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Henrik for the Hart? NHL Awards Preview

Tonyz Tanti — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 05:56:08 +0000

Never before in club history have the Vancouver Canucks had the potential to steal the show on NHL awards night as they do on Wednesday night in Las Vegas (you can see it via tape delay on CBC @ 8:30pm…they wouldn’t want to pre-empt the Road to Avonlea or anything). For the first time ever, a Canuck, Henrik Sedin will win the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s scoring champion. Henrik also has a chance to be only the second Canuck to win the newly named Lindsay Trophy (MVP as voted by the players) and the first to win the Hart Trophy. Ryan Kesler also has a chance to become Vancouver’s first Selke Trophy winner, as he is nominated for the second consecutive season. The chances of the Canucks capturing these awards are open to debate, which is what we’ll do here with Canuckz.com’s preview/prediction of the NHL awards.

Jack Adams (Coach of the Year):

Finalists: Joe Sacco, Dave Tippett, Barry Trotz

Analysis: This award almost always goes to the team that performed the best with the least expectations, and usually to coaches in their first year with their team. Both Sacco and Tippett fit this mold, while Trotz once again got his team into the playoffs despite a lack of talent on paper.

Prediction: Trotz deserves to win this award one day, but I believe it will be won by Tippett. Tippett took a team with very few expectations combined with the distractions of the whole Phoenix Coyotes ownership fiasco and lead them to the fourth highest point total in the league.

Selke Trophy (Best Defensive Forward):

Finalists: Pavel Datsyuk, Ryan Kesler, Jordan Staal

Analysis: Datsyuk has won this award the last two seasons, while Kesler was nominated last season. This award is usually given in part by reputation and in part by point production. Datsyuk has the best reputation, but his production was down this year. Kesler’s reputation is growing, especially given his play at the Olympics. Staal is becoming well respected as a defensive forward, but probably didn’t put up enough points to win.

Prediction: Despite only being a plus 1, I have a hunch that Kesler will win it this year. He was nominated last season and was even better this year. Datsyuk meanwhile wasn’t as good as his previous two Selke trophy seasons. I’m giving the nod to Kesler.

Lady Byng Trophy (Most Gentlemanly Player):

Finalists: Pavel Datsyuk, Brad Richards, Martin St Louis

Analysis: This award is usually a statistically-based award. The player with the best combination of high point totals and low penalty minutes tends to win it.

Prediction: Martin St Louis had the most points and had the fewest penalties. He’s also been nominated before and didn’t win it. Give him the trophy.

Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year):

Finalists: Matt Duchene, Jimmy Howard, Tyler Myers

Analysis: Duchene proved himself as a dynamic scoring centre with the upstart Avalanche, Howard took over the starting job with the Red Wings and Tyler Myers lead his team in ice time.

Prediction: I don’t believe Matt Duchene put up big enough numbers to win this award, despite the fact that he might end up having the best career of these three. Jimmy Howard put up impressive numbers but he did it with the Red Wings, who have proved that they can put just about anyone in net and have a successful regular season. Tyler Myers lead his team in ice time, played against the other team’s best players and still managed to put up 48 points (7 less than Duchene). Look for Myers to take home the Calder.

Norris Trophy (Best Defenceman):

Finalists: Drew Doughty, Mike Green, Duncan Keith

Analysis: For the first time in a long time, the Norris Trophy finalists features three players who have never won the awards before. While Mike Green was nominated last season after a remarkable offensive season, he lost out because of his defensive play. Once again, Green is the top scoring d-man of the league. Meanwhile, Keith and Doughty played big minutes against the other team’s top players while putting up big numbers.

Prediction: This award typically goes to someone who has paid their dues. Expect this year to be no different. Mike Green didn’t win last year despite scoring 31 goals in 68 games. He put up fewer goals this year but notched more assists. The big knock against him is his defensive play, but he was a remarkable plus 39. Green will edge out Keith for his first Norris.

Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender):

Finalists: Martin Brodeur, Ilya Bryzgalov, Ryan Miller

Analysis: All three of these netminders had excellent statistical seasons playing in front of relatively average teams. Brodeur has won four of the last six Vezina trophies while Miller and Bryzgalov are looking for their first.

Prediction: Of the three, Ryan Miller had the best goals against average and save percentage. He’s also got a great reputation and has never won the award before. All of those factors lead me to believe that he’ll be walking away with his first Vezina.

Hart Trophy (MVP):

Finalists: Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Henrik Sedin

Analysis: Alex Ovechkin is the reigning MVP while Sidney Crosby is a previous winner. Henrik Sedin is nominated for the first time and of course came out of nowhere this year to win the scoring title. Henrik finished with 112 points while Crosby and Ovechkin were tied at 109.

Prediction: This was Ovechkin’s award to lose midway through the season, and lose it he did in my opinion. His wreckless play (including a suspension for " target="_blank">this hit on Brian Campbell) will not endear himself to the voters, as well as not only losing the scoring title to Henrik Sedin but being caught by Sidney Crosby for second place. In my mind this will be a close race between Henrik and Crosby, with Crosby winning because of his high goal total and the fact that he put up points with relatively weak wingers. Henrik will make it close due to the fact that he performed so well while his brother was injured, but will suffer because he doesn’t have the same name value and didn’t put up as many goals as Crosby.

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.

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.

Ryan Kesler Re-Signs

Tonyz Tanti — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:42:40 +0000

Great news for Canucks fans. The Canucks announced this morning that Ryan Kesler has signed a six year contract extension with the team. Kesler has proven that he can not only be a checker, but a scorer as well. He’s one of the best second line centres in the league, and could win the Selke Trophy this season. As early as the start of last season, nobody thought he had the potential to be the offensive producer that he is today. Again, it’s great news, depending on the price of course. If I were to guess I would say it’s worth between $4.5 and $5 million.

Update: Terms of the deal just released, $30 million over 6 seasons ($5 million per season).

Contender or Pretender?

Tonyz Tanti — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 06:13:14 +0000

With 15 games left in the regular season and the nightmare record road trip behind them, one thing is still not clear. Are the Canucks contenders or pretenders? It’s a question that doesn’t elicit a unanimous response. I think that we as Canucks fans underrate this edition of the Canucks (just as we overrated the Naslund-Bertuzzi era Canucks).

The numbers

Looking at the numbers, you would have to say that the Canucks are contenders. Lets review. They currently have the fourth best record in the NHL, tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins. If they go 10-5 in their remaining 15 games, they will tie the Canucks record for points in a single season. Vancouver is currently second in goals per game, behind only Washington. They have the second leading scorer in the entire league in Henrik Sedin. Henrik needs only 20 points in the last 15 games to tie Pavel Bure’s team record for points in a season. Ryan Kesler, Alex Burrows, Mikael Samuelsson, Mason Raymond and Christian Ehrhoff are all on pace for career years. Pavol Demitra has had an injury filled season, but lead Team Slovakia in scoring during the Olympics and was named to the tournament all star team.

Defense

This has not been a banner year for Canucks defencemen. Christian Ehrhoff has provided more than anyone expected, but Alex Edler, Willie Mitchell, Sami Salo and Kevin Bieksa have had seasons marred by injuries and inconsistent play. Andrew Alberts was brought in at the deadline and it looks pretty clear that they gave up too much (a 3rd round draft pick) to get him.

Reality

The reality is that the Canucks right now are a very good team who can make some noise in the playoffs. They have balanced scoring, a good defense (when healthy) and a superstar goaltender. At this point, we still should consider them more pretender than contender, because we’re still waiting for a couple of missing pieces of the puzzle. To me, their forwards have been good enough. To win a cup, they will need a healthy defense, playing up to their potential (most notably Willie Mitchell, Sami Salo, Kevin Bieksa and Alex Edler). They may be able to get by a round or two with a banged up blue line, but they will need Salo to stay healthy and Mitchell to get healthy.

The wild card in all of this is of course Roberto Luongo. He has put up good (not great) numbers this season, sub-par by his standards. He’s still a world class goaltender, and is capable of more. He is their best player, and only spectacular play by him will give the Canucks a chance to win it all this spring.

