The Kassian Chat

What generates the 1st e-mail exchange of the NHL season between Bik and TJ? Why its 4 goals in 5 games from Zack Kassian! The Canucks winger sensation is the topic of discussion between these 2 as they discuss Kassian's explosion onto the Vancouver and NHL scene.

Bik: Well TJ - its time to echo the voice of Canuck Nation. Didn't we have a guy.... what was his name... It rhymed with Brody Schmodgson I know that much. But we traded him.... for the One.... the Only.... The Main Attraction.... The Big Event.... The.... I'm running out of names..... how about just... THE KASSASSIN!!!! It's a small sample size, but it appears like Zack Kassian might have found himself a role with this club and surprise surprise, its with the Twins who can now add Kassian to their list of players who they have made look fantastic. On a level of 1-10.... 9.7 being the lowest, and 10 being the highest... How excited are you about this guy right now?

Canucks 5, Ducks 0: They followed the leader

As teams often do in sports, the Anaheim Ducks followed their captain’s lead on Friday night. In this case, that wasn’t a good thing.

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The Canucks were in Anaheim seeking revenge after an embarrassing 7-3 defeat to the Ducks in Vancouver’s home opener six days prior.

Time to Get Rid of the Knuckle Draggers

It is only day 3 of the NHL and I am already going there. I know teams want to get their fans excited for a new season, and want to make an impact....but was this really necessary? P.C. Labrie dropped with Joe Finley while Matt Martin and B.J. Crombeen also tussled.....at the one second mark of the game. Really guys?

Mike Gillis and The Myth of Success

The roster move to send down Jordan Schroeder from the Vancouver Canucks back to the AHL looks to be a rather innocuous move. After all it’s the final cut of a training-camp in a lockout shortened season. It’s easy for a simple move like that to get lost in the shuffle. But what does Jordan Schroeder not making this team in his 4^th professional season mean for the Vancouver Canucks?

NHL Season Preview - 5 Teams to Watch

I didn't think we would get it but we finally have an NHL season to get excited for. It's been a bit of a scramble to get myself re-acquainted with who went where and how teams shaped up over the off-season but I think I finally have a hand on it. With that said I want to present 5 teams to watch for this year. Not all Stanley Cup contenders just teams worth keeping an eye on this season for different reasons. And here we go...

Bik's Divisional Round Picks: Welcome Back

Let’s hail the Johnny Come Lately’s that are the NHL and NHLPA.

Sure it was only 113 days after the previous CBA expired that they managed to agree to a new one to get the 2012-2013 season underway, but better late than never. And why wouldn’t you announce the new deal on a Sunday morning when everyone is either asleep or getting ready for the opening week of NFL Playoff Football. NHL – you always entertain me.

Now of course even better than that is the league holding off on releasing a schedule and actually starting the schedule on the same weekend the NFL is in its Conference Championships Games. Thumbs up.

But I’m not going to pretend that I won’t watch. Call me a hypocrite or whatever. I love the game too much to not get sucked into debates about which center the Canucks should use in neutral-zone 2^nd period face-offs on the left boards. It’s going to happen. But like many friends I’ve spoken to about the NHL returning, I’m adhering to a cool principle. “I’ll watch – but I won’t pay.” Works for me.

So while the NHL makes dubiously entertaining decision after dubiously entertaining decision... here are 10 things that you can get excited about for the upcoming season.

Bik's Wildcard Weekend Picks: Chasing Perfection

Heading into last week I never thought that I would finish above .500 to end the season, but with a nice 12-4 Week 17 we move into the playoffs with some momentum.

So with a clean slate of the record ahead of the playoffs, now the goal for the playoffs is an unsustainable 11-0 run. Let’s aim for perfection. This is what a 1 week confidence will do to you. And while I was taking a look at the Wildcard matchups, the word “perfect” just kept cropping back up to me. So let’s get to it and you’ll see what I mean.

Onto the picks, home team in CAPS