Quantum

They're banking on Dahlen and Petterson's chemistry... Which was great. Love this pick. Risky and worth it. Ah eligible. Utica gonna be fun to watch this season (hopefully, unless Petterson returns to Sweden for another year). Exactly the type of pick Canucks needed to make.

Travis Green just got the head coaching job... his job is not "on the line" in anyway. Not this year, at least, and probably not next year too. Year 3 is when he'll be in danger (as that's the year the Canucks are projected to be competitive again. Andrey Pedan likely makes the team as an extra d man. With us likely losing Sbisa in the expansion draft (Benning and co seem resigned to this fact), Tryamkin's KHL departure, Larsen not returning, nor do I expect Biega will be on the roster as an extra d man (the expansion won't be a factor so he can be sent down without much worry and help lead the AHL club on the ice) there'll be a spot for Pedan to take as the 7th or 8th guy.... which is probably where Pedan belongs, at this point in his career. The monkey wrench in all of this is three things. Who we sign as a UFA (I could see the Canucks going after Franson to fill the spot lost by the expansion departure of Sbisa and/or them taking a chance on one of Brandon Gormley and/or Dylan McIrath and probably some combo of Zach Trotman (a former Benning pick in Bsoton), Vincent Loverde (AHL mainstay with the Kings, solid d man buried by Kings depth, and a UFA)... Then there's the possibility of a trade bringing in a defenseman as well as the possibility that Subban, Juolevi, and McEney steal the spot that Pedan was going after... though, in Subban's case, he'll be relied more on his shot and offensive talents and not his "bruising effect" on the ice. (There's also the possibility that the Canucks trade Tanev for the 3rd overall pick leaving another opening on the roster). With all that said, I fully expect Evan McEney to surprise at camp and snag a spot on the roster. He impressed the coaches this year with his consistency and talent. I could see Baumgartner and Green having a soft spot for him and giving him a spot as the extra d-man and/or bottom pairing guy at the start of the season and see where he goes. Definitely going to be an exciting offseason for the Canucks, no matter what transpires.

Yeah. He's in his overage season right now. So he'll be in Utica and will likely get good time when one (or two) of Jordan Subban, Andrey Pedan, and/or Evan McEney make the jump to the NHL. My money is on Evan McEneny being the sleeper that cracks the roster with Jordan Subban just behind him followed by Pedan (who may make it if we lose Sbisa to the expansion). I must say, I've really liked what I've seen of Jalen Chatfield this Memorial Cup. He's playing hard and being very noticeable out there. Definitely excited to see how he does in Utica next season. Only thing is, I'm worried to have too much in the way of expectations for him (giving him a year in the AHL vs 3, etc) just because we've been burnt before (Cole Cassels *cough* *cough* *cough*) Still, Chatfield is an upgrade over Tate Olson and Carl Neill.

I don't see why signing him to another one year, "show me" deal is a bad thing. He clearly wants to be here, might as well see what he can do when he's healthy and not rushed into the lineup. If he has a good season, he is of the age where he could be dealt at the deadline for a mid round pick. I see Rodin on the team next season.

My gut says that Evan McEney cracks the Canucks roster out of training camp this Fall. He became Travis Green's go to guy in Utica this past season and he was pretty solid during his 1 NHL game last year. It's looking more and more like Sbisa will be the guy we lose in the expansion and with Tryamkin having bolted back to the KHL and Biega not needing to be stashed on the NHL roster to make sure he didn't get claimed on waivers/guarantee his expansion eligibility... I feel like there's real opportunity this fall for a guy like McEneny to make the Canucks roster. Worst case scenario, he becomes to the go to call up for Travis next season. Still, he had a pretty remarkable rise last season and I hope he continues that trajectory next season too.

