Dan Hamhuis

After what seemed an eternity between the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs, the puck finally dropped to begin the much awaited first game of the Western Conference Quarterfinals between the Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks.

And it was a great game, at least from a Vancouver perspective.

Injuries exposing a lack of depth at defence derailed the Canucks the last two years in the playoffs. (OK, the Blackhawks had something to do with it too.)

In the 2009-2010 playoffs, key shutdown defender Willie Mitchell was missing with a season ending concussion (thanks to Evgeni Malkin) and he was sorely missed. 

VANCOUVER—"Defense wins championships." Canucks followers can relate to this quote particularly well these last few weeks.

The Vancouver Canucks suffered a 3-1 loss to the Nashville Predators on Thursday. As much as the forwards tried to reduce opponents getting scoring chances in their own zone, the Canucks suffered both defensively and offensively Thursday.

For those that can’t remember January 15^th 1968, it was just another average day in the 60’s. Although for the family and friends of Bill Masterton, it was a day consumed by tragedy. Two days earlier Masterton took to the ice as a member of the Minnesota North Stars against the Oakland Seals in what was to be his final game.

VANCOUVER: Before you search for the big red panic button on the Canucks blue line, think again, because you may be surprised with what you see after a closer look.

The Vancouver squad entered Tuesday night's game in Minnesota with ONLY two defensemen from their opening night roster: Christian Ehrhoff and Kevin Bieksa.

Update in a minute, but Dan Hamhuis, Alex Edler, Keith Ballard, and Andrew Alberts are all out with some form of bodily illness.

If you are superstitious (and really, all sports fans are to some degree), you might wonder if the Canucks are cursed, specifically in regards to the health of their defence.

Over the first month of the season, Vancouver has already racked up 18 man games lost to injury just amongst their defence. Considering they have only played nine games, that is two starters out every game on average.

And unfortunately, that situation is considered average by Canucks fans recently.

CanucksBuzz Oct.12, 2010

Here are some bits and pieces on the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday:

On Tuesday, Alain Vigneault spoke to the media before the team departs on a two-game road trip to California beginning Wednesday in Anaheim. The Ducks have had a rough start and this game on Wednesday will be the Ducks home opener in front of their very own fans. Canucks played down their opponents’ recent troubles on the tough schedule instead of their lack of skill. The Canucks expect a tough match.

There has been just under five months since the last time the Canucks played a game that counted. During the offseason, GM Mike Gillis had a mandate to analyze the team’s strengths and weaknesses, then bolster those problem areas.

There will be some roster moves to generate more wiggle room under the salary cap, but by the season opener vs the LA Kings on Saturday October 9th, the Canucks lineup should look like this:

Having just returned from Vancouver, I can tell you that the fans there are definitely optimistic about this team. Sickeningly optimistic, really—like optimistic enough to be planning the Stanley Cup parade route already. Fact is, they have every reason to be excited. They are the only legitimate contender in this division, and are perhaps the best team in the entire conference.

Unlike past years, this offseason has been quite unique, and it can be attributed to two things.

First, there are so many unrestricted free agents that remain unsigned in the first week of August, which is unheard of, and second, the future of the biggest prize on the market still hasn't been decided yet either, as the Ilya Kovalchuk saga continues.

Despite all of this, there have been some moves made by certain teams, so let's take a look at the West, and see who has done what up to this point.