Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Canucks Stand Pat at Deadline

Despite appearing to be involved in serious talks for Jay Bouwmeester the Vancouver Canucks walk away from the 2009 trade deadline with no additions to their roster.

While Bouwmeester was an exiting (and risky) possibility, Canuck fans have to be pretty disappointed that the Canucks will be heading down the stretch and into the playoffs with Kyle Wellwood as the third line centre and the potential of Darcy Hordichuk playing regularly.

No Jeff Halpern, no Reinprecht, no Pahlsson, no Marchant, no Moore, no help for the 3rd line.

Gillis was unwilling to move a second round pick and obviously couldn't find any takers for anything else.

So much for a bold move. Gillis was unwilling to take any risk despite an obvious weakness in the bottom 6 forward group. Vancouver still has a very solid team, but with this window of opportunity to make some noise in the playoffs it's tremendously disappointing to have a weakness that could be improved with "lesser" assets.

With that said, disappointment doesn't equate to disaster. This team is pretty solid and is capable of beating anyone in a seven game series. Their chances would have been better with an addition or two to the bottom 6, but we'll have to be content with the status quo.

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Alex Burrows Signs Extention

Alex Burrows has signed a 4 year $8m contract extension with the Vancouver Canucks. More on this after the game...

... and what a game it was for Alex Burrows. Two big goals on a night where he becomes a multi-millionaire

This is a very good deal for the Vancouver Canucks and Alex Burrows. Burrows could have received more on the open market, but obviously he likes Vancouver and knows he's a good fit here. From a front office perspective this is very good value even if Burrows happens to regress a bit offensively. Right now it's probably more likely that he continues to improve as a hockey player.

This deal was a no-brainer for Mike Gillis.

Congrats to Alex. He deserves it and it's refreshing to see an athlete who's number one priority isn't going after the money. I look forward to having Burrows in the lineup for the next 4 years.

Nycholat Claimed by Flames

The Vancouver Canucks have lost defenseman Lawrence Nycholat on waivers to the Calgary Flames.

Not a huge loss, but it is a hit to the Canucks depth on defense.

Other Waiver News

Some interesting players are hitting the waiver wire...

  • Miroslav Satan
  • Gary Roberts
  • Brendan Morrison
  • Aaron Voros
  • a bunch of other minor guys

It's going to be an interesting couple days...