Follow me on Twitter @pool88.
Toronto Maple Leafs at Vancouver Canucks – Saturday November 2 - 4:00 pm - CBC, NHLN-US
Vancouver Canucks 9-5-1 fourth in Pacific Division Toronto Maple Leafs 10-4-0 first in Atlantic Division
With all the excitement surrounding the Sedins' new contracts and Pavel Bure's jersey retirement, I almost forgot that the Canucks have a very big game ahead of them on Saturday.
I'll talk more about those topics in a minute, but first, let's look at the red-hot Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto is tied with Pittsburgh at the top of the Eastern Conference with 20 points, one more than Vancouver. The Leafs are on a three-game winning streak as they wrap up their Western Canadian road swing.
Western Conference teams absolutely dominated the East during the early part of the season. The numbers are now starting to even out, but Toronto has been strong in these matchups all year. The Leafs are 6-2-0 against the West, including a perfect 4-0-0 against the Pacific Division.
In recent years, the Canucks have dominated the Leafs as the Sedins have gone to town, but this is a much improved squad from the one that Vancouver beat 6-2 last time the two teams met, on February 18, 2012.
Despite the Pavel Bure celebration tonight at Rogers Arena, expect Leafs Nation to be out in full force. I'm hoping the Canucks don't give those Leafs fans much to cheer about.
The Vancouver faithful will be watching with interest as Mason Raymond makes his first appearance since signing with Toronto as a free agent. Raymond is 5-6-11 in 14 games and is expected to play on a line with David Clarkson and Dave Bolland—who's likely to want to make an impression himself given his long-time hatred of the Canucks dating back to his days in Chicago.
The Canucks are looking to bounce back after a 3-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday before heading out on a challenging four-game divisional road trip.
Bure's Big Day
Following up on my thoughts from the other day about how the Canucks were able to successfully draft Pavel Bure back in 1989, Mike Beamish of the Vancouver Sun has a story that matches up with my old memories. My only question here—would the Canucks have had a tight enough relationship with Igor Larionov that he would have gone to bat for them like this before he'd even played a game with the team?
Also from the Sun, Iain MacIntyre has a great story today, about Francesco Aquilini's relationship with Pavel Bure and Gino Odjick from back in the '90s. I love the idea that this day has finally come about because Francesco was a fan of the Canucks back then just like the rest of us.
The unlikely bond between Bure and Odjick was one of the most endearing aspects of Pavel's time in Vancouver, and it's still strong. Gino will take part in the ceremony on Saturday, and Pavel spent Friday night with him at a celebration at the Musqueam reserve.
Pavel Bure in #Musqueam pic.twitter.com/EYeLOz6nem
— Kim Baird (@KimCBaird) November 2, 2013
Fellow jersey-retiree Markus Naslund brought his whole family over from Sweden for a week when asked to laud his old teammate, and Canucks' Director of Player Development Stan Smyl will obviously be on hand, though Trevor Linden will be appearing only by video. Another sign that the relationship between Linden and Bure was anything but rosy when the two played together?
I'm looking forward to hearing the stories and seeing all the old faces. The ceremony's scheduled to get underway at 4:00 sharp. Hockey Night in Canada will televise it in its entirety, without interruption.
Sedins Forever
Mike Gillis may have a few black marks on his trade record, and there is that awkward Roberto Luongo contract. But other than that, he's the best in the league at re-signing his top players to reasonable deals.
Locking up Daniel and Henrik Sedin for four more years at $7 million per season might be his best signing yet, during his six years in Vancouver.
The twins are off to a great start—Henrik is fourth in league scoring and Daniel is tied for ninth going into Saturday's action. They've also been two of the most consistent producers in the league throughout their careers. Henrik hasn't missed a single game since 2004. And we all know how they carry themselves on and off the ice, and how important they've become in the community.
The twins certainly could have signed for more money and longer terms if they'd explored free agency. The probably could have gotten more out of the Canucks if they'd waited till later in the year to do the deal. Getting the deal complete eliminates a distraction and gives Vancouver a solid foundation as the team moves forward.
At first, I was surprised that they'd make the announcement at a time when all the attention was directed at Bure, but I like it now. It's a savvy move to connect some of the best memories of the Canucks' past with the promise of a strong future—and to do it while we have the attention of the Toronto media.
I'll talk more about the deals going forward but for now—my congratulations to Mike Gillis, Laurence Gilman and of course Daniel and Henrik.
------
Pacific Buzz(with Carol Schram(VAN), Matt Henderson(EDM) and Jason Lewis(LA) Recorded 11/03/13