sleddy2008
03-03-2010, 03:56 AM
C/P from Tsn.ca
Kyle Wellwood insists he isn't worried, but perhaps he should be.
With the NHL trade deadline looming, Vancouver Canuck coach Alain Vigneault has acknowledged that finding more scoring punch for his anemic third line is high on his priority list.
"Just look at it from a logical standpoint," Vigneault said after the Canucks practised here on Monday. "We feel we've got two pretty good lines and we think we can really have a strong fourth line with grit and toughness and a guy like Johnny (Ryan Johnson) who can help us on faceoffs and help us on the penalty-kill. So then you look at our third line and you say to yourself, if we could upgrade a little bit it would help our team."
Many have suggested that upgrade could come at the centre position, which would put Wellwood's job in jeopardy.
Wellwood, who has struggled offensively this season with just seven goals and 15 points in 54 games, didn't seem overly concerned about his job security on Monday.
"If they want to get a third-line centre besides me, then that's their choice," he said. "I don't know, it's not something I think about or worry about. Third-line centre is a good job, but it's a tough job and it's hard to bring somebody in to do it."
The Canucks play their first game in over two weeks here tonight, but there is perhaps even more interest in what is taking place behind closed doors some 500 kilometres to the west in Chicago where general manager Mike Gillis and his management team have set up their trade deadline headquarters.
Ultimately, it will be Gillis's call as to whether the team makes any deals before Wednesday's noon PST deadline.
Vigneault spent considerable time during the Olympic break discussing the roster with Gillis and assistant GMs Lorne Henning and Laurence Gilman.
"We have been talking at length the last couple of weeks, even though there was the Olympic break, about where we felt we needed to upgrade, what we might be able to give up and where we are compared to the rest of the league," Vigneault said. "Considering the fact I think we are fourth in the league in terms of injuries, we (as of Monday night) are still in first place in our division. We have had a tough schedule, personnel wise it has been challenging, but we have still been able to stay there. You have to decide if you make a push or don't make a push. We'll find that out in the next little while."
Even without a trade, Vancouver's third line figures to have a different look tonight when the Canucks take on the Columbus Blue Jackets. Vigneault said Pavol Demitra, who led the Olympic tournament in scoring for Slovakia, needs to play in the top six. So that means either Mason Raymond or Mikael Samuelsson figure to drop down to the third line to allow Demitra to play the wing alongside Ryan Kesler.
"It is something we have been talking about," Vigneault said. "Pavol was out for so long and we were just trying to get him to find his timing and his rhythm. But if he is going to help our team, he is a top two line player, without a doubt. So that is where we have to put him now. If we put him on our top two lines do we drop down Mase, do we drop down Mikael Samuelsson? Those are things I haven't made my mind up about yet."
If Gillis does go looking for a third-line centre, a possible name he might be considering is Florida's Steven Reinprecht. Gillis kicked the tires on Reinprecht last season when he was a member of the Phoenix Coyotes and available as a rental.
Reinprecht, who has 13 goals and 33 points in 61 games this season with the Panthers, would not be a rental this season. He has another year, at $2.175 million, left on his contract. However, the Panthers are already without injured centre Nathan Horton and may be reluctant to move Reinprecht.
Rental centres with expiring contracts who could possibly be on the market include Eric Belanger (Minnesota), Doug Weight (New York Islanders) and Jeff Halpern (Tampa Bay). Of those four, only Belanger is having a good season. But the Wild are only five points out of a playoff spot and likely aren't ready to surrender the season.
With Willie Mitchell's status uncertain, the Canucks could also be in the market for a stay-at-home defenceman. There have been rumours posted on the Internet about the Canucks having interest in Carolina's Aaron Ward and Andy Sutton of the New York Islanders.
A player like winger Michael Grabner, Vancouver's first-round pick in 2006, could also be in the mix after all the smoke clears. Following a slow start after his return from a broken ankle, Grabner has come alive of late in Manitoba.
"Right now we are in that final stretch where we have got some major decisions to make on our lineup, where we feel we are with this team, areas we think we might need to improve and does Michael Grabner fit in that," Vigneault said.
The players, of course, will be happy when the deadline has come and gone.
"It's always uneasy," said centre Ryan Johnson. "It's completely out of everybody's control. I don't seem to think about it much because if it's going to happen, it's going to happen. But there are guys every year that it weighs on and the second it passes, it's like, 'oh my gosh, I haven't slept in two days.' And they are the guys usually who have nothing to worry about."
