Maddogy

There was an interview with his SHL coaching staff some weeks ago. Those concerns were mentioned, but the staff assured that Hogs is NHL ready (like all staffs do when they are interviewed about their players). I think Travis is likely to change the way the Horvat line is deployed at least at the start of the season. That line will have less of a role as the shutdown line. The Pettersson line will be matched up against other team's top line.

Our very own Brad Marchand. I guess that 2nd round draft pick was worth it.

My biased view of Tryamkin is that he is not that talented outside his size as well as his commensurate speed for his size. Rathbone and Juolevi seen to have higher hockey IQ as well as better vision than Tryamkin. Rathbone is more mobile and his shot is decent. I think Tryamkin's ceiling is something like Jamie Oleksiak. Not the most talented nor the best defensively, but can play tough minutes to complement a more skilled D partner. However, I remain doubtful regarding his commitment to learn English and build a new life in North America. I just don't know him that well.

Ovechkin is a generational goal scorer. It took him 13 seasons to win a Cup. How long did it take for St. Louis? When Canucks finally win the Cup, it would likely to be during a season of relatively lower expectations.

They should ask for a large upfront retainer and charge the team on an hourly rate plus GST and disbursements.

Some points to consider for the Jim Benning discussion: - J.B. likes to have a plan. If you listen to his interviews prior to trade deadlines and free agency dates, you can anticipate pretty well what he intends to do. He has also set priorities as well as internal cap for future years. - This rebuild may have been much quicker than J.B. anticipated. This may be why he was willing to take on some contract for higher cap numbers and 1 to 2 years longer. He did not know how quickly Pettersson was going to develop/dominate and he did not know Quinn Hughes would drop to the Canucks in the draft. I think Jim Benning was anticipating a significantly longer rebuild with much more losing. Had he known about Pettersson and Hughes in advance, he may have done the same thing he did this offseason, which is to reserve cap space for the future. -J.B. is willing to go to his prospects if they are ready. He recognizes that once Pettersson and Hughes are paid, he has to continue to rely on talented prospects on ELC to keep the team moving. I had concerns and questions marks with regard to whether J.B. can: (1) make tough decisions and let veteran players leave and accept a short term step back for the team; (2) improve free agent signings and trades; (3) maintain a good result for future drafts; and (4) add significant pieces to D core to help out Hughes. I am very satisfied with (1) since J.B. made some really tough and unpopular decisions during this off season. I am also cautiously optimistic with (4) as Schmidt is added to the D core and one of Rathbone, Rafferty, Juolevi may be able to become a core player for the Canucks D. If the team takes a step back this season, they can apply their 1st round draft pick for 2021 towards a D prospect. J.B.'s recent improvements with (2) are encouraging. He may not be a genius but he is competent with signings and trades. My biggest concern is with regard to (3). Drafting always involve luck. I am still waiting to see whether J.B. can produce good results for future draft years.

He's got to be careful when he says he prides himself on playing top minutes. Travis Green is gonna play him to death. He led Vegas for on ice time during the playoffs. He was second during regular season. I expect him to log the most minutes for the upcoming Canucks season. I expect him to kill penalties and quarterback the 2nd PP unit.

I’ve defended Jake many times preaching patience and predicting that the playoffs will bring out the best of him. Now I don’t give a damn about him. If Vancouver let’s him go as a free agent so be it. Maybe one day he will mature and reach his full potential. I don’t care.

What Vegas done is ridiculous. Their problem during the playoffs was that their top 6 forwards were underperforming. They spent a lot of time dominating in the O zone but could not score. Vancouver and Dallas would just chip in goals here and there to keep the games close. Instead of changing their top 6 Vegas decided to get rid of their top matching defenseman and go for a franchise altering bad contract, which effectively shortens their window for Cup contention. If Vegas had A.P. instead of Schmidt would they have scored a few more goals than they did during the playoffs? Likely. Would they have won the Cup? Not against Tampa.

The article is ridiculous. Over the years, several players have been reported to have vetoed trades to Calgary. For Nate Schmidt in particular, he mentioned in his interview today how he loves Vancouver the most (besides Las Vegas) and one of his best friend is Holtby. Even if Calgary had the cap space there was a likelihood that Nate would have vetoed a trade to Calgary. Nate mentioned that he was in a sense misled by George McPhee because he was personally assured that he would not be traded to make space for A.P. I do agree that the contract for Tanev would prove to be a mistake. I am glad Vancouver did not make that mistake.

