This Friday is one of the most exciting days of the year for hockey fans, July 1st, the start of free agent season! Only trade deadline day and the draft (especially this year with Jeff Carter and Mike Richards getting traded) can come close to matching the intrigue of July 1st. Last year Mike Gillis signed Dan Hamhuis, Manny Malhotra and Jeff Tambellini on the first day of free agency. The previous year Gillis re-signed Daniel and Henrik Sedin, just hours before July 1st.

This year probably won’t be as eventful for the Canucks. Kevin Bieksa signed a five year deal today, worth $4.6 million per season. Core players such as Christian Ehrhoff and Sami Salo are all still unsigned as of this moment. Depth players such as Andrew Alberts, Raffi Torres, Chris Higgins, Tanner Glass and Jeff Tambellini are also set to be unrestricted free agents on July 1st. Some are more likely to return than others, and it will be a balancing act for GM Mike Gillis. Ehrhoff, Salo, Torres and Higgins could go either way, and I think the rest will not be returning.

With all of that said, Gillis is likely to have a little bit of spending room (especially if they are able to unload Keith Ballard and his $4.2 million cap hit), and should be active on the free agent front. I believe that Gillis will be in the market to get tougher on the fourth line, get depth on defense (especially if he isn’t able to re-sign Christian Ehrhoff and Sami Salo), and improve scoring from the second line. The likely result on defense will be the return of at least two of Ehrhoff, Salo and Ballard.

With that in mind, here are the players that GM Mike Gillis should have on his free agent wish list:

Simon Gagne

Age: 31

2010-11 Salary: $5.25 million

2010-11 Statistics: GP: 63, G: 17, A: 23, Pts: 40

2010-11 Playoff Statistics: GP: 15, G: 5, A: 7, Pts: 12

The most talented free agent forward not named Brad Richards, one might think that Simon Gagne will probably get overpaid this offseason. But with his concussion history, maybe not. Gagne is not the player he once was, but he is still very effective, offensively and defensively. He would slide into the Canucks system seemlessly and would help out Ryan Kesler tremendously on the second line. He is a gold medal winner, and has been to a Stanley Cup final. Gagne likely won’t duplicate his career year from 2005-06 (47 goals and 79 points), but he could easily put up a 30 goal/60 point season (if healthy). But with Gagne, health is always the number one concern. If the Canucks decide to sign him, it’ll be a gamble. If Mike Gillis can convince him to sign a short term deal for $3 million, I think Gagne is worth the risk.

Erik Cole

Age: 32

2010-11 Salary: $2.9 million

2010-11 Statistics: GP: 82, G: 26, A: 26, Pts: 52

2010-11 Playoff Statistics: n/a

A gritty power forward with a scoring touch, Erik Cole could be a nice fit with on the Canucks second line. He has a Stanley Cup ring and has been a consistent 20-30 goal scorer. But he does not come without risk. Firstly, he has a long injury history. Secondly, his heart seems to be in Carolina. He played his entire career in Carolina, save for one disappointing year in Edmonton. But he might be worth the risk. If they can get him for $2.75 million on a 1-2 year deal, I say roll the dice.

Ville Leino

Age: 27

2010-11 Salary: $0.8 million

2010-11 Statistics: GP: 81, G: 19, A: 34, Pts: 53

2010-11 Playoff Statistics: GP: 11, G: 3, A: 2, Pts: 5

One of the Flyers playoff heroes from 2010 (21 points in 19 playoff games), Leino is a candidate to play with play a scoring role on the Canucks second line. He has proven that he can produce at a second line level, and more importantly he has proven that he can do it come playoff time. He’ll be in the market for a new contract worth probably in the neighbourhood of $2.5-3 million.

Chad LaRose

Age: 29

2010-11 Salary: $1.7 million

2010-11 Statistics: GP: 82, G: 16, A: 15, Pts: 31

2010-11 Playoff Statistics: n/a

Chad Larose would be a good fit for the Canucks third line. He’s a gritty player that will likely put up 15 goals while delivering bodychecks (he was 4th on the Hurricanes in hits) and killing penalties. If they can add Larose for about $1.75 million, it would be a good find.

Joel Ward

Age: 30

2010-11 Salary: $1.5 million

2010-11 Statistics: GP: 80, G: 10, A: 19, Pts: 29

2010-11 Playoff Statistics: GP: 12, G: 7, A: 6, Pts: 13

Joel Ward was an absolute force in this year’s playoffs, but whoever signs him this offseason should not expect that same player for 82 regular season games. Ward has size and a scoring touch, but he has never put up more than 35 points in a regular season. He would fit onto the Canucks 2nd or 3rd line and the hope would be that he would be able to elevate his game in the playoffs. Sign him for under $2 million and you’ve got a bargain.

