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The 2009-2010 Vancouver Canucks, How Bad Was It?

Tonyz Tanti — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 05:30:48 +0000

Well, we’ve all had a chance to take a deep breath, sit back and really think about the year that was for our beloved Vancouver Canucks. Gone is the emotion/heartbreak/disappointment/anger from their second straight second round loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. What’s left is a better chance for impartial analysis as to what they did, what they have and what they should do.

Was it as Bad as we Thought?

It’s been over a month since the Canucks were ousted by the Blackhawks. At the time we knew the Blackhawks were good, but we also thought the Canucks could have and should have been better. Perhaps they should have, but consider this. The Canucks lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, which suggests they’re a pretty good team. The Blackhawks beat a hard working bunch with a strong defense (Nashville), a high scoring team (Vancouver), an all around talented team (San Jose) and a gritty team (Philadelphia). Basically, they beat different teams and it didn’t faze them one bit. The Canucks stretched the Hawks to 6 games, as far as any of their other three opponents.

I’m not arguing that the Canucks couldn’t have played better or that they don’t have problems they need to fix, but I’m starting to think that they weren’t as bad as we thought they were. We need to give the Blackhawks a bit of credit.

Your Best Players Need to be Your Best Players

So what just happened? Why did the Canucks look so terrible at times against the Blackhawks? For me, it starts with the old adage that your best players need to be your best players. I believe that Daniel and Henrik Sedin were good enough in the playoffs, each notching better than a point per game in the post season. It was the Canucks most important player, Roberto Luongo, who did not play up to par. True, the Chicago Blackhawks can make a lot of goalies look silly, but Luongo ended the playoffs with a save percentage below .900, not good enough for a goalie of his ability. Quite simply, the Canucks as they were constructed this year can’t and won’t win a Stanley Cup with average or below average goaltending.

But now, a little perspective. A lot of uneducated hockey fans are suggesting that the Canucks trade Luongo and “give Schneider a shot”. Lets not lose our minds here folks. Luongo may have had an off-season, but he can certain bounce back and giving the reigns to an unproven good AHL goalie is probably not a prudent move. For those of you in favour of letting Louie go, consider that his cap number will be going down next season, from $6.75 million to $5.33 million. That cap number puts him in 9th place among the other goalies in the league.

Who Would You Rather Have?

For those Luongo haters I also ask you this: how many goalies in this year’s playoffs would you want ahead of Luongo? Certainly not either of the Stanley Cup Final goaltenders. Would it be Evgeni Nabokov, he the man who plays behind all that talent in San Jose and year after year can’t get it done when it matters? How about Ilya Bryzgalov, who after a terrific regular season posted similar numbers to Luongo and lost in the first round. It’s getting harder and harder to make the case for Martin Brodeur now, with his best days behind him he looks like he’s beginning to lose a step and has had a few playoff flops in recent years. The Marc-Andre Fleury argument has always been “he’s got a Stanley Cup ring” but look at this year’s playoffs and I defy you to say that you’d be more comfortable with him in net. Steve Mason proved that having one amazing year doesn’t necessarily mean that it can be sustained, so lets forget about Tuukka Rask, Craig Anderson, Jimmy Howard, Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak. That leaves Ryan Miller, who was the best goalie in the league this year, and I would take him ahead of Luongo, but his teams (Team USA and Buffalo) didn’t do as well as Luongo’s this year.

The point? The best option for the Canucks remains to keep faith with Luongo and hope that he has a bounce-back season. Perhaps he needs to play less, and perhaps they’ve learned their lesson in that respect. Maybe he doesn’t need to play every game to be a great goalie, maybe he just needs to get used to resting more.

Where was the Grit?

Against the Chicago Blackhawks it seemed to be non-existent. While the Canucks defensemen were getting pounded, the Blackhawks defensemen cruised around with ease. A little more grit that can play in their top 9 or even in their top 6 should be a high priority for GM Mike Gillis, but once again, a little perspective is needed. Yesterday, Alex Burrows underwent shoulder surgery, while Ryan Kesler revealed he also played through a shoulder injury in the playoffs. It should come as no surprise that grit would be an issue when the two grittiest players in the Canucks top 6 forwards have shoulder injuries. So maybe it’s not quite as bad as we thought.

