Blog | Transcend Design

Embracing Life – Canuck Place Children’s Hospice

January 22, 2013January 17, 2021
by brucen

inspiration — Canuck Place on a sunny day

Late in December, I began planning my 4th annual gingerbread house. The first few years I baked and decorated recipes found within The Gingerbread Architect, a great how-to book that contains complete plans, directions and blueprints on how to construct some amazing gingerbread creations. I stuck with houses from the book.

Until this year.

My process for building Canuck Place out of gingerbread is documented in my blog post from earlier this month. One week into January, I delivered the gingerbread house to Canuck Place Children’s Hospice.

In case you’ve been living under a rock for 3 months, the NHL locked out it’s players in yet another work stoppage. Although inconvenient and annoying for hockey fans, the casual fan really wasn’t affected all that much. In many cities, there are numerous charitable causes that are directly and indirectly funded by their NHL teams. Some of these in Vancouver are the Canucks Autism Network, the Canucks For Kids Fund, and Canuck Place Children’s Hospice. Not only do 50/50 proceeds go towards these not-for-profits, but there are all forms of fundraising efforts and awareness events throughout the hockey season.

All I wanted to do was make a gift for Canuck Place that would bring some smiles to the kids and families staying there, and the staff that work there. After delivering the gingerbread house, I was fortunate enough to take a tour of Canuck Place.

Canuck Place opened in 1995 as the first free-standing children’s hospice in North America. The staff here provide pediatric palliative care to the kids in British Columbia.

Pediatric palliative care – if you read it quickly it sounds like just another medical term, but what it really means is this: these kids won’t make it to adulthood. They have the greatest medical need, and often are in the most pain, every day of their lives.

The Canuck Place program is unique in that it offers world-class health care within a home-like environment.

Most of the top floor is dedicated to space for families to stay, together. The view of the gardens from the turret windows is beautiful. Another floor functions as a hospital ward, complete with a full complement of medical staff. On the main floor is the kitchen and eating area. Like any home, this is the nerve centre of the house. Everyone comes to the kitchen to sit and eat together. There are staff members there to make meals for the house. The main floor also has the volunteer office, which oversees the coordination of hundreds of volunteers. The rest of the house is an eclectic mix of spaces to create and display artwork, make music, make a mess or make notes.

at_canuck_place — Myself (centre), with Gareth (left) and Roxy (right) of the Canuck Place kitchen staff.

Thank you to Christina Low (@canuckplace) for helping with the delivery arrangements and the tour of the amazing facility.

We all have stresses and difficult times in our lives. We all get caught up in the drama of just living from day to day. I couldn’t help but try to think about how these kids make it through their days. It certainly puts my own “tough days” into perspective.

General Randomness

2013 #Canucks Twitter Hockey – Smythe Pool

January 16, 2013
by brucen

Thank you all for joining the #Canucks Twitter Fans pool in the Smythe Division.

Fun draft tonight! Another great group of people. Everyone’s Twitter details are below.

This year is a Rotisserie league. In Rotisserie pools, each team is ranked on a number of statistic categories based on how they compare with other teams. Then, your placement in those rankings are summed to determine your current score.

For example, if there are 12 managers in the pool, and you’re 1st place in goals and 2nd place in assists, you will get 12 pts for goals, 11 pts for assists. The manager with the lowest rank in each category gets 1 pt. The manager with the most points at the end of the season wins.

Clearly it makes sense to go for players that will do well in numerous stat categories.

Some of the finer details:

25 Moves Maximum. This means you can drop players and pick up available players as Free Agents (FA) or off Waivers (W). The initial waiver order is reverse draft order. If two managers make a claim for a player on waivers, the manager with the lower waiver priority will get the player.
2 Days Waiver time. When a manager drops a player, their status is W for waiver for 2 days, before they become FA or Free Agent.
25 Trades Maximum. Trades are reviewed by the Commissioner before being approved.
48 Games Maximum at each roster spot. This means 96 games for both C, both G, and 192 games among all your D, and all your Wingers.

If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a mention on Twitter, or DM me, or comment on this post. Good Luck everyone!

