Where does Sami Salo rank on Canucks All-Time D-Man list?

[Cornuck]

I'd love to see Ohlund, pre-injury and in his prime, with this current team. Even though it was undeniably the right thing to do for the team, I was sad when we let him go - It'd have been great to see the guy retire a Nuck.

Gotta agree with that - too bad that both have had injuries be a defining part of their careers.

[wienerdog]

I'd love to see Ohlund, pre-injury and in his prime, with this current team. Even though it was undeniably the right thing to do for the team, I was sad when we let him go - It'd have been great to see the guy retire a Nuck.

Gotta agree with that - too bad that both have had injuries be a defining part of their careers.

Yes, but just par for the course in this town, sadly.

It's freakish really, if you think about it. Ballard and Hamhuis - two guys that were brought in partly because of their durability. Both players show up here, and boom - a shitload of significant injuries to both, including concussions.

*sigh*

Goalie graveyard, indeed. Try YVR dman meatgrinder.

[Madcombinepilot]

I would love to see a Bertuzzi here in his prime as well

[Strangelove]

And I absolutely despised Peter SchaFEAR.

if it makes you feel any better, me and a buddy used to throw rocks at him back in Yellowgrass

IT HELPS!!

[Todd Bersnoozi]

True, but u can reverse it around and say that if Salo wasn't so injury prone, he would of put up more points and been a bigger impact player in the NHL.

I don't think Ohlund and Salo would be so close in this conversation if it weren't for Matty's eye injury. He wasn't the same after that.

That incident derailed him from (semi) greatness, IMO. Salo is an amazing dman and I high-five the guy for what he's done for this team, but isn't the more-complete package that Ohlund was. MO really was a dangerous warhorse.

Ohlund had that nasty fucking mean streak in him that Salo's never had, and that our d-line is really missing today. Just ask Mikku Koivu or Phil Kessel.

I'd love to see Ohlund, pre-injury and in his prime, with this current team. Even though it was undeniably the right thing to do for the team, I was sad when we let him go - It'd have been great to see the guy retire a Nuck.

[BladesofSteel]

True, but u can reverse it around and say that if Salo wasn't so injury prone, he would of put up more points and been a bigger impact player in the NHL.

What Ohlund had over Salo was his imposing frame and propensity for throwing heavy hits. He was a horse to move off the puck. Ohlund, if you'll recall, also had a very heavy shot from the point... he even managed to break Todd's leg early one season.

[wienerdog]

True, but u can reverse it around and say that if Salo wasn't so injury prone, he would of put up more points and been a bigger impact player in the NHL.

Perhaps you might, but IMO that's a faulty view of the contrast between Ohlund and Salo as I described it.

Salo could very well be the most injury prone player in the entire League. Salo could re-play his entire career again, and he'd likely suffer an equal (or higher!) number of injuries - and still manage to get bitten by the only snake in all of Finland.

Ohlund, OTOH, was not an injury prone player. Sure he suffered a few bangs and bruises from his style of play, but one of his hallmarks was is horse-like durability. The significant point I brought up was the eye injury. A single event that re-defined his career and was - like Manny's - a freakish accident. If he played out his whole career again, the chance of that happening again would be basically zero.

So, no, I don't really believe you can reverse them.

[Fred]

This from a player that might know a little more than us humble posters

In fact, Higgins said, Salo's game is similar to Nick Lidstrom's in his calming presence, outstanding positioning and quick, pin-point break-out passes.

“The little things Lidstrom does that makes him so effective, Sami does all those things just as well as Lidstrom does,” Higgins said. “Sami never makes many thunderous bodychecks because his gap is so good he forces the guys he's defending against to get rid of the puck before they want to.

He almost never makes a mistake, it's pretty impressive. He's one of the best defencemen in the league.”

[Puck]

That's a great quote you found, Fred. Thanks. It's this kind of information I'd love to get more of. Unfortunately, the media don't really gear themselves to providing detailed, technical commentary.

One thing I remember about Ohlie is that he was a very good shut-down D. As highly as I value what Sami does for the Canucks, and I've commented to that effect a few times on here dating back a season or two, he's not quite Ohlund.

How's Ohlund playing in Tampa? Maybe we should get him back to finish his career here with some cost-effective one-year deals.

[dhabums]

How's Ohlund playing in Tampa? Maybe we should get him back to finish his career here with some cost-effective one-year deals.

His current $3.6M cap hit expires in 2015.

[dhabums]

Ohlund had that nasty fucking mean streak in him that Salo's never had, and that our d-line is really missing today. Just ask Mikku Koivu or Phil Kessel.

Or Zetterberg, right before the Olympics.