Tis the Season

I had originally endeavoured to write a general overview of the upcoming 2010-2011 NHL season, but it ended up revealing way more of my hand for my upcoming Fantasy Hockey league draft than I felt comfortable with. As such, I’ve decided to only do a pre-season analysis of the two teams that I will be following the closest this year: the Vancouver Canucks, and the Toronto Maple Leafs. First up: The ‘Nucks.

[note: for those who are "Hockey for Bernies" readers, or really just come on here to see if I've posted half naked pictures of yummy men, you will not be disappointed - Please skip ahead to the "Eye Candy" section]

Prologue: I feel that it is important to point out here that I am only recently a Canucks fan, and even then, only because I made a deal with God during the Olympics that if Roberto Luongo brought me a gold medal, I would make the Canucks my second favourite team. And well, who am I to risk being smited down by God? I must say though that since fulfilling my end of the bargain, this team has really endeared themselves to me with their heart, impressive depth, and surprising grittiness. I also went to a home game last season where they absolutely destroyed the Senators, and any team that makes a mockery of the Sens is ok by me.

General Overview: The moves made by Mike Gillis (the GM of the Canucks) in the off-season suggest that this team is done with rebuilding, and is looking to strike while the iron is hot. All of the ingredients for a Stanley Cup winning season are there, the fans are ravenous, and the Canucks are sick of being second-round knockouts. It’s time.

The Way They Were: Last season, Henrik Sedin led the league in points with 112, Luongo played his second season as Captain, and players like Burrows and Samuelsson found magic in their lines. Plagued by injuries behind the blue line, the Canucks lost too many battles in the corners and in front of the net, and an inordinate amount of odd-man rushes ended up with the Canucks D-men looking like potted plants. They finished 3rd in the Western Conference, 5th in the NHL, and after a tough series against Drew Doughty (oh how I love thee Drew Doughty) and the Kings, they were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the team that is quickly becoming one of their fiercest rivals, the Chicago Blackhawks.

What’s Different in 2010-2011: Grabner, Bernier, Demitra, Wellwood, Raycroft and Mitchell all saw their careers as Canucks come to end (and in the case of Wellwood and Raycroft, probably their careers in the NHL as well – suckers. They would have been on the first line and started in goal if they had stayed on the Leafs! I hate my life). However, Gillis made some serious moves to strengthen the defensive core with the acquisitions of Dan Hamhuis and Keith Ballard, and with Manny Malhotra (best name ever?) and a healthy Cody Hodgson set to center the Canucks’ third and fourth lines, the team won’t even miss a beat.

Offense: The Canucks’ offense is stupid good. Not only do they have two star goal-scorers in the freakishly telepathic Sedin twins, they have jealousy-inspiring depth with their top-six forwards putting up 25+ goals each last season. They are also tenacious as hell – The Canucks led the league last season with 13 third period comebacks (including 2 in the playoffs). Malhotra and Hodgson will add grit and speed to the third and fourth lines, and if Daniel Sedin and Burrows stay healthy, the Canucks’ goal production should stay as impressive as it was last season, if not improve.

Defense: As mentioned above, the D-men left something to be desired last season, but in all fairness, a lot of the disappointment behind the blue line had to do with the insane amount of injuries that battered their defensive core the last couple of seasons. This problem should be significantly alleviated with the impressive durability of both Ballard and Hamhuis, who collectively have missed only 20 games in the last five seasons. I also have an irrational soft spot in my heart for Kevin Bieksa, who I baselessly believe will go on to be a Norris Trophy candidate this year. I call it “the Wade Belak effect”.

Goal: Luongo is coming off an intense year. Not only was he still dealing with the pressure of being recently named Captain, the guy had the hopes of his entire nation riding on his shoulders as he minded the net for Team Canada on home ice. While there is no disputing that he had some standout games, his numbers were far from stellar, and his overall performance was lacklustre. Hopefully, without the pressure of yours truly making deals with God over his Olympic performance, and having gotten used to the C on his helmet, he will be back in top form for the 2010-2011 season. Apparently (thank you Hockey News!), the Canucks have also pledged to start Cory Schneider at least 20 games this season, which will give el capitano a bit of breathing room.

Eye-Candy: There is a disappointing derth of hotties on the Canucks this year. I have a friend who will kill me if I don’t give an honourable mention to Roberto Luongo (kidding kidding - Here you go, MA: a real pic of your main man), but I think the men that make the Canucks all the more watchable are Alex Burrows (if you don’t get it from the picture, make sure to watch him in a post-game interview. His French accent is adorable.), Kevin Bieksa and Ryan Kesler when they are holding babies, Bieksa when he's helping children, and Bieksa when he is fighting and being a totally sexy a-hole.

Predictions: I’m going to go ahead and say it – I think the Canucks will win the Cup this year. I think they will finish second in the conference (behind San Jose, the consummate playoff choke artists), defeat their Chicago Blackhawk demons in the third round, and win the Cup in Game 5 at home. Write that down.