Tag Archives: Vancouver Canucks

Sweden to face Switzerland with shot at winning world hockey championship on home ice

Posted on May 18, 2013 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

STOCKHOLM — Sweden has the opportunity to win an IIHF World Championship as the host country for the first time since the Soviet Union did it in 1986.

Sweden blanked Finland 3-0 in Saturday's semifinal at Stockholm's Globe Arena to advance to Sunday's championship game.

The Soviet Union won a men's world hockey title 27 years ago in Moscow.

"It's about time. It's about time," Swedish forward Henrik Sedin said. "No pressure, just fun.

"It's an unbelievable feeling. It's something a lot players never get a chance to be part of so it's something you dream about when you grow up."

The Swedes will face Switzerland, which advanced after shutting out the United States 3-0 in the other semi. Julian Walker, New York Islanders prospect Nino Niederreiter and Reto Suri, with an empty-net goal, scored for the Swiss.

Loui Eriksson of the Dallas Stars meanwhile scored a pair of power-play goals for Sweden with twin brothers Henrik and Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks...

No quick-fix solution to Canucks’ problems

Posted on May 17, 2013 by admin in Sun Hockey | No comments

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks have no salary-cap space available, a shortage of National Hockey League-ready prospects and lack portability among their key player contracts. Other than that, general manager Mike Gillis’ summer “reset” of the team shouldn’t be a problem.

The week after their second straight first-round playoff elimination, Gillis was still working through his coaching review and a planned summit meeting with ownership, while his top assistant, Laurence Gilman, continued to tour North America for potential minor-league locations.

The really heavy lifting — think Superman shifting the moon’s orbit — still lies ahead. And it doesn’t take a superhero to understand how difficult it will be for Gillis to make even a few impactful roster moves to catch up to the NHL curve towards big, brawny teams.

It took the Canucks years, literally, to configure their team the way it is: skilled, fast and too small up front. The evolution spanned managerial regimes; most of the core players were...

Sedins boost Sweden’s chances in quarter-final against Canada

Posted on May 15, 2013 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Sweden forwards Henrik and Daniel Sedin insist their country isn’t the favourite to win Thursday’s IIHF World Championship quarter-final against Canada.

“I think we should be the underdogs,” Daniel Sedin said Wednesday in Stockholm. “You look at Canada’s lineup. It’s pretty impressive.

“They have a lot of firepower. They are probably the favourites tomorrow so we’ve got go in and have fun and hopefully we can play tight defensively.”

Added Henrik: “I think if people look at our lineups, they should be the favourites.”

Canada shut out Sweden 3-0 in the preliminary round last week, but that was before the Sedins and defenceman Alex Edler arrived from the Vancouver Canucks.

They played their first game for the host country Monday in a 4-2 win over Denmark. The twin brothers each had a goal and an assist in the game as Sweden (5-2) concluded the round robin third in their pool.

The Sedins, 32, have each won the NHL’s Art Ross trophy...

Ex-Canucks prospect Connauton embraces chance to start afresh as star in Texas

Posted on May 14, 2013 by admin in Sun Hockey | No comments

VANCOUVER — It seems Vancouver Canucks general manager Mike Gillis is not the only guy reaching for the reset button.

Former Canucks prospect Kevin Connauton has already pressed his.

Initially shocked by the trade early last month that sent him to the Dallas Stars as part of the deal that brought Derek Roy to Vancouver, Connauton now thinks it may have been the best thing that has happened to him in his pro hockey career.

“Coming here was really a positive thing, it was a fresh start,” Connauton, now playing in the American Hockey League playoffs for the Texas Stars, said Tuesday. “I was able to hit the reset button and it’s been nothing but positives since I got here.”

Connauton’s improved play with the Stars is not making that Roy trade look any better for the Canucks, who also sent a second-round pick to Dallas.

The 23-year-old defenceman finished the regular season with Texas, accumulating two goals and six points in nine...

New Vancouver Giants co-owner Bruce Allen lashes out at Canucks

Posted on May 14, 2013 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

Bruce Allen is a minority owner with the Vancouver Giants now. He’s certainly not a silent partner, though.

“I just think there’s been an alienation for a lot of hockey fans from that organization up the street,” Allen said at the official announcement Tuesday.

Yes, Vancouver Canucks. He was talking about you.