Drafted	Team	1st Round Pick	Name	Twitter
1	Peter North Stars	Steven Stamkos	Mike M.	@mikemallen
2	@transcendwebs	Evgeni Malkin	Bruce	@transcendwebs
3	Bro Sakic	Sidney Crosby	Mike	@MikeGT79
4	Stick Me Some Semin	Claude Giroux	Byron	@ByronFok
5	Gin & Tanev	Corey Perry	Kate	@kleine_snowdrop
6	AvoidTheCheck	Daniel Sedin	Taryn	@taryneliza_beth
7	Jagr Bomb	Henrik Lundqvist	Jag	@BrownAristotle
8	Pyke Golden Krakens	Alex Ovechkin	Marcus	@scronide
9	Vancouver CanDucks	Teemu Selanne	Jordan	@iskeets0ysauce
10	MotherPuckers	Jonathan Quick	Liz	@ilovedeluscious
11	JacksonAllJacks	Erik Karlsson	Dawn	@me_my_and_i
12	#WinDaTurd	John Tavares	Chad	@C_Forrest

Canucks

2013 #Canucks Twitter Hockey – Northwest Pool

January 15, 2013January 16, 2013
by brucen

Thank you all for joining the #Canucks Twitter Fans pool in the Northwest Division.

Fun draft tonight! It’s a great group of people. Everyone’s Twitter details are below.

For example, if there are 15 managers in the pool, and you’re 1st place in goals and 2nd place in assists, you will get 15 pts for goals, 14 pts for assists. The manager with the lowest rank in each category gets 1 pt. The manager with the most points at the end of the season wins.

Clearly it makes sense to go for players that will do well in numerous stat categories.

Some of the finer details:

25 Moves Maximum. This means you can drop players and pick up available players as Free Agents (FA) or off Waivers (W). The initial waiver order is reverse draft order. If two managers make a claim for a player on waivers, the manager with the lower waiver priority will get the player.
2 Days Waiver time. When a manager drops a player, their status is W for waiver for 2 days, before they become FA or Free Agent.
25 Trades Maximum. Trades are reviewed by the Commissioner before being approved.
48 Games Maximum at each roster spot. This means 96 games for both C, both G, and 192 games among all your D, and all your Wingers.

If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a mention on Twitter, or DM me, or comment on this post. Good Luck everyone!

Drafted	Team	1st Round Pick	Name	Twitter
1	VancansOuttaDaBluers	Steven Stamkos	Josh	@vancan19
2	Shea Weber’s Beard	Henrik Sedin	Jocelyn	@suitoflights
3	Viva La Vasilevski	Evgeni Malkin	Lucas	@BurrowsWingman
4	Canuckle Sandwich	Sidney Crosby	Kyle	@canucklesndwch
5	@Glassedpickles	Claude Giroux	Kelly	@glassedpickles
6	Team Higgins’ Abs	Eric Staal	Lindsay	@causticchick
7	BetterLateThanNever	James Neal	Farhan	@farhanmohamed
8	Cherobyl Worms	Rick Nash	Paul	@perwin74
9	@hasanJuma	Henrik Lundqvist	Hasan	@hasanJuma
10	hankluongo	Jonathan Quick	Shane	@shanemcconachie
11	CanucksHeaven	Corey Perry	Henry	@canucksheaven
12	Team DRT	Alex Ovechkin	David	@DavidRThomson
13	TeamDerp @wilsons618	Pekka Rinne	Wilson	@wilsons618
14	@transcendwebs	Daniel Sedin	Bruce	@transcendwebs
15	@St0kedOnIt	John Tavares	Adrian	@St0kedOnIt

Canucks

Lord of the NHL – The Two Towers

January 12, 2013
by brucen

The lockout is over! Pending a ratified CBA, we’re looking at the return of NHL hockey on January 19th.

The night before the lockout ended, I decided to watch Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers, for the hundredth time. It occurred to me that the movie plot is closely related to the NHL lockout. Thanks to @midway_brennan and @keribo1 (both Blackhawks fans!) for having some fun with me on the #LOTNHL hashtag.

This is the story of how the lockout ended, as told by me.

“YOU SHALL NOT PASS .. this sad excuse for a pension plan.”

Frodo: “What’s on Sportsnet?”

Sam: “Well, let me see.”

