Despite Canada Day being a national holiday, Mike Gillis was hard at work for the Canucks, with 4 players getting signed to deals. Interestingly enough, this wasn’t a disappointing July 1st in terms of fan expectations: Mike Gillis said he was going to go out and find another defenseman and upgrade the bottom six and that’s precisely what he did.

Dan Hamhuis is clearly the centerpiece in today’s free agent signings. Hamhuis turned down more lucrative contracts in order to sign with the Canucks. The $4.5M/6 year deal looks pretty good, too. Hamhuis is 27, so his deal would take him until he’s 33. He also has potential to put up points: his rookie season saw him tally 38 points total.

Given that Nashville was a bit of an offensive black hole, it’s possible Hamhuis could ‘bounce back’ offensively. In that case, his deal would be looking like a steal. Hey, it could happen: both Mikael Samuelsson and Christian Ehrhoff have had very good seasons within the Canucks system, so odds are looking good for Hamhuis.

Even if Hamhuis ends up continuing with his usual points production I still like the contract. Waiting on Willie Mitchell could have really hamstrung the team and the Canucks were desperately needing another reliable defensive defenseman. Mitchell’s cap hit when he signed 4 years ago was $3.5. Going with contract inflation, a $1M increase for a younger player who has some potential upside isn’t that horrible in my mind.

Hamhuis’ arrival has also all but signified the end of Kevin Bieksa’s days in Vancouver. That alone should be cause for celebration amongst Canucks fans.

Manny Malhotra is the other big signing. Now, with all due respect to Pierre McGuire, but I think he’s out of line with the comments he made about this signing and the impact that it will have on Cody Hodgson. McGuire flat out said that the Canucks clearly don’t want Hodgson and that the youngster should be requesting a trade.

I think that’s a little much: Hodgson, as talented as he is and as big of a fan of him that I am, is untested at the NHL level. Throwing him into the deep end and expecting him to sink or swim is a bad idea unless you’re a generational talent like Crosby or Ovechkin. Far better to bring him along slowly. With Malhotra, the Canucks are getting a reliable, veteran bottom six center who improves the Canucks faceoffs, penalty kill and (ugh) truculence. Huge upgrade on Kyle Wellwood, given that the Canucks really didn’t need offensive output from him, and a great insurance marker in case Hodgson has some growing pains.

Additionally, the Canucks strengthen their center depth with Malhotra, something which I think is vitally important for teams looking to do some major damage in the playoffs. A center core of Henrik, Kesler, Malhotra and Hodgson looks pretty good to me, even if Hodgson ends up playing on the wing.

Then there’s Joel Perrault, another bottom six guy who was signed to a one way deal for $510,000. Perrault has spent the last couple of seasons in the AHL and I’d imagine that this is a very Jason Krog like move: if Perrault can’t make the Canucks he either bolts back to Switzerland (where he had a deal signed already) or goes down and helps out the Moose. I’m hoping Mario Bliznak beats out Perrault for the fourth line center spot and Perrault spends his time in Manitoba, but we’ll see.

Finally, there’s Jeff Tambellini, the final Canucks free agent signing of the day. It’s been confirmed that he was signed to a 2 way contract, so I imagine that he’ll be Moose fodder: he’s had several opportunities to try and make the Islanders and was outperformed by Robbie Schremp. On the other hand, Tambellini is a 30+ goal scorer in the AHL, so I imagine that this is Gillis’ way of replacing Grabner for the Moose. Not bad when you look at it that way, although if he can come through as a reclamation project, he’ll be an incredibly savvy signing.

All in all, a good day for the Canucks, especially as the Blackhawks continue to get rid of their assets, San Jose not making any significant moves and the Flames continue to be operating upon the basis of a man deep in the delirium of an ether binge.

So the NHL Awards were tonight and Henrik Sedin just won the Hart. I’d just like to take the time to say…

Check out what I wrote back in January if you don’t believe me!

I should have some stuff up on Friday for the NHL Entry Draft, as well. Til then, I think I’m just going to bask in the awesomeness of Hank’s Hart trophy.

Lack of postgame updates, I know. Bad blogger, no Wordpress plugins for you!

