My only question is: Why didn’t the Los Angeles Kings make a run at Curtis Joseph?

The Kings, while clearly out of a playoff spot, could’ve and probably should’ve expressed interest in the aging goaltender. While he may not be the best catch, Curtis Joseph certainly holds more experience than the other four goaltenders the Kings have used this season (Jason LaBarbera, Jonathan Quick, Jonathan Bernier and JS Aubin).

Signing Joseph to a multi-year contract would’ve been a significant upgrade to when the Kings acquired Sean Burke a few seasons ago. Joseph, arguably one of Canada’s best goalies in history, would’ve plugged the significant hole which has been plaguing the Kings for some time now. Instead, it appears the Kings will continue to flounder for the foreseeable future until Bernier is ready to take the reins on a full-time basis.

Perhaps GM Dean Lombardi feels that Bernier will be ready next season; I, however, am betting on the fact that if the LA Kings defence continues to be hindered by the recent play of Rob Blake and the rest of the lacklustre defence, the Kings aren’t going to be making noise in the Western Conference any time soon. And besides, while Bernier is a top prospect, history has shown that top goaltending prospects don’t always succeed while they’re 20 years of age or younger.

Rick DiPietro and Marc-Andre Fleury being good examples. Sure, they’re top goaltenders now, but their starts in the NHL was not very memorable. Allowing Bernier to blossom for the LA Kings’ AHL affiliate in Manchester would’ve been most beneficial to the franchise.

Instead, CuJo is heading to Calgary to play seven games for the Flames, backing up Kiprusoff.

This is what I caught from last night’s post-game show. And can you blame Alain Vigneault for being frustrated with Jeff Cowan? He’s done little to improve this team and has taken plenty of penalties to boot. He’s amassed one assist in the eighteen contests he’s played in this year, while being beaten for a roster spot by Mike Brown, who has clearly taken his place as the team middleweight.

Jeff Cowan took a needless penalty last night in his fracas with Ed Jovanovski. It was foolish, and it was dumb. As opposed to taking Jovocop with him, he went to the box himself and set his team up for a 5-on-3 penalty kill which lasted the full two minutes and gave the Coyotes a 3-1 lead going into the 2nd intermission, sucking the proverbial air right out of GM Place.

Even if you look beyond last night, what else has Cowan done? Off the opening faceoff against Edmonton in October, Cowan injures himself in a scrap with Zach Stortini and missed a handful of games. Then, when Pittsburgh arrives in December, Cowan gets his shoulder dislocated by the more physical Georges Laraque. He’s missed a ton of games and in that span Mike Brown has proven himself a far more capable fighter and a more healthier, speedier forward.

I think if you look at what the Canucks have right now, they don’t have any more room for Jeff Cowan. He’s earning $750K this season, which is a lot considering what Cowan has brought to the table (basically a bunch of fights where he’s won few). He no longer has that mean demeanor and there’s too many bottom six forwards who have earned a place on this team more than Cowan.

So much for the Brabarian.

Like, I seriously loathe the guy.

Why? Because the guy plays for the Toronto Maple Leafs and pretty much summarizes what it means to be a Maple Leaf: I mean, the guy has had a pretty storied career, spent most of his career with the TML and has gone Cupless over the entire duration of his career while thinking every year his team could win it. What’s to like?

Nonetheless, word on the street is that John Ferguson Jr. and the Leafs brass are seriously considering moving the Swedish captain and arguably the best Maple Leaf in history. Today the Leafs are sitting in 13th place in the Eastern Conference but a mere five points out of a playoff spot. However, with a busy and tough schedule coming up, the Leafs may find themselves slipping further and further in the Eastern cellar and may be lobbied to trade Sundin in order to rebuild for next season.

Now if you’re Dave Nonis, and you really want to address the issue of acquiring a top-line centre, who else better than Mats Sundin? Like I said, I hate the guy, but there’s no questioning his skill. Sundin’s 74 points in 85 playoff games is valuable, as his ability for some clutch goals. He may also be the guy to really get Markus Naslund’s motor running in the playoffs and could very well be the key to the Canucks winning something serious this season. At $5.5M a year, Sundin is acquireable.