Honourable Mentions

Maxime Talbot: A gritty player with a Stanley Cup ring, Talbot is loved by his teammates. He also finds a way to step up in big games. He scored both of the Penguins goals in game 7 of the Stanley Cup final in 2009. His regular season numbers are a little underwhelming, never putting up more than 26 points in a season. It is in the playoffs where he has made his reputation. He has 33 points in 66 playoff games.

Mike Grier: At age 36, his best days are clearly behind him, but Mike Grier would provide experience and physical play, likely in a fourth line role.

Ben Eager: He’s not exactly the most popular player among Canucks fans, but Eager would give the Canucks a lot of things they don’t have right now. He is a big bodychecker and a good fighter. He has championship experience and even a bit of a scoring touch. He scored 11 goals for the Blackhawks in 2008-09, and had 7 last season.

Michael Rupp: Another player with championship pedigree (notice a trend here?), Rupp would be a nice fit on the Canucks fourth line. At 6’5″ and 230 lbs he is a big man with the ability to pop in the odd goal. He had 9 goals last year and 11 the year before.

Due to the Canucks long playoff run, the team is in for a very short offseason. The NHL entry draft is in four days and free agency begins in only eleven days. Mike Gillis has some work to do, as all GMs do. Luckily for the Canucks, most of their core is locked up long term, but there are a few key players that will become restricted free agents. Kevin Bieksa, Christian Ehrhoff, Sami Salo, Andrew Alberts, Raffi Torres, Chris Higgins, Tanner Glass and Jeff Tambellini are all unrestricted free agents on July 1st. Maxim Lapierre, Jannik Hansen, Victor Oreskovich and Alex Bolduc are all restricted free agents.

While who Mike Gillis decides to sign and not sign will affect the look of the 2011-12 Vancouver Canucks, he may also be in the market to make a trade or two. He might need to make a move to free up cap space, or to find the missing piece of the puzzle.

Today we will look at the Canucks’ goaltenders and defencemen. Later in the week I will look in depth at their forwards and before July 1st I will look into who the Canucks can go out and sign from elsewhere.

Lets start with the most polarizing figure on the team, Roberto Luongo:

Roberto Luongo

Despite his critics, he is still one of the premiere goaltenders in the NHL. There’s no doubting his skill, and he has done everything short of winning a Vezina and winning a Stanley Cup. But despite this, you can’t argue that he has had a strange propensity of getting into slumps at inopportune times. His play in game 4, 5, and 6 of the Chicago series left some room for concern. He gave up some bizzare goals against Nashville. And in the Stanley Cup finals he had four sub-par games. One could argue that he was outplayed in 3 of the 4 series. It seems strange to say, because when he was good, he was VERY good. But unfortunately the good does not erase the bad. Despite all of this, I believe Luongo is an excellent goalie that can win a Stanley Cup. And because he has a no trade clause, he won’t be going anywhere.

Cory Schneider

I believe in Roberto Luongo, but I also believe in Cory Schneider. Schneider is unproven of course, and it would remain to be seen if he could carry the mail as a number one netminder. In a perfect world, the Canucks would trade Luongo, clear cap space and go with the younger/cheaper Schneider. That would give them approximately $4 million more to play with. Because of Luongo’s no-trade clause, that would be a risky proposition, given that he could say no and then you have a rift in the relationship between your top goalie and management. They could also choose to trade Schneider and find a journeyman goalie to backup Luongo. While that could possibly fetch them a good second line winger to play with Ryan Kesler, but Mike Gillis will likely play it safe and keep both of his goalies for at least one more year. He stays.

Dan Hamhuis

No doubt here, he stays. He was their best offseason acquisition and is their best shutdown defenceman.

Kevin Bieksa

He is an unrestricted free agent and will surely get a raise on the $3.75 million he made last season. On the open market, he would command over $5 million for sure, but it seems like he might be willing to take less to stay in Vancouver. If the Canucks could convince him to sign for the same as Hamhuis ($4.5 million), it would be a steal. I think he stays.

Christian Ehrhoff

Like Bieksa, Ehrhoff is an unrestricted free agent. Like Bieksa, he will command over $5 million on the open market. He says that he might take less to play in Vancouver, but I don’t think he will as much as Bieksa. Ehrhoff is their most talented offensive defenceman and he is one of the most important players on their potent power play. The Canucks would be wise to re-sign him, but it might not fit in their salary structure. If he doesn’t stay, then a likely destination for him would be Detroit. Without Brian Rafalski, Ehrhoff would be a fine replacement. It’s probably 50/50, but I think he goes.