I did want to write a Canucks blog post now, though. Last night’s game was probably the best possible way to end the regular season. The Canucks were able to put another, similar game behind them when they were mercy killed by the Flames 2 seasons ago, a game in which the Flames were looking to ensure Iginla hit the 50 goal plateau. It stung back then, especially since the Canucks were on the outside looking in, so it was great that this team was able to exorcise that.

And look at how they did it, too. Last night’s game really only had one objective for the Canucks: get the puck to Henrik and help him out with the Art Ross.

The great thing is that Henrik and the Canucks responded in the way the fans were hoping for. As was mentioned numerous times in the telecast last night, past history had the Canucks faithful looking really pessimistic. Who could forget Markus Naslund’s frittering away the scoring race on the last game of the season and his subsequent ‘We choked’ address to the folks at GM Place?

But last night was different and really speaks to the dynamic of this Canucks squad. Back when Naslund was the captain and was part of the West Coast Express, the Canucks really were a top heavy, one line squad. They were defined as separate parts working together: the big and strong Todd Bertuzzi, Markus Naslund being the sniper and Brendan Morrison being the quick and hardworking centerman.

It’s a different dynamic from the Sedins and Burrows, whose game relies on them working together and playing the same style of game. That reliance on each other has led to banner seasons for Burrows, who is producing numbers no one would’ve thought possible, and Mikael Samuelsson, who played quite a bit with the Sedins on the powerplay. It led to the Canucks scoring the second most amount of goals in the NHL, behind only Ovechkin. It led to the Canucks having a top 5 powerplay this season and with numerous players having career seasons offensively.

I don’t think it would’ve happened with the old WCE. Just as the Sedins game is so much more effective because they lean on each other, I think the Canucks are so much more effective because they work and win together as a unit. It was best encapsulated in last night’s game when Kevin Bieksa looked like he had walked in on his parents doing the nasty after scoring. The team wanted Henrik to win and they were doing everything in their power to help him out, just as he’s helped out his own teammates.

That it led to an Art Ross trophy is amazing, although I would’ve been happy if Henrik had ‘just’ surpassed Pavel Bure’s 92-93 season totals and planted himself atop the Canucks scoring heap. The point I’m trying to make would’ve had the same significance, although it would’ve been lost to the rest of the NHL.

The Art Ross should mean as much to Henrik Sedin as it does to every other member of the Canucks. Ken Campbell’s ’secondary assists’ argument be damned.

History is being made, and it’s being made by the Vancouver Canucks. Bring on the playoffs!

I am le horrible with le blogging. I know. Interviews and other responsibilities have taken me away from this. Or, excuses, excuses. What will the lazy bastard come up with next?

Ahem. So, the Edmonton game was pretty horrible. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to blog that, as I like to try and write something up even when the Canucks lose. So, sorry. I do think that Luongo looked bad and that he’s probably run out of mulligans this season for off nights. I’ve got something brewing shortly looking at Luongo, but, well, time.

Also thought that the D, to a man, looked bad. Nothing on par with Bieksa’s gaffe Saturday when he couldn’t find the puck in the crease. They weren’t getting to the loose pucks or winning the battles along the boards and it ended up costing them a chance at a comeback. The fact that it was the Edmonton Oilers…well.

I really like the Kesler line, as they’ve been causing a lot of havoc out there, although most of that has been only in the way of chances. Grabner got a number of chances against Edmonton but just couldn’t convert. I really hope that he sticks around once Samuelsson is healthy.

Beyond that, the Canucks bottom six played rather well against the Oilers, while the Sedins were largely quiet.

But they made up for it tonight against the Ducks, resulting in Henrik getting back on top of the NHL scoring race, edging Ovechkin out by a single point. Washington does have a game in hand on the Canucks, and with single digits remaining in the games remaining column, the Art Ross derby suddenly got a whole lot more interesting. I’m still not convinced that Henrik is 100% which is a strange comment to be making given that he had a great game against the generally physical Ducks. That pass to Burrows? Ridiculous.

I noticed that Rypien only had about 5 minutes of icetime all game. I guess Alain Vigneault hasn’t really been impressed with his play as of late. I don’t think he was injured (although with Rypien you never know), but interesting that Alain Vigneault was being selective in who he threw out on the ice.

