Burning it to the Ground: Reliving the post-2011 Cup loss Canucks

[CanuckJohnny]

game 56

P.K. Subban suffered a separated shoulder last game and the diagnosis is two to three weeks, so Kyle Cumiskey steps in.

[CanuckJohnny]

game 57

[CanuckJohnny]

Extensions:

Teams extending their stars to kill speculation before the upcoming trade deadline.

[CanuckJohnny]

game 58

Kyle Cumiskey sustained an elbow injury last game and joins Subban on the IR, out for 1-2 weeks. Keaton Ellerby has been called up as a replacement. Keaton played in 10 games for the Canucks last year and registered 3 assists while being minus 2.

[CanuckJohnny]

game 59

[CanuckJohnny]

Trades:

Some teams getting a head start on the deadline with early moves.

[CanuckJohnny]

game 60

We go back to Cory Schneider in goal tonight.

[CanuckJohnny]

More Trades:

The action heats up with the deadline only days away. The biggest splash so far is Joffrey Lupul moving out west to join the Flames in exchange for promising young defenseman Ryan Murray. Also, Brad Richardson fetching a first is raising some eyebrows.

[CanuckJohnny]

standings

[CanuckJohnny]

leaders

[CanuckJohnny]

statistics

[CanuckJohnny]

Are the revamped Canucks the real deal?

The year after a disappointing second round loss hailed as the beginning of their decline, the Canucks have had a resurgence to their president's trophy calibre ways. Under Linden, the team made some big splashes in the offseason, including the blockbuster move to acquire rising star P.K. Subban and reinvent the blueline. Now with the trade deadline approaching, do they go all in for another cup run, or stand pat and take a patient course?

This is a different look Canucks team, even with some of the same familiar faces at its core. The Sedins still lead the team in scoring, but at a much less torrid pace than they did at their zenith. But Henrik has found a scoring touch (at least with the man advantage) and developed his two way game to the point he's near the league lead in takeaways this year. Kesler and Burrows are still a dynamic duo on the PK, with Kes leading the league in shorties with 5 and leading the team in goals with 21. Rookie Jon Marchessault has been an impressive and immediately useful find by Linden, and Sergei Shirokov has turned his solid preseason into a surprisingly successful year as a regular contributor. Meanwhile, the other preseason darling, Enver Lisin, has mostly fizzled into an uninspiring depth piece with flashes but no consistency over the grind of a long year. Perhaps most concerning for this forward group, though, is that their top six are ALL top ten in the league in giveaways. Not a recipe for success. Except they are having success. Do you mess with that? Tweak it? Or let it play out?

On the blueline, big name acquisition PK Subban has been very good, but not lights out dynamic offensively. Eleven goals and 32 points while posting a plus 16 in 24 minutes a night looks great, but he's being outpaced by both defenders traded for him (Campbell - 48 points, Edler - 45 points), causing some to question the high price tag Trevor paid to acquire him. The most surprising story may be rookie defenseman David Rundblad, a throw in to the Chris Neil trade and consensus depth piece who has certainly made the most of his opportunities in the lineup and leads all Canuck defensemen not named PK in points, sitting only a point back of highly touted Tyson Barrie of the Avs for the rookie defenseman scoring lead, and that with only playing in two thirds of the games this year. Hamhuis and Tanev have both looked reliable and stayed pretty healthy, and youngster Ryan Ellis continues to grow, but the depth on this defense corps is a big question mark, and most agree it would look better with an Edler and a Campbell right now. As long as they keep winning, Linden looks a genius, but will he move to strengthen the defense now for a long playoff run or stand pat?

Between the pipes the Canucks are facing a familiar problem. Two elite goalies sharing the net. Boon or controversy? Maybe both. The locker room maintains there is no controversy, and GM/Coach Trevor Linden says he is happy with platooning them and riding the hot hand as they have done successfully all year. They are both on reasonable multi-year contracts, so there may be no hurry to choose a guy and move on from the other, but pressure mounts to go the traditional and have a true number one, and Eddie Lack waits in the wings, frustrated with his lack of NHL opportunity. Do they make a call now if the right deal is there? Or wait until the offseason? How long will management be willing to watch this play out? The clock is ticking, one way or another.

[CanuckJohnny]

game 61

[CanuckJohnny]

game 62

Markstrom goes back in net tonight.

[CanuckJohnny]

game 63

[CanuckJohnny]

Trade Deadline Day

MIN gets
RW Devante Smith-Pelly
ANA gets
RW Darroll Powe

COL gets
LW Simon Gagne (17pts in 55gp)
LAK gets
COL 3rd 2013
Gagne has underperformed this year, but Colorado is buying low and hoping his experience takes them places in the playoffs. Pretty balanced trade but LA still wins for moving out a veteran for an asset.

