30 teams in 30 days: Vancouver Canucks
Finished: 3rd western conference
Playoffs: Lost in 2nd round to Chicago
Leading scorers: Daniel Sedin 82, Henrik Sedin 82, Ryan Kesler 59, Pavol Demitra 53
Who did they add?: Mikael Samuelsson, Andrew Raycroft, Aaron Rome
Who did they lose?: Mattias Ohlund, Jason Labarbera
Overview: The hockey gods smiled on the Vancouver Canucks last season and rewarded them with Mats Sundin and a 3rd place finish in the west. The team didn’t look very promising coming into the season, with a lacking offense save for the Sedin twins and an injury prone defence. They put these observations to bed, however, and proceeded to finish 3rd place, winning the division and sweeping the Blues in the first round but eventually falling to the Hawks. The Canucks offense is led by the Sedin Twins, who are big threats and great complements to eachother. The trick is finding someone to play with them. They tried a bunch of different combos and eventually found success with Alex Burrows. If this combo doesn’t succeed this year, they have insurance in the form of Mikael Samuelsson, who they added for the purpose of joining the Sedins. The Canucks also have Pavol Demitra who is still quite able to produce on a quality second line, he just needs to step up. The defense in Vancouver is quite dependable and durable, with only Sami Salo missing a good chunk of time. It’s led by young guns Kevin Bieksa and Alex Edler, now that Mattias Ohlund is gone. Following him are Sami Salo, Willie Mitchell, Shane O’brien and Aaron Rome. This is a good defensive group, but I’m not using more inventive adjectives because good is probably the best that can be said. They need someone to round it out, make it just a little better and add some depth. Roberto Luongo, one of the best in the game, is between the pipes for Vancouver while former rookie of the year award winner Andrew Raycroft backs him up. This is a Canucks team that is capable of winning the division, although it will be tough in the always competitive northwest, and perhaps making a playoff run. They just need a few more pieces, and the pieces that they possess to produce.
Winners or losers?: Losers. Yes they found someone to HOPEFULLY play full seasons with twins for years to come, but they lose a vital piece to their blue line. The Canucks should be looking to replace that piece and add some forward depth.