Mitchell and Kesler Altercation at Practice

Tonyz Tanti — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:46:07 +0000

Willie Mitchell and Ryan Kesler are fighting mad. Jim Jamieson is reporting that Ryan Kesler and Willie Mitchell almost fought this morning at practice. What is up with that? Usually this happens when a team is in the midst of a losing streak, not just right after a win. It also doesn’t usually happen with two assistant captains. Even weirder is that this is the second time that Willie Mitchell has been involved in something like this in the last calendar year. During an eight game losing streak last year, Mitchell was involved in an altercation with Mason Raymond. Is this a case of Willie Mitchell being a little chippy in practice? Or maybe there’s a rift in the dressing room. Either way, don’t believe the spin that’s sure to come, this is not a good sign.

Onto more positive news. How ’bout Rick Rypien!? The little pit bull (and Canuckz.com favourite) knocked off another giant yesterday in 6’7″, 245lb Boris Valabik of the Atlanta Thrashers. I predict that it won’t be long until the fans at GM Place will be chanting his name.

Ryan Kesler December 2009 Calendar Wallpaper!!!

Sean Ovariez — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:12:02 +0000

Canuckz.com is back at it, bringing you another kick-ass calendar wallpaper! We present to you the December 2009 Calendar Wallpaper featuring Ryan Kesler!

1) Ryan Kesler’s just a bad-ass. A pro’s pro.
2) Heroes is a shiet ass tv show (and you should be ashamed if you’re still watching it)!
3) I pretty much followed this classic psdtuts+ tutorial (or at least tried to; it was pretty damn confusing and took forever to figure out some of the steps)!
3) Enjoy!

Download here (missing a weird resolution that you use that we don’t have? Post a comment to let us know and we’ll gladly add it!):

What’s Wrong With this Team?

Tonyz Tanti — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:28:24 +0000

They’re 0-3 and in less than one week have gone from cup contenders to talentless bums (according to the bandwagon douchebags anyways). Well, the fact of the matter is that this team isn’t as good as those early season predictions (loyal Canuckz.com readers already knew this after reading this post) and they’re not as bad as their 0-3 record suggests. I think what’s wrong with the Canucks is a combination of them getting cocky, believing their own preseason hype, and being out of sync. Being out of sync can be attributed to them not icing a single game in the preseason with their full line-up. I believe they kept too many prospects right to the final game of the preseason. So that’s the bad news.

The good news is, they’ve actually played pretty well in large portions of all three games. The Canucks have outplayed their opponents in about 70% of their games, but haven’t been able to score. Conversely, their opponents have capitalized on their chances, putting Luongo and company in a big hole.

Random Thoughts

More good news: Luongo won’t be this bad for long and the Canucks won’t be this snake-bit for long.

When the Canucks have played with urgency, they’ve been very good. The problem is that by the time they decided to play with urgency on Monday night, they were down by three goals. Same thing against Calgary.

The Canucks penalty kill needs to get better. Their opponents have absolutely lit them up on the man advantage: Columbus was 1-3, Colorado was 2-6, and Calgary was 2-3. You can’t expect to win with penalty killing like that.

Ryan Johnson has been on the ice for all six goals against while shorthanded! Not good for someone who is supposed to be a penalty killing specialist. Rick Rypien has been on for three of them. Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows haven’t been on for a goal against while on the penalty kill.

Five of the six power play goals against have been scored by the other team’s second unit.

Maybe they ought to keep one of Burrows or Kesler on the ice at all times while on the penalty kill.

The Sergei Shirokov experiment may be over. Alain Vigneault juggled his lines after they were down 4-1 against Columbus and Shirokov ended up on the 4th line with Ryan Johnson and Rick Rypien. Shirokov’s old linemates, Ryan Kesler and Mikael Samuelsson, were much more effective playing with Mason Raymond in the 3rd period. Look for Tanner Glass to be inserted into the lineup against Montreal.

