Vermette to Canucks rumors continue

From Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun:

Buzz is the Vancouver Canucks are interested in acquiring Antoine Vermette, the fleet-footed Senators forward who awaits a scheduled, July 31 arbitration hearing. Original speculation had Ottawa hoping to land rugged defenceman Kevin Bieksa in return, but the Canucks laughed off talk of a one-for-one deal. Most recently, the word coming from out west has Vermette heading to Vancouver for former Senators blueliner Sami Salo.

Read the entire entry from Off the Posts here.

The Senators are NOT making a Antoine Vermette straight up for Sami Salo deal.

Could Bieksa be traded for Vermette?

From Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun:

Meanwhile, the Canucks might be willing to move blueliner Kevin Bieksa to Ottawa for winger Antoine Vermette, a restricted free agent who could be on the verge of receiving an offer sheet. Bieksa is slated to earn $3.75 million a season for the next three years. A league executive said yesterday that most of the blueliners available are guys who are unwanted by their teams.

Read the entire article here.

This is a rumor that actually makes sense. The Canucks need forwards and the Senators need defense. Both players are still relatively young and will probably end up having salaries that aren't substantially apart. I could see this deal happening within the next few days.

NHL Morning Papers--Western Conference (Monday Edition)

Here are the Pacific Division morning papers:

• Mark Whicker of the Orange County Register wonders which Ducks team will show up for the playoffs.
• "I think confidence is an attitude you have. We've had it at times, but right now we don't, and it's going to take more than just one game to get it back," said Stars captain Brenden Morrow about his team's recent struggles.

**There are no San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings or Phoenix Coyotes articles this morning**

Here are the Central Division morning papers:

• Red Wings coach Mike Babcock calls his team the best team he's ever coached. With such a big lead in the Western Conference, the Wings are going to make sure they get the necessary rest prior to the playoffs.
• The Predators have been happy with the consistency of their top two scorers, writes John Glennon.
• The Blues found a way to lose yesterday, writes Jeremy Rutherford.
• The Blue Jackets specialty teams have been below par, writes Tom Reed.
• With Sunday afternoon's come-from-behind win in overtime, the Blackhawks have moved to within four points of the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot. After yesterday's game, Hawks coach Denis Savard had a few choice words for the Blues.

Here are the Northwest Division morning papers:

• Wild GM Doug Risebrough says the team will really miss Kurtis Foster. With his poor play as of late, Mark Parrish has been relegated to press box duty.
• The Flames got a day off yesterday in preparation for their big tilt tonight versus the Avalanche. If Kristian Huselius does not get his game together, the Flames could have a quick exit from the playoffs, writes Eric Francis.
• "You just never know. That's what makes it exciting, because the options are limitless. That's why you keep pecking away," said Oilers coach Craig MacTavish about his team's playoff chances. Meanwhile, John MacKinnon tells readers that Joni Pitkanen is not afraid to jump into the play and take a risk.
• Kevin Bieksa is still trying to find his pre-injury form, writes Ben Kuzma. The Canucks were given the weekend off from the rink, in order to be rested for the last games of the regular season.
• Adrian Dater of the Denver Post tells you five things that are currently wrong with the Avalanche.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com

NHL Morning Papers

I just wanted to let our readers know that the name of my morning papers roundup has been changed from Morning Musings to the NHL Morning Papers, just so nobody gets confused. Additionally, I will be out of town tomorrow morning and therefore be unable to post the Sunday morning papers. The regular format will return on Monday.

Here are the national morning papers:

