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Here is the Canucks’ 48-man training camp roster for this year. Below, I’ve made my predictions of who will make the team’s opening roster.

GOAL
Roberto Luongo
Curtis Sanford
Drew MacIntyre
Cory Schneider
Julien Ellis

DEFENCE
Mattias Ohlund
Sami Salo
Willie Mitchell
Kevin Bieksa
Aaron Miller
Lukas Krajicek
Alex Edler
Luc Bourdon
Nathan McIver
Shaun Heshka
Daniel Rahimi
Jimmy Sharrow
Patrick Coulombe
Zach Fitzgerald
Chad Brownlee
Taylor Ellington

FORWARDS
Daniel Sedin
Henrik Sedin
Taylor Pyatt
Markus Naslund
Brendan Morrison
Trevor Linden
Matt Cooke
Ryan Kesler
Jeff Cowan
Brad Isbister
Alex Burrows
Byron Ritchie
Ryan Shannon
Jannik Hansen
Rick Rypien
Mason Raymond
Michael Grabner
Juraj Simek
Pierre-Cedric Labrie
Brad Moran
Greg Classen
Mario Bliznak
Jozef Balej
Jason Jaffray
Colby Genoway
Mike Brown
Marc-Andre Bernier

My Opening Roster Predictions…

Luongo / Sanford

Ohlund / Salo
Mitchell / Bieksa
Miller / Krajicek

Sedin / Sedin / Pyatt
Naslund / Morrison / Kelser
Cooke / Linden / Isbister
Cowan / Burrows / Ritchie

Spares: Shannon, Rypien

According to TSN, these are the top 10 goals of all time. I don’t know about them being the top 10 ever, but if anything, they sure are enjoyable to watch.

[Here’s another look at the updated Free Agency list. Pretty slim pickings available, but a few of these players should either sign on to a team before the season starts, receive training camp try outs, or head off to Europe]

One of the most exciting times of the season is July 1st, the day the free agent market opens. Here’s a look at some of the notable players available this summer, organized roughly by the amount of money it should take to sign them.

I will remove players from this listing once they sign new contracts.

$5-10 Million

Forward: Teemu Selanne

$3.5 - 5 Million

Forward: Peter Forsberg

$2 - 3.5 Million

Defense: Danny Markov

$1 - 2 Million

Forward: Jeff O’Neill, Eric Lindros, Jason Allison

Under $1 Million

Forward: Peter Bondra, Tony Amonte, Jeff Friesen, Darren McCarty, Anson Carter

Defense: Janne Niinimaa, Mark Smith

Goalie: Curtis Joseph, Robert Esche

[Updated: October 22, 2007]

If you’re bored, check out this site, where you can find out what your Canadian hockey player name is.

I am Canadian and a hockey player, yet apparently my name isn’t quite good enough. When entered in, I was given Matthieu Agnew as my name.

Click Here to find out yours.

I’ve been constantly updating the available UFA list, and just updated it again.

Taking a look at the list, the first thing that stands out is the obvious lack of available talent. The only above average players still available are Teemu Selanne, Peter Forsberg, Mike Peca and Danny Markov.

Markov is a very solid top four blueliner, and I’m pretty surprised he’s still available. He’d be a great addition to any team, and either he’s holding out for a lot of money, or the right teams just aren’t interested.

Selanne will either retire or return to Anaheim, and Forsberg is waiting to get his health in order before deciding on a return. Peca is not the impact player he once was, and will likely sign on to a contending team for around $1.5 mil in a one year deal. There’s rumors he’s hoping to return to Toronto.

Another item of note, is the amount of 06-07 Canucks still awaiting new contracts. Jan Bulis, Josh Green, Trevor Linden, Rory Fitzpatrick and Brent Sopel have yet to find any takers. Former Canucks Alex Auld and Anson Carter are also still unsigned.

I am quite sure we’ll see Linden return to Vancouver, and there are rumors that he’s already signed a one year deal for $750,000.

I don’t expect any of the others to return, although if he were to take a lowered salary, I wouldn’t be completely surprised if Bulis were to come back for another year. At $750-800k a season, I would take him.

