Loyal readers of this blog know that I love trade rumours. Not just trade rumours, but when you’re sitting around with your buddies and say “hey, what do you think the Canucks would have to give up to get Shea Weber”. Love it. I even came up with my own trade proposal last season, trying to figure out a way to get Jarome Iginla (if Calgary ever agreed to that deal, I’m certain the Canucks would have hoisted the Stanley Cup last spring, but I digress). So of course my interest was peaked when Bob McKenzie said that the Vancouver Canucks were one of the teams most interested in acquiring Bobby Ryan from the Anaheim Ducks.

The Ducks are off to a brutal start this year, and have the second worst record in the NHL. Ryan isn’t playing great either. He has just 11 points in 23 games. Apparently the Ducks are willing to shop him.

To be honest, the idea of the Ducks shopping Bobby Ryan is a little bizarre to me considering his talent and age. It also doesn’t make sense to me when you consider that their second line consists of a 41 year old (Teemu Selanne) and a 37 year old (Saku Koivu). In a year or two, they will be very thin up front after Getzlaf and Perry.

But there’s been enough scuttlebutt with enough reputable sources (such as Bob McKenzie) to suggest that the Ducks are indeed shopping Bobby Ryan. And if they are, could he be on his way to the Vancouver Canucks? And if so, what would it take to get him? Lets investigate.

The Ducks don’t have a lot of depth on forward or defense. Particularly defense. Jonas Hiller hasn’t been the same since his battle with vertigo last season, but you have to think that they still believe in him. So if Vancouver wants Ryan, it will have to be a combo platter that helps the Ducks in multiple areas and addresses their depth.

It’s interesting to note that the Province’s Jason Botchford was offering up some tidbits on Twitter this evening. Apparently he knows that the Canucks have interest in Bobby Ryan because they tried to acquire him when Mike Gillis first joined the Canucks. Gillis offered their 2008 first round draft choice (Cody Hodgson) in exchange for Bobby Ryan and Mathieu Schneider.

With the news that Cory Schneider will be starting in goal again tomorrow, a lot of fans are speculating that Roberto Luongo might be traded for Bobby Ryan. With his no-trade clause aside, that kind of trade would make very little sense for the Ducks. Jonas Hiller is an amazing goalie who has had a sub-par start to this season.

Getting Bobby Ryan would likely mean that the Canucks would have to part with Cody Hodgson and some other parts. Perhaps a package of Cody Hodgson, Mason Raymond and Chris Tanev gets the deal done? I think Anaheim would think about that deal. I’m not sure that the Canucks would pull the trigger on that though.

So is Bobby Ryan on his way to Vancouver in the near future? Not likely. I just don’t see the Canucks being willing to give up what it takes to acquire a player like Ryan. Ryan is still young and has loads of talent. He’s big and would likely be a great fit with Ryan Kesler on the Canucks second line. But it’s for those reasons that I don’t see any way that Anaheim gives him up easily.

The Canucks have traded Mikael Samuelsson and Marco Sturm to the Florida Panthers in exchange for David Booth, Steven Reinprecht and a third round draft pick. Amazing that these same two teams have come together on yet another trade. As you might recall, Florida and Vancouver have teamed up on the Bure-Jovanovski, Bertuzzi-Luongo, Grabner-Ballard trades among others.

This trade is interesting on a number of fronts. In getting rid of Samuelsson (34) and Sturm (33), the Canucks will get younger up front. Samuelsson had been facing a lot of criticism by media and fans last year and early this year. I’m in the minority in that I didn’t mind his overall play. I think he has a lot to give still, especially in the playoffs given his experience. I never understood why the Canucks decided to go after Marco Sturm this offseason, and after six uninspiring games, Mike Gillis now agrees.

The key to the deal for the Canucks is David Booth. Three years ago Booth looked destined to be a front line player for many years when he broke out with a 31 goal season at age 23. The following season he suffered a concussion on a vicious hit from Mike Richards and hasn’t been the same player since. Still, Booth was able to score 23 goals last year and played in all 82 games. Booth has good speed, grit and scoring ability. Sounds like he might be a good fit with Ryan Kesler, doesn’t he?

Steven Reinprecht is a key to the deal as well, but not in the way you might think. The cash strapped Panthers were paying Reinprecht $2.05 million to play in the AHL this season. The Canucks will likely do the same, so don’t run out to the Canucks Team Store just yet to get “Reinprecht” printed on the back of your jersey (unless it’s a Chicago Wolves jersey of course).

