The Canucks just traded Matt Cooke for Matt Pettinger, anyone know anything about the new guy?

 

Has potential to score points, might be a good second power play line guy, but as it stands he hasn't shown a lot of offense this year and we are loosing some of the playoff grit from Matt Cooke.
At the same time, we have the new agitaters in Ryan Kesler and Andrew Burrows so Matt Cooke was expendable.

 

Looking at the numbers, he has produced better than Cooke in the past, he's lives in Victoria and he says skating is his strong point, not to mention he's cheaper and signed for next season (unlike Cooke who's an UFA). I guess the Canucks are not any worse off.

 

A little disappointing that we didn't get any help in the goal scoring dept. That plus the fact that Dallas, Colorado and San Jose got stronger should put the Canucks in tough to even make the playoffs, never mind getting past the first round.

 

A few things to consider. Scoring is not a problem as long as you keep the pucks out of the net.
Last year, the Canucks goal for/against ratio was 21, but they were tied for 9th in the west. The only teams worse than them were the teams that did not make the playoffs.

This year, their ratio is 10, but they are in 6th place in the west. AV's theory is good when everyone does their intended jobs, but makes for a very boring game. As long as all their defencemens do their jobs and are healthy, the amount of scoring they have should be suffice to get them into the playoffs.

Looking at the guys ahead of them, Detroit SJ Dallas Anaheim are the powerhouses in the west. If Detroit is still without a lot of their stars, then they might not go too far in the playoffs.
Anaheim is my pick to go to the finals in the west. Basically, they have the same team as they did last year minus a few players. SJ and Dallas have gotten stronger with their new pickups, but I dunno if they will have enough time to practice and gel together as a team.

Looking at the east, If Ottawa can solve their inconsistent goaltending, then they will be in the final 4. I also expect to see Montreal, NJ, and Pittsburge in the final 4.

 

Colorado on paper looks a lot stonger, but they are still on the border of missing the playoffs.
Even though they aquired Forsberg, the question still remains. Will be healthy enough to play before the playoffs start, how long for him to get his timing back, and will be get hurt.

 

So which forward on the team can actually lay a decent hit except Matt Cooke? I'm disappointed.

 

I don't think Colorado got much stronger at all....Forsberg is a HUGE question mark, and will probably be injured by playoff time. Foote is a dinosaur and Salei isnt an upgrade on Skrastkins (sp?).

I'm worried about Anaheim, Dallas, and San Jose. That said, I think the Nucks match up fairly well against everyone except Anaheim and San Jose, and if the twins don't disappear in the playoffs this year they could pull off an upset.

 

I think Colorado will be giving the Canucks a run for their money down the stretch not necessarily b/c of Forsberg but because Sakic, Smyth and Stastny have all recently returned from injuries.

Dallas has been on fire the past few weeks and Richards should help their cause. Their biggest question mark though is Turco in the playoffs. If the Stars had Richards last year I say they beat the Canucks in the first round.

Also in the West, overall goaltending is pretty good and most teams will clamp down in the playoffs. The Canucks had good goaltending last year in the playoffs but they couldn't muster enough goals. With the exception of the first and last game against Dallas, Vancouver could not score more than 2 goals. With the firepower and goaltending on the other teams I don't think they are going to win too many games 2-1.

I agree with Ron though, the success of the Canucks depends on the Sedin twins. Hopefully they gained enough experience from last years' playoffs.

 

Just wanted to say RIP Luc Bourdon.

Guy had the same birthdate as me.