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Yesterday I ask who people felt Vancouver's MVP was. As expected, The Captain finished with almost twice as many votes as anyone. But what I did not expect was for Dan Hamhuis to come in second. I know a lot of people respect Hamhuis and would have him as one of Vancouver's top 5 players, but the MVP? That was nice to finally see fans take notice of how valuable Hammer is to the Canucks.

A lot of rival fans will tell you that Vancouver has no true number one D, but I strongly disagree with that statement. Hamhius is not only one of the 20 defenceman in the NHL, but he is also amongst the best values in the league. While Hamhuis is not in Chara's league, he isn't far off.


Chara 79GM 12G 40A +33 86PIM 166 hits 87BlkS 68GV 28TA 25:00MIN/G
Hamhuis 82GM 4G 33A 46PIM +29 103hits 99BlkS 62GV 48TA 23:25MIN/G


Any player that is close to keeping pace (without nearly as much PP time) with a man who is considered by many to be the best defenceman in the NHL should be considered a #1 D. Time to take notice people, it wasn't a fluke that Hamhuis was 10th in Norris voting.

The other interesting thing was Roberto Luongo finishing third in voting. Everyone outside of Vancouver thinks that Luongo has no value, yet 15% of people in Vancouver (for the most part) think he is the best player on a Presidents Trophy winning team.

Something about that just doesn't make sense. In my opinion, of the 14 teams that missed the playoffs, Luongo is a better goalie than the guy that 11 of those teams have starting. Of the teams that did make the playoffs, Luongo is better than five of those teams starters. So a goalie, that is better than more than half the leagues starters, is only worth a bad contract, a middle prospect, and a late pick? I know that contract is so/so, but if there was a player sitting there that could get my team to the playoffs for the next few years, and my team was dilly fudging around I would be pissed.

Isn't the point of running a professional team to ice the best team possible? Luongo gets the Leafs in the playoffs for the first time in how many years, and they are rumoured to be balking at the trade because Vancouver wants a 1st? Put restrictions on the deal where you don't give up the pick unless you are in the playoffs and get the deal done. If I was a Leafs fan, I am pissed that this deal has not been done yet.

And the Panthers, why are you waiting? Are you seriously holding out because you don't want to include a guy who has never laced them up for an NHL game? I like Bjugstad and think he has huge upside. I don't blame the Panthers for taking their time thinking this one through. Bjugstad is going to be a very good player, maybe even an all star. But the fact is their D took a hit with the loss of Garrison and with the Caps and Canes likely being better, they're going to be in tough this year.

The Panthers have the depth in their system to make up for the loss of Bjugstad. Luongo makes them a better team and has them competing in the division for the next 3-5 years. If I was a Panthers fan, that's what I would want, rather than waiting 2-3 years for Bjugstad to start shipping in.

At the end of the day, I'm shocked at the amount of fans who want their teams to suck. Right now there are two very good suitors for Lu. My guess is one team gets Lu and makes the playoffs. And the other team has a GM that is left explaining why his team is picking in the top 10 because they didn't give up a slight bit more for one of the top 15 goalies in the NHL.

That's a wrap.

Ian


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