It wasn’t a terrible NHL trade deadline for the Canucks. After all, they acquired Derek Roy, a skilled player that adds a very important element to their attack: a centre. They really haven’t had one of those all season.

Still, the 2013 trade deadline won’t be remembered in this city for what Mike Gillis did — it will be remembered for what he didn’t do. A big part of that is because he acquired Roy the day before the deadline, which is like giving a child a present on Christmas Eve. It’s exciting, but there had damn well better be something else under the tree on Christmas. But a bigger part is because Roberto Luongo wasn’t traded, leading to the the most indelible moment of the deadline, when Luongo told the world he had a sucky contract. That’ll stay with us, just like Luongo will.

All of this in mind, let’s take a look at the winners and losers of the deadline from a Vancouver perspective.

Every now and then we like to take a break from all the words and just post some numbers. And some words describing the numbers, as otherwise it would just be a whole bunch of numbers with no context, which would be really weird. Here are some odd and interesting numbers and statistics from the Canucks season so far.

Sunday night’s game against the Detroit Red Wings ended up being a complete debacle — a full-on fiasco, if you will — but it didn’t start that way. The first period of the game featured five goals, four of which showcased impressive hard work and skill. It was entertaining, fast-paced hockey, and the Canucks thrived, finishing the period up 3-2, partly thanks to the Sedins working their wizardry.

Daniel Sedin’s first goal of the game was gorgeous, but it was also a little too typical: Henrik dipsy-doodled with the puck behind the net, Alex Burrows ran some interference, and Daniel got open in front to finish off the perfect pass. What I really appreciate from the Sedins, however, is their constant innovation. It wasn’t enough for them to score such a humdrum tally; they needed to do something new.

Daniel’s second goal certainly accomplished that, as Henrik intentionally iced the puck, banking it directly to the on-rushing Daniel, who flipped it past Jimmy Howard with casual ease. It was an electrifying goal that tied up the game and gave fans the misleading impression that the Sedins were not going to be stopped. But let’s not dwell too much on the negative, for the moment. Instead, let’s focus on breaking down that incredible goal.

Not long ago, the Canucks’ acquisition of a big power forward with a right-handed shot would have resulted in one reaction from fans: finally, someone to play with the Sedins.

It’s a testament to how well Alex Burrows has played with the Sedins that Canucks fans did not have that reaction when the Canucks traded for Zack Kassian. Instead, Kassian was projected as, at best, a second-line winger on the Canucks, someone to play alongside Ryan Kesler and David Booth. At worst, he could be a physical presence on the fourth line.

But now Kassian has been promoted to play on the top line and the early returns are impressive. Kassian leads the Canucks in goals with 5 in 7 games and is, in fact, tied for second in the NHL in goal-scoring. The thing is, most of that goal-scoring hasn’t exactly come as a result of playing with the Sedins, but there’s reason to believe that he will have success with them in the future.

I don’t gamble for multiple reasons, first and foremost because I don’t have any money. I do find gambling interesting, however, mainly because it involves legions of people who think they know better than the experts who design the games and set the table odds to ensure that the house always wins.

Sports betting is especially fascinating, as fans always think they have some special insight into the game from the many hours they spend watching it. There’s a lot of money to be made in sports betting, most of it on the side of the casinos and websites, but the knowledgeable bettor can occasionally carve out a small hunk of money for themselves.

So, out of curiosity, I checked Bodog.ca to see what the oddsmakers had to say about the Canucks for this season. And some of their odds don’t make any sense in reality, but make perfect sense when it comes to gambling.

The September 15th expiration of the collective bargaining agreement is coming up quickly, and as the owners and the players go another day without talking, it’s become quite clear that the phrase “post-lockout” will refer to a much smaller portion of time by this weekend. That is, unless you’re among the sunniest optimists in hockey (like whoever’s running the Canucks’ Twitter account right now, for instance).

There are a few such optimists among the NHLPA. “I’m still optimistic that we’ll all be able to figure it out with the amount of time that we have left,” said Zach Parise. “I’m optimistic by nature,” said Zenon Konopka. “I think there’s enough time to get a deal done by September 15.” Even Canuck goaltender Cory Schneider showed the audacity of hope: “I think most guys are optimistic,” he said.

But optimism is a young man’s game, and in hockey terms, Daniel Sedin is an old-timer. His take on CBA negotiations was much more sobering.

Sometimes when I get curious enough about something to investigate it, digging up statistics and putting together charts, the answer turns out to be the obvious one. Fortunately, it can also turn up some other interesting information along the way.

