Canucks_fo_life

Kirk Luedeke is the managing editor for the New England Hockey Journal and New York Hockey Journal

Blow Jays are trash, how many playoff games have they played since 1995?

LOL who is JT Brown?

In this particular draft at #9, many options. Mason MacTavish has moved up the rankings, and guys like Kent Johnson or Dylan Guenther could fall right to us. I would love if the Canucks somehow got a hold of defenceman Brandt Clarke, but I think he goes a little higher. My sleeper, Fabian Lysell, who would look great on a 3rd line with Podkolzin.

I can see Podkolzin owning the Pacific Division for years, feast on the likes of Anaheim,LA, San Jose, Seattle while they're still rebuilding. I would love to see his battles vs Vegas, Edmonton, Calgary for years, he seems like he would be a thorn in Matthew Tkachuks side.

Looking at expansion draft possibilities, they could land a couple really good goalies and d-men, I'm basically predicting a huge down year in Calgary with no expectations.

It's been a season to forget, from the worst schedule and Covid-19 outbreak in professional sports, to rape allegations and flying anti-Benning banners, this has been a lot to take as a die-hard fan and season ticket holder. I wanted to post something positive and I think we could all use that right now as fans of this team. Next season, we don't have to put up with playing the same 6 teams over and over again, it looks like we'll be back to a regular 82 game schedule and the divisions will go back to normal. If you look at the teams in the Pacific Division, you would think the Canucks should land in a top 4 spot and a playoff position. The California teams (ANA,LA,SJ) are all still in rebuild mode after yet another year of no playoffs, kinda like where we were in 2017. Seattle will be a coin toss but I wouldn't expect them to be like Vegas in their inaugural season, the Flames will have many question marks surrounding their club, Edmonton looks to have turned the corner, and Vegas again the clear #1 in the division. I will also say, this Covid schedule and division alignment to me has made some teams look better than they actually are this season, such as the Florida Panthers and Minnesota Wild. Pacific Division standings 2021-2022 prediction 1. Vegas * 2. Edmonton * 3. Vancouver * 4. Seattle * 5. Calgary 6. Anaheim 7. Los Angeles 8. San Jose What do your standings look like next season?

Ducks beat Blues, Canucks now tied for 2nd last, BUT, Canucks have 7 games in hand on Ducks

Frank Seravalli TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Follow|Archive Only after the Canucks’ bubble burst and they returned home could coach Travis Green fully appreciate the impact his team had on Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. “I’m proud of our group,” Green said Tuesday. “I think they did an amazing job and put a lot of life back into the city. Just being back for a few days, I can really see how excited people are around town about our group.”They should be. The Canucks can now stake a country-wide claim as the team closest to ending Canada’s 27-year Stanley Cup drought. It’s one of those arguments that make sports great. You could make your case for the Oilers or Maple Leafs. With the pieces in the pipeline and seven picks in the first two rounds in October’s draft, there is ultimately even one to be made for the Ottawa Senators being second in line. And admittedly, recency bias is one hell of a drug. But the case for the Canucks isn’t about Thatcher Demko’s magical three-game spell, or the abundance of secondary scoring that helped knock off the defending Stanley Cup champs in the first round. It’s about the foundation the Canucks have built and the critical pieces coming. The Canucks already check a box at nearly every important position, something that can’t be said about the Leafs or Oilers. They have a superstar forward in Elias Pettersson, who is second only to Connor McDavid in points per game in his first two NHL seasons among this current crop of young stars. They have an engine in centre Bo Horvat, the captain who showed he is not only the heartbeat of the team but has plenty of skill to go along with it. They have an elite No. 1 defenceman in Quinn Hughes, the Calder Trophy finalist who defines the modern-day mobile blueliner and smashed rookie playoff assist records in two rounds. They have quality goaltending, whether it’s pending free agent and team MVP Jacob Markstrom or up-and-comer Demko, the pedigreed So-Cal kid with ice in his veins, paired with another veteran free agent. They have top-flight wingers in Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller, who might have been 2019’s best off-season acquisition. They have structure from Green, who did a masterful job making adjustments between playoff games. Perhaps most importantly, this Canucks team competes – as evidenced by their fight to get to Game 7 against a better Golden Knights team. “The belief they had in themselves should be justified,” Green said of his team. “They should be equally confident in the future and also understand the workload needed to compete and win at that level. I think we have those elements within our team." Now comes the fun part for GM Jim Benning. Some view this as a treacherous off-season, a tightrope to walk with Markstrom, plus a frozen salary cap for the next two seasons with mega deals looming for Pettersson and Hughes. “We want him back and we’re going to work on that this week,” Benning said of Markstrom, saying he is willing to go into next season with both goaltenders even though an expansion draft is coming. Believe it or not, the Canucks actually have a favourable cap outlook compared to most of their contending competition, save for the Colorado Avalanche. Vancouver has more than $15 million in off-season salary cap space, but they are two seasons away from really having breathing room. There is an avenue to speed that up with Benning digging his way out of previous mistakes, but he said Tuesday that he is not willing to “give up first- and second-round picks to lose money.” “I’m not doing that,” Benning said. “I’m not in that market.” He doesn’t have to be. He can find a taker for Brandon Sutter in the short term. The status of Micheal Ferland’s career is unknown with a potential $3.5 million in LTIR savings. In two years, Loui Eriksson’s $6 million will be gone, along with Roberto Luongo’s $3 million cap recapture penalty, Sven Baertschi’s $2.3 million buried in the minors and Ryan Spooner’s $1 million buyout. That’s $12 million off the books – and Vancouver has the good fortune timing to bridge the gap from now until then with young players on their entry-level deals. Vasily Podkolzin and Nils Hoglander are knocking on the door up front. Kole Lind is right behind them. Will Lockwood could grow into a bottom-six role. Then there is a group of prospects – Jack Rathbone, Jalen Chatfield, Brogan Rafferty and Olli Juolevi – that is ready to fill in the gaps behind Hughes and Tyler Myers on the backend. “They’re going to be in the mix,” Benning said. “We’ve got some good young defencemen that are going to come to training camp to push for jobs.” The real difficulty for Benning should be on his big board three or four years down the line, when he will have to juggle new deals for Horvat, Miller and Boeser at the same time as second contracts for Podkolzin and Hoglander. The decisions made this summer will affect those down the line. Benning called it the “circle of life in our business,” potentially having to say goodbye to some young players to make room for others. “We have a lot of money to work with, we’re just going to have to decide what players we want to sign going forward,” Benning said. “Other players maybe we can move on and recover draft picks. We’re going to have to make some tough decisions, maybe even on some young players, to make sure that we give ourselves the best chance to be competitive next year and keep growing as a franchise.” The Canucks’ window is just cracking open. But it’s a delicate dance, balancing the present and the future. Just ask the Oilers, who were also one Game 7 win from the Western Conference Final as a young club in 2017, or the Jets, who actually got there in 2018, about taking advantage of every opportunity as Canada’s closest team to the Cup. Contact Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @frank_seravalli https://www.tsn.ca/seravalli-vancouver-canucks-sit-in-best-position-to-end-canada-s-cup-drought-1.1521504

