EternalCanuckFan

That's awesome for Kassian. Great that it's working out for him in Edmonton.

Fun name. Lots of possible riffs. I wonder if they'll rip off the Detroit tradition of throwing an octopus on the ice. Maybe they'll throw squid instead.

I would love to see the Canucks retain Jake but I am curious what will happen next summer. If Jake keeps up his play and, if the Canucks make the playoffs, proves his value in the playoffs, then who does that displace? I'm sure fans and management all hoped that Jake would find his game and it's satisfying to see him finally start playing at a level that we had hoped for. Still, the roster seemed built with some expectation that Jake may not start showing signs of meeting his potential. Will the Canucks let Leivo walk? Can they move Sutter and/or Baertschi? What about Eriksson? What happens to Ferland? Do the Canucks try to trade Jake for a defender and, if they do, what does that mean for Tanev (UFA) and Stecher (RFA) next summer? Will the Canucks look to make room for Rafferty? I'm all for the Canucks keeping Jake but, IMHO, it could be a factor that impacts major roster decisions. This is ultimately a great position for the Canucks to be in however, especially with players like Podkolzin, Hoglander, Madden, etc. also in the pipeline. It's an exciting time.

Besides Hughes basically immediate high level of play, I would have to go with Pearson and Miller as my biggest surprises. I liked the Miller trade even if it seemed like an expensive one to make at the time. Miller was a bona fide top-6 forward even before his explosion this season, but his performance so far has been beyond what I would have expected. I thought Miller could definitely help EP out but I didn't expect Miller to be quite so dominant himself. Pearson is a feel good story. He had a good run to end last season and it felt like he would be able to turn things around this year. To be on pace for a 50-60+ point season is not what anyone would have expected however. There was no reason to even expect that he would be on that kind of pace as I think most projected him to be a 30-40 point defensively sound forward who could be a consistent winger for Bo. I agree with other posters who have commented that Jake's progress is less of a surprise and more of a realization of what we all had hoped for. He still needs to keep it going but he's definitely trending in the right direction. At this point in the season, I personally think Jake's progression will likely push Leivo out of the organization. If Jake can play consistently at the level he has been for the past few weeks, then his game is more valuable than Leivo's (IMHO). Leivo is a great middle-6 forward and will be a strong addition to most teams.

Bailey's strong play might allow the Canucks to move him as an asset. At any rate, it may help him earn more of a look next season if he can keep this up.

The Wild declined fast. Staal at $3.25M is going to be a hot ticket even with his modified NTC. Pro-rated, that may be a cap hit that would be very attractive to another team. He also has another year remaining. I can't see the Canucks being able to acquire him for depth due to their cap problems. Carolina has their own cap issues but who knows, maybe a return of the former captain and the reunification of the Staal bros may be possible? Can't recall if there was some kind of falling out. Koivu will presumably also be an attractive target especially if the Wild retain cap for this year. He's on an expiring contract and is solid defensively. Can't see Parise or Zucarello being attractive trade options right now. Their cap hits are too big. Hartman and Foligno are the only other guys I can see the Wild actively looking to part with though I'm not sure how keen Guerin is with building around Fiala and Donato. Guerin must hope Victor Rask can turn it around because at $4M per year, I can't see any team willing to acquire him.

I'm pretty sure the cap situation for the Canucks won't allow them to pick up Schenn but I might be wrong. Backes has had a strong career but he has slowed down significantly. I'm guessing this is an attempt to give him a chance with another NHL team while also giving the Bruins the option of demoting him.

Well the good news for the league is that refs are probably going to keep a close eye on Perreault now. Openly threatening to use your stick to hit another player across the head in "defense" doesn't seem like a particularly prudent thing to do... Even if Perreault's tone was joking (which is possible but isn't mentioned by the interviewer), I don't see how it achieves anything close to what he seems to be hoping for: more accountability from the league. Virtanen's hit wasn't great but it wasn't the worst either. The angle posted above shows that though there was a bit of a chicken wing going on, it wasn't Virtanen's elbow that made contact with Perrault's head. Obviously still not a great hit as contact with Perrault's head was obvious, but it could have been way worse. Combined with the non-penalization of Tkachuk for his hits on Kassian, this has not been a great week for the DoPS.

Way for the NHL to defuse the situation. I get that it's actually not in their interest to do so - the animosity is likely to bring on additional viewers - but my guess is that the refs are going to try to "manage" this themselves and there will be a lot of penalties (including misconducts) called out of scrums that would usually not even warrant a penalty in the playoffs. I'm pretty certain that if Kassian throws a hit like Tkachuk did, then that would be considered a blind side hit, especially if the player hit ends up getting hurt. Sigh.

The Caps have about $10M in cap space available next year after this new contract kicks in and their biggest FA is Holtby. Gudas is an important FA for them too but I can't see him commanding a huge deal. They should be fine although it will be interesting to see what happens with Vrana in the future. It looks like they should be able to retain him but if he is able to produce at a 50-65 pt pace next season as well, he could be pretty expensive to retain. If the Caps are in a pinch, they can always look at trading Hagelin or Panik who both have relatively low cap hits for veterans.

