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head coach: Mike Keenan

roster: C - Mark Messier, Peter Zezel, Dave Scatchard, Brandon Convery; LW - Markus Naslund, Brad May, Donald Brashear, Larry Courville; RW - Alex Mogilny, Pavel Bure, Brian Noonan, Scott Walker, Todd Bertuzzi D - Jyrki Lumme, Dana Murzyn, Matthias Ohlund, Bret Hedican, Bryan McCabe, Adrian Aucoin, Steve Staios, Jamie Huscroft, Chris McAllister, Bert Robertsson, Jason Strudwick; G - Garth Snow, Arturs Irbe.

standings:

Western Conference - Pacific Division
Team         GP   W   L   T   PTS   GF   GA 
y-Colorado   82  39  26  17    95  231  205  
x-Los Angeles82  38  33  11    87  227  225  
x-Edmonton   82  35  37  10    80  215  224  
x-San Jose   82  34  38  10    78  210  216  
Calgary      82  26  41  15    67  217  252  
Anaheim      82  26  43  13    65  205  261  
Vancouver    82  25  43  14    64  224  273  

x - Clinched playoff spot
y - Clinched division

team news:

by Carol Schram, Vancouver Correspondent

When Ron McLean opened up this year's NHL Awards broadcast, one of his first jokes was "We only have an hour. So, like Mike Keenan said when he arrived in Vancouver - don't worry, I won't keep you long."

Given the implications of that statement, let's begin this season summary with a look back at all the bodies that flew through the revolving door at GM Place this season.

More than half the team's roster turned over in the last 12 months. Of the players who finished 1996-97 with the big club, 12 maintained their employment with the Canucks organization, although Corey Hirsch and Dave Roberts ended their years in the minors.

Meanwhile, 13 players moved on to new addresses. The Canucks lost five men last summer, while seven players were traded after the Keenan regime took over. Finally, Scott Walker became this summer's first casualty after being chosen by the Nashville Predators in the expansion draft. Of the 13 players who replaced that bunch, two were signed last summer as free agents, four have come up through the Canucks' system, and seven were acquired in Mike Keenan's trades.

Still, that's not the whole story. Another good-sized group spent just part of the season with the Canucks. Here's to free agent signing Grant Ledyard, shipped to Boston for a draft choice; trade acquisitions Sean Burke, Geoff Sanderson, and Enrico Ciccone, acquired together but traded separately; and farmhands Chris McAllister, Lubomir Vaic, Brandon Convery, Larry Courville and Mark Wotton, each of whom spent some time with the big club this year.

Mike Keenan is famous for his quick player turnover. Despite proclaiming himself a new man after leaving St. Louis, there's one habit that definitely didn't die.

Keenan also thinks he can still be a winner. The Canucks organization has already started trying to persuade fans to forget about the first half of last season and start looking toward the future. They sent out a year-end review videocassette to season ticket holders as a way of softening the blow when ticket-renewal forms appeared in the mail. Interestingly, though this season's bright light Matthias Ohlund was featured on the packaging, the content was largely about the Canucks' history, leading up to that stellar Game 7 moment in the 1994 playoffs. Of course, that footage is a strong reminder of better days for Canuck fans, and the irony is amplified by the fact that the two men most responsible for Vancouver's loss, Mike Keenan and Mark Messier, are now the architects of the team's future.

The video was respectful of fans' attachments to the many faces that left Vancouver this year, including old favorites like Trevor Linden, Martin Gelinas, Gino Odjick, and even former superboss Pat Quinn. Of course, the organization paid tribute to Quinn's legacy in a much more meaningful fashion when it finally filled its long-vacant general manager position with a former Quinn protege, Brian Burke.

