Can the Canucks catch a friggin' break? Every year it's injuries and more injuries. Last season we lost more man-games to defensemen than almost any other team did to all skaters and we missed the playoffs for it. This time around it seems like The Injury God still feels Vancouver owes him something.

The Injury God in his natural habitat - near Sami Salo

I'd like to touch on a couple of recent ones. I may go off on a tangent.

Taylor Pyatt:

I'm sure everyone has heard by now that the Canucks have signed Mats Sundin.

The article is here.

Now that we've got that out of the way, it's time to focus on strategy.

As many of you know, Mats Sundin is bald.

What is the significance of this?

SO IS PAVOL DEMITRA, WHO WILL BE HIS LINEMATE.

Picture this:

You're Miikka Kiprusoff. (Try not to kill yourself.)

It's been a busy day in the wacky world of Mats Sundin.

First Canucks GM Mike Gillis told the TEAM 1040 that any word on Sundin's final decision wouldn't come down until Thursday, out of respect for Trevor Linden's jersey retirement. Whichever way Mats chose to go, the breaking news would steal 16's thunder, and Sundin is classy enough to hold off for one more day. "He's going to make a decision on Thursday about the final destination," Gillis insisted.

For the first time since the days of Pavel Bure, the Vancouver Canucks have an elite, blue-chip prospect.

We saw a glimpse of how well he can play under pressure during the OHL Selects tournament, where his three goals lifted the team to victory over the Russians. But for those who have heard his name but are unfamiliar with what he brings to the table, Hockey's Future has a quick bio right here. Highlight:

Here's a short list of players I feel would be worth pursuing as we approach the trade deadline.

Marty Reasoner - C

Team: Atlanta
Salary: $1,000,000
Pros: Great faceoff guy. Excellent penalty killer and shot blocker. Character in the dressing room. Veteran. Will not cost too much relative to his effectiveness.

An artist's rendition of the game last night:

Poor old Schneider got hung out to dry. Just like Grandma's underwear (Pyatt, Wellwood).

What a horrible effort. You'd think the Canucks were at a funeral. No aggression, no puck support, no drive. They handed that game to Calgary.

On a side note, a few interesting statistics I've come across recently.

• Henrik Sedin holds the Canucks' all-time +/- record with +80.
  

Just a couple of quick updates,

This week's update of 'State of the Northwest Division' over at Illegal Curve has been posted.

As well, Towel Power has been added to the Canucks.com Fan Zone!

Kevin Bieksa is back tonight. Calgary's going to die.

Once again, apologies for lack of updates. I promise once I get into more of a groove I'll be able to start updating more.

Was asked to write a summary of the Canucks' season so far for Illegal Curve.

The article, which has a few paragraphs for each team in the Northwest, can be found here. The article, in its entirety, is below:

Coming into the season, the Canucks had two burning questions: