Official 2009/2010 Canucks Thread

[stuff99]

I said it before back in draft day of 2005 when my friend texted me who Canucks drafted (Luc Bourdon) and I went "Bourdon who?" "Kopitar was available and the Canucks didn't pick him???? WTF"

He was projected top 5 and we didn't take a chance. Why???
http://www.tsn.ca/draftcentre/feature/?id=7006

Anyways. I'm not doing the hindsight is 20/20 thing cause I felt the same way as I did on draft day. Every year in EA NHL just to make myself feel a bit better I put Kopitar on the Canucks roster haha.

[Tim Budong]

This is a great read by james duthie for those that havent read it yet. Its on Taylor Pyatt's departure from Vancouver, the greif and mental challenges since the tragedy last year with the passing of his girlfriend

http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/james_duthie/?id=318514

The phone rang around 2:30 in the morning.

One of those disorienting, middle-of-the-night calls, when you grab the phone before you know where you are, before you know whether you are awake or dreaming.

It had to be the latter. The words coming from the other end of the line made no sense.

"What?!? How?!? No!"

Taylor Pyatt dropped the phone.

***

It is springtime in Canada, when we inevitably lose our minds about hockey, and talk about wins and losses as if they are life and death. They are, of course, nothing remotely close. And no one knows this better than Pyatt, a tall, bruising forward for the Phoenix Coyotes.

A little over a year ago, he was getting ready for a playoff run with the Vancouver Canucks, and a summer wedding to his longtime girlfriend, Carly Bragnalo.

"We were together 11 years, high school sweethearts." Pyatt says. "She was just an amazing person. She just... always made me feel comfortable. We had a great relationship."

"Everyone loved her," says Taylor's younger brother Tom, a forward with the Montreal Canadiens. "She was always happy. She loved to cook. She was always cooking up big feasts for us at the cottage."

Their cottage, in Thunder Bay, is where Taylor and Carly were to be married. But on April 2nd, 2009, just four months before the wedding, that phone call in the middle of the night changed... everything.

"We had a game at home that night against Anaheim. I just went home and had something to eat, and went to sleep. I got a call at 2:30 a.m. from Carly's brother. I was still half asleep, I didn't know what he was saying. I couldn't comprehend it. I just dropped the phone. Then I got a call about 15 seconds later from her Dad. He said Carly had been killed in a car accident. I couldn't believe it... I kept asking him over and over, 'Are you sure, are you sure?' I was in total shock."

Bragnalo was vacationing in Jamaica. She was in a taxi with her Mom and three others when the driver lost control around a corner, flipped, and hit a utility pole. Carly was the only fatality.

Taylor Pyatt sits in a dressing room at the Coyotes' arena in Glendale, Arizona, squeezing an empty water bottle over and over nervously. This is the first time he has spoken publicly about Carly's death, and his year in Hell.

He is a quiet guy at the best of times, so finding the right words is a struggle. You want to tell him you understand. Right words? They don't exist.

"It was just a devastating time for me. I got on a flight and went home right away. I was surrounded by my family for the next few weeks, but I was in total shock. The first few days, making funeral arrangements, making plans to get her back... her body back, all those sort of things you thought you would never do, especially at this point of your life. I remember asking myself, 'Are you really doing this?'"

"It felt like a bad dream," says Tom Pyatt. "I flew right home and Taylor was already there, with friends. There's not much you can say. I just gave him a big hug and told him I'd be there for him."

Taylor would spend the next three weeks in Thunder Bay, trying to figure out why the world had leveled him from behind. Answers never came.

He returned to the Canucks, just before their playoff series with Chicago, hoping to lose himself in hockey. Going to the rink, seeing the guys, trying to win games - it helped.

But once the team was eliminated, he was left alone, to a summer of mourning. And a feeling that he needed to get far, far away.

"I felt it was time to move on from Vancouver, time to turn the page, for my personal life and my career."

Pyatt was a free agent, and in the harsh world of professional hockey, he was now a bit of a risk. He was a 27 year-old budding journeyman (he had played for the Islanders and Buffalo, before Vancouver) coming off a so-so season, and he was a mess mentally. Damaged.

