EHM The Blue Line

August 30th:

As I was enjoying an early cup of coffee, my cell phone suddenly began buzzing. As I look at who's calling, my heart starts to race.

"Mr. Carter, It's Stan here, director of personnel for the Vancouver Canucks, sorry to keep you waiting. This isn't an overnight decision."

"Thank you for the phone call, Mr. Smyl"

"Call me Stan, and welcome to the Vancouver Canucks. Francesco Aquilini and his brothers are out of the province at the moment, but have arranged a welcome to the city. Pack your bags, you'll be flying in tomorrow."


August 31st:

After arriving at the airport I was greeted by yet another member of the Canucks org. Steve Tambellini.

"Welcome Jimmy, we'll be working together a lot this season. I'm very excited. Of course, we'll have to get right to work, seasons just around the corner. I've brought you some papers to look over, concerning our roster."

"Also note, Jimmy, the team is expected to make the play offs, and the fans demand results. This is a pressure cooker market, we're here to win. Don't think anyone will cut you slack just because it's your first GM job. Just remember, there are many others more qualified than yourself."


Not the friendliest welcome, from Mr Tambellini, and I've never much liked being called Jimmy.

From first glance at the roster, I can see some serious holes.

In goal:

We're stable with Luongo in net as our starter, however we lack a respectable back up.

MacIntyre and Flaherty are expected to provide Manitoba with a strong pressence in net this season while Juilien Ellis will try and impress with the Victoria Salmon Kings. Cory Schneider should have an outstanding season with Boston College.
Czech prospect Menastor will get a good look at training camp and Alexandre Vincent will have to perform with Val d'Or should he plan on advancing his career.

On Defence:

Ohlund and Salo make up our top pairing, while Kevin Bieksa and Willie Mitchell provide a strong second unit. Our bottom pairing at the moment is wide open and training camp will decide the outcome. Luc Bourdon and Alex Edler look to be the strongest prospects in the entire organization. While 23 year old Lukas Kraijeck will look to become a full time NHLer this season.

Up Front:

2/3s of the WCE still remain, while aging should still carry this Vancouver team to the play offs. Naslund is still All Star material, and Morrison is a more than capable 1st line centre. Flanking them on the RW will be Matt Cooke. Having filled in on the top unit while Bertuzzi was suspended, Cooke proved capable, though not preferred.

The Sedin Twins will hope to continue the great play, sharing a line with Trevor Linden, a local favourite.

Ryan Kesler will be this teams third line centre, hoping to complete his second season with the Vancouver Canucks. Jan Bulis and Alex Burrows look to be his wingers this upcoming season.

A gluttony of capable fourth liners will be competing for the final spots, including Marc Chouinard, Josh Green, Lee Goren, Taylor Pyatt and Tyler Bouck.


During the drive to the arena, Tambellini spoke up for the first time since his cautious warning.

"By the way Jimmy, we'll need you to look over the staff, we have some room for a few more coaches, and some amatuer scouts would be a good idea. We only have one trainer at the moment aswell, and you have room for about 10 players to boot."

Lots to think about.




September 1st:

As I get cozy into my new office, I boot up the PC and do some soul searching. This team lacks forward prospects and Manitoba will be desperate this season for some injection of youth.

Targets:

G. John Curry Boston University
D. Matt Gilroy Boston University
C. David Desharnais Chicoutimi
C. Ryan Duncan North Dakota
W. Alexandre Bolduc Manitoba
W. Ville Leino HPK

Adding any of these youngsters will add some potential NHLers to our depleted propsect pool.

That said, it's time to assign the scouts:

Head Scout: Ron Delorme: WHL
Pro Scout: Barry Dean: AHL
Pro Scout: Sergei Chibisov: RSL
Pro Scout: Mario Marois: NHL
Pro Scout: Tim Lenardon: Minor Leagues (ECHL, CHL, UHL, SPHL)
Pro Scout: John McMorrow: Opposition

Amatuer Scout: Lucien Deblois: Young Prospects
Amatuer Scout: Harold Snepts: AMBHL
Amatuer Scout: Gary Lupul: BCHL
Amatuer Scout: Jack McCartan: USA
Amatuer Scout: Thomas Gradin: Sweden >25
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"Today we sit down with Vancouver Canuck General Manager, Jim Carter."

