dougieL

Tbh I'd be more heartbroken to see Quinn Hughes leave

Then maybe it's time to reconsider what to do with those two young superstars.

Exactly right. They play the early to mid part of the season as if they don't care whether they miss the playoffs, but then when they are officially eliminated, they play like hell to ensure they don't get a top 5 pick. All for the sake of "culture"...as if getting a top 5 pick would destroy the unassailable "culture" of this noble franchise

Nor does the team (and the fans) want to get fooled into thinking he's worth what it seems he wants.

Wow so no contract talks until after the season...

Instead of sitting down for contract talks, someone needs to sit him down and explain to him that when a player makes as much as he does (and will), they play a large part in the success/failure of the team.

Our prospect pool is probably bottom 10 in the league, we're nowhere close to contending for a Cup, and the only time we've made the playoffs since 2015 was in the Covid-shortened season despite spending near the cap almost every season. That's why.

But Bertuzzi wasn't in the lineup when they lost to CGY...and I think Cloutier was injured fairly early on in that series. WCE never really proved they could win.

Anyone else who looked at the photos a bit confused by the second and third ones?

I think this is a really interesting proposal, and it would be kind of fun to work through what it would incentivize. As others have mentioned, I'd like to see an on-ice cap be implemented for the playoffs. Off-hand, I think GMs would be much less hesitant to sign long-term contracts with huge cap hits. I'd imagine this would put a lot more power into the players' hands because there would theoretically be way more money available in the system. I suspect the players would like this, but the owners would probably not sign onto a CBA with this type of salary cap.

Would be hilarious if he didn't get traded and then has to go back to SJ and face his teammates after having said that

You can see Linden and Messier exchanging *very light* stick taps prior to 1:34:36, then someone coming and knocking Linden down. At the same time Messier is in the offensive zone, then circles back to the blue line / neutral zone toward Linden, who is clearly in some kind of distress. Just as the camera pans away, it's pretty clear that Linden is given another shot by Messier that the crowd did not like. Not sure how egregious that shot by Messier was, but I'm not sure any Canucks fan needs any more reason to dislike that absolute turd.

I think that was obvious the moment the trade was made.

