2005-06 was a hockey season to remember. To the surprise of many, the NHL returned from an entire season’s hiatus to have attendance records broken throughout the league, four non-playoff teams from 2003-04 were the last four teams standing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and rookie goaltender Cam Ward went from backup to playoff MVP in less than two months. But perhaps most surprising of all was the fact that the Vancouver Canucks failed to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2000. (Is he joking…?)

Yes, folks, this was a team built for regular season success. In 2001-02 they went on a post-Christmas run that made them the #1 team in the entire league during the season’s second half. A year later, they lost the division on the last day of the season, but set a franchise record for points. Finally, in 2003-04, they won their division for the first time since 1992-93. Now they had most of their team returning for one last try at it, while adding a few pieces such as right-winger Anson Carter. If 2002-03 and 2003-04 weren’t their year, then this had to be. And yet it wasn’t.

In 2006, the Canucks pulled one of the two blockbuster deals of the summer when they sent Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan Allen, and Alex Auld to Florida in exchange for star goaltender Roberto Luongo, defenseman Lukas Krajicek, and a 6^th-round draft pick. In all, 16 players that were Canuck property at the end of the season were no longer under contract with the team when the 2006-07 season began. So far, so good: Vancouver is poised to qualify for the postseason, led by summer acquisition Roberto Luongo. But what about those players that the Canucks let go? What have they been up to since their departures? This article will highlight a few of the most notable ex-Canucks.

Nolan Baumgartner:

After leading all Canuck defensemen in points in 2005-06, Baumgartner signed a deal with the Flyers in the offseason worth $2.4 million over two years. Not only was he claimed off waivers by the Stars in February, but the Flyers waived him as early as two weeks into the season. So far he has played in just seven games.

Alex Auld:

In his first full season in the league, Auld impressed at times and underwhelmed at others. He showed he had an ability to steal a game now and then, and so when the Panthers traded for him they hoped he could win the starting job for their team. This year, his save percentage of .888 has him fourth-last in the league among goalies that have played enough games to qualify for ranking. He is currently on injured reserve.

Ed Jovanovski:

Despite missing about half the season to injury, Jovanovski finished with one fewer point than Baumgartner in 2005-06. During the off-season, the Phoenix Coyotes offered him a contract he could not refuse: $32.5 million over five years. After a terrible start to the year, Jovanovski rebounded well (offensively, at least), and was even selected as the replacement for the injured Scott Niedermayer in the All-Star Game. However, in early March, he would undergo season-ending abdominal surgery—the same thing that ended his season in 2006.

Todd Bertuzzi:

His history is no secret. After emerging as the league’s best power forward just a few years earlier, Bertuzzi had trouble regaining his form in 2005-06, after a year and a half off from hockey altogether. He and the Canucks felt that a change was necessary, so he was sent to Florida as the centerpiece of the Luongo deal. Since then, he has missed over 60 games with a herniated disc, and was traded at the deadline to the Red Wings for two conditional picks and a fringe prospect.

Anson Carter:

Carter led the 2005-06 Canucks in goals, and then took off for Columbus, of all places, where he signed a one-year, $2.5 million-dollar contract. In February, he was traded to Carolina for just a 5^th-round draft pick. He is currently a healthy scratch for Hurricanes games, and is working on a nine-game pointless streak.

Dan Cloutier:

The Canucks’ starting goalie for the previous three full seasons, Dan Cloutier played only 11 games in 2005-06 before he suffered a season-ending knee injury that required surgery. After having cost the Canucks two playoff series in three years (and another due to his always getting injured), Vancouver still managed to get a 2^nd-round pick in 2007 out of the Kings. What’s more, because the Kings signed Cloutier to a contract extension ($6.2 million over two years), the Canucks will also receive the Kings’ 2^nd-round pick in 2009. The worst part of all for Los Angeles is not that Cloutier’s season ended in December due to a hip injury, but that his .860 save percentage and 3.98 goals-against average rank him dead last in the National Hockey League among goaltenders that have played at least 20 games. He’s not our problem anymore!

Labels: Hockey

Posted by Farewell, Free Will on Thursday, March 15, 2007 at 4:56 p.m. | Permalink