STL gets
RW Todd Bertuzzi (27gp)
RW Jiri Hudler (59pts)
DET gets
LW Chris Porter
RD Igor Ozhiganov (20yo defensive d)
Detroit must like Igor, moving a guy in Bertuzzi that has been hampered by injury and on their block along with a point per game Jiri Hudler. Porter is an NHL regular depth piece. St. Louis wins this one, low price to pay for an offensive star like Hudler.

DET gets
C Frans Nielsen (42gp 15pts)
NYI gets
NYR 2nd 2013
Decent deal value wise for both teams. Frans Nielsen has value due to his skating and defense so don't underrate him based on offensive production. However, weird move for Detroit after selling low on a star and a veteran in Hudler and Bert to give up a high pick for another experienced NHLer. Is Ken Holland rebuilding or not? Win for the Islanders on this one.

TOR gets
RW Jarome Iginla (46 pts, 53gp)
CGY gets
LD Jake Gardiner (22yo, 15pts, -8)
Huge deal here as Calgary pulls the trigger on moving out the aging but still effective face of the franchise to grab an up and coming top four blueliner. Toronto gearing up to make a big playoff run. This trade makes sense for both teams but we give the W to Calgary for turning Iggy into a valuable asset for the future.

DAL gets
G Dan Ellis
C Sakari Manninen (21yo prospect)
ANA gets
C Jake Dowell (59 gp, 11 pts)
Dallas moves a veteran depth piece for a center prospect. Dan Ellis gets thrown in but they intend to send him to their minor league affiliate anyways. Good deal for them. Dallas with the win.

EDM gets
C David Steckel (2pts)
TOR gets
G Mackenzie Skapski (18yo prospect with NHL potential)
RD Colten Teubert (22yo minor leaguer)
Weird trade for Edmonton moving a goalie prospect for Steckel, who has, we suppose, 'intangibles'. The veteran hasn't produced at all, but Edmonton values his defense and character. Win for Toronto.

DET gets
LW Niklas Hagman (33yo, 13 pts)
CGY gets
LD Ian White (20pts, -12)
Another strange move from Ken Holland, who gets an older and unproductive Nik Hagman for a 28 year old two way defenseman. Decent acquisition for Calgary, who adds a prime aged defender while moving on from another forward on the wrong side of 30. Win to Calgary.

EDM claims
G Dan Ellis (from DAL)

DET claims
C Cal O'Reilly (from NSH)

WPG re-signs
G Ondrej Pavelec (3yrs, 4.905M/yr)

EDM re-signs
G Devan Dubnyk (2yrs, 4.35M/yr)

PHX re-signs
LW Lauri Korpikoski (3yrs, 3.51M/yr)

SJS re-signs
RD Brent Burns (4yrs, 5.43M/yr)

MTL re-signs
LW Max Pacioretty (2yrs, 3.32M/yr)

Winners:
Toronto
Calgary
St. Louis

Losers:
Detroit
Anaheim

[CanuckJohnny]

Post Deadline Presser

Media: Trevor, no deals were made by Vancouver today, are you happy with where you stand going into the stretch run?

TL: We were pretty happy with the composition of our team going into today, and we weren't eager to mess with this locker room. However, we have a responsibility to do our due diligence in listening to offers and looking into any way we can improve our club. It was a busy day, even if it looked quiet to you guys.

Media: You've stuck to your guns on going with Cory Schneider and Jacob Markstrom as a tandem all year, but they both look like NHL number ones. If you really wanted to improve other areas, why not move one of them and roll with the other as your de facto number one?

TL: Well, you can invent all the controversy you want, but it has worked for us so far. This locker room is tight and confident in whoever we put between the pipes on any given night. We listened to offers on Cory but we would've had to be blown away. We needed a first and a high end young skater and we had offers of one or the other but not both. We're happy to keep Cory around and that was our plan going in.

Media: Who did you guys pursue, if anyone, over the course of the day?

TL: We definitely looked into Tyler Bozak, who was available, as you know, but the price was too high for us, and we didn't want to break up the group we have right now.

TL: Thanks for the time guys, see you next time.

[CanuckJohnny]

game 64

Chris Neil suffered a torn abdominal muscle last game and will miss at least 5 weeks. Kevin Bieksa is also out with a wrist injury for a week or two. Brandon Yip and a recently recovered Kyle Cumiskey draw into the lineup.

[CanuckJohnny]

game 65

Daniel tweaked his groin and Anton Rodin has been called up to take his place.

[CanuckJohnny]

game 66

P.K. Subban returns to the lineup. Keaton Ellerby is placed on waivers to move him back to the minors after a solid stint of 3 assist in 8 games and a plus 2 rating, however he is claimed by Dallas. Daniel returns to the lineup. Cory Schneider gets the start.