Allen, the high-profile manager of such musicians as Michael Bublé and Bryan Adams, has been friends with Ron Toigo, the Giants’ principal owner, for years. Bublé has a share of the club already. Allen said he and Toigo have been talking about joining forces with the WHL club for some time, but Allen felt this was the ideal opportunity.

He mentioned the Giants’ rebuilding phase, and their goal of winning the bid to host the 2016 Memorial Cup.

He also mentioned the Canucks.

“We saw some interesting phenomena happen during the playoffs here. We saw apathy from the Vancouver crowds,” Allen said.

“Why was that? You have to ask yourself. It could be...

Canucks goalie prospect Eddie Lack guest hosts the Legion of Blogcast

Posted on May 10, 2013 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

The Vancouver Canucks are officially in “the offseason” now, and sadly the Legion of Blog are as well.

But just because we don’t have hockey to discuss, that doesn’t mean we’re packing up the basement until October. Our first “post playoff exit” episode features a special guest, maybe the most special guest we’ve had, who should be familiar to Canucks fans.

His name is Eddie Lack. Not sure about his middle name, but if I had to wager a guess it would be “freaking”.

(Pictured: Eddie Freaking Lack, owning the Sharks)

I hate to spoil the episode for you guys, but Mr. Lack absolutely CRUSHES it. Vancouver has an incredible surplus of hilarious goaltenders, and Eddie proves in this episode that he fits right in.

When a get a guy like Lack to sit down and have a chat, no way can you keep it under 30 minutes. So...

Iain MacIntyre: Canucks to ‘reset’ the organization after ‘terrible season,’ says GM Gillis

Posted on May 10, 2013 by admin in Sun Hockey | No comments

VANCOUVER — Mike Gillis took the witness stand Thursday and for 45 minutes was grilled about the playoff failure of the Vancouver Canucks, his culpability and when he might get around to firing coach Alain Vigneault.

It may have been the easiest day of his summer.

The Canucks general manager acknowledged at his year-end news conference that the team has fallen behind the National Hockey League curve toward bigger, grittier, defence-oriented teams.

"From my perspective ... it’s been a terrible season for us," Gillis said. "We’re going to have to reinvent ourselves and do things differently in order to be successful. The macro look at this team is that changes have to be made."

Amen.

The Canucks’ need for more size and grit, particularly among the top three forward lines, was evident when they lost the Stanley Cup Final to the Boston Bruins two years ago.

It was reinforced by first-round playoff exits this season and last to the San Jose Sharks and Los...

Willes: Not in Gillis to acknowledge any responsibility for Canucks’ failure

Posted on May 9, 2013 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

Given everything that happened this season, Thursday’s wrap-up presser might have been the time for Mike Gillis to present a slightly different persona; someone who acknowledged the anger and frustration of this market, someone who took responsibility for the Vancouver Canucks’ spectacular postseason failure.

But that wouldn’t be Gillis. That wouldn’t be the man who convinced Francesco Aquilini he was the portal to a glorious new future for the Canucks. No matter what you think of Gillis and the work he’s done as the franchise’s overlord, he remained true to himself on Thursday; a man utterly convinced in the rightness of his ways, a man who holds, if not all the right answers, enough of them to make the Canucks an elite team.

"Five years ago we came in here and reset this organization and it’s time to do it again," Gillis said.

OK, how much resetting he did five years ago is a matter of some debate. But this...

Canucks notebook: Mason Raymond will ‘sit back and wait’

Posted on May 9, 2013 by admin in Sun Hockey | No comments

VANCOUVER — If the Vancouver Canucks intend to become more robust up front next season, then slender left winger Mason Raymond likely won't be part of the new look.

General manager Mike Gillis admitted Thursday he wasn't certain – “I'm not sure,” he said – whether Raymond fits into his re-set plan. Raymond's contract is up and he stands to become an unrestricted free agent July 5. He collected 10 goals in 46 regular-season games and added another one in the playoffs.

Raymond, 6-0 and 182 pounds, conceded there have been no talks about an extension.

“No, as of right now, there haven't been any that I'm aware of,” Raymond said as the Canuck players did a final media session before heading to their off-season homes. “Things change and you never know what's going to happen. At the end of the day, you kind of sit back and wait.”

Raymond is a lifelong Canuck. He was drafted by the organization 51st overall...

Roberto Luongo says goodbye again; hopes he’s not saying hello next fall

Posted on May 9, 2013 by admin in Sun Hockey | No comments

VANCOUVER — This time, Roberto Luongo really does hope it's goodbye. Of course, he said so long last year at this time and we all know what happened.