I don’t expect the Canucks to make any more UFA signings, except for possibly a few depth signings for the farm and for the press box. The Canucks could use one more 7th or 8th d-man to play on the farm and be available for a quick call up. The 07-08 version of Yanick Tremblay.

Click Here to check out all the players still available.

The Canucks roster hasn’t changed a whole lot from last year to this upcoming season. There is still a small chance another UFA signing or even a trade could happen, but with the way the ‘Nucks current salary cap is sitting, neither of those look that likely (as far as landing a quality player, goes).

Let’s take a look at how the Canucks roster is currently sitting:

Goaltenders

The Canucks most solid position. Their top player is without a doubt Roberto Luongo. He will once again be looked upon to lead the Canucks into the playoffs. Curtis Sanford is the new bench warmer, and he’s joined the team for this upcoming season. He should provide at least the same type of netminding that Dany Sabourin did last season, and if anything, at least we don’t have to face him, as he’s been a Canuck-killer for years.

Drew MacIntyre and Cory Schneider will also be attending camp, but don’t expect to see either of them unseat Sanford as the backup. Schneider is sure to handle the starter’s role with the Moose, with MacIntyre as his backup.

Defense

The Canucks have quite possibly the most solid defense in the entire NHL. They are also getting several of them at a bargain price. With Mattias Ohlund, Willie Mitchell, Kevin Bieksa, Sami Salo, Lukas Krajicek and Aaron Miller, defense will not be a problem at all. There’s a chance Vancouver will go into the season carrying only 6 defensemen on the roster, and won’t go with a 7th d-man as they did last year.

Alex Edler and Luc Bourdon will make an attempt to land a roster spot, but unless there are injuries, I expect them to start the season with the Moose. They are both very young, and a full season playing important minutes with Manitoba would be much more beneficial to their development.

I still expect the Canucks to sign one veteran defenseman for the Moose, as they did in signing Yannick Tremblay last season. Expect Edler or Bourdon to be the first call ups if any injuries happen.

Forwards

It will be interesting to see how the forward lines end up. We have four players that are guaranteed to be on the top two lines, but each of those lines are in need of a winger. It’s unlikely the Canucks will sign anyone, so training camp will determine who lands where.

The Top line will see Daniel and Henrik at left wing and center, respectively. There’s a chance Taylor Pyatt could return to the RW position, but I think we’ll see Ryan Shannon get a look at that spot. He has the offensive ability, and may be able to produce if given the proper line mates.

I would like to see the Canucks give Ryan Kesler a shot on that line, as it was successful during the one exhibition game they played last year. Kelser is a right handed shot, and has the talent to potentially become a goal scorer, if given more than a checking role.

Most likely, the first line ends up Sedin - Sedin - Pyatt.

The second line will consist of Brendan Morrison and Markus Naslund, while also needing a right winger. The same candidates apply. Matt Cooke or (if he doesn’t retire), Trevor Linden, could be given a chance to land this role. I’m not sure if you want to put Shannon here, as they would make up a pretty small second line.

The Canucks could still resign Jan Bulis, but I’m still of the opinion he’s not wanted by Vigneault. If he does resign, he could be an option for this line (but then again, it doesn’t solve the line’s grit issue).

Best option? Naslund - Morrison - Cooke

The third and fourth lines will be very hard to predict, as there are so many options available.

The third line is likely to consist of Ryan Kesler, Byron Ritchie and Jeff Cowan. That would be one helluva great checking line. I’d like to see Kesler in more of an offensive role, but he is a valuable checking line player as well. He’s one of the better penalty killers in the league.

What’s left? Alex Burrows, Trevor Linden (if signed), Brad Isbister, Ryan Shannon, Rick Rypien, Janick Hansen, Michael Grabner, Brad Moran and Mason Raymond.

