With the return of Daniel Sedin and Jannik Hansen to the Canucks' lineup, the team is beginning to look like a contender. Granted, they skated like slugs in Saturday’s match against the Hurricanes, but who schedules a game at 10:30 a.m. PST anyways? For a team used to night games, it’s no wonder they were half asleep. Going forward, they are going to be just fine – reason being, they have depth at the forward position. We know the chemistry of the Sedin twins and Burrows, so here is a breakdown of the other three forward lines.

Third Line:

Why does Vancouver love Kyle Wellwood so much? Two weeks ago, in a game against Los Angeles, when a goal credited to Wellwood was reviewed and given to the true scorer, Tanner Glass, the GM Place crowd actually booed in protest. Granted it was Wellwood’s first goal of the season, but talk about picking favorites!

Perhaps it’s his angelic, innocent face, or the fact that we all see a little of ourselves in his formerly out of shape physique, or maybe it is because we know that when he’s on his game, he is one of the most skilled Canuck forwards out there. With Wellwood, it’s all about confidence, so what’s the key to keeping his up? For starters, don’t expect him to carry a line. Playing with Tanner Glass and Steve Bernier while the Canucks were reeling from injuries, Wellwood was the only creative individual of the trio, and even when he made good plays they would go nowhere. It was the addition of Jannik Hansen to his line that initially gave him the kick in the butt he needed. Now that head coach Alain Vigneault has moved Mikael Samuelsson to the line in place of Hansen, it will combine a good combination of grit and skill, as Samuelsson is a creative, puck possession player.

Second Line:

The Vancouver Sun seems to think the fact that Ryan Kesler hasn’t scored a goal in 14 games is an issue. It’s not. Kesler is the engine that drives the Canucks, and he continues to play hard and inspire teammates with the way he always put everything on the ice. Goal scoring slumps are often overstated, and that is certainly the case here, as he has 4 assists in the Canucks last 5 games, meaning he is still creating offense.

With Hansen moved to the second line to play with Mason Raymond and Kesler, this is now a line of like minded individuals: they’re all strong, tough, and good with the puck, and all three of them travel in one direction – straight to the net. This combination will continue to provide energy when the team needs it and provide goals at big moments.

Fourth Line:

Rick Rypien and Ryan Johnson are completely underrated offensively, yet they manage to do pretty well in that regard, given their mandate of “don’t make mistakes and keep the puck in the offensive end”. When they poke in the odd goal, it’s a nice present, though not really a surprise.

The readers loved reading about the inside dealings between Shane O’Brien’s agent, Larry Kelly, and Mike Gillis, so we’ve decided to add some more posts that have been caught by our hidden microphones. The following is a conversation between Toronto Maple Leafs’ GM Brian Burke, and assistant GM Dave Nonis, captured two days before the 2009 Entry Draft.

Brian Burke: Dave, do you know which of our player acquisitions I consider to be our best move so far?

Dave Nonis: Which one, boss?

BB: Getting Brad May from the Ducks.

DN: Really? I didn’t think he was that amazing last year. He only had 7 points.

BB: That doesn’t matter! Anytime we have success with any of my ex-Canucks, it is vindication for us!

DN: Oh, ok. I think I get it.

BB: So Dave, who’s going to be available as free agents this year.

DN: Well, there’s Marian Hossa, Marian Gaborik, Saku Koivu, Alex Kovalev, Mike Cammalleri…

BB: Boring, keep going.

DN: Brian Gionta, Martin Havlat, Mike Komisarek, Brendan Morrison…

BB: STOP! Brendan Morrison is available? One of my Canucks! Let’s sign him!

DN: Do you think he’s still valuable?

BB: Dave, I traded for B. Mo years ago, and I am always right about talent. His best years are still to come, you’ll see. Everyone will see!

DN: Ok, what should we offer? I think he might sign for $1 million since there are no offers on the table.

BB: What? No way, we should offer at least $5 million.

DN: But boss, he only had 31 points last season, and he’s injury prone.

BB: Are you kidding? When we sign him for $5 million, those Vancouver idiots will realize what they missed out on, and they’ll wish they had never fired me! Just like when we signed Bertuzzi for $4.5 million in Anaheim! That sure showed them.

DN: Ok… if you say so boss.

BB: Absolutely. So is anyone else available?

DN: Well, since you like Canucks so much, if they don’t manage to sign them, the Sedin twins will be available on July 1st.

BB: WHAT!? The greatest draft move ever! Pulled off by none other than yours truly. We must get them! Oh, I love the taste of sweet revenge! Forget the draft, we’re flying to Sweden to talk to them!

DN: But sir, the Leafs are in a rebuilding phase, why would we sign two premier scoring forwards right now? Isn’t that a little premature in the process?

BB: Dave, have you understood nothing so far? Have you read our mission statement lately? After “To create a team that fosters excellence on the ice.” I added, “while showing up the Vancouver Canucks.”

DN: But boss, what happened to forgiving and forgetting?

