When it rains, it pours.
Whether you're talking about the climate or the Canucks you'll never
hear a truer statement out of Vancouver in October.
After a season that saw a coach, a general manager and half a dozen
popular players go elsewhere, the Canucks' chances for
respectability took another hit when the once Russian, now Rushin'
Rocket Pavel Bure made public his demands for a trade. As the
Canucks enter their first week of regular season play, they are
still without the most popular player in team history, or anything
to show for him.
One of the many new additions to the team, GM Brian Burke has taken
a hard line on the Bure issue, and has refused to comment on his
status to any media, even your hard workin', tough checkin' source
here at LCS Hockey. All indications, though, point to a long,
loss-filled standoff, as very few teams have both the resources to
put together a deal attractive to the Canucks and the coin to pay
Bure the $9-million salary he is due this season.
Another problem spot is defenceman Bryan McCabe, whose rough, steady
play was among one of the few bright spots as the Canucks wrapped up
their 97-98 schedule. He remains in Calgary awaiting a new contract,
and sides are still far apart. At an early September "State of the
Franchise Address" for season ticket holders, Burke set McCabe's
asking price at $2.5 million a year, while the Canucks opened
negotiations in the $1.1 million range. As I write from my secret
perch high above the Vancouver skyline, McCabe's agent has yet to
respond to the Canucks latest offer, submitted Friday, Oct. 9.
Despite all the negative news surrounding the team as it enters the
season, there is reason for optimism. Many Canucks' have stepped up
their play, including Calder runner-up Mattias Ohlund and bulked-up
winger Todd Bertuzzi.
Bertuzzi's play through the preseason has left many comparing him to
Flyer winger John LeClair, another former prospect who only found
his scoring touch after a trade sent him to Philadelphia. Bertuzzi
led the Canucks in exhibition scoring, including a few spectacular
individual efforts, and his new-found commitment to conditioning
has him ready to jump into the league's elite.
Brian Burke sent the team to training camp promising a trade for a
starting goalie by the season opener, but changed his tune after
Garth Snow, already penciled in as a backup, and Corey Hirsch, whose
training camp play earned him a contract, acquitted themselves
during the exhibition schedule. Snow is poised to start the
season, while Hirsch will also see action as the backup.
It is still expected by many that the Canucks will acquire a goalie
when Bure is traded, and many expect that goalie to be Felix Potvin,
who has recently been rumoured to come out West in a three-way deal
involving the Islanders. Bure rumours have only trailed comments on
the witty, hard-hitting style of LCS Hockey on local talk radio
shows, and you'll read a lot of them in this column (Linden/ Berard
to Toronto, Bure/Schneider to the Isles and Potvin/Smolinski to
Vancouver is the latest to hit the West Coast).
After a season as poor as the Canucks 97-98, you'd expect a flurry
of changes, but as the season begins only four new Canucks have
joined the lineup.
The lone free agent signing was former-everything ( Blue, Hab,
Coyote etc.) Murray Baron, picked up by the 'Nucks after the team
was spurned by Dmitri Mironov, who took a higher offer in
Washington. He'll bring some toughness and experience to the blue
line along with resident-pylon Dana Murzyn, who makes up in
tenacity what he lacks in speed.
Corey Hirsch re-joins the team after a year with the Canucks' AHL
affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. He stole the Canucks starting job
from Kirk McLean in 1996, and now looks to succeed in a second
go-round with the team.
Rookie forwards Bill Muckalt (RW) and Matt Cooke (C) cracked the
lineup with aggressive play in the preseason. Muckalt will begin the
season on a line with Peter Zezel and Todd Bertuzzi, while Cooke will
probably see spot action on both the third and fourth lines. Two
rookies expected to make the team, Josh Holden and Peter Schaefer,
had poor exhibition showings, but will likely have the chance to show
their stuff mid-season, as they are the two most likely to receive
call-ups. Defencemen Brad Ference, the 10th overall pick in 1997, and
Bryan Allen, the Canucks' fourth overall selection in June, both had
surprisingly strong exhibition performances, with Allen being sent
back to junior only when a contract could not be reached by the
league-imposed deadline. Both will be fixtures on the Canucks blue
line for years to come.
The Canucks begin the season with three home contests before they
head out on the traditional mid-October Eastern swing. The road
trip should give the team a chance to establish some chemistry and
charge the rookies with a few expensive dinners. By the end of
October we should have a pretty good idea of where this team is
going without Bure, and if it's nowhere, we can expect Brian Burke
to make his first trade as Vancouver GM.