What would the Canucks need to package for the Bromma native? I’m thinking that any proposal requires the name of Alex Edler. Sorry Canuck fans, this is the price to pay (at least, most likely). Edler is proving to be a star in the making. Even after the Canucks offer Edler, I think it’ll take a high draft pick as well. There’s always going to be a team at the February 26th trade deadline willing to go crazy for a guy of Sundin’s calibre.

Look at last season’s trade deadline: Keith Tkachuk, the aging veteran, went for a first round pick. Tkachuk pales in comparison to Mats Sundin, and Sundin would be worth a decent prospect, easily. If the Canucks managed to offer Cory Schneider and a 1st, that MIGHT do it, but I wouldn’t bet the farm on it; with JFJ’s time running out in TO, he may be hard-pressed to make a coup for his amiable captain.

…I honestly do shudder at the thought of Sundin wearing #13 in a Canuck uniform. But at the same time, I kind of hope it happens.

Getting Phaneuf signed is crucial to determining if Sutter has enough cash to also sign UFA Kristian Huselius next summer. The 28-year-old Juice could command Scott Gomez dollars ($51.5 M/seven years) from a team anxious for scoring. The 27-year-old Gomez averaged 16.8 goals a year in the five seasons before UFA land; given 35 goals this season, Huselius will have averaged almost 27 goals in each of his last five seasons. He may not get $50 million, but $35 million to $40 million is doable.

Ask yourselves the question of “Is Dion Phaneuf worth $70M over 10 years?”. Consider the offer sheet situation in the NHL and you can tell that unless Calgary forks over enough money to persuade the Alberta boy to stay in Cowtown, he’s going elsewhere next offseason.

Don’t you just hate offer sheets?

Roberto Luongo - A- - Would’ve earned an A+ had it not been for a moderately slow start out of the gate this season. Definitely Hart Trophy material.

Curtis Sanford - B+ - Filled in without many flaws for Luongo when he was injured and has done everything asked this year. Great team guy.

Kevin Bieksa - C+ - A little pointless to grade a player who has played in only twelve contests, but in them Bieksa showed minor errors defensively.

Alexander Edler - B+ - Proving to be a wonderful draft pick with every game he plays. Makes a great first pass and can play in all situations. His progress is similar to Bieksa’s meteoric rise.

Lukas Krajicek - B - Was easily the Canucks best defenseman during their struggles. Krajicek has been solid in the fact that you don’t notice him on the ice.

Aaron Miller - C+ - Aging veteran is a little slow in his game and is prone to the occasional error, but his veteran leadership has been a comfort to the younger blueliners.

Willie Mitchell - A- - Also struggled out of the gate but has been magnificent since. Seemingly flawless defensively and has been great against teams’ top players.

Mattias Ohlund - B+ - Has shown more poise this year in getting to loose pucks while not making many defensive errors. He still is prone to a few bad penalties sometimes.

Sami Salo - C+ - When he’s actually on the ice, Salo has been good in his own zone but cannot hit the net. I remember a powerplay where Salo’s slapshot only hit the net once out of six tries.

Mike Weaver - C - He’s done everything coaches expected out of a waiver pickup and is capable of playing 11 to 14 minutes a night in relief of an injured blueliner. Nothing fancy.

Daniel Sedin - B+ - Has struggled with consistency at times but seems to be finding his stride with seven goals in seven games.

Henrik Sedin - B+ - Been able to hit the net a little more than last season. If Henrik can match the second half this year with the second half he had last year, records could be broken again.

Markus Naslund - B- - I don’t enjoy knocking on the guy, but when people say “he’s back”, it takes me ten to twelve games to believe it. And Naslund hasn’t been lighting the lamp lately but has proven to be better than last year by far.

Ryan Kesler - A- - Easily the most improved player on the Canuck lineup. Sun writer Iain MacIntyre said it best: “While Luongo is the heart, Kesler is the identity of the Vancouver Canucks”.

Brendan Morrison - B- - Had a moderately good start to the year but slowed down, most likely by his wrist injury. Still, a veteran presence and leader on this team.

Brad Isbister - C+ - Hasn’t been fancy, but is part of the shutdown unit and his big body makes it tough for opponents to knock him down.

Taylor Pyatt - B- - Struggled with consistency but seems to have found his place alongside Ryan Kesler. The line has been able to chip in with goals.

Alex Burrows - B - One of the most effective penalty killers on the Canucks and he takes pride in it. Burr has been able to kill penalties by himself on occasion.