Sam: “Oh yes, lovely. Negotiations.
And look! More negotiations.”

Sam: “This looks strangely familiar.”

Frodo: “Because we’ve watched this before. These negotiations are going in circles!”

“There is no promise you can make that I can trust. You will lead us to the Black Gate. And 57% of Hockey Related Revenue.”

"Looks like meat and player pensions are back on the menu boys!"

Eomer: “We piled the carcasses of the last offer sheet there. We left none alive.”

Aragorn: “Talks have broken off? Again?”

Eomer: “Look for your deal, but do not trust to hope. It has forsaken these fans.”

“I am Gandalf the Federal Mediator. And I come to you now, at the turn of the tide.”

Hama: “By order of the NHL, the arenas must empty. We make for the leagues of Europe.
Do not burden yourself with long contracts.
Take only what sticks you need.”

“New Year’s Eve. Where is the stick and puck?
Where is the goal horn that was blowing.
How did it come to this.”

Aragorn: “Ride out and meet them.”

Theoden: “Yes! Let this be the hour when we draw up a CBA together.”

Theoden: “Fell deeds awake. Now for give. Now for take. And the Red Pen writes!”

110 — "I know. It’s January already. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy. How could hockey go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened. But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this lockout. Sensible offer sheets must pass. A new season will come. And when the puck drops the ice will shine out the clearer."

Sam: “Those were the lockout stories that stayed with you. That meant something. Even if you were too small to understand that hockey is big business. But I think I do understand. I know now. They had lots of chances of signing only they didn’t. Because they were holding on to something.”

Frodo: “What are we holding on to, Sam?”

Sam: “That there’s some good money in this world, Mister Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for HRR.”

130 — “Sam, you one crayyzzzzy ass bitch!”

140 — “The battle for HRR and back-diving contracts is over.
The battle for The Stanley Cup is about to begin.
All our hopes now lie with two red-headed Swedish twins.
Somewhere in Rogers Arena.”

Canucks

2013 #Canucks Twitter Hockey Pool

January 9, 2013January 9, 2013
by brucen

Thank you all for joining the #Canucks Twitter Fans pool!

I wanted to explain some of the rules here so everyone knows what’s happening and we can all have fun this season!

This year will be a Rotisserie league. In Rotisserie pools, each team is ranked on a number of statistic categories based on how they compare with other teams. Then, your placement in those rankings are summed to determine your current score.

Clearly it makes sense to go for players that will do well in numerous stat categories.

Some of the finer details:

25 Moves Maximum. This means you can drop players and pick up available players as Free Agents (FA) or off Waivers (W). The initial waiver order is reverse draft order. If two managers make a claim for a player on waivers, the manager with the lower waiver priority will get the player.
2 Days Waiver time. When a manager drops a player, their status is W for waiver for 2 days, before they become FA or Free Agent.
25 Trades Maximum. Trades are reviewed by the Commissioner before being approved.
65 Games Maximum at each roster spot. This means 130 games for both C, both G, and 260 games among all your D, and all your Wingers.

I wasn’t able to lower the number of maximum games at the time of this blog post. Hopefully I can do this before the draft day.

Last season, @BrownAristotle was the winner of the Smythe Division, and @wilsons618 was the winner of the Northwest Division.

I’ve created 2 Twitter lists, one for each division, following all of the managers in each. Feel free to follow the list or the tweeps on the lists. The pool is free to enter, but bragging rights are on the line. I haven’t even considered prizes this year.

DRAFT DAY FOR NORTHWEST DIVISION IS Mon Jan 14 8:30pm PST

DRAFT DAY FOR SMYTHE DIVISION IS Tues Jan 15 8:30pm PST

Good luck to everyone!

Smythe Division Twitter List Northwest Division Twitter List

Canucks

Gingerbread 2012: Canuck Place Children’s Hospice

January 1, 2013January 17, 2021
by brucen

A few years ago I received The Gingerbread Architect as a gift. It’s a great book, and it comes with recipes and ingredients for 12 different gingerbread masterpieces.

Last year, I opted to make the Urban Brownstone, which is rated as one of the more difficult houses to make in the book. Despite the written difficulty level, I found the baking of the walls to be pretty easy, and the decorating wasn’t too difficult. In my blog post summarizing that build, I wrote:

Next year, I am strongly considering making my own house out of gingerbread.