I loved Andrew Raycroft’s performance, too. More importantly, I liked the fact that the fans were cheering for him. One, because he’s a guy who has had to play on some horrible teams and is really starting to make a case for himself. I know Toronto fans (and potentially Boston/Colorado fans) won’t share that sentiment, but I generally don’t wish ill will on players not named Todd Bertuzzi.

The second reason I got a kick out of those cheers is because Roberto Luongo had a front row seat for them. Think of it as the fans sending #1 a message: you can be better, you need to improve. Get your act together and all will be forgiven.

Or maybe I’m just being way too bloody romantic with these Postscripts now. Hah. I do think that Luongo will take that chant to heart and look to ‘get in the groove.’

The Canucks play next against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday!

There was a bit of excitement over the weekend as I over a story that I also tweeted about regarding Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun’s article suggesting that Canucks first round draft pick Jordan Schroeder may be leaving his NCAA team, the Minnesota Golden Gophers, and joining the Moose. This would follow rumors from earlier in the season that Mike Gillis was trying to get Jordan Schroeder to turn pro and sign with the Canucks. Given how much Gillis wants to be ‘hands on’ with player development, I can’t blame him for wanting to do so. Schroeder, to his credit, has remained interested in staying with the Gophers.

A quick explanation, for those who aren’t familiar with the varied rules regarding NHL prospects. Schroeder is playing in the NCAA, which has very strict rules regarding professional involvement with their athletes. Players can’t sign pro contracts (like the one that Cody Hodgson has, as he plays in the OHL) nor can the club that they are with do anything to help them out. Folks may recall Pat White and Cory Schneider, two other Canucks NCAA draft selections, having to pay their own way to the Canucks Prospects Camp from the last couple of years. Despite paying their own way there, they couldn’t accept any gifts (such as a jersey with their name on it) or any sort of payment from the Canucks. Heck, NCAA players aren’t even allowed to have agents, although most players circumvent that by having ‘family advisors’…who just happen to be sports agents. Regardless, dealing with and communicating with a prospect that is in the NCAA system can be hard due to the rules the NCAA has.

It makes sense, then, that Gillis wants Schroeder to go pro. It makes it far easier to communicate and manage the prospect, as he won’t be hampered by NCAA rules. However, were Schroeder to go pro and sign with the Canucks, it would close the door on ever returning to the NCAA. Schroeder has stated in the past that he remains committed to the Gophers, answering Internet rumors from last year that he was poised to jump ship mid-season. His father also commented back in August that the rumors of his signing with the Canucks were false.

However, these rumors refuse to die, which would indicate to me that Gillis is still trying to pursue this. I’d also point to an interesting quote from his father in the last article, where he stated that, “We’ve told [the Canucks] he’s going to go back to school for another year. He’ll be a leader on his team and can work on some things, like his shooting. He can grow in maturity and be ready to step into professional hockey at the end of the season.”

End of the season. Hmm. Not finishing the typical four year NCAA program. Well, we are at the end of the season now and speculation is starting to ramp up. For good reason, too. The Golden Gophers have fallen on hard times, with several high profile first rounders leaving the program early. The biggest name out of the bunch, arguably, was the New York Islanders draft pick Kyle Okposo. Isles GM Garth Snow wasn’t happy with the development of his prospect, as he said to the Minnesota Star-Tribune:

“Quite frankly, we weren’t happy with the program there,” Snow told the paper. “They have a responsibility to coach, to make Kyle a better player, and they were not doing that.”

He continued, “[Okposo] just wasn’t getting better – bottom line. And to me, that’s the frustrating part. We entrusted the coach there to turn him into a better hockey player, and it wasn’t happening. We feel more comfortable in him developing right under our watch.”

“Whether it was Kyle or another player, until things change in that program we’d probably make the same decision,” Snow told the Star-Tribune. “There should be a coach there that looks in the mirror. … I don’t think we’d be at this point if he was being coached properly.”

Other notable players that have left the Gophers program early include Phoenix Coyotes 1st round draft pick (and subsequent Bruins signee) Blake Wheeler and St. Louis Blues first rounder Erik Johnson, who left after one year. In Johnson’s case, at least, it could be argued that he decided to go pro because he was guaranteed a slot with the Blues. Okposo and Wheeler, though, are interesting situations.

