Saturday April 9 - Vancouver Canucks vs. Edmonton Oilers - 7 p.m. - CBC, TSN1040
Vancouver Canucks: 81 GP, 30-38-13, 73 pts, sixth in Pacific Division
Edmonton Oilers: 81 GP, 31-43-7, 69 pts, seventh in Pacific Division
Thanks to a win last night by the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Vancouver Canucks now have a 69 percent chance of finishing third-last in the NHL this season, according to
Sports Club Stats.
The Blue Jackets sit one point ahead of the Canucks in the league standings, hold the edge in the tiebreaker and will host Chicago today to wrap up their season. Game time: 4 p.m. PT.
The Oilers, of course, also have plenty of incentive to try to get out of town tonight without collecting any points. They're tied with Toronto for last place in the NHL but they do hold the edge in their tiebreaker. In their last game tonight, the Leafs face the New Jersey Devils, who are currently sitting 21st in the standings and still have a chance to move up or down by a couple of spots.
It's a strange day to be a fan. For their part, the players are saying the right things at today's morning skate about ending this bleak season on a positive note.
After missing Thursday's game against the Flames, Jared McCann looks like he'll be sidelined once again. Mike Zalewski was recalled from the Utica Comets on Friday and should draw in.
The other line, not mentioned above, will be Dorsett-Horvat-Etem.
Midway through the Calgary game, Willie Desjardins moved Andrey Pedan back to defense and put Alex Biega up front in his place. Biega will be back with Matt Bartkowski tonight, while Pedan sits in the press box.
He should be able to return to Utica tomorrow with the other farmhands. The Comets are locked in third place in their North Division, seven points ahead of Syracuse with four games left on the Crunch schedule—including two next weeks against the Comets. The Comets could clinch an AHL playoff spot today with a road win over the St. John's Ice Caps.
Tonight could be pretty emotional at Rogers Arena, as it could mark the last time we see two key members of the old guard, Alex Burrows and Dan Hamhuis, in Canucks uniforms.
There has been some chatter about whether or not the Canucks should find a way to pay tribute to Burrows during tonight's game, when it's almost certain that he'll be bought out over the summer. I don't want to see it unless it comes at the end of the game. With any luck, he'll do enough to be awarded one of the game's three stars.
Here's the full list of Vancouver's impending unrestricted free agents, who probably won't be back next season:
• Dan Hamhuis
• Matt Bartkowski
• Yannick Weber
• Radim Vrbata
Vrbata's out injured and Weber isn't expected to play tonight. There's also a chance that we've seen the last of two other injured players, Linden Vey and Chris Higgins, though I fully expect RFA Sven Baertschi will be back with a new contract in hand after putting together a career-best season of 15 goals and 28 points in 69 games.
Iain MacIntyre has a thoughtful postmortem on the season in today's
Vancouver Sun, where he wonders a bit if Trevor Linden and Jim Benning will get a chance to finish the job they've started.
Here are the names that Benning names when he talks about establishing his next "core group."
"Bo Horvat will be part of that group. Jake Virtanen will be part of that group. Ben Hutton and Jacob Markstrom are part of that group. Jared McCann has a chance to be a part of that group. Sven Baertschi.
“We’ve got Thatcher Demko coming, and he’s going to be part of that core group. We have Brock Boeser, who has had a helluva year in college hockey."
The way that's phrased, I like the vote of confidence for Jacob Markstrom, who will get the start in net tonight. I'm sure Jake Virtanen's relieved that he still gets second billing after a rather topsy-turvy couple of weeks. I worry for Jared McCann—he worked hard to defy the odds after coming into training camp after suffering that head injury during last summer's World Junior tuneup. He hasn't drawn the headlines that Virtanen has for a bumpy rookie season. It wouldn't surprise me see him being part of Benning's next big trade package.
As for Thatcher Demko, he didn't win the Hobey Baker but he was named the NCAA's best goalie during Friday's award ceremonies in Tampa.
Benning did meet with Demko and his parents yesterday, one day after Boston College was eliminated from the Frozen Four. Here's what we know so far:
Fair enough, I say. Less than 24 hours before the meeting, Demko was still focused exclusively on his college season and a chance to win a national championship. I can see how he'd want to at least talk with his college coach about what might be on the table for the team next year and whether or not there might be incentive to return.
The lure of turning pro will be strong, but it's not a decision that should be made overnight. Demko has put himself in a nice position and for the Canucks, there's no rush. I'd like to see his situation settled before the draft—which is a long two and a half months away.
Meanwhile, Brock Boeser plays on. His North Dakota team will face Quinnipiac for the national title at 5 p.m. PT today, broadcast on TSN2.
In addition to Boeser, Canucks fans should keep an eye on two his his North Dakota teammates as well:
Stecher's a 22-year-old junior and Caggiula is a 21-year-old senior. Both players are Canadian—Stecher from Richmond and Caggiula from Whitby, Ontario—and both were named second-team All-Americans this season, while Boeser was named a first team All-American.
The possibility of Stecher and/or Caggiula joining the Canucks is certainly intriguing. At their age, they're more likely to be able to step directly into the pro game than an 18-year-old draft choice.
So—cheer hard for North Dakota tonight. Then tune in as the Canucks put the cherry on top of their worst season in nearly two decades.
We'll have plenty of time, starting tomorrow, to figure out where we go from here.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»