https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/canucks-prolific-well-educated-quinn-hughes-captain Making a strong case for Quinn Hughes to eventually become captain of the Vancouver Canucks is easy. It’s as simple as looking at the foundation that allowed the dynamic and driven defenceman to build a remarkable resume predicated on performance, respect and an innate ability to address issues of the day in a smart and succinct way. How did this come to be? Well, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. His father, Jim Hughes, was a defenceman and captain at Providence College. The patriarch of a remarkable family with a strong sporting lineage has guided a trio of terrific, talented and well-adjusted sons to excellence in Quinn, Jack and Luke. Jim was also an assistant coach for the Boston Bruins and director of player development for the Toronto Maple Leafs. “I talk to him before every game,” Quinn said. “He’s my sounding board and has talked me off the ledge a couple of times for sure. We all talk to him and he helps big time to guide us.” Quinn was raised in the game. He became a rink rat and pined to play on any slab of frozen ice — even when he should have paid more attention to his studies. In elementary school in Toronto, an easily distracted Hughes was drawn by what was occurring outside the classroom window as his father and Jack were skating on a frozen baseball field. “It was the best thing ever. I was so jealous,” Hughes once said. His teachers must have wondered what was wrong with this kid. All he did was stare out the window at that makeshift rink before being allowed to skate during lunch. “I’m sure they weren’t wondering,” Hughes added with a laugh. “They knew.” Fast forward and Hughes and has beaten down the archaic knock that a young defenceman can’t flourish in a supposedly big man’s game. The franchise record-breaking, 23-year-old dynamo is one of the NHL’s young stars, but maintains an old-school admiration for the game. How do you not reward that? As much as the electric Elias Pettersson is the face of the franchise and deserves captaincy consideration, it’s Hughes who’s wired to be a willing conduit between the team and the outside world. That would allow Pettersson to keep piling up the points without worrying about pressure to dissect every win or loss before a sea of microphones. However, there’s a sensible side to Hughes that lends itself to the conversation when head coach Rick Tocchet will appoint a captain and when that may occur. “I’m still a young guy — I make mistakes,” Hughes said in a revealing year-end interview. “And everybody in here (locker room) definitely knows I’m still learning and definitely don’t have all the answers. “It’s been a tough year, to be honest. When you think of everything that has gone down, it’s tough to keep your emotions level.” Then again, the possibility of leading the charge as the guy with the ‘C’ isn’t lost on him. “To be a captain is an extraordinary honour,” said Hughes. “It’s really special, but to be honest, it’s not my main focus. Getting an ‘A’ (alternate) wasn’t my main focus either, and when they told me after the (All-Star Game) break that I was getting one, I was happy. “I have a lot of things on my mind. I want to be in the playoffs and keep taking my game to another level. They don’t need to do it (captaincy) soon. If they give it a year or two year, or whenever they decide to do it, I don’t think anybody feels pressure in here, or that they need to do something.” It’s not just that Hughes is setting a high performance bar by rewriting his records for single-season excellence by a Canuck defender, or that he placed second last season to Erik Karlsson in NHL assists (69) and points (76) to earn the respect of teammates. It’s how he goes about his business. He plays fast. He plays mega minutes. He plays hurt. He plays sick. He’s a special-teams staple. All that earns respect in the room, whether a teammate is 23 years old or 33. And so does the drive to advance his game, even after another career season. That kind of bravado resonates. “I’m just as good as anyone right now, but next year I could start terrible if I have a bad summer,” said Hughes. “So many defencemen in the league are good and having extraordinary years and it’s always changing. “I think a lot of it is that if you’re really an elite defenceman, you have to be competing and at least be in the playoffs. That hasn’t been something I can say. I don’t think this is the peak for me at all. I feel hungry right now, more hungry than usual. “The last couple of seasons, I was excited to get home but I feel motivated. Last year, was my first full season after COVID and I was probably tired at the end.” Exhaustion can lead to frustration of missing the playoffs and Hughes showed a rare side last season in a bizarre incident. On April 6 against Chicago, he was assessed a third-period roughing minor for putting Areas Athanasiou in a headlock. Canucks defenceman Kyle Burroughs had drilled Blackhawks forward Lukas Reichel into the bench and Athanasiou rushed to his teammate’s defence by grabbing the nearest player, thinking it was the guy who nailed Reichel. It was Hughes. “I don’t know what I was doing — it’s been a long season and I was just frustrated,” said Hughes. “I got into a couple of fights when I was young, and if you asked my parents, they wouldn’t be surprised by that. “I’m not a tough guy by any means and I don’t want to do that a lot.” Maybe not. But nobody was complaining in the room. They were applauding. It was the same story during an edgy Feb. 14 practice where Tocchet was looking or an increased pace and battle level in a mini 2-on-2 scrimmage. He wasn’t expecting how Hughes would step up. Hughes got his back up in a brief but testy shoving match with hulking winger Dakota Joshua to end the practice on a fitting note. “I’m a leader now (alternate captain) and I want everybody to get better,” said Hughes. “I need him (Joshua) to be the best he can be. And I need to push myself and other guys. We’re not getting enough and that’s why we’re not in the playoffs.” Said Joshua: “He’s making sure everybody is pulling on the rope and I loved seeing him get fired up like that. We could use more of that every day around here.” Sounds like captain material.

I mean...having a team (Cup finalists or not) sign him at 1x2.25m doesn't prove you right for saying he wasn't a problem at 7.26m for 4 more years.

Yeah a full 1x2.25m worth of value This was honestly kind of a strange comment...

Haha somebody should. I obviously have no issue whatsoever with anyone who liked this trade back then (after all, trades of this magnitude are incredibly unpredictable), but I'm not so on board with those who insulted and ridiculed those who did not.

Saw this in one of the replies

I think ultimately it was Benning who refused to destroy the Loui Erickson timeline...he extended it to 2027 with this trade, while Allvin (who basically had no choice because of how much OEL sucked) was forced to extend it to 2031 with the buyout.

Your foresight seems to function more accurately than some people's hindsight, who STILL rate OEL.

I really doubt Hronek will come in below 7. Remember too that his next contract will start right when the big cap increase is projected to take place. Allvin was incredibly disingenuous when he said Hronek had "two years of cost control".

"I just want the best chance to get to the best team." Maybe it's a translation issue, but I'm not sure I've ever heard a player say something like this while still under contract (for 4 more years, no less) with a team. Would make for a fairly awkward situation if he returned to SJ having not been traded this offseason, even though they are rebuilding Off the top of my head, I guess Luongo's "my contract sucks" is kind of the only one that comes close. Again, maybe it just comes across like that because of the translation.

Very good questions. Yes and yes

Don't forget that we're only 2 years into the decade-long period of OEL being deadweight on our books.

Don't feel too bad. There are people who still think OEL is a more well-rounded player than Hughes, or that OEL was not a problem this past season, going so far as to ridicule someone who suggested the prospect of an OEL buyout