Matt Cooke - B - Hey, he’s been able to stay healthy so far! Cooke is back in form with the agitator role while able to chip in a goal or two every once in awhile.

Jeff Cowan - C - The Brabarian has disappointed so far, whether it be in an injury, a fight or lack of bras on the ice.

Mike Brown - C+ - Is taking Cowan’s seat, and quickly. Here’s a middleweight who can really throw ‘em.

Jason Jaffray - C+ - Has filled in magnificently for Morrison and is making a case to be a roster player next season.

Mason Raymond - B- - The kid with wheels is the real deal. Look at the goals by Raymond and you know he’ll be a future NHLer.

Canuck Coaching Staff - A- - Kudos to these guys for getting the Canucks back on track after the first dozen games. This team could’ve easily faltered and faded into the sunset but now are a contending team in the West.

Dave Nonis - C+ - Has yet to address major issues concerning the team but picking up Mike Weaver was the only move made. His real test will come in February at the trade deadline.

Something tells me fireworks are going to go off tonight between the two, whether it’s to spark their teams or to settle personal vendettas.

The first time the two met was in an OHL All-Star game back when the two played juniors. Cooke hit Avery into the boards and Avery suffered a concussion on the play. There was no penalty on the play.

Avery and Cooke met again in Vancouver during Avery’s tenure with the Los Angeles Kings. Avery hit Cooke from behind in the boards, a similar play Cooke made on Avery back in juniors. Avery’s response during the play:

“How do you like that, fuckin’ Cookie?!”

Oh yeah. Something is definitely going down tonight.

I specifically remember being at the Vancouver Canucks Children’s Carnival (A now defunct event) where fans were allowed to come into GM Place to meet with many of their favourite Vancouver Canucks to get autographs and pictures. Aside from meeting Mattias Ohlund I also specifically recall begging my father to pay $10 to allow me to get an autograph with Alexander Mogilny and NOT with Mark Messier.

But back to #2. He was just recuperating from his devastating injury when I came up to him, nervous as my 11-year old body could be and asked:

“So how’s the eye?”

And he replied: “It’s coming along. The doctors say I should be able to skate in two months.”

At least, it was something along those lines. But in any case, at the time, I was completely terrified by such a big guy like Ohlund, who was 6′2′’ to my 4 feet. I think he knew I was a little afraid of him, even if I tried to make conversation with him, but nonetheless, Ohlund smiled, signed my Canuck poster and sent me on my way. I’ll never forget that moment, because it was the first time that a Vancouver Canuck ever spoke to me, and it definitely was not the last. But enough reminiscing; to the present: Sergei Samsonov was placed on waivers today by the Chicago Blackhawks, a move which was to be expected with Samsonov managing no goals in 23 games. This was the same Sergei Samsonov who was drafted eighth overall in 1997 and was thought to be better than his Boston counterpart Joe Thornton when they played together. This was also the same guy who stole the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year from our very own Mattias Ohlund, gathering 43 of the 54 first-place votes.

10 years later, ask yourself who would you rather want on your team today, Mattias Ohlund or Sergei Samsonov?

Yeah. Thought so. There’s no freaking doubt it would be Ohly.

And while Samsonov’s progress as a player may have been hampered by numerous injuries in the last six years, Mattias Ohlund was the one who overcame the adversity of losing almost total vision in his right eye and emerging as arguably Vancouver’s best defenceman in it’s 38-year history. Ohlund is the one who is out there against opposing teams’ top forwards every night, and now it appears Sergei Samsonov’s NHL career may be in doubt.

So even though the 1998 Calder winner may be able to have a rookie award stuffed in his empty trophy case, he’s the one who may never see the light of the NHL again, while it seems evident that Mattias Ohlund has another five years left in the tank.

I know that the whole Calder Trophy business is based on simply who was the best rookie of the year at the present time, and you could probably build a lengthy case with a lot of former Calder winners and their runner-ups. Bryan Berard won the Calder as Jarome Iginla finished as runner-up in 1997. But I think what I’m trying to prove is that Sergei Samsonov is quite possibly one of the worst Calder winners in the last fifty years. Look at the company Samsonov is with among Calder winners: Martin Brodeur, Peter Forsberg, Pavel Bure, Ray Bourque …

Twenty years from now, our children will ask us: Who in the heck was Sergei Samsonov, and how could he beat out Mattias Ohlund?