Here’s the question I had: which wingers were most effective with Ryan Kesler last season? One of the big questions coming into this season is who should play on the second line with Kesler, once he returns too early? David Booth seems to have his spot all sewn up, but there are many competitors for the opposite wing, including Chris Higgins, Mason Raymond, Jannik Hansen, Zack Kassian, and Nicklas Jensen. Heck, if Shane Doan signs with the Canucks, you can add him and Alex Burrows to that list.

David Booth and Chris Higgins were Kesler’s most common linemates last season, but were they his most effective linemates? To get the answer, I did some WOWY (With Or Without You) analysis to see how Kesler performed with and without various linemates. In this case, the answer appears to be pretty definitively “yes.”

Every time we do the Every Goal series, I am always surprised by one thing: the player who we’re spotlighting isn’t necessarily the most impressive player involved in each goal. This is especially true for Daniel Sedin, who often ends up with an empty net to shoot at or a tap-in at the side of the net thanks to the work of his brother. In fact, Daniel’s best plays from last season are mostly found on other players’ goals.

In Daniel’s first 20 goals of the season, we’ve seen superb passing from Henrik, and Alexes Edler and Burrows, as well as some yeoman’s work by Ryan Kesler. These last 10 are no different. That isn’t to say that Daniel doesn’t make some beautiful plays of his own, nor is this meant to undermine his sublime skill in corralling passes and shooting where the goalie isn’t.

All I’m saying is that if you want to find Byron Bitz’s best play of last season, you’re going to want to watch these last 10 goals from Daniel Sedin.

Welcome to part 2 of Daniel Sedin’s Every Goal series, at we take a look at the middle 10 of his 30 goals in the 2011-12 season. Today, you’re going to see a whole lot of powerplay goals, a whole lot of Wizardous Sedinerie, and a whole lot of quietly, uncalled, Sedin interference. Pretty much what you’d expect from a Sedin goal compilation!

Today’s post also opens with the final two-thirds of Daniel Sedin’s most recent hat trick, a performance versus the Colorado Avalanche thaty may have been one of the best of his career. It’s all good stuff, is what I’m saying. Enjoy.

We tend to save the best for last here at Pass it to Bulis (probably because, like all Canuck fans, we are inherently masochistic). With that in mind, the Every Goal series now draws to a close the same way it did last year: with a week dedicated to the goal-scoring prowess of Daniel Sedin.

Daniel saw a step back in terms of production this year, a sad fact I would attribute to three factors: first, he had a career year in 2010-11, so some dropoff was probably inevitable. Second, a run to the Stanley Cup Final may have proved to everyone what the Sedins were capable of, but it had the negative side effect of making opposing coaches fear the twins more and giving those coaches ample time to observe how best to defend them. Third — and this is a pretty big one — suffering a season-ending concussion tends to slow one’s production right the heck down.

But Daniel was still pretty good. He may not have led the team with 41 goals, but he still led the team with 30. Today we take a look at the first 10.

The Smylosphere is all agog right now over Henri Hurskainen, the Swedish badminton player who bears a striking, perhaps even creepy, resemblance to the Sedin twins, particularly Daniel Sedin. Their shared country of origin and athletic inclinations make the resemblance even more startling. Hurskainen was even born in the same month as the Sedins, though it was admittedly 6 years later.

It got us thinking about what other things and people look like Daniel Sedin. And when we get to thinking, we get to sharing/inflicting those thoughts on you, our loyal readers. Here are 15 things/people that look like Daniel Sedin:

You have to give the Canucks some credit. In just two short seasons, they’ve managed to reduce the Presidents’ Trophy to nothing. Last year this team proved that clinching it doesn’t guarantee a Stanley Cup win; this year they’re on the brink of proving that neither does it guarantee even a single playoff win. That’s impressive.

But Canuck fans are not impressed, and with the number one seed in danger of being swept by the LA Kings, you can understand why they’re looking for somebody to blame right now.

I’d blame Duncan Keith, who knocked Daniel Sedin, Vancouver’s only true elite winger, out of the lineup on a dirty, predatory hit in the season’s final stretch. Considering what it did to the team’s line combinations, powerplay, and overall identity, I’d say Keith is a pretty good target for derision.

But to hear Canuck fans tell it, the real problem in this series is that Alain Vigneault is being outcoached as usual. I am gobsmacked by the thoughtlessness behind this line of rhetoric.