Alex Burrows has a roster spot locked up, and if he’s healthy, Rypien will be on the team. I’d be surprised if Shannon doesn’t make the opening roster, as his speed and offensive ability is much needed. A Burrows - Shannon - Rypien would be a pretty good 4th line. Trevor Linden could return to take one of those spots, most likely leaving Rypien or Shannon in the press box. Isbister would then become the other “press box all-star”.

Raymond, Hansen, Grabner and Moran will end up on the Moose to start the season.

The Canucks roster is basically set, but one or two forwards could be signed, which would lead to either Isbister, Shannon or Rypien heading to the Moose.

The Canucks are apparentley interested in Nils Ekman, but I’d prefer they go with their current roster than sign someone like him. Again, Bulis could also return, and there’s a very small chance Nonis may consider bringing back Anson Carter (I say no to that… let the greedy bastard rot).

In Summary…

So, our roster looks basically the same as last year.

We’ve upgraded our defense with the signing of Miller, and Sanford could be a slight upgrade over Sabourin, although the backup goaltender doesn’t serve that big of a purpose on this team.

The offense hasn’t been upgraded at all, and there’s no way this team makes it into the second round of the playoffs without better offensive players. Morrison and Naslund could improve this year, but even with their reassurgence, I don’t see the Canucks having enough offense to make an impact.

Even making the playoffs will be a very big challenge, as so many teams are so even. With Colorado improving, that will only add to the competition in the West.

This is not 100% confirmed, but it seems like it’s the real deal.

I like it. It’s not a major change, but it is an improvement.

Thanks to Mirtle for pointing it out.

The Canucks signed UFA Byron Ritchie to a one-year, $675,000 contract, this past week.

Ritchie played last season with the Calgary Flames, scoring 14 points in 64 games in a checking role. Ritchie is on the smaller side, at 5′10”, but plays a very aggressive game. He is known for his great work ethic, and team play. He’s the type of guy you like to have on your team.

Ritchie looks to fit in as the center on the 4th line, taking over for the likely departed, Josh Green. He is also capable of playing the wing on that line, or even in a third line position as well. Ritchie has shown offensive abilities in the past, and when given more minutes, is capable of scoring the odd goal. In his final year of junior in Lethbridge, he scored 126 points in 63 games. That included 50 goals.

It’s been a long time since Ritchie has scored anything more than 4th line numbers, and he won’t be expected to with the Canucks. However, he should provide a solid, aggressive presence, and fit in nicely as the type of player Vigneault likes to coach. If he can pot in the odd goal, that will be a welcomed bonus. If anything, he should be able to provide more offense than Burrows, Green, Santala or Chouinard were able to last season.

I expect Ritchie will become somewhat of a fan favorite, thanks to the type of hard work he puts forth on a nightly basis. I think it’d be fair to say he’s expected to pot in about 10 goals and 20 points in 07-08.

From what I’ve read, Flames fans had good things to say about Ritchie, and were sad to see him go.

At one point, he was the next superstar power forward. He was the next Todd Bertuzzi. Isbister held those projections for quite a while, but at 30 years old, it’s safe to say Isbister is what he is. And what exactly is that? A 4th line checker, at best.

Still, I am happy with his signing; which is a one year deal at $525k. I think he will provide a good presence as a 4th line player, with the ability to play a more important role if necessary.

Isbister scored 28 points in 43 games in the AHL this past season, while also scoring 5 points in 19 games with the Rangers. Those numbers are definitely nothing to get excited about. Still, at 6′4”, 230 lbs, Isbister is a huge man that will give the Canucks some size in the lineup.

There’s no guarantee Isbister will land a roster spot, but it’s a sure bet he gets in at least a few games at some point in 07-08.

Isbister has 486 games under his belt, and his points per game ratio is at 0.43, which isn’t too bad for the type of player he is.

Isbister is unlikely to keep up even half that pace during his time with the Canucks, and I think simply landing a spot on the roster should be considered a success for him. If he does, he will simply play the role of a warm body that doesn’t do much to effect the salary cap.

One of the most exciting hockey-related days of the year, the day unrestricted free agency begins, starts in only three days.

Here’s my thoughts on where some of the big names may end up. For a full list of available unrestricted free agents, check out the list here.

