Father Ryan

He had plenty of time. Virtanen, Juolevi...remember those mistakes? Try having Sergachev instead of Juolevi. Makes our back end a whole lot better. In Virt's draft, there's not a lot of D talent except Tony Deangelo, and he took several years to figure it out. Maybe Dylan Larkin instead? That solves our 3C problem quite nicely. Nah, Benning had plenty of time...just not plenty of talent

This guy's value just went up a lot, with the vacancy left by our dearly departed OEL. I fully expected next year's L side to be Hughes, OEL and Wolanin, with Hirose starting in Abbotsford. Well...there is an open slot. I'm not saying either Hirose or Wolanin are true top 4 players, but the chance is there for him.

No, no and by the way...no. Old, slow, does not fit with the team. Provides some toughness, but teammates would have to catch the guy before he left the ice...doubt Lucic can catch up to pretty much anything on skates these days. Now...when he first left Boston, hell yes. But not now

I chose a few, but honestly...it would be easier to say who I wouldn't cheer for...Boston, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and Vegas. There is no team I would cheer for, out of Boston, in any sports...except when the Red Sox play the Yankees

This is EP40's team now...well, he and Hughes. Miller is filling the #2 center role, and $8M is too much for that. I would have said the same thing for Horvat, BTW. Hopefully, we can find a trade partner for him soon. I'm not expecting this TDL...though that would be great. For that salary, we will likely have to accept a junk contract back, among the return. Don't know which team, but a potential offer of Miller + Rathbone, with a return of a decent C, a junk contract and a B+ defense prospect. Without retaining, I seriously doubt we could ask for a pick higher than a 3rd-4th, depending on where the team is in draft order.

Sure, they're close. Only about 5 players away. Unfortunately, all 5 are defensemen.

Frankly, I don't particularly care for JTM. Career year last year, yeah he's been scoring at a good pace this year, and a couple other decent years. But...lazy, p*** poor defensively, big enough to take the body but rarely does (a fault Bo shares to a point), and quick to point the finger (or run his mouth). I've more or less liked what the new management team has done until they resigned him, instead of Bo. Now we have an overpriced winger no one will realistically trade for, a center and captain that will bring a high price at the TD, and an attitude that could drive away Hughes and EP40. Rutherford, you've possibly signed your retirement contract with this deal. Trade JTM...get what you can...right now I'd take a 2nd and a decent prospect to get rid of him, instead of the 1st, a current good player, an A+ prospect and maybe a lower round pick like could have been at the last TD. Maybe have to sell cheap, because...well, the player isn't as good as he looks.

None of the above, Jan. For me: Stays - Petersson, Kuzmenko, Michaev, Horvat, Aman, Lazar, Joshua, Podkolzin (forwards) Hughes, Schenn, Bear, Burroughs (Dmen) in goal is set for now, can't see Demko struggling all year...unless there is an undisclosed injury, in which case someone in management needs their head examined (even more). Goes - Miller, Garland, Pearson, Boeser (forwards) OEL, Myers, Rathbone, Stillman. (Dmen) jury is still out on Dermott. Poolman needs to follow Ferland into LTIR retirement. I'm not a GM, so not going to say HOW to get rid of the aforementioned players. Garland is likely the only one that could be somewhat easily moved, along with Rathbone. If the return was right, I might even be convinced to move Hughes...though it would take one hell of an offer to do it. I'm not saying tank, but if clearing the house of the players that are ineffective or utterly overpaid (looking at you, Miller) causes the team to sink, so be it. It's about time some management has the brass ones to tell the owners to forget about playoff $$ for a few years until a competitive team can be built for the long term. Don't even think to tell me that 2 playoff games will make up the difference from 41 home games with lousy attendance.

Rarely are there players that basically, no one could afford to trade for. Seider is one of them. Big, physical, offensively talented, young, etc and et al. Hughes, +1st round, and Podz might get the trick turned...but if I were in Yzerman's shoes, nah.

First Concert: Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show Last Concert: Twenty one Pilots Best Concert: David Bowie (in Vancouver, in 1986...I think. Could've been 1985) Worst Concert: Foreigner (in 2000. Lou Gramm's voice was gone but too stubborn to admit it) Loudest Concert: Kiss (cracked the concrete floor of the coliseum) Seen the Most: Rush Most Surprising: David Bowie (had no idea Peter Frampton was playing lead guitar for him on that tour) Next Concert: unknown Wish I Could Have Seen: Oh lord...um...Boston, Elton John, The Guess Who (but only back when Burton and Randy were with them), Eagles, Meatloaf. You really want me to name them all?

Oh please do this. I was watching the picks go down, and getting more excited with each pick, knowing Hague was available and we needed D in the worst way. Then Benning drafts Kole Lind. WHAT!!! Isn't he an RFA? Couldn't we offer sheet him with something somewhat reasonable, but still hamstring Vegas? Just asking. This is a Dman we could really use. @Provost big time I'd offer Rathbone + for Hague.

Miller may be the better offensive talent and a pretty damn good center, but he will also bring a higher return (I think). I know loyalty to a player shouldn't figure in highly in whether to keep a player or not, but it does have purpose and value. Other players, maybe looking for security (they've got a ring already, for example, and now are married with kids). A team known to provide some loyalty could be good advertising and maybe (hah!) get 200-300K off on a contract. Take...Drew Doughty, for example. He's got his rings...his pedigree is established...he knows his days as a #1 pairing are close to being over. Two other teams come along with offers. One is "well, we'd like you to mentor the young D" but it's known they are a "money ball" type of team. They offer a 3yr, 7M/yrly contract. The other team offers the same 3yr, but at 6.25. Team B is well known for treating players right, mentoring them into their futures after hockey. Doughty has made his $$ and rings. Maybe its time to settle down. What does this have to do with Bo? He's been here through his entire career. I'm not saying he's going to settle for a "hometown" discount...but keeping him into what promises to be a good several year run shows loyalty. Miller doesn't have the time invested here that Bo does. I'll keep Bo, thank you very much. Without Miller, I could see a 6 x 6.5 for Bo, with only the last year being a potential non-payoff year.

When I moved to Canada in the summer of 1975, all I knew of hockey was watching a few minutes of a game that Bobby Orr was in. That year, with CBC being about the only channel I could get, I watched Montreal several times. I was blown away by this player, streaking down the right wing and unleashing shots that were in the net sometimes before the goalie could react. That player was Guy Lafleur. Though I became a die hard Canucks fan, I would cheer for Lafleur in any other game than Vancouver. He was the Joe Montana before Brady, the Wilt Chamberlin before Kareem Abdul Jabbar. It took a player the caliber of Gretsky to pass him. RIP Monsieur Lafleur...RIP

At this time, no I don't think we have any "superstars" in our lineup. Hughes, Petersson and Demko are the closest; Miller is too but I don't consider him part of the "core" going forward. A superstar should be in constant consideration for individual awards. Hughes is stuck behind the foursome of Fox, Makar, Josi and Hedman...and I don't see him breaking into that foursome anytime soon. So, a star, yes...but not superstar. Petersson is several pounds and some maturity away. Demko is closest, he should be getting some Vezina votes this year, and will likely get stronger consideration once we are a consistent playoff team. Just ask some of the VGK players about him...they likely are gonna hold their fingers in a cross at you. Still, though, Demko still has guys like Vasilevshiy ahead of him. I will always be a die hard fan, but I could see my expectations for next year being damped down a lot. Too many cap issues, too many 5-6 Dmen on the team (like, everyone not named Hughes), not enough speed in the few big guys we have and not enough pounds on the few more skilled guys. I just hope Allvin and his team will convince the owners of this and get a couple of years of patience until some of the bad contracts either expire or can realistically be disposed of.

I hear ya, but...take a look at the schedule. They could very easily lose the next 4 in a row. Then there is 3 games against LV. This year, I don't think they will go on such a run. Demko is worn out and I have no confidence in Halak remembering his game of a few years ago.

