Rick Blight

Exactly, they had one. How many have we got now? Are you going to declare the tank over? There won't be a single person in here that denies finishing last or second last guarantees you a higher pick as that is simple math. There is also no dispute that your odds of finding a better player with higher picks is enhanced. What none of the tankers ever talk about is the impact on a team with losing year after year and that is the very dangerous offset with the intentional tank or simply being a bad team. And let's make no mistake here, the Canucks did not tank to get Pettersson.

How many top 5 picks did L.A. have?

Add Buffalo, Islanders and Panthers to that list as well.

He is not playing centre because the coaches are trying to protect him somewhat playing against men. Centres need to play the entire 200 ft game including battling in front of your own net.....that takes a toll on a 165 lb body. Playing wing is less skating. Playing wing on the larger Europen ice surface is less physical than in North America because there is less play along the boards. Your statement " Why is it easier for smaller forwards to play centre than winger ?" is wrong as it is actually the opposite, particularly at the NHL level.

Vaxjo finishes March 10th and then there are playoffs. Doubt Elias gets here this year.

Agreed, but I think he can still be a very capable offensive player. Most of his goals over his career have come from within about 10 ft of the net so I think he would be much more effective with players that get the puck to the net. In my mind, the Sedins are not a match for him as they do not drive the puck to the net. He would be a very good net front presence on the Canucks' PP but he has been of little value there as there are a very limited number of shots generated on our PP. Opportunities to tuck in rebounds just aren't there and that is not Loui's fault.

Exactly. Actually, if Goldobin is not ready by the TDL he may be the one on the trading block. I think this may be a make or break season for Goldobin in terms of his future with the Canucks.

CDC doesn't really care for older players. CDC doesn't care for players that are not flashy as they actually would have to watch the finer details of their game. Loui does all the little things well but unfortunately most of that goes unnoticed.

Just means he has to pick the pace up a little....

I don't want to add to the tears guys but we really could have used GM JB back then for the 1971 draft. In the 1st round we could have taken Rick Martin in the 1st round AND In the 2nd round Larry Robinson was still available when we selected Bobby Lalonde. Hindsight is so wonderful......oh what could have been.

I am one of those older fans and I agree with your statement about our early GM's. However, age does sometimes affect our memories and, while I would have loved to have drafted LaFleur or Dionne instead of Guevrement, it wasn't because we won our last three games. We actually went 1 - 1 - 1 in our last three games with the lone victory being against the woeful California Golden Seals. We probably would have passed on LaFleur and Dionne anyways.......

I think there is a very good chance we see Gaudette play a few games with the Canucks this season. Not a bad consolation prize either.

I am sure that SID can answer this better than I can but I will give it a try. Pettersson;s last home game for the season is going to be March 10th and then they will have their playoffs. Given the strong performance from the Vaxjo team they may be in the playoffs for some time. The Canucks regular season ends in early April so I doubt there would be much time available for Pettersson to get over here at the end of the year.....unfortunately.

RNH is 21 lbs heavier now. If Pettersson can add the weight RNH has then he will be fine to play centre. If not, we will still have an elite winger. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Position: C • Shoots: Left 6-0, 191lb (183cm, 86kg) Team: Edmonton Oilers

Don't bother starting your car.....ain't gonna happen.

Maybe we need to petition the NHL to do away with the draft, go back to signing players we want as early as 14 years old, and then we won't have to fret over trading for picks. Bobby Orr, best player of all-time IMHO, was scouted by Boston as a 12 year old and signed with their organization at age 14. Orr started his professional hockey career young. The Boston Bruins first took notice of him when he was Bobby Orr twelve and playing in a bantam-league hockey All-Star game, to which the Bruins had sent scouts to check on some older players. Orr played all sixty minutes of the game, minus two minutes spent in the penalty box, and already displayed an ability to control the puck and the game that he would later be notable for in his professional career. At the age of fourteen the Boston Bruins signed Orr into their organization for $2,800. Read more: Bobby Orr - The Young Champion - Boston, Hockey, Game, and Bruins - JRank Articles http://sports.jrank.org/pages/3560/Orr-Bobby-Young-Champion.html#ixzz4yuCMUW2p

The problem is that we don't know when that future Cup team will be here. Why would anyone want to trade a player that will be part of our first ever Cup team? Our future Cup team may be in 3 years or it may be in 30 years, who knows? If it was 3 years from now would you not think it would be because of Bo, Boeser, Pettersson, Juolevi, Gaudette, etc.......all players that we have drafted? If it's 30 years from now then I guess we should trade everyone.......but you and I won't have to worry about that time.

