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The-Leak (aka) kingwell (bka) JULES:
The Vancouver Canucks are preparing to find out if a 40- year-old defenceman can rehab a power play which has been mired in mediocrity for years.
As first reported by Sportsnet Monday afternoon, the Canucks are closing in on a deal with unrestricted free agent Mathieu Schneider, a rugged, but aged defenceman, who is coming off shoulder surgery and has more than two decades of NHL hockey on his odometer.
The Schneider deal was still pending late Monday, but a Canucks source did confirm the team's interest in him. And it's not hard to figure out why. While Schneider may be weathered, his game hasn't eroded. Not on the power play, anyway. And that, despite all the talk about the need for speed on the blue- line, was the Canucks biggest concern heading into the off-season.
The Canucks haven't finished higher than 15th in league power play rankings since 2002-03. In Alain Vigneault's three years in charge, the Canucks have finished 20th, 21st and finally 17th last year.
If the Canucks ink Schneider, and his shoulder is fine after undergoing arthroscopic surgery in May, they improve immediately. And dramatically.
Last season, after a trade deadline deal which sent Schneider from Atlanta to Montreal, the rejuvenated defenceman lit up the scoresheet. He breathed life into Montreal's power play, scoring five man-advantage goals and 14 points in the Habs final 23 games.
Schneider hurt his shoulder on April 4, with four games to go in the regular season. He later required surgery and probably shouldn't have played the two playoff games he started.
The Canucks blue-line isn't exactly a pillar of dependability. Willie Mitchell wore down late last year and Sami Salo's injury woes have been well documented.
The-Leak (aka) kingwell (bka) JULES:
Edmonton was the one club that tried hard to swing a deal to land Ottawa's disgruntled Dany Heatley. Heatley wouldn't waive his no-trade clause to join the Oilers, however.
As you might imagine, that doesn't sit too well with Edmonton players such as center Shawn Horcoff, the Oilers' alternate captain.
"When you first hear about something like that, there's some excitement, because any time you can add a 50-goal scorer, it's going to help your team," Horcoff told FanHouse in a phone interview Tuesday. "But then the names of some of our players who would go over there started to come out, and the fact that (Heatley) elected not to come here.... That puts a sour taste in your mouth.
"The fact he didn't want to come here, that's unfortunate. It's frustrating to hear that a player doesn't want to come here."
The Oilers offered to Ottawa: forwards Andrew Cogliano and Dustin Penner and defenseman Ladislav Smid. Horcoff wasn't eager to see them depart, and he felt for them as the Heatley controversy dragged on.
"These are teammates you battle with every night," he said. "Their names are dragged through all this and they have to wait for a month to find out what's happening. It could have been handled better. It's frustrating for everyone involved. Nothing good has come out of it for anyone."
The-Leak (aka) kingwell (bka) JULES:
If Patrick Marleau is heartbroken over having the ‘C' ripped off his jersey, the San Jose Sharks centre has quite the poker face.
"Obviously, it's a great honour to be the captain," Marleau said softly Monday upon arriving in Calgary for the Team Canada Olympic orientation camp.
"Having a letter on my sweater or not is not really going to change who I am in the locker-room or what I do on the ice.
"If this is what we need to do to win, I'm all for it. We've had a really good team there in the past, and we haven't won it. Maybe this will be the thing that takes us over that hump."
The same goes for Joe Thornton and his feelings toward potentially seeing the ‘A' removed from his sweater.
In fact, Thorton figures the Sharks might start a new trend by changing up the official leadership in a quest to finally advance deep into the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Seriously.
"I think it might be innovative," Thornton said. "We can't get by the second round. Some teams aren't making the playoffs. Maybe they're going to change it, too."
Just last week, head coach Todd McLellan told the San Jose Mercury News the team's captaincy and two alternate captaincies are up for grabs.
Marleau scored a career-high 38 goals last season to help San Jose captured the Presidents' Trophy with the NHL's best record.
But in stunning fashion, the Sharks bowed out to lowly Anaheim in the first round of the playoffs, leaving outsiders to question the leadership in the Shark Tank.
Thornton and Mike Grier both wore an ‘A' last season. Grier signed with the Buffalo Sabres earlier this month.
"I take a lot of the blame for being the captain and not getting as far as we wanted to," said Marleau, who has spent all his 11 NHL seasons with the Sharks. "I think everybody on the team knows we messed up and we have to right that wrong.
"We definitely have what it takes to win. We showed that in the regular season. It's just a matter of bringing it all together at the right time for the playoffs. Each year, there's only one team that wins. There's a number of other teams that are trying to find a way to get over that hump. We're included in that demographic."
Upon arrival Monday, Thornton seemed more concerned about his golf bag not showing up in Calgary with the rest of the luggage.
"That's the most important thing, right?" he said with a wry grin.
On a serious note, Thornton declared any criticism of Marleau offside.
"Patty's been a good leader," Thornton said. "He's been fine. I think he's been great for us. He's been great for us in the post-season. He's been great in the regular season.
"I think they just want to go in a different direction."
Speaking of different directions, Marleau is a constant in NHL trade rumours - most recently in a three-way deal that would include disgruntled Ottawa Senators sniper Dany Heatley landing in San Jose.
Has Marleau been asked to waive his no-trade clause that runs through the 2009-10 season?
"I would like to keep that private," he said. "I can't really speculate on what's going to happen."
The-Leak (aka) kingwell (bka) JULES:
The Calgary Flames have signed left winger Nigel Dawes, avoiding arbitration with the player after he was claimed off waivers from Phoenix on Thursday, July 16.
Dawes, a native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, has 133 games of NHL experience split between the New York Rangers and the Phoenix Coyotes scoring 25 goals and adding 26 assists for 51 career points. Dawes was originally drafted by the New York Rangers in the fifth round (149th overall) in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.
Dawes has previous experience with two of the Flames coaches having won the 2005 IIHF World Junior Championship as a member of Team Canada under Brent Sutter and having won the 2002 Memorial Cup with the Kootenay Ice under Ryan McGill.
The-Leak (aka) kingwell (bka) JULES:
Philadelphia Flyers forward Simon Gagne confirmed Wednesday that he should be ready for training camp.
Gagne, 29, suffered a mild right groin strain Monday at Team Canada's Olympic orientation camp in Calgary.
He promptly returned to Philadelphia to be examined by Flyers physician Peter DeLuca, and received an injection.
"I thought it was going to be an easy practice, but the tempo was very fast right away during the very first drill," Gagne said. "Guys were obviously trying to show their best.
"I had been skating back home for about two weeks, but not at that high level. I kind of felt that it [his groin] was getting a little bit tight on me … I went to see the trainers and they pulled me out and there was really no question to try to push it again."
The Flyers intend to be cautious with Gagne because he had hip surgery to remove a bone spur and adhesions in late May.
"He will be allowed back on the ice in two weeks and should be ready for training camp on Sept. 12," Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said.
Gagne ranked third in team scoring last season with 74 points, including 34 goals in 79 games.
The Sainte-Foy, Que., native has totalled 242 goals and 484 points in 606 NHL games since he was drafted 22nd overall by Philadelphia in 1998.
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