What are the game presentation people doing at GM Place? The Canucks are now hitting the ice to some mellow song by Cold Play after a sappy intro on the big screen. Not surprisingly, this put the home crowd a bit to sleep to start the game. I know it was Columbus on a Monday night, but I have never seen a quieter home opener to start the game, and the game presentation certainly contributed to it.

Anybody notice that there were an awful lot of tickets available for the home opener? It’s become abundantly clear that the sellout streak has ended (unless you count giving away hundreds of tickets) and it’s not because of a lack of fan support. Simply put, the Aquilinis have now priced people right out of the building. Seriously, how many people can afford to spend over $200 on a mediocre corner seat in the lower bowl, for Columbus on a Monday night no less? The entire city of Vancouver is crazy about this team right now and for the Canucks to price tickets so high that they can’t sell them is just plain greedy.

And now, something to help cheer us cheer up…

What To Do About Hodgson?

Tonyz Tanti — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:09:49 +0000

Will we be seeing Cody Hodgson in Canuck blue this season or will the people of Brampton be seeing him back in one of those snazzy green Brampton Battalion jerseys? That’s the decision that Mike Gillis and Alain Vigneault are trying to make and fans of the Canucks are debating. Yesterday I theorized that Hodgson would be sent back to junior.

I thought that until I read this from Vigneault: “One thing I firmly believe is talent has no age,” Vigneault said. “Talent helps a player improve and improve quicker. If we start with a player that might be 10 or 15 per cent behind somebody else at this time, but because his skill set is better … he might become by Christmas a better player than what we have here, we’d have to consider that in the equation.”

To me, this is an indication that they will make excuses for Hodgson’s play. Look for them to insert Hodgson for at least the 9 games (the cut-off point for junior players able to return to junior and not count towards the cap). They will do this with the thought that as Hodgson’s back gets better and he gets more comfortable, he’ll be full marks for his NHL job. While this may be a perfectly legitimate viewpoint to have, I don’t think they should give Hodgson a job unless he really deserves 15 minutes of ice time a night. To do that, he’ll have to supplant himself into the top 9 forwards on the team. That list currently includes: both Sedins, Kesler, Burrows, Samuelsson, Wellwood, Bernier, Raymond and the injured Pavol Demitra. So then it becomes a case of who deserves the spot more, Shirokov or Hodgson. If you want to keep both (even with Demitra’s injury), then you will have to put one of your defencemen or Jannik Hansen on waivers, for which they will likely be lost. The other scenario is that Gillis pulls the trigger on a trade to open up space.

Hodgson will get a great chance to show what he’s got tonight against the Sharks when he lines up with Alex Burrows and Ryan Kesler. If he doesn’t show he really belongs, then I think he should spend another year in junior.

Lets Get Some Love for Demitra

Tonyz Tanti — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:59:33 +0000

That’s right, I said it. Pavol Demitra revealed on Tuesday that he will likely miss another six weeks with a shoulder injury and what ensued was what can be described as mild jubilation on sports talk radio and message boards. Demitra has been described as too soft and too streaky, and many are suggesting that the Canucks would be better off without him.

While Demitra is soft and is streaky, that by no means is an indication that the Canucks are better off without him. Every teams needs grinders like Kesler and Burrows, but they also need skilled/versatile guys like Demitra. Lets review. Demitra started last year at centre in between Taylor Pyatt and Mason Raymond on the 2nd line. Amazing he kept that line afloat. He also played the point on the power play when needed. When he actually had players to play with at his natural position (on the wing with Kesler and Sundin), he put up 31 points in the last 32 games of the regular season. He only put up 3 points in 6 playoff games, but the Canucks were 5-1 with him in the lineup. And if you need further convincing for his value, consider that he scored an overtime goal to beat Calgary in October and had the best shootout percentage of any Canuck that took more than 2 attempts (including the only shootout goal against Calgary in February).

Yes, I’m aware he makes $4 million. Yes, being out for a bit of time may help their cap situation. But having a skilled, experienced, versatile, enigmatic European on your team has its value.

Kiprusoff still hasn’t moved on this one: