Absolutely not happening. I'd rather watch Oprah. I'd rather put a bunch of tacks in my back pockets and sit on a wooden bench. I'd rather listen to Miley Cyrus for 10 hours straight.

"I know it's my last chance, and I need to make the most of it, I really like the way the team is coached - and the system. It's a good fit for me."

That is what Begin told Renaud Lavoie from RDS yesterday (yes I know, old news). The Canucks continue their wise collecting of NHL veterans / fringe players to see if they stick. Why not? It's camp. It doesn't count against the salary cap unless he impresses enough that he is signed to a contract. The 33 year-old center has only played in 488 NHL games since the 1997-98 season (52 goals and 100 points, plus 1 goal and 5 points in 36 playoff games.) Begin was drafted by the Flames 40th overall in 1996. He has played for 5 NHL teams (Flames, Canadiens, Stars, Bruins and the Predators). Wow he didn't ever play for the Panthers?! He only played 2 games for Nashville last season and spent most of his time with the Predators' affiliate Milwaukee Admirals.

The bruising Begin was most loved by

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Hopeful answer: Cody Hodgson.

As the KesLORD continues his hip surgery rehabilitation (aside: all you Kristen Reid fans will love the last line of Walker's piece) he's clearly saying the right things about being ready opening night for Crosby (maybe) and the Penguins. Then again - considering how vital Kesler has become coupled with the possibility of another 100+ game season ahead - do you risk rushing him back?

So suppose he isn't ready by the season opener. Who steps in at even strength and the first PP unit? Vigneault could shift his depth up and hand the second line to Malhotra while Lapierre takes over the checking line again. This is the safest bet in terms of experience, but expecting Malhotra to produce offensively while shouldering more ES minutes in addition to special teams duties seems like a stretch. It would put more pressure on the Sedins and Burrows to score, but that's hardly the end of the world.

Another scenario is Higgins or Samuelsson take the slot. Both have played center before (though not terribly successfully) and could provide a capable set of hands to keep the line afloat until Kesler returns. Hell knowing Vigneault it's not out of bounds to consider he juggles the second and third lines after the first period each game anyway. So whoever starts in Kesler's slot won't necessarily stay there very long.

There's always the possibility a standout camp audition... Just kidding.

Then there's Hodgson. His star has plummeted in just two seasons, but unless he's moved before October, he seems like a natural to either (a) be tested with the second line to see how he deals with increased minutes and responsibilities or (b) be given the third line while Malhotra anchors the second. It's a risk obviously, but one that might be worth taking if it's just a 5-10 game timeline. The last we saw Franchise he was saddled with piddling fourth line duties which isn't the role he's best suited for. Hodgson isn't cracking the roster as a center without an injury and being down Kesler is his best (only?) chance to step in and make a visible, immediate impact with Vancouver. Alternatively, if he can impress at camp and make it a few regular season games in a top six/top nine role, it's at least an audition for other teams should Gillis eventually move the youngster.

On August 17 and 18 prospects eligible for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft will play a game in Etobicoke Ontario as a part of the 2nd annual NHL Research, Development and Orientation Camp. New rule proposals will be tested at this event and there are a whole lot of them. After the jump are links to the list of proposed changes plus a poll on which of the most intriguing ones make/may not make you want to slaughter something innocent and beautiful. Yeah I know this camp is old news but I don't think we've discussed it much here.

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via www.coffeesnoop.com

You bastards.  I had fully intended to take the summer away from all this.  But you draw me back in.  Jerks.  And let's face it, I need this.  While some of you (and this is not a knock on any of you, believe me) can't or won't talk about what happened, I have to.  Losing that game, in that series, to that team that way?  Absolutely devastating.  It hurts.  Yet unlike 1994, where I actually had to take some time away from the game to get over the loss to the Rangers, I am here and yeah, I am talking about this.  The healing process begins when you get all of the stuff you're holding inside out of your system.  Maybe being there helped me get a different perspective on things, besides the obvious.  After the jump, a look at why this isn't the end of the world.

