Wolfgang Durst

for the record: I am out, boyz.

respect your opinion on Johnson. Let's watch this video and pay close attention to the first goal in the video at 0.30 minutes into the video. I can tell you: This is NHL like, this is how the best NHL wingers score goals in the NHL, this is Kirill Kaprizov like. This move from Johnson can't be defended even the best D-Man in the NHL would struggle to defend this move. Only thing they can do is draw a interference penalty if they anticipate Johnson's move early and position themselves more to the outside.

Looks like a goof. ... lots of goofs here.

I fully get that some of you posters don't like Drance. That's O.K, but the Drance bashing here is even worse than the Benning bashing. Bashing all over the place ..... I am not bashing. I am contributing by sharing news and commenting on news. Have some fun with your bashing..

sorry but can't see Schmidt's name in Bennings statement.... Do you see Schmidt's name in Benning's statement?

would love to see Loui being traded to BUF.

I recommend that you read the tweet from Drance once again. It's a fact that Benning informed Schmidt's camp. You just can't discount that Jim informed Schmidt's camp even if you don't like it. Canucks have to clear cap space and therefore Schmidt needs to go. It's that simple.

not surprised. Canucks try to trade him in order to clear cap space.

Would you feel comfortable to have Juolevi or Hughes on the top pairing for next season? Despite Edler losing a step he is still a veteran presence on the back - end who plays a physical game. I would prefer to re-sign Edler on a cheap 1 year contract.

Do you have any insider information ? Do you already know that Canucks will trade the 9oa pick to BUF to land Reinhart?

Stars would like to re-sign Oleksiak: The Stars would like to re-sign pending UFA defenseman Jamie Oleksiak. Could they get Oleksiak re-signed for $3.5 million a year? If they lose Oleksiak, other potential free agent defensemen include Ryan Murray, Derek Forbort, Cody Ceci, Erik Gustafsson and Mike Reilly. Hurricanes love Hakanpaa - i assume they will re-.sign him as well. The following is a quote from Carolina's GM once Hakanpaa was acquired in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks: "Jani is a big, physical defenseman," said Waddell. "As a right-shot, he will be an ideal partner for an offensive-minded, left-handed blueliner."

not sure if Anaheim is willing to send the package to BUF Kevin Adams envisions for Jack Eichel: wouldn't make sense for Anaheim to send the 3oa pick + Zegras + other prospects for Jack.

have seen mock drafts having Scott Morrow and Aleksi Heimosalmi in the 2nd round. With a little bit of luck one of them is going to fall to the Canucks pick in the 2nd round. Obviously Canucks need a RHD in this offseason not in 4 years from now. Just look how long it will take Jett Woo to arrive at the NHL. Woo was drafted by the Canucks in the 2nd round with the 37 pick in the 2018 draft. He needs another season in the AHL with Abbotsford. That means a development time of 4 years.

- L.A. Kings - Colorado Avalanche - Philadelphia Flyers. Likelyhood in this order, assuming that Seth Jones joins the Chicago Blackhawks. Flyers need a top - pairing D-Man therefore Schmidt would not be the their first option. Schmidt can play on their second pairing with Myers tho. Canucks might have to retain Salary, because Flyers can't take on Schmidt's full cap hit.

is confirmed :

I think it's very likely that Guenther will fall to 9 because he is a pure complimentary player - a pure winger- whereas a player like Johnson can play centre and wing, has higher upside than Guenther and is a better playmaker than Guenther. Therefore I expect that Johnson will be gone once Canucks pick at 9. Kent Johnson to San Jose Sharks at 7 that would make a lot of sense. L.A. might take the best D-Man available at 8 - either if it's Clarke, Edvinsson or Hughes which leaves Guenther for VAN. Would be happy with Guenther.

Love your proposals. Canucks Defense is exactly the area which needs to be improved. Just to give you a feel for what the asking price for a player like Seth Jones is: Potential trade packages for four of the ‘leading candidate’ for Jones. Chicago Blackhawks – Philipp Kurashev, Nicolas Beaudin, Lukas Reichel, and a 2022 first-round pick. Colorado Avalanche – Tyson Jost, Sampo Ranta, Justin Barron and a 2021 first-round pick. Los Angeles Kings – Adrian Kempe, Akil Thomas, Tobias Bjornfot and a lottery protected 2022 first-round pick. Philadelphia Flyers – Philippe Myers, Zayde Wisdom, Morgan Frost and a 2021 first-round pick. The base is a 1st round pick accompanied with three prospects / young players. In case of the L.A Kings they would have to throw in 2 young players who were drafted in the first round with Kempe and Bjornfot and a lottery protected 2022 first round pick. That's a steep price.