Schroeder hit a bit of a bump this year, his 8 goals and 27 points this season are lower than the 13 goals and 45 points he produced last season. Whether that’s because of teammates like Ryan Stoa leaving the squad, injuries to his linemates, coaching or a sophmore slump is up for debate, but it doesn’t look like Minnesota is where Gillis wants Schroeder to be.

It’s also interesting to note that when Sportsnet’s Dan Murphy blogged about this back in August, he speculated that the reason why the Canucks want him to leave Minny is because they aren’t happy with the program. Murph also went on to say ‘And if Patrick White is staying in Minny, then that might also tell you how the Canucks feel about him and his progress within the Gophers system.’ Pat White was, of course, handed off to the Sharks days later in the trade that brought Christian Ehrhoff and Brad Lukowich to the Canucks. Sidenote: I’ll admit that I was rather optimistic about White and felt that the Gophers might be the right place for him to develop. Sort of missed the boat on that one, oops.

The Canucks have had a lot of success when dealing with players from the NCAA. Past draft picks who have enjoyed success with the Canucks franchise include Ryan Kesler, Kevin Bieksa and Cory Schneider. If the Gillis and company are pushing hard for Schroeder to go pro, it’s probably because it is in his best interests.

So, is it premature to be getting excited about the playoffs?

On one hand, the Canucks have become the team that doesn’t die. Today’s win over the Nashville Predators marks nine instances this year where they have battled back from being down after 2 periods, winning the game. That sort of ‘never say die’ attitude and work ethic is something that will be incredibly useful going into the playoffs and I have to say it makes me optimistic about the Canucks chances. (Also, you have to wonder if the Canucks being so strong in the third period is reflective of some of the initiatives Mike Gillis has introduced, like the sleep specialists. Are the Canucks better conditioned than their opponents? Something to think about.)

On the other hand, though, the Canucks top players, Luongo and the Sedins, have been less than stellar on this road trip. Luongo’s been pulled three times while the Sedins have been goalless for nearly 10 games, the empty netter notwithstanding. You have to think that this is just a slump that happened to nastily coincide and they’ll snap out of it, but if not, well, it’s worrying that the Canucks top players managed to wilt on the road so easily.

That said, I have to say that I’m excited about this team. Especially if Willie Mitchell can get healthy and re-join the squad. The Canucks aren’t a perfect team, but then again, there really isn’t anyone in the Western Conference who is.

The Sharks have their perpetual post-season neuroses to deal with. Thornton and company didn’t exactly quell any worries about their performance in ‘pivotal’ or ‘key’ games. If Anaheim sneaks in at the 7th or 8th seed and they face the Sharks? Watch out.

Chicago, while they do seem to bully the Canucks with authority, I’m not entirely sold on their goaltending being able to hold up over a 7 game series. Niemi and Huet are a capable tandem and, as Chris Osgood will attest, perfectly capable are all a team needs to go deep. That said, if the Canucks can stop being so emotional when facing the Hawks, I don’t see why they can’t beat them. Assuming they get that far: there’s also the Joel Quinnville/Detroit Red Wings factor in play here.

But, right, today’s game. Once again the Canucks came from behind and played a far better ‘road game’ than they did against Chicago. They came in, grinded out a good game and kept things honest until the wheels fell off the Predators wagon in the third. There was a fortunate goal from Mikael Samuelsson (although, since he keeps scoring such weird goals is it really fortune or is it simply a matter of Samuelsson scoring those goals because he happens to, oh, I don’t know, shoot the puck?) and then Jannik Hansen came in and potted his own rebound to land the eventual game winner.

Hansen is an interesting case, as he’s the type of guy I want playing in the Canucks bottom six, in favor of guys like Hordichuk, Rypien or Glass. That said, he had a rather weird first period, including whiffing on a shot in epic fashion. I try to restrain my use of the word ‘epic’ but I feel it fits here, as not only did he completely miss on the shot, but he also fell arse over tea kettle, prompting a reaction from the relatively docile Nashville crowd. He also took a stupid penalty in the first which led to a goal against. He’s a good player, but he’s still young and there are going to be growing pains with him. I like the idea of a Raymond Wellwood Hansen line, which Alain Vigneault cobbled together in the third period, as it gives Hansen some skill players to gel with. Hopefully this also sparks Raymond, who has been rather quiet: only 5 goals in his last 25 games. Not bagging on him, as he’s still really young, but it’d be nice to get Raymond going again.

