Well, I was going to not be lazy, then Mathieu was scratched for the last two games, so I got lazy again.

Anyway, yeah, Mathieu was a healthy scratch the last two games. He missed out on 2-1 lose in Dallas Friday night to my guy B-Rad (and the rest of the Stars), and a 6-1 drubbing by the Blues in St. Louis last night.

Labels: news-notes

I'd like to say something like I had the Swine Flu or was off in Europe on some fabulous vacation or away on career-making business, but really, I've just been super lazy. I could go back and fill in posts for all the stuff I missed, but again, I'm lazy. So here is everything you need to know about Mathieu in the last week or so:

1. He played forward in a game. Seriously. I'm not lying. Alain Vingeault is apparently high, and moved a 21 year veteran defenseman to a fourth line forward position. The team lost 7-2 in Anaheim, and Mathieu was a -3. (Vancouver Sun)

2. He was a healthy scratch for the game in LA. From what I can figure in my memory bank, that would be one of the first times in his career. It was said it was a rest day after coming back into the line-up and immediately facing 4 games in 6 nights. (USA Today)

3. Other than that, he's been pretty quiet. In the four games he's played, he's averaged just over 14 minutes a game. He's had no points, and been a pretty ugly -5. Ouch.

I'll be better about posting. PROMISE! (or not)

Labels: news-notes

Not a great result for Vancouver, but Mathieu got his first goal as a Canuck in the 5-4 lose to Detroit. It was also his career power play goal #100. He finished the game as a -1, and had 2 shots on goal in 17:52 of ice time. He also had a wicked shot that was brilliantly stopped by goalie Jimmy Howard with just seconds to go in the game.

Says Mathieu of the game:



(how awesome is it that he can conduct a coherent interview while ON the exercise bike? Most of the time I'm in the gym I'm trying to simply not die)

Game summary: Schneider (H.Sedin, Bieksa), 5:05 of 3rd (PP).

Labels: news-notes

My face is sore. I've seriously been smiling for the last 2.5 hours. Mathieu is back.

He was without a point, and not any official shots on goals (he had some blasts, but they were wide of the net). Overall, he logged 14:51 of ice-time (2:18 of it on the power play) in the 2-0 Canucks win over Edmonton in Vancouver.

I flipped on the live feed of the post-game press coverage on the Canucks website just as Mathieu was being interviewed... while still riding the exercise bike to cool down. I wasn't prepared to take notes, so I only got one quote:

"Everything felt good out there"

Yeah, not a huge grab, but hey, it was cool to see him post-game.

Labels: news-notes

And "schtimpy27" once again validly reflects Mathieu. He's wearing #27 with the Vancouver Canucks. So far in the game, he looks good. In the intermission interview he said he feels good and that we won't see anything fancy from him for a few days until he gets more settled. But he's taken a few big shots and was able to get back into defensive position on a broken PP opportunity that turned into a 3-2 short handed chance.

Labels: news-notes

The Canucks confirmed that Mathieu will be in the line-up tonight.

Yee!!

Labels: news

Mathieu is good to go and ready to return. As reported the other day, he is simply waiting to be activated, and that can only be as early as October 25.

Says Mathieu:

"I feel great right now, I think I've been ready for about a week. I just feel 100 per cent. I'm excited and ready to get going. I've had enough practising. It gets monotonous. I've had that Oct. 25 circled for quite a while." (From The Province)

He has been traveling with the team all along, which has helped adjust to the new team. Apparently, he even has claimed a seat on the plane as his.

An added bonus: It looks like Canucks fans are as anxious for Mathieu to join the team as he is. Some nice comments from Nucks Misconduct.


EDIT: Just now from The Sporting News' writer Craig Custance's Twitter feed: "Just chatted with Mathieu Schneider - asked if he was playing Saturday. He said, 'I think so.'" (http://twitter.com/CraigCustance/status/5059762743)

Labels: news-notes

I'm gonna need more favorite players. 'Cause when both of mine are out due to injury, I'm all out of sorts. I mean, today I didn't sneak out of work early and dangerously speed home to sit in front of the TV to watch a game.¹ I actually took a nice walk on one of my favorite trails and made a real dinner that didn't involve taking something from the freeze and putting it in the microwave.

Oh wait... neither the Canucks nor the Stars were playing today anyway? Ok, nevermind.

¹Not that I would ever really do either of those things

Labels: news

Here is something I didn't know. Mathieu CAN'T play right now. Even if he could. What do I mean? Check it:

"Veteran defender Mathieu Schneider is also nearing a return from summer shoulder surgery. But because the team placed him on long-term injury in order to get salary cap relief at the start of the season, he isn't eligible to play for the first 10 games or 24 days of the season." (from NBCsports)

10 games / 24 days is almost up, so we should be seeing Mathieu play his first game as a Vancouver Canuck very soon.

Labels: news-notes

Mathieu is still out and while he should be returning soon, I haven't heard a date.

But hockey is happening, and what a season it has been so far. Great excitement!

And then this absolute beauty from B-Rad against a Mathieu-less Canucks...



That was for his team leading 6th point in four games. Woo hoo! I yelped out-loud. I think I scared my neighbors.

Labels: B-Rad, off-topic

The regular season opened last week, and as expected Mathieu stayed on the shelf. No timetable for his return has been made public, but he is practicing with the team.

And better late than never, here is an article from The Vancouver Sun about what Mathieu will do for the Vancouver power play: Veteran will beef up the power play. In it, it speaks not only of his own talent on the man advantage, but also how he's been helping younger defenseman learn.

Labels: news-notes

A few days ago Mathieu become the one player from the 1993 Stanley Cup winning team to remain playing in the NHL.

And now there is only one active player older than him.

With Theoren Fleury ending his "comeback" to officially retire with the Calgary Flames and Brendan Shanahan "stepping away" from the New Jersey Devils, Mathieu is currently the second oldest player with an NHL contract. Mark Recchi, who signed a one year deal with the Boston Bruins this summer, is the oldest, with a year a few months on Mathieu.

Curtis Joseph and Chris Chelios were the only others older than Mathieu last year who haven't officially retired, but neither have current contracts to the play in the NHL this year. That could change, and Shanahan may very well catch on somewhere else. But for now, Mathieu is #2.

Labels: news-notes

I've been trying for a few days to say something about Patrice Brisebois retiring. I know he was not the most popular player in Montreal and many people were happy to see him retire. For me, it was sad. I liked Patrice, as I mentioned back in March when he played his 1,000th game. I always thought that, considering the situation he was in, he handled himself very well. I won't go to far into praising him, as I'm not privy to a lot of what goes on in Montreal. The language barrier is one thing, also the fact and fiction rolls so seamlessly there that I never know what to believe anyway. But at least publicly, he seemed for the most part to carry himself well. He was took a lot of criticism and outright disrespect aimed towards him and still remained to be positive and appreciative. He was booed every time he touched the puck, but he still said how much he loved Montreal and how much of an honor it was to play for his home team. He was lucky and he knew it. And despite exaggerated and unfair vitriol directed to him by "fans" and the media, he came back to Montreal. In a world where Sergei Kostitsyn demands a trade because he was demoted to the minors and Dany Heatley demands a trade because his "role" was reduced (and then turns a trade down because it wasn't where he wanted to go), Patrice Brisebois... well, Kostitsyn and Heatley may have been born with more talent, but they aren't fit enough men to hold Treesy's¹ game worn underwear.

I wish Patrice all the luck and good fortune in the world in whatever lies ahead for him next. He's hoping to devote more time to auto racing and maybe working in hockey in another capacity. He'll have more time to spend with his lovely wife, Michèle, and their daughters, Alexandra-Caroline and Patricia-Rose. My lose is their gain. I'll miss him, but he's on his way to a new chapter. And as they say... one chapter ends and another begins, and often that chapter is better than the previous.