Twelve games of 34: Is there anyone more injury-riddled than Martin Havlat? In the last three years, here’s the impressive list of injuries the Czech native has sustained: Groin injury, two shoulder injuries, flu, right ankle injury, a dislocated right shoulder, and a hamstring injury.

The final amount? 107 games missed in three seasons. But hey, at least he’s got that $6M to sit on to keep him warm. Perhaps he’ll be looking to set up a Martin Havlat Infirmary in Chicago Hospital. Meanwhile, here’s a list of other NHLers who are injury-prone:

• Peter Forsberg: The most injuries sustained but not the most amount of games missed. Upper body, groin, concussion, foot, back, ankle, left wrist, groin, knee, groin, groin, groin, groin, and… groin. A total of 44 games missed in three years.
• Marian Gaborik: Just call him Marian Groinorik. Four groin injuries in three years and a hip flexor is no accident. Gaborik missed 34 games last season with a groin strain and has missed 56 overall in the last three seasons.
• Simon Gagne: Nothing insane to worry about, but Gagne’s had just about everything. Currently suffering from dizziness, he’s been on the IR since November 8th and on top of that has had two groin, bruised knee, stomach virus and flu injuries in three years for 20 games.
• Dominik Hasek: ‘Bionic Dominik’ has to be half-man, half-robot. The Dominator missed 45 games in the last two years, including a 35-game span during his stint with the Senators where he missed 25 regular season games and all ten playoff contests.

Who’s your vote for most injury-plagued NHL star?

Jack Todd of Montreal’s Gazette went out and declared that Ovechkin in rouge, blanc et bleu isn’t completely out of the question. Here’s what he had to say on Russian Rocket V.2:

All it will take is, oh, $120 million over 15 years and a slew of first-round picks. Or the Canadiens can go another route: If the Capitals are reasonably certain they’re bound to lose Ovechkin, the Habs might be able to swing a multi-player deal, offering Washington any player on the roster not named Carey Price. The Canadiens get Ovechkin, while the Caps get a balanced lineup capable of winning hockey games. 

Here’s my take on the situation. First things first, the cap number this year for the Canadiens is 48.775M. Next year, Michael Ryder, Bryan Smolinski, Patrice Brisebois, Mark Streit and Cristobal Huet’s contracts all come off the books, which would free up roughly $8.5M. And while that’s plenty of space to acquire a top-line player, rumour has it that the Ovechkin camp wants close to $9M a season, if not more. I wish George Gillett Jr. and Bob Gainey the best of luck in making that work.

Oh, trade players, you say? Well sure, let’s look at the tradeable players on the Canadiens roster.

What’s that?

What do you mean you can’t find anyone? What about Carey Price? He’s marketable, he’s a goaltender whom the Capitals would love to have on their team and formulate their team around.

What do you mean, untradeable?!

Okay, so let’s look at some other viable options. Quite plainly, there’s a handful of teams who are willing to trade the farm and more for a guy like Alex Ovechkin. Bob Gainey would gladly toss Saku Koivu, Chris Higgins, Roman Hamrlik, prospects and picks in order to get #8. However, I find it very difficult for the Capitals to be interested in taking on 12.15M in salary and giving up the face of their franchise at the same time.

Ah yes, that offer sheet business. Don’t even get me started on that. Thank you very much, Kevin Lowe.

Sergei Fedorov, Thomas Vanek, Dustin Penner, Ryan Kesler. All victims of the offer sheet, an overspent offer to restricted players that can be matched or unmatched by team general managers at the cost of a surplus of draft picks. Will Alexander Ovechkin be added to this prestigious list?

Seeing as how he has yet to sign an extension? Unless Washington GM George McPhee starts up negotiations soon, I would say yes. There isn’t a GM in the NHL who would not be willing to throw everything they have to acquire Ovechkin.

But I think that Ted Leonsis, owner of the Washington Capitals, understands the nature of how important Ovechkin is to keeping the franchise in Washington. Ovechkin’s undying passion and marketable style of play are rare in the NHL, for there are very few players in the game who can electrify crowds quite like him. Leonsis would certainly be willing to match any offer thrown at his star player, which is why I believe he would never allow a trade for Ovechkin to go through.

