Moose lineup a moving target
Parent club's cap concerns, injuries signal roster shuffle
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/02/2011 (5447 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — There are a lot of reasons this is likely to be a week of transition for the Manitoba Moose lineup.
One factor is veteran NHL defenceman Sami Salo’s readiness to return to the Vancouver Canucks after tonight’s game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Other roster questions concern injuries, of which the Moose have had plenty since early December.
In advance of the team’s return home for a six-game run at the MTS Centre, one that starts Friday night against San Antonio, here are names you can expect to hear frequently in the coming days, and why:
Sami Salo
THE 36-year-old Finn plays his third game for the Moose tonight, the maximum allowed for a long-term-injury conditioning stint. Barring something very unusual, he’ll be back in Vancouver Wednesday.
Vancouver currently has room to fit his $3.5-million salary and stay under the NHL’s $59.4-million salary cap. But when Salo returns, the Canucks will again be snuggled up tight against the number.
Alex Edler
HIS recent back surgery and move to the long-term injury list is the reason the Canucks now have cap room for Salo. It’s believed Edler is lost to the team until late in the regular season or early in the playoffs, so the cap quandary is all but eliminated the way Vancouver’s roster sits today.
Still, with an elite record and a legitimate shot at the Stanley Cup, does anyone really expect the Canucks to stand pat at the Feb. 28 trading deadline? That’s why Vancouver’s cap situation will continue to be fluid.
Chris Tanev
IF Andrew Alberts is ready to go after his latest injury setback, and there were indications that could have been in last night’s late game, then the Canucks will have eight defencemen with Salo’s return.
And that leaves open the possibility of Tanev’s return to the Moose.
“Andrew Alberts is coming back, too, so we’re going to have a lot of defencemen,” Canucks assistant GM Lorne Henning said Monday. “Chris has played very well but if everybody’s back, chances are we’ll want him to keep playing. He’s played phenomenal.”
Lee Sweatt
SWEATT played three games for the Canucks last week but with Aaron Rome’s return from injury, was about to be sent back to the Moose when a foot injury was discovered. Sweatt was hit by a shot at practice, irony because he’s been the friendly fire that has injured several teammates in practice, including Cody Hodgson. Sweatt will be out four to six weeks and given his sometimes dynamic style, he’s likely to be missed, though the Moose have solid blue-line depth.
Cody Hodgson
FINALLY got his first NHL start a week ago. How long he remains with the Canucks is an open question, given that the fourth line isn’t exactly where Hodgson has been projected as a player. If Alexandre Bolduc returns as projected this week, will the Canucks want to keep 14 forwards? They won’t have to send anyone to the Moose but might figure the cap room they’ll save by doing so will be valuable down the road.
Alexandre Bolduc
BACK from another shoulder injury within days, Bolduc could well be a candidate to show up in Winnipeg again, given that he doesn’t require waivers to be sent to the AHL. A quality centreman would certainly help the Moose at this point, considering Hodgson’s promotion and the team’s injuries.
Aaron Volpatti
THE feisty forward has endeared himself to the Canucks with his edgy play and team-first attitude. His contract at $600,000 in the NHL isn’t a big hit, but again, his name will fall into the discussion on whether the NHL team needs 14 forwards at the present time.
Joel Perrault
THE Moose’s No. 1 centre hasn’t played a whole lot of that role this season. He spent some time in Vancouver prior to Christmas and he’s been out with a high-ankle sprain since Jan. 3.
His return isn’t being projected until at least mid-March. The Moose will be praying he’s worth the wait, because that’s well after the trading deadline.
Tommy Maxwell
OUT since Jan. 15 with an upper-body injury, the bit of good news is that Maxwell, the team’s tough guy, could be ready as soon as this weekend’s home doubleheader.
Mike Keane
DESPITE Manitoba’s troubles recently with forward depth, the franchise still plans to retire his jersey during a special ceremony at the MTS Centre on Saturday.
tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca