the Canucks will have to wait until the end of next season, when they will have 10 million more dollars to spend, by getting rid of Naslund and Brendan Morrison.
So, swallow your pride for one more year, Canucks fans.
It isn't a stretch to think that these two guys won't come around next year, and maybe make another run for the Cup.

Next year, again

Goal : solid. Even our number 2 and 3 goalies are solid. I'd trade that US college star though. Lots of US based teams would pay more than he's worth just to have a US-born goaltender to sell. I'd trade him for prospects. The farm is getting thin. We need depth.

Defence : Mattias Ohlund should be traded. He's up there in age, its all downhill from here. He's been slowing down and making bad plays more often. Dump the contract. Give a third of that money to Luc Bourdon.

Hopefully Bieksa will be better next year. The first half of the season was good, the last half he played like Sopel. (And I love Soaps, he's just not good enough to be a top 4)

So Mitchell, Salo, Bieksa, Bourdon, Edler and either Krajicek or Coulombe.

Gone : Fitzpatrick, Sopel, Ohlund.

Not the best defence but certainly adequate as they all look better than they are with Luongo behind them.

Forwards :
Stay : Morrison, Cooke, Kesler, Burrows, Cowan, Green, Linden, Sedin x 2,

Morrison because he's a hometown guy and I like that. Also, he won us about 5 games this year with his shootout prowess. But he's gotta drop to the 3rd line and take a pay cut.

Bring up Moran, Reid and Rypien from the farm at the start of the season. Let them stay or play themselves out. Don't send them to the farm and make them play their way back. That's the 12 forwards.

Naslund is a good guy but I was never a fan of his play. On a personality level? He's aces. But as the most talented guy on the team? Well.. I think not. Maybe Nazzy will now retire and go quietly into the night, that would be best. But he won't so perhaps we'll have to trade him for a bag of pucks. Hell, we'll even throw in the pucks, we need that cap room. Though I don't know any team willing to pay a guy worth 3 million dollars, 6 million dollars.

I could go either way on Pyatt and Smolinski.

Gone : Santala, Bulis, Chouinard,

Assuming the "Not Sure's" are gone, that leaves us with some decent cap room for a free agent or two. Some good ones are out there. I'd like to see a Canadian guy like Danny B from Buffalo and put one of the other guys back on the farm.

Trevor Linden isn't the

Trevor Linden isn't the Canuck with "iron man" status. That's Morrison. As soon as Linden started getting more ice time in the regular season, he started playing better. Go figure. IMHO, we wouldn't have made it to the second round if it wasn't for Luongo and Linden. And I'm not just saying that because Linden's my favorite Canuck of all time lol. I think he will stay one more year and then retire to become part of the managment team.

I was hoping that Nazzy would retire last summer but no such luck. He won't get traded either folks, because he has a no trade clause in his contract. My fingers are crossed that he will retire this summer but who would give up $6m?? I admire Nazzy for showing the committment to the new system but he hasn't been the same since "the incident".

Sopel isn't going to get traded because he just took a pay cut when he signed his new contract. Let's hope he can stay injury-free next year. (Wishful thinking).

As the regular season wore on, I became more impressed with Willy Mitchell. In the playoffs he was awesome ... his grit and determination were admirable. I think either Mitchell or Linden will be next year's captain.

My heart says keep Morrison because he's a hometown boy but reality dictates that he be traded before he's worth absolutely nothing.

When Cooke got injured, it became very apparent that we need someone who can check. Mannn did we miss Cookie against the Ducks!!

I hope the Sedins spend some time over the summer figuring out a variety of plays so that their one classic move isn't so easily read by opposing teams. During the regular season they do fine because it's only one game at a time. The playoffs provide opposing teams too much opportunity to figure out the Sedins' predictable moves.

Please hockey gods, just let Nonis find us someone who can score!!!!!

Just counting the days until October ...

I have heard that Ryan Smyth

I have heard that Ryan Smyth is looking toward Vancouver as well. For the above poster, Smyth has never been captain of the Oilers. Jason Smith is the captain.

My sources tell me that Daniel Briere figures he won't be back in BUffalo next season. Briere would do the Canucks wonders.

UNder this new cap system, teams might have a 3-4 year window to cycle a team through, much like they do in junior. Pittsburgh is a classic example. They look great now, like the 81 Oilers, or 78 Islanders, but can they afford all the young talent they have now? It's one thing to sign a league-mandated rookie deal (Thank you Alexandre Daigle) and want to be on a team that is promising, and its quite another to be able to sign a better deal one your intial contract is up.

As far as the Canucks are concerned, Naslund needs a boot in the ass, or a role to play in Vignault's system. Bulis and Chouinard were a waste of time and money. Keep Luongo happy. If he demands a bowl of brown M&M's sitting by his locker after each game, do it. I doubt Luongo is like that at all, but keep him happy. Good goalies are hard to find.

Flops like a guppy...

Thanks for clarifing, Ryan Smyth was the heart and soul, the "captain" who didn't wear the "C" then... One thing I don't understand... all the tears shed by players leaving Edmonton! There are other malls out there...

Perhaps Ingmar "Naslund" would be more comfortable in the Swedish elite league. You're right about Hasek too, he'll be a factor right up to the point where Kunitz runs over him. Get out the diving score cards.