Defense

What was once the Canucks greatest strength not long ago is now their greatest need. Losing Willie Mitchell hurt greatly, and I contend that he is their most important defenseman. Christian Ehrhoff had a great season, but is not great defensively. Sami Salo actually stayed healthy for longer than anyone predicted, and had a solid season. Kevin Bieksa is now another year removed from his great breakout season, and I’m among those who think that he won’t regain the form that rewarded him with a big contract. Alex Edler stepped his game up more than anyone in the playoffs, which was a pleasant surprise. The Canucks D is missing a bit of nastiness though, something Kevin Bieksa is supposed to provide. It’s also missing a stud on the blueline that can eat up big minutes against the other team’s best players while contributing offensively.

The Recap

The Canucks had a nice regular season, not a great one. They won their division, but finished fourth in points in the Western Conference. They were a clear notch below the Sharks and Blackhawks in the regular season and failed to make it past the second round. That is not the mark of an elite team ready to knock on the door. There were a lot of positive things that happened this year though (the emergence of the Sedins as elite players, Kesler and Burrows proving they can score consistently, Edler and Ehrhoff taking steps forward in their development). Mike Gillis has some things to tweak, no doubt. But how bad was it? It wasn’t so bad, and it can sure get a lot better.

Ten Days Away

The NHL entry draft is ten days away, which not only marks the day that teams pick future NHL stars, but also the start of the NHL trade frenzy! Speaking of frenzies, the free agency frenzy begins in just over two weeks.Check back before the draft and July 1st to get in-depth analysis of just what Mike Gillis’ options are.

Game 3 Recap – Blackhawks Outsmart Canucks

Tonyz Tanti — Fri, 07 May 2010 04:08:14 +0000

What a debacle game 3 of the second round turned out to be. A 5-2 result in which the Canucks looked out of it past the 10 minute mark of the 1s t period. At the end of the night I felt like the Blackhawks had won, and won easily. In game 2 they had to scratch and claw their way to victory, but not in game 3.

Outsmarted

Chicago picked their spots to get under the skin of the Sedins and Luongo and they did it largely without taking a penalty. The ridiculousness of no goaltender interference penalty being called yet in this series is beside the point. They’re getting away with it. Dustin Byfuglien and Jonthan Toews both got away with inteference on Luongo which lead to Hawk goals. Those guys need to be taken care of by the Canucks D.

The Canucks need to ride that fine line also, the key being to do it without taking a penalty. The example of what not to do came from Alex Burrows on Brian Campbell in the 2nd period. A costly penalty for roughing up Brian Campbell, making it look too obvious, lead to a power play goal, and you have your game winner. David Bolland on the other hand was able to rough up Daniel Sedin while taking him off the ice with him, and there en lies the difference.

Goaltending

If the Canucks are to win this series, Roberto Luongo has to be better than Antti Niemi. Case closed. Niemi was better than Luongo last night as Luongo was unable to handle his rebounds all night. Of course his defense isn’t making it easy on him, as they were unwilling to move players from the crease or even willing to box players out. Take a look at Kevin Bieksa on the first goal for an example of what I mean.

GM Place = Library

What is up with the fans at GM Place? I have been to every playoff game at the Garage thus far and it is quiet in there. In the first round I chalked it up to LA not being a big rival and the fans not being as excited about the first round as we used to. But now, I don’t know. The team could have really used a jolt of adrenaline from the fans to start the game and it simply wasn’t there. I believe of the 16 playoff teams this post season, Vancouver probably has the 2nd or 3rd quietest fans, perhaps only ahead of Detroit and Ottawa. In game 3 versus Chicago, the fans were unable to start the ‘go Canucks go’ chant by themselves even once. That’s a first for a Canucks playoff game in my experience.

