A rather odd story was making the rounds in western Canada Thursday. The rumor involved Vancouver Canucks first-round pick, Jordan Schroeder. He's a forward with the University of Minnesota, and was one of the top freshmen in college hockey last year.
The rumor had Schroeder signing an entry-level deal with the Canucks, then either making the team (possible) or playing the season with the Everett Silvertips, who own his Western Hockey League rights (more likely).
It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We continue our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Northwest Division.
It appears we are setting up for an offseason of significant change in the Northwest Division. Only the Vancouver Canucks will have the same coach as last year, and there could be some real upheaval in terms of personnel. Not only that, but two teams (Minnesota and Colorado) have changed general managers.
After watching Vancouver play stout defense in front of All-Star goalie Roberto Luongo during a sweep of St. Louis in the first round, more was expected. The Canucks looked like a team committed to playing strong in their zone, and they knew if they could keep lanes clear for Luongo and make the extra effort to get to rebounds, they could go far.
It all blew up on them in the second round. A younger, faster, exceptionally determined Chicago team took out the Canucks in six games, and they scored 21 goals to do it. It's got some in Vancouver wondering about Luongo's future, which is the last thing that should be up in the air now.
With most eyes on the splendid series going on in Pittsburgh, the Canucks and Blackhawks waged a stirring Game 6 of their own, each team answering back repeatedly until Chicago's young stars put the game away - and put the Blackhawks into the conference finals for the first time since 1995.
After essentially a decade of futility, once-great Chicago is poised for a another lengthy run of success with players such as 20-year-old Patrick Kane, who had a hat trick in Monday night's 7-5 victory over Vancouver, and 21-year-old captain Jonathan Toews. Toews ended a nine-game goal-less streak by putting two in - including the go-ahead score, an attempted pass that deflected in on a power play with 6:11 left.
Most teams suffer their first loss of the NHL Playoffs before they've won a series. In the case of the Vancouver Canucks, they won five straight before Chicago took them down 6-3 on Saturday.
Game 3 of this physical series was played Tuesday night in Chicago. Not only was Vancouver coming off a loss, but they were dealing with injuries to a stalwart defenseman and one of their top six forwards. With this as a backdrop, the Canucks responded with a 3-1 win at United Center.
When you watch the Vancouver Canucks, you have to be impressed with their ability to take over a game they're hardly dominant in. Sometimes, it just works that way for you.
If you're a Canuck fan, you ride it as long as you can. The opportunistic Canucks started right where they left off after their sweep of St. Louis, taking a big lead through two periods while being outshot. They then proceeded to blow the lead, and needed a late Sami Salo goal to beat Chicago 5-3.
After seven straight losses, and on the heels of blowing another two-goal home lead Wednesday against Nashville, the Vancouver Canucks held a spirited workout Thursday.
By "spirited", I mean "we nearly had a fight". These types of things are going to happen when you have two points in seven games, and you're on the verge of taking yourself out of serious contention in the Western Conference. The Canucks are out of the top eight for the moment, facing the always-tough Minnesota Wild on Saturday, and with every game they don't win, they're putting more pressure on coach Alain Vigneault.
There are certainly at least two really good teams in the NHL's Western Conference. Defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit and fast-starting San Jose appear in the clear to duke it out for the right to play for the Stanley Cup later this year.
Of course, we know that anything can happen in a best-of-seven series. In addition, we still have half a season left to play. What we don't know is which team in this conference is set up to challenge either the Red Wings or Sharks. They've beaten - at least once - pretty much everyone who has stood in their way, including each other.
While the top of the conference appears to virtually locked in place at this point, there are still serious battles to be fought, especially for the last four positions in the West. Currently, eight teams are separated by just six points. St. Louis, the last-place team in the West, is just nine points out of eighth.
First, they signedMats Sundin before Christmas, and got him in the lineup for the first time last week.
Now, the Vancouver Canucks have gotten even more good news. The backbone of their team in the first part of the season, team captain and star goaltender Roberto Luongo, appears ready to get back in the lineup this week.
Out since suffering a groin injury in Pittsburgh November 22, Luongo has finally started practicing with the team, and the Vancouver Sun speculates that his return to the lineup could come as soon as Thursday at home against Phoenix.
Calgary's Michael Cammalleri picked up a hat trick on Thursday night, helping lead the Flames to 4-3 win in Vancouver. Jarome Iginla assisted on two of Cammalleri's goals, while Curtis Glencross picked up the game-winning goal with just under seven-minutes to play in regulation, breaking a 3-3 tie.
For Cammalleri, it was his first career hat trick, and his first multiple-goal game as a member of the Flames.
A rather odd story was making the rounds in western Canada Thursday. The rumor involved Vancouver Canucks first-round pick, Jordan Schroeder. He's a forward with the University of Minnesota, and was one of the top freshmen in college hockey last year.
It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We continue our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Northwest Division. 
After watching Vancouver play stout defense in front of All-Star goalie Roberto Luongo during a sweep of St. Louis in the first round, more was expected. The Canucks looked like a team committed to playing strong in their zone, and they knew if they could keep lanes clear for Luongo and make the extra effort to get to rebounds, they could go far.
With most eyes on the splendid series going on in Pittsburgh, the Canucks and Blackhawks waged a stirring Game 6 of their own, each team answering back repeatedly until Chicago's young stars put the game away - and put the Blackhawks into the conference finals for the first time since 1995.
Most teams suffer their first loss of the NHL Playoffs before they've won a series. In the case of the Vancouver Canucks, they won five straight before Chicago took them down 6-3 on Saturday.
When you watch the Vancouver Canucks, you have to be impressed with their ability to take over a game they're hardly dominant in. Sometimes, it just works that way for you.
After seven straight losses, and on the heels of blowing another two-goal home lead Wednesday against Nashville, the Vancouver Canucks held a spirited workout Thursday.
There are certainly at least two really good teams in the NHL's Western Conference. Defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit and fast-starting San Jose appear in the clear to duke it out for the right to play for the Stanley Cup later this year.
First, they signed Mats Sundin before Christmas, and got him in the lineup for the first time last week.
Calgary's Michael Cammalleri picked up a hat trick on Thursday night, helping lead the Flames to 4-3 win in Vancouver. Jarome Iginla assisted on two of Cammalleri's goals, while Curtis Glencross picked up the game-winning goal with just under seven-minutes to play in regulation, breaking a 3-3 tie.