1996-97 was a disappointment. 1997-98 was much worse, no matter how you look at it. For the second straight year, goal scoring dropped while goals against remained exactly the same. When scoring is dropping league-wide, that explains why Vancouver's offense is down, but does nothing to address the fact that their defense isn't improving like everyone else's. Plus, with their high salary base, the 1997-98 Vancouver Canucks have to be one of the least cost-efficient teams in NHL history, if you were to look at victories or points per dollar spent on player salaries.

Looking backward is pretty unpleasant, so Keenan and the rest of the organization are trying to get the team's followers to look forward. On the bright side, Matthias Ohlund alone is a great reason for optimism. He may have lost the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year to flashy Russian Sergei Samsonov, but Ohlund must be highly commended. He was a plus-defenseman on one of the worst defensive teams in the league, his play remained steady and plentiful through a long season that included a disappointing Olympics and a gold medal at the World Championships, and he showed tremendous grace under pressure. Ohlund smoothly adjusting to a new league, and a new lifestyle and culture, with the additional pressure of an organization that seemed to be falling apart around him.

Another young player who showed promise this year is Ohlund's roommate, Dave Scatchard. The Salmon Arm, B.C. native also played a steady role, as a checking center. Scatchard showed both a willingness to use his size and a bit of a nose for the net, which should both bode well for his future.

Donald Brashear also continued to carve out a niche for himself, to the point where he made longtime fan favorite Gino Odjick expendable. And of course, Keenan is quick to sing the praises of the players he acquired this season. Bryan McCabe looks like he will be a solid, physical blueliner, young Jason Strudwick appeared competent during our brief look at the end of the year, and veteran Jamie Huscroft is practically a dead ringer for the ousted Dave Babych.

This year, the Canucks drafted another big tough blueliner, Bryan Allen, with their fourth-overall pick, and he appears to be cut from much the same cloth as last year's first-rounder, the feisty Brad Ference. This influx of young talent, coupled with the fact that only free agent Jyrki Lumme's future with the squad is in doubt, may mean that we will see deals or renoucements on some of the young-ish defenders who Keenan used sparingly or at forward positions this season: Steve Staios, Bert Robertsson, Adrian Aucoin, and Chris McAllister.

Up front, the enigmatic Todd Bertuzzi has done his best, so far, to make Mike Milbury regret trading him. As for Brad May, he's no sniper, but his enthusiasm was so contagious that a rumor is now circulating that Tom Renney had wanted to acquire May back when he was coaching the Canucks - an odd sort of endorsement for Keenan's maneuvering.

Okay. Now, let's take the briefest of looks back at the year that was:

* Mark Messier arrived to a hero's welcome.
* The Ducks and Canucks started the year in Japan.
* Mark sustained his first mysterious injury in the first game, but still played every game of the year.
* Pavel started scoring and accumulated 51 goals in all, but never did explain his 'trade request'.
* The goaltending stunk from start to finish, with only little Arturs Irbe exceeding expectations.
* The team-worst 10-game losing streak in October and November cost both Pat Quinn and Tom Renney their jobs.
* Mike Keenan's hiring did not make any immediate impact in the standings.
* Management-by-committee led to the trade of Kirk McLean and Martin Gelinas, but all three players acquired in that deal were gone by the end of the year.
* Once granted the authority to make his own deals, Keenan moved fast and furiously.
* The team got younger, tougher, and bigger, but never made a real run at the playoffs.
* The Canucks became the worst defensive team in the league and currently do not have one major-league goalie under contract going into next season. Brian Burke suggests free agents are overpriced and would like to trade for one.
* The new GM is hired. Draft day has come and gone. But most of the big questions still loom around the Vancouver Canucks. Have they finally hit rock bottom?

As I said in this space last year (knock on wood), "Here's hoping that the worst is over."

