Rob The Hockey Guy

Will the real Andrew Raycroft please stand-up? Andrew Raycroft, pictured above with the Calder Trophy, was named rookie of the year with the Bruins in 2003-04. Since then, he has had one sub-par year with the Bruins, two with the Leafs, and backed-up the immortal Petr Budaj last year in Colorado. I don’t think anyone thinks the Canucks are getting the Raycroft of 2003-04, but I think he can be an effective back-up for a good team. He signed a one year deal for $500,000, so the risk is minimal.

With a body like that, how could you NOT have him back!? O’Brien signed a 1 year, $1.6 million deal with the Canucks on Monday. This likely cements himself as the team’s #5 defenceman, and I think they may have paid a little much for him. Maybe that’s just the going rate for young defencemen. I guess when you compare his contract to the player he was acquired for, Lukas Krajicek (1 year at $1.475 million), maybe it’s a fair deal after all.

Kyle Wellwood will be going to salary arbitration if he can’t reach a deal with the Canucks soon. He’s an interesting case, as he was so up and down all season. He ended up with 18 goals, but only 27 points in total. He also put up 6 points in 10 playoff games. If I had to guess, I think an arbitrator would award him $1.5 million, which would be reasonable for the Canucks to take.