Canucks & Beyond

Category: vancouver-canucks

In Vancouver: Luongo Talk

by Alanah McGinley on 08/05/09 at 03:00 PM ET
Comments (9)

GM Mike Gillis, on negotiations with Roberto Luongo, from TSN:

“I think philosophically we’re very close and I think to get top players signed it usually does take a longer period of time,” Gillis told the station on Tuesday. “We’ve had a lot of stuff happen in the meantime. We were moving really well and then we had the draft and free-agency and some other distractions occurred. But we feel really confident that we’re all on the same page and it’s only a matter of everyone getting focussed on the final part of it to get it done. We intend to (get it done before the season). We hope to. I know Laurence (Gilman) has had some discussions with Roberto’s agent as early as yesterday. We’re getting there and we’re confident that we’ll get something done.”

Luongo, 30 is entering the final year of a four-year, $27 million contract.

Filed in: vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink

Wellwood Returning to Vancouver

by Alanah McGinley on 07/30/09 at 02:41 PM ET
Comments (3)

From TSN:

Kyle Wellwood will be returning to Vancouver after the Canucks announced the signing of the centre Thursday following his arbitration hearing on Tuesday.

Terms of the deal were not released, however the agent for Wellwood, Mike Liut told the TEAM 1040 on Wednesday that his client would be signing for slightly more than the $1 million he earned last season.

continued

Update: TSN updated their story to state Wellwood’s new contract is for $1.2 million.

Update: From Brad Ziemer at the Vancouver Sun --

The award amounts to a 20-per-cent raise for Wellwood, who made $997,500 last season.

But the award was considerably less than the more than $1.5 million Wellwood and his agent, Mike Liut, had been seeking from the arbitrator when his case was heard Tuesday in Toronto. The Canucks had made Wellwood a $1-million qualifying offer and are not believed to have budged significantly from that offer in Tuesday’s hearing.

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Sedin’s Agent Not Optimistic About a Vancouver Deal, but is Anyone?

by Alanah McGinley on 06/26/09 at 04:57 PM ET
Comments (4)

“We’ve been negotiating for more than a year, so it’s hard for me to say I’m optimistic. We haven’t really made a lot of progress in a year. We’re going to have to address the gap that we have - but we’ve only got five days to do it.”

-- J.P. Barry, Henrik and Daniel Sedin’s agent, speaking with Sportsnet today.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Mike Gillis has never been strongly motivated to sign the Sedins. If I had to guess, I’d say he’s not a “fan” and when he sits around late at night counting change in his salary-cap piggy bank, he can think of far better ways to spend his money.

Filed in: vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: daniel+sedin, henrik+sedin, marian+gaborik, pavol+demitra,

Mike Keenan Joins the Canucks?

by Alanah McGinley on 06/09/09 at 01:47 PM ET
Comments (12)

For real? Joe O’Connor of the National Post runs this opening paragraph…

The media release from Sherry Quan was brief, detailed and to the point: Michael Keenan was joining a team in Vancouver. Strangely, there was no mention of Canucks coach Alain Vigneault in the release, and not a word said about how Roberto Luongo, the Canucks netminder, who had a somewhat rocky relationship with the NHL bench boss known as Iron Mike while the pair were in Florida together with the Panthers, might react to him joining the squad.

Not that I’m a huge Vigneault fan, but sweet geezus, this is a terrifying turn of events!

Or is it?

Filed in: vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink

What’s Trevor Linden Been Up To?

by Alanah McGinley on 05/30/09 at 02:50 PM ET
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With some guys, you definitely get the sense that retirement is a hard thing, that they don’t quite know what to do with themselves when they pull away from hockey. But not so, Trevor Linden.

The video below (thanks to Buzz Bishop) is a brief Q&A with Linden when he stopped off at the Future Shop headquarters to pick up his new TV. An odd scenario, to be sure, but probably a hoot for the staff that had a chance to talk to him.

Anyway, it sounds like his first year off the ice has been full of fun and adventure—cycling in Belgium, week-long trips to Whistler, and much more. As he describes it, he’s “like a guy getting out of jail.” And he says he’s still a Canucks fan.

Here’s the vid:

Filed in: vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: trevor+linden,

Sundin Positioning Himself For a Job

by Alanah McGinley on 05/30/09 at 01:04 PM ET
Comments (6)

“Yes, it is actually impossible to predict, but I hope and believe that Detroit wins. And they do in six matches.”

