The Sundin Experiment- Chapter 1

And so it begins. It's been quite a journey to get to this spot, but after months of speculation, and emotions from hockey fans around the world Mats Sundin makes his debut tonight as a Vancouver Canuck. It had been thought that the Canucks would unveil him at home Friday against St. Louis, but I like the idea of him getting a game under his belt before playing for the hometown faithful. That's not to say that this isn't an important game, either. A divisional clash against a team nipping at their heels who have bested the Canucks the last time, the Canucks need a win tonight to keep pace with the Flames, who did something last night few can claim: they beat the Sharks. So with the Wild 4 points back, and the Oilers and Avs another 2 behind, a win on the road is crucial.

To expect Mats Sundin to be an influence on tonight's game beyond an inspirational and emotional one leadership-wise may be asking too much. But it seems right for his debut, only one other game, and it's in the eastern time zone, so all eyes will be on Rexall Place tonight, especially those of the Leaf Nation. Sundin and the Canucks will travel to the ACC next month, and many there are prepared to unleash their bitterness and frustration at Sundin when he arrives, much like they did on Bryan McCabe last night when the Florida Panthers rolled into town. In true Leaf fashion, it was much ado about nothing, as the Leafs lost 4-2. While some respect Sundin for his play as a Leaf (one of the greatest of all time, for sure) others treat him as a traitor for not waiving his no-trade clause last season. While my thoughts are generally once you leave the team, you play for the enemy there can be exceptions to the rule based on the player. I wouldn't have booed Trevor Linden on his return to GM Place. Todd Bertuzzi, eh... that's another story. And hate me if you want, but it could come to a coin toss when it comes to Markus Naslund's return to Vancouver. For me I guess it all boils down to heart. Leafs fans may be hurting (missing the playoffs does that to you, we know), but it's fairly naive to think that Sundin allowing himself to be traded would have had any impact on the team save for adding some young player. Do you think they would have been any happier had he gone to Detroit last season and raised the cup over his head? Face it, there's no pleasing Leafs fans.

Jason LaBarbera should get the start tonight, with Curtis Sanford back on the bench from his groin injury backing him up. Apart from the addition of Sundin, no real changes tonight, as all injuries are still status quo, though Ryan Johnson is about a week away, his broken foot healed but the broken finger still not well enough to allow his return. A key for the Canucks tonight is a quick start and a lead after 1. The Oilers have a .900 win % when leading after 1, .917 after 2 periods, but .286 and .071 when trailing the 1st and 2nd. The Canucks need to take advantage of Edmonton's awful PK, which sits 28th. LaBarbera has great stats in his career against Edmonton, winning 4 of 5 with a 1.05 GAA and .966 save percentage. The Oilers have won 2 straight, including the last match against the Canucks where they built a 3-0 lead and hung on to win 3-2. Sundin btw has 64 points in 41 games against the Oilers in his career. Just sayin'...

Former Canuck Jarko Ruutu has officially used up the last drop of his good will after the Chris Simon stomping incident as he is meeting with league officials to discuss why he allegedly bit Buffalo's Andrew Peters last night during a scuffle. To be fair, I don't think anyone deserves a facewash from Peters' stinky mitts. That being said, Ruutu appears to have Peters' thumb clenched between his teeth in the video.
The All Star game is fast approaching, and while many are still angry the league did nothing to curtail the ridiculous vote-rigging by Habs fans (sorry, I don't care how well he has played this season, Mike Komisarek is a nobody), there is more controversy over the league's picks for the reserve lineup. There always seems to be players left out so that each team can have a representative, which makes sense on one hand, but then again, is there really an All Star on the St. Louis Blues this season? So the NHL has named Roberto Luongo as it's Vancouver rep in the game. Forget the fact that Bobby Lu is on the IR, and has been since November, right? I am willing to bet even if he is ready to play, he turns down the invitation. He likely won't play until after the break anyways. That leads us to who should replace him, and more likely who should have been named in the first place. Daniel Sedin is having a hell of a season. He has more goals than many of those named, is in the top 20 in points, and has more than a dozen more points than Dustin Brown, the Kings' representative. So the league needs to replace Luongo with Daniel and all is good, right? But will they? That means some other team's goalie will get named. I think they should add rookie Steve Mason of Columbus, who has been outstanding. They likely won't, so expect Mikka Kiprusoff of Calgary to get the nod.

Our 1st podcast of 2009 will be ready to go Friday as we recap the week for the Canucks and look at back to back games against St. Louis and San Jose Friday and Saturday as Mats gets to know the fans and vice versa.