Reasons for this? Perhaps the 6:30pm start time played a factor, but it’s only half an hour earlier than usual. Perhaps the Canucks have finally priced most ‘real fans’ out of the building (ticket prices started at $150 each). What also must contribute to it is the brutal job done to pump up the fans before the game. There’s a decent pre-game montage on the video screen, but everything else leaves a lot to be desired. They play the quietest intro song in the league, ‘Where the Streets Have No Name’ by U2 and have a few flag wavers on the ice. Maybe it shouldn’t be any surprise that it elicits a quiet response by the fans.

Game 6 Recap – Luongo Steps Up

Tonyz Tanti — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 06:04:56 +0000

Roberto Luongo saved his best game in the first round for game 6, and was the best player on the ice. Everyone will be talking about his big save off of Ryan Smyth, dubbed the “save of the series” by Jim Hughson, but his game was more than that save, as big as it was. The Los Angeles Kings were the best team on the ice for the first 40 minutes but it was none other than their team captain Roberto Luongo that kept them in it. They were outshot 26-11 through the first two periods, but were bailed out by Luongo until the Canucks finally found their groove and grossly outplayed the Kings in the third.

The Kings power play finally ran out of steam in game 6, going 0 for 5. Give credit to the Canucks coaching staff for making the right adjustments on it. They were much more aggressive on their penalty kill, not just in their own zone, but all over the ice, making the Kings entries more difficult.

Great observation by the Hockey Night in Canada analysts in the second intermission about the fatigue of Michael Handzus. The checking centre, given the responsibility of limiting the Sedins in this series, really looked like he couldn’t handle the big minutes tonight. Handzus played 21 minutes in game 6, up significantly from his 18 minutes of ice time that he averaged in the regular season. Watching labour around the ice reminded me a lot of Mats Sundin huffing and puffing last season, unable to keep up.

For the Canucks, this series was about a few things. Luongo finding his game, the Sedins dominating and coming up big in the clutch, as well as the emergence of Alex Edler. All great things to see, but they’ll need even more in the second round. They’ll play Chicago unless Nashville comes back to win that series, in which case they would play the winner of Detroit-Phoenix. Who would you want to play? Drop a note in the comments section. I loved Luongo’s reaction, saying he wants Chicago (check it out here at the 6:40 mark), wanting some redemption for last season’s playoff series. I’m not sure that’s the most favourable matchup, but it would definitely be the most exciting.

Game 4 Recap – Canucks’ Leaders Step Up

Tonyz Tanti — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:13:05 +0000

Game 4 had a similar feel to it to Vancouver vs Chicago in game 6 last year. The main difference, of course, is that the Canucks found a way to win this one. They did it on the backs of their top players.

Roberto Luongo

I’m going to put most of the blame on the shoulder of Kevin Bieksa on the first LA goal, and apart from that you couldn’t blame Luongo much on the goals that beat him. More importantly, he made some spectacular saves to keep his team in it. His breakaway save on Alexander Frolov in the 3rd period was probably his biggest.

The Sedins

Luongo had a bounce-back game in game 4, but it was Daniel and Henrik Sedin who stole the show. After a sub-par 1st and 2nd period, and a sub-par series (apart from game 1), the Sedins stepped up big time. They put up a combined five points in the third period, including a great goal by Henrik Sedin to seal it with less than three minutes to play. Never in my life have I seen Henrik Sedin that happy or that emotional.

That brings me to my next point, the Sedins are studs. It has been well chronicled that they are no longer the “Sedin Sisters”, but it’s more than that. Now, no longer are they a couple of quiet good players. They’re superstars now, and they’re doing it all. Before game 4, Daniel and Henrik approached Alain Vigneault about killing penalties. They wanted to step up, they wanted to do it all. And do it all they did. It was Henrik Sedin stepping up and calming down Shane O’Brien during his yelling match with Rick Bowness and it was Henrik Sedin refusing to get off a puck, killing valuable time late in the game, with 4 Kings Players spearing him.

Other random thoughts about game 4:

I thought the Canucks came out looking terrified of taking a penalty in the 1st and 2nd period, and for good reason. The problem with that is that playing terrified to take a penalty makes it hard to win puck battles, and consequently, the Kings had the puck a lot more.

