Vancouver Canucks

No Hard Feelings

GMs know that this league is a business, and the players realize that too, which is why Mike Gillis wasn’t offended at all when he learned that Kyle Wellwood was taking the Canucks to arbitration. “It’s his right,” Gillis said. He didn’t sound too worried at all during the press conference, but I’m also guessing it’s because he knows Wellwood doesn’t have much of a case for a significant raise or long-term contract.

Gillis also doesn’t think Cory Schneider is quite ready for a full-time NHL job yet, but the signing of Andrew Raycroft doesn’t mean Schneider has to pack his bags anytime soon. Raycroft has the inside track because he’s cheaper, more experienced, and doesn’t need to see more pucks than Schneider. I originally thought that Raycroft will for sure be backing up Roberto Luongo while Schneider plays one more season on the Moose (frustrating for him, I’m sure) but Tom Benjamin at CanucksCorner has a completely different take. It sure blew me away. “Raycroft is really cheap and he really sucks and that is what the Canucks need this year.” Intrigued? I was, and the best part is that Tom makes perfect, perfect sense. Some shades of Brent Johnson here, who was briefly a Canuck before being waived right after signing that summer and claimed by the Caps.

The Canucks opened their prospect camp on Monday and once again the comparisons between Jordan Schroeder and Patrick White flared up again. Both Minnesotans, both Golden Gophers, both Canucks first-rounders. But boy, has the Canucks official site really put the hate on White by pretty much calling him a bust. Certainly as a junior next year White hasn’t done anything at the NCAA level to warrant his status as a top pick, but talk about pressure. He’s got the pressure to perform for the Gophers, make the Canucks, prove himself worth the pick, and out do Schroeder. They’re setting him up to fail. Stop the comparisons. They’re not the same player and they don’t play the same game.

The Canucks brought back a BC boy (management emphasizes this, and I love it) in Michael Funk, signing him away from the Sabres where he spent the last couple of seasons. He played briefly at the NHL level and he’s got good size at 6′4″ and 200 lbs. I would rather have him as our #6 than Aaron Rome.

Paul Holmgren’s now in a dispute with the NHL because he was under the impression that when he signed Chris Pronger the cap hit would be taken off the books before he signed before his 35th birthday. Only problem is, the new extension would kick in after June 30, 2010, in which Pronger would already be 35. Way to go, Paul. Dale Tallon and Holmgren must both know something we don’t. What we do know is that Holmgren can’t read and Tallon can’t figure out the US Postal Service.

ESPN writer and Avs homer Terry Frei coughs up his latest Western Conference shakedown and even he doesn’t have too much hope for the Avs next year, ranking them to finish last in the West. With the way Detroit’s headed they’re not going to finish first, Dallas is ranked too high, Columbus too low, and once again nobody gives Nashville enough credit.