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Mikael Samuelsson News & Rumors

Gillis drops a bomb, trades Samuelsson for big-ticket Booth
October 24
Vancouver Sun
 
"Minutes after defenceman Sami Salo fired a bomb to beat the Minnesota Wild 3-2, Vancouver Canuck general manager Mike Gillis dropped a bigger bomb by dealing popular veteran Mikael Samuelsson in a multi-player trade that brings winger David Booth and $18-million in salary from the Florida Panthers. The Canucks also gave up failed experiment Marco Sturm and took on Steve Reinprecht, another player long past his best who has been getting his $2.175-million NHL contract in the minors. Vancouver also gets Florida's third-round draft pick in 2013."
Canucks' Mikael Samuelsson out with post-surgery soreness
October 21
Vancouver Sun
 
"It turns out that Vancouver Canuck forward Mikael Samuelsson had more than sore feelings over his mediocre start to the new NHL season. The veteran Swede, who underwent sports hernia/adductor surgery last spring, was too sore to play Thursday against the Nashville Predators. The issue is a bit of a surprise because Samuelsson, who turns 35 in two months, participated fully in Vancouver's practice on Wednesday and took numerous reps with the first-unit power play. "Mikael is getting a maintenance day," explained Canuck head coach Alain Vigneault prior to the Canucks' 5-1 triumph over the Preds at Rogers Arena. "He was 100 per cent during training camp and for the first couple of days but"
Samuelsson to miss Game 6
May 8
NHL.com
 
"For the second time in these playoffs, Mikael Samuelsson will not be available to the Vancouver Canucks as the series moves to Nashville for Game 6 on Monday night. Samuelsson did not play in Game 1 of the Chicago series, and coach Alain Vigneault announced after Saturday night's 4-3 loss that the 34-year-old Swede would not travel to Tennessee with the team on Sunday afternoon. He is day-to-day with a lower-body injury."
Canucks' ailing Swedes team up to deliver crucial OT goal
May 4
Vancouver Sun
 
"One is nursing an abdominal injury that occasionally gets reported as the flu, and the other has been labouring since the playoffs started and finally showed where it hurt Tuesday night. Mikael Samuelsson, demoted to the fourth line, and Henrik Sedin, immovable from the first, hobbled out onto the power play in overtime — Samuelsson on the point, Henrik on the half wall despite injuring what looked to be a hip or groin or thigh muscle late in the third period. And forgot all about their problems, and helped make a goal. A pretty important goal, you might say. Not a work of art, like a Henrik-and-Daniel special, just a down-and-dirty screen by Ryan Kesler and a point shot by Samuelsson and"
Canucks shake up lineup for Game 3
May 3
Vancouver Province
 
"Alex Burrows looked like he had a burr under his saddle. Mikael Samuelsson looked steamed. And Alain Vigneault was trying to play that line juggling art-of-deception card again. All this after one double-overtime playoff loss? You could call it panic, or simply label it planning. "I wouldn't read too much [into] what you saw today on the ice — we'll see what happens tomorrow," Vigneault said after practice Monday. That's exactly what the Vancouver Canucks coach is supposed to say with the opposition scouting the session. Through necessity and familiarity, expect the Presidents' Trophy winners to ice new-look lines Tuesday as they attempt to regain the series lead in their Western"
Mikael Samuelsson's struggles earn him a demotion
May 3
Vancouver Sun
 
"He has gone from the first line to the fourth, from the first power-play unit to the second. Monday wasn't a banner day for struggling Vancouver Canucks winger Mikael Samuelsson. Asked if he was frustrated by the demotions, Samuelsson said simply, "it should be pretty obvious if you watch the practice." Samuelsson skated on the fourth line Monday with rookie centre Cody Hodgson and winger Tanner Glass. Coach Alain Vigneault mixed up all his lines in Monday's practice as he looked for a way to jump-start his team's offence. The Canucks have scored just two goals in the first two games of their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series with the Nashville Predators. Game 3 goes"
Canucks' Mikael Samuelsson takes sick leave, then scores game-winner
April 18
Vancouver Sun
 
"Mikael Samuelsson wasn't sure if he was going to be able to play Sunday night. The Vancouver Canucks are certainly glad he did. Fighting off the effects of the flu, which prevented him from playing in Game 2, Samuelsson scored the game-winner Sunday night at the United Center as the Canucks beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 to take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Samuelsson was almost too drained to celebrate the goal. "Okay," he said after the game when asked how he felt. "Not more than okay, though. I was tired." The goal came on a rebound at the 6:54 mark of the third period after Corey Crawford had stopped shots by Christian Ehrhoff and Henrik Sedin. "I gave it to Hoffer"
Words of wisdom from Samuelsson: Forget the Presidents' Trophy
April 5
Vancouver Province
 