Ryan Smyth

I can’t believe we’re even talking about this, as I never expected Smyth to play anywhere but Edmonton. When he was first traded, part of me thought it was done with the plan that Smyth would return in the off-season. The Oil required a lot of valuable prospects in exchange for giving the Islanders a few weeks worth of Smyth. Now, although it still may be likely, I don’t think he’ll return to Edmonton. It’s hard to guess the potential suitors, as anyone would want to land him. It’s also hard to say what he will sign for.

Smyth could sign for a Canadian team, such as Calgary or Toronto, but they won’t be able to pay him nearly as much as say if he signed with the Islanders or Columbus. I think Smyth would prefer to sign with a contender, and as much money as Charles Wang and the Islanders will throw at him, I don’t think he will sign with him. My guess? He signs with a team we don’t expect, such as Colorado or Anaheim. If Selanne were to retire, I think we’d see Smyth head to the Ducks, but it’s unlikely Selanne will make up his mind in time.

I find Smyth one of the hardest to predict, and it’ll either be Edmonton, Toronto, The Islanders or Colorado. I’m gonna go out on a limb, and say we see Smyth playing for Colorado come next season.

Chris Drury

Not often does a player as complete as Drury become available. Drury will likely earn up to $7.5 million per season, and although he apparently wants to land on the west coast, I think he’ll sign wherever the money comes from.

Colorado is an option, but I think we’ll see him end up in LA or San Jose. LA has the money to spend, and he’d fit in perfectly on the rebuilding team. LA is not a contender now, but with Drury, and all the young players they currently have, it won’t be long before they’re challenging for a Cup (of course, they will need an upgrade in net, first!). The Rangers and Flyers will also make a pitch, but I don’t think they will have the cap money, and in the end, I think Drury wants to play in the West.

Daniel Briere

Briere recently turned down a five year, $25 million dollar contract, which is ironically the same contract he wanted to sign with the Sabres last year, that they said no to.

I still have a feeling we might see Briere return to Buffalo, but the Rangers, Canadiens, Flyers and The Islanders (if they miss out on Smyth) will show interest. If he fails to land with Buffalo, Philly is the next likely option. He’s good friends with Martin Biron, and it’s been rumored he has been trying to court Briere.

He could land up to $6.5 mil a season, most likely on a four to five year contract. If I had to predict (which well, is the point of this post), I’m going to say Briere lands with the New York Rangers. Philadelphia is a strong second option. Either way, Briere is going to end up a rich, rich man.

Scott Gomez

Gomez doesn’t get the press that the big three already mentioned do, but he’s at the same talent level if you ask me. He’s played on a defensive team in New Jersey for a long time, which I think has hurt his point totals. If put in an offensive situation, I think he would thrive. He’d do great playing with a pure goal scorer.

I’d recommend that Atlanta and Columbus do whatever they can to get this guy. Imagine Gomez passing to Nash or Kovalchuk? It would be dynamite. Gomez, at 27, still hasn’t it his peak, but will soon. He’s likely to sign wherever he gets the biggest contract, and it should be somewhere in the $6.5-$7 million range. The Rangers will push hard to sign him if they don’t resign Nylander, and I think that is the likely place for him to end up. Still, don’t count out teams such as the Blue Jackets, Thrashers or Islanders, as they should have the cap space to sign a big-money guy like Gomez. The Oilers have openly expressed interest, but I don’t see them being able to put forth enough money, while still needing to sign a top quality defenseman.

The other guys…

Sheldon Souray - He’ll end up either resigning with Montreal, or replacing Scott Hannan in San Jose. The Kings are also a possibility.

Paul Kariya - It was expected that he’d return to Nashville, but with their ownership uncertainty, it looks like he’ll test the UFA market. A return to Anaheim or Colorado isn’t out of the question, but I’m going to predict he ends up back in Nashville.

Peter Forsberg - He’s said in the past he’ll only return to a team he’s played for before, but I’m not sure Philly, Colorado or Nashville (they already said they aren’t interested) would want him back. I don’t expect him to sign until around December at the earliest, and even then, it’s hard to predict where he’ll land. My guess is Colorado, provided they don’t spend their money elsewhere this Summer.