Alex Edler

He isn’t going anywhere, and if the Canucks are unable to re-sign Christian Ehrhoff, his role as an offensive force will likely expand.

Sami Salo

It will be very interesting to see what happens with Sami Salo. One of the longest serving current Canucks, Salo made $3.5 million last season. As you might be aware of, he is quite injury prone. He has also lost a step and is also 36 years old. I can’t imagine the Canucks locking him up for more than one year, and if they do, what will be the price? He played well after returning from injury, but I don’t think the Canucks can afford to pay him big money given his lack of reliability due to injuries. If he accepts a one year, $2 million deal, I think it would work. Otherwise, he leaves. I think Salo stays.

Aaron Rome

Rome has one more year left on his contract at a very affordable $750,000 cap hit. He is a favourite of Alain Vigneault, and we found out why after he was suspended in the Stanley Cup final. The team missed his reliability and grit. He is a dependable depth defenceman, and will be back next season.

Andrew Alberts

Alberts had a strong season and the Canucks would probably like to have him back, but I’m betting that he will want more playing time and will sign elsewhere.

Keith Ballard

The most intriguing decision that Mike Gillis will make this offseason will probably be with Keith Ballard. To say he had a disappointing season is putting it nicely. He has four more years left on a deal that pays him $4.2 million per season. That likely means that his contract is impossible to trade. Gillis can decide to keep him and hope he has a bounce-back season, or dump him in the minors in order to re-sign Christian Ehrhoff. The problem with dumping in the minors is that it likely won’t please Francesco Aquilini, who would be on the hook for paying Ballard $16.8 million dollars for a minor leaguer! My best guess is that he stays and has a bounce-back season, but it’s a toss-up.

Chris Tanev

Chris Tanev has all but locked up a spot on next year’s roster, given his strong play in the Stanley Cup Final. His calm, cool demeanor was great to see. Having a good, young, cheap defenceman is a nice thing to have in a salary cap system. He makes just $900,000 next year.

Well, we’ve all had a chance to take a deep breath, sit back and really think about the year that was for our beloved Vancouver Canucks. Gone is the emotion/heartbreak/disappointment/anger from their second straight second round loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. What’s left is a better chance for impartial analysis as to what they did, what they have and what they should do.

Was it as Bad as we Thought?

It’s been over a month since the Canucks were ousted by the Blackhawks. At the time we knew the Blackhawks were good, but we also thought the Canucks could have and should have been better. Perhaps they should have, but consider this. The Canucks lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, which suggests they’re a pretty good team. The Blackhawks beat a hard working bunch with a strong defense (Nashville), a high scoring team (Vancouver), an all around talented team (San Jose) and a gritty team (Philadelphia). Basically, they beat different teams and it didn’t faze them one bit. The Canucks stretched the Hawks to 6 games, as far as any of their other three opponents.

I’m not arguing that the Canucks couldn’t have played better or that they don’t have problems they need to fix, but I’m starting to think that they weren’t as bad as we thought they were. We need to give the Blackhawks a bit of credit.

Your Best Players Need to be Your Best Players

So what just happened? Why did the Canucks look so terrible at times against the Blackhawks? For me, it starts with the old adage that your best players need to be your best players. I believe that Daniel and Henrik Sedin were good enough in the playoffs, each notching better than a point per game in the post season. It was the Canucks most important player, Roberto Luongo, who did not play up to par. True, the Chicago Blackhawks can make a lot of goalies look silly, but Luongo ended the playoffs with a save percentage below .900, not good enough for a goalie of his ability. Quite simply, the Canucks as they were constructed this year can’t and won’t win a Stanley Cup with average or below average goaltending.

But now, a little perspective. A lot of uneducated hockey fans are suggesting that the Canucks trade Luongo and “give Schneider a shot”. Lets not lose our minds here folks. Luongo may have had an off-season, but he can certain bounce back and giving the reigns to an unproven good AHL goalie is probably not a prudent move. For those of you in favour of letting Louie go, consider that his cap number will be going down next season, from $6.75 million to $5.33 million. That cap number puts him in 9th place among the other goalies in the league.

Who Would You Rather Have?