Of course you want a forward thinking GM but you can hardly say Pollock was making moves like this from a mediocre team. He could afford to do these things because they were a Stanley Cup winning team in 1968, 1969, 1973 and were serious contenders in the years they didn't win it. They had unbelievable depth so they were always dealing from a position of strength. Has our GM been in a position of strength to make these deals yet? Can you name me one move that Pollock ever made to make his future team better at the expense of his current team? I know you want to trade very player over the age of 23 and acquire picks with them for a future elite team but I just don't see that as a viable strategy. You need to have an element of veteran leadership to guide the youngsters through their development years. How many of those you need is certainly open to debate and that is where you require an astute GM to make those decisions. Those that don't fit your current and future needs should be moved at the appropriate times. To answer your question "Is our GM thinking the same way?" I would have to answer I believe he is. If he was not looking to the future would he not have drafted the most "NHL ready" players the last couple of years as opposed to drafting Pettersson and Juoleve knowing full well that they would take several years to develop? Look at the initial heat Benning took for taking Pettersson when Glass and Vilardi were still available. They were more physically advanced and NHL ready but Benning was more concerned about "building a Cup level team in the future" as you so eloquently stated.

The Canadiens acquired LaFleur through a trade with the Golden Seals and did not trade any vets to get the pick. They traded their 1st round pick in 1970 for the Golden Seals' 1st round pick in 1971. Montreal Canadiens acquire Date California Golden Seals (Oakland) acquire cash 1971 1st round pick (#1-Guy Lafleur) Francois Lacombe May 22, 1970 1970 1st round pick (#10-Chris Oddleifson) Ernie Hicke The Canadiens traded Ralph Backstrom to the Kings in 1971 to ensure that L.A. stayed ahead of Oakland in the standings and preserve Montreal's 1st overall pick by doing so. You also need to remember that Sammy Pollock was Montreal's GM at the time and he was light years ahead of other GM's of that era. He would routinely trade players for 1st round picks 3 and 4 years out as he could afford to do so with how deep the talent on Montreal was. Montreal Canadiens acquire Date Los Angeles Kings acquire Ray Fortin Gord Labossiere 1973 2nd round pick (#22-Peter Marrin) January 26, 1971 Ralph Backstrom

Maybe we could get him in a trade without giving up any high picks. Would a Hutton, Goldobin and a 3rd be more enticing than a 1st from Edmonton? Of course you would only make this deal if you had a sign and trade to ensure you have cost certainty and term.

Jimmy, as you say, Edmonton really does have a ton of cap space for TDL acquisitions this year but can they afford to sign a player of Kane's ilk as more than just a rental? They have roughly $10M in cap space right now but that will all be absorbed by McDavid next year when his new contract kicks in. They will also need to sign RFA's such as Nurse and others that will increase their overall payroll. IMHO adding a Kane (or similar player) would really put them in cap hell for next year so to me he would be just added as a rental. Would they really want to part with a 1st round pick or a Pool Party to acquire a significant player just for a playoff run while mortgaging their future? Personally, I think it more likely that we would end up with Kane.

Rollieo, do you think Maroon gets to play with McDavid because of his skill? Do you think the Penguins gave up a 1st for Reaves because of his offensive prowess? I know it is a different era but star players are still a target for some of the rats around the NHL. There needs to be a deterrent, particularly in the playoffs, to ensure liberties are not taken against your star players. Jake does not scare anyone and I don't think we can count on Gadj or Zack to fill that role at this particular time. IMHO we will need a pack mentality to protect Elias in his early years and the one tough guy that will deter the likes of Ferland and Tkachuk from taking liberties.

We need the guy that will stop Ferland (and Tkachuk) from running around trying to intimidate Elias.

Benning's number one priority right now should be finding someone to play with Pettersson that will ensure he is not abused (or even touched) when he comes over here to play. Pettersson is going to be our Gretzky and Benning really needs to find our Semenko or I fear Elias will be injured more often than not. We cannot let this kid take the abuse the Sedins have endured over the years.

You have to forgive Alf as he has had a traumatic day.