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Rivermen won’t play in Peoria, so Canucks’ new AHL farm team likely to land in Utica, N.Y.

Posted on May 16, 2013 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

It’s not a front-burner issue for the Vancouver Canucks — not with the uncertain fate of the coaching staff after the NHL club was swept in first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs — but that back-burner issue of relocating the franchise’s new AHL club is heating up.

A source has indicated Utica, N.Y., is the front-runner to be named home to the Peoria Rivermen, who were purchased by the Canucks from the St. Louis Blues on April 18.

Canucks general manager Mike Gillis had explored keeping the club in Peoria, Ill., but the city was seeking an agreement that would allow the money-losing club ($400,000 US last season) to operate at a break-even budget.

Another option was striking a territorial arrangement with the Abbotsford Heat to operate a league rival at Rogers Arena — a tough sell to the Fraser Valley Sports and Entertainment Group and AHL — but Utica was always somewhere on the radar.

The...

Burrows: Canucks’ inability to ‘close games out is … frustrating, embarrassing’

Posted on May 12, 2013 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

Humility, affordability and loyalty best describe the past four seasons for Alex Burrows. Reality may best describe the next four.

The Vancouver Canucks right winger has a four-year, $18 million US contract extension that kicks in next season and includes a no-trade clause. It's a palatable $4.5 million annual salary cap hit and the yearly payout of $6 million, $5 million, $4 million and $3 million rewards slogging through a previous deal that made Burrows one of the best NHL bargains at $2 million annually.

However, nobody understands the deep unrest sparked by being swept in the Western Conference quarterfinal series more than Burrows. He knows one postseason victory the last two springs has put the entire organization under the microscope and that the coaching staff may be gutted. Core players may be moved as general manager Mike Gillis attempts to re-set the organization under the constraints of a reduced $64.3 million salary cap ceiling that the club has already...

Sharks 4 Canucks 3 OT: San Jose sweeps, season over for Vancouver

Posted on May 7, 2013 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

SAN JOSE — It was about winning any way to play another day.

Backed by the superlative goaltending of Cory Schneider and third-period goals by Alex Burrows and Alex Edler, the Vancouver Canucks appeared ready to take a bold step away from the playoff ledge that wouldn't plunge them into an early offseason of criticism and change.

A victory over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday — the first in the Western Conference quarterfinal series and the first this season — was less than five minutes away when elements that have defined the matchup came into play. Kevin Bieksa took a cross-checking penalty, the vaunted Sharks power play went to work and Joe Pavelski's backhander atthe side of the net, his fifth goal of the series, forced overtime.

The issue was finally settled when Patrick Marleau scored on the power play at 13:18 to provide the 4-3 decision with Daniel Sedin sent off for boarding on what appeared to be a...

Canucks Game Day: Burrows believes taking risks off rush will extend series

Posted on May 7, 2013 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

SAN JOSE — It’s not you, it’s me. Or maybe it’s you and me.

They have met and talked it out among themselves. They heard how Roberto Luongo strongly suggested the level of personal sacrifice required to play beyond tonight, but they will be backstopped by Cory Schneider. And instead of Kevin Bieksa playing the predictable playoff blame game Monday by accusing the San Jose Sharks of embellishment to draw penalties in an attempt to shift the focus, the Vancouver Canucks must draw upon a collective resolve.

They must find a way to score more than one or two goals if they expect to avoid being swept in their Western Conference quarterfinal series. And whatever their identity is, or was, they should take it to the Sharks instead of putting such an emphasis on defence. Take a chance. Blow the zone. Hang on to pucks and gain the offensive zone instead of the lame dump-and-chase game. Get to Antti Niemi....

Canucks: Bieksa calls out Sharks for embellishment tricks

Posted on May 6, 2013 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

SAN JOSE, Calif. — It was a masterful performance by Kevin Bieksa.

With the Canucks struggling to win faceoffs and struggling to score and on the brink of being swept in their Western Conference quarterfinal series, the defenceman switched the talking point on Monday.

The manner in which the San Jose Sharks are using embellishment to draw penalties and fuel a potent power play that has struck four times was the basis of Bieksa’s beautifully timed delivery.

And if it results in the supposed embellishers being penalized on Tuesday in Game 4 — Bieksa cited Logan Couture and Joe Thornton as the guilty parties in Game 3 — then the Canucks believe it could lead to a Game 4 win.

