Vancouver Canucks
Additions: Roberto Luongo, Lukas Krajicek, Willie Mitchell, Marc Choinard, Taylor Pyatt, Jan Bulis, Yannick Tremblay
Subtractions: Alex Auld, Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan Allen, Nolan Baumgartner, Keith Carney, Dan Cloutier, Jarkko Ruutu, Eric Weinrich
Analysis
Vancouver was not supposed to miss the playoffs last year, plain and simple. They were expected to be a contender and make a long run through the playoffs. And despite the emergence of the Sedin twins as legitimate first liners, a number of factors led to their disapointing 9th place finish. The first was a horrendous string of injuries. Dan Cloutier missed the majority of the season, though I for one thought that Auld more than handled the job. Worse were the injuries on the blueline, and even up front. At one point all three of Vancouver’s top defencemen were injured, and though not publically disclosed during the season, Naslund at the least, and possibly Brendan Morrisson and a few others were battling injuries through most of the year.
Assuming Naslund and Morrisson can bounce back, the Sedin twins continue to develop, and Vancouver can find a couple wingers to fill out their top two lines, Vancouver can legitimately claim two of the best lines in the NHL. However, I find it more likely that Morrison will be left to play without Naslund, and with weaker linemates will see his ice time and points diminish. A line of Sedin-Sedin-Naslund however could be very dangerous.
The blueline may look very different from last season but little has actually changed. Weinrich and Carney, brought in at the trade deadline to replace injured bodies, are gone, as is Ed Jovanoski. Willie Mitchel was brought, and I see that as a great move. Jovo is an excellent defenceman but his defensive play was lacking at times, to say the least. Mitchell should be rock solid and should make the Canucks much better in their own end. And you’d have to expect Ohlund and Salo to be healthier than last season.
Easily the biggest change for the Canucks was the Bertuzzi for Luongo trade. While I didn’t like how Luongo treated Florida last year, he’s a definite upgrade from Auld or Cloutier. Luongo in my mind has yet to prove himself - zero playoffs games - but he’s spent his entire career keeping Florida in games they had no business being in. He and Vancouver should be very good for themselves. Losing Bertuzzi was no loss - he was a distraction more than anything and will almost certainly never repeat his career highs from a few years ago with his past weighing him down. Even though it also cost them young Alex Auld, Vancouver pulled a fast one on Florida, acquiring one of the best goaltenders in the league for Bertuzzi.
Anson Carter is not on the list of subtractions but probably will not be back. Vancouver is too close to the cap for his (reported) asking price. That’s too bad, since he really clicked with the Sedin twins. That kind of chemistry is hard to find and would have benefitted all three players - not to mention the Canucks team - more than Carter may realize. Oh well, that’s the business end of things.
Vancouver’s simply too good a team to miss the playoffs again, barring another year of unforseen injuries. Luongo will get his chance to prove himself in the playoffs. The Sedin twins should be even better and will complete their takeover of the first line.
September 21st, 2006 at 3:43 pm
I heard that Vancouver also dealt away Mika Noronen. True?
September 21st, 2006 at 8:15 pm
Noronen signed in Europe, which surprised me. I think he saw the NHL’s glut of goaltenders before most, and realized he was not going to be much in demmand. With Luongo in town, Vancouver did not really need him, that’s for sure. Luongo played 75 games last year, and barring injury, is expected to shoulder a similar workload again. Vancouver fans had better start praying Luongo stays healthy. I saw Wade Flaherty play for the Manitoba Moose last year and was impressed. He should be a more than capable backup. However, he’s obviously no Luongo.