For those Luongo haters I also ask you this: how many goalies in this year’s playoffs would you want ahead of Luongo? Certainly not either of the Stanley Cup Final goaltenders. Would it be Evgeni Nabokov, he the man who plays behind all that talent in San Jose and year after year can’t get it done when it matters? How about Ilya Bryzgalov, who after a terrific regular season posted similar numbers to Luongo and lost in the first round. It’s getting harder and harder to make the case for Martin Brodeur now, with his best days behind him he looks like he’s beginning to lose a step and has had a few playoff flops in recent years. The Marc-Andre Fleury argument has always been “he’s got a Stanley Cup ring” but look at this year’s playoffs and I defy you to say that you’d be more comfortable with him in net. Steve Mason proved that having one amazing year doesn’t necessarily mean that it can be sustained, so lets forget about Tuukka Rask, Craig Anderson, Jimmy Howard, Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak. That leaves Ryan Miller, who was the best goalie in the league this year, and I would take him ahead of Luongo, but his teams (Team USA and Buffalo) didn’t do as well as Luongo’s this year.

The point? The best option for the Canucks remains to keep faith with Luongo and hope that he has a bounce-back season. Perhaps he needs to play less, and perhaps they’ve learned their lesson in that respect. Maybe he doesn’t need to play every game to be a great goalie, maybe he just needs to get used to resting more.

Where was the Grit?

Against the Chicago Blackhawks it seemed to be non-existent. While the Canucks defensemen were getting pounded, the Blackhawks defensemen cruised around with ease. A little more grit that can play in their top 9 or even in their top 6 should be a high priority for GM Mike Gillis, but once again, a little perspective is needed. Yesterday, Alex Burrows underwent shoulder surgery, while Ryan Kesler revealed he also played through a shoulder injury in the playoffs. It should come as no surprise that grit would be an issue when the two grittiest players in the Canucks top 6 forwards have shoulder injuries. So maybe it’s not quite as bad as we thought.

Defense

What was once the Canucks greatest strength not long ago is now their greatest need. Losing Willie Mitchell hurt greatly, and I contend that he is their most important defenseman. Christian Ehrhoff had a great season, but is not great defensively. Sami Salo actually stayed healthy for longer than anyone predicted, and had a solid season. Kevin Bieksa is now another year removed from his great breakout season, and I’m among those who think that he won’t regain the form that rewarded him with a big contract. Alex Edler stepped his game up more than anyone in the playoffs, which was a pleasant surprise. The Canucks D is missing a bit of nastiness though, something Kevin Bieksa is supposed to provide. It’s also missing a stud on the blueline that can eat up big minutes against the other team’s best players while contributing offensively.

The Recap

The Canucks had a nice regular season, not a great one. They won their division, but finished fourth in points in the Western Conference. They were a clear notch below the Sharks and Blackhawks in the regular season and failed to make it past the second round. That is not the mark of an elite team ready to knock on the door. There were a lot of positive things that happened this year though (the emergence of the Sedins as elite players, Kesler and Burrows proving they can score consistently, Edler and Ehrhoff taking steps forward in their development). Mike Gillis has some things to tweak, no doubt. But how bad was it? It wasn’t so bad, and it can sure get a lot better.

Ten Days Away

The NHL entry draft is ten days away, which not only marks the day that teams pick future NHL stars, but also the start of the NHL trade frenzy! Speaking of frenzies, the free agency frenzy begins in just over two weeks.Check back before the draft and July 1st to get in-depth analysis of just what Mike Gillis’ options are.

Before I buy a domain name online, I always search the web for Godaddy coupon codes. It’s so quick and easy to save a few bucks.

The Canucks looked like a team still pissed off about their series loss last year, storming the Blackhawks right off the hop, while the Blackhawks looked a bit surprised by the push and never really seemed to recover. They’ve earned at least a split in Chicago, which is huge for a team like the Canucks that is so much better at home than on the road.

Goaltending

The Canucks looked like the better team in game 1, no doubt, but if the teams switched goalies the score would have been much different. Roberto Luongo looked real good, while his counterpart Antti Niemi looked absolutely terrible. Niemi made some big saves early, but looked shaky while doing so. His pads were like trampolines, bouncing pucks into the middle of the ice for Canucks to pounce on. Meanwhile, Luongo looked like the Luongo of old. The only goal beating him being scored on a 5-on-3. He was square to the shooter, letting out very few rebounds and even making a couple of acrobatic stops. Cristobal Huet replaced Niemi in the third period which begs the question: who starts game 2? Well, evidently the Hawks have completely lost faith in Huet, because it will be Niemi playing again in game 2 according to Joel Quenneville.

Full Team Effort

The Canucks are 3-1 in this year’s playoffs playing in arenas with smoking hot ice girls (the Kings ice girls for your reference). Ok, seriously though, Saturday night’s game was a complete team effort. All four lines scored a goal, and all six defensemen looked very strong. Two of the guys most in my doghouse, Kevin Bieksa and Andrew Alberts, I have to admit looked steady.