Yep, sure should have. Just another decision (or lack of) from prior management that proved to be woeful. Hogs, with a playoff run in Utica, could have gained some really good "crunch time" lessons and brought them with him this year. Of course, without those decisions, we would still have Benning and Green...hmm

Ok, Hamonic out, Dermott in +1.5M in cap savings, and without\ really costing us anything Motte out, Richardson in +.425M in cap savings and a 4th round pick Not trading someone in a rushed deal. I choose to look at it this way. Dermott is 6yrs younger, is filling in the bottom LHD role instead of Hunt (thank God); he may not have as much "snarl" as Hamonic but he is much faster and has better edgework. Plus, he actually wants to be here. The other plus, and though this is hearsay, Hamonic was not liked AT ALL in the locker room. Minor pluses overall for this set of trades, especially the cap savings. Motte out, Richardson in. Everyone keeps talking about "well, he was our best PK player". Um...anyone care to look at the stats and see where we are, league wide, in PK? Yeah, last. So saying Motte was our best PK is kinda like saying he's the best of a bad lot. Not a real good endorsement. Richardson will definitely be a minus in offense, no question. He won't be a minus in: drive, IQ, faceoffs...you know, ability to contribute in limited minutes, and PK. And we have a 4th round pick. Big whoop, yeah I know...but better something than nothing...anyone remember Benning? So now we can absorb Halak's bonuses better next year. That's a win right there. And unless he does a great imitation of Terry Sawchuk, he's not going to get the bonus for save percentage. Look, I know we want what we want, and we want it now. However, its gonna take JR, Allvin and company a little time to dig out of the steaming pile of s*** Benning left them. I'll take a bunch of little pluses over time, instead of some big swings and misses.

Which creates the discussion of who do we keep? Miller, Boeser or Horvat? For cap reasons, we can keep only two of the three. Just me, but I keep Miller over either one of the other two guys. I've got no qualms with signing Miller to a 4-5 year deal...maybe 6 at the very most. No more than that. And this may be a little sacrilegious, but I'm keeping Boeser over Bo. I know this creates a center vacancy, but...I don't like the arc Bo seems to be entering here. His production is slipping a little, and he just doesn't seem to be as engaged lately. He's got time to put it back together, but... Of course, just as soon as we trade either BB or BH, they go on a tear somewhere else. That would be consistent with the luck of the 'Nucks.

That was only the teams listed. Calgary and Edmonton don't count in that; they are not currently in the wild card standings

If you don't think too much about HOW the team is playing, and just look at a few things here, it's encouraging. NO team in front of them has played as many road games as Vancouver (we've played 28...Anaheim is closest with 26). The only two teams that have winning road records, other than us, are the two that are actually in the playoff positions. Only Dallas has a better record over the last ten games. The next 7 games are going to tell the difference. 3 at home, 2 of which should be winnable (Anaheim, Seattle), then 4 on the road, two of which could be winnable (NYI and NJ). If...IF...we can go, say, 4-2-1 over that seven, then I'd give us a pretty good shot. Anything less than 3-4, and we are out.

Good ol' Dangle is gonna have a complete meltdown over this game! Think I'll watch it...with the volume all the way down. I've already got hearing loss from too many concerts!

At this point, I think it's safe to say the playoffs are a pipe dream. With that said, let Rathbone stay in Abby and get #1 playing time, instead of the 3rd pairing time here. I'd rather see if Burroughs is worth keeping beyond this year.

Me as a GM looking at this list. Hamonic - pass; he would cost an asset and likely not provide more than 50 games total. And that's if he would even report. His preference for Western Canada leaves Calgary as the best option...and they likely would say "no". Pearson - I'd be mildly interested, but the deal would have to be spiced up a little. Alone, maybe a 5th. Maybe Poolman - hard pass. For what he provides, I can get that a couple of weeks after the start of Free Agent season, and probably for not much above league minimum Halak - IF he waives, a 3rd Chiasson - TDL...maybe a 7th. This summer...no more than a PTO Miller - I'd be jumping up and down, until I realized the cost would be likely my best D prospect, a good C prospect and this year's 1st, at least. Likely would be my best young D already playing. I'd have to think on that, real hard Boeser - I'll include him in the speculation. I'd open with a 3rd + 2nd best D prospect and a B+ wing prospect. Might get bargained up in one of those three, but not two of them. He really hasn't shown any serious consistency since his rookie year, and looks to be becoming "injury prone" Garland - Bargaining starts with a 2nd, +either A- wing or D prospect. Not sure I'd part with three players there.

I wonder how much it would take to pry Nicholas Hague away from Vegas? One of Benning's glaring drafting mistakes was taking Kole Lind one pick in front of Hague

I met most of the band, had several drinks with Tommy (the drummer). Was living in New West at the time (1980-83). They were big time in high school for me