Pavel Bure by Meredith Martini

TEAM MVP: Pavel Bure. At this point, it's easy enough to take Pavel Bure's achievements this season for granted. After all, he 'only' got 51 goals - he's gotten 60 twice before. But Bure was only one goal short of the league lead this year, playin' without a whole lot of help. And this was the year that the NHL decided to implement what Dominik Hasek calls "anti-goalie rules" so we can tell NHL scores apart from World Cup matches. In 1994, Pavel signed his current five-year contract. There was a clause stating that if he scored 50 goals in 1997-98, he would earn he average of the top three salaries in the NHL the following season. Back then, 50 goals was not a superhuman achievement. It was a worthy challenge for Pavel to meet, but then again, the rewards are also much greater than they would have been back when the contract was signed.

At the beginning of this season, serious doubts lingered about whether or not Bure could return to his previous form after two straight sub-par seasons. Last summer's "I want a trade" controversy didn't help, and while Pavel seemed happy enough on the ice, his off-ice demeanor never really changed. A late- season outpouring of emotion from worried fans helped to overshadow the team's lame crawl to the finish line, as the last few games became celebrations of 'maybe the last time we'll see Bure in a Canuck uniform'. During his drive for 50, Pavel promised to speak out at the end of the year. Now, he's off on summer vacation without a word. Still, nothing has been resolved.

When asked about the situation, Brian Burke sounded remarkably like Pat Quinn, Tom Renney and Mike Keenan before him when he said, "I will have to sit down with Pavel and talk about this. Before I do, he's not going anywhere." There were rumors that San Jose was interested in a draft-day trade for Bure, but even if Vancouver was to deal him, surely a team within the conference would be the worst possible option. It appears the Sharks feel similarly, since they stonewalled the Canucks' interest in their second-overall draft choice, instead peddling it off to Nashville for a much lower price than the one they had tried to extract from Burke.

Pavel Bure also did one extraordinary thing this year - he managed to stay almost completely out of Mike Keenan's line of fire. Only one small incident surfaced in the press, about an argument between Bure and Keenan on the bench during a game, which was likely blown out of proportion. Unlike Keenan's treatment of his last high-scoring right winger, Brett Hull, Bure was pretty much left alone to play his game.

On many nights, especially through the first two-thirds of the season, Pavel's explosive offense was about the only bright spot in a Canuck fan's night. His outstanding performance at the Olympics was also a proud moment for Vancouverites, as the world saw just what kind of single-handed influence this player can have. But the uncertainly surrounding Bure's future prevents fans from getting too optimistic about the future. At this point, it looks like we're in for a repeat of last year, where a lot gets said but nothing gets solved. Bure does become a restricted free agent at the end of this year, so there is a very real possibility that, come next summer, the most exciting player in Canuck history soon may no longer play for Vancouver. It's gonna have to be a helluva trade to make us forget.

SURPRISES: The upheaval. When selecting a subject to accompany this heading, I thought about Matthias Ohlund's strong play - but no, I expected that. I thought about Arturs Irbe's solid performance. I don't think he got enough recognition for what he did or how he did it this year, but I think part of the reason is that people weren't 'surprised' exactly, that he could pull this off.

But I think most folks were shocked that the Canucks got off to another terrible start, and that a little over a month into the season, their longtime leader was suddenly history. I think they were surprised that Quinn got canned before Renney did. I think they were surprised that Marty Gelinas wasn't "Keenan's kind of player" and that Trevor Linden, Mike Sillinger, Gino Odjick, and Dave Babych added their names to that list. If you had told anyone, even after the Messier signing last year, that the Canucks would now be led by Brian Burke and Mike Keenan, I think they would have referred you to the nearest mental health facility.

I also think everyone was surprised, after a bad year in 1996-97, that the Canucks could actually suck this much worse this season.

'Nuff said.

DISAPPOINTMENTS: Mark Messier's leadership. Has the Moose been tamed? Has the Moose gorged himself so completely with Stanley Cups that he no longer has the hunger? Or is the Moose simply getting old and tired?

These questions may be answered next season. Right now, one of the most easily definable characters in pro sports continues to shill potato chips, but has become something of an enigma on the ice.