• Eric Duhatshek of the Globe & Mail provides readers with his usual Saturday notes column.
• In the National Post, Red Fisher tells readers there is no doubt who is in charge in Jersey this season.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• The Ducks have a chance to make a statement over their next ten games writes Curits Zupke of the Orange County Register.
• Thanks in large part to Matthew Lombardi, it appears the Flames no longer have a secondary scoring problem.
• Blackhawks' winger Martin Havlat is expected to return from injury during the team's upcoming four-game home-stand. Meanwhile, Ed Sherman of the Chicago Tribune thinks the Chicago ownership could do more to broadcast home games if they really wanted.
• Woody Paige of the Denver Post compares Sidney Crosby with Wayne Gretzky.
• The Blue Jackets/Ducks game on Thursday was a game with a playoff-like intensity and Ken Hitchcock believes the point his team received after losing overtime was "a great point for our hockey club."
• The Stars were defeated by the Coyotes 5-0 on Friday night and after the game team captain Brenden Morrow said, "This is rock-bottom for us."
• The Red Wings believe they are a tougher team to play against than in the past write Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.
• Not only did the Oilers lose the game against the Predators last night, but they lost yet another defenseman to injury as Mathieu Roy separated his shoulder.
• The Kings rode a terrific 45 save performance from J.S. Aubin to defeat their division rival Sharks 5-2 last night.
• The Wild will be looking to dig deep and end their slump tonight as they host the Flames in St. Paul.
• Dan Ellis is doing his best to create a goalie controversy in Nashville as he turned aside 31 of 32 shots last night to lead the Preds to a 4-1 victory over the Oilers.
• The Coyotes continued to get solid goaltending last night, as Mikael Tellqvist led the team to a 5-0 shutout over Dallas.
• The Sharks were defeated 5-2 by the Sharks last night and the team has to stop saying it's still early before it gets too late says Patrick Marleau.
• Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Dispatch profiles Blackhawks' rookie Jonathan Toews in this morning's paper.
• Both Kevin Bieksa and Sami Salo will be lost to the Canucks for over 6 weeks and maybe longer writes Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• The Capitals lost, once again, last night to the Flyers and with the losses mounting they are trying to do their best to limit their frustration.
• The Leafs wasted a solid road effort last night with a couple late third period lapses and were defeated by the Devils 3-2. The Leafs are going to dismantle their powerplay because as coach Paul Maurice said, "it's costing us games."
• The struggling Lightning have an important division stretch coming up writes Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune.
• The Penguins have finally received their expected production from Sidney Crosby, however, the team is not receiving any scoring from the majority of their forwards.
• The Flyers' Mike Richards has totally redefined his role this season continued his success on Friday night leading the Flyers to a 3-2 victory over the Capitals.
• Jason Spezza won't suit up for the Senators' game tonight versus Boston, but that doesn't mean he isn't ecstatic about his new seven year contract extension.
• It should be quite the scene tonight on Long Island as legendary coach Al Arbour returns to the Island to coach his 1500th game.
• John Dellapina of the New York Daily News has information on the Rangers' attempted injunction against the NHL.
• John Madden continued his terrific play this season against the Maple Leafs last night, leading his team to a 3-2 victory. Martin Brodeur looked like the Brodeur of old versus the Leafs last night write Rich Chere of the Newark Star Ledger.
• Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette says the Habs have a good opportunity to continue their hot streak tonight against the struggling Leafs.
• The Panthers are now 3-0 against teams they have played for the second time this season after defeating the Sabres 4-2 in Buffalo last night. Richard Zednik led the way with two goals.
• Sabres' backup goalie Jocelyn Thibault got a rare start last night and afterwards he was not happy with his play in his team's loss to the Panthers.
• Craig Custance of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has an interesting piece about Don Waddell and his belief that there is an American Revolution in hockey.
• The Hurricanes need to improve their penalty killing which is ranked 28th ranked in the league.
• Patrice Bergeron is in worse shape than originally believed and Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli is taking exception with anyone who says that the Bruins' forward is partly to blame for his injury.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Morning Musings: Evaluating the Canucks

(Note: The morning papers can be found at the bottom of this post below my evaluation of the Vancouver Canucks)

After pulling off one of the most lopsided trades of all-time in the summer of 2006, Dave Nonis saw his Vancouver Canucks bow out in the second round of the playoffs to the eventual Stanley Cup champions in Anaheim. While a second round exit can be seen as progress, Nonis had the job, this off-season, of trying to push his team to the next level. As Nonis knows, once your team takes a giant step forward in the standings, expectations only increase, especially in a hockey hotbed like Vancouver.

Here are six questions that people have about the Canucks heading into 2007/08?

Does the team have enough offense to contend for the Stanley Cup?
Not likely. Creating offense was the Canucks' biggest problem during the playoffs and all the team added up-front during the off-season was Ryan Shannon, Brad Isbister and Byron Ritchie. Needless to say, that is not a list of forwards that will suddenly instill fear into opponents. Some may cite the possible rebound seasons of Brendan Morrison and Markus Naslund but, in reality, what reason do we have to believe that they will suddenly return to pre-lockout form? If anything, they are both a year older and their play should fall-off.

Was the addition of Aaron Miller significant?
It is hard to say the addition of a defenseman who is likely to play sixth defenseman minutes is significant, but playing in a Canadian city can do that. Jokes aside, Miller is an upgrade over Rory Fitzpatrick and the other end of the bench defensemen he will play in place of. The Canucks top four defense is very strong and Miller should be able to handle an increased workload if one of the defensemen were to go down to injury.

Can the Sedin twins each crack the 100 point plateau?
Anything is possible, and with their progression over the past couple of years the twins have begun to carry the Canucks' offense. Nonetheless, the 100 point plateau is generally reserved for the creme de la creme and the Sedins seem more likely to slot in around the 85-90 point range.

Was Kevin Bieksa's breakout season a fluke?
Coming into last season's training camp, Bieksa was just hoping to crack the Canucks' roster. It is fair to say he did far more than just that, as the Grimsby, Ontario native cracked the team's top-four defensive rotation and was a consistent workhorse all season long. Bieksa is no fluke, he proved his worth for a couple of seasons with the AHL's Manitoba Moose and used that experience in the minors to better himself in all areas of the game. The 26 year old rearguard was given a three-year contract extension this off-season that will take his tenure with the Canucks through at least 2011-2012. Expect another solid season from the gritty Bieksa.