I’m really liking Andrew Alberts so far. He had a rough first period against Chicago, but since then I’ve been happy with him. Seems to have good hockey sense: he pinched in deep in the second period, I think it was, and got back and recovered really quickly. He’s been providing a physical presence and isn’t doing stupid things out on the ice. Very simple, basic game from him, which is nice to see. If he continues playing like this, kudos to Gillis for picking him up!

Also, I talked about the fighting from the Chicago game and how I wasn’t a fan of it. I liked Alex Burrows dropping the gloves with Dan Hamhuis. Because it was something that came from within the game being played, not from media stories or whatever. I don’t think he necessarily accquited himself well in that fight, but that’s not the point. That type of fight, which comes from a reaction to something that happened on the ice, is what I like. Not what happened in the opening minute of the Chicago game.

I thought Luongo looked really good in tonight’s game, that repeat goal, off of the knob of his stick, was unfortunate, but hopefully not a sign of things to come. He had several big saves that kept the Canucks in it. I’m really wanting to see him get into Complete Shutdown Mode, though. Tuesday’s game against Colorado would be a great chance for that.

You win some, you lose some.

And sometimes you lose horribly. Guess what category tonight’s game slots into?

Yeah, this matchup had just about everything tonight. Some fights, some 5 on 3s, a goalie getting pulled, a lopsided score. Just about everything.

Unfortunately, most of that was in favor of the Chicago Blackhawks. As seems to be the case whenever these two teams meet up, things typically get ugly. Sometimes it works out in favor of the Canucks, as with the 5-1 win the last time these two teams met. Other times, well, we get things like tonight’s game or Game 7 from the playoffs last year.

I brought up Chicago’s depth in an older blog post when examining the Canucks bottom six. Although I will give Ryan Johnson full props for being an instrumental part of a 5 on 3 penalty kill right at the start of the game, the Canucks overall weak bottom six has come back around to cost them more often than not.

Tonight? The Hawks third liner, Dustin Byfuglien, takes Alex Burrows, who is a first liner, off after a scrap, while also drawing a penalty. They got some offense from Kris Versteeg.

The Canucks bottom six? -3, 11 PIM and 4 shots on net. Not exactly stellar numbers and the lack of a solid bottom six certainly hurt the Canucks efforts in getting a win tonight.

However, it’s not what cost them the win. No, that would have to be laid at the feet of the Sedins, who have now failed to score in 18 combined games. It’s bad when Alex Burrows is carrying the offense on the top line, especially for such an extended stretch. I understand that you can’t have your top players having multipoint nights every single time they step onto the ice, but this goalless drought from the Sedins and the general lack of production from them is worrisome as we work our way closer to the playoffs. That they were at best a non-factor against the Chicago Blackhawks, who are a potential playoff opponent should the Canucks make their way out of the first round.

What’s also worrisome is how seemingly easy it is for the Blackhawks to get Roberto Luongo off of his game. The recipe itself is simple: send bodies to the net, cramp his style and interfere with his personal space. I’m amazed that other teams haven’t figured it out, or if it’s simply something that Chicago is uniquely gifted at doing, but man. At least one of the five goals that Luongo allowed in the first period came as a result of his being ticked off at Chicago for their antics. Not something you expect from a gold medal winner. I hate to say it’s ‘uncharacteristic’ but Luongo does have a habit for getting upset at perceived non-calls or when players are crowding his space. I will say that it doesn’t happen very often, but when it does happen (Game 7 last year, elimination game against the Anaheim Ducks) it’s usually very costly for the Canucks.

That said, I thought the Canucks did a good job of at least generating scoring chances on Huet, although given the skill mismatch between Luongo and Huet, you’d figure the score would’ve been a little closer. Kesler continues to be a beast out there, scoring yet another goal on the road, while Demitra continues looking awesome post-Olympics.

Andrew Alberts also looked fairly good, I thought. Although he didn’t really assert himself well in his fight against Seabrook, he’s bringing the right mentality to the team, had a couple of nice bodychecks right in front of the crease and added a point in his Canucks debut. New players don’t always fit seamlessly into a new system/team, but I think he’s headed in the right direction.