From a report by Swedish website Allehanda.se: Daniel Sedin will not be playing in Wednesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Kings. According to Daniel’s father, Tommy (who is as it happens, Henrik’s father), the younger Sedin is still experiencing concussion symptoms.

While Daniel skated with the team in practice on Monday, he was not with the main group on Tuesday, skating instead in a shorter session with other players who were expected to miss the opening night of the playoffs. Tommy Sedin indicated that Daniel experienced a headache after Monday’s practice and has still not completely recovered from the concussion he received after being elbowed in the head by Duncan Keith.

It’s been about ten days since Daniel Sedin was sidelined with a concussion. The bad news is that concussions are extremely unpredictable, and while Mike Gillis has hinted that Daniel should be ready to play in time for the postseason, it’s nigh impossible to set a “recovery timeline” for a player dealing with concussion symptoms. The good news, however, is that the Canucks have rallied, winning four in a row while playing a suffocating, defensive style of hockey.

You could eat a thousand KFC double-downs in one sitting, and your arteries would still be significantly less clogged up than the Canucks have left the neutral-zone for their opponents over the past four games. Players and teams adjust, and the Canucks have dealt with the loss of their best goal scorer by playing more conservatively. It may not be the most entertaining brand of hockey (personally, I love hard-fought, tightly contested defensive games), but it has certainly been effective.

Speaking of adjustments, with Daniel on the shelf for the immediate future, I figured I’d look into how his brother has performed without him going back three seasons. An immediate qualifier: we’ll be dealing with a pretty miniscule sample size here (24 games), so much of this analysis is shrouded in relative uncertainty. Nonetheless, the topic of “how Henrik’s game changes without Daniel in the lineup” is fascinating to me, and pertinent to the club at the moment, so let’s proceed.

We don’t normally report on Christian youth conferences here on PITB, but that’s because this is a Canucks blog and these conferences typically don’t generate Canucks-related stories. However, on Friday one did, as The Passion Movement, a Christian organization aimed at “uniting students in worship and prayer,” visited Rogers Arena. During the service, Pastor Louie Giglio held up a blue Canucks helmet and led over 10,000 people in a prayer for the healing of Daniel Sedin’s recently-confirmed concussion.

Now, if you find this video a bit strange, you’re not alone. Over at Puck Daddy, Sean Leahy said what a lot of people must have thought upon viewing the clip: “What better way to get your fans in the city you’re touring even more behind you than holding a mass prayer for the quick recovery of one of their hockey stars?” Meanwhile, some of the commenters said the same thing, albeit much more ignorantly: “Nothing like bible thumpers playing their same ol’ tune, and trying to hitch their wagon to a fan favorite to legitimize themselves…….pathetic,” said one.

But Giglio wasn’t pandering to the home crowd; he was making good on a prayer request from Paolo Aquilini, one of the three brothers that make up the Aquilini ownership group, which controls both the Vancouver Canucks and Rogers Arena.

One wonders if the Department of Player Safety realizes that Duncan Keith’s decision to waive his right to an in-person hearing did not also negate their right to suspend him for more than 5 games. They know that, right?

You’ll forgive me if I don’t have the utmost confidence in the Shanavengers. When a blatant elbow to the face receives only a middling suspension, it’s clear that the NHL’s crusade to crack down on headshots deserves to be taking as seriously as, well, the Crusades.

After a two-day deliberation, Duncan Keith has been suspended for 5 Shana-games. (The NHL’s equivalent of Disney Dollars. They’re like NHL regular-season games, but worthless.) Let’s let Shanahan take us through it:

The NHL’s new playoff commercials have fallen a little flat. The theme is “Because it’s the Cup,” and the initial offering is designed to court the casual fan, portraying the NHL playoffs as a great excuse for gathering together socially. The line “Because in hockey, there are two halftimes” definitely made me cringe. What’s worse, “Two Halftimes” is the official title of the commercial.

Now the NHL has begun trotting out their team specific commercials, and they’re a bit more on the mark. The Canucks get a Sedin-centric commercial that is all about togetherness.

The only goal scored on a goaltender in Monday night’s game between the Vancouver Canucks and Minnesota Wild came on a powerplay that was, according to Canucks fans, a trifle controversial. After Dany Heatley shoved Daniel Sedin near the benches, Alex Burrows rushed in to defend his Swedish semi-sibling, leading to a veritable brouhaha that included a donnybrook between Kevin Bieksa and the Wild’s Nick Johnson.