Only one general manager called him. Don Maloney of the Phoenix Coyotes.

"We drafted his brother Tom in New York, so I knew the family," say Maloney. "We didn't have the resources to offer him what he'd been making in Vancouver, but I wanted to see how he was doing, and tell him why this would be a great fit for him."

Phoenix was hardly a desired destination for most free agents last summer. The team was in bankruptcy court, ownerless, and hadn't made the playoffs in eight years. It seemed like a one-way ticket to hockey obscurity. And maybe that's what made it the perfect place for Taylor Pyatt.

"He was looking for a fresh start," says Maloney. "I think he looked at us in the desert being as far away from all the attention in Canada as you can imagine."

He was right.

Pyatt did need to get away. Away from everything that reminded him of his old life. Of Carly. So he became a Phoenix Coyote.

Play through pain. That's what hockey players are supposed to do, right? But there was no treatment for this. No ice bags, no pills, no rehab. It was unrelenting. Paralyzing.

"I think early on in the season I struggled quite a bit. It was much harder than I thought. Mentally, emotionally, the ups and downs of hockey can be tough by themselves. But to add on the grieving process... at times it was really difficult. If I had a tough game, in the morning I felt pretty low. I started to wonder if I should step away from the game for a bit... if my heart was still in it."

During those tough first few months, Pyatt became good friends with Keith Yandle, the Coyotes star-in-the-making defenceman. They would hang out, go to dinner, and when Pyatt was ready, talk.

"He's a quiet guy, and I didn't really know what was going on inside him. But once he got comfortable, sometimes he'd want to talk about it, and so I'd just listen. That's all you can do is be there to listen.

"I think it helped him. He started to come out of his shell. He likes to laugh, joke around. It's great to see. I'm engaged right now and I couldn't imagine what happened to him happening to me. He's a really strong kid, and a great guy."

As the season wore on, and the Coyotes started winning, hockey started to matter again to Pyatt.

"It was hard early," says Maloney. "The holidays were really hard for him. He sat out some games when he wasn't as good as he needed to be. But, the last month he's been terrific. When he's focused, he's an unstoppable force."

It's been a year now. And Taylor Pyatt is healing. Slowly.

"There was no one day that I was suddenly ready to move on," says Pyatt. "It just comes and goes, and you learn to live with it. I still struggle every day. I still think about Carly every day. But I'm not as emotional as I was. I can smile and laugh about the good times we had. I love playing hockey, and I'm excited about this team and its chances. I'm looking forward to getting that happiness and joy back in my life."

[mb_]

Originally Posted by JKam

not even accidental. Heard on the Team that Doughty shot it into that area hoping for the penalty.

Doesn't look like Bieksa even played it though.

If the player going off is within 5 feet of the bench and the puck hits the substitute player coming off the bench accidentally, it is not a penalty

That's what the rule book says. Oh well, just as long as Alberts doesn't play tomorrow night I don't see why we won't win it.

[MR_BIGGS]

Did we Canuck fans think we were going to win 4 games in a row? I kind of did, as I picked Canucks in 5, and I'm going to stick to this prediciton. LA finished two points back of us and this series is going to be a battle. I'm hoping, the Canucks' experience will play a factor next game. Go into LA and play a solid road game. LA will definately have some jitters early at Staples Centre. I'm hoping they take an early penelty and we capilaize on that.

My issue for Game 2 with that too many men call was that a linesman called it, when they should have left it to the referees. Refs missed a lot of calls both ways yesterday.

So Alberts is benched for Monday, and Rome is in??

[Timewav3zer0]

anyone watch the detroit game? they got away with 2 too many men penalties

[MR_BIGGS]

Canucks and Murph on the set of PTI. Love that show!

x2_116642c.jpg

[Mizter]

Originally Posted by xclusive

Doesn't look like Bieksa even played it though.



That's what the rule book says. Oh well, just as long as Alberts doesn't play tomorrow night I don't see why we won't win it.

Bieksa was skating off because he got cut on the play. I didn't see the replay but I'm guessing under the circumstances his first thought was not to play the puck.

[InvisibleSoul]

Originally Posted by pure.life

how many goals does Luongo's knob have?