Thomas Drance on Team 1040 said that this may be a bad deal because instead of giving up a 3rd round pick to Vegas, Vegas should have given Vancouver an asset for cap dump.

Based on how well his Harvard D partner Adam Fox did, I think Rathbone can become a full time NHL player this season if sheltered on the third pairing. They are comparable, physically and statistically (NCAA stats). Rathbone is somewhat less skilled but plays more physical. He is a slightly bigger but much more skilled Troy Stetcher. However, Rathbone may not enjoy the support of a veteran D partner such as Chris Tanev if he is on the third pairing.

I am a bit ignorant of how Schmidt was deployed by Vegas. My understanding is that he was the second pairing RD for McNabb and plays more in the D zone so that Theodore on the top pairing can have more O zone time. Is this correct? I ask because many say he is a top pairing RD.

It does not make any sense that other teams with cap space declined to up Vancouver’s pitiful offer. The only way I can make sense of this is that Schmidt with a modified no trade clause may have refused to waive unless the destination is Vancouver, a division and playoff rival.

J.B. may now direct the resources allocated for the OEL trade to Tampa. Erik Cernak can have his long term contract in Vancouver playing alongside Hughes.

So far Jim Benning has been very steadfast and assertive when it comes to UFA negotiations. I am impressed. I hope the same approach is applied towards trade negotiations. I will however be against this trade and I will berate Jim Benning publicly if any of the following transpire: - Louie Eriksson's contract is not part of the deal; - Jack Rathbone is part of the deal; - Vancouver gives up both a 1st round pick and in addition a 2nd round pick; or - Brock Boeser is part of the deal.

Perfect! More cap space for upgrading D.

I don't think anything would happen until J.B. fails to acquire Erik Cernak from Tampa. Vancouver's depth for LD is significantly better than RD.

My bias is that age must be the primary tie breaker in a close contest. Hughes is 12 months younger than Makar and therefore should be the winner. I also think that what Rasmus Dahlin did when he was 18 was more impressive than what Hughes and Makar did in their 20's

Virtanen is not worth much. He has arbitration rights and there are lots of players that can score 20 goals. J.B. overvalued him thinking that he is going to be Alex Tuch. Other G.M.'s are not going to make the same mistake.

Being a hockey fan for over 20 years, you learned to accept that there is nothing that a fan can do to control the outcome. It is in the hands of god now. Whichever way the puck bounces tonight, it is fate.

So far, Jake is the only Canuck player that I can think of who failed to elevate his game for the playoffs. Canucks' defence during the regular season was below average in a 31 teams league. They elevated their compete level and effectiveness from the top to the bottom pairings. Even Benn came back playing solid. So far, Jake is a major disappointment. In the long run, I think Jake will eventually mature and find that next gear. The problem is that the team may not be able to pay him what he wants during the developmental years.

You are gravely mistaken. If something goes wrong, J.B. is the moron that did it. If something goes right, Trevor Linden and Judd Brackets were the masterminds.

The Miller trade is akin to giving up lottery tickets for an unspecified model of Porsche. You thought it might be a run of the mill 911 Carrera S but it turned out to be a GT3 RS with good mileage, low maintenance and everything you need for day to day driving as well as on track racing. According to the owner's manual an expensive maintenance is not coming up until 2024. The Pearson trade is akin to trading a recent model big pickup truck with lots of horsepower. The truck looked great until you hitched a trailer on it and you realized you should have bought a Ford F150. The steering was awful, the acceleration was average at best and the torque was seriously lacking despite ample horsepower. The other party was looking for a big pickup truck to complement his fleet of sports cars so he agreed to give you his BMW M3 since he just did not have the time to drive it.

It is so obvious that compared to the Leafs, Canucks' young core has had a lot more help from the veterans. Pearson, Miller, Beagle, Sutter, Myers, Tanev, Edler were there to support the young core especially when they were down 3-1 in game 4. You cannot expect a bunch a kids, under the pressure of a Canadian hockey market, to do it all themselves. They are not fully mature yet.