I suppose the real question is whether or not Ovechkin wants to stay in Washington. That debate is something that can be left for much, much later down the road.

1. The Sedin Twins - Pinky and The Brain DVD Set. When Derek Boogaard called them this, they honestly had no idea who he was talking about. But perhaps grasping The Brain’s thirst for world domination will inspire the twins on the ice.
2. Taylor Pyatt - Anson Carter Voodoo Doll. Pyatt has been compared to Anson Carter a lot in recent years and I think the guy would love nothing more than for Carter to disappear altogether.
3. Markus Naslund - Confidence Spectacles. When you slap these babies on, they give you the vision of scoring highlight reel goals and the confidence to dismantle any team’s defence on any given night.
4. Jeff Cowan - A set of boxing gloves. If the guy could knock out an opponent for once, that’d be reeeeallly helpful.
5. Aaron Miller - NHL 08. Because the only other way this guy is going to be scoring in hockey is in virtual reality.
6. Sami Salo - Plastic Bubble. Does anyone know the appropriate size for a 6′2 Finnish guy?
7. Mike Weaver - Blow-up Doll. He’s getting pretty lonely up in that press box every night.
8. Roberto Luongo - Smaller pads. I think he’s just joking. Hopefully.

Two goals in four shootouts.

Trevor Linden scoring a goal in the shootout.

Now I’ve seen everything.

I don’t normally make a fuss when it comes to shootouts, because half the time it’s always a crapshoot when guessing which skaters should be selected in the shootout. For Alain Vigneault, he typically throws out the guys who have had good to decent games, which isn’t the worst strategy, but is proving to be one that needs adjusting.

Just as the Canucks were overtime demons last season, the Edmonton Oilers are quickly becoming shootout wizards. And I’m not mincing words here when it comes to giving the Oil credit, because they’ve deserved it. 10 of their 15 wins have come in shootouts, and that’s not a lie. That’s ten extra points, and with that ten extra points they are in 10th place in the West as opposed to dead last, and a mere five points out of the Northwest Division lead. Without the ten points they’ve gathered from shootouts, they have only six regulation wins. Currently, the Oilers are 10-1 in second overtimes.

Pretty plainly, the shootouts are as essential as ever in the NHL. Had the Canucks found a way to snag the extra four points they squandered in 1-on-1s, they’re sitting a pretty second place in the West with a four-point cushion on Minnesota.

Now I know there’s the old saying “You can’t win ‘em all”, but the Canuck coaching staff has to start to get real drastic here if they’re going to even come close to winning a shootout. With former shootout king Brendan Morrison out indefinitely and with Trevor Linden and Ryan Kesler being the only goal-getters in the Canuck lineup, there needs to be some major tinkering in the shootout. That being said, here are my top five shootout specialists I hope Alain Vigneault will consider:

1. Ryan Kesler - Obviously you’ve got to stick with what works. Whether it’s the shade right and fake to the backhand move that he’s used in the past or the snap shot he used last night, Kesler has more moves than any of the Canucks right now.
2. Trevor Linden - Same deal as Kesler; while Linden has been scratched numerously this year, he’s proven to still have the gentle hands he had when the Canucks drafted him in ‘88.
3. Alex Burrows - He failed to get the puck on net in Edmonton, but don’t count out this feisty agitator in 1-on-1 situations. He scored two beauties on shorthanded breakaways this year and it’s evident this guy has an arsenal of moves waiting to be given a chance.
4. Sami Salo - Like I said, time to get drastic. Salo has yet to score this season and a shootout goal could oddly be the thing to jumpstart his confidence this year. Salo has scored some beauties, including an OT winner in Minnesota last season.
5. Mason Raymond - The kid may be up here for another week or two, but the reality is no goaltender has a book on the guy yet. He’s got speed and a nice shot so it’s worth a try.

Just missed the cut:

1. Mattias Ohlund - Also scored a beautiful out-of-the-box breakaway goal on Dwayne Roloson last year and certainly has a great shot if you saw his goal last night. Whether it’s from the point or from in close, Ohlund strikes me as a guy who can handle the shootout pressure.
2. Ryan Shannon - Remember this guy? He’s just returning from a knee injury in Manitoba, but something tells me we haven’t seen the last of this guy yet. Type his name in on Youtube and you’ll get an incredible shootout attempt during his time with Anaheim and an even better save by Marty Turco.

