Saturday February 18 - Calgary Flames at Vancouver Canucks - 7 p.m. - CBC
Vancouver Canucks: 58 GP, 25-27-6, 56 pts, sixth in Pacific Division
Calgary Flames: 58 GP, 29-26-3, 61 pts, fourth in Pacific Division
We've got a full day of NHL action ahead, as the Hockey Day in Canada celebrations are underway in Kenora, Ontario, population 15,000. As a kid, I was always partial to the Kenora Thistles as one of the names that jumped out among early Stanley Cup winners. The Thistles took home the trophy in 1907.
Events have been going on in Kenora since Thursday, and the all-day broadcast kicks off at 9 a.m. this morning on CBC. We'll see Claude Julien's first game behind the bench for Montreal as the Canadiens take on the Jets at 11 a.m., then the Leafs will host the Senators at 4 p.m. before our game gets underway.
The Canucks and Flames are getting the virtual reality treatment on their broadcast tonight.
You'll need a special virtual reality viewer, found in a box of Molson Canadian, to check out the new technology. I'll be at the game tonight, but I'm very curious to hear about the viewing experience!
The Canucks took Friday off and will hit the ice for their game-day skate at 10:30 this morning. At that time, we'll find out if any injury issues will keep players out of tonight's lineup, and how Willie Desjardins plans to deploy his goaltenders for back-to-back games this weekend. After Jacob Markstrom's sub-par performance in St. Louis on Thursday, I expect that Ryan Miller will get the nod tonight, then we'll go from there.
Ben Kuzma of The Provincechecked in with Miller, as well as Alex Burrows, Jannik Hansen and Trevor Linden regarding their trade-deadline thoughts once the guys got home.
Of the three possible trade-bait targets, Burrows sounds like he's the most open to moving, although he acknowledges that he's somewhat reluctant to leave his three young children for any period of time.
“You have to sit down with your family and agent and see what your (trade) options could be, if there’s a chance to win the Stanley Cup," said Burrows.
“Deep down in my heart I would love to be heading into the playoffs with this (Canucks) team. My first goal was to play in the NHL, my second was to stay as long as I could (890 career regular-season and playoff games) and the third was to win a Stanley Cup.
“The third has been harder than I wanted, but it’s still there and there’s still a chance.”
Hansen has less control over his destiny—he's required to submit a list of eight possible trade destinations if the Canucks make that request. But even with the threat of the expansion draft looming on the horizon, Hansen remains adamant that he's not ready to move.
“I want to play here,” Hansen stressed. “I love being around the guys, I love the city and I want to win here."
Miller's required list would only be five teams long, so he could easily kibosh a trade if he chooses. With talk that he might end up re-signing with Vancouver to come back next year, it seems likely that he'll remain in a Canucks uniform until at least the end of the season.
Two other items to note today:
A new statue of former Canucks coach, general manager and president Pat Quinn will be unveiled outside Rogers Arena tonight at 6:15 p.m.
Pat's daughter Kalli has been making the media rounds and will be on hand with Trevor Linden for the unveiling tonight.
Also, tonight is the Canucks' Hockey Talks game, part of the Mindcheck initiative that was launched by Kevin Bieksa in 2012 after the passing of former Canuck Rick Rypien.
Alex Burrows took over over the role of ambassador since Bieksa's trade to Anaheim during the summer of 2015.
This week, former Canuck goaltender Corey Hirsch also bravely shared the story of his mental health challenges during his playing days.
This video focuses specifically on his time with the Canucks.
Please keep sharing. You never know who it will help.
Every time a player comes forward to tell a story like this, I realize how little we know about what is really going on in their heads and behind the scenes. These boys are raised to present themselves as bulletproof—it's no wonder that when challenges hit, they hit hard.
Programs like Mindcheck and Hockey Talks are doing fantastic work, raising awareness and teaching people in all walks of life that it's okay to seek help. No matter what happens tonight on the ice, that's a win.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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