The Fifth Liners

This week, the long standing rumours of the Vancouver Canucks trading centre Ryan Kesler finally came true as he was traded along  to the Anaheim Ducks for Nick Bonino , Luca Sbisa and a first and third round draft pick at the 2014 NHL draft. Kesler has long been rumored to want out of British Columbia and now finally it appears he has his wish. But at what cost will this come to the Canucks? Positives of Trading Kesler Has suffered with injuries the last two seasons which has affected his game time and made him unable to make a full effect on ice and his scoring numbers have gone have reduced dramatically. Bonino last season bagged 49 points in the regular season alone, six more than Kesler and was one of the stand outs on the Ducks lower lines.  Draws media attention away from the team and could potentially create more harmony in the dressing room. All through last season we saw Kesler sulking his way through and he has never far from the trade rumour mill. New GM J...

Yesterday it was formally announced that Willie Desjardins has taken over the reigns as the Vancouver Canucks new Head Coach. After a disastrous year under John Tortorella, fans will be eager to see improvements made to our flagging offense, but it is wise to trust the future with a man who hasn't yet been proven at the highest level? Saskatchewan native Desjardins has a solid record in the minor leagues winning two WHL titles with the Medicine Hat Tigers in 2004 & 2007. Briefly he was the associate head coach of the Dallas Stars from 2010 to 2012, after that he was placed in charge of the teams AHL affiliate the Texas Stars where last season he led them to a Calder Cup win. Overall it is a pleasant surprise seeing the Canucks not going with a tried and tested coach and going with newer blood who can perhaps thinking outside the box of the Tortorella school of screaming. Desjardins could be important in motivating and nurturing younger talents that could become the lifebl...

Every player wants his shot at the cup.  It's been a few days since Ottawa Senators' Captain Jason Spezza asked to be traded , and it's since emerged that he's given the Sens a list of ten teams he doesn't want to go to. The actual list hasn't been released, but which teams should be queuing up their cheque books to sign Spezza? Given the fact that Jason has never won anything of note with the Sens, he's going to be looking for a team that's had recent success. So that pretty much rules out all but one of the Canadian teams: Montreal Canadiens The Habs might not have lifted the Stanley Cup since 1993 but if Spezza wants to stay north of the border then the NHL's winningest team are the best option. The real question is are the Habs interested in Spezza? There's no doubt that he's a quality center, guaranteed to bring home at least a point per game, but unless he's willing to settle for a place on the third or fourth line, th...

"The LA Kings offence ranked 26th overall at the end of the regular season. How did the team turn it around to become the highest scoring in the playoffs so far?" Very interesting question here, because LA this season has been one of the real surprise packages in playoff time. So far they hold a 1-0 series win in the final over the Rangers and you would have to back them to go all the way after the impressive form they have displayed. During regular season there was nothing really special about this team. After being 3-0 down in the series against San Jose, many assumed they were done for- but their fight back was a joy to behold and this team has pulled together and the best time and their spirit has soared as a result!  If you cast your mind back to their first Stanley Cup win back in 2012, it was a similar story to this one. That season the Kings just sneaked into 8th place by having fewer losses than Calgary, here no one game them a fighting chance. But multiple up...