An article read all over BC, gave Canuck fans an insight about what they expect this upcoming season.

"Mr Carter, walk us through your first few days in office for the Canucks"

"It's been busy" I responded. "We targetted some youth players to add to the prospect pool and hopefully contribute in the A immediately this year.

The following players had been signed these past few days:

G. John Curry Boston University 2yr/450k
D. Matt Gilroy Boston University 2yr/450k
C. David Desharnais Chicoutimi 3yr/450k
C. Ryan Duncan North Dakota 3yr/450k
W. Alexandre Bolduc Manitoba 1yr/450k

"Expectations? Most Excited about?"

"Well Curry will battle with Ellis for the spot in Victoria, either of which could spend the season with Oklahoma. Gilroy is 22, and will look to compete for a roster spot, though will most likely need some seasoning in the minors. Duncan should contribute off the bat for Manitoba, should see some call up action if he impresses. Bolduc will be a big bodied pressence that's missing in the A, look for him to play physical and see some NHL action in the bottom 6. Desharnais, like Duncan, will need to impress and contribute to see any time in the big league."

"Ian Clark, and Rick Bowness, words on their departures?"

"We decided to make a change, Roman Badyl was brought in to work with Luongo this year, I feel it will be a better fit. Bowness was replaced with Paul Coffey, Craig Ludwig and Ilgiz Sokolov. All three teach the defence side of the game better, and will make the club stronger going forward."

"And lastly, some improvements to the scouting department?"

"We ranked dead last with few notable prospects coming up the pipeline, Edler, Bourdon and Schneider are the top three, but after that it falls off. Raymond will enjoy another year in college, Grabner, Simek and Hansen in the Dub. However none are top tier prospects, nor is there any depth after that. I added a few more scouts to cover more area and hopefully uncover some hidden gems in next years draft. Bureau will take over some scouting in Eastern Canada along with Edgerton, while newest addition Barrie will work along side me, scouting who I'm interested in."

"What type of players will you look to add this season?"

"As of now we will play to our strengths, we have great puck possession players, and will look for a big bodied winger to round out the top 9. Another true defensive defenceman to compliment Mitchell on the PK is another spot we're looking at. Aswell as a back up goalie still"

"Naslund is 33 with two years left on his contract, Morrison, 31 aswell has two years left. Moving forward, does it look like your window for oppurtunity is closing?"

"No."

The Canucks will face-off with the Calgary Flames tomorrow night, at GM place.

Some back story, comments, and tidbits



Jim Carter, is completely fictional. For my journey with the Canucks, Carter is a former minor league scout who made it as a successful agent for a few years. Having experience in the business he applied to the Canucks when the news of Nonis' sudden retirement came to wind.

For this DB, I've edited the top three prospects, Bourdon was a -8 and while I agree that was fair, I think he would have taken off on the same career trajectory as Kris Letang (value wise). He was also one of my favourite players before his passing. Edler was boosted aswell, from -9 to a whopping 18x (cant remember but it was high 187 or 188 I think) This may seem unfair but it's my DB and I'll play however I want (I also lowered all remaining prospects except for Schneider) Which brings me to Schneider. I believe he too was a -8 in this DB, so I gave him a -10 but plan on rolling with Luongo and drafting a goalie.

I lowered all Canuck scouts except for Gradin who I bumped up, aswell as Deblois. With this, I'm also going to "take the scouts advice" at times. Ron Delorme gets a lot of heck for his scouting, and I think it would add some realism if I drafted a few duds from the dub on his recommendation.

Lastly, I have played the UUDB so many times I knew who to target at the start, but who's to say Jim Carter doesn't frequent HF and signed some guys he saw on the prospect forum!

I'm not planning on playing to challenging, this is for fun and for the story. I may make some crazy lopsided trades, I may make some boneheaded trades that ruin me.

I do not like Steve Tambellini.