Brian Rafalski - He’s probably the best blue liner available this Summer, but I think we’ll see him return to New Jersey. He enjoys it there, and the team can’t afford to lose him.

The rest of the second tier free agents are likely to sign with teams that end up on the losing end of the players listed above. Guys like Nylander, Yashin, Kozlov, Blake, Zubrus, Handzus, Peca, Bertuzzi and Nagy will all be decent 2nd place prizes for any team.

The Hockey Hall of Fame has announced who will be added as members this year.

From TSN.ca - The Hockey Hall of Fame is set to welcome one of its finest classes ever.

Mark Messier, Ron Francis, Al MacInnis and Scott Stevens will go in as players this fall while NHL executive Jim Gregory will enter as a builder.

Yesterday, I predicted who the four players chosen would be. My selections were the same as the ones that were announced today.

I feel the right players were chosen this year. That’s not something you often get to say when it comes to these types of things.

I don’t feel too bad for Igor Larionov or Adam Oates… they will make it in sooner or later.

With Free Agency fast approaching, the rumors of which teams will sign who are flying all over the place. Most of them are pretty ridiculous, and even the ones that sound likely to happen, often don’t.

Remember how it was “absolutely certain” that Ed Jovanovski was going to sign in Florida last year? Then GM Mike Keenan announced his main focus was going to work on signing a big name #1 defenseman. Todd Bertuzzi was at that point, a Panther, and it’s well documented that the two are/were good friends. “Jovo Cop” was drafted by and played several seasons with Florida, and his Wife is from the area. It all made sense, yet on July 1st, the Phoenix Coyotes announced they had signed Jovanovski to a multi-year deal.

My point is, anything can happen.

This year, Canucks’ fans shouldn’t have much hope in the team signing a big name UFA player, but again we go back to that “anything can happen” attitude. After all, who expected Vancouver to land Luongo last season? Maybe Nonis has another huge, yet smart, trade in the works.

The Canucks don’t have a lot of dollars to spend, and are unlikely to spend over $1.5 on any player, and even that minimal dollar value could be pushing it.

Vancouver’s biggest need is for two top 6 wingers. The types that sign for around $3-4 million a season. There’s no way they will be able to pick one up, unless it involves trading away a current contract.

As far as trades, the only players with big contracts that are even possible trade options are Markus Naslund ($6 million), Brendan Morrison ($3.2 million) and Matt Cooke ($1.5 million).

Naslund has a no-trade clause and there’s no guarantee he’d even be willing to waive it. However, saying that, I wouldn’t think he’d mind to get out of the Vancouver spotlight, and not have the burden of being the team’s captain. The guy is not captain material, but it’s almost impossible to strip a captain of the C, and then keep him on the team. Still, I don’t think we could trade Naslund even if we were giving him away. He’s nowhere near worth the money he makes, and at his age, it’s unlikely he’s going to turn it around. I doubt any team would be willing to take him on. Where’s Mike Milbury when we need him?

Morrison is the most likely man on the roster to be traded. He is still valued around the league, and his salary is low enough that there’s teams that wouldn’t have a problem taking it on. He’s a solid two-way player, and we could still fetch a decent player in return for him. So, why would we even want to trade him, then? He’s probably worth more around $2.5 than $3.2, and if we could unload him and pick up a pure scoring winger, I think that’s a move that would have to be made. He’s also had injury problems as of late, and he may not recover.

Cooke doesn’t make a whole lot at only $1.5 million, but he’s been injured a lot the past few years, and when he is playing, he’s not a whole lot better than some of the Canucks’ other grinders. I think Alex Burrows, Jeff Cowan or Rick Rypien could easily fill his role, and at a third of the price.