The Canucks still gave up two power play goals on four chances, which is bad, but I believe there is light at the end of the tunnel. The first man advantage goal by Drew Doughty was a product of nervousness by Kevin Bieksa. Too nervous to allow Luongo to cover the puck, he tried to clear the puck, giving it right to Doughty. The Kings second goal by Dustin Brown was just a good shot off of a faceoff. My point? The Kings didn’t pick apart the Canucks with great plays on the power play last night, despite the great percentage.

The Canucks have been the better team 5-on-5 in this series. If that continues, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out if they can match the Kings on special teams, they should win the game. The Kings and Canucks both scored two power play goals in game 4.

Kevin Bieksa struggled mightily last night. He was on the ice for three of the Kings four goals and was a -2. Conversely, Shane O’Brien was +2.

I think Alex Burrows is playing with an injury. He hasn’t been noticeable, was taken off the top line and has been a part of the woeful penalty killing unit. Not very Burrows-like.

The Kings fans sure are loud. Louder than GM Place for sure. I’m not sure they know all the rules or watch all the games, but they sure are loud.

Got to love all the Canucks fans that made the trip down to LA. Heard of a few nasty incidents on Team 1040 radio of Kings fans throwing beer/popcorn on them, sounds like they went over the line. I’m also sure it was still well worth it.

Love the nastiness developing between the teams at the end of the game last night. This is officially a series! And it looks like a classic so far.

Game 3 Recap – Ineptitude on the P.K., Ineptitude in T.O.

Tonyz Tanti — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 18:21:58 +0000

What a bizarre, infuriating game it was. Vancouver came out and dominated most of the first period, hitting like they’ve never hit before, making the right plays, getting scoring chances, causing turnovers and getting the first goal by Mason Raymond on the reunited speed line with Ryan Kesler and Mikael Samuelsson. Then it happened.

Penalty Killing

What happened was a Canucks minor penalty. Ordinarily that’s not the end of the world, but for the Canucks penalty killing unit, it was. The Canucks actually did a great job of staying out of the box Monday night, being shorthanded only three times. The problem was that they were scored on on all three times.

Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson are being allowed to wheel and deal with ease right now. They’re getting shots through without problem, and passing down low without problem. At times, the Canucks’ penalty kill formation is getting completely jumbled by Doughty and Johnson’s movement on the blueline. The Canucks’ coaching staff better figure out a way to fix it, and fix it quick.

Goaltending

Roberto Luongo is now being outplayed by Jonathan Quick in this series. That’s all you need to know. Luongo played well, not spectacular, in games 1 and 2. Game 3 he let in two bad goals, and didn’t make the big save for his team when they needed it. It goes without saying, Luongo needs to be better in this series.

The Phantom “Kick”

Never in my life have I disagreed with a video replay decision more than I disagreed with Daniel Sedin’s disallowed goal. I have always understood the rule to be that there has to be a “distinct kicking motion” to disallow the goal. Listen to Mike Murphy’s explanation yourself:

The boys at the Kurtenblog offered up a print version of this bogus recount by Murphy:

“The puck was moving in one direction and in order to get it to move back in the other direction, it had to be propelled some way. We felt it was the skate. It wasn’t a distinct kicking motion, but a kicking motion, that made it move back the other way. It wasn’t a deflection, it wasn’t a re-direct, it was a kick.

“He [Sedin] knew what he was doing. And some of the factors that we looked at were: where his skate was, where his stick was, what did he do with his skate at the very end…To me looked like he twisted his toe and got a little more push on the puck and got it moving back in the other direction.

When your reasoning involves distinguishing between a “distinct kicking motion” and a “kicking motion” as well as reading Daniel’s mind as to what he meant to do, your argument is flawed. To go into more detail about why the goal should have counted is unnecessary. It’s clear to see.