The Canucks will win this trade if David Booth plays up to his potential and becomes a fixture with Ryan Kesler on the second line. He has shown the ability to score 30+ goals in the NHL which is no small feat. Of course, this trade will blow up in Mike Gillis’ face if Booth struggles. Booth’s contract pays him $4.25 million for four more years.

This trade will also alleviate the logjam of wingers the Canucks had. With the impressive showing by Cody Hodgson early this season as well as impending return of Mason Raymond in a few months, the Canucks will simply have too many 2nd/3rd line wingers.

The Canucks lose Samuelsson’s valuable experience and I am  loathed to see him go, but I think the David Booth is worth the price.

Just when you thought the trade deadline was going to pass with Canucks general manager Mike Gillis doing nothing, he pulled off a pair of deals. The Canucks sent Evan Oberg and a 3rd round pick to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Chris Higgins. Gillis also acquired Maxim Lapierre and minor leaguer MacGregor Sharp (part of the all-name team) from the Anaheim Ducks for Joel Perreault and a 2013 3rd round pick.

Both of these deals caught me off-guard, as both of these players don’t seem to fit the Gillis mold for 4th line players. With that said, lets take a closer look at who these guys are:

Chris Higgins:

Age: 27

Position: Left Wing

Contract: Last year of a deal that pays him $1.6 million. He’s an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

Stats this year: Higgins has had a very underwhelming season. He has 11 goals and 12 assists in 48 games.

Career year: His best came 3 years ago, during the 2007-08 season with the Montreal Canadiens. That season he scored 27 goals and 25 assists in 82 games.

Playoff Pedigree: He doesn’t have a lot of playoff experience, playing in 22 games with the Canadiens. He has a respectable 11 points in those 22 games.

What he will bring: At the moment, I’m unsure. At the moment he is injured with  broken thumb and should return in about two weeks. Once he returns, he’ll likely see time on the 4th line as a centre or on the wing (he has played centre before). It’s possible that he gets a chance to supplant Mason Raymond on the Canucks second line, but I doubt it.

Verdict: I’m afraid I don’t agree with this trade. I guess he presents a good insurance policy, but to give up a 3rd rounder for insurance? Seems a bit much. He just strikes me as a player doomed to be an underachiever. He doesn’t really play a 4th line type game, which is where they need the most help.

Maxim Lapierre

Age: 25

Position: Centre

Contract: Last year of a $900,000 contract. He is a restricted free agent at the end of the season.

Stats this year: Splitting time between the Canadiens and Ducks, Lapierre has 11 points in 59 games.

Career year: He is not that far removed from his best season in 2008-09 with the Montreal Canadiens. That year he had 15 goals and 13 assists in 79 games.

Playoff Pedigree: He has 3 goals and 4 assists in 35 career playoff games, so he has some experience. He was on the Habs team that went to the Eastern Conference finals last season.

What he will bring: He will fill the void as the team’s fourth line centre and is an agitator. Canucks fans haven’t seen a sneer like his since Jarkko Ruutu left town.

Verdict: I love the fact that he’s a centre with some grit for the fourth line. The puzzling part is that he plays like Alex Burrows did a few years ago, he’s an agitator that takes bad penalties and dives. Gillis/Vigneault will have a hard time getting him to buy into not taking dumb penalties. Lapierre played for Alain Vigneault in junior, so that’s a good sign, they obviously know what they’re getting into. Overall I like this deal for this season and he’s a restricted free agent at the end of the season which means he’s not a rental player.

We’re now less than 24 hours away from the NHL trade deadline (the deadline is at noon on Monday) and there are plenty of rumours going around. The latest has the Canucks interested in Marty Reasoner. I first brought up this idea 11 days ago, and it’s nice to see that it looks like Mike Gillis has listened. Matthew Sekeres reported that the Canucks have indeed inquired about Reasoner, but he and the Panthers are talking about a contract extension. Sekeres also offered up this tidbit, that the Canucks tried to acquire Reasoner at last year’s trade deadline, but the Thrashers (his team at the time) wanted a 2nd round draft pick for him.

