Photo Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin/USA TODAY Sports

Many words were spoken Monday, but very little was said as
the Vancouver Canucks cleaned out their lockers, conducted exit interviews and
met with the media one last time before heading their separate ways for the
summer.

Outside
of injury updates from some and confirmation of plans to play at the upcoming
World Hockey championship from others, there was little to no news to come out
of Monday’s availability at Rogers Arena. Nor was any expected. Players once
again expressed disappointment in the way the season slipped away from them and
those asked pledged the party line about paying a price now for a brighter
future.

Two
players who almost certainly won’t be part of that future – Chris Higgins and
Yannick Weber – were among the more outspoken on the day. While neither took
direct aim at the hockey club with inflammatory comments, both spoke freely of
the disappointments they endured this season being placed on waivers and basically
being told their services were no longer wanted or needed by the Canucks.

A year
ago, Weber breathed late-season life into the Canucks power play with his big
right-handed shot from the point and finished the year with 11 goals. He felt
he was part of the organization’s plans for this season, but that was
hardly the case. A season ago, he dressed for 65 games and all six of the Canucks
playoff contests with Calgary last spring. This time around he got into 45 games, didn’t score and chipped in with just seven assists.

“It was very frustrating,” Weber
said. “I think last year, I really showed what I’m capable of. Going into the off-season
I was really looking forward to re-signing here and being a part of it. It was
quite an ugly summer with a lot of back and forth. Last year opened a lot of
doors for me, but I wanted to be loyal and stay here. We had one of the best
power plays in the league and Dan (Hamhuis) and I were playing really good
hockey and I thought that was going to keep going. So I decided to stay here
and take this opportunity and go with it.”

Weber’s not sure where things got
off track for him, but when he showed up for training camp in Prince George
last September, the writing was on the wall.

“On the first day of camp, when
they say you’re number seven, it’s kind of frustrating,” he explains of being
passed on the depth chart by newcomes Matt Bartkowski and Ben Hutton. “You go from
being a top four to being the seventh defenseman over the summer without
anything happening. It was a bit of a struggle from the start and not what I
expected. During the season, I didn’t have the same role as I had last season.
I was in and out and wasn’t really part of the future. It was tough for me to
play the way I did last year. There were parts during the season when I was
happy with my game, but it was never on a consistent basis and it was tough to
be consistent. Last year, after the season, everything sounded so positive from
here and I was really happy how things were going. Things were looking so
bright. I thought the season was going to keep going how it ended last year,
but unfortunately it didn’t so we’ll just move on from that.”

Weber, who made $1.5 million this
season, will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1st. His
immediate plans include representing Switzerland at the world championship in
Russia next month.

Higgins still has a year left on
his deal and is owed $2.5 million next season. At 32 (he’ll be 33 on July 2nd),
he’s a strong candidate to be bought out by the hockey club. A foot injury in the
preseason left him struggling to find his form and by mid-January the Canucks
had seen enough and dispatched him to Utica where he stayed until a late season
recall. In all, he played 33 NHL games this season averaging 13:46 of ice time, scoring three times and collecting four points.

Higgins accepted his fate and
handled his minor league assignment like the professional he is, but he doesn’t
want to go back to the farm next season. He believes he can still play in the
NHL – but understands it likely won’t be for the Canucks.

“Obviously it was disappointing
to get set down to Utica, but I had a lot of fun playing down there and it was
a great group of guys,” he says. “I was beyond surprised to get the call back
up here, but it was certainly nice to be a part of this team again and see my
family.”

It’s hard to know at this stage
of his career what Higgins can offer an NHL team. His offense has all but dried
up and he no longer resembles the relentless puck pursuer that he did upon his
arrival in Vancouver five years ago. Still, he feels strongly that there is a
spot in the game for him.

“I’ve got knocked down plenty of
times before,” he says when asked if he has anything to prove at this stage of
his career. “I’m not really worried about this being a wake-up call or really
dwelling on anything. For sure, I believe in myself. It was difficult to play
with everything that was going on this year with this team and this organization.”

Monday was a day for good byes
for all of the Canucks players. Many will be back next season, but it’s hard to
imagine a scenario where either Higgins or Weber is among them.