Grit Factor

I thought that the Blackhawks were pretty good at finishing their checks on the Canucks d-men (which should scare the crap out of all Canucks fans, they can ill afford an injury to one of their top defensemen). The Canucks meanwhile, did much the same and their hustle was nice to see. Vancouver consistently won loose puck battles, including Mason Raymond outworking Brent Sopel to gain possession and set-up Christian Ehrhoff on the first goal.

Cheapness Factor

You know what I mean by “cheapness factor”, those dirty little cheap plays that are so huge in the playoffs but aren’t serious enough to warrant a penalty, but throw the other team off their game. Examples of these are face washes, spraying snow on/falling down on/bumping the opposing team’s goalie, and taking cheap shots on the other team when the game is out of hand. Chicago was great at this last year, but they were unable to do much of it in game 1. With all the talk of Dustin Byfuglien before this series, he was a non-factor, as were most of the Hawks getting into Luongo’s kitchen. It was Henrik Sedin, I repeat, Henrik Sedin spraying Antti Niemi instead. Every time a Blackhawk got near Luongo, he was quickly ushered away by the Canucks defensemen. Once the game was out of reach, I expected a few cheap shots by the Hawks or at least challenging someone to a fight. The Blackhawks did very little to respond in front of their home crowd and went very quietly.

Looking Ahead

As good as the Canucks looked and as bad as the Blackhawks looked, game 2 will probably look a lot different. Chicago got its wake-up call and will respond with a much better effort. If Luongo continues to outplay Niemi as bad as game 1, it probably won’t matter. Look for a more determined Blackhawk team with some mixed-up lines and the insertion of one or both of Adam Burish and Ben Eager. I expect the Canucks to go with the same lineup, with the only potential lineup change being Ryan Johnson in for Rick Rypien.

This image (along with this song) has haunted Canucks fans for almost an entire calendar year. Patrick Kane, mouth guard dangling and all, scoring the insurance goal late in game 6, his third goal of the night. The Canucks insist that they should have won that series, to which I disagree (they had fewer points than Chicago, and were beaten in six!). The Hawks were the better team last year, and throughout the regular season have been the better team this year. No doubt, they are the favourites. With that said, this series should be a close one and could go either way, depending on a few keys of the series:

Traffic in Front of Luongo:

The Blackhawks were very successful last season getting traffic in front of Roberto Luongo, bumping him, falling on him (accidentally on purpose of course), basically completely throwing him off his game. The Canucks defensemen will need to make life miserable for Blackhawks wishing to crash the crease. But more importantly, Roberto Luongo needs to not let it bother him. Last year he showed his frustration, which only fueled the fire.

Traffic in Front of Niemi:

Something I never understand about teams in the playoffs is that when a team is playing a star goalie, they try to get lots of traffic in front, but when they play a mediocre goalie, they’re not so concerned with it. Just because Antti Niemi doesn’t have a great resume shouldn’t mean that the Canucks shouldn’t become concerned with screening him, bumping him, etc. He put up good numbers against the Predators in round 1, but he’s never really been tested mentally as much as he will this series. Shaking his confidence will be key.

Seabrook and Keith:

No doubt Joel Quenneville will try to get this pairing out against the Sedin line as much as possible. The Sedins will need to outplay them to win the series. It’s also important because both Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith play so many minutes. If the Sedins can tire them out or the other lines can wear them down with body checks and sustained pressure, it will go a long way to helping the Canucks’ cause.

Shutting Down the Hawks Top Guns:

The Blackhawks have a lot of fire power. Toews, Kane, Hossa, Sharp, etc. are very dangerous players and the Canucks will need to keep them in check. That job will be shared primarily by the Canucks defense corps. This is the biggest mismatch going into this series. With 2-3 potent scoring lines, their d-men will be tested big time. Last year the Canucks D seemed incapable of handling the Hawks speed. This year the Canucks have pretty much the same group, save for Christian Ehrhoff in for Mattias Ohlund.

The X-Factor

I believe the X-factor of this series is revenge. The Canucks seem to still be pissed off about last season’s playoff loss and they seem more mature. I also think they’re better equipped to deal with the roller coaster ride that Chicago can take you on with their crazy goal spurts.

What’s Different this Time:

Going into last season’s playoff series against the Blackhawks the Canucks were on a roll. They had ended the regular season well and steam rolled a good young St Louis Blues team. Roberto Luongo was sensational in that series.

The 2008-09 edition of the Canucks was bigger and slower than this edition. Gone are Mattias Ohlund and Mats Sundin. Willie Mitchell is gone due to injury. In are Christian Ehrhoff and Mikael Samuelsson.