It was a bold and calculated move by Bieksa because Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows are usually the targets of embellishment angst by the opposition. Now it’s Couture and Thornton in the Canucks’ crosshairs.

“It doesn’t take away the fact that it (embellishment)...

Sharks 5 Canucks 2: Schneider’s wheels come off, Vancouver on brink of elimination

Posted on May 6, 2013 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

SAN JOSE — They yanked the stunned starter and changed defensive pairings, but couldn't change what has crippled the Vancouver Canucks in successive playoff series. They're in a world of hurt because they can't score enough. Not even a friendly bounce off a stanchion and a surprise dribbler bouncing into the net to ease the pain.

In their last eight postseason outings, the Canucks have managed 13 goals and the telling 5-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Sunday that has put them on the brink of elimination — and another extended summer of navel-gazing and finger pointing — was further proof that their 2011 Stanley Cup final run seems like a mirage.

The worst part of being down 3-0 in the Western Conference quarterfinal series — and knowing just three NHL teams have clawed back from that hole to win a playoff series — is the wounds have been self-inflicted.

The Canucks had a 4-on-3 power play in the...

Kuzma: Retired Shark Owen Nolan still showing the way in San Jose

Posted on May 4, 2013 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The thermometer is still hovering around 30 degrees Celsius as the Happy Hour throng — a melting pot of diverse cultures and interests — escapes the heat and shuffles into a popular San Jose Sharks watering hole on the main drag. It’s minutes to puck drop, but the 16 screens in the main bar and those outside in the back are still tuned in to the A’s because they’re about to blank the Yankees.

A rotund round-ball fan, squeezing into a Larry Bird jersey, is still screaming about how a Celtics rally fell short to be eliminated from the NBA playoffs by the Knicks. Another dude in a Bulls hat smirks at the scene, and you’d have a hard time believing this is hockey country or a hockey bar. Even though the Britannia Arms can boast former Sharks star Owen Nolan as one of its co-owners, with patrons greeted by an array of his framed...

Sharks impose their will, don’t need to win battle of skill

Posted on May 2, 2013 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

There's nothing fancy or pretty about playoff hockey.

It's gritty, dirty, ugly and usually more about a battle of will than skill. It's crowded creases and scrums. It's hacks and whacks and finding just enough scoring to live another day. Third-period goals by Dan Boyle and Patrick Marleau proved the San Jose Sharks were willing to find a way to claim a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference quarterfinal series opener Wednesday at Rogers Arena.

It was too much like a year ago when the Canucks dropped their series opener 4-2 at home to the Los Angeles Kings. They managed but eight goals in that five-game exit, and have now lost five straight playoff games at home. On Wednesday, their only goal was credited to Kevin Bieksa. It came off a wild scramble in which Raffi Torres tried to sweep the puck back to Antti Niemi and pushed it under him and into the net. But the...

Ducks 3 Canucks 1: Kind of meaningless, as long as nobody got hurt

Posted on April 25, 2013 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

In what could be his final Rogers Arena appearance, Roberto Luongo could have taken another infamous bathroom break during a play stoppage Thursday and allowed Joe Cannata his first NHL minutes.

Keith Ballard could have gone end-to-end as a converted defenceman with the rover executing a spin-a-rama move. And Derek Joslin could have done something to impress in his first outing with the Vancouver Canucks to make the excitement meter budge a bit through 40 listless minutes.

Just as long as nobody got hurt with the Stanley Cup playoffs on the horizon. The Canucks had already racked up 152 man-games lost to injury and only suffered bruised egos Thursday. In what amounted to the Canucks facing the AHL affiliate Norfolk Admirals, instead of the Anaheim Ducks, the Northwest Division winners dropped a listless 3-1 decision to the Pacific Division champions. Can the playoffs start today?

Once the Canucks changed lines and changed momentum in the third period, a 5-on-3 power-play goal...

Canucks edge Red Wings 2-1 in shootout after tough battle tinged with playoff ferocity

Posted on April 22, 2013 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

At one point, Johan Franzen continually cross-checked countryman Daniel Sedin to the ice Saturday like he was planing a piece of wood. At another point, unlikely combatants Keith Ballard and Justin Abdelkader exchanged punches after another mosh pit in front of Cory Schneider.