The Leafs already traded a 1st just to move Marleau's contract. I don't see them being too keen on moving another one even if the loss of Morgan Rielly is a huge blow to them. IMHO, their current problems go beyond Rielly. It looks like communication between the forwards, D and goalies is just not at the level that's needed to compliment one another well. They were able to score their way out of trouble for awhile but I think execution of systems may be the bigger issue than personnel. I think they'll be more than happy to see how guys like Sandin and Liljegren handle the NHL game before they even consider moving a 1st.

Tkachuk should have received a penalty for the first hit on Kassian and that would have helped defuse the situation. It looked like charging and it definitely looks like Tkachuk left his feet while also making contact with Kassian's head. The second hit wasn't exactly better and might have been worse too. Kassian is lucky to have a sturdy neck. I'm not saying Kassian should have done what he did to Tkachuk but what would anyone expect from him when the refs are clearly doing nothing about it? Seems pretty dumb that he gets suspended after get 14-min in penalties and when his team lost while Tkachuk gets absolutely nothing.

It's possible the Canucks could trade Stecher but I have a hard time believing that they will trade him and expect Rafferty to fill in right away. If Stecher is traded and the Canucks are in the mix for the playoffs, then my guess is the Canucks will try to bring in a bigger, veteran RHD. They were rumored to have interest in Pysyk who doesn't make much more than Stecher. I'm not saying a 1-for-1 deal would make sense for the Canucks (I think that would be terrible) but I don't see Stecher leaving without the Canucks bringing in a veteran. I think the Canucks will want the Comets to have a lengthy playoff run, if possible. It's great experience for the prospects and the best chance of doing that is to let guys like Juolevi and Rafferty continue their strong play in the AHL. Considering Stecher is still a RFA next summer (but with arbitration rights), I think it's much more likely the Canucks keep Stecher (unless there's a really good deal on the table) for this season and then look at moving him in the summer. Juolevi and Rafferty will hopefully get a long playoff run with the Comets and be strong candidates to move up next season where Juolevi could still spend another year seasoning in the minors, if needed.

The Predators look like they have about $1.9M in cap room so they could be sellers while reducing taking or retaining salary. I'm not sold on Mikael Granlund. His performance since being traded has left a lot to be desired and his cap hit, even if it's just for one-year, is quite high. He might do better in a different setting but I don't think the Canucks will be in on him. I would expect a player like Fabbro to be relatively untouchable. I could, however, see the Canucks having interest in a player like Craig Smith. He's a 30-year old versatile middle-6 forward on an expiring contract ($4.25M) who can play C and W. He appears to be decent at both ends of the ice and has only missed the 20-goal mark once since 2013-2014. I'd expect the cost of acquiring him to be less than Granlund (based mostly on Granlund's past history rather than his recent performance) but it might still be relatively costly. Hard to see exactly how he fits however though below is one possibility: Miller-Pettersson-Boeser Pearson-Horvat-Smith Roussel-Gaudette-Virtanen Ferland-Beagle-Motte Eriksson I assume Baertschi would have to be involved but there would need to be some other cap magic done to make Smith fit. Maybe a few other players involved plus salary retention? I can't see the Predators being interested in Sutter but hey, there's a country music connection (as irrelevant as that might be...).

I haven't dug into the analytics for Ristolainen but I wonder if part of his improved play is usage? Buffalo is way deeper on D this year than in years past so maybe Ristolainen is able to avoid the toughest matchups. Having said that, Montour is also having a pretty good season with a significant improvement in his +/- from last season. From what I have seen, Jokiharju has also been able to be relied on in situations that Ristolainen may have previously been asked to take the lead on. Although it's Bogosian who is reported to want out, I'm wondering if there's any way to pry Colin Miller out of Buffalo? He hasn't been playing much but he seemed like a decent RHD when he was with Vegas. I'm not sure how he would fit with the Canucks so I'm assuming other teams might be inquiring. If the Canucks are interested though, then it's worth noting that he makes slightly more than Baertschi and is under contract for 2 more years after this one. The Sabres have a bunch of middle 6 forwards becoming FAs next summer so who knows, maybe having a cost controlled middle 6 forward for next season might be attractive to them. Sheary hasn't produced as much since leaving Pittsburgh but he had a 50-point season a few years ago, something Baertschi hasn't been able to do (though he has scored at around a 50-point pace).

Looked like Farabee got frustrated with being crosschecked in front of the net and then took it out on Perreault. The facts that the hit was late and Perreault was in a particularly vulnerable position made the hit worse than it should have been. Bad decision by Farabee and deserving of the suspension but certainly not the worst example of a late, dirty hit.