But on Thursday, when he joined the rest of the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena for a final team get-together, Luongo made it clear that he does think it's time to move on. Actually, way past time.

"I have made that statement before," Luongo said as he leaned against a wall outside the team dressing room. "I feel like I am in a stage of my life where I want to play. Whether that's here or somewhere else remains to be seen. But what has happened over the course of the last two years suggests that maybe it's not my place to be the starter here anymore. That being said, things change so, who knows."

If Luongo learned anything this past season, it's to expect the unexpected. He didn't think he'd start...

Canucks star Henrik Sedin sticks up for coach Alain Vigneault, expects changes

Posted on May 9, 2013 by admin in Sun Hockey | No comments

VANCOUVER — Canucks captain Henrik Sedin conceded Thursday he expects changes to the team after a second straight quick playoff ouster. But what kind of changes? A new coach? Some new core players?

Henrik proved he can stickhandle through an exit media scrum as well he stickhandles through an opponent's zone coverage.

“I think if things aren't going well for a few years or a few seasons, there are going to be changes,” said the captain, standing in a hallway at Rogers Arena. “I don't know what you mean by big changes but there are going to be some, I'm sure, whatever that is. I know our owners and our management aren't happy being an average team. It's not up to me to make those changes so I can't tell you what they want to do. We'll see what happens.”

The most likely change will be behind the bench where head coach Alain Vigneault is on extremely thin ice after the...

Willes: Size and toughness trump speed and skill in today’s NHL

Posted on May 8, 2013 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

It’s hard to know when the idea of being on the wrong side of history was first introduced to the modern lexicon but this much is certain.

Since that day, it’s become more popular than cold beer on a hot summer’s day.

A google search of “the wrong side of history,” produces approximately 284 million matches. Sadly, spatial restrictions prevents them all from being listed here but a sampling reveals Margaret Thatcher’s foreign policy was on the wrong side of history, opposing same-sex marriages puts you on the wrong side of history, supporting same-sex marriages is on the wrong side of history, the American educational system is on the wrong side of history, and so it goes.

This, naturally, brings us to the Vancouver Canucks, and while there wasn’t an entry for the recently ousted third-seed in the Western Conference, it appears they too are on the wrong side of history.

The Canucks, it seems, are trying to win with a game...

If Vigneault goes, who’s gonna coach the Canucks?

Posted on May 8, 2013 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

The Vancouver Canucks’ second-straight first-round exit has certainly got people thinking that change is coming.

Does Mike Gillis turf Alain Vigneault as coach?

Does ownership part ways with Gillis as general manager?

Are they both gone?

Here are suggestions of possible replacements for Vigneault. Some, of course, are more logical than others.

And head to our White Towel blog, at thewhitetowel.ca, where we serve up five possible replacements for Gillis.

Scott Arniel

Where he is now: Guided the Chicago Wolves, the Canucks’ AHL affiliate, to a 37-30-5-4 regular season record. They missed the playoffs by six points.

In his favour: Arniel, 50, has worked in the Vancouver system, both with the Chicago and at the helm of the Manitoba Moose. He guided Manitoba to a spot in the AHL final in 2008-09, with a team led by Cory Schneider. He worked as an assistant under Lindy Ruff in Buffalo and is said to be a fitness fiend. Arniel, a left-winger by trade in his playing days, also suited...

Canucks: Officiating conspiracies? Stop whining and just shut up

Posted on May 8, 2013 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

This postseason, the Vancouver Canucks couldn’t kill a penalty, make a late save, or score goals.

They also couldn’t win a game. But what was everyone talking about when it was over? The officiating.

Yes, it is the same as it ever was.

The long-simmering rivalry between the local team and the referees who officiate its games seems as entrenched, and embittered, as Yankees-Red Sox.

Roll up to the Rogers Arena entrance and what greets you is a statue of Roger Nielsen, raising a stick high in the air with a towel draped on the butt end like a white flag. It lampoons the refs, immortalizing their ineptness, while whispering in every fan’s ear, “Your team didn’t lose, it got screwed. Royally.”

It also reminds visiting referees they are now entering hostile territory, just in case it may have slipped their minds.

If that doesn’t drive it home, the Canucks will. Take this past week. After Game 1, the Canucks called out the linesmen...