Looks like the saga continues in the Steve Moore/Todd Bertuzzi case. Rick Westhead at TSN
is reporting today that Moore's brother Mark says there's no deal yet in place. As I said yesterday, I don't expect a clean ending here. My guess is that we'll see a final settlement right on the eve of the trial date in September—much like what we saw with Francesco Aquilini's divorce.
On a happier note, the Stanley Cup is currently in the lower mainland. Willie Mitchell took it fly fishing on the Pitt River yesterday:
There are several more good photos on "Keeper of the Cup" Philip Pritchard's Twitter account.
Today, it's backup goaltender Martin Jones' turn over in North Vancouver.
Jones will also be taking the Cup up to the top of Grouse Mountain at 6 p.m. today.
That's the closest we Canucks fans will get to the coveted chalice for another year...
TV Schedule Info
The
National Post did a great job of breaking down the details of the new TV schedule for hockey markets all across Canada.
Click here to take a look.
For the Canucks, the key details are that all 82 games will be televised in English, as well as 13 in French on TVA. We'll have 57 regional games, which I'll guess will look much the same as usual—except without Don Taylor on the Connected desk.
Forty-nine of those games will be on Sportsnet Pacific, with the other eight on Sportsnet Canucks.
Of the 25 national games, 15 of those will be on Saturday nights on what's being described as "CBC et al," four on Wednesdays on Sportsnet or Sportsnet One and six on Sundays on City-TV.
Still a bit vague, but the picture is coming into focus.
The detailed schedule with national TV notes
can be found here.
No word yet on whether preseason games will be televised though I'm hopeful; I believe they all were on TV last year.
The Canucks issued a press release today announcing that the start times for two of the preseason games had been moved up to 6:00—for the first game against San Jose on September 23 and against Arizona on September 29. Jeff Paterson of TEAM1040 has a positive spin on this news. I like it!
Who Wore it Best?
Our poll did give the edge to Steve Tambellini for the best to wear No. 20.
Canucks.com went in a different direction, talking up Bobby Schmautz as the Canuck who wore the most different numbers in his Vancouver career—five.
It's nice to see Schmautz get some recognition—even though they didn't talk at all about his on-ice career. I brought him up as a nominee at No. 8, where he picked up 14 percent of the vote against the venerable Greg Adams.
Now—on to No. 21. Mason Raymond doesn't qualify since he's still an active player, so here are your nominees:
Ivan Hlinka: Ivan Hlinka and Jiri Bubla were the first Czech players allowed to play in the NHL. They both joined the Canucks in 1981 as veteran players—Hlinka was 32. A big-bodied centre who liked to score from the slot, Hlinka brought a talent injection to the Canucks that was crucial to the team's run to the 1982 Stanley Cup Final. Hlinka had 23 goals and 60 points in the regular season—setting a team rookie scoring record that was eventually tied by Pavel Bure—and eight points in 12 playoff games in 1981-82.
After the Cup run, Hlinka stayed in Vancouver for just one more season before returning to Europe due to back problems. His career NHL totals were 42 goals and 123 points in 131 games, all with Vancouver.
Hlinka went on to have a successful coaching career, including a short stint as head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was killed in a car accident in the Czech Republic in 2004.
The IIHF's annual under-18 tournament bears Hlinka's name in tribute to his great international career.
Jyrki Lumme: As a 23-year-old, Lumme was acquired from Montreal for a second-round draft pick in March of 1990. He went on to join Dana Murzyn on the Canucks' top defensive pairing for the next several seasons. Murzyn was the stay-at-home type, which left the strong-skating Lumme with the opportunity to advance the puck up the ice and operate as an offensive weapon.
Lumme spent nine years in Vancouver and was a key part of the 1994 Stanley Cup run. His best offensive season was 1995-96, when he scored 17 goals and 54 points. All told, Lumme collected 83 goals and 321 points in 579 games with the Canucks.
Cam Neely: Though Neely played just three seasons in Vancouver and saved his best hockey for his time with the Boston Bruins, he certainly deserves consideration as one of the best to wear No. 21 in Vancouver.
Born in Comox and raised in Maple Ridge, Neely was the big local boy who was chosen ninth overall by the Canucks in the 1981 draft. During his three years in Vancouver, Neely managed 51 goals and 104 points in 201 games, though he was stuck on the third line on the depth chart, behind Stan Smyl and Tony Tanti.
Coach Tom Watt didn't like Neely's defensive game, which is why he was deemed expendable. On his 21st birthday in June of 1986, Neely was traded—along with the Canucks' first-round draft choice—to Boston in exchange for Barry Pederson. The Bruins used the draft pick to choose Glen Wesley.
Pederson was just 25 himself, and was pegged as the elite centre that the Canucks needed to step to the next level. He had three 90-plus seasons on his resume and was great with the puck at both ends of the ice.
Pederson actually wasn't *bad* in Vancouver. He played four seasons and put up 197 points in 233 games. But his production declined every year on a team that was headed for the league basement. In 1990, he was packaged up in a trade with Tony Tanti and shipped to Pittsburgh.
As Pederson declined, Neely got better and better. Though his career was cut short by injury, he became one of the most prolific power forwards in the history of the game. Neely scored 50 goals or more on three occasions—most notably in a season where he managed to play just 49 games in 1993-94.
Neely was voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005 and continues to serve as the president of the Boston Bruins.
So, what do you think?
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