-- Mats Sundin, Vancouver Canucks (quote via Nucks Misconduct)

Translation: “Dear Ken Holland: I’m desperate to sign with your team this summer. Let’s talk!”

Although someone did just rip off a supply of his signed Canucks’ jerseys not too long ago, so if he wanted to stay he can at least assume that he’s still popular with Vancouver fans.

Well, to those comfortable with committing crimes, anyway.

Filed in: vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: mats+sundin,

Interview with Matt Sundin’s Left Skate

by Alanah McGinley on 05/28/09 at 03:13 PM ET
Comments (7)

In the crush of the Stanley Cup Finals and all the related pandering, whining and moaning—about everything from NBC broadcast schedules to the importance of stopping criminal octopi from littering Pennsylvania, etc—it’s easy for the really important Canucks stories to get lost in the shuffle. That’s why when we had a chance to find out about Mats Sundin’s future this week, we weren’t going to miss the opportunity to talk to the source. Or rather, to his feet… or to be really specific, to his left skate.

Some hockey news providers might consider such an interview ‘unconventional’, or ‘lacking professionalism’ or ‘crazy-as-snakes’, but Canucks & Beyond doesn’t discriminate in rampant ways against stray pieces of hockey equipment.

We are, as always, unflinching in our search for truth.

Interview is transcribed below.

Filed in: vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: mats+sundin,

Rypien Extended 2 Years with Canucks

by Alanah McGinley on 05/27/09 at 05:59 PM ET
Comments (1)

The Vancouver Canucks have signed forward Rick Rypien to a two-year contract extension with the club through the 2010-11 NHL season. Rypien has played five seasons with the Canucks.

‘’Rick plays with intensity and energy every time he steps on the ice,’’ said Canucks general manager Mike Gillis. ‘’He is an important part of our team and a valued teammate.’’

-- courtesy of TSN

Filed in: vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: rick++rypien,

Canucks Fandom: Life as a Hockey Optimist

by Alanah McGinley on 05/12/09 at 03:08 PM ET
Comments (19)

As the Blackhawks/Canucks series got under way almost two weeks ago, I settled my nerves down with this one thought: “May the best team win.”

And so they did.

Vancouver wilted in the face of everything Chicago had to offer, from the hockey staples of offense and defense, to the intangibles of simple willpower and grit. Unlike St. Louis who simply ran out of gas against the Canucks after a valiant few months of scratching and clawing their way into contention, Vancouver was just plain outmatched by a better team.

So it goes. So it always goes. So it goes endlessly and nauseatingly since 1970. I seriously wonder if there’s really any chance I’m going to live long enough to see this team make it to the promised land.

Filed in: playoff hockey, vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink

Playing For Their Lives

by Alanah McGinley on 05/07/09 at 03:00 PM ET
Comments (6)

Despite all optimism to the contrary, Sami Salo won’t be suiting up for tonight’s game 4 against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Vancouver defenseman Sami Salo did not participate in the Canucks afternoon skate at United Center and was declared “out” by coach Alain Vigneault.

So, Ossi Vaananen returns. Incidentally, Salo’s explanation of his injury has been my favorite so far. Classic. (In related news, Vaananen is peeing just fine. Well, it doesn’t appear to be affecting his play, anyway.)

One more thing—assistant coach Ryan Walter provided this quote to Canadian Christianity.com today:

There is a “new intensity” in the playoffs, says Walter, “and it comes from an interesting place—a feeling that the end is near.” It would probably be very difficult to play at that level of intensity for a full 82-game season, he says. In that sense, hockey playoffs are like the last two minutes of a football game, when points are scored at four times the usual rate.

It’s a good comparison, though I wonder if I should worry when such a devoted Christian as Walter says things like “the end is near.”

Filed in: playoff hockey, vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: ossi+vaananen, playoffs, ryan+walter, sami+salo,

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About Canucks & Beyond

Alanah McGinley has been blogging hockey since 2003, sharing opinions, rants and not-so-deep thoughts with anyone who will listen. In addition to writing Canucks & Beyond and helping manage Kukla’s Korner, Alanah is one of the founders and co-hosts of The Crazy Canucks Podcast, as featured at Canucks.com.

She has contributed pieces to FoxSports.com and the New York Times Slapshot blog, as well as other stray destinations in cyberspace.

Email:

Alanah’s Twitter: Not really hockey-ish. [LINK]