Vancouver Canucks

Crisis Averted, Canucks Finally Win

October 8, 2009

ONE95

What a difference a single game can make! The mood is much happier and the outlook much brighter in the City of Vancouver as the Canucks finally registered their first win of the season with a 7-1 win over the Canadiens. But, just as you should not get too low in a slump, it is still just one win. Now the Canucks will have to find a way to harness and keep that momentum in an eight day stretch where they play just one game. That's right, in an Olympic year where the schedule in general is more condensed, the host city manages a long breather. The hockey world got a glimpse at what they were expecting from the Vancouver Canucks this season. Maybe not the seven goals part but they w...

Shirokov Experiment Ends In Vancouver

October 8, 2009

ONE95

0 Comments

Vancouver Canucks preseason stand out, Sergei Shirokov, has been sent to Manitoba the team has announced today via their twitter account. The move comes after today's game where Shirokov was benched in favour of Tanner Glass. Whether or not it truly helped, the team picked up their first win of the season 7-1 over the Montreal Canadiens. The timing seems odd as Sergei managed just three games before getting sent down. Shirokov definitely was not the force he was in the preseason getting 0 points and often looking a bit lost and out of position. Despite his less than stellar play, he was by far not the reason for the Canucks' early season woes. This move could be just to give hi...

Must Win For Canucks? Not Yet...

October 5, 2009

ONE95

1 Comment

There are probably a good number of Vancouver Canucks fans with their hands hovering over the panic button, I'm not one of them. Sure it would be nice to have the 2 under win column as opposed to the loss column but that is not the case. They will look to pick up that first 'W' Monday night as they take on an upstart Columbus Blue Jackets team that were 3-1 against the Canucks last year. Two games into the season and the Vancouver Canucks faithful are scratching their heads as to what has gone wrong. The Canucks were picked to make the Stanley Cup Finals, specifically Ray Ferraro. I have always paid no attention to predictions. At the end of the day all it does is give fans a warm...

Canucks, Flames Renew Hostilities

October 1, 2009

ONE95

5 Comments

Move over Battle of Alberta, there's a new team in town. Okay so not quite, but over the past three seasons that Vancouver Canucks have supplanted the Edmonton Oilers as the Calgary Flames fiercest rival. Thanks in large part to missing the playoffs in eight of the past eleven season, the Oilers have been cast aside. For the second straight year, the Canucks will begin their campaign against the Calgary Flames, the team they beat out for the Northwest division title in the final game of the regular season last year. Both teams have undergone some changes with the biggest for the Canucks being the loss of Mats Sundin and Mattias Ohlund. Coming in are Mikael Samuelsson, Sergei Shiro...

Sundin Saga To End Once And For All?

September 30, 2009

ONE95

4 Comments

Darren Dreger has reported via twitter that former Quebec Nordique, Toronto Maple Leaf and Vancouver Canuck has called for a 6:30am press conference where it is expected he will announce his retirement. Over his 18 NHL seasons he played in 1346 games while scoring 564 goals and adding 785 assists. The Mats Sundin saga last summer kept the NHL community guessing through a long drawn out process before he finally signed a 1 year deal with Vancouver in December. When the season ended, Mats planned to make a decision regarding his playing career after a month or so. Of course, that never happened. As time passed it became clear that Sundin was leaning towards retirement despite a stro...

Hodgson Back To Brampton

September 29, 2009

ONE95

3 Comments

Sure, just a few hours I posted that Cody Hodgson had temporarily survived, the Vancouver Canucks have sent their prized prospect back to the Brampton Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League. Not much needs to be added as to why this decision was made. Cody now has another year in the CHL to improve his game while working with the Canucks Director of Player Development, and Sam Gagner's father, Dave Gagner. The question now stands will Cody remain with the Battalion? Matt Duchene, drafted by the Colorado Avalanche third overall this past summer, is looking like he will be sticking in the NHL while Evgeny Grachev has been sent to the American Hockey League. That's two-thirds of the thre...

Shirokov Impresses, Hodgson Survives...For Now

September 29, 2009

ONE95

4 Comments

With the preseason wrapping up last night with an overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers, the Vancouver Canucks hopeful's fate lay in the hands and minds of the coaching staff. This morning, eight players were released including two highly touted prospects in Cory Schneider and Michael Grabner. This brings the Canucks roster down to 29, six more than the 23 player limit. However, due to injuries to Pavol Demitra, Mathieu Schneider, Jannik Hansen and Laurence Nycholat, the Canucks have the option to keep up to 27 players. Players released Nolan Baumgartner Alexandre Bolduc Mario Bliznak Guillaume Desbiens Michael Grabner Nathan McIver Matt Pope Cory Schneider Neither Grabner...

Canucks Young Guns Hoping To Make Their Mark

September 22, 2009

ONE95

8 Comments

As the preseason winds down, many of NHL hopefuls will be getting their final opportunity to impress the coaching press. The Vancouver Canucks roster still stands at 47 with four exhibition games remaining on the schedule. For the first time in many seasons, coach Alain Vigneault will have a difficult time choosing who gets the coveted few remaining spots on the roster. Alain Vigneault stated that he will be reducing the roster down to approximately 30 after Thursday's game against the Anaheim Ducks. The competition is tight for forwards, defence and goaltenders looking to earn a spot on the Canucks and time is running out. Starting with forwards, over the summer Canucks first round draft...