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We all make fun of some of the topics / trade proposals conjured up at the Canucks.com Forum. And hey, we make some silly suggestions ourselves. It's a slow hockey week for Canucks fans and I am not going to give Dan Carcillo any exposure because his stupidity makes him NOT WORTH IT.

OK, on to some proposals..

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Like many of you, I found the end of the Canucks' season to be devastating. Rather than deal with the pain, I pretty much shifted gears once the season ended, preferring to (mostly) ignore hockey and to focus on reclaiming my social and academic lives from the ravages of two months of playoff hockey. It has only been recently, as I have begun to look forward to the upcoming season, that I have started to come to grips with the way that the 2010-11 season ended.

My only point of comparison for such a loss is the 1994 Stanley Cup Final, at which time I was 10 years old. While that loss was devastating for me at the time, I could at least take solace in the fact that the Canucks were the underdog, that they kept battling up until the final whistle, and that the possibility of a return trip to the Finals didn't seem so remote. 17 years of Finals-less hockey later, I do not take the possibility of June hockey for granted in the same way. Not that I don't have confidence in this current iteration of the Canucks - they certainly look poised to challenge for a Finals berth for at least the next few seasons - but I am also aware that just making it into the final round of the playoffs is a massive accomplishment in and of itself. There are no guarantees in the future, although I remain optimistic.

I don't want to dwell on the details of the Cup Finals, because I have already had too many painful fantasies about what could have gone differently if certain injuries hadn't occurred, certain players had stepped up, or certain bounces had gone the Canucks' way. Such is hockey, and there's no point in dwelling on it too much - I firmly believe that lucky/unlucky breaks tend to even out over time. I am not thrilled with how many things went in the series against Boston, and ultimately I have to concede that, based on how they played, that the Bruins deserved to win the series. My biggest beef would be the officiating - I wish the series had not devolved into a series of cheap shots, taunts, and dives. Both teams have huge amounts of talent, and I would have preferred to see this on display unimpeded by the kind of crap that went on in the games. I don't think, for example, that much of the predictable abuse that has been hurled at the Sedins for their lack of offensive production is fair given the abuse that they endured game in and game out. But is is over, the Bruins won, and it is time to accept that and move on.

Putting aside the final couple games of the season is hard to do. But once those memories are pushed aside, there are a ton of amazing memories to look back upon from what has gone down as, thus far, the Canucks' best ever season in its history. Through 82 regular season games and 25 playoff contests, the Canucks gave us a ton of great memories to look back upon. The regular season awards speak for themselves. The playoffs - in which we finally defeated the Blackhawks and battled to deserving series victories against Nashville and San Jose - were an amazing ride. I am proud of the team, thrilled with its overall performance during the season, and grateful that I got to share so much of the journey with all of you here at Nucks Misconduct.

This post was inspired by another article I have started to work on, which is my Top 10 goals of the season (coming soon!), and it made me realize how much I love this blog and this community. Going through YouTube to watch some of the great plays from this season brought back memories of sharing those moments in Game and Post-Game Threads, often staying up until well past 1 AM EST to pore over the brilliance of a Kesler hat-trick, a Sedin OT winner, a Luongo shutout, or a massive playoff win. It was an incredible season, the Finals not withstanding, and I am glad I got to share it with you all. I look forward to more of the same in 2011-12 - only two months to go, and then we drop the puck on a brand new season. Can't wait!

With the July 1st unrestricted free agent date gone and past, and every marginal player from Anaheim to Washington snapped up on a four-year contract to Dale Tallon and the Florida Panthers, we are at the halfway point of the summer. We can officially declare teams "winners" and "losers" of the free agency period without a tinge of guilt or irony.

I don't act on a whim, however. I won't openly call a team a "winner" because they "added some much needed depth and grit from a proven playoff performer in Sean Bergenheim" or summarily pretend that the Panthers won't suck as much this season as they did last season. 

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