Page 17 | Rob The Hockey Guy | A Vancouver Canucks Hockey Blog

One month in: now what do we think of this team?

November 3, 2010 Rob 8 Comments Special Feature

We are just under one month into the 2010-11 edition of the Vancouver Canucks. Despite pre-season Stanley Cup predictions, this season began with a bit of a whimper. The Canucks started off the season 2-3-2, beating only bottom feeders Florida and Carolina. It also featured a fan fueled goaltending freakout of Dan Cloutier proportions.

November 2010 Calendar Wallpaper Featuring Manny Malhotra

November 1, 2010 Romeo Bui 0 Comments Wallpaper

Two reasons why we love Manny Malhotra:
1) Malhotra has been an absolute BEAST in the face-off circle
2) He is married to Steve F’n Nash’s sister

Download here:

Do the Canucks miss KYLE WELLWOOD?!

October 21, 2010 Rob 2 Comments Special Feature

Last night’s shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks brings the Canucks record to 0-2 in shootouts this year, which begs the question: do the Canucks miss Kyle Wellwood? Now, I’m not suggesting that replacing Wellwood with Malhotra this year on the third line was a poor decision, but they sure do miss his shootout prowess. Remarkably, Canucks shooters haven’t been the main problem, that distinction goes to Roberto Luongo and his .000 SV% in shootouts this year. Luongo has a decent save percentage all-time, so he should get over his early season shootout troubles.

Kevin Bieksa: The good, the bad…

October 13, 2010 Rob 0 Comments Game Recap, Special Feature

Let me first start off by saying this is not a blog entry bash Kevin Bieksa. I’ve done plenty of Bieksa bashing in my day, and I was not in favour of bringing him back to the team this year (until Sami Salo had his “floorball” incident). That being said, he has all the tools to be an excellent defenseman.

The Good

Lets start with the positives. This season begun with new captain Henrik Sedin appointing Bieksa as one of his four alternate captains. That raised a few eyebrows, but if Henrik thought that highly of him perhaps there is more to Bieksa than what many Canucks fans see. From there, Bieksa has been put with Dan Hamhuis in the Canucks top shutdown pair. Let me also say that Bieksa has been more consistently aggressive to start the season and we’re seeing a lot less “casual” play out of him, at least through three games.

The Bad

Bieksa has played reasonably well through three games, but I just can’t see him as the top choice to shutdown the other team’s top line. If and when Sami Salo returns from injury, I would say he would be the best option to play alongside Dan Hamhuis in the shutdown pair. Until then, I see Alex Edler or Keith Ballard (once he’s fully recovered from off-season surgery) as a far better option.

Kevin Bieksa is simply too slow and not intelligent enough to play against the best players in the league on a regular basis. If he continues to play as he has thus far, he’ll be a perfect guy to have in their second or third pairing.

How much rest does Luongo need?

October 13, 2010 Rob 0 Comments Game Preview

We’re two games into the 2010-11 regular season and already a mini media firestorm has begun with the decision to start Roberto Luongo in goal for tonight’s game versus the Anaheim Ducks. The argument goes that if the Canucks are to play Cory Schneider in 20-25 games this season (as Mike Gillis has suggested), they ought to play Schneider against what looks like a poor team in Anaheim.

Henrik Gets the C, Larscheid Calls it Quits and more!

October 11, 2010 Rob 0 Comments Game Recap, Special Feature

What an eventful first game of the season. In the first game of their 40th anniversary season, the Canucks brought back all living members of their inaugural team. Pat Quinn received the biggest ovation, a classy gesture by the fans at Rogers Arena. From there, Henrik Sedin was officially named captain by receiving the C from the first captain in Canucks history, Orland Kurtenbach. I thought it was a nice ceremony that was done with a lot of class.

Is this the year? Canucks Opener Tonight!

October 9, 2010 Rob 0 Comments Game Preview, Special Feature

Never before has the NHL’s marketing campaign “is this the year?” ever spoke to me like it does now. Isn’t that really the question on every fan of the Vancouver Canucks mind today? Is this the year they can finally bring the cup home to Vancouver? Well, as a fan of the Canucks for all of my life, I can safely say that their chance to win the cup has never been this good to begin a season. Now, let me qualify that statement with the fact that this in no way makes them a sure thing, and if you’ve followed the Canucks long enough, you know that high expectations are usually something to be worried about in these parts. But alas, the Canucks are entering the 2010-11 season as one of the Stanley Cup favourites, and given the alternative, that’s something to get excited about. So get excited Canucks fans, but know that the competition will be stiff.

We're going to miss you Shane-O

October 6, 2010 Rob 2 Comments Trades

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:

I wish I got a little fairer shake in camp. I only played three exhibition games, all on the road, and we flew the day of the game on two of them. And – no disrespect to the players we had in those games – but the three games I played we were nowhere near an NHL-calibre roster. It was the icing on the cake for my career here in Vancouver.

A lot of people are taking shots at O’Brien right now but he has a point. Vigneault has stated that O’Brien didn’t make the team because Alberts outplayed him and he makes less money. I buy the less money point, but what chance did O’Brien have to outplay Alberts? Take a look at the games O’Brien played vs the games that Alberts played. O’Brien played all of his games on the road. Alberts played all of his at home. It’s no secret that teams dress far better lineups at home during the preseason, so O’Brien didn’t have a fair fight.

We’re going to miss you Shane-O:

October 2010 Tom Larscheid Wallpaper!!

October 6, 2010 Romeo Bui 1 Comment Wallpaper

Tom Larscheid Wallpaper

We wanted to start the new season off by paying tribute to a local legend, Tom Larscheid! Tom, you will be missed by all of us Canucks fans! Have a happy happy retirement!

PS: I’m the new guy to the Canuckz.com team and will be creating the monthly calendars from now on. Please comment below and send me ideas as to what to do (and whom to feature) for the following months!

Download here:

Trades, Waivers and Cap Consideration Oh My! O'Brien Dealt to Nashville

October 5, 2010 Rob 0 Comments Rumours, Signing, Trades

With the regular season mere days away, the NHL is conducting it’s annual fourth line/seventh defenceman/AHLer shuffle. The Canucks, who are tight against the cap are doing about as much shuffling as anyone at the moment, trying to finalize their roster. The Canucks traded Shane O’Brien and his $1.6 million cap hit along with prospect Dan Gendur (he’s more suspect than prospect) to the Nashville Predators for Ryan Parent ($925,000 cap hit) and Jonas Andersson. The Canucks immediately placed Parent on waivers with the intent to put him in the minors.