The Vancouver Canucks have a day off today before getting back onto the ice for another practice on Friday. They'll open their season at Rogers Arena on Saturday night against the Edmonton Oilers—the first of four games against Canadian teams to start the year.
I wonder how many Canucks players and coaches kicked back last night to watch Connor McDavid take the Calgary Flames to school?
I have to admit—his dominance against Calgary caught me by surprise. I know he's good but my big takeaway last night was, "He's only 20 years old. He's still getting better!"
McDavid won the Art Ross and Hart Trophies last year. It hadn't occurred to me that he has upside.
I've heard this mentioned a few times and I think it'll be true—what McDavid is going to do to the Canucks over the next few years is going to be some major payback for all the hurt the Sedins put on the Oilers during their prime years. Brace yourself.
Talking Stanley Cup predictions in the comments yesterday, I went out on a limb and picked Winnipeg to come out of the West next spring. I know it's only Day 2 but after last night's games, I may want a do-over on that suggestion.
A busy night on the schedule tonight, with eight games. Pittsburgh-Chicago gets the national broadcast on Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet One. I'll be keeping an eye on Arizona-Anaheim after I picked the Coyotes to make the playoffs this year and the Ducks to miss. I'm really intrigued by Arizona—Hjalmarsson and Demers will really help their defense, and they've got SEVEN forwards on entry-level contracts in their lineup, including the buzzed-about Clayton Keller, who's starting on the first line. I think they'll be fun to watch this year.
The only significant piece of Canucks news today is that Patrick Wiercioch did clear waivers. It's assumed that he'll be assigned to Utica, adding another name to an already-crowded list of veterans that's making life complicated for first-year Comets coach Trent Cull.
Comets beat reporter Ben Birnell is on the case:
The short version: AHL teams are only allowed to dress five veterans with more than 320 games of professional experience—and a sixth with between 260 and 320 games.
Reid Boucher takes up that No. 6 slot with his 281 games of pro experience.
Here's the list of the now-eight guys who are impacted by the veteran rule:
FORWARDS:
Jayson Megna: 328
Wacey Hamilton: 336
Darren Archibald: 347
Anton Rodin: 354
Michael Chaput: 372
Carter Bancks: 428
DEFENSE:
Patrick Wiercioch: 424
Jamie Sifers: 735
Birnell suggests that Cull might be able to rotate the veterans in his lineup, scratching different players on different days. AHL teams also sometimes make deals where they lend players to other teams.
Beyond that, there's always the possibility of assignment to the ECHL, but who would get that treatment? Hamilton, Bancks and, to this point, Archibald have basically been career AHLers but they have all been important players for the Comets. Bancks was named captain last season and Archibald was the team's MVP last year.
The Comets added another player to their roster today, signing winger Cam Darcy to a PTO. Darcy was a seventh-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning back in 2014. He spent the 2015-16 season with the Syracuse Crunch—playing under Trent Cull—and split his time between Syracuse and the ECHL Kalamazoo Wings last season.
Here's the long list of the players still in Comets camp on Wednesday—not including Wiercioch:
Something's gotta give.
A couple of other random notes to wrap up today:
• Don't expect to see new Canuck Derrick Pouliot in the lineup on Saturday night.
• When your entire blue line scored less goals (22) last year than Brent Burns (29) did by himself in San Jose, I'd say it's a good plan to ask the defense to be more involved offensively this season.
• Alex Burmistrov has changed agents.
His previous agent was Adam Oates at Optimal Player Performance.
Milstein's Gold Star management roster is heavy on Russian clients, including Pavel Datsyuk, Nikita Kucherov, Artemi Panarin, Nikita Zaitsev—and Andrey Pedan.
• Jared McCann had some interesting comments for Elliotte Friedman after a strong preseason. He scored four goals in four games—three of them in a hat-trick performance against the Tampa Bay Lightning. From the rechristened
31 Thoughts:
There are things I regret, but I’ve learned from it. I’m a better player. You can’t take a day off, can’t get complacent, there are guys coming to take your job. Coming into to the league, I was a cocky little kid my first couple of months. They straightened me out.
New Florida coach Bob Boughner is looking to start McCann back at centre—most likely on a third line with Connor Brickley and Nick Bjugstad.
• Another one-time Canucks prospect, defenseman Gustav Forsling, has made the Chicago Blackhawks' opening-night lineup. Forsling, who's now listed at 6'0" and 186 pounds, played 38 games for the Blackhawks last season, picking up five points. He had three assists in four preseason games this year and is projected to start on the left side of the third pairing with 27-year-old rookie Jan Rutta, who was signed out of the Czech Republic after World Championships.
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