Also, how about that Sami Salo? The only member of the Canucks D who ended up a plus and logged the second most icetime (20 minutes and change, second only to Alex Edler’s monstrous 26:57 of icetime.) I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: folks don’t know how important Salo is to the Canucks blueline until he’s gone. That said, pleasepleasepleaseplease stay healthy, Sami. You were a shot blocking fiend tonight and that’s just playing with fire.

Canucks are off to Nashville where they face the Predators in a Sunday matchup. Hopefully they can go 1 game over .500 both on the road and against the Central division!

Back on the 27th of January, I wrote a piece talking about the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Canucks and their respective approaches to social media. My point was basically that the Canucks have been quick to embrace the digital world, while the Leafs have been slower to adapt.

Imagine my surprise when I was actually contacted by someone at the Leafs. Jonathan Sinden, formerly of Toronto’s 102.1 Edge radio station (”The IIIIIIIIIIINSIIIIIIIIIDE EDGE” guy) and currently the chap who operates the Leafs official Twitter account dropped me a line, arguing that I ‘may not have all the facts’ regarding the Leafs and social media. I mean, I’m ‘just’ some blogger: no formal affiliation with any sites and a really, really small fish in the hockey blogger pond. That someone at the Leafs would want to chat with me about my article was rather interesting, but cool.

So, after some e-mail exchanges, I was able to chat with Jonathan over the phone to get all the ‘facts and info’ regarding the Leafs and social media.

Only…that’s not quite what happened. I had a very nice conversation with Jonathan about social media in general and he’s a very nice guy. The Leafs do seem to have someone in place who is motivated and passionate about social media and really, that’s one of the most important things you need when you’re a corporate entity thinking about raising its profile on social media sites.

He’s also done a lot of good work with the Leafs: he countered my point about how the Leafs Twitter account ‘only’ has 6,000ish followers and the Tweet:follower ratio I talked about in my prior blog post, arguing that he feels it’s a good indication of how involved the Leafs are. Fair enough point. That, plus the fact that Jonathan actually contacted me regarding my blog post really painted the Leafs in a good light.

However, when I tried to direct things to specific questions regarding the Leafs and whatever information I may not possess, it got rather hard to get answers. I was concerned, for example, that I was wrong about details like when the Leafs Twitter account was started up (turns out it was in September of last year) or if the social media positions I speculated on were newly created ones (they were.) I was also keen on giving the Leafs their fair share and had some questions ready to ask regarding the Leafs and social media. I did get some information from Jonathan, but it was only after really steering the conversation away from social media in general.

I also did get some interesting tidbits about what the Leafs are doing online. For example, popular Leafs YouTuber Steve Dangles is apparently interning with the Leafs. Really cool move from the organization to reach out to fans like that. But I was told that I would probably be better off contacting someone else within the Leafs if I wanted to have an actual interview. I wasn’t necessarily, but hey, who am I to turn down a shot at having someone else validate this blog? Also, I wanted to be fair to the Leafs, especially if they were feeling slighted over my blog post, so there was that.

I was given a name and number to contact. I’m not 100%, but I believe the timing was off, as I called and left two messages with this person, the second resulting in a ‘I’ll be away from my office until…’ styled voicemail. Not deluding myself, I realized that hey, I am pretty small potatoes and someone working at the Leafs probably has bigger fish to fry. No sarcasm there, either: I have no illusions about where I sit in the scheme of things.

Anyway, last Thursday someone else at the Leafs contacted me, interested in having a chat with me. This wasn’t the same person as the name I was given, but the guy who called me apparently is more directly involved in the digital arm of all things Leafs, so he was better suited for my queries. Unfortunately, it came at a really bad time for me (I was in the midst of driving to a job interview) and couldn’t chat. I pulled over and we set up Friday afternoon for a quick chat.

Friday came and went and no phone call. As did Monday. Undeterred, I dropped Jonathan another email on Tuesday and got word back from this other guy. Sorry, meetings. Totally understandable, schedule conflicts are a fact of life. After a bit of e-mail tag, we arranged to chat 4PM EST on Thursday. It’s now Friday, the day after, and I hadn’t heard anything at all back from the Leafs and frankly, my patience is at an end.