Another thing about his retirement that hit me kind of hard: Mathieu is now the last member of the 1993 Stanley Cup winning team still playing in the NHL. That pulls at the heart strings a bit. Wow. Wow.


¹ When Mathieu retires, I'll reveal my nickname for him. It remains just between my friends and I until then.

Labels: news, off-topic

As expected, Ben Kuzma of The Province reports that Mathieu will miss the season opener after being officially put on the long-term injury reserve. Says Mathieu:

"I'm comfortable with it and we talked about it [Wednesday night]. I've got to get the shoulder to feel strong enough to play and I'm not ready to take a hit."

Oh, and while I'm at it: The content was from a Sports Network story and not original, but here is a link to a Vancouver Canucks season preview from KTVU.com. Why from there and not one of the other 100 places that same preview was posted? Because KTVU is my hometown TV station* and it was weird to see it pop up in my Mathieu Schneider news feeds.

*Though I have to say, the browser title bar says San Francisco, and that ticks me off. It's Oakland based; the studios are right in Jack London Square. On TV, they say "KTVU: Oakland - San Franciso - San Jose." Not sure why it's different on the Web.

Labels: news-notes

And since I don't really have any commentary to add to that, I'll just take a moment to go off topic to say WELCOME EMMA! My friend Christina (my hockey loving friend from all the way back to the early Mathieu days when we were in high school) and her husband, Mark, welcomed their first child yesterday. Emma made us all wait. And wait. And wait. She was 2 weeks late and put mama through 4 days of labor. But she's here now, and having met her for just the briefest of moments yesterday, she was worth every second of the wait. She healthy and she strong and she's beautiful. Her parents won the jackpot! I can't wait until she's old enough to go to games with us. And now that I know what team Mathieu is on, I can order some Canucks gear for her. Actually, it's good I waited. She came in at a solid 10 pounds, 21.5 inches and is already too big for some of her baby clothes.

Labels: news-notes, off-topic

Theoren Fleury is attempting a comeback after a few years away from the game and a few years of a cleaner lifestyle. Good luck to him.

Says Mathieu of Theo:

"I was fortunate enough to play with Theo in New York (1999-2000) and he's just a great competitor.I was surprised, honestly, to see he was coming back, but it wouldn't surprise me to see him make the squad either. Anybody who bounces back like he has, it takes great inner strength. You're so proud to see a guy come back from the brink like that, where he was on skid row, and pick up the pieces of his life and come back to where he is today." (from Faceoff.com)

Labels: news-notes

Mathieu won't play any preseason games, but he is practicing with the team. And by reports, he's stepping up the pace and really pushing hard.

After one practice, the National Post noted that for someone "who despite a five-month layoff and having been eligible for old-timer’s leagues for five years was panting no worse than a fit 30-year-old would." The article was actually very good, speaking to his age a bit and his role as a mentor to the younger players, but also pointing out that he still plays some damn good hockey himself.

He's anxious to play and says he'll be ready for opening night. He hasn't been cleared for contact yet, and admits there is still some work to do in the weight room, but he's skating hard and feels almost game ready. The coach and medical staff, however, are not as keen to that idea. According to the Vancouver Sun, the doctors don't think he's as close as he thinks he is, and it looks like they are leaning towards starting the season with Mathieu on the IR.

Patience Mathieu. It's a long season.

Labels: news-notes

If yesterday's blog from Mathieu wasn't cool enough, how this for complete and total awesomeness: Mathieu's mom's recipe for popcorn balls in a 12+ year old "Kraft Kitchens & NHL Moms Recipes" calendar.

Mad props out to Lisa over at Lisa's Lounge for this absolutely KILLER find: More to Mathieu (http://lisashockeylounge.blogspot.com/2009/09/more-to-mathieu.html)


I'm almost out of Shreddies and my Canadian grocery shopping connection is on maternity leave until January¹, so I'll have to wait awhile so that I can make them as authentically as possible. I hear Life cereal can substitute for Shreddies in a pinch, but I'll wait for the real stuff.