BB: For-who and for-what? Never heard of it. Now get the plane ready, we’re going to Sweden!

We've heard all the rumours about the Vancouver Canucks and the Sedins being a million dollars apart on contract negotiations, with the Canucks offering around $5.5M for each, and the twins' agent, J.P. Barry, asking $6.5M. Mike Gillis, Canucks GM, has been very receptive to new ideas regarding team management this year, so we here at "Head To The Net" thought we'd offer a few suggestions to help him bridge the gap.




Exhibit A:

Following a rich history of constant jersey turnover, we propose the 4072nd jersey design in the team's 30 year history. Surely the Swedish twins would feel more at home wearing their national colours. As a bonus, Canucks marketing can advertise it as a colour not yet seen in the stands of GM Place, allowing fans to embrace the "Sea of Rainbow".

Exhibit B:

Speaking of the team's home arena, surely General Motors would like the idea of selling something in 2009. Mike Gillis, can you convince the Aquelinis to make this happen? Ikea Place sounds nice, doesn't it?

Exhibit C:

Following along the theme of bringing Sweden to Vancouver, if the above two initiatives fail, we propose a fullproof Plan C. Presenting the Vancouver Canucks new ice scraping girls for the 2009/2010 season, complete with uniforms:

The Canucks held their post-season press conference with General Manager Mike Gillis and Head Coach Alain Vigneault yesterday, May 14th, and they delved into a number of hot topics. If you didn’t have a chance to watch, read on for a summary.

The Coaching Staff:

Gillis talked about the mixed expectations on the coaching staff following the previous season and stated that a 100 point season and division title were a great accomplishment. When asked if he intends to extend the contracts of the coaching staff, Gillis replied with a yes.

The new GM has proven to be a straight shooter who sticks to his word, but he's also shown that he plays things close to his chest. He is quite capable of surprising us at anytime, might he be wavering on his coaches?

Were the Canucks a Contender?

On being asked his thoughts on the playoff success of his team, the GM suggested that the Canucks had not played their best during the Chicago series. He stated that they never found their “A” game, but they were on the right track as they had held the lead in every game of the series.

Note: Gillis did state earlier that he intends to resign Alain Vigneult, but don’t his comments stating that the team never performed to it’s abilities say something about the coaching of the team? He basically affirmed that he thought his player personnel had the ability to go further… so if they didn’t play up to their abilities, whose fault was it?


The Sedins:

One year ago, when Mike Gillis was announced as the new GM of the Canucks, he claimed that he knew the Sedins were good players but wasn’t sure if he’d want to build a team around them. When asked about those comments yesterday, he said that it’s simply difficult to suggest building a team around players whose contracts are expiring in one year, with no guarantee that they will be resigned.

“I thought they were excellent players when I got here and I have an even higher opinion of them now,” he said, adding that he intends to sign them and he will be meeting with their agent J.P. Barry in a couple of weeks.

Roberto Luongo:

One reporter brought up the negative comments that have been thrown about since game 6, in which Luongo allowed 7 goals, and Gillis responded by saying that the idea of trading a world class player based on salary cap issues makes no sense. He cited that there are no salary cap issues on the team, and they work very hard to make sure of that.

Later he was asked if he intends to sign all three – Luongo and the twins – and if he believes he can fit the three under the cap, and he said, “I do believe I can.”


Mats Sundin:

Upon being asked about the future of Mats Sundin as a Canuck, Gillis mentioned that he had met with the individual players earlier in the day, including Sundin. He said that Sundin had been everything he asked for, in terms of being an example in the locker room, his professionalism, character, and integrity. On his and all of the players’ prospects of signing a new contract, Gillis said that he’s giving everyone a few weeks to decompress and they will be in touch thereafter.

Note: interesting that he didn’t mention his thoughts on Sundin’s actual on-ice play. Surely good character alone does not deserve a $10M contract.

During an interview on the Team 1040 radio station a day later, Gillis stated that he had told Sundin during their meeting that "He'd be welcome on any team I'm in charge of."


Steve Bernier

Earlier in the day, the Canucks resigned Steve Bernier for two additional years. Having just inked the deal, Mike Gillis obviously had many positive things to say. He commented on Bernier’s determination and character. On Bernier’s finishing ability, Gillis pointed out that it was Bernier who had put himself in those scoring positions, and that the Canucks would be working with him on his goal-scoring to help him relax in those situations in order to capitalize on the opportunities.


Injuries

As is always the case during the playoffs, injuries are completely hidden from the public. So which Canucks were playing hurt, and did it affect the series? This is the report we received:

Pavol Demitra will be undergoing shoulder surgery for a labrum tear. Maybe this is the reason he didn’t throw a body check during the playoffs. But that doesn’t explain his softness during the regular season.

Taylor Pyatt is having arthroscopic surgery on his knee, but it should be nothing serious, according to coach Vigneault.

Alex Burrows will be having surgery for a bone chip that has been bothering his wrist for some time.

Ryan Johnson will finally have a chance to heal his broken finger.