Last Night
The Canucks beat the Devil’s 2-1 to put themselves back on the top of the NHL and once again prove that they can beat any team in the league. Schneider played out of his mind and made Parise and Kovalchuk look like farm team call-ups. The only goal against was an unfortunate bounce off Hamhuis’ skates. The Canucks are already halfway through their 6 game road trip.
Saturday Morning
Jimmy Howard, unimpressed by Burrows’ shootout celebration/being a big mopey baby had this to say: “They’ve got a bunch of idiots over there. There are only several good guys on that team, and they know who they are”. Looks like someone needs a lollipop.
On to real Canucks News:
Keith Ballard has just been put on Long Term Injury Reserve (LTIR), freeing up $4.2 million in cap space. In other words, the Canucks just got daddy’s credit card and are heading to the mall. The two big names on their shopping list right now are Dustin Brown and Steve Ott.
GM Dean Lombardi is trying to shake things up and has turned to putting Dustin Brown, his captain, on the cutting board. A quick look at Brown’s stats tells us why he is a perfect fit on the Canucks. He has a phenomenal 215 hits on the season and hasn’t missed a game in over 2 years. Brown is exactly the kind of player you want on your team for a deep playoff run. His offensive production isn’t Rick Nash special, but he only costs 3.175 mil and a consistent 55-point player is not going to hurt. Besides, the Canucks already have one of the top ranked offenses in the league and aren’t looking for an upgrade there.
Steve Ott is having a great season (29 points, 204 hits) and costs roughly the same as Brown at 2.95 million. Ott fights with the best of them, and knows how to throw the body hard. As long as he can stay out of the box, he is the grit Vancouver has been looking for. As to why Dallas would sell even though they are fighting for a playoff spot? Odds are, even if Dallas does make the playoffs, they are going to get absolutely decimated in the first round by Detroit or Vancouver. It is in their best interest to cash out when teams are desperate and willing to pay more for players. They know they aren’t winning the cup this year.
Rick Nash Update – NYR
The New York Rangers just traded Wolski to Florida to free up 4 million in cap space. They are in serious talks with Columbus for Nash. For Vancouver, at least for the time being, all that means is Columbus is about to get worse. Significantly worse. Without Nash or Carter, the Blue Jackets are will be the kid at the playground that no one will even go near because he smells so awful. In the long term, it means New York is going to make life a whole lot tougher for Boston, Pittsburgh and Philly. If Nash has to get traded somewhere, New York is fine by me.
’94 rematch here we come.
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