"On the last road trip, Mikael Samuelsson's thigh was so heavily bandaged after practice that it looked like a FedEx package. The only thing missing was the bubble wrap. On the next trip into the postseason, the Vancouver Canucks winger is expected to deliver again for the Presidents' Trophy winners. After all, he has a Stanley Cup ring and is the voice of reason in a dressing room filled with more maturity and little angst. And Samuelsson's return Tuesday in Edmonton after missing six games with ongoing leg stiffness is a sure sign of the significant times. If anybody has his finger on the pulse of the Canucks and knows when to play, it's the thoughtful and experienced Samuelsson. "I was"
Canucks' injury woes take Wing in Samuelsson's memory
February 21
Vancouver Sun
 
"Defencemen dropping like bugs from a zapper. A patchwork blue line that causes a rush on media guides — in the dressing room. Desperation. Worry. A February to forget. Yes, things sure were bleak for those Detroit Red Wings back in 2008. Mikael Samuelsson remembers it well. Sort of. The Vancouver winger played for Detroit three years ago when the mighty Red Wings went on an injury binge similar to this month's Canuck crisis. "I can't remember how many guys we had out, but it was a lot," Samuelsson said before the Canucks chartered home Friday from Nashville after losing two of three games on the road this week. And, no, it wasn't a medivac flight. Everyone knows you can't fit six injured"
Samuelsson practises what he preaches
February 13
Vancouver Province
 
"Refreshingly frank and never one to panic, nobody has his finger on the pulse of the Vancouver Canucks better than Mikael Samuelsson. At the outset of this NHL season, he warned how long and arduous the road to the Stanley Cup would be. He knew it would be filled with potholes and tricky turns, and that the club might even suffer key injuries and go into the ditch. And because he's been there and done that — you can't replace the championship experience he earned with the Detroit Red Wings in 2008 — it wasn't surprising that he got the league's top club back on the road to victory Saturday in a 4-2 decision over the Calgary Flames at Rogers Arena. With Dan Hamhuis (concussion), Keith"
Swedish Canucks give Forsberg A for effort
February 7
Vancouver Province
 
"He's back. Really. Honestly. Despite ongoing right foot problems and being out of the NHL for three years, Peter Forsberg signed a $1 million US pro-rated contract with the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday. At 37, the former league MVP isn't expected to play Monday night against the Phoenix Coyotes, but is expected to help a struggling club that lost winger Thomas Fleischmann for the season with blood clots. The Avalanche are 12th in Western Conference. but just four points shy of the playoff berth and need an injection of offence and to tighten up defensively. "I'd like to play, but I'm not sure how it's going to go," Forsberg told reporters. "It's going pretty good but I'd like to start"
Sammy whammy: Canucks' Mikael Samuelsson bounces back
February 7
Vancouver Sun
 
"It wasn't all that long ago that Mikael Samuelsson was mired in a 14-game goalless slump and his name was being mentioned as a potential salary-cap dump so the Vancouver Canucks could get injured defenceman Sami Salo back on the roster. So, being the good teammate that he is, there was no way Jeff Tambellini was going to pass up a chance to remind anyone within earshot how poorly the Swedish winger was being portrayed in the media and around water coolers provincewide as recently as late last month. "Big difference a couple of weeks make, eh Sammy," said Tambellini, one day after Samuelsson had a goal and set up a beauty in Vancouver's 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday. "Funny"
On the road again... with family.
February 1
Vancouver Province
 