When Messier first arrived in Vancouver, he promised to help put the fire back in Pavel's belly and make hockey fun again - by winning. Moose and Bure played together all season long, in every possible capacity. The fire did seem to be there, but the winning sure wasn't. And a lot of the time, the winning was jeopardized by defensive errors or poor judgement calls - by Messier.

Now, this guy is one of the greatest hockey players ever. What right do I have to say that he's making mistakes on the ice? Probably none, so let's just say that Messier's play did reflect the fact that he is now 37 years old. When Messier was left off the Olympic team, it certainly underlined the fact that he was no longer the centerpiece of Canadian hockey that he had been for so many years.

While it "wasn't an excuse" the specter of injury appeared regularly. Could Mess have played better if he had rested his weary bones now and then? How useful was he as a center when he literally was unable to take any draws for a long stretch of games toward the end of the season?

But much more surprising than the decline in Messier's play was the fact that he didn't seem to inspire the sort of devotion that had pulled his old Ranger teammates Richter and Leetch into season-long funks. Early on, Mess seemed to be trying to build that guy-to-guy team spirit. His efforts may have been foiled by the immense media attention he was receiving, often at the expense of other players. He also seemed to be disrupting existing relationships - like the long-term friendship between Pavel Bure and Gino Odjick.

Then, when Pat Quinn was fired and Mark's old buddy Mike Keenan was brought in, there was much talk about Messier having input into player decisions, and being closer to management than he was to his team- mates. These locker-room leaks dried up toward the end of the year, and the new Canucks seem much more like Mess's kind of guys. Yet there was never a defining moment, in the midst of all the troubles this season, when Mark Messier was able to single-handedly rally the forces and make fans believe that this hockey team is one united, organic entity. He talked the talk in the papers, but is he walking the walk?

And what of veterans like Bure and Mogilny? Will these talented Europeans, in their hockey primes, really buy into the leadership of a man who is now almost certainly in the twilight of his career? More often than not, when that age-related decline begins, it remains steady. A resurgence, like with Wayne Gretzky, is usually caused by a change of scenery or a major change in linemates, and usually doesn't last more than a couple of seasons. Bure himself showed tremendous leadership as captain of a hodgepodge Russian team at the Olympics. If Pavel does stay, and if there is any jealousy between the team's two most high-profile players, there may yet be a real power play for control of the dressing room.

OFF-SEASON CHANGES: Since the dawn of the Orca Bay era in 1995, the Canucks have made the front page each off-season with some major announcement regarding the future of the organization. First, Alex Mogilny was going to add another dimension of firepower to Pavel Bure's explosiveness, opening new General Motors Place with a bang.

But the pair weren't comfortable on a line together, and Bure's knee injury 13 games into the season put a quick end to that experiment. The next summer, coach Tom Renney was supposed to bring in discipline and an effective system. His tenure started shakily and ended last November with the worst losing streak in team history. Last year, of course, Mark Messier was supposed to teach the Canucks how to win. Instead, the Canucks seemed to inspire him to the sorriest mediocrity of his career.

This summer's announcement is the appointment of the Vancouver Canucks' new general manager, Brian Burke. The announcement came just one week before the entry draft, when the Orcans seemed to decide that they couldn't wait on the indecisive Glen Sather any longer.

Burke's appointment is surprising for two reasons. One, he had said all along that he was not real excited about relocating too far from the east coast, where his family resides. Furthermore, Burke has ties to the Minnesota area and seemed like a perfect fit when their expansion team begins play in two years. Plus, Brian is extremely close to Pat Quinn, the man who employed him as Assistant GM and Director of Hockey Operations for the Canucks from 1988 to 1992. Even as a so-called 'impartial' league executive, Burke expressed personal outrage when Quinn was fired by Orca Bay last fall.