Conspiracy Theory

Don’t believe this notion that’s taking flight that there’s a conspiracy theory against the Canucks. I agree with Bob McKenzie’s blog and I think Canucks nation is only embarrassing itself by calling this a conspiracy. It’s bad luck, it’s poor officiating and it’s poor decisions, but no conspiracy, sorry.

The Good News

Believe it or not, there is good news to be found. Had the Canucks gotten ordinary, average, or even poor penalty killing last night, they would have been in good shape to win the game. Even with average goaltending from Luongo and a disallowed goal. The problem was it was horrendously horrific penalty killing. Fix the PK, fix the problem. The Canucks have outplayed the Kings in this series at 5-on-5. There’s also room to get better. Luongo can and should play better in game 4, as should their specialty teams. If that happens, the Canucks should even up the series tomorrow night.

Canucks vs Kings Series Preview

Tonyz Tanti — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 06:29:40 +0000

The moment Canucks fans have been waiting for all season is almost upon us. That’s right, round 1, game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Canucks faceoff against the Kings in what promises to be an entertaining series. Lets see how the series breaks down.

History

This is the fourth time that the Canucks and Kings have met in the playoffs. The Canucks won in 5 games back in 1982, while the Kings won in 6 games in 1991 and 1993. Interestingly enough, two of those three series came in years in which the Canucks (1982) and Kings (1993) had miraculous runs to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Season Series

The Canucks won the season series 3 games to 1. Of course, the one Kings win was the most recent and the most lopsided, winning 8-3 on April 1st.

Goaltending

At first glance, Roberto Luongo vs Jonathan Quick is a lopsided matchup. Further analysis shows that they posted similar numbers this year though. Luongo posted a GAA of 2.57 and .913 SV% compared to Quick’s GAA of 2.54 and .907 SV%. Luongo is entering his third postseason and apart from the Chicago series last season, he has been a spectacular playoff performer. Conversely, Quick has never played a playoff game.

Defense

Once considered the Canucks’ strength, it is now their biggest wild card. The loss of Willie Mitchell is huge. Christian Ehrhoff, Sami Salo, Shane O’Brien and Aaron Rome are all banged up but are probably healthy enough to play. Kevin Bieksa is a key member of the blueline, considering he has the potential to be their top defender but has brought very little to the table this season.

The Kings have an underrated defense that boasts a nice mix of youthful skill (Drew Doughty, Jack Johnson) and veteran savvy (Rob Scuderi, Sean O’Donnell). Doughty is the clear #1 defenseman for the Kings, averaging 25 minutes of ice time per game.

Forwards

The Canucks have arguably one of the best lines in league, a strong second line anchored by Selke Trophy candidate Ryan Kesler and third line with talent and potential to score. By comparison, the Kings also have a lot of scoring depth. Ten Kings forwards scored in double digits this season, lead by Anze Kopitar with 34 goals. While known for their kids, don’t forget about their veterans up front, notably Ryan Smyth and Justin Williams. Look for Kesler’s line to be matched-up against Kopitar as much as possible. You can also bet there’ll be a fair amount of trash talking going on there.

The Canucks will win if: Luongo plays better than Quick and they hold their own on the penalty kill.

The Kings will win if: Quick can match the play of Luongo and the Kings forwards can pound the Canucks defensemen.

Prediction: The Canucks should prevail but it won’t be easy. I don’t think that the Kings inexperience will hurt them like some are predicting. They have enough veteran leadership and enough talent to give the Canucks a real test. Look for Luongo to step up his game and the Canucks to win in 6.

Sedins April 2010 Calendar Wallpaper!!!

Sean Ovariez — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:53:10 +0000

We’re finally in the home stretch and we’ve saved the best for the last month of the regular season, the Sedin twins! PS, WHAT A F’N BARGAIN @ 6.5 MILLION!!!

Download here:

Henrikmania, Schneider-Lukowich Swap, Jannik “Dangerfield” Hansen and More!