I'm also writing as I play, so I apologize for incorrect names, and many other inconsistencies that will follow.

thanks for reading, and I'll try and update nightly!

Because of the wonderful timing out feature I lost my entire preseason post


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Going to do a quick summary of it so I can move on:

Started pre season off with a bang, 4-0 win over the Flames, Krajicek played great.

Lost to the Devils pretty bad and DMac got cut because of it. 4-1 Devils.

Beat up on the preds 4-0 Naslund with a natural hatty, in 6 minutes. The first 6 minutes of the game

signed G. Matt Climie

Signed G. Steve Shields to be my back up.

Added some more staff to scout the rest of the CHL.

Picked my prospects to follow and will update as the season goes on.

Top guys with Kane, JVR and Turris.

A one on one with Jim Carter

"Today we sit down with Vancouver General Manager, Jim Carter, to discuss his first month with the organization."


"It's been crazy. The pace moves quick, phones are always ringing and there's always paperwork. I'm looking forward to next season already and this one hasn't even started yet. I've got some ideas to make next seasons training camp even better."

"Let's talk about Steve Shields"


"At 34 he hasn't played a lot of hockey the past few seasons, but he showed well at training camp and I was impressed enough to offer him our back up role."

"Whats your main goal this season?"

"We'll improve our offence, our prospects and find those missing pieces for our roster."

"Missing pieces?"

"Another minute eating shut down defenseman, and a big able bodied winger for our top 6"

"Any prospects you have your eye on yet? Or to early?"

"It's never to early to start scouting. I really like the looks of Brandon Sutter, Pacioretty and Voracek."

"Your top prospect?"

"Bourdon."


Catch the Canucks take on the Red Wings on October 6th

Player Profile: Cory Schneider

This month, we've gotten the opportunity to speak with Vancouver Canucks top prospect, Cory Schneider. Cory was the Canucks 1st pick in the 2004 NHL Entry draft, taken 26th Overall. He's currently attending school at Boston College, working towards a finance degree, and playing lights out between the pipes for the Eagles.

"Cory, how's the season started off for you?"

"It's been great, getting a ton of offensive support from [Nathan] Gerbe, [Kyle] Kucharski, lets me just play my game."

"The Canucks recently added Roberto Luongo to the mix, thoughts?"

"It was a great trade, Luongo is a top tier talent in this league"

"What about your future with the team?"

"Right now I'm focusing on winning here in Boston"

"You could have turned pro this year, any reasons as to why you stayed?"

"Schooling, I'm focusing on my degree as well as getting a chance to prove myself further"

"After 3 games, you're 3-0, with an outstanding .963 Sv%."

"I owe a lot to Jim Logue, our goalie coach here in Boston, as well as the defense and our head coach Jerry York."

"Jonathon Quick, like yourself is off to a great start. Has the rivalry heated up?"

"Who?" Schneider laughs. "He's been great, we grew up playing against each other, and I think we both step it up when we're on opposite sides of the rink."

"Thanks for your time, Cory"

Goalies to watch: Cory Schneider, Boston College. Jonathon Quick, Massachusetts. Ben Bishop, Maine.

Spoiler: Click to reveal

At 2pm, The Vancouver Canucks will have a press conference




As the media piled in, Alain Vigneault and Steve Tambellini took their seats on stage. I sad quietly next to Stan Smyl. It's open season, every man with a camera and mic against us.

"Alain, welcome back, why did you miss pre-season?"

"Family matters"

"Have you had a chance to sit down with Jim Carter yet?"

"No, off the plane and straight here, could hardly wait to see you all again" Alain smirked.

"Do you like the new coaching staff?"

"It was picked well, I'm pleased"

"Who should we pay close attention to this season?"

"Aaron Rome"

"Steve? You've been known to do the negotiating of contracts for Nonis during his time here, is there anything in the works at the moment?"

"Yes, we're exploring our options right now, we've spoken with a few teams, Toronto, New York, Pittsburgh."

In my seat I could hardly believe what I was hearing, Tambellini, the open book.

The rest of the presser went better, Aquilini ushered Steve off stage promplty, Stan got up and talked about the team, the community and what it means to be a Canuck.

