Category Archives: Hockey

Hockey

My NHL Team Preferences, Sorted

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As I’m sure I’ve said before, while I am primarily a Vancouver Canucks fan, I’m also a fan of hockey in general. As such, there are several teams I’m interested in and would like to see do well.

I was thinking about this the other day, and while I had already determined which five teams I was most interested in watching, I figured I might as well go all-out and sort the entire league along those lines. So here’s my list of NHL teams, sorted by how interested I am in watching them this season. (They’re also sorted within the categories from most-interested-in to least-interested-in.)

Click “Continue Reading” below to see the rest of the list.

Favourite Team:

Vancouver Canucks

Secondary Favourites:

Tampa Bay Lightning
Phoenix Coyotes
New Jersey Devils

Teams Whose Games I Will Attempt to Watch:

Toronto Maple Leafs
Los Angeles Kings
Florida Panthers
Philadelphia Flyers

Continue reading My NHL Team Preferences, Sorted →

Hockey

Canucks Add Raffi Torres

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A couple of days ago the Canucks signed Raffi Torres to a 1-year, $1-million contract.

I didn’t see this coming at all. With the addition of Manny Malhotra, I figured the Canucks had all kinds of third-line options, so adding another third-liner sounded redundant. But despite that, I really like this move, once I sit back and think about it. For $1 million, Torres is a pretty good deal. He can put up 40 points in the right circumstances, he’s a penalty-killer, and he adds an edge and some grit to go with the likes of Kesler and Burrows.

Since it sounds like Burrows won’t be around to start the season because of some kind of injury, Torres may also get the opportunity for some second-line minutes. It would be great if he stepped up to the challenge and gave coach Vigneault some hard choices to make re: the second and third lines.

The consequences of this signing for our younger players and prospects is that they’re going to have to do a lot more to prove themselves. Cody Hodgson is not guaranteed a roster spot, though I hope he gets plenty of opportunities to pick up the third-line centre position, with Malhotra maybe helping on faceoffs. I think Jordan Schroeder is going to be in Manitoba and will be an injury call-up. Sergei Shirokov will have to be outstanding and make a lot of improvements to get a real shot at a roster spot. I’m not optimistic about him panning out, but I’d love to be surprised. At the very least, it would open up some trade possibilities with him or some other prospects, or maybe trading a veteran player or two to give the prospects some room. I’d be surprised to see Cory Schneider stick around all year with the amount of money he’s making, but that also depends on whether he plays well enough to be worth anything on the trade market.

All in all, I’m more excited about this season than I have been for any other Canucks season. I can’t think of a single area of weakness, on paper at least. But you still have to play the games, and I can’t wait for them to start!

Hockey

Canucks Make Moves

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So far today, on the first day of free agency, the Vancouver Canucks have signed Dan Hamhuis, Manny Malhotra, Jeff Tambellini, and Joel Perrault.

Hamhuis is the big one. He gets 6 years at $4.5 million per year. He’ll be replacing Willie Mitchell, basically. The hope is for him to play a top-two role. He’s more defensive than offensive, but he has some offensive ability and he can skate and move the puck.

With Hamhuis, the Canucks’ current defensive line-up is Hamhuis, Ballard, Edler, Ehrhoff, Salo, Bieksa, Rome, O’Brien (pending a new contract), and then various prospects. That’s 8 proven NHL-ready defensemen, 6 of whom are earning $3 million or more. It’s likely one guy will be traded – the most likely is Bieksa – to save some cap space and make room for signing Mason Raymond, Tanner Glass, and Shane O’Brien. Look for Mike Gillis to pursue another third-line checking forward and a second- or third-round draft pick with that trade.

Manny Malhotra will likely be our new third-line center. He’s great at faceoffs and responsible defensively, which is exactly what’s needed for this team. That means Cody Hodgson, if he makes the team, will probably be playing the wing.

Tambellini and Perrault are depth signings to encourage competition for third- and fourth-line spots. The more players there are fighting for those spots, the better they’ll all have to play to stay there. Also, this gives the Canucks more insurance in case of injury.

Overall, I’m thrilled with the moves the Canucks have made. With a bit more cap management and continued development from our young players, we’re going to have a real shot at winning it all over the next few years, and our long-term future looks pretty bright, too.