In my mind, Reasoner is the best affordable player available to fill the Canucks need at the 4th line centre position. He’s one of the top players in the league in faceoff percentage, kills penalties and has a scoring touch. It’d be nice if he also had some Stanley Cup experience, like a guy like John Madden (who may or may not be available), but that would cost more. If Mike Gillis can acquire him for a 3rd round draft pick, I think that’s a move he should do.

With that said, general managers should be very careful about giving up draft picks, especially high draft picks. In the last few years, teams that are “sellers” at the deadline have bolstered their teams with draft picks they received in exchange for rental players. Here’s a sampling:

2006 – Milan Lucic:

The Oilers were largely applauded for their acquisition of Sergei Samsonov at the 2006 trade deadline. He did help the Oilers get to a Stanley Cup Final, but he left as a free agent in the offseason. He was traded for Marty Reasoner, Yan Stastny and a 2nd round draft pick. The Bruins used that pick to select Milan Lucic.

2007 – David Perron:

Looking to load up for the playoffs, the San Jose Sharks gave up Ville Nieminen, Jay Barribal and a first round draft pick to get Bill Guerin. The first round draft pick turned into David Perron and Bill Guerin signed with the Islanders after the season.

2008 – Tyler Ennis:

Again looking to load-up at the deadline, the San Jose Sharks parted with their 2009 first round draft pick and Steve Bernier in exchange for Brian Campbell. While Campbell certainly had something to offer, he left for the Chicago Blackhawks in the offseason and the Sabres used the draft pick acquired to pick Tyler Ennis. Ennis already looks like he will be a good player in the league for many years to come.

Lots of draft picks changed hands in 2009 and 2010, but it’s a little early to see what those players will go on to become in the league. But what these three trade deadline deals all have in common is that all of the veteran players acquired left at the end of the season and none of them won a Stanley Cup with the team that got them at the deadline. Further to this, all of the so called “experts” thought that Edmonton (2006) and San Jose (2007 & 2008) had made excellent acquisitions. As we found out, they paid a higher price than most people thought.

One of the most exciting days on the NHL calendar is just around the corner. That day is trade deadline day, and it’s less than two weeks away. We have already gotten a taste of deadline day in recent days, with the Leafs and Senators beginning to offload players.

Loading Up

This is probably going to be the most important trade deadline in the history of the Vancouver Canucks. Never before has this franchise been so well positioned to challenge for the NHL’s top prize and it’s time to load up. The time to load up is not when you’re struggling to make the playoffs. It’s when you’re close, and can fill a need with a role player or two that fit a need. Recent examples of this include the Detroit Red Wings in 2008 (Brad Stuart) and the Anaheim Ducks in 2007 (Brad May). Stuart and May were not the most talented players available at either deadline, but they helped their new teams win the Stanley Cup.

The Need

The Canucks currently sit in top spot in the Western Conference, so they don’t need major changes. But with that said, there are a couple of areas that Mike Gillis should try to improve before the clock strikes noon on February 28.

The Canucks fourth line has been a revolving door all year long. It has lacked an identity and perhaps more importantly, lacked a natural centre. The Canucks should be in the market for a gritty centre that can win faceoffs and be dependable in his own end. The fourth line could also use a little more size and physicality, which could come in the form of a gritty winger.

In case you haven’t noticed, the Canucks have suffered a few injuries on defense. Alex Edler, Keith Ballard and Andrew Alberts are all injured but are expected back in time for the playoffs. As long as that’s the case, then the Canucks can make due for now. There seems to be less certainty with Dan Hamhuis, he of the concussion. If Mike Gillis feels like Hamhuis will be ready for the playoffs, then not to worry. If however he feels like Hamhuis could be gone for a long period of time, then a top four defenseman has to be the top priority. In any case, the Canucks would be well advised to add yet another defenseman, for the right price, for insurance.

The Cap

The NHL’s salary cap might be the most difficult thing to figure out as a fan when your team has had a lot of injuries. The Canucks are a cap team, but will get some unexpected salary relief due to all of their recent injuries. How much? Good question. CapGeek.com is probably the best tool out there, but with the return of so many injured players uncertain, it’s very difficult to figure out. Mike Gillis will likely be able to add an inexpensive player at the deadline without problem, but adding a player that makes over $3 million may mean some roster juggling.

Who is Available?