As for the Blackhawks, all of their young players are a year older and a year better. Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith have gone from good young players to bonafide superstars. Hossa, Niemi and Madden are the notable additions to their lineup while Havlat, Khabibulin and Barker are the most notable players no longer with their club.

Prediction:

This is a Canucks blog but it is not a homer blog, I’m going to say Chicago in 7. The Canucks have a great opportunity to beat the Blackhawks but they will need either Kevin Bieksa to play like he hasn’t played like in two seasons or Roberto Luongo to get on a roll like he hasn’t been able to do for a few months.  Both are unlikely, which is why I believe Chicago will come out with the series victory.

With 15 games left in the regular season and the nightmare record road trip behind them, one thing is still not clear. Are the Canucks contenders or pretenders? It’s a question that doesn’t elicit a unanimous response. I think that we as Canucks fans underrate this edition of the Canucks (just as we overrated the Naslund-Bertuzzi era Canucks).

The numbers

Looking at the numbers, you would have to say that the Canucks are contenders. Lets review. They currently have the fourth best record in the NHL, tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins. If they go 10-5 in their remaining 15 games, they will tie the Canucks record for points in a single season. Vancouver is currently second in goals per game, behind only Washington. They have the second leading scorer in the entire league in Henrik Sedin. Henrik needs only 20 points in the last 15 games to tie Pavel Bure’s team record for points in a season. Ryan Kesler, Alex Burrows, Mikael Samuelsson, Mason Raymond and Christian Ehrhoff are all on pace for career years. Pavol Demitra has had an injury filled season, but lead Team Slovakia in scoring during the Olympics and was named to the tournament all star team.

Defense

This has not been a banner year for Canucks defencemen. Christian Ehrhoff has provided more than anyone expected, but Alex Edler, Willie Mitchell, Sami Salo and Kevin Bieksa have had seasons marred by injuries and inconsistent play. Andrew Alberts was brought in at the deadline and it looks pretty clear that they gave up too much (a 3rd round draft pick) to get him.

Reality

The reality is that the Canucks right now are a very good team who can make some noise in the playoffs. They have balanced scoring, a good defense (when healthy) and a superstar goaltender. At this point, we still should consider them more pretender than contender, because we’re still waiting for a couple of missing pieces of the puzzle. To me, their forwards have been good enough. To win a cup, they will need a healthy defense, playing up to their potential (most notably Willie Mitchell, Sami Salo, Kevin Bieksa and Alex Edler). They may be able to get by a round or two with a banged up blue line, but they will need Salo to stay healthy and Mitchell to get healthy.

The wild card in all of this is of course Roberto Luongo. He has put up good (not great) numbers this season, sub-par by his standards. He’s still a world class goaltender, and is capable of more. He is their best player, and only spectacular play by him will give the Canucks a chance to win it all this spring.

Yesterday we looked at Team Canada’s roster, but there were also a few other countries that announced their rosters for the 2010 Olympics that flew under the radar. Lets take a look:

Team Finland:

This will be the last go-around for the old guard for Team Finland. Saku Koivu, Teemu Selanne, Jere Lehtinen and Kimmo Timonen are likely in their last Olympic Games. The foursome has been a part of every Olympic Games since the NHL began participating in 1998. Finland has shown itself to be a strong international team at the senior level, often surpassing pre-competition expectations. They beat Canada to win bronze in 1998, lost by only a goal to eventual gold medal winners Canada in the quarterfinals in 2002 and won silver in 2006. While the 2010 team is aging a little bit, it will be the first time that Finland can boast all star caliber goaltending in an Olympic Games (Miikka Kiprusoff chose to skip the Olympics in 2006).

Goaltenders:
Miikka Kiprusoff (Calgary Flames, NHL), Niklas Bäckström (Minnesota Wild, NHL), Antero Niittymäki (Tampa Bay Lightning, NHL)

Defense:
Kimmo Timonen (Philadelphia Flyers, NHL), Sami Salo (Vancouver Canucks, NHL), Joni Pitkänen (Carolina Hurricanes, NHL), Lasse Kukkonen (Avangard Omsk, RUS), Toni Lydman (Buffalo Sabres, NHL), Sami Lepistö (Phoenix Coyotes, NHL), Janne Niskala (Frölunda, SWE)

Forwards:
Mikko Koivu (Minnesota Wild, NHL), Tuomo Ruutu (Carolina Hurricanes, NHL), Valtteri Filppula (Detroit Red Wings, NHL), Teemu Selänne (Anaheim Ducks, NHL), Saku Koivu (Anaheim Ducks, NHL), Jere Lehtinen (Dallas Stars, NHL), Niklas Hagman (Toronto Maple Leafs, NHL), Olli Jokinen (Calgary Flames, NHL), Antti Miettinen (Minnesota Wild, NHL), Jarkko Ruutu (Ottawa Senators, NHL), Niko Kapanen (Ak Bars Kazan, RUS), Ville Peltonen (Dynamo Minsk, BLR), Jarkko Immonen (Ak Bars Kazan, RUS)

