Cody, Mats and La-LaBarbera

These are heady times in Canuckland as we all are desperate for some news other than about the weather.

GM Mike Gillis, after realizing Cory Schneider is most definitely not as advertised (now, don't you wish Nonehead had traded him last year when he had a shot at the deadline?), snagged Jason LaBarbera off the LA Kings for a measly 7th round pick to cover for an injured Curtis Sanford. LaBarbera in his short three-game stint has shown he can do the job with an outstanding .943 save pct. in a Canuck jersey. That and hailing from Burnaby can't hurt the local pride.

Then 2008 first round draft pick and now a Hockey Canada gold medalist Cody Hodgson led all scorers at the recent World Junior Hockey Championships held in Kanata (sorry, folks, the final was not really in Ottawa as that would be like saying the New York Islanders play in New York City). This could be both good and bad news. The big question is whether Hodgson is the next Nigel Dawes, Jeff Farkas or Pavel Brendl? Or is Hodgson more of a Phil Kessel, Peter Forsberg or Jarome Iginla? Yes, all of these players led the WJC in scoring over various tournaments. So grain of salt on Hodgson's future as of yet.

Lastly, tonight marks the end of the Mats Sundin: Hostage Off Ice saga(fjord) as he apparently will debut vs. the Oil in Edmonton. I think fans are most curious mainly as to who his linemates will be. It's looking like Kyle Wellwood will play on one wing but the other seems open to all takers. If we're talking skill alone coach Alain Vigneault might be thinking Pavol Demitra, health permitting. If he's thinking a Dave Semenko to a Wayner, they might want to slot Darcy Hordichuk in there. Stay tuned.