"Mikael Samuelsson wouldn't be an NHL player if it wasn't for his brother being so good at such a young age. "He was the one who got me started," the Vancouver Canucks winger said Monday of his older brother, Mattias, who is part of the siblings' road trip to Dallas and Phoenix. "I was six years old and I looked up to him. He was two years older and his teams were really good and I saw how much fun they were having and that created the interest in my mind. And you always learn from the older brother, whether you like it or not, even though he thinks I make a lot of money and that's it." Mattias, 36, sells car parts in his native Sweden and was understandably jet-lagged after arriving in"
Salo-ry cap crunch could be solved by Samuelsson or Ballard
January 13
Vancouver Sun
 columnist Iain MacIntyre
"Among third-line forwards Raffi Torres and Mikael Samuelsson, only one made it to practice Wednesday in Manhattan. There's a chance only one will be on the Vancouver Canucks when Sami Salo returns from injury. The Canucks' stunning 18-1-3 surge to the top of the National Hockey League during the last eight weeks has changed a lot of things, including the idea that Vancouver couldn't risk losing both Kevin Bieksa and Christian Ehrhoff to unrestricted free agency this summer. Now, with a Canuck Stanley Cup more plausible than any time since June of 1994 — the Canucks are back in New York to face the Rangers later today — the team can't afford to lose either defenceman before the playoffs. So"
Samuelsson hopes to return; Raymond, Erhoff out
December 11
Vancouver Province
 
"There was a sliver of good news on a bad day for the Vancouver Canucks. On Friday, the Canucks revealed both Mason Raymond (right thumb) and Cody Hodgson (cheek) have broken bones. Raymond is "week to week" and the Canucks were speculating Hodgson, their top prospect in Manitoba, could be out weeks, though he is seeking a second opinion. The Canucks also are faced with the reality they may have to play some games without Christian Ehrhoff who took a shot Wednesday off his left ear. "He had quite a few stitches," Alain Vigneault said. "He's feeling a lot of discomfort. We're not sure if it's from the shot or something more serious." Like a concussion? "That would be up there but it's tough"
Mikael Samuelsson out a week with concussion
December 7
Vancouver Sun
 
"Hello Mason Raymond, goodbye Mikael Samuelsson. Raymond returned to practice this morning after missing the Vancouver Canucks' game Sunday due to the flu. But Samuelsson did not participate due to a concussion that will likely keep him out of the lineup at least a week. Samuelsson was injured late in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues during a collision with Vladimir Sabotka, whose shoulder appeared to catch the Canuck in the head. Samuelsson was well enough a half-hour after the game to visit friends outside the Vancouver dressing room, where he told a reporter he was alright. But Canuck coach Alain Vigneault said today that Samuelsson has a "mild concussion" and will follow the"
Oh for a sight of little red light!
October 28
Vancouver Province
 
"He's had plenty of company, but Mikael Samuelsson is the first to admit the start to his season could have been better. Last season, after joining the Canucks as their top free-agent signing, he had five goals after nine games. This season, he has one and found himself yanked off the Sedins' line after four games, despite -- or because of -- his failure to convert a number of golden opportunities with the twins. After a career-high 30 goals last season, Samuelsson, 33, is finding that turning the red light on is a little tougher so far this time around. He's sharing that with some other teammates who had breakout offensive years last season, such as current linemates Ryan Kesler and Mason"
Line change stirs Samuelsson into action
October 18
Vancouver Province
 
"If head coach Alain Vigneault was looking for a response when he yanked Mikael Samuelsson of the Canucks' top line and dropped him all the way to the third, he got one. The cranky (at least on the ice) Swede had just two assists to show for the previous four games with Henrik and Daniel Sedin and probably enough chances to score about three times that many goals in that span. But Samuelsson played a role in the Canucks' first three goals as they took a 3-0 lead en route to a 5-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Only one of his points – the first of two assists – came with his new linemates, Manny Malhotra and Raffi Torres, but it was a classic third-line goal. Malhotra, who's proving he's"
Samuelsson already under microscope with no goals on top line with Sedins
October 16
Vancouver Province
 
"As captain, Henrik Sedin has commanded his teammates to relax. An easy suggestion for the Hart Trophy and Art Ross Trophy winner. He has already combined with Daniel Sedin for nine points in three games heading into tonight's tussle with the Los Angeles Kings. Not so easy for linemate Mikael Samuelsson, who has yet to pull the trigger despite a dozen shots. And Alex Burrows will be back from offseason shoulder surgery on Nov. 2, so Samuelsson is already lamenting the three chances he had Wednesday in a 4-3 loss at Anaheim. "We should have put them away in the second we had a couple of good shifts and we've got to score on those chances," said Samuelsson, who along with Daniel had chances"
Canucks' Mikael Samuelsson looking for roommate - for charity
September 2
Vancouver Sun
 
