Rob The Hockey Guy | A Vancouver Canucks Hockey Blog

What Mike Gillis is probably thinking about, one week ahead of trade deadline day

February 20, 2012 Rob 0 Comments Trades

We are now one week away from trade deadline day in the NHL. It’s a day that can be overrated in a lot of respects, but it still has a lot of importance. The Canucks acquired two very important pieces of their team at last year’s trade deadline in Chris Higgins and Max Lapierre. Of course, there are always teams that acquire aging/overrated players at inflated prices, so buyer beware.

This year there are a lot of big name players likely to be available. Rick Nash is the biggest name, but players like Jeff Carter, Ales Hemsky, Tuomo Ruutu, and PA Parenteau are also likely available. But what I think everyone in Canucks nation wants to know, is what is Mike Gillis thinking right now? Is he ready to mortgage the future? Does he want to make a big splash? Is he willing to trade Cory Schneider? What about Mason Raymond? I don’t know what Mike Gillis is thinking but I can make some guesses.

Mats Sundin’s Canucks Legacy

February 13, 2012 Rob 2 Comments Special Feature

Mats Sundin’s #13 banner was raised to the rafters of the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Saturday night, and it made me think back to his time in Vancouver. Sundin, as you might remember, spent half a season in blue and green during the 2008-09 season. The Mats Sundin that Canucks fans got to see, at age 38, wasn’t of hall of fame caliber but he wasn’t a bust either.

Finishing first this year will be very important for Canucks

February 13, 2012 Rob 1 Comment Random Thoughts

It goes without saying that finishing first in the conference is very important, but it’s likely going to be a lot more advantageous this year than last. Last year, the reward for finishing in first place was a date with the Chicago Blackhawks. I don’t think I need to remind anyone how hard that turned out to be.

Rob The Hockey Guy featured in The Province!

February 10, 2012 Rob 1 Comment Special Feature

In the biggest thing to happen to this since Yahoo’s Puck Daddy blog talked about us last year, Rob The Hockey Guy has an article up on The Province’s website! You can read it on our website here or on The Province’s website here. Big thanks to Wyatt Arndt and the boys at the Legion of Blog for making it happen.

The method behind Vigneault’s line juggling madness

February 10, 2012 Rob 0 Comments Game Recap, Special Feature

Note: This article was also featured on the Legion of Blog on The Province’s website as part of Feature Friday. Big thanks to Wyatt Arndt (better known as @TheStanchion on Twitter) for the opportunity!

Early on in head coach Alain Vigneault’s tenure with the Vancouver Canucks, he was known as a compulsive line juggler, and was criticized heavily for it. In the past two seasons, Vigneault has gotten away from line juggling, instead keeping more stability with his lines. That was, until the last 2-3 games.

Byron Bitz with the Sedins? How about Ryan Kesler on the second power play unit? Both of those moves paid off in a 4-3 win over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. On Thursday, Vigneault threw some more names into a hat, coming up with trios that featured Duco-Hodgson-Lapierre and Raymond-Malhotra-Hansen. Those two bizarre moves got Maxim Lapierre and Manny Malhotra their first goals in 24 and 10 games respectfully.

Seattle could be getting a new arena… and an NHL Team in the near future

February 8, 2012 Rob 0 Comments Special Feature

There is some interesting news this week concerning the NHL possibly moving the Phoenix Coyotes to Seattle this week. More from the Vancouver Sun:

That was the puck chatter north and south of the border, after an article appeared in the Seattle Times over the weekend, stating talks between city staff and San Francisco multimillionaire Christopher Hansen about building a new arena near Safeco Field were underway, and that “National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman has expressed a strong interest in placing a team in Seattle, leading to widespread speculation that the financially struggling Phoenix Coyotes could be moved here.”

Of course, talk of the Coyotes moving is nothing new. People have been talking about Phoenix moving for about four years now. But there has to be a limit to the amount of money the NHL is willing to lose on the team, especially if a new/better market is available.

Why the Canucks are Terrible in Shootouts

February 4, 2012 Rob 2 Comments Game Recap, Special Feature

The Canucks lost another game in the shootout on Thursday night, losing the game 4-3 to the Detroit Red Wings. While they didn’t deserve to win the game based on their play in regulation time and overtime, the shootout is a different animal. It usually has very little to do with the run of play. They lost the shootout because Detroit is a much better shootout team than the Canucks.

The Canucks are one of the best teams in the NHL but they are one of the worst in shootouts. One would think that a team that boasts a Vezina trophy finalist and a lineup filled with offensive talent would be good in shootouts. Instead, Vancouver has a 3-5 record, are 19th in shooting percentage and are 5th worst in save percentage. And this is not a new problem for the Canucks, it has gone on a few years. They were 4-5 last season and 4-4 the year before and 3-7 the year before that. So what gives?

Brenden Morrow… Could They? Would They?

January 31, 2012 Rob 2 Comments Rumours

Whenever there’s less than a month to go before the NHL trade deadline (February 27 this year), there are bound to be lots of wild rumours bouncing off the walls. One such wild rumour had Corey Perry on his way to the Vancouver Canucks for Corey Schneider, Keith Ballard and Mason Raymond. This is of course a ridiculous trade, one that doesn’t meet the Ducks needs at all. Yet, somehow there were a lot of Canucks fans that didn’t want the reasonably priced, highly skilled and gritty Hart Trophy winner from a year ago in exchange for a back-up goalie, sixth defenceman and third line winger. But I digress.

There’s always a lot of names that get tossed around before the trade deadline, but when Bob McKenzie brings up a name, people take notice. Bob McKenzie is reporting that Brenden Morrow may become available before the trade deadline. If Morrow becomes available, Mike Gillis will surely be one of the first people in line to put forth an offer.

The Daily Show Presents: The Boston Bruins are Hypocrites

January 19, 2012 Rob 4 Comments Special Feature

Hypocrite (noun):

a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, especially a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.

Take it away Jon Stewart!

Chris Tanev, Your Time is NOW

January 19, 2012 Rob 0 Comments Special Feature

Two lackluster outings in a row on home ice as the Canucks continue to struggle without the concussed Sami Salo and Alain Vigneault has had enough. The Canucks announced on Wednesday that they would be re-calling defenceman Chris Tanev from the AHL.

Tanev is getting the recall despite the fact that the Canucks have seven other healthy defencemen on their roster. Salo has been out for five games and this move signals to me that Chris Tanev is not getting an audition as a spare part on the Canucks, rather he is getting an audition to be a major part of the team going forward.