Markus Naslund, Trevor Linden and Brendan Morrison, the teams Captain and Alternates were in attendance to answer media questions, sign some jerseys and wonder why they signed up for this.

On Forth!

October 5th Joe Louis Arena Canucks @ Detroit

An interesting game to say the least,I'm trying out a new defensive tactic (with AV being the coach and all)

Game cap: We started off with a great passing play by the Sedins to open the scoring. It was quiet after that until Samuelsson tied it early in the third. Salo fired one home with assists coming to Naslund and Morrison and then it all went wrong. Bulis mishandled the puck, Lang shoots, hits Ohlund and back to Lang, who finds Holmstrom and tie game! Then, Kesler blocks a shot and gets injured. So Mitchell takes a 5 minute major clipping penalty. Holmstrom tallies in the next two, completes the natural hat trick in 6 total minutes.

4-2 Red Wings/Canucks

D. Sedin - H. Sedin, Bieksa
Salo - Naslund, Morrison

October 6th Nationwide Arena Canucks @ Columbus

First off, Kesler is out for 10 days after blocking a shot late in the third period.

Chouinard replaces him on the 3rd line

Zherdev opens the scoring early, but Linden answers right back! Henrik scores in the second and the Canucks stay in control of the game right up until... Modin and the blue jackets pressure late, Modin shoots, great save Luongo, puck comes lose, Carter fires, blocker save by Luo, mad scramble and Modin comes up with it, fires... HE SCORES. Columbus ties the game with 59:58 left on the clock

Anson carter comes streaking in and fires one, top shelf on Luo.

3-2 Blue Jackets/Canucks

Linden - H. Sedin, Bieksa
H. Sedin - D. Sedin, Ohlund

Breaking News


TSN Reports: Vancouver Canucks have signed forward Teddy Purcell to a 3yr Contract.

"We liked his game so far this season, only playing in four games, we figured it was enough to make a contract offer. He'll start the season in the CHL, the transition from College to Pro can be tough on some younger players. We fully expect [Teddy] to be playing with the Moose by the end of the season"

Now, I know Purcell performs will in real life, not sure how he's made out to be in the UUDB database, but Jack McCartan spotted him and gave me a third line potential on him.



October 8th Pepsi Center Canucks @ Colorado.

3 Games in 4 nights for the Canucks, as they visit one of their more hated rivals, the Colorado Avalanche.

The Canucks traded punches with Avs all night, surrendering the first goal, only to respond minutes later. It was a battle from puck drop and the Canucks came out the victors with some over time heroics from the Sedins!


5-4 Canucks/Avs

Morrison - Naslund, Cooke
Naslund - Morrison, Cooke
D.Sedin - Linden, Bieksa
Cooke - Morrison,
D. Sedin - H. Sedin, Ohlund

"We're happy for the win, but we need to play a full 60 minutes against a team like the Avs" Coach AV after the game.

Some early season thoughts



Blogging makes the game that much better. I'm really enjoying writing out what I do, and hopefully someone else will enjoy reading it.
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The Canucks:

The reason I chose this DB to play with is simply because I've fallen out of love with a lot of the players. I'll be able to play a lot more freely with it. The Canucks are my favourite team by far, and I'm going to enjoy doing things differently.

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Jim Carters thoughts on the season:

Off to a 1-1-1 start, "defensive" hockey hasn't quite come to happen. We've allowed 11 goals in 3 games, and our special teams aren't performing.

The Sedins and Morrison are leading the way with 4 points an Naslund has earned 3. If the Sedins can carry this pace through October and November, expect to see them take over as the teams bonafide #1.

Ohlund and Salo have been pillars on D, averaging just over 30 minutes a night each! Points are coming along as well.

Luongo, despite his 3.61 GAA, is top 10 in the league with a SV% of .915

Edler leads all Moose players with 4 points in 2 games, and Bourdon has posted 11 in 7 for Moncton.

We're still on the look out for a RW to play with Naslund and Morrison.
Potential prospects:
Jagr, NYR
Selanne, Ducks
Shanahan, NYR
Doan, PHO
Recchi, Pens
Guerin, STL

All of which are aging RWs with big bodies who can score. I don't see Cooke as a viable 1st line RWer for the rest of the season, but it's a little early to pull a trigger on a deal.