So, with the current salary numbers in mind, which potential free agents could we expect the Canucks to go after? Here’s my top five possibilities:

Kyle Calder

Earlier in the year, it looked like Calder’s NHL career could be in jeopardy. He started off horribly with Philly, but was then traded to Detroit where he played not too bad. He had 14 points in 19 games with the Wings, and proved he’s still capable of being a scoring forward. The Canucks often look towards third liners with second line potential (Bulis, Chouinard, Pyatt), and Calder fits that mix. If he doesn’t see any interest in the first week of free agency, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Canucks try to grab him out of the bargain bin. He could be had for around $1.5 million per season.

Patrik Stefan

The former 1st overall pick has become the poster boy for draft busts, but he’s still a capable NHL player. He’s a good two-way player, and fills the third line center role well. He had 11 points in 41 games with the Dallas Stars last season. His dollar figure should come in somewhere around 900k-$1 million per season.

Ruslan Fedotenko

Every year, there seems to be a rumor or two that Vancouver is interested in acquiring this guy. He had a lot of potential as a prospect, but hasn’t completely panned out. Still, he fits into that mold of “third line with 2nd line potential”, and he would fit in under the Canucks cap. I think he could be had for around $1.2 mil per year, although I wouldn’t give him more than a one year deal. He had 32 points in 80 games with Tampa last season. He’s basically the Jan Bulis equivalent of 2007.

Michel Ouellet

There was a rumor at the beginning of last season that the Canucks were going to acquire Ouellet in exchange for Matt Cooke. Never happened, but I can understand the Canucks’ interest in him. He’s a pure offensive player, something that is desperately needed. The thing is, I’m really unsure what type of dollars he could be looking at. He’s only 25, but some team may be willing to pay him for potential, and he could possibly get as much as $3 million per year (Scott Hartnell is a good example of a similar situation). If he stays under $2 million, I think Vancouver could show interest. The reason Pittsburgh cut him loose, is that they were afraid he would be awarded too much money at arbitration, so it’s likely he’s out of the Canucks’ price range.

Jan Bulis

Yes, we already traveled along this path. It was bumpy for a while, but turned out not too bad in the end. I think Bulis, if he fails to land a good offer, and if the Canucks fail to land a replacement, could return. He proved at the end of the year he can be a valuable member of the team. If he signs a contract without thinking he’s going too “play with the Sedins”, then I think he could be back.

Some other less likely possibilities include:

Paul Kariya - He’s from the Vancouver area, and he may be interested in returning home. This would only work if Vancouver unloaded salary first. Even then, I’m not sure if Kariya fits into the type of team the Canucks are building.

Vitali Vishnevski - The Canucks defense is basically set, but the addition of a tough, defensive defenseman that can hit is an interesting option. He would fit in perfectly as the 6th or 7th d-man, but the ‘Nuck may choose to fill that role with a younger prospect, like Edler or Koltsov.

As far as the potential backup goes, I am going to say it’s gonna be either Dany Sabourin (if he fails to find work elsewhere), or Drew MacIntyre. It looks like prospect Cory Schneider will sign with the Canucks, and play this year with the Moose. It would not be benficial for the two young goalies to split the work in Manitoba, and I think MacIntyre could adequately fill the back up role in Vancouver. I just hope it’s not Jamie McLennan. A lot of Canuck fans want this guy, because of his friendship with Luongo. Yes, that is a good thing, and McLennan is a good team guy, but he’s just not a good goalie. I’d rather have someone more capable of playing, than go with an old and inadequate McLennan.

This year, barring a major trade, it’s unlikely to be a very interesting off season for Canucks’ fans. Next season, however, will be an entirely different situation. Both Naslund and Morrison’s contracts will be expiring, and that will clear up nearly $10 million in salary dollars for Nonis to play around with.

The Free Agent market opens in just a few days (this Sunday to be exact). The Canucks don’t have a lot of money to spend, but they do have a few roster spots unoccupied. Some spots may be filled with prospects, but the ‘Nucks are likely to sign two or three free agents.

Vancouver has quite a few Unrestricted Free Agents of their own. Of the group, I only expect one or two of them to return. Here’s a run down of who’s set for UFA status, and which of them are likely to return.