Thankfully the Canucks don’t have to play Edmonton until February 16th, so they’ll have plenty of time to fine-tune their mediocre shooters before the next shootout.

A mere two hours after the Canucks’ victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night and people are already posting on message boards and on radio that Jason Jaffray and Mason Raymond are the answer to the scoring woes that have been plaguing them for the better part of two seasons.

Give me a break guys, the act is getting old.

Look, I could make a big fuss, give a bunch of bullshit about all this and say that Jaffray and Raymond are top-end players, but bullshit is exactly what it would be. I don’t want to take anything away from them; Jaffray was uncannily speedy and had a scoring nose and Raymond was fast and looked nothing like the Mason Raymond we saw at the beginning of the season. But to say they’re the solution — That makes me want to pick my brain a little.

Just because the guys had a goal and an assist each in the game doesn’t give them any more credibility than it would for any other rookie. Jaffray is a 26-year old who has been toiling in the minors, and for good reason: He isn’t a great skater (All the more reason I used the word uncannily above) and Raymond is still very, very young. The fact is, if we’re judging players based on one performance, the Canucks might as well go out and trade the farm to the Washington Capitals for Joe Motzko, an undrafted 27-year old who doubled his career goals total with TWO tonight in New York.

I’m not trying to be negative — I’m a very positive Canuck fan. I’m just trying to make sure that Canuck fans everywhere are being realistic here. If the two call-up kids can replicate this performance in San Jose tonight, then we can start making judgment. But after ONE game? Come on…

Word on the street is that Roberto Luongo is day-to-day with a rib contusion. He sustained the injury during the game against Minnesota way back last Sunday where the Canucks fell 2-1 to Aaron Voros and the rest of that Minnesota garbage. I found it a little strange because after those games he still found the strength to get straight wins in Nashville and Chicago before standing on his head against Pittsburgh. But nonetheless, an injury is an injury and the Canucks cannot afford to take any chances with their star goaltender. As a result, Curtis “The Courtesy Bear” Sanford will be making his second straight start against Anaheim tomorrow night. But with the Canucks playing back to backs in California with San Jose the night following, are they really going to go with Sanford again the next night? Or will it be Drew MacIntyre getting the call? To be honest, I’m betting on neither option. Luongo may be injured, folks, but if I’m a betting man, he won’t want to miss more than two games of action, and he’ll have had four days of rest.

The other word on the street is that Brendan Morrison’s iron-man streak is in grave jeopardy. 542 games, while very impressive, means nothing if Brendan Morrison is playing injured. I think everyone knew that it would be difficult for Morrison to even come close to shattering Doug Jarvis’ ungodly record of 946 consecutive games played, and now that the streak is over, Morrison can begin to do the right thing and sit out when he is felled with an injury. I’ve criticised Mo in the past for not being a “team player”, most notably in September’s training camp when he refused to sit out for the season opener in October with a wrist injury (An injury which has since been re-aggravated and is the reason why he will sit tomorrow night out). Time to change the oil, Mo.

Jeff Cowan is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury after getting crunched by big mother George Laraque. Cowan has, needless to say, been very ineffective this season as the Brabarian has yet to punch in with a goal, or a fight, for that matter.

How come the Vancouver Canucks always seem to have a problem with the Los Angeles Kings? For the life of me I can’t remember a time when the Canucks outplayed the Kings, who have been out-of-playoff players for the better part of seven seasons. And with Marc Crawford coaching the team and Dan Cloutier floundering with their minor league affiliate, my hatred for the club has only been strengthened. Combine all that with the fact Anze Kopitar, a star who the Canucks passed up for Luc Bourdon, is on pace for another 70-point campaign, I was, needless to say, a little perturbed the Canucks got beaten in yet another yawnfest in La-La Land last night.

However, things ain’t all bad for the Canucks. The team’s unheard of eight games in eight cities campaign is coming to a close and with the holidays approaching, the club could use a small break before they head into the second half of the season. By then, hopefully the rest of the roster, including Kevin Bieksa, will have returned in January to finish the season stronger than it has in the last few games.