I’m not going to pretend like I have insider knowledge, but it’s often possible to decipher who is going to be available. Teams that have fallen out of playoff contention usually attempt to move pending unrestricted free agents on their roster (as the Senators have already done with Mike Fisher and Chris Kelly). With that said, here is a list of players that will likely be available and would be a good fit for the Canucks:

Impact Defensemen:

Chris Phillips, Ottawa Senators

Contract: One year left with a $3.5 million cap hit.

What he brings to the table: He has been a shutdown defenseman for the Senators for a number of years now, but he’s having an off-year. He hast a no trade clause, but it’s uncertain whether or not he will want to waive it.

Eric Brewer, St Louis Blues

Contract: One year left with a $4.25 million cap hit

What he brings to the table: Steady, stay at home defenseman. Leadership (he’s the Blues captain) and experience (he won Olympic gold for Canada in 2002).

Depth Defensemen:

Ian White, Carolina Hurricanes

Contract: One year left at $3 million.

What he brings to the table: A poor man’s Kevin Bieksa, White had a career year last year notching 13 goals, 25 assists and was a +8 splitting time between Toronto and Calgary. This year hasn’t been as kind to White, but he would still be a nice insurance policy.

Andy Greene, New Jersey Devils

Contract: One year left with a $0.738 million cap hit

What he brings to the table: A solid puck moving defenseman, he would provide the Canucks depth and could play on the power play.

Radek Martinek, New York Islanders

Contract: One year left with a $1.5 million cap hit

What he brings to the table: He’s been a top 4 defenseman for a number of years on the island. That doesn’t say much, but he’d be a capable replacement and fill-in for injuries.

Jan Hejda, Columbus Blue Jackets

Contract: One year left with a $2 million cap hit.

What he brings to the table: See Radek Martinek but substitute-in Columbus for New York.

Adam Foote, Colorado Avalanche

Contract: One year left at $1.25 million

What he brings to the table: Experience, leadership and toughness. Nobody crosschecks guys and gets away with it, other than Chris Pronger. The question is his age and if he’s over the hill.

Fourth Line Centre

Zenon Konopka, New York Islanders

Contract: One year left at $0.6 million

What he brings to the table: Toughness. Not sure if he’s a good fit because he takes a lot of penalties. He’s a fourth line centre/enforcer which is not very common.

Marty Reasoner, Florida Panthers

Contract: One year left at $1.15 million

What he brings to the table: Good two-way forward. Already has 11 goals and is a +8 on a bad Florida team.

Fourth Line Winger

Rob Niedermayer, Buffalo Sabres

Contract: One year left at $1.25 million.

What he brings to the table: He’s having a bad year, with no goals yet this season. The good news is he won’t cost much but the bad news is he might be terrible. Perhaps a chance to play in his home province would be the spark he needs.

Mike Grier, Buffalo Sabres

Contract: One year left at $1.4 million.

What he brings to the table: He would be a perfect fit on the fourth line. He hits and can score goals and has a lot of experience.

Ok ok before you freak out after reading the headline and trash me in the comments section, let me explain. Michael Grabner is not the second coming of Brett Hull. Far from it. So why bring it up? Let me explain…

In case you haven’t noticed, former Canucks 1st round draft pick Michael Grabner is on quite a tear right now. After a slow start to the season, Grabner has 15 goals and 6 assists in his last 15 games. That’s brought his goal total up to 24 this year while playing on the Islanders third line. And that’s what makes this all the more impressive for Grabner. He hasn’t been given prime time minutes. He has received minimal power play time and is averaging only 14 minutes a game. Yesterday he netted a hat trick in only 15:06 of playing time. ‘Grabby’ is now on pace for 35 goals this year, imagine what that would look like playing 17-18 minutes a night? Imagine what he could do after he matures a little more. Somewhere Dave Nonis is saying “I told you so”.

So why do we care? Well, ever since the Canucks traded away a 21 year old power forward by the name of Cam Neely before he reached his potential, fans on the west coast are a little touchy regarding trading former first round picks.

To jog your memory, the Canucks dispatched Grabner to the Florida Panthers along with Steve Bernier (pictured above stuffing another puck into a goalie’s pads) and a 1st round draft pick last June in exchange for Keith Ballard and Victor Oreskovich. Bernier and Oreskovich appear to be nothing more than spare parts with Grabner, the 1st round pick and Ballard being the key to the deal. While I believe that Keith Ballard is a good defenseman (even if Alain Vigneault disagrees), this will turn out to be a poor deal if Michael Grabner ends up being a 40 goal scorer. And that’s not even taking the 1st round pick into account.