Perhaps I was just a bit too ambitious with my plans this year.

My inspiration: Canuck Place Children’s Hospice, also known as Glen Brae Manor, also known as the Tait Mansion.

Canuck Place provides care for children with life-threatening illnesses, and support for those kid’s families. The kids that stay here have access to the best palliative care that is available, at a first rate facility – the first of it’s kind in North America.

Players from the Vancouver Canucks are often seen at Canuck Place to visit – to put smiles on kid’s faces, and perhaps to keep their own lives in perspective.

Usually during a regular NHL season, there are great fundraising efforts for Canuck Place and awareness through those efforts is elevated. During the lockout this year, I thought it might be a fun idea to donate this year’s gingerbread house to Canuck Place. And what better building to model than the hospice itself!

The structure is a heritage building within the Shaughnessy neighbourhood in Vancouver, BC. It is a 4-story mansion, built in 1910. It has very distinctive domed turrets, and features curved exterior walls on nearly every side of the house. There is a large covered porch at the front of the mansion, as well as on the east and west sides of the building.

Design of exterior walls. Many pieces and this didn’t even include turrets, domes, roof, dormers.

One of my major design concerns was being able to bake a dome out of gingerbread. I used a ball-shaped cake pan here.

Another concern was being able to bend gingerbread to fit the many curved walls in the building. Here I used card stock paper over a rough LEGO mold for support.

The turrets didn’t come out perfectly round. A happy coincidence since light from the inside needed to come through anyway.

Beginning to assemble the walls with a complex system of coffee mugs. Knowing the rough dimensions of the building was useful in figuring out where the walls would go.

More of the exterior walls up, held together by royal icing. The turrets didn’t fit quite right, so I ended up shaving off thin bits here.

At this point I was able to actually design, measure and bake the roof pieces.

Domes and half of the roof are attached here with icing, supports, and pins (removed later) to hold the pieces on.

Lower portion of 3 porches are attached, and the roof is tiled here with Hubba Bubba Bubble Tape, which is available everywhere until you look for it. =)

Front porch roof is attached and decorated. Dormers were baked and attached also.

Detail shot of the front walk way, made with broken Necco wafers.

Detail shot of the West porch, from the rear of the house. Railings are made from piped royal icing.

Detail shot of the East porch, from the rear of the house. Grass is made from coconut, mixed with good ole green Food Club Food Colouring.

Overhead photo of the house, showing the landscaping layout.

Detail shot of the front yard. Shrubs and trees are made of Rice Krispie treats, with green food colouring added to the marshmallow mix.

That’s it! I have to thank my wife Marnie for being the voice of reason, and for the use of her equipment – it helps to have a cake decorator for a wife when you need to make 10 pounds of gingerbread dough. It also helped immensely to have her creativity and an extra set of steady hands. I’d also like to thank Dianna (@Dianna_Chr) for arranging access to the Canuck Place grounds, and Dawn (@light_and_lit) for some good baking advice.

Hope you enjoyed the post as much as I enjoyed making this house!

Canucks

Emotional Stages of NHL Grief and Addiction

October 27, 2012
by brucen

There’s something that has been at the back of my mind – it’s the fact that we are now nearing the end of October, and still no NHL regular season in sight. In fact, there are rarely any meetings between the league and the players union either. October comes, ring a bell, and we salivate for hockey. We’re conditioned addicts.

Today in the local newspaper the NHL was way back in the sports section, and this is in hockey-addicted Vancouver. Admittedly, it is a BC Lions game day, and there was a lot of excellent CFL coverage. However, when a retiring horse jockey and EPL soccer news bury the NHL news to the 11th page, that’s noteworthy in itself.

These 5 stages of grief and addiction (following the Kübler-Ross model) can be applied to NHL addicts, and hopefully help some of you in understanding your path to recovery.

Denial: “I feel fine. This can’t be happening, not to me.”

Not just a river in Egypt, denial is a defense mechanism and some people can become locked in this stage. It sounds something like this:

It’ll be fine, the NHL will start in October.
Okay November.
Okay, it’ll be a shortened season.
Don’t worry, we’ll still have the Winter Classic.
It’s OK, we’ll get started before the playoffs.

