After this upcoming season, the only NHL d-men under contract will be Hughes, Hronek and Soucey (assuming Hronek gets re-signed, but I don't see how we don't given the assets we gave up for him).
Half of the defence core is up for grabs next season. It's up to Woo, Juulsen, Johansson, McWard, Brisebois and Hirose to show that they can take those spots. If at least 3 of these 6 guys pan out and can be NHL regulars - that would be amazing. It would be huge sign of improvement in player development and provide the Canucks a ton of cap flexibility moving forward, especially with the dreaded OEL buyout kicking in and Petey having to be re-signed.
Is it bad for me to hope for an injury or two during the season ? It would be an opportunity to ease some of these guys in and see what they can do.