Encouraging news to say the least. It’s amazing to know that when Bieksa first cut the tendons, a lot of medical experts believed it was possible Kevin Bieksa’s career could be over. There have been cases where careers have ended to cut achilles tendons, and Bieksa’s case was quite similar to it. Luckily for Bieksa, he did not attempt to skate off the ice when he sustained the injury, otherwise it was quite possible he could’ve killed his career right then and there.

Now the big question is when Kevin Bieksa returns to the lineup, where does he fit? With the outstanding play of Alex Edler in his absence, it would be very difficult to move him back to Manitoba. And with defensemen in Mattias Ohlund, Sami Salo, Willie Mitchell, Lukas Krajicek, Aaron Miller and Edler already in the lineup, it’s very difficult to see any of these defencemen being moved to the press box or to Manitoba. However, barring injuries, it seems only right that Edler is sent back to Manitoba, despite his great play. However, the play of Aaron Miller is definitely expendable…

________________________________________________________

Anthony Smith of the Pittsburgh Steelers opened his mouth four days ago and guaranteed victory over the 12-0 New England Patriots. Now, he’s probably wishing he hadn’t.

The cornerback made the costly mistake of guaranteeing victory over the now 13-0 Pats and not only did it fuel the fire for New England to steamroll the Steelers, it’s probably given them enough motivation to get them through a perfect season. Once the Patriots clinch AFC home-field advantage they may rest their stars, however.

But back to Smith. What an idiot this guy is, what a boneheaded move to open his mouth like that. I still believe that had he not fired up Tom Brady and Randy Moss and co., the Patriots may be entering the week 12-1 and not 13-0. But here we are, with the Patriots being only the fifth team in NFL history to be 13-0 in the season.

With all the buzz in Vancouver about Sidney Crosby playing against the Canucks, a new minor twist has appeared in the form of former Canuck backup Dany Sabourin. Pittsburgh Penguins starter Marc-Andre Fleury, who has faced a lot of attention for his sub-par play this season with a 2.92GAA and .908 save percentage, was injured five minutes into the game with Calgary and was replaced by the aforementioned Dany Sabourin, who managed to make 24 of 26 saves before guiding the Penguins to a shootout win over the Flames.

But what’s more surprising than Fleury’s play this season has been Sabourin’s; and while Sabourin by no means has showed enough play to de-throne Fleury from the starter role, he has remained competitive with the Quebec goaltender and has already got more starts and more wins than he did all of last season with the Vancouver Canucks. ‘Sabu’ is now 5-4-1 this year with a 2.38GAA and .913 save percentage, which is better than Fleury’s statistics.

So here’s the deal: We’re scrapping this whole Sid The Kid in Vancouver business. That’s old news. We need something fresh, and I know how to create freshness in this town: “Luongo vs. Sabourin”. It screams ‘big game’. Here’s Dany Sabourin’s chance to earn a monumental win against one of the best goaltenders in the NHL and the guy who only let him start six games last season. Come to think of it, Luongo never really re-paid Sabourin after his huge performance in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup semifinals against the Ducks…

But in all seriousness, I had no problem with Dany Sabourin last year, and I’m happy that he’s enjoying some success in moderation. This is my second Dany Sabourin-featured post, and, while Sabourin will never reach elite status among goaltenders, he has at least a glimmer of an opportunity to show up both the Vancouver Canucks and the now-injured Marc-Andre Fleury.

Those were the words Marc Crawford wrote in the Canuck dressing room at the 2nd intermission on March 8th, 2004. With the Canucks down 7-2 and the game already lost, that is what Crawford wrote.

“It was a cheap shot by a young kid on our star player!”

Those were the words Marc Crawford said after Steve Moore concussed Markus Naslund a week earlier.

Things are suddenly starting to make a whole lot of sense.

So I was right. And, while it wasn’t the most mysterious of conspiracies, it was me saying in August that the reason why Todd Bertuzzi and Marc Crawford were at such odds was because I truly believed that it was ex-Canuck coach Marc Crawford who ordered ex-Canuck Todd Bertuzzi to attack Steve Moore, and after Bertuzzi took the fall and the guilt, he wouldn’t listen to Crow’s caws anymore.

And can you blame him? Hell, if it were me in Bertuzzi’s situation having to come back to a coach who helped to hurt my hockey career I’d be tuning him out too. And perhaps that’s why a lot of other Canuck players did the same down the stretch which led the Canucks’ implosion in 2006.

