So the Canucks potentially add another nationality to the fold on a tryout basis. Belfast-born Owen Nolan. Yeah, they also invited boxing bag Todd Fedoruk to Camp as well, but Nolan is the one with the intriguing past, and is the biggest talk of the day in Canuckville. That talk mostly being that he is too old (turns 40 in February) and that Mike Gillis is wasting his time while others (like me) say that he's worth a look at Camp. This isn't a signing, it's an invite. If he makes the team due to excellent work ethic, keeping up at the NHL pace, scoring ability, etc then we have yet another versatile player who can move up and down the roster, if the team and player can come to terms on a contract after camp, that is.

Anyways...on to some Nolan info...

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The Canucks acquired the 24 -year-old left winger's rights from the Florida Panthers in exchange for the rights to Sergei Shirokov, who last I checked returned to Russia. Count Duco is listed as 5'10" and 194 pounds. An enforcer at the NHL level. The Toronto native has only played in 12 NHL games, recording 0 points and 60 penalty minutes. His offence was more apparent for the AHL Rochester Americans last season where he scored 20 goals and 31 points in 67 games while also accumulating 126 PIMs and a -16 rating. Put the gun down, Cam.

-Duco's career stats at Hockey Database.

-Duco's fight cards at Hockeyfights.com.

-Duco's profile at Hockey's Future. His role thus far in the NHL has been as an enforcer which would merit situational call-ups. But he has some scoring ability and could be a serviceable fourth line, energy forward in the future.

Edit: Watch what you Tweet, Duco. Heh.

A few Duco vids:

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With already 3 goaltenders under contract the Canucks added another today. Clime is a 28-year-old native of Leduc Alberta. He is listed as 6'3" 195 pounds. Clime will back up Eddie Lack in Chicago (yeah) as Tyler Weiman was not re-signed by the team, apparently. Clime has only played in 5 NHL games with the Stars and Coyotes, posting a 2-2-0 record with a .892 save percentage and 3.24 goals against average. He was the #1 goalie for the San Antonio Rampage last season, playing 55 games recording a 26-22-3 record with a 2.64 GAA and .913 save percentage.

Matt Clime's career stats at Hockey Database.

It had been floating around the internet for some time now that Tambo was heading to Europe but it looks to be official today. Tambellini will sign a 3-year deal with a team from Switzerland (ZSC Lions).

Just not consistent enough on the scoresheet at the NHL level, but the effort was there.His blazing speed was fun to watch. You hate to see a guy leave that really wanted to make it as a Canuck after being a fan since he was 6. But Tambo just wasn't good enough. He did give us some great moments this past year. Some videos after the jump...

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-Versatile. Can play top or bottom 6.

-A risky signing with his knee injuries

-A solid 2-way player

-A gritty scorer

Those are just a few things that describe our newest angry German. The Kurtenbloggers have an informative post up about him including history, quotes and even nicknames. I've always called him Marco Polo or The Sturminator. Anyway, check out the Kurtenblogger's "Better Know A Newbie" on Sturm before Mike Gillis trades him away! (Kidding.)

Edit: Also, check out what what kind of charity work he does in Germany. Click on the Deutsche Version and run it through a translator. Amazing stuff!

That was was went through my mind when I heard the Canucks had signed him to a 1-year, $525,000 1-way deal on July 1st. I know I'm not the only one. So now that the free agency madness has died down I figured I would do some digging to learn more about this big right winger. Unfortunately I had to drill pretty deep to find any water, so I'll share with you what I found.

-6'4" 225 pounds. 26 years old. Born in London Ontario.

-Drafted in the 7th round (207th overall) by the Buffalo Sabres in 2004.

-Back then, Hockey's Future said this about him: Mancari has prototype size, but is not a strong skater.  While his effort and toughness are to be respected, the converted defenseman needs to take strides in order to be an NHL contributor on offense.  If his offensive game does not continue to develop, there may still be a role for him as an NHL tough guy, given his size and strength.

"Converted defenceman"..well then we know he fits into the Canucks' scheme as a 2-way player. Not a bad thing.

-Mancari's AHL stats with the Rochester Americans and Portland Pirates are impressive. He averages about a point per game there. Mancari is a beast at the AHL level. He was an alternate captain with the Pirates. He put up a butt load of points. He apparently still holds the AHL record for the hardest recorded shot, which was 102.8 mph at the AHL Skills Competition in 2008. Last season he was 2nd on the Pirates' list in their 3 stars accomplishments, basically meaning he was a top 3 star of the game a lot last season. He was also an AHL First Team Allstar last season. So much more of Mancari's individual accomplishments can be found here at the Portland Pirates profile page.

-What Mancari told The Province after signing here: "Being up and down with Buffalo, I've played anywhere from fourth line to first line," said Mancari. "I'm 6-4, 225, I'm a big guy and I'm not afraid to use my size. I'm not afraid to defend my teammates, but at the same time I feel I can bring an offensive game to the NHL."

OK, here's where the "problems" start.

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On the eve of July 1 I was nervous about the re-signing status' of Chris Higgins and Raffi Torres. It was looking like neither would re-sign here. I was saying to people that if I had a choice I would prefer Raffi re-signing over Higgins if I had to choose one of the two. You know, don't get me wrong, I am now a huge Higgins fan and I'm glad he signed here. But I still would have rather kept Torres. It was his work ethic. It was his brutally physical game that he brought almost every night. No doubt he put the fear of god into players every time he was out there. That, plus chipping in timely goals with limited ice time made him one of my faves.

So when negotiations fell through with the Canucks and he signed a 2-year deal worth $1.75 million per season with the Coyotes I wondered: why the hell didn't Mike Gillis sign him to that kind of deal. Well, Raffi spoke to the Province on Saturday and let the cat out of the bag.

"I've loved watching Shane Doan play and there's some good young talent there," Torres said. "And I'll have a chance to have a bigger role there than I had in Vancouver. But most of all, I get a little security. I needed to have that security because I was making a decision for three, and not one. I had to think about my family."

"The Canucks wanted me back but for a year and at the same money. I didn't want to be in a position where I was on a tryout contract again. I have to move beyond that."

Ok, note that last sentence. The same

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Image from Fox News.

TSN expects UFA Brad Richards to make a decision on what team to play for on Saturday. TSN also reports that Calgary has made him a legit offer. Rangers sign Brad Richards to a 9-year, $60 million deal this morning.

A look at the Western and Eastern Free Agents lists shows there are still some "big" names out there. Nobody wants Jamie Langenbrunner? Ian White? Anton Babchuk? Tomas Kaberle? Simon Gagne? Shane O'Brien? (Kidding). Some of the names on the RFA lists are noteworthy as well. Many of them will become UFA's in coming days.

I am not keeping track of all the signings today. We can discuss moves in the comments section, and of course any Canucks movement will be front-paged. Enjoy!