Frank! Ohlund moves the puck as well as anyone back there! He's not all world like Lidstrom but still a valuable player. Glad you still see value in Linden.

Go Sens.

Forgot

I just realized I forgot about Hansen. Gotta keep him. So that's 13 forwards.

Also the Sedins should not be untouchables. If they could trade the two of them for one guy that could get the same amount of goals as Daniel, I'd do it.

As for Ohlund, I loved his younger version just as I did Jovanoski but we have to get younger, faster and more aggressive. Ohlund is moving in the wrong direction on all 3, better to trade him now.

As for Linden, he should be the "old guy" leader of this team. I'd like it if most of his teammates would be able to remember watching him on Hockey Night in Canada when they were 7 :-) As long as Linden works hard. No one expects him to pot 30 goals a year anymore.

Faster Horses...

Older whiskey, younger players, more money! Was that Tom T Hall? Could be a new twisted tune for the NHL.
Now Frank, younger, faster, more agressive is for forwards, not defencemen! We want experience that keeps the panic level low! Toughness, smart puck movement and the ability to find safety. Rare is the young Dion Phaneuf who can step right in, and he tires late in the year. The lad, he's still growing! No I have to say Ohlund stays. Luongo would want it that way...

Ohlund stays

Definitely the old war horse has gotta stay.
He`s still got some good years. Sometimes it looks like his eye is giving him problems..and the occasional game he appears slightly wonky...wobbly out there.

I thought Linden was huge in their cup run back then..but thats a long time ago...why does he remind me of that saint.. was it Anthony..with all the arrows sticking out of him and gazing woefully heavenwards.

Anthony

Bob, that was Custer :-)

Bob and Club, okay okay, maybe Nonis will agree with you on Ohlund. But he carries a decent size salary you know. Whereas Linden is a bargain.

Trade the Sedins

Get Briere, bring back Carter.

Biggest change needed:
3 points for a win.
2 points for an overtime/shoot out win
1 point for the also ran.

Reward offence; don't punish it.

And do something about the officiating.

Don't know about defence but Sopel was a big disappointment.

bargain basement

Frank: Not sure Linden wants to remain a bargain..

The Sedins...is there a precedent in the game for identical twins playing together on the same line? Where it was a strength previously..it was shown to also have its downside, weaknesses in these playoffs.
They do everything almost as one..even get sick together..
I remember years ago at the PNE two identical twins at a sideshow..they were billed as " Eeko and Eiko the Sheepheaded men"..they were both Albino and had let their beard and hair grow..it was sort of wooly..
They stood on a little stage in the corner wearing pink satin suits and strumming ukeleles..

1040

... acording to the radio, Burke loves Trevor and if he plays anywhere else it would be Anaheim. Their window of opportunity is open now and I believe Trevor would go in search of that cup. He may even play for less there if the Canucks don't play nice. Does anybody remember Ray Bourque as an AV? No, he was a Bruin! But these guys will go anywhere if they think they can get their name on that trophy. It's their holy grail. Given a choice to stay here and finish as a Canuck or better his chances for the cup, he's gone. And if it happens? Then everyone one here should be damn happy for him!! Do what's best for you Trevor!

Star attraction

The main attraction at the PNE sideshow was a character billed as "Sealboy!"...half human! half seal! When Sealboy made his entrance from behind a curtain it was quite obvious sealboy was a thalidomide victim.
He appeared Latino and was almost dwarf sized...instead of arms ..at his shoulders there were small flipper like appendages.
His act mainly consisted of more or less high energy walking around on stage..and he barked..like a seal.
The highlight of Sealboys act was a great bark and leap down into the assembled gawkers
where he proceeded to walk around very energetically, barking loudly and often..there was a lot of screaming from some of the ladies " Eeeeek its Sealboy!" and murmers and gasps from the males...he walks among us..as they scattered and skittered away. Some kind of edged away so as not to be obviously rude.
Sealboy seemed to enjoy this and exchanging glances with the man i detected a real twinkle in his eye as if he were saying " Hey a guys gotta make a living"
All the time Eeko and Eiko just kept strumming...the same two chords over and over.

Canuck Circus

Keenan was the scariest perfomer in the Canuck ring.... Reminds me of a Lion Tamer. Cracking the whip at the players on and off the ice. His methods were brutal. That was the worst thing about 94' it kept Keenan's value in the league. I really hope he likes Sweden, but something tells me he'll be fired the same as every other job he's had. Ya bum ya...

Keenan in Sweden

Just can`t wrap my head around that one..

Keenan in Sweden...Keenan in Sweden..

nahhh clubber you`re puttin` us on!

I can't wink or blink...

Goggle: Mike Keenan in Sweden....
He's in charge of youth development, can you believe that!

True Grit

I guess the Swedes figure Iron Mike can instill some Canadian grit in their young hockey players.

The Swedes don`t win the big ones much despite a wealth of talented athletes, skaters and puckhandlers.

Remember Forsbergs dads comment when asked why his favoured, loaded Swedish team went out in the preliminary rounds of an Olympic (or maybe worlds?) tournament:

" Too many Swedes"

The Swedes see it as a game..with Canadians its life or death out there. Beat `em in the ole alley.

Maybe Iron Mike can make little killers out of `em.
Win some gold medals.