Let’s think about this now. Marc Crawford was a ghost after the incident. Sure, it changed the very core of the Canucks with one punch, but it never seemed more apparent than with Crawford. He looked to be a shell of his former coaching self and it still looks like that today. Crawford made some pretty ill-advised decisions down the road of his coaching stint with the Canucks (Starting Auld over Hedberg in the 2004 playoffs, denying 3rd and 4th liners ice time, consistently putting Jovanovski out on the PK) and in truth, it never really seemed like a bonehead decision until after Crawford was fired.

Let me take you back to the conference call that Marc Crawford had after he was fired from the Vancouver Canucks. One quote really stuck out in my mind, and one really brought me to this conspiracy.

“To blame Todd [Bertuzzi] for everything that’s happened is … so unfair.”

And while Crawford didn’t come out and say “I ordered the attack on Steve Moore”, he might as well have had the writing on the wall and the guilt plea ready for the courts. And perhaps I’m giving Todd Bertuzzi too much slack; even though Crawford wrote “Moore Must Pay” on the walls, he probably didn’t order Bertuzzi to sucker punch him from behind and fall on top of him. Of course, the reality is that Bertuzzi was the one who attacked Moore, not Crawford. It only appears that Crawford was the one who handed Bertuzzi the gun, and Bertuzzi was the one who fired it. I think the next question should be who’s career ends first: Todd Bertuzzi’s… Or Marc Crawford’s?

Anyone find it ironic that it caught fire on the ice?

While I like Recchi, I struggle to see where he would fit on this team. The rumours are swirling that Recchi could somehow find his way to Vancouver, but in addition to his “steep” 2M dollar price tag and with the Canucks having 2.68M in space, I still can’t see Recchi coming this way because:

1. Has had issues with Alain Vigneault back in their Montreal Canadien days
2. He’s old
3. Would be nothing more than a PP specialist or a checker, which the Canucks have a lot of
4. He’s old
5. More than likely would find himself on a line with Kesler and Pyatt, replacing Isbister, but that line has been so good defensively
6. He’s old
7. The Canucks could most likely pursue a younger, more skilled forward down the line

Did I mention he’s old?

Yeah, Bettman is still brain dead. And perhaps we didn’t need this example to illustrate the fact, but let’s crack this baby open and talk about why exactly the NHL’s commissioner continues to ruin the NHL.

Gary Bettman says that the NHL players are strained when going to the games. This is the same man who threw the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks to London in September to play in the NHL season opener and another game after that.

Here is what Gary Bettman is saying: “We’re going to send our two California teams across the ocean to London to promote our game, but we’re not going to send our top NHLers to Russia for the Olympics, one of the biggest sporting events in the world and probably the event which will give our game the most exposure.”

How Gary Bettman still rules the NHL world is beyond me.

And perhaps the sudden re-capturing of Markus Naslund’s game is seemingly ironic; Naslund, who spent 99.9% of the time on the ice with Bertuzzi in the early 2000 years, lost his game after Bertuzzi departed. Now, he’s had a brilliant November which has allowed him to regain the confidence he lost when he lost Bertuzzi to a trade. Now the two will be playing as opponents for the first time since their Pittsburgh/Long Island days.

Todd Bertuzzi is a superstar, an enigma, an icon and an idiot all in one. It’s amazing to see two different kinds of Bertuzzi’s in the NHL; the one who was the best player in the NHL in 2003 and the one who is injury-riddled and mentally off his game in the present. Bertuzzi has yet to play a span of a full season since his breakout years and yet to put together a streak of goals post-Vancouver. How could this guy’s game fall off so dramatically?

Steve Moore. Marc Crawford. Media and fan expectations. The new NHL. The explanations are about as endless as the amount of damage the West Coast Express generated in its heyday.

How are fans going to react to Bertuzzi’s “homecoming”? Some say they’ll jeer, others say they’ll cheer. It’s hard to tell. Most likely we’ll see a mixed reaction.

But fans shouldn’t be judging Bertuzzi based on his last years as a Canuck alone. They should be judging Bertuzzi based on his career as a Canuck. No one could power his way through a defence quite like Bert. And no one could take on the ilk of Barret Jackman and Chris Chelios with his strength. And quite frankly, no one was quite as loved and hated like Todd Bertuzzi.