The same as Jay Bouwmeester this season.

[mako]

the knob might actually have 1 or 2 more goals than the B-meister
the Flamers are surely getting bang for the buck for 6.6 mil

[transcendent]

3 Tips for the Canucks: 1. Get Rid of Andrew Alberts. 2. Get Rid of Andrew Alberts. 3. Win The Stanley Cup.

[woob]

Andrew AHLberts?

[fobulaus]

Ok no I don't like to see Andrew Alberts in the lineup, but with Rome still sidelined, who would you guys rather have - Baumgartner or Oberg?

Besides, he wasn't in the box for either of the powerplay goals scored on us yesterday... To his credit he's just trying to have a physical presence..... And for the 5 minute misconduct hit, well, I thought it was a good time to land a huge check... Should of just used more body instead.

[noots]

Originally Posted by fobulaus

Ok no I don't like to see Andrew Alberts in the lineup, but with Rome still sidelined, who would you guys rather have - Baumgartner or Oberg?

Besides, he wasn't in the box for either of the powerplay goals scored on us yesterday... To his credit he's just trying to have a physical presence..... And for the 5 minute misconduct hit, well, I thought it was a good time to land a huge check... Should of just used more body instead.

Baumgartner please.

It doesn't make much of a difference if he was in the box when we were scored on (although it would make people hate him more), it was the fact that killing all his penalties took the momentum away from the team and gave the King more momentum when they were down.

Alberts should be fully aware that he is not well liked in Vancouver right now with the fans and AV, maybe it's gone into his head and he's gripping his stick too tight.

If he gets another chance during the playoffs, he needs to collect himself mentally, dumb it down and play a simple game.

[clowe]

Sure, we weren't scored on in the 6 minutes of penalties he took in Game 2 but taking all those penalties really disrupts the flow of the team. LA gains momentum, you have guys playing without their usual line-mates after the kill, Kings don't have to worry about the Sedins, Kesler and Burrows fatigued from all the PK time. It's pretty much 6 minutes that we can't go on the attack.

The hooking call on Alberts in the 3rd was just a lazy play.

[choda]

Originally Posted by fobulaus

Ok no I don't like to see Andrew Alberts in the lineup, but with Rome still sidelined, who would you guys rather have - Baumgartner or Oberg?

Besides, he wasn't in the box for either of the powerplay goals scored on us yesterday... To his credit he's just trying to have a physical presence..... And for the 5 minute misconduct hit, well, I thought it was a good time to land a huge check... Should of just used more body instead.

That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard

[MR_BIGGS]

**NEWSWIRE**

Today was a travel day for Canucks so no practice. Aaron Rome took a flight to L.A.
Looks like he'll be suiting up for Monday's game and Alberts riding the pine. Yet to be confirmed, but the fact Rome flew to LA is a good sign he'll play.

[BlacknJean]

the reffing for both games are heavily sided towards LA and against Vancouver. f u gary bettman

[DanHibiki]

http://www.theprovince.com/sports/To...492/story.html

Tony Gallagher: Yet another game for conspiracy theorists

Eerie parallels between Saturday night's Montreal game and the one at GM Place

By Tony Gallagher, The Province

We all are learning to love conspiracy theories here in Vancouver with respect to hockey, so much so that we could be made honorary Americans who seem to celebrate the genre like nobody else.

So here goes, although sadly many Vancouver fans have suspected this one before.

Did you notice when the Montreal Canadiens were up big in their game against the Washington Capitals and were threatening to take a 2-0 series lead against the league's most promoted team and most promoted player in Alex Ovechkin, they suddenly ran into a series of highly questionable penalties.

Odd how that happens, sort of reminds you of how a team threatening to take a big lead in nationally televised NBA game suddenly runs into weird offensive fouls and travelling violations while the trailing team seems to be able to pull a gun and not get a foul.

Finally there were enough power-play opportunities for the Caps to get the momentum back, the crowd into the game and eventually the New York office was breathing easier as the Caps evened the series at 1-1. At the NBC offices, they must have been nearing collective embolism.

Then Saturday night the Canucks jump to a 2-0 lead and appear to be all over the Kings threatening to make short work of a market some important people in the league would love to come back to hockey after eight years of missing the playoffs and an eternity since Wayne Gretzky made the sport pop in the second largest market in North America.

Suddenly, a couple of questionable calls, one to Andrew Alberts for apparently tripping Dustin Brown and then a hold on Pavol Demitra, when it's abundantly obvious to most Canuck fans that the Slovak who shone so brightly at the Olympics is having trouble holding on to anything. Nothing too outrageous, but the team with all the momentum and threatening to finish this series quickly suddenly runs into a couple of questionable ones.

Third period in a 2-2 tie, another Alberts penalty when Wayne Simmonds cut into the middle generating what seems like the first stick foul called in the series although somehow the stick which stuck in Henrik Sedin's visor was missed in Game 1.

Henrik appears to win a third-period race to prevent an icing but the refs don't see it that way. Ryan Smyth's high stick in overtime and no call? Just a follow-through? Good thing the overtime penalty given to L.A. to give them four out of their five goals scored in this series on the power play wasn't contested by the Canucks.

Oh, it was 'the wrong call' according to Alain Vigneault who had looked at the tape before doing his post game. Well, you know, he lost. Just sour grapes right. Never mind that often even the most obvious fire drills at benches in overtime are overlooked. This one just didn't happen to be overlooked.

And just like last year all the traffic in the crease of Roberto Luongo has yielded no calls but the goalie isn't offering any opinions unless you think 'I'm not a ref' is an opinion.

These are all just coincidences we suspect. And that's probably all it really is, although won't you be just a little intrigued if the same thing should happen to the Nashville Predators if they threaten to go up 2-0 on the Chicago market tonight. Come on, work with us here.

Look, we're just having some fun. Because to think things are really going down this way would cast serious aspersions on the officials involved in the games mentioned and we could never do that, not after watching for years when nothing like this would ever even occur to anyone.

They all just have too much class really to let pleasing your boss change the way they see a game. It's just too much to take seriously. So we're not doing that, never.

There are lots of reasons why the Canucks are even in this series, not the least of which is the fact Alberts has played 17 minutes and 32 seconds in this series and has 23 minutes in penalties. And Ryan Kesler says their indiscipline is 'totally unacceptable,' referring to the penalties which were not questionable in the series.

The Montreal game you'll have to explain on your own.

[MR_BIGGS]

^^ Repost.

Flyers/Devils game is unreal! OT

[fobulaus]

Originally Posted by choda

That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard

What I meant was, he shouldn't of lifted his feet and his elbows, and just settle for a hip check instead

[Greenstoner]

Phx killed det
Posted via RS Mobile

[Ludepower]

anyone wanna enlighten me on the phoenix coyotes going zero to heros? I dont know any players on that team.

[orange7]

Originally Posted by Ludepower

anyone wanna enlighten me on the phoenix coyotes going zero to heros? I dont know any players on that team.

they were going bankrupt. Bettman didn`t want that to happen, so he`s doing inside work.

[SumAznGuy]

Originally Posted by orange7

they were going bankrupt. Bettman didn`t want that to happen, so he`s doing inside work.

Don't forget, they picked up Taylor Pylon.

[MR_BIGGS]

Originally Posted by Ludepower

anyone wanna enlighten me on the phoenix coyotes going zero to heros? I dont know any players on that team.

They didn't exactly go from zero to hero overnight.

Phoenix Coyotes’ general manager Don Maloney went with a mature and experienced lineup this year, so players like Kyle Turris, Mikkel Boedker and Viktor Tikhonov could have time to develop.

Yotes GM brought in 17 new players in the last 13 months, including five at the trade deadline a month ago. Case in point:

March 2009 trade deadline:
Matthew Lombardi
Scottie Upshall (out for the season)
Peter Prucha

Further:

Lee Stempniak
Mathieu Schneider
Derek Morris
Petteri Nokelainen
Wojtek Wolski

Throw in Doan, Jovo and Bryzgalov not to mention in my opinion the coach of the year, Dave Tippet and you have yourself a team that looks so different from last year.

Plus:
Assistant coach Dave King, goalie coach Sean Burke and associate coach Ulf Samuelsson and assistant coach Doug Sulliman.