Thank you very much for opening this thread. Thank you very much for your opening statement. Let's take a look back: Canucks lost two right handed D-Men in Tanev and Stecher and Jim Benning probably tried to land Tyson Barrie (that's an assumption - to be fair). Barrie of course joined the Oilers because he knew he would get way more time on the PP than in VAN. Option A find a replacement for the right side was no longer available. I really can't understand that Jim Benning added a LHD in Schmidt after losing two right handed D-Men. One of the reasons why Schmidt had a down year was that he played not on his natural side, the left side. Not to mention that Schmidt's cap hit with 5.950.000 US-$ is massive, especially in the Canucks situatiion. Jim Benning mentioned several times that he wants the Canucks to get bigger and stronger. Nevertheless he added a player like Schmidt with his 6.0 ft. To sum it up: Schmidt was not a fit when the Canucks signed him. He was clearly the wrong player. According to Pagnotta's note "things haven't worked out for Schmidt in VAN" and that's the reason why Jim Benning is trying to trade Schmidt and of course to clear some cap space. I do not agree with your statement that Canucks do not have the assets to go after Seth Jones. Canucks have the assets (1st round pick, prospects like Podkolzin, Hoglander). Canucks can't go after Seth Jones because they don't have the cap space because of signings like Schmidt, Roussel, Beagle, Ferland... and so on. That's the truth. I think the two most important things for Jim and his staff going forward are- 1. make sure that you add the right players to the team !! - no Gudbranson's , no Schmidt's .... and of course no Holtby's ... 2. make sure that you make your due diligence on prospects (why isn't Kole Lind still not on the Canucks team, why isn't Gadjovich still not on the Canucks team). Both were 2nd round picks. You have to nail those if you want to become a playoff team.

B.C. definitely the centre of the heat wave. Washington and Oregon also affected but way less than B.C. Hope the weather is going to change to the better in a couple of days.

That's obivously catch 22: - the blackhawks try to clear some cap in order to be able to sign either Seth Jones or Dougie Hamilton - the Oilers can't take on Keith $ 5.5 million cap hit because they have to re-sign Larsson and Barrie - the solution: Hawks have to retain salary to make this deal happen. Luke Fox of Sportsnet: Duncan Keith carries a $5.5 million salary cap hit for two more years but only salaries of $2.1 million and $1.5 million. The Seattle Kraken could benefit from Keith’s experience, but so could the Edmonton Oilers. Could the Oilers convince the Chicago Blackhawks to retain some salary and/or take the contract of goaltender Mikko Koskinen ($4.5 million)? Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic: There is a mutual interest between the Edmonton Oilers and Blackhawks Duncan Keith. A source said that it has to be for ‘the right price and under the right circumstances’ for the Oilers. The soon-to-be 38-year old would likely be slotted on their second pairing. A source said the Oilers want the Blackhawks to retain salary or take a bad contract. James Neal has two years left at $5.75 million is an option (he’s also a buyout option). Zack Kassian has three years left on his deal at $3.2 million per and could be a candidate. The Blackhawks could be looking for a veteran goaltender but it’s unlikely they’d want Mikko Koskinen. If the Blackhawks retain salary, the Oilers would likely then send a young player. Defenseman Caleb Jones carries an $850,000 cap hit and wouldn’t be enough to even out the money. The Oilers can’t take on all of Keith’s cap hit (without moving salary) as it would impede their ability to re-sign Adam Larsson or Tyson Barrie, and they’ll need to give Darnell Nurse a raise from his $5.6 million the following year. Oilers GM Ken Holland is expected to meet with defenseman Oscar Klefbom and his agent this week. He had surgery back in March and his status remains in question. It may take until the fall till they have a better understanding of his status. They could LTIR his $4.167 million salary if he can’t go. The Oilers would prefer to trade for Keith after the expansion draft. If they trade for him before, they would have wait to re-sign Larsson or Tyson Barrie. Keith would have to be protected for the expansion draft as he has a no-movement clause.

Thanks for your work and passion. First of all I would like to mention that some scouting reports explicitly state that Clarke's defensive game is a work in progress. GM's try to envision what player a prospect can become in 2-3 years from now based on the scouting reports from their scouts. I guarantee you that almost every prospect in this years draft has its weaknesses / areas that need improvement. More important is: 1. Can this specific weakness / some weaknesses be resolved with continued training / development? 2. Is the prospect well aware of the areas that need improvement? 3. Does the prospect have the work ethic and the stamina to work on these areas continuously? In this regard I really like Kent Johnson. His coach said about Kent Johnson that he is the most improved player on the University of Michigan team once the season 2020/2021 wrapped up. He worked on his skating with a special coach to get better in this area. If I remember correctly Jim Benning said about Joni Jurmo's defensive game that this is an area which needs improvement and that it can be improved with proper and continous training.

1. The correct name is Wallstedt not Walkstadt. 2. DiPietro for a young top D man maybe in another universe but not the NHL.

Munich hosts the quarterfinal Belgium - Italy tonight. Great weather conditions with about 25 degrees , blue sky and sunny. Lots of soccer fans from Belgium in the Munich City Centre enjoying the tasty munich beer. Quarterfinal will be played in "Allianz Arena" (capacity : 75.024) the soccer stadium in the north of Munich located directly next to the highway ...

DeBrusk = Jake Virtanen 2.0. Good luck.

indeed one of the best moves from Sakic.