Now, again, I understand that the folks at the Leafs are busy folks and that they have a TON of things going on. I’m in communication with a couple of folks over at the Canucks for some of the Fan Zone blogging and Live Blogging I do for the site and sometimes e-mails are missed or it takes some time to get back to me. I get that.

But what’s confusing to me is that the Leafs didn’t have to reach out and say anything to me. I’m a Canucks fan, for pete’s sake, so I’d imagine I’d be pretty low on their list. But if you’re going to reach out, then agree to sit down and have a conversation with me over a blog  post I made because I ‘may not have all the facts and info’ why would you not really try to tell me what facts I’ve got wrong? Why would you instead direct me to someone else and give me the run around? I can understand wanting to be approachable, but if you’re not really going to follow through, then what’s the point?

I wrote in my original blog post that the Leafs aren’t losing younger fans because of video games, but because there’s no real way to embrace the Leafs for those fans. One of the points I raised was that the Leafs have a strong online presence, but there’s no real focus on the fans, something which I felt wasn’t the case with the Canucks (as evidenced with, well, me, but also other high profile bloggers and Tweeters.) I still feel that this is the case after my encounter with MLSE, although I will say that after my chat with Jonathan, things seem to be headed in the right direction, but they’ve still got a ways to go.

That said, the Leafs are a far cry from the Edmonton Oilers, who seem to have a 1988 approach to the Internet (just as they seem to do with everything.) No, seriously. The Oilers are pretty bad when it comes to embracing change and are especially bad when it comes to dealing with bloggers.

It comes down to six.

The bottom six, specifically. Tonight’s game was a frustrating one that saw the Canucks put forth a rather solid effort, but found themselves lacking a bit in the ‘puck luck’ department. Unfortunately, were it only that, the Canucks probably would’ve had something to show other than a regulation loss to the Bolts.

Offensively, the Canucks continue to slide. The Sedins continue to be silent and the offensive contributions from the second line are starting to dry up: outside of a lone marker from Ryan Kesler there wasn’t much going on in terms of secondary scoring. Even worse, the Canucks gave up a short handed goal.

While the problems with the top six is worrisome, I’d argue that the real issue lay with the bottom six. All eyes were on two players in particular tonight: Steve Bernier and Jannik Hansen, both players who were out of the lineup. I’ll be honest, I was hoping for a strong effort from both of them, as I figured both players would have something to prove: Bernier was scratched against Boston, while Hansen had been sent down on a conditioning stint. Neither particularly overwhelmed me: Bernier looked flat out there, while Hansen didn’t do much to really stand out. I wouldn’t necessarily blame them individually, though.

The reason? Well, the Canucks bottom six is a mess and that leads to problems on the road where Alain Vigneault doesn’t have the luxury of the last change. When you have half of your forwards being ineffectual or lost out there it makes it very easy for opposing coaches to match up against the players who are actually capable of doing something out there and shutting them down.

There’s more to it, but the Sedins slumping can at least be partially explained by our problems in the lower lines. On the plus side, Ryan Johnson being out of the lineup meant that the fourth line didn’t spend all their time in the defensive zone. They still looked disorganized and out of sorts, but hey, some progress. I will say that Hansen’s forechecking skills helped keep that line out of their own end.

Defensively, the Canucks blueline was pretty bad, too. Aaron Rome, who had been quietly playing some acceptable hockey as of late, mucked that all up with a terrible performance, looking very lost out there. Edler was shooting the puck early and often, but wasn’t realy noticeable beyond that.

Positives from tonight’s game? I liked the start the Canucks had and the fact that they were working hard. Hard work only amounts to so much if you can’t get results, but I liked the fact that this road game looked more like the Montreal game (where the Canucks were getting chances) and less like the Ottawa game (where the Canucks looked like they were unable to find the offensive zone without a map.) I’d rather the Canucks lose while putting forth a good effort than have them lose and look like crap. Kesler’s goal was a thing of beauty and I’m glad to see he’s learning how to be effective on the road. Other than that, Luongo looked good, but not great and Shane O’Brien was really the only other Canuck who I thought was looking good out there.

Canucks square off against the Panthers Thursday.

Why are you people coming here for my insight? I am clearly a 10 year old trapped in an adult’s body. Seriously.

Added bonus: Bill Guerin apparently owns a windowless van: