Brendan Morrison: Vancouver Canucks Camp Favourite

The Vancouver Canucks finish off their preseason schedule tonight, Friday Oct. 1.

Although we know who the star players will be, we have yet to determine who will play the role of supporting cast on this team.

With Alex Burrows recovering from an off-season shoulder operation and out until probably mid-November, the Sedin twins will start the year with countryman Mikael Samuelsson.

With that said, Samuelsson shifting from the second line corresponds to Kess and Mace (Ryan Kesler and Mason Raymond) searching for a new winger to form a new line of attack.

The Canucks coaching staff, including Alain Vigneault, has some idea who that will be, but he doesn’t know who will come out in the end to earn that job.

List of candidates include:

Jeff Tambellini, who pen and papered his contract faster than anyone this summer to join his dream team Canucks.

Brendan Morrison, a former-Canuck star joining training camp on a tryout basis. He is dependable defensively, can kill penalties, man the point on the powerplay unit, and contribute offensively on the wing or at his natural centre position. The coaches have coached him here, so he is not a stranger by any means.

Focusing on B-Mo, the player was let go by the Canucks ending the West coast Express Era with former Canucks captain Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi in summer of 2008.

New general manager Mike Gillis feels Naslund needed a change of scenery and Morrison had a long way to go recovering from a major knee surgery. Back then, Morrison was 33. Now he is 35.

Morrison is more attractive to the coaches than anyone else at this point simply because of his familiarity with the team, as well as his versatility factor. Canucks really need a fourth line centre right now and Morrison could play that role, possibly jumping up to the second and third lines when injuries or situations arise that call for it.

Last season B-Mo spent some time working his way back to form as a Washington Capital. There was a moment that Morrison played on Nicklas Backstrom’s right-wing with Alexander Ovechkin on the other side. Other times, he was on the third line with Mike Knuble and company.

Now that B-Mo is back and looking for a contract, it is safe to say he will land an NHL contract very shortly based on his performance thus far. If the Canucks' capologist Laurence Gilman can find the cap space to fit him in, look for B-Mo to thrive again as a veteran Vancouver Canuck.

Thanks for reading.

This is your very own Vancouver Canucks Featured Columnist,

Joseph Trenton

MTRMedia - Canucks Buzz writer