So do we chastise Mike Gillis for this trade? Not so fast…

Let me take you back to March 7, 1988. One of the top teams in the NHL, the Calgary Flames traded a 23 year old talented goal scorer by the name of Brett Hull and Steve Bozek to the St Louis Blues for defenseman Rob Ramage and backup goaltender Rick Wamsley. Hull went onto to become one of the greatest goal scorers in hockey history while Ramage and Wamsley were older players with only a handful of productive years left.

Obviously the St Louis Blues won the trade but Rick Wamsley, and Rob Ramage in particular, helped the Flames win the Stanley Cup in 1989. The Flames needed an experienced defenseman more than an inexperienced scorer. Sure Flames fans would have loved to see Hull in a Flames jersey, but they loved winning the 1989 Stanley Cup more. I don’t see them asking for a do-over.

So the fact of the matter is if Keith Ballard can manage to contribute and help the Canucks win the Stanley Cup, Canucks fans won’t care if Michael Grabner scores 100 goals this year. So to keep visions of Cam Neely out of our heads, in the words of Al Davis: “Just win baby”.

Sami Salo is back, well, almost. He’s been skating for a long time now, and has been practicing and traveling with the team for a couple of weeks also. So when is he set to return? The Canucks are keeping this somewhat secretive, but it looks to be soon.

The reason is of course the salary cap. The Canucks are very close to the cap right now and will be over it when Salo returns. According to CapGeek, the Canucks would need to get rid of $1.8 million of annual salary if Salo returned today.

If the Canucks are smart, they’ll keep Salo on long term injury reserve as long as possible. I expect this to happen because the longer he stays on IR, the more that $1.8 million number goes down. They’ll also have the option of putting him in Manitoba on a conditioning stint to stall for more time before returning. But with that said, they’ll make a mockery of the NHL if he practices with the team for four months while staying on IR.

Who goes?

So what will happen? Personally, I expect him back sometime next month. I also expect Mike Gillis to have a plan in place. Recent speculation has everyone from Keith Ballard ($4.2 million), Raffi Torres ($1 million) and Mikael Samuelsson (2.5 million) being traded. Personally, I find that speculation ridiculous. Those are playoff-type players that the Canucks would loathe to lose. The more likely scenario would have Andrew Alberts ($1.05 million) and Aaron Rome ($0.75 million) being sent away, assuming they both return from injury not long from now. Notice I’m not mentioning Kevin Bieksa anymore? In case you missed it, a lot of things have changed since the summer and now we are all Bieksa.

What Salo means to the team

Not a lot of people are talking about what Sami Salo is likely to bring to the team. Everyone jokes about his injury troubles, but over the last few seasons Salo has been one of their most valuable defensemen. My worry (and his worry too apparently) is that he comes back and is a shadow of his former self. To recover from his injury and missing more than half a season is not easy to come back from. It’s even more difficult to do at age 36. Of course, if he is able to regain his form he’ll be a huge boost to an already impressive defense corps.

What about Raymond?

Nobody ever seems to mention Mason Raymond’s name in trade rumours and I find this curious. He’s got some value given his age, contract and production, but he’s also somewhat dispensable for this team. Jeff Tambellini has stepped in and pretty much matched Raymond this year. They’re a similar age (Tambellini is 26, Raymond 24) too. I don’t want to see Raymond go, but the possibility should at least be in the discussion. He should be able to fetch a decent draft pick (the Canucks will need to restock given the amount of picks they’ve traded away recently) or perhaps get a guy like Tyler Kennedy ($0.725 million) out of Pittsburgh, though the Penguins would need to do some salary cap shuffling of their own to make that work.

Whatever happens, it’s sure to be interesting. Of course, should another high priced player get injured before Salo returns and gets moved to the IR, the problem with solve itself.

Let me immediately state that this is not a trade rumour. Nobody has suggested that the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames are talking trade or that Mike Gillis is shopping Mason Raymond, Keith Ballard or Cory Schneider. Even new Flames general manager Jay Feaster has said that he is not interested in trading the face of the franchise, Jarome Iginla. While we can choose to believe or not believe Jay Feaster, it’s still unlikely that he would trade Iginla to Vancouver given that they are a division rival.

