The NHL and the Vancouver Canucks get back to business today after the Christmas break.
The Canucks don't play till Sunday, but they're practicing this morning at Rogers Arena. Even before they hit the ice, the news is not so good.
First thing this morning, I saw rumblings that goaltender Joacim Eriksson wasn't with his team in Utica for their morning skate. The speculation that he's been recalled to the Canucks is correct: he's on the ice at Rogers Arena even before practice begins, working out with goaltending coach Rollie Melanson.
Torts is scheduled to met with the media after practice but since he's typically less-than-forthcoming, I'm not sure how much more we'll learn today. Here's hoping that Luongo is just taking extra days off before getting back to game action—once they start playing again, the Canucks start off with another three-game-in-four-night segment.
Luongo has had issues with his groin before; he was injured during a day game in Pittsburgh back in 2008-09 and ultimately missed 24 games despite trying to return much earlier.
One other goalie-related note: TSN chose the Canucks' Goalie-Gate 2012-13 as their eighth-most-memorable NHL moment of 2013.
Click here to relive the Luongo/Schneider saga.
No sign yet of either Alex Edler or Alex Burrows:
Shinkaruk Shut Down
As if Luongo doesn't give us enough reason to worry, word also comes down this morning that the Medicine Hat Tigers have shut down Hunter Shinkaruk for the rest of the season so that he can have hip surgery.
Click here for the story from TSN.
Shinkaruk was one of the last cuts from Team Canada's World Junior team after appearing in just 18 games for the Tigers this season. He hasn't played with Medicine Hat since December 1.
The news means that yet another of Vancouver's top prospects has suffered a serious developmental setback. We can only hope that his hip surgery is as successful as Eddie Lack's was last year, and that Shinkaruk uses his enthusiastic, positive attitude to come back stronger than ever at training camp next year.
Canuck Alums at Spengler Cup
Along with the World Junior Championship, TSN also televises the Spengler Cup from Switzerland over the Christmas break each year. Thanks to the lockout, last year's lineups were filled with NHL stars. This year, there's a solid Canuck presence on Team Canada.
Ex-Canucks Alex Bolduc and Byron Ritchie each had goals in Canada's 5-4 win over HC Vitkovice Steel in its first game of the tournament, and the man who wanted to be a Canuck last year, Jim Vandermeer, is also on the roster. If you haven't caught any of the Spengler action yet, it's worth tuning in just to take a look at the officials' uniforms. Trust me—they need to be seen to be believed.
Canada's next Spengler game is Saturday at 11:00 am against HC Davos—just after the World Junior game between Canada and the Czech Republic rolls at 8:00.
Quick Hit:
My enthusiam for Stephen Harper's hockey book
A Great Game is waning. I'm now midway through, where Harper's not doing much more than summarizing noteworthy games in the early days of Ontario's first professional league. The social and business maneuvering in the earlier part of the book, particularly of the forces that wanted to keep hockey strictly amateur, were much more interesting to me. I'd been hoping we'd get more insight and analysis of what went on the back rooms rather than just what happened on the ice.
I'll update my Twitter as the day wears on if I hear anything further about the Canucks' health heading into Sunday's game against Calgary. Follow me here if you haven't already:
Follow me on Twitter @pool88. 
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