Sami Salo | Rob The Hockey Guy

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 [...]

Meet the Newest Members of the Boston Bruins Cheerleaders: The Boston Media!

January 8, 2012 Rob 1 Comment Game Recap

After the Canucks thrilling 4-3 win yesterday against the Boston Bruins yesterday, I decided to look for a Boston perspective on the game. What I read was downright frightening. Say what you want about Vancouver’s media, but they don’t openly bend the truth to any degree that they do in Boston. It seems as though [...]

Vancouver Canucks 2011 Free Agent Wish List

June 28, 2011 Rob 5 Comments Free Agency

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.

Your 2011-12 Vancouver Canucks – Who Stays, Who Goes?

June 20, 2011 Rob 5 Comments Free Agency

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.

The Clarence Campbell Bowl is in the Building! Canucks One Win Away from the Stanley Cup Final

May 24, 2011 Rob 0 Comments Game Preview, Game Recap, Playoffs

The 1994 Vancouver Canucks had a reunion on Monday, with the likes of Linden, McLean, Courtnall, Adams and others on hand. It will be 17 years ago to the day on Wednesday that Greg Adams scored in double overtime in game 5 of the conference finals at home to send the Canucks to the Stanley Cup Final. Tuesday night, the Canucks get a chance to match that feat and the whole city of Vancouver is ready to party.

Canucks make adjustments in advance of game 3

May 3, 2011 Rob 1 Comment Game Preview

Head coach Alain Vigneault tipped his hand on a few key adjustments at practice designed to improve the Canucks chances for a victory in game 3. Scoring two goals in 8 periods of hockey will do lend itself to that.

Do or Die: Canucks-Blackhawks Game 7 Preview

April 25, 2011 Rob 0 Comments Game Preview

For the first time in the Canucks-Blackhawks Trilogy, we will have a game 7. And it will happen in the most improbable way. As you must know by now, the Canucks have squandered a 3-0 series lead and now face elimination on Tuesday night.

Injured Canucks Defencemen – Then and Now

February 17, 2011 Rob 1 Comment Injury

The Vancouver Canucks will play tonight’s game in Nashville without Alex Edler, Dan Hamhuis, Keith Ballard, Andrew Alberts and, as we found out this morning, Kevin Bieksa. That’s 5 of their top 7 defencemen out of the lineup. To make matters worse, minor leaguer Lee Sweatt broke his foot in practice. Even the Manitoba Moose have injury troubles on the blueline, with Nolan Baumgartner suffering an injury last week. He might have been one of the recent call-ups.

Sami Salo set to return, who gets traded?

January 17, 2011 Rob 0 Comments Rumours, Trades

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.

Not Again! Salo Reportedly Injures Achilles, Gone 3-5 Months

July 23, 2010 Rob 4 Comments Injury

Reports out of Finland are saying that Sami Salo has injured his achilles tendon in a game of floor hockey and could be gone 3-5 months. The report has not been confirmed as of yet. Assuming the report is true, this could be a very difficult injury for Salo, now 35, to recover from. Not only is he 35, but he has a lot of mileage on his body. One side effect of Salo being injured may be Kevin Bieksa. The longer Salo is out, the more valuable Kevin Bieksa becomes. A long term injury also provides salary cap relief, just as Pavol Demitra’s long term injury did last season.

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