Provost

I don't have to try harder... I am right and you are wrong. There are plenty of options better than Schroeder and he will not be on the team next season. At that time, you will conveniently forget that you posted all of this.

Well if Kesler is going then we are getting a significant piece back. Here is an easy to believe scenario for a new 2nd line. Kesler for Nyquist or similar quality younger player. Sign 2nd tier UFA like Michalek Draft a forward with our #6 (or even move up). New 2nd line Michalek-Nyquist-Draisaitl Any version of those types of moves give us a better line than having Schroeder. It isn't magic... it is a pretty average and realistic expectation.

... will not be qualified. That is all.

I think it is a weak draft at the top end (no guys who are certain to be franchise players).... but it seems like a draft that has a ton of really safe picks of guys who have a good chance of being decent NHLers. After the top 3... there are a dozen guys who a team could pick to fill needs without much drop off in talent level, just different players. A guy like Ehlers could go anywhere from #3 all the way to #15. Virtanen could go from #6 all the way to the end of the 1st round. I think we are going to see a lot of picks where the top guys either drop or rise considerably from these rankings.

I have been all for trading Edler... but this probably shows why the real hockey people are smarter than I am. It has been so disappointing to see that the guy just doesn't have the attitude to be the Norris calibre defenceman that he has all the tools to be. That ticks us off and makes us want to ditch him. On the other hand, his contract means that we are really only paying him the equivalent of a #3-4 guy. If you look at it that way, he is pretty good bang for the buck. I hope he can improve his game, and the team can get another top paring D in order to shore up the defence. We have a bunch of guys who are pretty good... but none that excel.

Have no reason to disbelieve it... not exactly an organization brimming with class. They are sore winners, so presumably even worse losers.

That is a false argument... you are suggesting that we take a small guy with skill over several big guys who scouts say have just as much, if not more skill.

\ Exactly!!! Who is Thomas Hickey? Lol

Maybe 5'11" in skates, Regardless, pointing out the relatively few exceptions for smaller player being successful... you completely ignore the fact that Europe and the AHL is filled with small, skilled guys who ended up just not good enough to be top producers in the NHL. If they can't produce points, they can't contribute. They are high risk picks, and you are better off grabbing guys way later with that skillset and hoping they develop. You talk like Nylander is a "can't miss" prospect... that is just not true, there is a reason people aren't picking him as the odds on favorite to go as the top pick in the draft. He "could" be a great player... but he could be Thomas Hickey

I think Pyatt is used as an example of a big guy who did not fulfill his potential, considering his size and skill level. That doesn't really have anything to do with his draft ranking. There were games when he simply decided to play and showed he "could" be an elite player in the league. He just didn't have the temperment or mindset to do that regularly. Anyone out of the top 5 who becomes an NHL regular is certainly not a bust. TSN has done a few great statistical analyses showing that 1st round picks are worth a lot less than most people think/ It is easy to pick up small, skilled guys in later rounds and on the UFA market. It is very hard to pick up big, skilled guys unless you draft them. Also, Kesler needs to be moved because his value is at a peak at the moment. He has years left on a reasonable contract and teams still drool over a recent Selke winner. A year or two from now, he will be worth much less or will walk at the end of his contract for nothing. A return that we can turn into a top 10 pick; a blue chip prospect; and a serviceable roster player... that helps the organization a lot more than having Kesler does.

We are talking about a high pick at #6 to be fair, one who is physically matured. I completely agree about the situation you need to put them in as well. I think the Edmonton model of simply throwing a bunch of kids together to "figure it out" is clearly not the way to go. Putting a few young guys in your lineup surrounded by veterans is certainly a decent way to develop them.

We also haven't exactly had the best picks to get guys capable of being NHL ready at 18 years old. We were also in "win now" mode which means that you don't ice guys just to develop them for later. That is no longer the case for our team. We aren't entirely rebuilding, but there will certainly be a focus on the future rather than contending next year. Our top prospects need to be ready for top line duty in 2-4 years as the Sedins drop down to 2nd line players before they retire. As you say... you don't get there by staying in juniors. For every young guy we put in the lineup, we have a veteran who can return us assets freed up. There is a VERY thin free agent pool this summer and a lot of money going around, which means that there will be a lot of teams left at the altar who didn't get the players they were targetting. It creates a market for us to shed veterans for younger players, prospects, and picks.... heck even Booth could garner a modest return under the right circumstances.

Our 1st round selection will be on the roster... I think it is inevitable, not only for optics on a re-tool and youth injection.. but also because he will be a better prospect than anyone we have in the system. We have the veterans to make sure the young guys are starting out a line below their real potential to shelter and ease them into the league. (Draisaitl projects as a possible top line player.... Horvat as a 2nd line player. We will not be babying this selection and they will be given every possible chance to succeed (and then some)

We don't have a guy who can be our 2nd line centre right now if Kesler gets moved. Horvat should probably be on the 3rd line to start his career. Draisaitl probably fits the bill the best, Nylander is a little smaller and doesn't help us match up against the California teams as well. Sedin-Sedin-_____ _____-Draisaitl-Kassian Higgins-Matthias-Horvat Richardson-Lain-Santorelli Sestito That is a very different looking forward roster and the return for the veteran pieces going out (or the ones that don't move) can fill in the blanks as well as beef up the defence and give us more prospects/picks. Youth injection with a solid bunch of veterans to teach them how to play.... probably a lower end playoff team but on the upswing rather than downswing.