We've also looked at a few other players, and I would like to get my hands on an enforcer.

October 10th Excel Energy Center Vancouver Canucks @ Minnesota Wild

The final away game on our 4 game road trip to start the season. Up against divional foe, the Wild, expect a battle of the trap.

Who else remembers Manny Fernandez? Best goalie name in hockey? Doubtful. 23 yr old Mikko Koivu is currently the 4th line centre for the Wild, while Marion Gaborik and Pavol Demitra anchor the top line.


Game Cap - Know how I said it would be a battle of trap hockey? There was 6 goals scored in 15 minutes of hockey in the first period, neither goalie playing great, but Luo remained in net. Pyatt went down early with an injury. A late 2nd period goal by Naslund and a third period collapse sends this game to OT, and Wes Walz (yet another great name) wins the game in a S/O

5-4 Wild/Canucks

Bulis - Pyatt, Chouinard
Linden - Unassisted
D. Sedin - H. Sedin, Mitchell
Naslund - Morrison, Salo

Dear Diary: Jim here... Not quite the start I wanted. Now Pyatts hurt too. Made an offer for Vanek.

TSN Breaking News: The Vancouver Canucks have claimed RW Grant Marshall off waivers.

Marshall, 33 was claimed from the New Jersey Devils. The 6'1 Mississauga native had appeared in two games for the Devils this season.

"He brings an added element to our roster, he's tough, likes to dish it out and can chip in on the offensive side of things."

The Canucks also placed RW Taylor Pyatt on the IR.


TSN Breaking News: The Vancouver Canucks have traded RW Matt Cooke, two draft picks, and prospects to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for injured RW Thomas Vanek.

(Author note: I wasn't expecting this trade to be accepted, I know the AI isn't great, but I was hoping they'd refuse and I'd have to up it. In this case I'll add a future considerations and maybe eat salary or give them something nice in a season or two. I sent Grabner along with Topol. Grabner will obviously be an NHLer in time, and Topol could make a good AHLer/Tweener but will probably stay in Russia. I sent my two 2nd round picks (LA/Van) along with Cooke. This gives the Sabres a defensive minded player to suit up with Gaustad and move Pominville down the line up or over to the LW and I believe will balance their roster better than Vanek does at the moment, remember he's only 22 at the time)

"Jim, you made your first big splash as GM of the Canucks, what does Vanek add?"

"Vanek gives us a young sniper to build around. He's only 22 and while still has to improve, will be a good offensive addition to our top 6 and should be expected to contribute immediately after returning from injury"

"Timeline on his injury?"

"We'll be looking at 4-6 weeks currently, but it will be worth the wait"

Canucks Press Release


The Vancouver Canucks have made a few roster moves lately, Adding RW Grant Marshall and Winger Thomas Vanek to the roster. Vancouver has recalled Alexandre Burrows from the Manitoba Moose. Ryan Kesler is currently listed as Day to Day but is expected back soon. Coach AV shares his thoughts:

"Moving Cookie will be a tough, I like what he brought on the defensive side of things, he'd been playing will and with the injury to Vanek we have a big roster spot to fill. I like what I've seen from Lee [Goren] this season and will move up to play with Sedins. Linden will accompany Naslund and Morrison on our top line."

Now for anyone curious, Lee Goren sucks. Bad. But this is Alain Vigneault we're talking about.

Projected Line Up:


Naslund Morrison Linden
Sedin Sedin Goren
Bulis Chouinard Marshall
Bouck Santala Burrows


Ohlund Salo
Mitchell Bieksa
Fitzpatrick Krajieck

Luo
Shields

Josh Green, Yannick Tremblay

IR: Kesler, Pyatt, Vanek

Not pretty right now, but if everyone is ever healthy at the same time, that's a competitive roster.


Canucks home opener tomorrow night against the San Jose Sharks!