I'm pretty sure that since Baertschi already cleared waivers before, this recent placement on waivers had no bearing on making him a more attractive trade option by virtue of already being demoted. It seems like it was purely to allow Baertschi to be picked up for "free". I presume contract plus concussion history is making teams wary about Baertschi. If it wasn't for those two things, then I think Baertschi would still be an attractive target for other teams. As much as Baertschi hasn't produced at the NHL level, he has still played reasonably well when healthy. If teams with cap space are passing on Baertschi as well, then it can't just be people doubting his skills. I had thought that a team like New Jersey might have some interest. Who knows what they'll get back for Taylor Hall. They have some cap space and, depending on what they get back for Hall, might have even more cap space. Would it really hurt to add a middle 6 winger who might be able to produce? I don't think this is a big deal but who knows, maybe Hischier may enjoy playing with a fellow Swiss player.

IIRC, the limit kicks in after the trade deadline. I'm wondering if Myers was hurt against VGK. At least that would explain some of the lack of jump and early in the game, it seemed like he might have been hurt. Would also make more sense that the Canucks would want a RHD like Chatfield.

While it's hard to fully pin it on Eriksson, things just don't seem to be able to go right for him. I didn't think Eriksson could make himself even more disliked in the Canucks fan base with all the healthy scratches but clearly I was wrong. Sigh.

Wonder what happened to Demko. Someone crash the net?

Or Roussel and Ferland for that matter. I think the increased depth is helping Jake develop his game as it gives him people to emulate, a challenge to improve to stay in the line-up, and less pressure to help him grow his confidence.

I agree that Colorado is probably going to be a top team in the West for awhile given their depth. Their forward group is already very deep but so is their D. While Byram is still unproven, for them to have him in the pipeline is sick (thanks Ottawa) when they already have Makar and Girard (signed long term). Erik Johnson is like their Alex Edler, but he's a bit younger. That D could be insanely good very soon. What might hopefully happen is that the Canucks will start to peak when the Avs core starts to wane either by age or because of salary cap issues. As promising as the Canucks core is now, it will be interesting to see how guys like Madden, Podkolzin, Hoglander, Rafferty, Lind, Gadjovich and Woo factor in if and when they make the jump. We also haven't seen what Juolevi can do, notwithstanding concerns about his health. I wouldn't expect Tryamkin to have a huge impact if he came back, but if he does, then that would immediately ramp up the Canucks ability to compete in a physical game. If there is any concern about the Canucks future right now, then to me it would have to be at D. As good as Hughes has been, we don't really have that much high end talent on the blue line (though this is pretty much the Canucks' entire history). If Hughes can continue to get better and excel and the Canucks can continue to at least find serviceable top-4/6 D to surround him with, then they should be a strong team for awhile.

I think it was Pass it to Bulis that has written about splitting Petey and Boeser as Boeser has played well with Horvat before. Will be very interesting to see how this works out. Miller gives Petey and Goldobin the forechecker they need. Pearson, Horvat and Boeser is actually a pretty big line and it'll be interesting to see how they might take advantage of Boeser's shot with their style of play. Intriguing. The bottom 6 is obviously less deep without Sutter and Beagle but has played reasonably well.

Coyle was heading into UFA years so I guess they're banking on him turning into a 40-50+ point guy consistently. $5.25M per year seems a bit high when you consider JT Miller is being paid that amount but there are quite a few players in that price range who produce at that level. He produced quite well in last year's playoffs so that might be another factor.

I can see Roussel slotting in for Schaller. Motte and Schaller could be the extras if management goes ahead with demoting Eriksson. The larger question marks in my mind are what happens if Goldobin sticks (like most of us want him to). With everyone healthy, then there is basically no more room to just demote a player (unless the Canucks demote Gaudette given he is still exempt from waivers). I can't see the Canucks trading Sutter. Gaudette has been great but he's not a replacement for Sutter yet. They have a different skill set but Sutter's face off ability and overall two-way play give coaching more confidence about sending him out in all situations. I suppose the Canucks could play Beagle in more of that role if Sutter were to be traded, but having Sutter gives the Canucks way more depth at C. If Sutter doesn't go and Goldobin sticks, then Gaudette has to bump someone off at wing since, I presume, the Canucks aren't just going to let him sit in the pressbox. Leivo could be scratched but does he really deserve that? Not sure. He might not be producing a lot but he's been an excellent complimentary player for awhile now (if only for the way he wins puck battles). Virtanen has not played poorly this year, but has the ship sailed for him with this management team? Possibly. The team always has the option of waiving Schaller or Motte and hoping they clear but they would presumably be extras most of the time on a fully healthy roster so, again, a regular will probably need to be moved. In the short term, if Goldobin shows that he can stick it out in the NHL and as everyone start to get healthy, then I think management might just demote Gaudette to kick the can down the road. I would like to think that they would demote Eriksson as well. We're heading into Christmas so there might be a trade or two in the next couple weeks. If anything happens, then I'll expect it to happen in the new year. Of course, if Goldobin can't stick, then it makes management's life "easier".