It seems surprising that Burke would be willing to sign on with these men as his new employers, particularly when you know he would have gotten the skinny from Quinn before putting his name on the dotted line. The only real answer is actually a heart-warming one: that Quinn still loves the city and the organization enough that he would encourage a man he virtually created in his image to take the reins in an attempt to finally make the Stanley Cup Dream a reality in Vancouver.

Of course, now that Quinn is head coach in Toronto, this clouds the issue a little. For one thing, I bet Quinn's now officially wishing that he hadn't acted on the Canucks' behalf in matching Toronto's offer sheet to Matthias Ohlund last summer. But more importantly, the rivalry between these two cities and their hockey teams has been intense for years - really, a representation of two fundamentally opposite Canadian philosophies.

The goaltending question looms huge. The three netminders who finished last season under contract to the Canucks are all free agents. Arturs Irbe, who carried the majority of the load and recorded the best numbers, is unrestricted, while late-season acquisition Garth Snow and Corey Hirsch, who spent much of the year in the minors, are each restricted free agents. One hint of the Canucks' future thoughts may lie with the fact that they did choose to protect Hirsch over Snow for the expansion draft; however, rules governing goaltender selection by expansion teams may complicate that picture further.

General consensus says the Canucks need to acquire a name-brand goalie if they hope to be significantly better next year. If they go the free-agent route, let's assume Sean Burke and Curtis Joseph are off the list. That leaves second-stringers like Bob Essensa and Craig Billington, really-old-guys like John Vanbiesbrouck and Kelly Hrudey, and two other possibilities: Arturs Irbe and Mike Richter.

Irbe performed beyond the call of duty this year and got little in return - a relatively small salary, limited recognition, and no real respect. Keenan would turn to him only when his latest 'number one' had let him down, whether that was McLean, Hirsch, Burke, or Snow. And while Iron Mike is notorious for playing mind games with his goalies and did not go out of his way to make Irbe's life any easier, little Archie didn't seem too fazed by the goings-on, putting in steady performances more often than not.

Richter, of course, is a close personal friend of Mike n' Mark's, and it is widely believed that his poor performance this year is a direct result of the chaos surrounding the Rangers after Messier's departure. Nashville's selection of Richter's rights in the expansion draft clouds the picture further, as does the Canucks' protecting Corey Hirsch after playing him for two whole periods of NHL hockey all season. Now, Brian Burke is saying he wants to trade for a goalie. But who's available? And what can the Canucks afford to give?

The Canucks' other unrestricted free agents are two Keenan favorites, and one guy on the bubble. With all the trades this season, Jyrki Lumme is now the longest-serving Canuck. But, he had a brutal season, which could affect his prospects. It may also explain why, towards the end of the season, his agent was implying that Lumme would still accept less than market value to stay and finish out his career in Vancouver. The Canucks must think they have a shot at re-signing him, or else they would have dealt him at the trade deadline.

But free agent defensemen are in pretty short supply this summer, so that could inflate prices of the few who are available. On the other hand, last year's highest-profile UFA defenseman, Luke Richardson, turned out to be a bust for the Flyers, so maybe teams won't be quite so eager to take the plunge this year. Bottom line with Lumme - who knows? I'd call that one 50/50.

It seems likely that Brian Noonan and Peter Zezel could both be back if they want to continue their NHL careers. Even at age 32, Zezel did a surprisingly decent job as a second-line center after he was rescued from New Jersey's farm system, and he remains one of the best face-off guys in the league. Plus, with Scott Walker now gone, the gaping hole at center ice just got a little bit bigger, even if young Josh Holden can make the jump from the minors and remain injury free.

Zezel also has a knack for saying just the right thing at the right time, and his dealing with his ill young niece warmed hearts during the year. Brian Noonan is also an acceptable checking-line grinder. With both these players, one simple fact looms: it is unlikely that any other organization would covet them more than Mike Keenan would.

Now - I wonder if Stephane Matteau is available?

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