Welcome back, for those of you who were away for the long weekend. You didn't miss much on the ice as the Canucks dropped both their games in Southern California. Dan Hamhuis and Tom Sestito (really!) were your goal-scorers as Vancouver fell 5-1 in Los Angeles and 3-1 in Anaheim.
We did have new blogs all weekend. If you missed them, click here for Saturday, which included a look at the personnel moves in Edmonton, here for Sunday, and here for Monday, which included a look at the B.C. connections of the 2013 Hall of Fame class.
UPDATE: 11:00 AM The Canucks have just announced that they've recalled David Booth from Utica and assigned Darren Archibald back to the farm. I guess Booth will be back in the lineup on Thursday against the Sharks. In a perfect world, this will help get the offense going but I'm skeptical. I also thought Archibald was making a contribution, although he may be the easiest player to send down without clearing waivers.
The Canucks don't play again till Thursday, so I thought we'd take a day off from wringing our hands about the standings. Instead, let's take a spin around the league and check in on the cast-off Canucks from 2012-13. We've been able to keep a pretty close eye on some of our former players, but who is flying under the radar?
The list will include only players who were on the Canucks' roster during the lockout season, listed in order of point production from last year.
Mason Raymond—signed as a free agent by the Toronto Maple Leafs
Last year: 46 GP 10-12-22 plus-2 This year: 17 GP 5-6-11 plus-2
Raymond is maintaining his streaky reputation in Toronto. He got off to a hot start, but has just two points in the Leafs' last 10 games. Raymond cooled off before Dave Bolland got injured, but losing his regular center probably won't help him, either.
A good value signing for the Buds, but he'd still be frustrating us here in Vancouver.
Max Lapierre—signed as a free agent by the St. Louis Blues
Last year: 48 GP 4-6-10 minus-6 This year: 10 GP 1-1-2 plus-3
Lapierre made headlines for the hit that injured San Jose's Dan Boyle—an awkward play gone wrong that resulted in a scary injury. Boyle's now back in action, and Lapierre was suspended for five games.
He's been back in the Blues lineup for five games and is logging fourth-line ice time—generally eight minutes or so per game, which is significantly less than he played in Vancouver. His points have come in his last two games, as he's starting to gel on a line with tough guy Ryan Reaves.
The Blues are a smash-mouth hockey team, where Lapierre can fit right in. Though Vancouver's fourth line remains a work-in-progress, the team is better off without a player who carries Lapierre's reputation.
Derek Roy—signed as a free agent by the St. Louis Blues
Last year: 12 GP 3-3-6 plus-1 This year: 15 GP 4-4-8 minus-1
Derek Roy's status as a rent-a-player for the Canucks took a beating when he became utterly ineffective in Vancouver's playoff series against San Jose. While the Blues profess to be happy with his playmaking abilities, mostly on a second line with Vladimir Sobotka and Chris Stewart, his production's about the same as it was with the Canucks, and Sobotka's taking more faceoffs than he is.
Mike Santorelli has 12 points for the Canucks in the second-line center position, at a salary of $550,000 and Brad Richardson has 10 points at a salary of $1.15 million. Roy's making $4 million. I'd say Vancouver did all right in filling his spot.
Andrew Ebbett—signed as a free agent by the Pittsburgh Penguins
Last year: 28 GP 1-5-6 minus-1 This year: 13 GP 5-6-11 plus-1 with Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins (AHL)
After signing a two-year, two-way contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins last summer, it's back to the minors for Andrew Ebbett. Looks like the only way he'll see NHL action this year is if Pittsburgh gets hit hard by injuries.
Keith Ballard—bought out by the Canucks, signed as a free agent by the Minnesota Wild
Last year: 36 GP 0-2-2 minus-2 This year: 9 GP 0-4-4 plus-6
Returning to his home state after an uncomfortable three years with the Canucks, Keith Ballard has played well—when he has played. He was sidelined with a concussion for two weeks in October and is now back on the sidelines with an undisclosed upper-body injury that is apparently unrelated. It's expected he'll miss about two weeks once again.
Despite Ballard's absence, Minnesota coach Mike Yeo still has six healthy defensemen that he feels comfortable using, so it looks like Keith is a bubble-boy once again in his new home.
Cam Barker—signed as a free agent by Barys Astana (KHL)
For a player with his size and his pedigree, the Cam Barker experiment was worth a try last year, but didn't amount to much.
Barker signed his KHL deal on November 5, so he has yet to play a game for Barys Astana.
Aaron Volpatti—claimed on waivers by Washington Capitals during 2012-13 season
Last year: 16 GP 1-0-1 plus-1 (with Canucks) This year: 11 GP 1-0-1 even
It's more of the same for Volpatti in Washington, skating in a fourth-line energy role while logging about seven minutes a game. Volpatti didn't get into the lineup until October 19, but has stuck since then. His most memorable moment this season was his fight with Philadelphia's Steve Downie, which sent the Flyer to hospital in his first game with his new team.
Volpatti was a solid role-player during his time in Vancouver. He's since been replaced by Tom Sestito. I'd call it even.
Manny Malhotra—signed as a free agent by the Carolina Hurricanes after professional tryout with Charlotte Checkers
Last year: 9 GP 0-0-0 minus-3 This year: 5 GP 1-0-1 plus-3
After being shut down by the Canucks last season, Manny Malhotra made it clear that the thought he could still play. He earned his way back to the NHL and joined the Carolina Hurricanes on Nov 1.
We've all heard the story of his overtime game-winning goal against Philadelphia, but that's been Malhotra's only offensive output to date. The Hurricanes have him logging about 15 minutes a game, and he's contributing in the faceoff circle and with his solid defensive play. The team is 2-2-1 since his arrival.
Andrew Gordon—signed as a free agent by the Winnipeg Jets
Last year: 6 GP 0-0-0 minus-1 This year: 14 GP 5-3-8 minus-1 St. John's IceCaps (AHL)
Minor-leaguer Gordon signed a two-way contract with Winnipeg over the summer, and has found a home with their farm team in St. John's.
Derek Joslin—signed as a free agent by AIK IF (Swedish Hockey League)
Last year: 2 GP 0-0-0 minus-2 This year: 19 GP 4-4-8 minus-4
After spending one year with the Canucks' organization, primarily in the minors, Vancouver chose not to qualify Joslin, who has now moved on to play hockey in Sweden.
Steve Pinizzotto—signed as a free agent by the Florida Panthers
Last year: 12 GP 0-0-0 minus-6 This year: 2 GP 2-0-2 plus-2 with San Antonio Rampage (AHL)
After two injury-filled years with the Canucks where he was never able to realize his potential, the center signed a two-way deal with Florida this summer.
He has been assigned to the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL. Pinizzotto suffered a hip injury in September, so has started his new season well with two goals in his first two games.
Bill Sweatt—signed as a free agent by Brynas IF (Swedish Hockey League)
Last year: 1 GP 0-0-0 minus-1 This year: 19 GP 5-3-8 minus-4
One last prospect who didn't quite pan out for the Canucks. Sweatt was part of the organization since 2010, but only saw three NHL games in his three seasons. It's on to Sweden for the 25-year-old.
If you could have a do-over, which former Canuck do you wish the organization had kept?
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