Tonyz Tanti — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 01:00:14 +0000

After lets face it, a boring first 20-30 games this season, there are now lots of things going on in Canuckland. In fact, I can think of at least ten of them:

1. Henrikmania

Henrik Sedin, Art Ross Trophy winner… could it happen? You would have been laughed at if you suggested this even a month ago. But not now. Henrik was named the NHL first star for the month of December and is currently tied for first in the league in scoring! This is not just a small streak that he’s on, we’re more than halfway through the season. Take notice: Henrik (and Daniel) have arrived as elite players.

2. Mathieu Schneider is Gone

Apparently he’s nice and happy in Manitoba now and apparently it sounds like the Canucks wanted to see him go as much as he did. One of the more interesting excerpts:

“You’re speaking to a guy who generally believes in forgiveness,” assistant general manager Laurence Gilman said. “But there’s been a certain amount of water under the bridge at this point. He hasn’t been happy with what has occurred here, and we haven’t been happy with what has occurred.”

Doesn’t sound like they’ll be interested in recalling him anytime soon. Something was obviously said/done behind the scenes that we don’t know about.

3. Lukowich is Back

Brad Lukowich is back in town! The Canucks entered this season with 9 defencemen under contract and it looks like it was a good decision. They’ve used them all. Luckily Lukowich got through re-entry waivers (a little surprising if you ask me).

4. Jannik Hansen Gets No Respect

Jannik Hansen is the Rodney Dangerfield of the Vancouver Canucks. He has seven points in 20 games so far, playing only 12 minutes a night on the fourth line. Those are great numbers, he has an even plus-minus rating and I think he checks well also. So why has he been a healthy scratch since the December 27 win in Calgary? I know why: no respect.

5. Louie’s Lights Out

So why are the Canucks playing so well of late? Well as usual, the Canucks go as Roberto Luongo plays. He’s been lights out lately and so has the team. He’s starting to climb up the ladder in goalie stats to where he belongs.

6. Tickets to Canucks Games

Notice how many times the Canucks have released tickets for games at GM Place lately? I can’t remember another season like it. Any chance they’re not actually selling out all of their games anymore? Maybe they’ve finally reached the ceiling for ticket prices, especially in this economy.

7. Rick Rypien

Need we say more?

8. Pavol Demitra

He practiced this week for the first time in months and he’s almost back from his injury. Lets just hope he can stay healthy once he gets back.

9. Cody Hodgson

Watching the World Juniors without Cody Hodgson got me thinking, has he played this year yet? Well the answer is no. It also got me thinking once again: why was he playing in the NHL preseason again?

10. On the Right Side of the Bar

Finally the Canucks have re-joined the top 8 in the Western Conference! I don’t think I was the only one who was getting nervous about that. Don’t look now, but they’re knocking on the door for the division lead too.

Team Sweden Roster Announced and Samuelsson is Pissed

Tonyz Tanti — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:15:14 +0000

The defending Olympic champions, Team Sweden, announced their 23 man roster on Sunday. The Swedes are flying a bit under radar at the moment, as a lot of their top players from years past are now retired or nearing retirement: Mats Sundin, Peter Forsberg and Nicklas Lidstrom. Speaking of Forsberg, he’s playing in the Swedish Elite League this season. Apparently he’s playing pretty well too. His 15 points in 9 games were enough to warrant a spot on the Olympic team. In case you were wondering about Markus Naslund, he has 8 points in 8 games but was not selected.

So who made the team? Take a look:

King Henrik will be in between the pipes as the clear starter for the Swedes once again in 2010. Look for Gustavsson to be his backup. If Sweden is to win gold, it will need to come with some spectacular goaltending from Lundqvist.

Goalies:

Jonas Gustavsson (Toronto Maple Leafs/NHL), Stefan Liv (HV 71), Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers/NHL)

Sweden’s defense will once again feature six-time Norris trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom. Niklas Kronwall and Mattias Ohlund will also be leaned on heavily, but their blueliners are a little thin after that. All the more surprising that Alex Edler was not named to the team, while NHL castaway Magnus Johansson was.