When the dust settled, Bieksa and Johnson received fighting majors and Burrows received the extra minor for roughing, putting the Wild on the powerplay. Heatley escaped entirely unharmed, receiving neither a penalty nor a punch in the face, both of which he arguably deserved.

To Wild fans and media, however, a much bigger concern was that Daniel Sedin almost removed Dany Heatley’s head with a vicious slash.

Wait, what?

This past fall, the NHL joined the NBA, the MLB, and the NFL in partnering with Bleacher Creature Toys, a company based in Pennsylvania that turns the sporting world’s most popular athletes into plush dolls. Now, anybody can snuggle up with a Sidney Crosby, Henrik Lundqvist, or Patrick Kane doll, provided they’re willing to drop $25. (Of course, you could probably do that with the real Patrick Kane for free, especially if you’re an unbelievable blonde.)

There are currently 23 Bleacher Creatures available in the NHL store, and 3 of them are Canucks: Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, and Ryan Kesler. They’re all terrible.

The Sedins had a pretty eventful offseason. It started with a riot. Then, a week later, they flew to Las Vegas, where Daniel Sedin was awarded both the Ted Lindsay and Art Ross trophies. In Sweden, they did some serious inline skating. And in July, they flew to the Swedish island of Öland, where they were awarded the Victoriastipendiet — effectively, the Swedish athlete of the Year award. Daniel and Henrik were the first hockey players to win the award since Peter Forsberg in 1994, and only the third since the award debuted in 1979. Elite company.

While the Sedins were in Öland, the identical twins were asked by Östran, a local newspaper, to take part in a strange experiment: draw self-portraits, in order to see if those would be identical too. I can’t believe I only found this now, but here are the results.

We have reached Day 4 of PITB’s countdown of the top 50 Canuck goals of 2011, and things are starting to get good. Today’s entries are downright crowded with Sedinery, as the twins combine to score beautiful goals, often incorporating some unexpected guests (such as Victor Oreskovich — for real).

The 2011 playoffs are well-represented as well, with some big goals from the Western Conference final. And if it’s controversy you crave, there may be a goal from 2010. Depends on who you ask. If this inclusion offends your delicate sensibilities, by all means, express your outrage in the comments.

Here we are at Day 3 of PITB’s list of our 50 favourite Canuck goals of 2011. Today features a heaping helping of beast mode Ryan Kesler, as well as a selection of the most curious pieces of Sedinery 2011 had to offer.

Have you ever seen a guy pass the puck through the legs of a goaltender, or away from the goalmouth with the goalie down and out? Have you ever seen a guy come to a complete stop directly in front of his defender? If so, you watched the Sedins in 2011. My friend, they don’t think like you and I. It’s pretty great. I suspect you’ll enjoy these 10 goals.

Welcome to Day 2 of PITB’s countdown of the top 50 goals the Vancouver Canucks scored in 2011. This afternoon you’ll be treated to a Daniel Sedin hat trick, a brilliant Ryan Kesler power move, and the bowling ball that is Raffi Torres.

There’s also a hat tip to what was a very common theme in the year that was: the victimization of the Pacific Division, as both San Jose and Dallas get burned multiple times. Provided you’re neither a Sharks fan nor a Stars fan, you’ll probably enjoy today’s goals.

Like life (according to John Lennon), we begin at 40.

We get a lot of mileage out of Chloe Ezra here at Pass it to Bulis (such as the Pass it to Comics series, which will return in the new year, we promise). But our defense is a simple one: Chloe rules. She has a great style and great ideas, and when the two come together, well, the results tend to be pretty great.

As yet another example, we present Chloe’s completely original and completely adorable “Hanging Canuck tree things,” original creations that feature members of the Vancouver Canucks drawn hanging by their sweaters, to be strung up anywhere your heart should so choose.

2011 was a fabulous year for Canucks hockey. Sure, the Stanley Cup Final may not have ended quite the way Vancouver fans wanted it to, but the Canucks were still in it, and that’s a rarity deserving of some serious appreciation.

If you ask me, so was the 2011 team in its entirety. Between the wizardry of the Sedins, the raw power of Ryan Kesler, the stable of offensive-minded defensemen, the occasional flashes of brilliance from the skilled corps of middle wingers, and the gaggle of set plays the team employs, the fans in this city are spoiled right now. We may never see another team like this one again.

With that in mind, it would be crazy to let this year in Canucks hockey lapse without looking back at some of its incredible goals. What follows is a countdown of our favourite 50, which will run Monday through Friday at 9am sharp. Please feel free to disagree with this highly subjective list in the comments.

So it begins.