Let's start with a topic that will—hopefully—get ironed out before the end of the month: what the Canucks will do with their extra goalie, whoever that may turn out to be.
Fluto Shinzawa of the
Boston Globe looks at the NHL's goaltending market in
this article, where he takes a run at unraveling the Canucks' situation.
Shinzawa's on board with the idea that Buffalo, Edmonton and San Jose need goaltending help. He also suggests that Ottawa's Robin Lehner probably has the highest value of the available goaltenders on the trade market. And he's apparently getting offers:
Lehner's apparently not the only goalie on Edmonton's list—one that does not include Lack, according to Pierre LeBrun.
It's plausible that Ottawa will try to deal Lehner to a Western Conference club in order to avoid having to face him multiple times every season as he blossoms into a No. 1
a la Ben Bishop.
Though Shinzawa thinks the best-case scenario for the Canucks would be to retain Lack and Jacob Markstrom, he also figures that Ryan Miller's age and contract make him basically unmovable. Shinzawa also doesn't seem to see Lack's good qualities the way we do around these parts:
Lack did not play well in the playoffs against Calgary. He was 1-3 with a 3.03 GAA and .886 save percentage. Miller closed out the series after returning from a knee injury. Lack has one year left ($1.15 million average annual value) before becoming unrestricted. Lack does not have as much value on the market as Lehner.
It'll be interesting to see how these dominoes finally fall. Certainly, I don't expect any moves to be made until after the Calder Cup Final is complete.
Also from Shinzawa—more juice to the rumour that the Canucks will sign Boston's unrestricted free agent Matt Bartkowski:
Bruins defenseman Matt Bartkowski will have options in free agency because of his skating and strength. A likely landing spot is Vancouver. GM Jim Benning and vice president of player personnel John Weisbrod have liked Bartkowski’s game. In turn, Kevin Bieksa and Dan Hamhuis, who will be unrestricted in July 2016, would draw interest on the trade market . . .
Shinzawa also walks through the lay of the land for the Bruins' impending restricted free agent defenseman Dougie Hamilton. I don't think we'll see the Canucks involved in any offer-sheeting but if Boston does end up having to match a big offer, the domino effect on their salary-cap situation could get very interesting.
Comets Drop Second-Straight Overtime Game to Monarchs
For the first time in the AHL playoffs, the Utica Comets are in a two-game hole after a 2-1 overtime loss to the Manchester Monarchs on Sunday.
After being badly outplayed in Game 1, outshot 37-17, Sunday's Game 2 was more even, especially through the first two periods, but in the end, the Monarchs outshot the Comets 39-25.
After being scratched for three games following a horrific defensive play that caused an overtime loss in Game 4 against Grand Rapids, Canucks' 2011 first-rounder Nicklas Jensen was inserted back into the lineup in place of Wacey Hamilton, and scored the Comets' only goal.
Sven Baertschi had been listed as questionable going into the game, but did play.
Jacob Markstrom, once again, was fantastic, but was matched on Sunday by some strong play by the less-heralded Jean-Francois Berube of Manchester.
A messy play led to the overtime winner by Nic Dowd, and the Comets now have their backs against the wall as they return home to Utica for the next three games.
Both teams are off now until Wednesday—a break that could benefit the Comets. They had four days off after winning the Western Conference championship, while the Monarchs enjoyed a 10-day break to heal their bumps and bruises after sweeping the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Tonight, we can get our hockey fix in the form of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. With Tampa Bay's goaltending situation in flux and rumours that Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Drouin are unhappy with how they're being treated, it seems that the Chicago Blackhawks are benefitting from their experience in the Stanley Cup spotlight to keep the drama to a minimum as they return home to the United Center.
It'll be interesting to see how things play out on the ice tonight: I'm expecting a Blackhawks win.
A broadcast note: all games of the Stanley Cup Final are being broadcast on the main NBC network in the U.S., as well as on CBC here in Canada. I've been watching the U.S. broadcast and have enjoyed the change of pace. My sense is that they have a strong production staff behind the scenes who are getting the key news and information into the hands of the broadcasters while the game is live.
Give it a try tonight if you're watching the game, and let me know your thoughts.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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