As well as things appear to be going for the Vancouver Canucks on the ice these days, don’t be surprised if the wheels are turning behind the scenes.
Although he always maintained his club would turn its fortunes around, GM Dave Nonis is a realist, not an optimist and he is well aware that changes are necessary if the Canucks are to make a deep playoff run. Nonis has said all along that the offence needs to be upgraded from the one that lost in the second round to the Ducks last spring, and he hasn’t lost sight of that.
Despite the recent surplus of goals during Vancouver’s 6-0-2 streak against divisional opponents, Nonis will be looking for another forward to help fill the net as the playoffs approach.
Perhaps the best thing about this recent run is that it has allowed defencemen Alex Edler, Mike Weaver and Luc Bourdon to log productive minutes in the absence of veterans Mattias Ohlund, Sami Salo, and Kevin Bieksa.
Let’s not put a “For Sale” sign in anyone’s yard quite yet, but having an abundance of blueliners is very useful when it comes to making a trade. Almost every team covets defensive depth, and it now appears that Nonis may be able to move a rearguard for a forward without having to sacrifice one of his young prospects.
He also has plenty of time to do so, which may allow him to deal for a player that won’t be an unrestricted free agent next season.
• Now that he officially has some CFL hardware with his name on it, I would be remiss not to acknowledge the phenomenal rookie season of the Lions’ Cam Wake.
In his freshman campaign at defensive end, the Penn State product led the league in quarterback sacks with 16, led the Lions in tackles with 72, knocked down four passes and blocked a field goal as well. Oh yeah, he also set a CFL playoff record with five sacks in the Western Final.
While it should be noted that he was afforded the opportunity for this remarkable campaign by virtue of the outstanding play of fellow defensive linemates Brent Johnson, Tyrone Williams and Aaron Hunt,
Wake rose to the occasion. Nobody is asking who will replace Chris Wilson at D-end anymore.
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