Radim Vrbata has heard the rumor that the Sedin twins' minds are psychically linked. He disagrees.
"I think they have one mind," Vrbata said. "It's different than anything I've ever experienced before. I played with Marty (Hanzal) for a long time so we knew each other's tendencies, but this is like a completely different level. These guys have played together their whole lives."
Vrbata hasn't wormed his way into the Henrik-Daniel mind meld just yet, but for a guy who spent the past five seasons playing in Arizona, it's hard to envision a more seamless transition to a new organization than the one Vrbata has engineered.
Although he's missed the past two games with a groin injury, Vrbata has six goals and 13 points in 15 games, playing alongside the Sedins. It was this opportunity, more than anything, that led him to sign a two-year, $10 million free-agent deal with the Canucks this offseason instead of accepting four-year deals from a couple of other teams that offered an annual average of slightly less than $5 million per season.
"It is exactly what I was hoping it would be," said Vrbata, who will be in the lineup when the Canucks host the Coyotes at Rogers Arena on Friday. "You never know if you'll have chemistry until you play with guys, but I thought we had a good training camp and a good preseason. Once the games started, we've been on the same page on and off the ice because we think the game the same way. Hopefully, it will continue."
Vrbata's departure from Arizona was frustrating for the 33-year-old Czech wing because he wanted to stay. Vrbata would not discuss specifics of the negotiations, but it is believed he would have stayed with the Coyotes if he could have landed a four-year deal without a raise -- at the same average annual salary of $3 million -- with a no-move, no-trade clause for at least part of the deal.
Mired in a messy and costly buyout of center Mike Ribeiro, and still only in Year 1 of the new ownership, the Coyotes could not afford that price despite Vrbata's past production.
"It's no secret I wanted to get it done even before the (2013-14) season started," said Vrbata, who had 20 goals last season. "I don't think I'm a good free-agent player. Some guys enjoy it; I don't enjoy it at all. It's on my mind too much."
Coyotes at Canucks
When: Friday, 8 p.m.
Where: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, B.C.
TV: FOX Sports Arizona
Records: Arizona 6-9-1; Vancouver 12-5-0
Injuries: Coyotes F David Moss (upper body) did not make the trip. Canucks F Tom Sestito (leg), F Zack Kassian (lower body) and D Luca Sbisa (lower body) are likely out.
Quick facts: The Canucks are the hottest team in the Pacific with an 8-2 record in their last 10 games. Balanced scoring has been a key. Fourteen players have at least two goals. By contrast, 10 Coyotes have at least two goals. ... C Nick Bonino has matched Ryan Kesler's production in Anaheim (both have 14 points) after an offseason deal in which the two centers were swapped. Vancouver also sent a third-round pick to the Ducks and got D Luca Sbisa and Anaheim's first-round and third-round picks in the 2014 NHL Draft (Nos. 24 and 85). ... Vancouver is tied for the NHL lead with 12 wins.
Vrbata freely admits he doesn't like change. The familiarity with the Phoenix area, his relationship with coach Dave Tippett and the fact that the Coyotes have three other Czech players (Hanzal, Zbynek Michalek and Martin Erat) created a desire to finish his career with the organization.
"That's probably why it took me a little longer to make a decision," he said.
Vrbata was talking with a couple of other teams, but he didn't think those situations would be a good fit for his game or his family. When the Canucks came calling, Vrbata liked the idea of playing with the Sedins, his family liked the idea of living in Vancouver where his agent, Rich Evans, is based, and Vrbata also liked the idea of a two-year deal in case the situation didn't work out.
"It's a big change from Arizona, weather-wise especially, but my wife likes it and my kids like it so it's really worked out well," said Vrbata, who lives in suburban Shaughnessy. "The Canucks organization helped with everything and really made it easy for us."
There are a number of reasons why Vancouver sits just one point off the NHL lead. The coaching change to Willie Desjardin has injected new life after a one-year disaster under John Tortorella. Free-agent signing Ryan Miller has stabilized the goaltending, and Nick Bonino has matched Ryan Kesler's offensive production since the two were the principles in an offseason deal that also brought the Canucks defenseman Luca Sbisa and draft picks from Anaheim.
To top it off, the Canucks are getting balanced scoring throughout the lineup. But much like Vrbata and Hanzal had been searching for a third wheel ever since Ray Whitney left the Coyotes, the Sedins were looking for a third wheel to complement them.
"I thought the chemistry could be good because they play a similar style to me," said Vrbata who is scoring on more than 11 percent of his shots for the sixth time in his career. "They don't try to overpower or beat guys one-on-one. They use skill and smarts and short, little passes to get open.
"Sometimes, they like to do their stuff on their own so you have to let them cycle the puck and leave them alone or you bring a defender to a place where they don't need another two bodies. It's really about reads when you play with them."
There was always a belief that Vrbata could flourish as long as he had a set-up man. He had 35 goals when Whitney was his linemate in 2011-12. Now he's playing with the most talented players he ever has.
"I think he's a good fit with the Sedins," Canucks general manager Jim Benning said on a conference call before the season, noting Vrbata's "real good hockey sense and hands" and his ability "to finish."
Vrbata admits that the first out-of-town score he checks every night after he gets home is the Coyotes'. He still texts his former teammates regularly, and he is looking forward to seeing them again Friday, although the two sides got the reunion out of the way when the Coyotes played in Vancouver during the preseason.
"I played there six seasons," Vrbata said. "You invest so much in a team when you're there that long, and going through all the things we went through brought us closer together.
"They've had a tough start, but knowing Tip and how hard he works and how hard his staff works, they will find a way to be competitive even though they have maybe a limited roster. I don't know if it will be good enough to make the playoffs because the West is so tough, but they always find a way to be right there."
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