"Athletes and charities go together like Hall and Oates. Sadly, the thought behind the fundraising initiative is usually just as dated as the 1980s pop duo. Well, now for something as stupid and wonderful as owning a pet elephant. Something as outlandish as Nicolae Ceausescu, the Romanian dictator who was rumoured to have people walk in front of him painting the leaves on trees green — in the fall. That's right, Vancouver Canucks winger Mikael Samuelsson is ditching the tried-and-true golf tournaments, softball games and signed jerseys and rewriting all the rules. The 33-year-old is auctioning off an all-expenses-paid trip for two to Vancouver — including a pair of tickets to two home games"
The harder Samuelsson works the luckier he gets
April 26
Vancouver Province
 
"The media mob was surrounding Henrik and Daniel Sedin and allowed Mikael Samuelsson to catch his breath and contemplate another stunning playoff comeback Sunday. And while he didn't score to send the Vancouver Canucks to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, he proved that there is no such thing as luck. There is preparation meeting opportunity. When Samuelsson's stick broke as he teed up a slapper in the slot with the score tied 2-2 late in the third period, the puck found Daniel Sedin and his sharp-angle wrister beat Jonathan Quick for the game-winner en route to a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. So, what was Samuelsson thinking when he wound up? "I was thinking that I"
Samuelsson's a Swede surprise
April 24
Vancouver Province
 
"Had it been Christian Ehrhoff at the point and not Daniel Sedin, Mikael Samuelsson might have gone to the net for a rebound. But since Ehrhoff was in front of the crease, screening Jonathan Quick, and it was a Sedin with the puck at the blueline, Samuelsson knew he had to be ready for anything. So when Daniel's slap-pass arrived, Samuelsson turned his blade at the perfect angle to redirect the puck past Quick and pull the Canucks even at 3-3 at 7:29 of the third period in Wednesday's pivotal Game 4. "I'm looking to do a little more with them, I guess," Samuelsson said about being moved to the Sedin line for the third period. "I saw the play coming and I thought I'd get it from Danny like I"
How Swede it is: Canucks Samuelsson, Sedins make beautiful music
April 23
Vancouver Sun
 
"The Vancouver Canucks have been good and bad in the playoffs. Mikael Samuelsson has only been great. The veteran Swedish winger has been the lone constant in what has been aroller-coaster start to the post-season for the Canucks. Samuelsson has five goals in four playoff games. That's the same number of goals he scored in 22 playoff games in 2008 when he helped the Detroit Red Wings win the Stanley Cup. Heading into Thursday night's action, Samuelsson was tied for the playoff goal-scoring lead with Washington's Nicklas Backstrom and former Detroit teammate Henrik Zetterberg. Samuelsson's shooting percentage in the early going of the post-season is an impressive 27.8 per cent, which come to"
Mikael Samuelsson's overtime magic propels Canucks to victory
April 16
Vancouver Sun
 
"Mikael Samuelsson said the key to the playoffs is managing emotions and staying on an even keel. Someone in Vancouver should. Maybe you heard: CANUCKS WIN! CANUCKS WIN! CANUCKS WIN! If if they do it again Saturday, they'll be halfway through the first round of the National Hockey League playoffs. One-eighth of the way towards the Stanley Cup. So relax. Act like you expected the Canucks to beat the Los Angeles Kings Thursday night. The Canucks expected it. It just took them until 8:52 of overtime and Samuelsson's second goal of the game to win 3-2 on a night when Los Angeles had little going for it but nice weather, goalie Jonathan Quick and Vancouver defenceman Andrew Alberts, who took"
Canucks have a proven playoff winner in Mikael Samuelsson
April 14
Vancouver Sun
 
"There aren't many Stanley Cup rings in the Vancouver Canucks' dressing room and, given the team's history of never winning one, obviously the jewelry has been captured elsewhere and been imported. Mikael Samuelsson won his ring two years ago while a member of the Detroit Red Wings and then reached the final again last season before the Wings fell in seven to Sidney Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins. So Samuelsson has been there, he's done that and wants to do it again with his new team. The 33-year-old right-winger was signed to a three-year deal by the Canucks last summer in part because they were seeking his playoff experience and savvy. Samuelsson has appeared in 69 post-season games, all of"
Samuelsson's return overshadowed as O'Brien finally opens up about party-boy image
April 5
Vancouver Province
 