Czech Republic:

If the Czech Republic is to win gold (as they did in 2010) it will likely be due to the strong play of their skilled forwards and Tomas Vokoun. This will be the last Olympics for Jaromir Jagr, who will be still counted on heavily, along with the likes of Patrik Elias, Martin Havlat and Tomas Plekanec. The biggest question mark for the Czechs is on defense, where Tomas Kaberle, Pavel Kubina, Marek Zidlicky and Filip Kuba will have the chore of trying to stop the world’s best snipers.

Goaltenders:
Tomas Vokoun (Florida Panthers/NHL), Ondrej Pavelec (Atlanta Thrashers/NHL), Jakub Stepanek (Vitkovice/CZE).

Defense:
Miroslav Blatak (Salavat Yulaev Ufa/RUS), Jan Hejda (Columbus Blue Jackets/NHL), Tomas Kaberle (Toronto Maple Leafs/NHL), Filip Kuba (Ottawa Senators/NHL), Pavel Kubina (Atlanta Thrashers/NHL), Zbynek Michalek (Phoenix Coyotes/NHL), Roman Polak (St Louis Blues/NHL), Marek Zidlicky (Minnesota Wild/NHL).

Forward:
Petr Cajanek (Saint-Pétersbourg/RUS), Roman Cervenka (Slavia Prague/CZE), Patrik Elias (New Jersey Devils/NHL), Martin Erat (Nashville Predators/NHL), Tomas Fleischmann (Washington Capitals/NHL), Martin Havlat (Minnesota Wild/NHL), Jaromir Jagr (Avangard Omsk/NHL), David Krejci (Boston Bruins/NHL), Milan Michalek (Ottawa Senators/NHL), Tomas Plekanec (Canadiens de Montréal/NHL), Tomas Rolinek (Magnitogorsk/RUS), Josef Vasicek (Yaroslavl/RUS)

Germany:

Team Germany isn’t getting a lot of respect, and for good reason. They have never able to provide a serious threat to challenge for a medal and their team is sub-par on paper. Their team, starved for NHL players actually chose NOT to name Christoph Schubert or Jochen Hecht to the team. Not sure of the reasoning behind that, but it sounds foolish to me. While Germany has a few good NHLers on the team with the likes of Christian Ehrhoff and Marco Sturm, they no longer have former Vezina trophy winner Olaf Kolzig to rely on, which should spell trouble.

Switzerland:

Switzerland surprised many in 2006 by beating both Canada and the Czech Republic in the preliminary round behind the great goaltending of Martin Gerber. Jonas Hiller will probably carry the bulk of the load this time around, and is joined by Mark Streit as the only two NHLers on the team.

It’s finally here. Game 1 of the 2009-10 season and I’m going to say it. The Canucks are overrated. Not that I don’t think they have a good team, but this is getting ridiculous. On TSN’s preview show last night Ray Ferraro and Pierre McGwire  picked them to go to the Stanley Cup Finals. TSN has ranked them as 6th best in the league. Not to be outdone, Sportsnet has them ranked 6th also. The Province is calling this edition of the Canucks the best ever. I like the moves that Gillis has made, and this is a playoff team, but what really has changed from a year ago? From my view, they’ve switched Ohlund, Vaananen, Sundin and Pyatt for Ehrhoff, Schneider, Samuelsson and Shirokov. An improvement, sure, but not drastic changes.

For me, the biggest improvement will come with a healthy full season from Luongo. Can we expect young players like Wellwood, Raymond, Bernier and Edler to improve? Sure. But can we expect the same kind of dream seasons from Kesler, Burrows and Mitchell? Who knows.

The Canucks are a very good team, but lets not get too excited here. They’ve improved slightly from last season.

So with that said, here are Canuckz.com’s official predictions for the upcoming season!

Western Conference:

1. San Jose: Don’t believe all the negative publicity. The top regular season team from a year ago got better with the addition of Heatley.

2. Detroit: They won’t be as good losing Hossa and Hudler, but they had a great season last year despite terrible goaltending from Osgood. They’ll be a force once again.

3. Vancouver: They’ll need to fight off Calgary for top spot in the division

4. Anaheim: Lost Pronger, but they have arguably the best group of top 6 forwards in the NHL.

5. Chicago: Good young team, but Huet in goal and missing Hossa to start the season will hurt.

6. St Louis: Young team caught fire in the second half of last season, that should carry-over to this year.

7. Calgary: Coaching better with Sutter, defence better with Bouwmeester, but losing Cammalleri and an improved conference will hurt.