Another Fabian Brunnstrom, he'll fit right in, in Calgary and do absolutely nothing

There was a time I would remember this, but been to so many games since I was a kid in the 90's, I cannot keep track now, doesn't help this is my 4th year as a quarter season ticket holder. I have been to 2 road games, in the 2010 playoffs vs LA, and last October in Las Vegas, both Canuck victories.

About time LOL

I was thinking that all along too but Winnipeg lost some key players

According to Jesse Granger of The Athletic, preliminary offers to the Vegas Golden Knights for Nikita Gusev have included a second-round pick along with a low-level prospect or a lower draft pick. Granger, who previously reported that Gusev is looking for an annual $4 million salary on a two-year deal compared to the Golden Knights’ offer of a $2 million AAV, believes the underwhelming offers may be the reason Vegas president George McPhee has openly discussed trading the 27-year-old. Gusev joined the Golden Knights ahead of the playoffs this spring after nine seasons in the KHL but did not appear in a game with the team. He led the KHL in points in 2018-19 with 17 goals and 82 points in 62 games with SKA St. Petersburg before joining Vegas. “There’s definitely an interest in him,” McPhee told The Athletic earlier this month. “We’ve had people call us on him. We’ll see what develops. I can’t tell you what will happen, but we’ll work on it. He’s been very, very good on the international stage. He wants to play in the NHL. He worked very hard to get over here, and we’re going to accommodate him one way or another, either here or with another club.” The cap-crunched Golden Knights are already $3.5 million over the $81.5 million cap and have just $1.7 million left in space with David Clarkson's contract shelved on long-term injured reserve. Gusev is the team's lone remaining restricted free agent. https://www.tsn.ca/report-underwhelming-trade-offers-for-vegas-golden-knights-rfa-nikita-gusev-1.1335913

Pacific 1. Las Vegas* 2. San Jose* 3. Calgary* 4. Vancouver * 5. Arizona 6. Edmonton 7. LA 8. Anaheim * = Playoff teams

No room for him, our defence is set

Central division is so stacked, atleast 4 teams get in if not 5, leaving 4 spots for San Jose, Vegas and Calgary, wild card will be between Arizona, Edmonton, Minnesota and Vancouver

Apparently this Gusev guy is like a Panarin type player if he hits his potential

Breaking: Golden Knights looking at trade options for Nikita Gusev A source told The Athletic the sides are far apart in negotiations, and Vegas could deal the Russian star if they can’t fit him under the cap. https://twitter.com/JesseGranger_/status/1145880496380923904