I can’t help but wonder what kind of an impact last night’s win over the Colorado Avalanche has on the Canucks plans at the trade deadline. It sounds silly, but based on ownerships steadfast belief in the Canucks as a playoff team, it’s not hard to see them pointing to this victory as proof they can turn things around.

The Canucks have a 4.2% chance of making the playoffs, according to www.SportsClubStats.com. If the writing isn’t already on the wall, I’m not sure what exactly they’re waiting to see.

Canucks fans everywhere sighed in unison upon seeing Vrbata hobbled over with a lower-body injury in the third period of last night’s game against the Avalanche. It’s just so perfectly Canucks. Vrbata had to leave that game not long after and never returned.

The play looks harmless enough, but knees and ankles are often seriously injured on the most innocent looking plays. Wouldn’t surprise me if this cost Vrbata the remainder of the season, or if he returned next game.

Depending on the severity of the injury, this could spell the end of trade talks for the Czech volume shooter. Although I would point to the Zbynek Michalek trade of last season as proof a trade could happen. Michalek was in the process of returning from a season-threatening concussion before the Coyotes landed a solid prospect in Maxim Letunov for him.

I can’t remember the last time it was this quiet going into the final week before the trade deadline. The false-parity and Canadian dollar are teaming up to turn this into one of the quietest deadline periods in recent memory. It’s agonizing for those of us who cover the game.

Wonder what effect – if any – the Matthias deal to Colorado has on the market. Matthias was having a subpar season and the Leafs were still able to land a fourth round pick for his services. Have to think the bonus structuring in his contract helped the Leafs trade Matthias. The actual money value left on Matthias’ contract is almost non-existent. 

Vrbata wasn’t the only Canuck felled by injuries on Sunday. Derek Dorsett was forced to leave in the third period, with an injury of his own and never returned. Can’t even pinpoint the exact play where he hurt himself, so who knows how long he’s out. While we’re on the topic, who cares?

The Canucks value having a face puncher type of player to insulate and protect some of their young forwards. Does Dorsett’s injury facilitate the return of Brandon Prust? It would make sense on a few levels. Prust is essentially Dorsett-light at this stage of his career. At the same time, Prust can’t really skate anymore.

I could do without a Prust reunion tour personally, but perhaps the Canucks use this as an opportunity to showcase him one last time and try to make a trade happen.

If the best offer the Jets can get for Andrew Ladd is a first and a prospect, don’t expect much for Vrbata. The thing to remember is that the kind of team looking to acquire Ladd will likely be picking at the end of the first. These teams don’t usually have high-end prospects, either. Hate to see the Jets get better now that they’re in the Western Conference, but much of what the Canucks can expect to land for Vrbata will hinge on this deal. So really, you want the Jets to get a healthy return here.