Defenders:
Tobias Enstrom (Atlanta Thrashers/NHL), Magnus Johansson (Linkopings HC), Niklas Kronwall (Detroit Red Wings/NHL), Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroit Red Wings/NHL), Douglas Murray (San Jose Sharks/NHL), Johnny Oduya (New Jersey Devils/NHL), Henrik Tallinder (Buffalo Sabres/NHL), Mattias Ohlund (Tampa Bay Lightning/NHL)

Assuming his foot holds up long enough, Peter Forsberg will certainly provide an unexpected boost to Sweden’s forward group. A healthy Forsberg gives Sweden three potent centres, joined with Nicklas Backstrom and Henrik Sedin. After Daniel Sedin, Daniel Alfredsson, Henrik Zetterberg and maybe Loui Eriksson, their wingers don’t have a whole lot to offer. This didn’t escape Mikael Samuelsson, who is PISSED! When asked for his reaction, Samuelsson had this to offer:

“I pretty much have one comment and maybe I’ll regret it,” Samulesson said. “But they can go f*** themselves. That’s what I really think.”

This rare moment of candidness from an NHLer was probably in bad taste, but it’s hard not to agree with him. In 2006, Samuelsson played well on the team that eventually won gold in Torino. He’s having a pretty decent season and can play in an offensive and defensive role. He’s put up better numbers and has a better resume than Patric Hornqvist. Fredrik Modin hasn’t had a decent season in a few years, yet was named to the team. Mattias Weinhandl had trouble cracking the Minnesota Wild lineup just three years ago, but is playing well in the KHL and made the team.

Forwards:
Daniel Alfredsson (Ottawa Senators/NHL), Nicklas Backstrom (Washington Capitals/NHL), Loui Eriksson (Dallas Stars/NHL), Peter Forsberg (MODO Hockey), Tomas Holmstrom (Detroit Red Wings/NHL), Patric Hornqvist (Nashville Predators/NHL), Fredrik Modin (Columbus Blue Jackets/NHL), Samuel Pahlsson (Columbus Blue Jackets/NHL), Daniel Sedin (Vancouver Canucks/NHL), Henrik Sedin (Vancouver Canucks/NHL), Mattias Weinhandl (Dynamo Moscow/RUS), Henrik Zetterberg (Detroit Red Wings/NHL)

Also NOT selected to the team was Tommy Salo (who is still having nightmares at last report):

Wellwood is Terrible and Everyone Loves Him

Tonyz Tanti — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 01:07:37 +0000

How great was it to see Kyle Wellwood score his first goal of the season last night against the Los Angeles Kings? Sure, it was an empty netter, sure he needed two cracks at the empty net, but to have a game where the crowd chanted his name, booed the announcement that his goal earlier in the game would be credited to Tanner Glass and have a standing ovation for a meaningless empty net goal was pretty special. And Kyle Wellwood is a special character for Canucks fans.

He’s amazingly popular considering that it took him almost two months to score a goal this year (check out the jubilation on the Canucks message board) and has a mere 14 points in his last 67 regular season games! Lets face it, he’s been terrible and everyone loves him… including me! The guy is just too damn lovable. Maybe it’s cause he’s a little guy, maybe it’s cause he doesn’t like to workout and stay in shape, maybe it’s cause he uses a wood stick, but it just seems like he’s someone that people can relate to.

Wellwoodmania overshadowed the return to form of Alex Burrows. Burrows had a goal and an assist, was plus two and had seven shots on goal against the Kings last night. This return to form, not surprisingly, has coincided with the return of Daniel Sedin. Nice to see, because if the Canucks want to go deep in the playoffs this year they’ll need a potent top line.

“Welly” also overshadowed the amazing game by Roberto Luongo. He was simply spectacular, and has been very good for a few games in a row now. He hasn’t given up more than two goals in a game since returning from injury and has a .934 SV% in that time. Those are Vezina trophy numbers. Needless to say, the Canucks are at the best when Luongo is on top of his game.

So was the game against the Kings a blip on the radar or a sign that a healthy Canucks lineup will mean chalking up a lot of victories? Probably too soon to tell, especially since they haven’t played a road game since the return of Daniel Sedin. The Canucks still need to prove that they can win consistently on the road to improve their 4-8-0 road record.