The Canucks are currently in negotiations with Jeff Cowan, and it’s likely he’ll sign a two year deal, somewhere in the 650k-700k range. Anything more would be a drastic overpayment.

The other possible returnee, is 38 year old Canuck “living legend”, Trevor Linden. He still hasn’t decided if he will return or not, and after the up and down season he had in 2006-07, I understand why. He was playing very few minutes in the first half of the season, and even managed to be a healthy scratch for the first time in his career. He turned on his play a lot over the second half, and was one the best Canuck forwards in the Playoffs. Personally, I think he has one more good year left in him. His leadership is irreplaceable, and for the amount it would take to sign him (roughly 600-800k), he’s worth his cost. I think we’ll see Linden play one more season, as I can’t see him ready to hang it up quite yet.

I don’t think any of the rest of Vancouver’s free agents will return. Dany Sabourin is a possibility, but only if he can’t find work elsewhere. Jan Bulis is unlikely to return, even though his well documented bad attitude did improve in the second half. For the money he’d make, along with his potential locker room problems, I don’t expect to see him back.

Brent Sopel, even though he desperately wants to stay in Vancouver, is unlikely to return. The ‘Nucks simply don’t have enough room on defense for him, and I doubt he’d be willing to accept a role as the 6th or 7th defenseman. Plus, he’d have to take a 60-70% paycut to stay, and I don’t see that happening. Not at this time in his career.

Yannick Tremblay, Wade Flaherty, Tommi Santala, Lee Goren and Brad Moran will not be returning. Tremblay and Santala will probably go back to Europe, and the same could go for Moran and Goren. They may also sign on with another AHL team. Flaherty will probably retire, but is likely to land a role within the Canucks organization. Goalie coach will the Moose would be the obvious option.

Bryan Smolinski was mediocre at best during his short time with the Canucks, and he won’t be back. Rory Fitzpatrick could possibly return in the 7th defenseman role, but only if GM Nonis fails to land someone better. His fate will be decided later on in the off-season.

I am a fan of Josh Green, and wouldn’t mind seeing him return, but it’s unlikely the Canucks will offer him a one-way contract. He will probably try his luck somewhere else. If he fails to find work, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him return with a two way contract, as he was a very valuable member to the Canucks penalty kill, and he’s worth keeping, even if he’s only used in a call-up role.

Marc Chouinard has one year remaining on his deal, but seeing as he is no longer in the Canucks plans, there is talk he may be heading over to Europe. If that were to happen, he could probably be “suspended” by the team, and his contract wouldn’t count towards the cap, nor would the team have to pay him. That, or the player and team could come to a mutual agreement on his release.

The Canucks won’t be losing any valuable members to the team via Unrestricted Free Agency, and I’m pretty confident we’ll see Linden and Cowan resign. The rest of the above mentioned players will move on, and I’m sure their spots will be filled with more quality players and/or prospects.

Keep a look out for my upcoming post about which UFAs I think the Canucks will and should sign this off-season.

This year has one of the most impressive listing of first-time candidates for the Hall of Fame we’ve ever seen.

TSN.ca - Mark Messier will be a slam dunk when the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee meets Thursday.

Messier heads a formidable group of players who are eligible for the first time, including Ron Francis, Scott Stevens, Al MacInnis, Adam Oates, Igor Larionov and Claude Lemieux.

Four is the usual maximum in any one year so the committee will have a tough task paring the list. There is no doubt, however, that Messier will quickly be tabbed for November induction into the hockey shrine.

As much as I hate Mark Messier, I can’t deny the statement that he is a “slam dunk”. His record is obviously Hall-worthy, and he will definitely be chosen as one of the four players induced into the Hall of Fame this year.

As it says above, four is the usual maximum amount of “players” allowed in per year, but you have to wonder if they will make an exception this year. Six of the seven players are 100% worthy of being inducted, and I really don’t know how you can exclude two of them.

Claude Lemieux definitely won’t make it in, and I’m still not completely sure whether he deserves entry. Sure, he was an incredible playoff performer, and won many Cups, but is that enough? Either way, there’s no way he’s inducted this time around.