¹Before taking a few months off to have a baby (any day now, come on Emma!), my friend Christina usually went to Edmonton on business once a month, and she'd pick up all my needed Canadian grocery items. Kraft Dinner, Shreddies, Mr Big bars, mayonnaise... you know, the good stuff. I wonder if the person going in her stead can pick up a box for me. I guess there is always http://www.canadianfavourites.com/aboutus.asp

Labels: news-notes

Oh. Wow. Really, that is all I can muster. Mathieu is blogging. Sweet Mother Mary, Matheiu is blogging!

Check out his first installment: Long Drive, Short Camp (http://blogs.canucks.com/?p=5109)

Some highlights included him talking about his first experiences with the Internet (yes, there is a "he's old" joke in there somewhere), and his family's adventures in relocating to Vancouver. (Six hours from SoCal to Sacramento? Dude, you were so totally speeding.)

I really, really hope he keeps it up. He's insightful, honest, and entertaining, so he should have some gems. And hey, if he gets comfortable with the whole blogging thing, he can conquer Twitter next. Can't let Martin Havlat, Donald Brashear and Mike Green have all the fun.


Side note: I drove from the Bay Area to Vancouver once, and it was trying. We didn't even have a car full of kids! I imagine some parts of Hell resemble Highway 5 in California.

Side note, part 2: How many fueling stops does it take to drive a Suburban that many miles? And I hope someone warned him about the you-can't-pump-your-own-gas thing in Oregon. We had warning, and it was still weird.

Labels: news-notes

The Vancouver Canucks have some videos of Mathieu interviews up on their site.



and...




P.S. Mathieu's got great legs.

Labels: news-notes

I haven't updated anything recently. Sorry. Been lazy.

I did write a "getting to know" Mathieu Schneider post for Canucks Hockey Blog: Guest Post: More on the man they call Schnieds. Wow, that's an old picture J.J. added to it. I think I need to head up to Vancouver and get a new one. =)

Thanks for invitation to write that, J.J. Hope Canucks fans enjoy Mathieu.

Labels: news-notes

The old jokes start early. In the "Better Know a Newbie," the thing to know about Mathieu is that he is good on the power play and he's old. How old is he?

"Not like Methuselah old, but like 'his junior hockey team doesn't even exist anymore,' old."

True. They don't exist anymore. And as I realized in June, he was drafted before Sidney Crosby was even born. Yup. He's old.

The true gift of that piece? This wicked awesome compilation of Mathieu goals. As Mike Halford mentions, this is "quite possibly the world's only Mathieu Schneider mix tape." And I didn't even have anything to do with it.

Labels: news-notes

Woo hoo! I'm alive! And it is back to reasonable temperatures in the Bay Area. And Mathieu is a Canuck. All is right with the world. As promised, here is some reaction, delayed as it may be:

First off, I present "New Canuck Mathieu Schneider: Vancouver's the only place to be," from the Province. Mathieu was almost a Canuck last year, and apparently was very happy with that prospect and really wanted to be with them this year.

"I kind of handcuffed my agent, Pat Morris. I told him this is the place I wanted to be, and until we exhausted negotiations with Vancouver, we really didn't want to negotiate with anyone else. We never really took any offers from any other teams.

The deal is incentive laden, but the base is a significant $4 million less than he got last year, and apparently less than he was offered elsewhere. So says Mathieu:

"At this point in my career, it's not about making another million bucks. It's more about being in a situation where my family would be happy and I would be happy."

Not to mention making his number one fan very happy. As if I need another reason to love Vancouver. I'm planning a trip up now.


For some fan reaction, Nucks Misconduct has a "getting to know" post about the three new defenseman acquired on Friday (incidentally, they are three defenseman I happen to know a lot about). The take on Mathieu was, I thought, very fair. Take a look. And you know me, I can't shut up, so I added a comment.

