There's a new interview with Alex Burrows on The Hockey News website. Click here to take a look.
Once again, Burrows says he's OK with Radim Vrbata taking his spot on the Sedins' line if it helps the team's overall fortunes. "If he’s with the twins, great, or if I’m with them – at the end of the day, winning is more important than personal stats. That’s how I’m looking at it."
Burrows also mentions that he has a longstanding personal relationship with Vrbata: they're the same age and were teammates in junior for one season with the Shawinigan Cataractes as 19-year-olds in 2000-2001.
“Funny story,… Burrows said. “I used to play junior with Radim in Shawinigan. He was a first-liner, I was a fourth-liner, but I got to play with him for a few games back then. During the past decade, I’ve always talked to him during warmups. We’ve gotten along.
Though Vrbata was a seventh-round draft pick by Colorado in 1999, when he made his jump to pro hockey he spent just 2 games with the AHL Hershey Bears before becoming a full-time NHLer. Burrows, of course was undrafted and played 134 games over three seasons in the East Coast Hockey League with the fantastically-named Greenville Grrrowl, Baton Rouge Kingfish and Columbia Inferno.
He broke through to the AHL's Manitoba Moose during the 2004-05 lockout year, and the rest is history.
I think the work ethic that got Burrows to the NHL will get him back on track next season, whether he plays with the twins or not:
“Satisfaction is the beginning of regression,… he said. “Never be satisfied, keep working hard. I had a tough year with injuries and broken bones, but it’s a new year, a new chapter. A lot of us weren’t too happy with the season we had and it’s a fresh start for a bunch of us.…
Changes in the Farm System
Speaking of the farm system, Harrison Mooney has an interesting piece on Puck Daddy this weekend about a long-term strategy to bring minor-league farm teams to the west coast, closer to their parent clubs.
He talks about the travel challenges that were faced by the Abbotsford Heat, located thousands of miles from any of their opponents. It looks like the plan will be to co-opt the western ECHL teams and possibly build a two-league system by 2015-16.
The Canucks, of course, are entering their second year of a five-year deal with the Utica Comets, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them find a way to get in on the action if these changes come to pass. A nearby farm team would offer tremendous convenience in terms of call-ups, and could also provide a great marketing opportunity.
Who Wore It Best?
No surprise: Canucks.com anointed Pavel Bure as the best-ever to wear No. 10 for the Canucks. We talk about Bure so much in other contexts, it seems a bit redundant to review all his accomplishments here.
Here's the short version: 254 goals and 478 points in 428 games over seven seasons in Vancouver.
Bure won out because he still holds franchise records for most points scored by a rookie (34-26-60 in 65 games played in 1991-92) and most shorthanded goals (24) and also ranks in the top five in franchise history in game-winning goals (32), goals and hat-tricks (9).
The penalty-kill was a great opportunity for Bure to use his speed to create chances and change momentum in games. Interesting to contrast that against the Sedins, who are good offensive players but don't have that same explosiveness. I'll be happy to see them relieved of their PK duties next season.
Now, on to No. 11.
Only three Canucks have ever worn this number, so I won't do a poll today. Just a quick look at each player.
Wayne Maki: Maki was one of the Canucks' first goal scorers, breaking the 20-goal mark in each of the franchise's first two seasons. He was diagnosed with brain cancer midway through his third year in Vancouver, in December of 1972, and passed away in May of 1974. He was just 29 years old.
After his death, the Canucks unofficially took his number out of circulation, though it was never officially retired.
Chris Oddleifson: A 6'2", 185-pound center who scored 85 goals and 265 points in 469 games over seven seasons in Vancouver, between 1973 and 1978. Oddleifson only wore No. 11 in his first season before switching to No. 14 after Wayne Maki's passing.
A solid all-round player, Oddleifson was part of the Canucks group that made the playoffs for the first time in 1974-75 and was named team captain for one season in 1976-77.
Mark Messier: Yeah, we have to mention him. Messier was allowed to wear his traditional No. 11 when he joined the Vancouver Canucks for three seasons between 1997 and 2000. Brought in as an expensive free-agent to turn around a team on a downward slide (sound familiar?), the Canucks regressed from 77 points in the year before his arrival to 64 in 1997-98, then 58 in 1998-99 before bouncing back with 83 points in his final year, as the West Coast Express began to assert themselves.
Messier had 162 points in 207 games in Vancouver, but was a collective minus-37 over three seasons.
Though he's a symbol of a dark time in franchise history, subsequent captain Markus Naslund gave Messier credit for helping him develop his game. From NHL.com:
"I think my biggest influence has been Messier," says Naslund. "Watching him prepare for games and how seriously he still took everything at his age. A lot of the qualities that he had helped me get better."