8. Edmonton: New coach, better goal-tending and improved young players will sneak the Oilers into the playoffs this season.

9. Columbus: Hard playing in a tough division.

10. Los Angeles: Improved sure, but still question marks on defence and in goal.

11. Dallas: Having Morrow back will help, but their defence is in shambles.

12. Minnesota: No Gaborik, no Lemaire, no playoffs.

13. Nashville: Team always defies logic and plays well… until this year.

14. Phoenix: Too many distractions, too little talent.

15. Colorado: Life after Joe will be tough.

Eastern Conference:

1. Washington: A full year with Varlamov and a talented/motivated lineup.

2. Boston: Lost Kessel, but other youngsters like Lucic, Wheeler and Krejci will pick up the slack.

3. Pittsburgh: Stanley Cup hangover will get them off to a slow start until they pick it up.

4. Philadelphia: Can Emery and Boucher hold up in goal? They’ll be average but adding Pronger will help.

5. New Jersey: A healthy Brodeur and Jacques Lemaire means they’ll be competitive.

6. Carolina: Basically the same team that caught fire in the second half of last season.

7. Buffalo: A healthy Ryan Miller and a weak division will be the recipe for a return to the playoffs.

8. Ottawa: Head coach Cory Clouston will get the Sens to over-achieve.

9. Montreal: Not enough secondary scoring.

10. NY Rangers: Tough division, can Gaborik stay healthy?

11. Tampa Bay: Can’t be as bad as last season, can they?

12. Florida: No Jay-Bo, honeymoon with their coach is over too.

13. Toronto: Not enough scoring from this truculent bunch.

14. Atlanta: Still too many questions in goal.

15. NY Islanders: A glorified AHL team, who knew making your backup goalie your new GM would be a bad idea?

Mike Gillis had a busy day on Friday, signing Mathieu Schneider and acquiring Christian Ehrhoff and Brad Lukowich in exchange for Daniel Rahimi and Canuckz.com favourite, Patrick White (that was sarcasm by the way). Lets take an in-depth look at everyone they acquired and everyone they let go:

Who did they let go?

Patrick White

Drafted in the first round in 2007 by former GM Dave Nonis, White appears destined to be yet another first round bust. The Canucks went off the board a bit to take him (he was projected to go in the 2nd round), and it looks like a mistake. In two years with the University of Minnesota, White has 26 points in 81 games. Last season he finished 10th in scoring on his team. If White turns out to be an NHL player, it’ll be a shock, if he turns into a star, it’ll be a miracle.

Daniel Rahimi

A third round pick from the 2006 draft, Rahimi hasn’t shown much promise. He hasn’t been exactly knocking on the door fighting for an NHL spot, and was probably let go because they don’t see him making much of an impact in his career.

Who did they acquire?

Christian Ehrhoff

Ehrhoff was the key to the deal with the Sharks. The smooth skating 27 year old German has been a consistent point producer over the last four seasons. He’s a “puck moving defenceman”, and excels on the power play. The Sharks got rid of him to shed salary, even though he has a pretty fair deal, paying him $3.1 million per season for the next two years.

Brad Lukowich

Brad Lukowich will bring experience, dependability and two Stanley Cup Rings to the Canucks blue line. He has one year left on his deal with a cap hit of $1.567 million. Not bad for a guy with his experience who is still only 32 years old. He’s also a BC boy.

Mathieu Schneider

Old man Schneider is now 40 years old, but he had a very productive season last year. Once re-acquired by Montreal, he kick-started their power play until getting injured. That’s the key with Schneider, how much gas does he have left in the tank, and can he stay healthy? Time will tell. Still a good signing, as it’s low risk (a one year deal worth reportedly $1.5 million) and potentially high reward. Schneider is a proven power play specialist, something the Canucks desperately needed. He also has a Stanley Cup ring, which now gives the Canucks three players on their roster that have won a Stanley Cup. I can’t remember the last time the Canucks were able to say that.

What now?

So what’s next? The Canucks now possess 8 NHL d-men making more than $1.5 million and 14 NHL calibre forwards. They’re also over the salary cap. This means that someone has to go, and probably a defenceman. You can’t have two defencemen sitting in the press box making more than $1.5 million a season. So who is on the way out? Some were speculating Bieksa on the radio Friday afternoon, but I can’t see Gillis getting rid of a guy like that. It remains to be seen who goes, but don’t count out Gillis asking Mitchell or Salo to waive their no-trade clauses.

Meet “THE GERMANATOR”!