Post by canucks on Apr 11, 2009 17:49:52 GMT -5
With one game left in the 03-04 season, here is a look back at the up and down season experienced by the Canucks and the City of Vancouver.
The beginning of the season marked a new era in Canucks hockey. Jordan Snyder had just been named the General Manager and was promising to make this team into a contender. With an already exciting list of players on the roster, the bar was set rather high for Snyder. Early cap issues kept Snyders hands tied through the early going of the season, but some minor personnel moves created some breathing room. After seeing his team get out hit and outshot through the early going, Snyder made a his first bold move.
To elevate his teams size, defense and experience Snyder acquired Doan and Foote from Pittsburgh for young Afinogenov and Ohlund. The move seemed smart on paper, as there was still plenty of speed and offensive talent left behind after Afinogenov left. Despite Footes impressive ffenssive and defensive contributions, things soon went sour. In Doans first 10 games, he was a -4 with 6 points. Despite the short tenure, Snyder had seen enough. He went out and made yet another huge splash by acquiring Hasek and Brown for Doan and Khabibulin.
By bringing in Hasek, Snyder had acquired an experienced All-Star calibre goalie. At the time of the deal, Hasek was in the top 3 in every goaltending category and seemed a shoe-in for the Vezina. But things completely fell apart after that.
Haseks number dropped almost exponentially from the moment he stepped onto the ice as a member of the Canucks. His GAA went up 0.50 and his Save Pct went down almost .03, from .920 to .890. The fans of Vancouver, as well as the coaching staff and management have all pointed the finger at Hasek for the miserable and disappointing season thus far.
After some consideration, GM Snyder gave his new team an ultimatum - start winning and have a playoff spot going into the Trade Deadline, or pack your bags. As everyone knows, this didn't spark any amazing comeback.
After naming Brown, Morrison and Drury the new leaders of this franchise, Snyder went shopping. Yashin, Fedorov, Naslund, Whitney, McCabe, Desjardins, Foote and Whitney were all sent packing. In return, Snyder was looking for a number of picks for this years draft along with young, budding BUHL stars. This is exactly what he got. He was able to pick up a total of 8 draft picks, 2 prospects and 5 players as well as clear $15 million in cap space.
Despite all this, Snyder said his biggest accomplishment was being able to re-sign all of his key FAs, and making room to make a big splash in free agency. Snyder also said that he made one crucial mistake: not getting rid of Hasek. However, he did mention that Hasek isn't going to be resigning and that he hopes Hasek has more luck wherever he goes.
Going into the draft, the Canucks will be looking for a future starting goalie, possibly in the likes of Schneider or Rinne, or a big defensive dman.
Though this season may lost, boy does the future ever look bright in Vancouver
The beginning of the season marked a new era in Canucks hockey. Jordan Snyder had just been named the General Manager and was promising to make this team into a contender. With an already exciting list of players on the roster, the bar was set rather high for Snyder. Early cap issues kept Snyders hands tied through the early going of the season, but some minor personnel moves created some breathing room. After seeing his team get out hit and outshot through the early going, Snyder made a his first bold move.
To elevate his teams size, defense and experience Snyder acquired Doan and Foote from Pittsburgh for young Afinogenov and Ohlund. The move seemed smart on paper, as there was still plenty of speed and offensive talent left behind after Afinogenov left. Despite Footes impressive ffenssive and defensive contributions, things soon went sour. In Doans first 10 games, he was a -4 with 6 points. Despite the short tenure, Snyder had seen enough. He went out and made yet another huge splash by acquiring Hasek and Brown for Doan and Khabibulin.
By bringing in Hasek, Snyder had acquired an experienced All-Star calibre goalie. At the time of the deal, Hasek was in the top 3 in every goaltending category and seemed a shoe-in for the Vezina. But things completely fell apart after that.
Haseks number dropped almost exponentially from the moment he stepped onto the ice as a member of the Canucks. His GAA went up 0.50 and his Save Pct went down almost .03, from .920 to .890. The fans of Vancouver, as well as the coaching staff and management have all pointed the finger at Hasek for the miserable and disappointing season thus far.
After some consideration, GM Snyder gave his new team an ultimatum - start winning and have a playoff spot going into the Trade Deadline, or pack your bags. As everyone knows, this didn't spark any amazing comeback.
After naming Brown, Morrison and Drury the new leaders of this franchise, Snyder went shopping. Yashin, Fedorov, Naslund, Whitney, McCabe, Desjardins, Foote and Whitney were all sent packing. In return, Snyder was looking for a number of picks for this years draft along with young, budding BUHL stars. This is exactly what he got. He was able to pick up a total of 8 draft picks, 2 prospects and 5 players as well as clear $15 million in cap space.
Despite all this, Snyder said his biggest accomplishment was being able to re-sign all of his key FAs, and making room to make a big splash in free agency. Snyder also said that he made one crucial mistake: not getting rid of Hasek. However, he did mention that Hasek isn't going to be resigning and that he hopes Hasek has more luck wherever he goes.
Going into the draft, the Canucks will be looking for a future starting goalie, possibly in the likes of Schneider or Rinne, or a big defensive dman.
Though this season may lost, boy does the future ever look bright in Vancouver