Canucks swap 2 with the Bolts

Mike Gillis continued to leave his imprint on the 08/09 version of the Canucks as he traded D Lukas Krajicek and F Juraj Simek to Tampa Bay for D Shane O'Brien and F Michel Ouellet. O'Brien was on his way back from Prague, where the Lightning opened the NHL season this past weekend with a pair of games against the Rangers. O'Brien was a healthy scratch Sunday, probably and indication the deal was in the works. He is a rugged blueliner who has 330 penalty minutes in 158 regular season games. Ouellet was with the Penguins before being signed as a free agent last season by Tampa. He has 80 points in 123 games, including 17 goals in 2007/08 for the Lightning. Ouellet will report to Manitoba, while O'Brien should be in the lineup against Calgary Thursday night in the season opener. I like this move. Krajicek was not really living up to his potential, and was error-prone. He seemed to lose his confidence after suffering injuries last season and physically doesn't match the blueprint for the Canucks backline this season. Our D got tougher, and a little bit better, giving Canucks fans another reason to be hopeful this season. Just a note, we will have our first podcasts of the year, a season preview and the first pre-game show of the year Thursday, so don't miss it.