Over at the fabulous Canucks Hockey Blog, mixed reaction. Alix, she formerly of the Humming Giraffe, "actually really kind of dig(s) the possible offensive loveliness that could come from our defence next season," while Richard had been kind of up in the air about it since the deal was made public last week. He does say, though, "Schneider is the puck mover we’ve been looking for." That's a start.


That's all I have for now. I'll keep looking. If things get quiet tonight at the Reference Desk (my first 7-10pm shift of the new semester), I'll dig up some more.

Labels: news-notes

Big news but where's the update? I'm I asleep at the wheel? Well, sort of. Massive headache and wicked ugly high temps in the Bay Area have zapped me of all energy (and most will to live, for that matter). Be assured, I'm working on it and will post news and reactions when I'm not hopped up on goof balls and it isn't 100+ degrees in a place with no air conditioning.

Labels: news-notes

In what is kind of anti-climatic, the Vancouver Canucks announced that they have signed Mathieu.

They have not announced terms, but 1 year, $1.55 million is being said by other sources.

ROAD TRIP!!

Labels: news-notes

Still nothing confirmed or officially announced, but it kind of being accepted in hockey circles that Mathieu will be a Canuck at the start of the season. A physical needs to be passed, and that may be the hold up. But even Canucks players are already welcoming their potential new teammate.

Young Canucks defenseman Alexander Edler had the following to say at an optional practice at UBC:

"I think from a guy like that you can learn a lot and that's good for me. I've been having great guys around me these years in Vancouver and a guy like him would help me a lot." (from 24 Hours Vancouver)

Labels: news-notes

Apparently, Team 1040 in Vancouver had TSN's Darren Dregar on the show, and he reports that Mathieu is seeking $1.5 for 1 year with the Canucks. (via Twitter)

I don't know how confirmed or true that is, but it seems pretty reasonable to me, especially considering he's coming off a $5+ million contract. I was afraid he was being unrealistic about how much teams would be willing to pay a 40 year old defenseman, not to mention one coming off of off-season surgery.

Labels: news-notes

And here I thought I'd wake up to find Mathieu on a team. But no. Still nothing.

But the story of him being close to a deal with Vancouver made the Puck Daddy's Puck Headlines yesterday with the following commentary:

"Sportsnet reports that the Vancouver Canucks are close to signing free-agent defenseman Mathieu Schneider(notes), partly because he's a strong veteran presence in the locker room but mostly because their power-play is ‘teh suck' as the kids used to say. [Canada.com]"

And while I'm thinking of it, I wrote up something about Mathieu and Vancouver last December: see the post "Vancouver?" Re-reading that, most everything still applies (though Sundin is probably gone). And the thing about kitchen sponges is moot, too. I finally remembered to buy some. Although, I just used the last one in the huge package I bought, so I guess that may still apply if I forget to pick some up this afternoon.

Labels: news-notes

The buzz in the hockey world is that Mathieu and Vancouver are close. More than close. Kind of like imminent. No confirmation from either camp, but the Canadian media is very confident a deal will be announced very soon. Most of the reports are coming from sports radio, so I'm not hearing the whole story. But I've got people listening for me. (It's good to have connections)

Be assured that we here at the Unofficial Mathieu Schneider Homepage are monitoring the situation and will post updates as they come in. That is, if I'm not in a meeting or otherwise being a productive employee. =)

Update: (2:20pm Pacific time) Still no word on any completion of a deal, but the Canucks are least have acknowledged interest, according to this article from The Province. From the comments in that article, plus the early reactions from Canucks blogs show a very mixed review from fans.

Labels: news-notes

All summer (and since last year, really), Vancouver has been one of the main teams rumored to be interested in Mathieu. That has really heated up in the last week. Its been all over blogs and rumor sites, but today it hit more "mainstream" media, with a report from Dan Murphy at Sportsnet that "Canucks close to signing Schneider." Seeing that Corey Schneider is already under contract with the team for another year, it isn't just a name confusion thing. =P

With training camp just about 2 weeks away, something better happen soon.

Labels: news-notes