GB will make the Comets, that's a given. I doubt he doesn't. Would be shocking if he can't crack the Comets roster. There should be an opening or two down there with the departure of Chad Billins and likely promotion of Jordan Subban to the NHL (if anybody is going to give Subban a legit NHL shot it's gonna be Travis Green). Things could obviously change, but that's what my gut says.

We'd only own his rights until June 2019. That makes him 22 in my book. We'd own his rights till he is 27, if we signed him to an entry deal (3 years) and then qualifed him after he, theoritically, leaves for Russia. He has already spent a year in North America. It seems likely he'd only go back to the KHL if he didn't get the entry deal. Would be a weird move to spend a year in the Q, only to go back to Russia. Seems like that would be a last resort for him... Since if he truly wanted to be in Russia, he could have just stayed and split his time between the MHL/KHL this past season. Also, locking up Zhukenov to a 3 year entry deal is better than. 2 year one if he were to sign it in 2019. At least this way, the Canucks could let him develop with the other young players and see if he will be part of the new core or not. Chemistry matters in rebuild.

I wouldn't be shocked if the Canucks signed Zhukenov but put a European out clause in the deal ala Dahlen's. This way it gets him under contract and puts pressure on him to stay. I think Zhukenov is two years away from the show but a season in the AHL would do wonders for him. Think he's got pretty good potential for a 5th rounder (or was he a 4th rounder?!?)

Goldy is eligible to play in Utica's playoff run, so I suspect Goldy is going to play out the rest of the Canucks games and then be sent down to Utica to help Utica in it's playoff run. So he'll be getting the best of both worlds (getting NHL games with the Canucks and time with Utica after the Canucks season is done), so I'm not worried about him.

It won't. Ulf Dahlen is a former NHL player. He knows the game and knows what it takes to be an NHLer. I'm sure he's just looking out for his son long term. Cody Hodgson's dad was not a former NHLer and had no business making the demands he did because he didn't know what he was talking about. They're totally different situations. A year in the SHL vs AHL is really the debate here. Personally, Id rather have him in the AHL so he can start building chemistry with the other young guns but a year in the SHL isn't bad either. Again, not worried about Dahlen.

I'm not worried. Vesey's statements were never public the way Gaudette's have been, Vesey's statements that he would sign came from the Predators organization, not him, if I'm not mistaken. So there's no way to be certain (at least unless somebody has an article link quoting Vesey saying he'd sign in Nashville) that those "comments" were not from an organization trying to save face for a player they should've traded instead of pinning their hopes that he'd sign. And like what's been said before, Gaudette is only finishing his 2nd year of college hockey. He still has two years to go. Chances are, he'll sign after next year. He needs to add some weight and Linden was even quoting as saying last month that he expected Gaudette would return for his third year. My gut says the Canucks likely encouraged Gaudette to return to Northeastern for one more year -- where Gaudette will likely take a big leadership role with the team (since guys like Aston-Reese & John Stevens are moving to the pros) and probably will be in the Hobey Baker conversations next year too. It's also a smart financial decision for Gaudette to wait a year because he'll be in his twenty year old year meaning he'll only need to sign a two year entry deal (instead of the three he'd sign this year). Meaning, if he signs an ELC next year and plays an NHL game next season, he'll burn a year, taking that entry deal down to 1 year meaning he'd get a bigger contract extension faster depending on whether or not his first NHL season is a success. It's the same path that Boeser looks to be going down too this year.

It might be another college UFA but definitely not Boeser. UND is still playing and hasn't been eliminated from tournament hockey yet. He can't sign until they're done for the season which isn't for (at the soonest) another week or the latest (until the last weekend of the NHL season).

Yeah, he would. The thing is, the NHL is different. He could still sign with another team as a UFA and get traded. It's part of the job. Linden let it slip a few weeks ago that he expected Gaudette to go back for one more year. Pierre McGuire said he needed another year on TSN 1040 this past Friday. Gaudette clearly feels he needs one more year and that's okay. Demko took 3 years in college, Gaudette will too. Only time to worry is if he opts to stay at Northeastern this time next year... and my gut says he won't. Gaudette's clearly played his way into the Canucks plans. He'll be a Canuck. I'm not too worried about it.