October 13th General Motors Place Canucks Vs San Jose Sharks


As expected in any home opener, the opposing teams star player played the best. Joe Thornton recorded 4 points (2-2) helping the Sharks defeat the Canucks 5-4 on their home ice.


Morrison -Naslund, Linden
Naslund -Salo
Naslund - Mitchell
D. Sedin - Bulis, H. Sedin


An overall great game from our captain, but hoping something comes together soon.

Luckily Ryan Kesler is back from injury, which allows me to waive Marc Chouinard so he hopefully never has to see the ice again this year.



October 16th General Motors Place Canucks Vs Edmonton Oilers

Sedins combine to open the scoring, Naslund goes down 6 minutes into the 1st period and the Canucks hang on for a single point against the 30th placed team in the league.

3-2 Oilers/Canucks OT.

D. Sedin - H. Sedin, Goren
Linden - Morrison, Ohlund.


In a quick post game interview with head coach Alain Vigenault:

"We're awaiting further details on the injury"
"We're not happy starting a season 1-2-3"
"We need to play a full 60 minutes"


Canucks News:

Naslund is considered day to day and probably won't be missing any time.
Tampa Bay Lightning claimed C Marc Chouinard on waivers, which made me very very happy.

October 17th Rexall Place Vancouver Canucks @ Edmonton Oilers

So a slight oversight on my part, thought we played on the 20th and missed the back to back games against the Oilers. Naslund will sit tonight which has a massive domino affect on the whole roster. The Sedin twins will take over as the teams new #1 line, playing with Linden. Bulis, Morrison and Goren make up the second. In a rare decision, Coach AV will rely heavily on the sedins to get the job done tonight, rather than his 3rd and 4th lines.

However, it didn't seem to matter. The Canucks dropped the decision 2-1.

2-1 Oilers/Canucks

H. Sedin - Linden

Jim Carter on After Hours, followed by goalie, Roberto Luongo


"Jim Carter, not quite what you expected to start the season?"

"Losing Kesler early didn't help, and with Nazzy sidelined tonight it didn't help. The team has been playing well, but not getting any puck luck"

"Let's talk about your recent acquisition, Thomas Vanek."

"He'll be a much needed presence on the ice for us. Still a few weeks away before practicing with the team"

"Any other big names you've taken looks at?"

"Of course, you always have to keep your options open, especially when a season starts this way"

"Will we see Steve Shields make his Canuck debut soon?"

"That will be up to the coach, Luo has played great, but has also started 7 straight"

"The [Manitoba] Moose are off to a great start this season, a lot of that is highlighted around top prospect, Alexander Edler, will we see him in a Canucks jersey soon?"

"We will, but maybe not this season. He's playing great and we hope for him to continue this way. He's still very young and has a lot of room to improve, we don't want to hinder it by rushing him"

"Thanks for your time, Jim. Next up, Roberto Luongo"
.......

"Roberto, how have you adapted to playing in Canada? Especially a hockey market like Vancouver?"

"It's great. The transition hasn't been hard."

"What about the weather?"

"Okay, that's been a bit tougher to get use to"

"You've always been use to facing a lot of rubber each season, however this season you've already faced more than 100 shots of the next highest goaltender"

"Yeah I mean, if we can cut down on scoring chances great, but it's my job to keep the puck out of the net, and I'm always on when facing a heavy work load"

"Thoughts on Schneiders play this year with Boston?"

"He's going to be a star."

"Thanks, Luo."
................................

Some tough losses to eat for the Canucks, but it can only go up from here. Currently sitting 10th but missing some key players and still working out my tactics.

October 20th Scottrade Center Vancouver Canucks @ St. Louis Blues

Naslund makes his return to the line up after sitting out for the Edmonton game. Tyler Bouck sits in favour of Josh Green. Luongo gets the start again.

The game had its positives, we lowered our shots against while increasing our shots taken. Wasn't enough however.

4-3 Blues/Canucks

Naslund - Bulis, Fitzpatrick
Bulis - Ohlund, Salo
Naslund - H. Sedin, Mitchell


October 21st Sommet Center (14)Vancouver Canucks (1-4-3) @ (1)Nashville Predators (5-1-1)

Pyatt re-enters the line up, Lee Goren is placed on waivers and sent to Manitoba. Krajicek will get a better look on the 1st PP unit, Kesler retakes his spot on the PK with Alex Burrows.