Kyle Wellwood insists he isn't worried, but perhaps he should be.
With the NHL trade deadline looming, Vancouver Canuck coach Alain Vigneault has acknowledged that finding more scoring punch for his anemic third line is high on his priority list.
"Just look at it from a logical standpoint," Vigneault said after the Canucks practised here on Monday. "We feel we've got two pretty good lines and we think we can really have a strong fourth line with grit and toughness and a guy like Johnny (Ryan Johnson) who can help us on faceoffs and help us on the penalty-kill. So then you look at our third line and you say to yourself, if we could upgrade a little bit it would help our team."
Many have suggested that upgrade could come at the centre position, which would put Wellwood's job in jeopardy.
Wellwood, who has struggled offensively this season with just seven goals and 15 points in 54 games, didn't seem overly concerned about his job security on Monday.
"If they want to get a third-line centre besides me, then that's their choice," he said. "I don't know, it's not something I think about or worry about. Third-line centre is a good job, but it's a tough job and it's hard to bring somebody in to do it."
The Canucks play their first game in over two weeks here tonight, but there is perhaps even more interest in what is taking place behind closed doors some 500 kilometres to the west in Chicago where general manager Mike Gillis and his management team have set up their trade deadline headquarters.
Ultimately, it will be Gillis's call as to whether the team makes any deals before Wednesday's noon PST deadline.
Vigneault spent considerable time during the Olympic break discussing the roster with Gillis and assistant GMs Lorne Henning and Laurence Gilman.
"We have been talking at length the last couple of weeks, even though there was the Olympic break, about where we felt we needed to upgrade, what we might be able to give up and where we are compared to the rest of the league," Vigneault said. "Considering the fact I think we are fourth in the league in terms of injuries, we (as of Monday night) are still in first place in our division. We have had a tough schedule, personnel wise it has been challenging, but we have still been able to stay there. You have to decide if you make a push or don't make a push. We'll find that out in the next little while."
Even without a trade, Vancouver's third line figures to have a different look tonight when the Canucks take on the Columbus Blue Jackets. Vigneault said Pavol Demitra, who led the Olympic tournament in scoring for Slovakia, needs to play in the top six. So that means either Mason Raymond or Mikael Samuelsson figure to drop down to the third line to allow Demitra to play the wing alongside Ryan Kesler.
"It is something we have been talking about," Vigneault said. "Pavol was out for so long and we were just trying to get him to find his timing and his rhythm. But if he is going to help our team, he is a top two line player, without a doubt. So that is where we have to put him now. If we put him on our top two lines do we drop down Mase, do we drop down Mikael Samuelsson? Those are things I haven't made my mind up about yet."
If Gillis does go looking for a third-line centre, a possible name he might be considering is Florida's Steven Reinprecht. Gillis kicked the tires on Reinprecht last season when he was a member of the Phoenix Coyotes and available as a rental.
Reinprecht, who has 13 goals and 33 points in 61 games this season with the Panthers, would not be a rental this season. He has another year, at $2.175 million, left on his contract. However, the Panthers are already without injured centre Nathan Horton and may be reluctant to move Reinprecht.
Rental centres with expiring contracts who could possibly be on the market include Eric Belanger (Minnesota), Doug Weight (New York Islanders) and Jeff Halpern (Tampa Bay). Of those four, only Belanger is having a good season. But the Wild are only five points out of a playoff spot and likely aren't ready to surrender the season.
With Willie Mitchell's status uncertain, the Canucks could also be in the market for a stay-at-home defenceman. There have been rumours posted on the Internet about the Canucks having interest in Carolina's Aaron Ward and Andy Sutton of the New York Islanders.
A player like winger Michael Grabner, Vancouver's first-round pick in 2006, could also be in the mix after all the smoke clears. Following a slow start after his return from a broken ankle, Grabner has come alive of late in Manitoba.
"Right now we are in that final stretch where we have got some major decisions to make on our lineup, where we feel we are with this team, areas we think we might need to improve and does Michael Grabner fit in that," Vigneault said.
The players, of course, will be happy when the deadline has come and gone.
"It's always uneasy," said centre Ryan Johnson. "It's completely out of everybody's control. I don't seem to think about it much because if it's going to happen, it's going to happen. But there are guys every year that it weighs on and the second it passes, it's like, 'oh my gosh, I haven't slept in two days.' And they are the guys usually who have nothing to worry about."