In light of the early-season reflections going on around here, I thought I'd chip in about the disturbing Canucks trends that Sean pointed out. So far, there's certainly reason for concern in Canucksland. If it weren't for the fact that Detroit, Anaheim, and Vancouver are out of the playoffs, while Colorado, Los Angeles, Edmonton, and Phoenix are in, it would look a lot like we'd have an uphill climb from this point onwards. As it is, we can take comfort in the fact that these standings are very unlikely to remain as is, and, with only three points separating us and Calgary, we're definitely not in Minnesota Wild-caliber trouble at this juncture.

Still, with our defense looking like swiss cheese more often than we'd like, and the injury bug doing more than bugging us, it would be unwise to assume a spot in the playoffs is guaranteed. With Anderson playing the way he is and Edmonton as riddled by injuries as we are and still playing well, the Northwest looks to be a tough division once again, after a few years of weakness. That being said, these negative trends are probably overstated. The best argument against them, in my opinion, is the same one that's been tossed around for the last little bit: The Canucks are notoriously slow at getting the ball rolling. Assuming this start is the worst hockey we'll see from the Canucks all year, they're bound to be on the up and up, while teams like Colorado seem to be poised for the bubble to pop.

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Editor's Note: Seeing how we were just discussing some very early season predictions (BTW Hockey News has Vancouver third in the West) I thought it would be good to keep the discussion going as to how you all think the Canucks will perform in the upcoming season. It just so happened NebCanuck did just that with his well-timed fanpost. Good job sir; let the debate continue.

In what has been a slow summer for the Canucks' fans, it's easy to slip into a sense of despair. While our opponents have made daring moves to bolster their talent regardless of risk (see Calgary, Bouwmeester), our favorite franchise has faced criticism for basically sitting on a roster which pooped out in the second round against the league's youngest team. While it's arguable that some of this criticism is deserved, however -- let's face it, Ohlund departing isn't the worst news, but it still leaves a gap -- I think it's worth reminding ourselves that this team is still a bona-fide (sorta) contender.

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