He'll be a Canuck. Disappointed he isn't signing this year but it makes sense. Pierre McGuire was on TSN 1040 on Friday and said Gaudette needed an extra year to build more muscle. Chances are, Gaudette is looking to minimize his time in the AHL. An extra year at Northeastern will likely mean he can hop into the lineup next year instead of having to spend a good chunk of the year in the AHL. Smart call, he'll make more money this way if he waits one more year... Also he'll be way stronger with an extra year of College. And those fearing he'll walk, remember that Thatcher Demko played three years in the NCAA and next year is Gaudette's third year so he'll have to play two more years to reach unrestricted free agency and I doubt he waits even more.

Chances are the Canucks will sign Jasek to an entry level deal in July. Doubt Jasek gets a PTO unless the team he's with lets him out of his contract early. Chances are Jasek plays in Utica next season and that's not the worst thing.

I'd say he's a dark horse to be a potential first line center but player's have emerged later in the draft to become first liners, so anything is possible. My prediction is that he'll end up settling in as a third line center with 2nd line upside. I think his defensive game needs a little more work but I suspect that after a year in Utica, it'll be up to snuff to be in the NHL. The advantage the college kids have over the CHL kids is that they train more, so he should have the weight (now) to be able to really push back in the professional levels of hockey. He's definitely got future NHLer written all over him.

You're right about the contracts. I don't hate this signing. Prospects are prospects. Would've rather signed Curtis Valk but hard to see anything bad with this one. Zack's a big guy (6'4") and likely projects as a 4th liner. One thing people complain about the Canucks is "lack of size" -- well, with Zack, he's not small and that's a good thing. Chances are, Zack's replacing Cole Cassels or Mike Zalewski next year. I think Cole and Mike's deals expire after this season and neither have done enough to warrant being re-signed, if I'm being honest. Cole has not had the rebound year we all hoped for (Cole has 9 points in 46 games this year) and Mike's sort of stumbled this year after a breakout year last year. Chances are, Cole signs elsewhere and the Comets sign Zalewski to another AHL deal. Zack's only twenty. Giving him three years to make something of himself is not a bad bet. Worst case scenario, he disappears like Kellan Lain or best case scenario -- a new Burrows emerges. Also, you can never have too many centres.

Granlund has quietly been putting together a very solid season... especially for a guy who has bounced around the lineup a lot this year. I was bummed that we dealt Shinkaruk last year but now? Not so much. There's around 20 games left in this season and it's pretty likely that Granlund will cross the 20 goal mark this year (barring injury) which is pretty insane for a guy that a lot of people dismissed early on. Definitely a guy worthy of saving in the expansion and definitely a guy who'll be a fixture in the Canucks lineup for the next several years.

Giving Goldobin a 10-20 game Canucks taster isn't the worst thing. This is Goldobin's second AHL season and he's got 41 points in 46 games. He's doing quite well. He'll likely get papered tomorrow for Utica and play with them if Utica gets into the AHL playoffs. Future is looking bright!

If Gaudette signs this year, I think he has a legit shot at cracking the team as the 4th line C (displacing Chaput) and moving his way up the Canucks depth chart faster than most people would ever expect. These college kids are great because they workout so much, they come into the NHL with NHL strength -- something that happens rarely with CHL drafted talent (who need a few years to catch up to the rest of the men they end up playing against). Also, if we can somehow snag Aston-Reese, I think we could have a young and exciting 4th line for next season. Just imagine: Gaunce - Gaudette - Aston-Reese instead of Gaunce - Chaput - Skille/Dorsett (No offense to Chaput, I think he's done an admirable job this season and deserves to be re-signed by the Canucks). Gaudette's the next Hutton, I have a feeling.