A future line of Jensen/Shinkaruk-Draisaitl-Kassian Wouldn't be too shabby... With two players that size, you can afford to slot in a little dude like Shinkaruk,

I honestly believe that the only veteran players who are for sure not going to get traded are the twins and Bieksa. Significant changes have to be made... everyone has said that including Linden, you can't do that AND keep all the core players you have. Kesler is one of the most valuable trade pieces we have, so is certainly a candidate to be moved. I disagree that Kesler is a heart and soul player on this club. He has the ability to carry a team all on his own in beast-mode, and he has the ability to entirely change the demeanor of the rest of the team when he decides to start diving and whining to the officials. I have never seen him in beast-mode make the rest of our team do the same, but I have seen many occasions when his diving and complaining has become contagious to the rest of the lineup. He has had MANY linemates and he has never made any of them better, finding the right wingers for him has been impossible so far and continuing to try to shape a line around him is problematic as you just keep having to experiment with no real way to gauge success until you have blown half a season. The twins are untouchable because Trevor knows they will hang in the rafters beside him in the near future and wouldn't likely be part of sending them out of town (a la Keenan).. Bieksa is a real heart and soul player who you want to keep. If it weren't too late and damage would be done by removing the C from Henrik... Bieksa should be Captain. There are a handful of guys in the whole league who would do something like what he did during that Calgary game and try to protect a rookie like Lain from being beaten... Bieksa knew he woud be overmatched and get hammered in a fight, but chose to do it anyways. It sounds easier than it is in reality.... go find a 6'4, 240lb guy and ask him to punch you in the face a bunch of times and then judge the courage of Bieksa on that score.

He said that the team was "stale" I think he is bang on in that. It was noticeable last season and again right from the start this season. Injecting some youth and enthusiasm is exactly what we should do. Don't think Tortorella is going to be around to see it though IMHO. Have a guy under 25 on each line and two young guys in the top 6 defence.... enough spark the shake up the whole roster. We have many possibilities next year for guys to slip into various spots... Jensen, Kassian, Horvat, Gaunce, Lain, Corrado, Tanev, The return for any of our veterans who are moved (at leasst two of Kesler, Edler, Burrows, Booth, and Hansen are probably the most likely candidates).... also whomever we pick up as our 1st rounder should get every look at making the squad next season.

My choice for GM would be Shanahan at this point. We need someone tight with the league, he is the closest we can probably get. We need to figure out a way to become less than 2nd class citizens... I am not one of the conspiracy against the Canucks people, but I do definitely believe that the strong Canadian markets are taken for granted and don't get the benefit of the doubt like the American ones which are needed to be pampered to improve the NHL brand and bottom line. We sell out or almost sell out all the time regardless.

It is a good move even if only because the owners have bought themselves a LONG honeymoon period to rebuild the team. Trevor has accrued a lot of currency of goodwill in this town... it is not infinite, but we could suck for another three years (as long as there is a prospect of hope) and we will forgive him.

I don't suspect he will be purely a PR guy, that doesn't seem like it is enough to lure him out of private enterprise.... he could have taken that role any time. Maybe they will do something interesting like have a GM selection committee made up of former captains that way they can make us hate all the Canucks icons at once when they pick Feaster.

Presumably Linden would get to have a big say in that decision. Gilman is probably staying for continuity for the time being. Linden would probably have the leeway to make another decision down the road depending on the GM choice.

That is a hometown myth. Linden was incredibly unpopular due to the players believing he rolled over in his time in the PA and got them a bad contract. Other players were slamming him for years afterwards. It doesn't both me if he is picked because it will appeal to the ticket buyers... but having a guy like Shanahan would do the team in better stead as he is "in" with the league and can get us breaks. It will probably go down as folks are suggesting though. Nicholson - President Linden - GM (my take) Naslund as head of European Scouting

Like I said... I am the expert in Captain Obvious predictions. The stunning part is not how often I get the "obvious" right... it is how often people here disagree with me I remember getting huge flack for saying that Hodgson was going to be traded LONG before it became a reality. I also got huge flack for suggesting at the time that Kesler would not be a Canucks beyond his current contract... I stand by that one, and more people are seeing it that way now.

From a business perspective, they need to get faces of guys we love out there in the media ASAP to start deflecting crap and give a reason for season ticket holders to renew. I could easily see a selection committee formed that included guys like Linden and Naslund as part of the team... I don't see them being made GM though. President and Head of European Scouting respectively is not impossible. Who is going to sit there and yell at Trevor freaking Linden in a press conference? Media will throw softball questions at him and all will be well.