So, with the three remaining spots, how do you choose between Francis, Stevens, MacInnis, Oates and Larionov? Larionov probably had the least successful NHL career of the above, but he was one of the best players in Europe for a long, long time before making his NHL debut. He is deserves to be in the Hall, but if you have to exclude someone, I’d choose him to be the first man crossed off the list. He will make it in sometime in the near future, though.

I think Ron Francis is as much as a guarantee as Messier. He’s not as big of a household name, but his career is nearly as noteworthy. He was one of the NHL’s top Centers for most of his 23 years in the league. He won the Lady Byng three times, The King Clancy, The Selke and of course, two Stanley Cups. He also currently ranks second in career assists, beyond only Wayne Gretzky.

Scott Stevens doesn’t necessarily have the offensive numbers, but he was a tough, defensive defenseman that lead his team to win. He won three Stanley Cups, and is commonly known as possibly the best “stay-at-home” defenseman in NHL history. He will make the Hall, and should this year. But will he?

Al MacInnis is one of the top offensive defensemen in NHL History. He played in 15 NHL all-star games, won a Stanley Cup and was also named the Conn Smythe winner in the same year, and he won a Norris Trophy in 98-99. He is also one of the few NHL D-men to score over 1,000 points.

Adam Oates was, throughout his career, under-appreciated. He is quite possibly one of the top passers in the history of the league. He never won a Stanley Cup which may hurt his standing as an elite player (although it shouldn’t). He also surprisingly never won an NHL award, which is ridiculous considering the amount of points he put up. In 92-93, he had 142 points, with 97 assists. He could be the odd man out this year, which only proves a testament to the quality of the eligible players.

So, in summary, who do I think should make it in? If you have to choose four, I would go with Messier, Francis, Stevens and MacInnis. Saying that, I don’t know how a player like Adam Oates or Igor Larionov doesn’t make it in on their first eligible year.

It’s quite possible we see an exception made this year, with five or even six players inducted.

There were a few surprises today, as to certain players not being qualified by their teams.

Yesterday, I posted about the Panthers not qualifying Alex Auld.

Today, news has come out that a few other solid players have not been qualified. It mostly comes down to the salary cap… it’s not like the teams wanted to lose their respective players, they just didn’t want to pay them what they were set to earn.

Pittsburgh’s Michel Ouellet, who is only 25, had 48 points last season and should have quite a few teams interested in his services. He could have gone to arbitration, and won a significant reward, and the Penguins weren’t willing to pay a potentially high contract to keep him.

Rangers defenseman Karel Rachunek, is another who was not qualified. He is a solid blueliner, and picked up 26 points last season.

Other noteworthy players not receiving qualifying offers are Minnesota’s Adam Hall, Edmonton’s Brad Winchester, Florida’s Juraj Kolnik and Alexei Semenov and St. Louis goaltender Curtis Sanford.

Sanford both is, and isn’t, a surprise. I guess this has confirmed St. Louis will be going with a Legace and Baschashaschahschchia (sp?) combination. That, or they acquire someone else.

Sanford will likely land a backup role somewhere in the NHL. Vancouver should sign him, just so they don’t have to play against the guy. He has been absolutely dynamite against the Canucks in recent years.

Washington has also cut loose Kris Beech and Jiri Novotny. Beech was a former 1st round pick (I actually played minor hockey against and with him), and he seemed to have finally settled into a team. I hope he signs on somewhere else, but it may be back to the AHL for him. Novotny is a bit of a surprise, and he should have no problem landing elsewhere, although I guess there’s a chance he could return to Europe for a bigger paycheck.

St. Louis has also placed veteran Dallas Drake on waivers, which is required in order to buy out his contract. Because he is over 35, his full contract will count towards their cap for the next two seasons. He was set to make $2.2 million over the next two years. Drake will become a UFA, and it’s still possible a team could sign him for the league minimum.

I’ve updated the Unrestricted Free Agents List, and you can check it out. The list is also linked on the right hand column under “Main”, for your easy viewing pleasure.

> Click here to view the updated UFA Listing