Anger: “Why me? It’s not fair! How can this happen to me? Who is to blame?”

Anger can manifest itself in different ways. People can be angry with with NHL, or with the players, and especially those who are close to them. Many fans are stuck in this phase of NHL grief, angry with Bettman, angry with owners and players alike. This is where most people get stuck.

Admittedly, I feel angry most of the time when I really think about this lockout, the 3rd under Gary Bettman’s tenure as NHL commissioner. The owners and the players make are fighting over Hockey Related Revenues (HRR), to the tune of billions of dollars. They do not seem to realize that everything that is HRR is generated by the fans. It is on the backs of the fans that players, owners and the NHL as a whole make their money. The fans that make 5 or 6 figure incomes, not 7 or 8.

It is the fans that fill the seats, buy the jerseys, call in to the radio to rant, chirp each other on social media sites, and spend their time and hard earned money on the NHL.

The fans spend money on hockey. The league and the players make money on hockey. Never forget this.

Bargaining: “I’ll do anything for a few more years. I will give my life savings if…”

The NHL and the NHLPA seem to have skipped this stage.

Depression: “I’m so sad, why bother with anything? I miss the Canucks, why go on?”

A hockey addict may feel that he or she has no choice or control over things. And in the case of the NHL, he or she may not. He or she then falls into depression. Hockey deprived individuals would have trouble making the best decisions, and all of a sudden they’ve purchased yet another vintage jersey.

But with the help of concerned family or friends, he or she may eventually be pulled out of NHL depression and binge buying of licenced paraphernalia. In fact, in the right situation, the addict might be convinced to return that Barry Pederson Flying V (and exchange it for something more contemporary).

Acceptance: “It’s going to be okay. I can’t fight it, I may as well prepare for it.”

Acceptance is often the first step to recovery. By admitting that the NHL has serious problems, he or she will be able to seek professional help and commit to a healthy lifestyle without the NHL. An effective recovery program seeks to reinforce hockey abstinence, growth of other sports to dominate your TV watching, and necessary programming changes.

Relapse in the form of a ratified NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement might test your recovery, but by believing in one’s self, knowing the risks, and addressing the root of the problem, this can be overcome so full-term recovery can take its place in the person’s life.

I just want to remind the owners and the players: you guys make money because you’ve got a whole bunch of fans out there who are working really hard. They buy tickets. They’re watching on TV. Y’all should be able to figure this out. Get this done.
– Barack Obama on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Wise words from the most powerful man on the planet. HRR is a budgeted projection of how much money they think NHL hockey can make. The NHL should take heed; if this season is lost, most casual NHL fans will have moved on, and the faith of the hardcore would certainly be shaken. Better put those losses into your HRR projections. I’m spending my money somewhere else.

General Randomness

Hockey For Rookie Parents – What You Need to…

October 16, 2012October 16, 2012
by brucen

semi_evals — Hockey 2 Evaluations - they skate for 2 hours for 2 days in a row and are ranked according to skating ability. This way teams are balanced to start the year.

My youngest son Matthew is playing ice hockey this year, like any good Canadian kid. It is awesome watching him skate around out there and having fun! Like Matthew, I’m a rookie too, as this is the first year either of my kids are playing organized ice hockey. I’ve already learned some lessons that I can pass along to future hockey parents – hope you enjoy the post.

What Level Should My Kid Play In?

Matthew is playing hockey with the Semiahmoo Minor Hockey Association. He turned 6 this year, which puts him at the Hockey 2 level, which is in the Initiation or Tyke age category for Hockey Canada or PCAHA. The Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association is the umbrella association for minor hockey clubs like Semiahmoo Minor.

Category	Hockey Canada	PCAHA	Players’ Ages
Hockey 1	Initiation	Tyke	primarily 5 year olds
Hockey 2	Initiation	Tyke	6 year olds
Hockey 3	Novice	Novice	7 year olds
Hockey 4	Novice	Novice	8 year olds

Kids older than 8 years will play in the Atom level and advance from there:

Atom (ages 9-10)
Pee Wee (ages 11–12)
Bantam (ages 13–14)
Midget (ages 15–17)
Juvenile (ages 18–20)

My Kid is Really Good – What About Rep Teams and Junior Hockey?