"Mikael Samuelsson is back in, Shane O'Brien is still out and there could be another Northwest Division title to shout about Sunday night at GM Place. However, despite the return of Samuelsson after missing eight games with a left shoulder strain, the focus was still on O'Brien after the disgraced Vancouver Canucks defenceman took the morning skate. He finally spoke of his tardiness and transgressions — topped off by arriving late for practice last Monday — that resulted in six days in puck purgatory and a boot camp with skills coach Glenn Carnegie to whittle his weight from 235 to 227 pounds."
Samuelsson getting close, Demitra's return is anyone's guess
March 30
Vancouver Sun
 
"The status of injured winger Mikael Samuelsson has been upgraded to day to day. The Vancouver Canucks wish they could say the same thing about Pavol Demitra. Samuelsson, who suffered a right shoulder injury on March 16, skated for the first time with his teammates on Monday. He won't play Tuesda against the Phoenix Coyotes, but will accompany the team on its two-game trip to Southern California later this week. "He is getting better and better so I think we'll have him go on the trip, he can take the morning skates with us in LA and Anaheim and hopefully in the next little while he will be ready to go," said Canucks coach Alain Vigneault. "I don't expect him to play on the road, but"
Samuelsson sidelined 2-3 weeks with shoulder injury
March 18
Vancouver Province
 
"One of Michael Grabner's challenges today will be to sidestep the tempting soccer ball that sits in the dressing-room entrance. The other will be to step up and prove he can skate and score in traffic and become much more than just a roster option for the Vancouver Canucks. With winger Mikael Samuelsson sidelined two to three weeks after suffering a third-period shoulder injury Tuesday, the onus has fallen on the recalled Grabner to put a freak soccer ritual accident behind him and deliver on the promise he showed in October. That's when the 2006 first-round draft choice had five points in nine games on a line with Ryan Kesler and Mason Raymond and appeared to have finally arrived. Grabner"
Spurned Samuelsson spurred to prove himself with Canucks
January 27
Vancouver Sun
 
"The bad news came two days after Christmas, and as all of Sweden quickly learned, Mikael Samuelsson did not take it particularly well. Exactly one month later, Samuelsson is still quietly seething about being left off his home country's Olympic team, which for the Vancouver Canucks isn't such a bad thing. Samuelsson seems to have channeled his anger in a positive way onto the ice. The 33-year-old winger has been playing perhaps his best hockey of the season since telling national coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson and the rest of the Swedish hockey program to "go 'bleep' themselves," in one of the more memorable sound bites of the season. "It's not only a coincidence," Samuelsson said Tuesday,"
Samuelsson proving Swedish team masters wrong
January 7
Vancouver Province
 
"It's the kind of math the Vancouver Canucks never imagined would add up to an advantage. If one snub equals three goals in his last four games, then the embarrassment Mikael Samuelsson endured when left off the Swedish entry for the 2010 Winter Olympics may have been the catalyst to end a 14-game goal drought. After the winger gave Tre Kroner coach Bengt-Aake Gustafsson the verbal finger when omitted from the 23-man roster Dec. 27, he responded in the best possible way. First he got mad. Then he got even. "He's a proud individual and probably wants to prove them wrong right now," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said Wednesday. No wonder the Canucks are fourth in NHL scoring with 139 goals"
Mikael Samuelsson seething over Swedish Olympic snub
December 28
Vancouver Sun
 
"Canuck winger Mikael Samuelsson had a rather succinct message for coach Bengt-Aake Gustafsson and the rest of the Swedish Olympic hockey program after he was left off the team's 23-man roster announced Sunday. "I pretty much have one comment and maybe I'll regret it," Samulesson said. "But they can go f*** themselves. That's what I really think." Samuelsson was a member of the Swedish team that won the gold medal at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy, and he obviously thought he was going to play for his country again in Vancouver. Samuelsson, who acknowledged being profoundly disappointed, said he won't be available as a substitute should one of Sweden's injured players not be"
Sedins named to Sweden's Olympic squad, Samuelsson, Edler not
December 28
Vancouver Province
 
"As expected, Vancouver Canucks' forwards Daniel and Henrik Sedin, were named to the Swedish 2010 Olympic hockey team on Sunday.The Sedins will be two of the 13 returnees from the 2006 team that won the gold medal in Turin in 2006. But in a somewhat surprising move, Swedish head coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson didn't include Canucks winger Mikael Samuelsson to his 23-man roster. Also failing to make the Swedish squad was Vancouver defenceman Alex Edler, who's had an inconsistent season. Samuelsson, who was part of the 2006 team, was left off while Gustafsson included three currently injured players -- defenceman Niklas Kronwall (knee) and forwards Daniel Alfredsson (separated shoulder) and"