The point of asking this question centres around a bigger question. When (if ever) is the time to load up, trade for a player to put your team over the hump, while sacrificing some of your future? I think this year might be the year and a Raymond/Ballard/Schneider for Iginla type deal is at least worth a thought.

Random thoughts:

-The salaries of the three Canucks in the deal would come close to Iginla’s $7 million salary, so it shouldn’t be a problem cap-wise.

-The deal would help kick start a much needed Calgary rebuild, getting a goalie of the future as well as some help on defense and youthful scoring up front. Mason Raymond is also from nearby Cochrane, Alberta.

-The deal would hurt Vancouver long-term, but could pay huge dividends in the short term. Iginla is clearly an upgrade on Mason Raymond up front and Cory Schneider isn’t likely to see playing time in the playoffs anyway. The loss of Keith Ballard would be minimized by the return of Sami Salo.

-The deal would also give the Canucks probably the best second line in the league with Kesler and Iginla playing together. The Flames captain is good for at least 35 goals at the moment, imagine what he could do with a decent centre while playing against teams’ second defense pairs.

-Iginla is a proven big game player with loads of skill, playoff grit and leadership.

-The Canucks seem to be doing fine right now without Mason Raymond, especially with the emergence of Jeff Tambellini. Keith Ballard is also only playing a minor role for the team, so perhaps he is expendable? Cory Schneider will likely be on the bench come April.

So am I crazy? Possibly! I’m not entirely sure I would make this deal, but it’s certainly something to ponder. Perhaps it’s a little too much of the future to give up, as well as the present. Perhaps Jarome Iginla’s $7 million contract is too much to swallow. Here’s how some other Canucks fans reacted to this trade proposal on Twitter earlier today:

@Chris_Withers: no, no and fucking hell no! 3 players of that quality for one 33 year old fading superstar? I’d quit on the team.

@PatrickTussie: it’s an interesting discussion. the #canucks could use a tier 1 forward to play with Kesler.

@a_frilles: those are young players. They have room to improve. Iginla is old. lol

@PabloPenguin74 It’s an interesting idea! Where would Iginla slot in? what do we do with Hansen, Torres or Samuelson?

@Rissyluvsnucks Iginla is too slow for 2nd line. Salo isnt ready and rome is scary. No way! Too much for Iginla

Maybe this isn’t the right deal for Mike Gillis, but I think there is a deal like this to be made this year. The team currently stands 2nd overall in winning percentage and would be well advised to look for a piece to put them over the hump. Is that player Jarome Iginla? If not, then who? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

Ok, so Shane O’Brien wasn’t the best player or the smartest player, but he was one of the most entertaining. Even in the way out, he had some interesting comments about coach Alain Vigneault:

Make no mistake, this trade was about money. O’Brien was going to be playing in Manitoba this year, eating up $1.6 million of Francesco Aquilini’s money. Having Parent in the minors instead saves ownership $675,000. Cap-wise, Parent can be recalled with less risk than O’Brien, as both would be subjected to recallable waivers. The other two parts of the deal, Gendur and Andersson, are likely career minor leaguers.

Ryan Parent was a blue chip prospect not long ago. He was a first round pick in 2005 and was a standout in the World Junior Championships for Canada. He’s only 23 and still has some upside. Unfortunately there’s no room on the Canucks roster for him this year but should he clear waivers he might have a future with the Canucks.

In other news, Jeff Tambellini has been placed on waivers. The good news is that should he clear, he can be recalled without having to be subjected to recallable waivers.

Ian MacIntyre from the Vancouver Sun sees the Tambellini move as an indication that Peter Schaefer has indeed made this team. Schaefer is still unsigned but his contract should be a formality according to MacIntyre.

If true, that leaves the Canucks opening night roster as such:

Sedin-Sedin-Samuelsson

Raymond-Kesler-Torres

Hansen-Malhotra-Schaefer

Desbiens-Bolduc-Glass

Hamhuis-Bieksa

Edler-Ehrhoff

Ballard-Alberts

Luongo

Schneider

Aaron Rome is the seventh defenseman, and Rick Rypien is injured. Cody Hodgson is currently still with the team be I expect him to be sent to Manitoba. Sami Salo and Alex Burrows will be on long term injury reserve.