First of all, everyone’s kid is really good. Yes, every single kid is going to the NHL. However, should you really and truly be raising the next future NHL star (like everyone – yes, everyone), elite players will play on travel or “rep” teams which scale up all the way to various junior level leagues, which are for players from 16-20 years of age. The age at which rep teams start varies between associations and provinces. I’ve seen rep teams begin as early as age 6 or 7. To make the roster of a rep team, tryouts are typically required. Those that don’t make it to rep are encouraged to stay in house leagues.

How Much Does It Cost?

Well, that depends. First – how good is your kid? No, seriously. Second – how much money do you have?

Here’s a breakdown of payables. For us, Matthew is beginning young, and in a house league, so this is probably the cheapest season of hockey we will ever pay for.

Registration Fee	$535
Equipment	$200
Tournament Entry Fee	$60
Trophy, Socks, Gift for Coach	$65
Volunteer Fee	$200
Total	$1060

We got the cheap starter equipment bag from Canadian Tire, which includes pants, shoulder pads, elbow pads, shinguards and a practice jersey. We got a cheap composite stick from Costco. Matthew’s skates are hand-me-downs from his older brother, and he had a helmet that still fits from his old skating lessons. So this is on the very cheap side of the scale, even for a 6 year old player. The Volunteer Fee is interesting – if you choose not to “volunteer” you can pay a fee of $200. All others are “Voluntold” to put in at least 4 hours of work for the association, which usually involves fundraising of some kind.

There is a much broader conversation about the cost of hockey in North America. There have been many articles written about how much minor hockey costs, and how the cost to play is prohibitive.

“We are catering to the kids that are more spoiled in that they come from money – they want this, they want that – and those are the kids that eventually down the line don’t make it because they’ve had everything given to them easy. It’s the ones that have to work harder, train harder and don’t have the money (who) are hungrier to get (successful) and we’re knocking those kids out of the game.”
– Peter Zezel, former NHL player. Quote via The Star

The cost to put Matthew in minor hockey, playing with his 6 year old buddies is on the very low end of the spectrum. As the kids get older, registration and equipment can cost more than $10,000 a season, and God forbid you have a kid that’s a goalie.

What Do We Get For This Money?

Semiahmoo Minor has hundreds of players registered every year, and the vast majority of people are volunteers. Matthew’s team has a Head Coach, two Assistant Coaches, Team Manager, Player Safety person. In addition, there is a power skating coach who specializes in improving the kids’ skating skills.

If you’ve played any hockey, you know how expensive ice time can be, even if you’ve got a dozen players splitting the cost at midnight. Despite the cost, I thought there was actually decent value for what we’ve paid – 2 to 3 sessions each week, varying days and times. Ice times are as early as 7AM, as late as 6PM, which is not bad at all. From October to mid-December, it’s strictly practices, power skating and scrimmages. Our one tournament is just before Christmas, which is also when games begin against other league teams.

What’s Next?

Matthew and myself both love hockey, and we’re both competitive. Once he and his brother threatened to cheer for the Blackhawks because they had beaten the Canucks in the playoffs. I then promptly told them to pack a bag if they want to cheer for another team. I’m certain there will be some future posts about Crazy Hockey Parents, which may in fact be introspective. I’m also hoping to write posts about coaching, scheduling and finances.

If you’ve got any questions, comments or suggestions, please let me know below.

General Randomness

No NHL, No Problem: Little Penguins Skate On

October 2, 2012
by brucen

This season my younger son Matthew is playing for the Semiahmoo Minor Hockey Association, the Hockey 2 “Penguins”. As there is no NHL season in sight, I will continue to keep blogging hockey, covering the Semiahmoo Penguins.

Hockey Goes On

This season’s Semiahmoo Penguins features a young line up. Well, that’s no revelation since most of last year’s crop has moved on to Hockey 3. Those that didn’t make it to Hockey 3 have joined their local U8 soccer team, or needed to focus more on their Grade 2 schooling, or just hung up their skates to early retirement. Most of the Penguins skaters are rookies, however, they do have a trio of returning veterans from the Hockey 1 Rangers, all of which are very promising players and can “pretty much skate backwards pretty good”.