The Canucks fall behind early, as local Vancouverite Paul Kariya blasts one home, then helps on the next and Nashville goes up 2-0. After which, the Canucks responded hard and took control of the game, winning 5-3.

5-3 Canucks/Preds

Morrison - Bulis, Naslund
Naslund - Morrison, Bieksa
Linden - D. Sedin, H. Sedin
Linden - D. Sedin, H. Sedin
D. Sedin - H. Sedin, Salo


October 23 ACC [12]Vancouver Canucks (2-4-3) @ [8]Dallas Stars (4-4-0)

No major line up changes tonight. Stars are dressing back up Mike Smith tonight.

Vancouver exploded out of the gate, chasing Smith early and having complete control of the game from start to finish.

7-2 Canucks/Stars

Naslund - Krajicek, Salo
D. Sedin - Ohlund, H. Sedin
D. Sedin - H. Sedin, Linden
Linden - H. Sedin, D. Sedin
Pyatt - Kesler, Marshall
Linden - D. Sedin, Santala
Pyatt - Kesler, Marshall

Exactly what the Canucks needed. Morale was dropping around the organization, Tambellini had started throwing hissy fits, and AV was running out of gum.

10 Game Mark

October 25th United Center [10] Vancouver Canucks (3-4-3) @ [15]Chicago Blackhawks (2-5-1)

Short recap: Canucks got ran over physically by the Blackhawks. Good game from Pyatt as he rejoined the Sedins on the PP

5-3 Hawks/Canucks

Pyatt
Naslund - Morrison, D. Sedin
D. Sedin - H. Sedin, Pyatt

October 27th General Motors Place [10] Vancouver Canucks (3-5-3) Vs [14] Washington Capitals ( 2-5-1)

Line up changes: Steve Shields will make his Canuck debut tonight in goal vs the Capitals. Naslund will accompany the Sedins on the top line.

And another 5-3 loss.

Santala - Green
D. Sedin - Fitzpatrick
Naslund - Linden, Bieksa
.................................................

After another tough loss, Coach AV enters my office.

"What are we going to do?"

"Can we wait for Vanek?"

"He's just getting back to practice, but he's not the only thing we need"

"I'll make a move, what do you need?"

"Give me something on the 3rd line"
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Thomas Vanek is back skating today, as he takes his first practice with the Canucks, after being acquired on October 12th.

Jim Carter is working the phones, trying to bring in a suitable 3rd line winger to play with Kesler. Rumuor has it Jan Bulis is being shopped.

TSN Breaking News: Vancouver Canucks have traded Jan Bulis + Pick for Penguins Dominic Moore + Pick.

"We feel Moore balances our roster out better than Jan. We needed to make a small shake up, as our bottom 6 hadn't been performing as expected."

Author note: After making this trade I realized how unlikely it is that Dominic Moore would ever play a game for the Vancouver Canucks.

Current Line Up:

Sedin Sedin Pyatt
Naslund Morrison Linden
Burrows Kesler Marshall
Green Moore Bouck

Ohlund Salo
Mitchell Bieksa
Fitzpatrick Tremblay

Luongo
Shields

With this I prefer the balance of defence to offence. Bulis was to offensive to have in the line up as a 3rd line player, but wasn't strong enough to play in the top 6. Moore replaces Santala, who is also a little bit more offence oriented. Vanek will be back any day. Krajicek will sit as a healthy scratch while I see what Tremblay can do.

October 31st General Motors Place [14] Vancouver Canucks (3-6-3) Vs [7] Nashville Predators (6-3-1)

The second match up between these two this season, the Canucks had beat the Preds 5-3 on Nashvilles home ice.

6-2 Canucks/Preds

H. Sedin
Linden - D. Sedin, Fitzpatrick
D. Sedin - Salo
H. Sedin - D. Sedin, Ohlund
Naslund - Fitzpatrick, Morrison
H. Sedin, Salo, Linden