Do questions 1-4 even matter if Roberto Luongo has a sub-par campaign?
In short, no. Roberto Luongo is the best goaltender in the NHL and, some believe (including this writer) that Luongo was the sole reason that the Canucks advanced to the second round of the playoffs and had a 100+ point year in the standings. It is a fairly simple equation in Vancouver, if Luongo plays up to his capabilities, the Canucks have a chance to make a Stanley Cup run; if he doesn't play up to his capabilities, the Canucks will be fighting for a playoff spot.

Can the Canucks win the Stanley Cup?
They weren't good enough to win it last year as they exhibited by just squeaking by an overrated Dallas squad and then getting dominated in round two by Anaheim. The Canucks have a very good one through six defense and the best goaltender in the world, but their offense leaves much to be desired. There is always a chance that Luongo becomes simply unbeatable and takes the team on a long playoff run; however, it says here that the world-class goaltender can only do so much and the team is most likely headed for another second round exit.

On to the morning papers:

• In an attempt to ratchet up training camp competition, Alain Vigneault said the only players with guaranteed roster spots in camp are Roberto Luongo and the Sedin twins; Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province has the story.
• The pressure is on Markus Naslund this season to help increase the Canucks' offensive output after a disappointing 2006/07.
• The last thing head coach Alain Vigneault wants his team to do is look ahead to the playoffs before even making it writes Bob Mackin of the Vancouver Sun.
• Alexander Ovechkin is awfully excited to get the season underway and says he's in the best shape of his young career.
• Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has the story of Andy Murray's long and inspiring journey to become a head coach in the NHL.
• In one of the better reads this morning, Toronto Star columnist Damien Cox believes the NHL necessarily put the clamp down on Mark Bell.
• In light of the Mark Bell suspension, Eric Duhatschek of the Globe & Mail has an interesting article this morning on athletes indiscretions and poor business for the NHL.
• Dave Shoalts of the Globe & Mail believes that Gary Bettman needs to be more consistent in levying his suspensions, therefore, forewarning other NHL'ers when their actions will be worthy of suspension.
• Aaron Ward is now fully integrated in the Boston community and is looking forward to getting the season underway writes Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe.
• Kevin Paul Dupont has the story of the Bruins' most recent acquisition Petteri Nokelainen (trying spelling that name correctly!) and the attributes that the organization feels he can bring to the table. That being said, there are few spots up-for-grabs at Bruins' training camp.
• There are some questions as to whether the winner of the Flames' second goaltending spot will actually start the season in Calgary or as the starter for team's AHL affiliate in Quad City.
• Mike Keenan has high expectactions for his veterans heading into camp writes Steve Macfarlane of the Calgary Sun.
• It looks like both Dustin Boyd and Cam Cunning have made a good first impression on head coach Mike Keenan writes Scott Cruickshank of the Calgary Herald.
• Without the distractions that come with defending the Stanley Cup the Carolina Hurricanes are focused on bouncing back from a subpar 2006/07 season; Luke Decock of the News Observer has the details.
• The Dallas Morning News has an interview with Brenden Morrow conducted by the fans.
• The Red Wings plan to split up Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk this season writes George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press.
• Mike Illitch, owner of the Red Wings, is looking forward to getting back to a more balanced schedule after the 2007/08 season. (Writer's note: Thank goodness. This unbalanced schedule needs to go.)
• Noah Welch, the player that the Panthers acquired for Gary Roberts at last season's trade deadline, has signed a new two-year contract.
• Derek Armstrong of the Kings has always been a team player and he is proving that once again with his willingness to take a reduced role in 2007/08 with all the off-season acquisitions Dean Lombardi brought in.
• Michael Russo of Star-Tribune has questions and answers on the 2007/08 season for the Minnesota Wild.
• The Nashville Predators named Jason Arnott captain on Wednesday and Arnott couldn't have been happier writes John Glennon of the Tennessean. (Writer's note: Why did Steve Sullivan get passed over?)
• As Pat Hickey details in this morning's Montreal Gazette, if you are attempting to crack the Canadiens' roster, rest must not be part of your vocabulary.
• Rich Chere of the Newark Star-Ledger previews the 2007/08 version of the New Jersey Devils.
• Tom Renney expects to contend for a championship this season, a far cry from his early days on Broadway; John Dellapina of the Daily News has the story.
• Chris Stevenson has the story of Martin Gerber's new black helmet (Writer's note: You know you are in Canada when...).
• The Senators want to guard against complacency and comeback hungrier this season writes Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen.
• Jim Gontonio details the story of Bill Thomas and his attempts to make the Coyotes in this morning's Arizona Republic. However, Thomas won't be without lots of competition from the 50 plus players the Coyotes have at camp.
• Flyers' coach John Stevens is keeping a close on the rookie battles at camp, and with few spots up for grabs, you better be on your game to make the Flyers.
• Even with increased expectations, Pens' coach Michel Therrien doesn't plan on changing his training camp routine writes Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
• Apparently Ron Wilson is not a man without a plan, as the veteran coach has only three things that he wants to make a decision on in Sharks' camp.
• Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune answers five burning questions surrounding the Lightning heading into 2007/08.
• According to Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun, John Ferguson Jr. is unafraid of free agency.
• Do the Leafs lack hometown supporters? Matthew Chung of the Toronto Star provides us with the real answer.