The playoffs are still on the horizon but looked they had arrived at Rogers Arena.

On a night when the Vancouver Canucks needed to prove a point to gain a pivotal point and secure a postseason berth, they had to poke, prod and punch their way to a 2-1 shootout victory that placed the Detroit Red Wings in the precarious position of missing the Stanley Cup chase after 21-straight playoff appearances. That's why it seemed like the clubs were locked in a bitter playoff battle. There was angst, aggression and enough questionable officiating to make you wonder if it was time to unveil another conspiracy theory about making sure the Red Wings had every chance to play...

Canucks hat trick: Fast-track Frankie, what’s bugging Bieksa?, the O’Byrne optics

Posted on April 21, 2013 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

Three things to ponder after the Canucks topped the Red Wings 2-1 in a Saturday shootout at Rogers Arena to clinch a playoff position:

1. FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD, NORTH: No sooner were the Chicago Wolves eliminated from contention for an AHL playoff berth Saturday in a 2-0 loss to the Milwaukee Admirals than the speculation started. With no roster limit after the NHL trade deadline, the Vancouver Canucks were expected to recall right-shot defenceman Frankie Corrado — especially with right shots Kevin Bieksa and Chris Tanev sidelined — and perhaps wingers Nicklas Jensen, Andrew Gordon, Bill Sweatt and Darren Archibald could work into the recall mix. Same for centre Jordan Schroeder. It’s not official, but the recall word was leaking out Saturday night.

The Corrado family was having dinner in Chicago with a player agent, Scott Deady, who tweeted that it was a great night because Corrado had been recalled by the Canucks. The 20-year-old Toronto native is represented...

Canucks Game Day: Kesler in crosshairs, Weise moves up, Schneider simply super

Posted on April 10, 2013 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

CALGARY — No Chris Higgins. No Chris Tanev. But one Ryan Kesler.

As much as the Vancouver Canucks are labouring with the rejuvenated Higgins sidelined by a knee strain and the consistent Tanev by an ankle ailment, the presence of Kesler has not only had an impact on the ice and in the room, the Calgary Flames couldn’t stop talking about the challenge of shutting down the centre tonight (6:30 p.m. SNP).

After missing 19 games with a right foot fracture, Kesler scored the winning goal Monday in a 2-0 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes. The Flames are keenly aware of what occurs when Kesler goes into Beast Mode.

“He’s a guy who brings a lot of speed,” said Flames defenceman Mark Giordano. “We just have to have the same mentality we’ve had the past few games – work hard and try to out-compete the other team. The last time we played them, we got hurt by a few glaring errors....

Sharks 3 Canucks 2: No doubt Kesler and Raymond can’t get back soon enough

Posted on April 1, 2013 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

SAN JOSE — Bing. Bang. Bong.

In a span of 2:23 of the second period, the Vancouver Canucks went from hanging in to being hung out to dry, and then nearly hanging up at least a point in a revealing and frustrating 3-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Monday.

They allowed three goals in that span and allowed further doubt to creep into their offensively challenged game. After all, their best chance came on a short-handed partial breakaway by Jannik Hansen before Chris Higgins finally struck later in the period to make a game of it and Alex Burrows pounced on a rebound in the third period for an unexpected hectic finish.

“It’s not good enough to score one or two goals — or zero,” said Canucks winger Daniel Sedin, who had five shots but the revamped first line went pointless. “It’s too tough when you’re down 3-0 and that’s when we started pushing. It starts with our...

Canucks Gameday: Danish rookie to line up with twins tonight

Posted on April 1, 2013 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

SAN JOSE — It didn’t take long for some twit with a Twitter account and a lack of imagination to tweet that Roberto Luongo had been dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday morning.

It was followed by the predictable April Fools hashtag and the joke was about as effective as the Vancouver Canucks’ 30th-ranked power play. Then again, the third meeting of the season with the San Jose Sharks tonight at 7:30 p.m. has already been overshadowed by what’s occurring off the ice. Hulking Sharks winger Ryane Clowe is expected to be moved before the Wednesday trade deadline — Philadelphia is the latest rumoured front-runner while Minnesota and the Canucks have kicked the tires on the pending unrestricted free agent — and there is always a buzz around Luongo in a crowded crease. If all he’s going to command now is a second-round pick and a prospect — and not a third-line centre and a backup —...