Volpatti, Sestito and Ugly Jerseys

Plenty 'o news in the Canucks world the last few days.

Aaron Volpatti was placed on waivers, then claimed the next day by the Washington Capitols. Edmonton also tried to claim him, but Washington's lower spot in the standings entitled them to him. Volpatti had 16 games this season with the Canucks, sporting only 1 goal and 28 PIM's. This apparently caused quite the uproar on Twitter, but it's not that big of a deal. Volpatti was pretty much a dedicated fighter, because his lack of speed meant he couldn't even hit most players unless they were coming right at him.

Seeking some sort of replacement, the Canucks claimed Tom Sestito off waivers from Philadelphia. At 6'5 228 lbs, he's not someone you want to mess around with. Sestito played 7 games with the Flyers this season, tallying 2 goals and 12 penalty minutes. He's known more as a checker and fighter. Right as the Canucks claimed him, Ebbett was re-assigned to the Wolves and flew right back to Chicago. Thankfully, Ebbett has a great sense of humor and tweeted this after landing in Chicago.

#mansbestfriend twitter.com/aebbett/status…
— Andrew Ebbett (@aebbett) March 2, 2013

 So where does Sestito fit in? With Kesler gone, Ebbett re-assigned, and Kassian not playing well we have quite the mess. Seriously, expect anything. Here's what I expect:

Sedin-Sedin-Kassian
Booth-Schroeder-Raymond
Higgins-Burrows-Hansen
Sestito-Lappiere-Weise

I'm giving Kassian a chance at redemption here, plus he plays well when given plenty of ice time. Schroeder will be moved back to the first powerplay unit.

Off onto a lighter topic, the Canucks revealed another jersey. Words cannot express its ugliness. Take a look. It's a replica of the old Vancouver Millionaires jerseys. Notice how no one in the picture is smiling. Seriously, it looks like 'wear your high school letterman's jacket to school.'

Raining on the Canucks Parade

So this post is gonna rain on the Canucks parade. As if the Canucks actually have a parade to rain on.

Kesler is out for an undetermined amount of time with a fractured right foot. According to the media scrum today, Kesler was experiencing discomfort on the road trip, but 2 x rays showed nothing. Still in some pain, he went for a CT scan after the road trip, which revealed some hairline fracturing.

Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't damage the team all that much. Kesler hadn't been playing anywhere near his full potential since he got back from his 1st injury, and the team got along fairly well without him. As for a replacement, Vigneault said that Ebbett is a very likely candidate. Well, it's between him and Steve Pinizzotto. Malhotra isn't a candidate because he was removed for his own protection, so he didn't injure himself further. Gillis and AV both confirmed he wasn't coming back.

 Regardless, Vancouver's lineup will most likely return to what it was before Kesler, but plus Booth. Probably a little like this:

Sedin-Sedin-Burrows
Raymond-Schroeder-Booth
Higgins-Lappiere-Hansen
Weise-______-Kassian

Ebbett is the most likely winner of the job, mainly because of his experience playing 4th for Vancouver and his maturity, but also because of the state Pinizzotto is in. Pinizzotto has never played an NHL game, despite being called up several times. He struggled with a rash of injuries, and missed to play when Kesler was out earlier this year. If he's healthy, this could be his chance.

In other sad news, Aaron Volpatti was put on waivers this morning. as of yet, no one has claimed him. Volpatti was injured last season, and played 16 games this year. Vigneault said he wanted him to get more minutes and improve his game, and that just wasn't going to happen in Vancouver. If no one claims him, he can get another crack at the Canucks lineup a little down the road. His main game is fighting and the Canucks just don't have a spot in their roster for a full time fighter.