Saturday March 19 - Calgary Flames 5 - Vancouver Canucks 2
Sunday March 20 - Buffalo Sabres at Vancouver Canucks - 7 p.m. PT
Maybe it's just as well?
After the Vancouver Canucks' noble rise to playoff contention, perhaps it's a good thing that they're starting to sputter *before* Monday's trade deadline, when Patrik Allvin and company still have an opportunity to make moves that can improve the franchise for the long term.
As Calgary coach Darryl Sutter pointed out earlier this week, the teams that land in the wild-card spots in the West will be facing first-round dates with the Colorado Avalanche and the Flames.
The Canucks haven't seen the Avs since Boudreau took over, but I'm sure we all remember their nightmarish 7-1 defeat in Denver back on November 11?
Truth be told, I seem to have blocked out Vancouver's 4-2 loss to Colorado at Rogers Arena a week later, on Nov. 17. But the stat sheet tells me that the Avs' power play went 3-for-5 that night, and the calendar shows that was all part of the 1-8-0 stretch that basically set the stage for the dismissal of Jim Benning and Travis Green.
My point: even if the Canucks could squeak into a playoff spot, a first-round matchup against the Avs would be daunting. And with the way the Calgary Flames are playing lately, they're also looking like a real threat.
We knew the Flames would have revenge on their minds on Saturday night, after the Canucks snapped Calgary's streak with that 7-1 drubbing back on Feb. 24. I even wonder if Calgary might have looked past the first game of their weekend back-to-back a little bit, when they ended up losing 1-0 to Buffalo in overtime on Friday?
Whatever the reason, the Flames absolutely swarmed the Canucks in the early going on Saturday night. They built a 3-0 lead before the latecomers were all in their seats at Rogers Arena, and grew it to 5-0 before Matthew Highmore and Brock Boeser chipped a couple of pucks past Dan Vladar in garbage time.
And when Bruce Boudreau elected to lift Thatcher Demko at the end of the second period — possibly preserving him for another start against Buffalo on Sunday — he ignited a firestorm when the Hockey Night in Canada cameras caught Jaroslav Halak receiving the news that he was going in.
Was he upset because he was expecting to get the start against Buffalo on Sunday? Or did he just have a hard time hearing? It is a loud environment, and that's quite a long distance from one end of the bench to the other.
Halak did play fine in the third period, facing 15 shots and only giving up one power-play goal. That bumped his save percentage for the season from .883 to .886; he needs to get to .905 in order to cash his remaining $250,000 bonus on this year's contract.
So far, there's still no indication that Halak might be willing to waive his no-movement clause before Monday. It still seems a little bit incomprehensible that a 35+ backup goalie on a one-year contract *has* a no-movement clause, but here we are.
What I haven't heard is whether family considerations are coming into play. A lot has been made about Marc-Andre Fleury being reluctant to uproot his family from Chicago, even though the Blackhawks are out of the playoff picture. I wonder if that's Halak's reason as well — and why he wanted the NMC in the first place?
He'll be a fascinating name to watch over the next 24 hours.
Elsewhere — I have made peace with the idea of moving on from Tyler Motte. Because he's an impending UFA, he wouldn't draw the same type of return as the haul that Chicago got for Brandon Hagel, who's younger and cost controlled. But Motte has come back well after his offseason surgery. He's one point away from matching his career high, and his speedy buzz-saw style is tailor-made for the playoffs.
At this crossroads, I think the Canucks have to find a new Motte, rather than paying the one they have. So let's bring back an asset in return.
I'm also warily open to the idea of dealing Luke Schenn, if the return is good enough. He has had a good year, is on a great contract with one year to go at an $850,000 cap hit, and has the intangible of his two seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the experience of winning a pair of championships. Those assets make him marketable.
But can the Canucks clear out meaningful cap space? That might be tougher.
I think Travis Hamonic could be more tradeable than he was in the fall, before he reported to the Canucks. He has now played 24 games and has a positive plus-minus in what has been a rather high-risk, high-reward season in terms of his play. He does have an eight-team no-trade clause, and he has another year at $3 million.
And as the Canucks try to upgrade their own defense, they're being linked to Travis Dermott of Toronto.
Dermott is 25, a lefty who was drafted in the second round in 2015. He plays both sides, and is signed for one more year at a cap hit of $1.5 million — at which point he'll still be a restricted free agent. He seems to have fallen out of favour because the Leafs are determined to develop their younger blueliners, Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren. They also picked up Ilya Lybushkin from Arizona a few weeks ago, to add a little more sandpaper.
There was some chatter on Saturday about defenseman Phil Myers having been put on waivers by Nashville. He's a big-bodied righty. But I can tell you from my work covering the Flyers when he was there — he looks better on paper than he does on the ice. And he's signed for one more year at $2.55 million — which I think is probably the main reason why he has cleared waivers on Sunday. Teams don't have cap or roster space for players like that right now. And the ones who are making these early waiver moves are getting themselves set up for the stretch run, when they can only make limited call-ups from the minors except under emergency conditions.
No current Canucks on the waiver wire on Sunday, although a couple of familiar names are on the list — Brad Richardson in Calgary and Derrick Pouliot in Vegas, where he was signed earlier this week after having spent most of this season on an AHL-only deal with the Henderson Silver Knights.
And just so we know where we stand as the trade news unfolds over the next 25-or-so hours...
According to
SportsClubStats, Saturday's loss dropped the Canucks' playoff chances by 6.6%, leaving them with a 12.1% chance that they could still get in. MoneyPuck is even more pessimistic, marking their chances at 8.5%.
Going into Sunday's action, the Canucks have slipped five points back of that second wild-card spot. So, even if they'd beaten Detroit and Calgary and picked up those four points this week, they'd still be on the outside looking in as a result of some big wins by Vegas and Edmonton, primarily.
Key games on the schedule over the next couple of days, as of Sunday morning:
• The Canucks hosting Buffalo on Sunday, of course, wrapping up their seven-game homestand. And while the Sabres are still low in the Eastern Conference standings, they're no pushovers these days. They've won three out of their last four. And, like Detroit, they logged an early-season win over Vancouver during the Canucks' first road trip of the year — a 5-2 victory, in the Sabres' case.
Here's how the Sabres look at Sunday's morning skate at Rogers Arena. They shipped out defenseman Robert Hagg for a sixth-rounder on Sunday morning.
• Dallas is currently two points up on Vancouver, in ninth place. The Stars lost to the Islanders on the road on Saturday and face Washington on Sunday (2 p.m. PT, Sportsnet)
• Winnipeg is one point behind Vancouver, in 11th place. The Jets lost to Boston on Friday and visit Chicago on Sunday (4 p.m. PT)
• Vegas is holding down the last wild-card spot, and stopped a five-game losing streak by beating Florida on Thursday and L.A. on Saturday. They've turned to rookie Logan Thompson in net, who has earned both wins. Their next game is in Minnesota on Monday.
• Edmonton is now getting solid netminding from Mikko Koskinen, which helped the Oilers sweep their five-game homestand. They beat Washington, Tampa Bay and Detroit when Vancouver could not, and now sit seven points ahead of the Canucks — third in the Pacific and just two points behind L.A. They're back on stable ground, but will be tested on Monday when they visit Colorado.
• Nashville is now nine points up on Vancouver, and Anaheim is two points back. Those two teams will square off in Orange County on Monday night.
Enjoy the next couple of days. Hopefully we'll have lots to chew on by the time I post the next blog!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»