The Penguins pre-season schedule features practices through October and November, which includes Black versus Colours team-only scrimmages. They will begin to play other league teams in December, and have a tournament just before Christmas.

Penguins Injury Report – Really Flightless Birds

Matthew suffered a mildly sprained wrist when he fell off the jungle gym on the playground. The injury was exacerbated when his older brother hit him on the arm. The velocity on his wrist shot might be negatively affected, but thankfully he can still play the piano. He is considered day-to-day.

Canucks

Canucks Summer: No News is Good News?

August 2, 2012August 27, 2012
by brucen

The Colour of Money – it’s not Canucks blue and green

Two of the biggest free agents this summer were Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. They signed twin contracts in the Twin Cities with the Minnesota Wild. Both players signed for 98 million over 13 years. Are these guys worth their contracts? Are any players worth this kind of money? Inevitably, comparisons will always be made to other contracts in the NHL. Parise’s contract makes sense looking at other big name offensive stars in the league, but Suter’s contract is the type of deal that artificially drives up the prices of lesser players. Suter’s cap hit is the 2nd highest for an NHL defenceman, only behind Shea Weber, and ahead of big names such as Zdeno Chara, Mike Green, Brent Seabrook, and Duncan Keith. Time will tell if Suter is worth that type of money, without Shea Weber playing next to him.

Rick Nash was traded from the Blue Jackets to the Rangers. Although Columbus GM Scott Howson insists that this was a good deal for the Jackets, it’s not. Columbus gets Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov and Tim Erixon. Dubinsky and Anisimov are two roster players, and Erixon is a young depth defenceman who will get a chance to play in Columbus. Generally speaking, the team that loses the best player loses the trade. In this case, Nash is by far the best player in the deal. Columbus lost their best player, and look to be treading water again. The Rangers on the other hand look great – they still have a great young defence corps, and added a top notch goal scorer to help out up front.

The Canucks did manage to pick up Jason Garrison, for a cap hit of 4.6 million per year, over a 6 year term. Garrison will hopefully fill the holes left by Sami Salo and Aaron Rome. Garrison could be described as a combination of the two – he possesses the heavy shot of Salo, and has the size of Rome. Time will tell if this former Panther is worth his contract, as the jury is decidedly still out on both David Booth and Keith Ballard, also picked up from Florida.

Luongo not yet traded, Schneider signed to 3-year deal

Roberto Luongo is still a great starting goaltender, and his cap hit of 5.3 million is actually 9th among active goalies. Not bad, but it’s not the cap hit that teams are shying away from – it’s the length of the term, and to an extent, the uncertainty of the upcoming CBA structure.

As if to confirm the Canucks are looking to trade Luongo, they signed former backup Cory Schneider to a 12 million dollar contract over 3 years, at a cap hit of 4 million per year. With Luongo at a cap hit of 5.3 million per year from now until eternity (2021-2022), that means 9.3 million per year is tied up with 2 goaltenders. Mike Gillis doesn’t want to be burned with a bad trade (see: Rick Nash), and he has stated that he isn’t afraid to start the season with both goalies in the lineup.

Having said all that, Luongo has gone on record saying that he believes it’s time to move on. During this interview, Luongo was thoughtful, humorous and candidly retrospective – qualities that were missing too often from his post-game appearances, especially during his tenure as the team’s captain.

[soundcloud]http://soundcloud.com/993thefox/the-jeff-oneil-show-vs-roberto[/soundcloud]

What does this all mean?

At this time, the core roster players are mainly the same, including the excellent goaltending tandem of Luongo and Schneider. Arguably, the Canucks have lost a key piece of their defence with Salo leaving, but Garrison fills that spot and adds durability. With the Canucks winning the President’s Trophy for the last two seasons, they might be alright heading into this season. Then again, with some of their divisional rivals getting better (the Edmonton Oilers and Minnesota Wild), points will be tougher to gain in the Northwest Division.

Fans should keep the faith. The Canucks always seem to play well when the pressure is on, and with management holding onto vast majority of last season’s roster, the pressure has never been greater.