It’s time for “Stick in Link”, the feature where we just plug in a bunch of stuff written by others! Featuring a smattering of links from around the Smylosphere and beyond every Tuesday and Thursdayish. Warning: our links are so hyper, they change colour when exposed to heat. (Have something for us to share in the next edition? E-mail us at [email protected] or tweet us @passittobulis. Or tell us some other way. The point is: we'll probably link it if we know about it.)
- Here’s the big news today: the Canucks re-signed Sven Baertschi to a two-year deal. No, that’s not the big news. The big news is that they included the terms of the deal in the press release! It’s the death of “terms of the deal were not disclosed.” What next, actually reporting injuries beyond lower body, upper body, or general body soreness? []
- Baertschi will have an annual cap hit of $1.85 million over the two years, which is pretty reasonable given how he played over the back half of last season and what is expected from him in the future. []
- That was the second deal of the day for the Canucks, who also announced the signing of an ECHL agreement with the Alaska Aces. Over the past several seasons, Canucks prospects have had some good seasons in teh ECHL, including Joe Cannata, Dane Fox, and Ludwig Blomstrand, so this seems like a good deal for the Aces. []
- As this article points out, the Canucks current front office has a couple connections with the Alaska Aces. []
- The Sedins showed up to play soccer with kids at Soccer Jam. They are the best and I love them forever. []
- According to Dan Murphy, Jim Benning is not looking to trade down from the fifth overall pick and isn’t likely to move up either. For all the smoke fanned by Darren Dreger, it looks like the Canucks will stay put. []
- Who might the Canucks pick at fifth overall? This is the first time this question has ever been asked. But it hadn’t yet been asked by the Georgia Straight. []
- No official announcement has been made, but it seems clear that Canucks assistant Glen Gulutzan will be named the new head coach with the Calgary Flames. Under Willie Desjardins, Gulutzan was in charge of the penalty kill, which was mediocre this past season, but second in the NHL in 2014-15. []
- Kevin Bieksa made his return to The Jeff O’Neil Show for another weird, yet oddly endearing interview. They still insist on calling him “Boom Boom” though, which is really aggravating. []
- This is a great look at Dan Cloutier’s approach to coaching, describing himself as “calm and understanding,” which totally sounds like the Cloutier I remember. []
- Francesco Aquilini reflects on the Game 7 loss in 2011 and how he was completely unaware of the riots until the next day, as he turned off his phone, didn’t talk to anyone, and went straight home. []
- Clayton Imoo, on the other hand, remembers most the people who came out the day after the riot to clean up the streets. []
- It looks like expansion is coming, with the Las Vegas Black Knights expected to join the Pacific Division in 2017-18. Incidentally, "Black Knights" is the worst name for an NHL team. Just the worst. []
- The Canucks have yet to announce their pre-season schedule for 2016, but some other teams have, so Ryan “Scoops” Biech pieced together their seven games. []
- Meanwhile, their training camp is heading back to Shawnigan, with on-ice sessions once again open to the public. []
- David Joun is concerned about what the Canucks’ simultaneous youth movement and trading of young prospects is doing to the Utica Comets. []
- Finally, this is a great look at how the Canucks selected Pavel Bure in the sixth round of the 1989 draft and the conflicting reports over whether he was even eligible to be drafted, with some doubt remaining to this day. []
