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Is Raymond holding out for Vancouver?


zombieksa

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We all know Raymond. Falls down. Shows signs of brilliance. Falls down some more.

We also know that Raymond has been with this organization for a fair few years, and while the prospect of being able to sign to any team via free agency may be appealing to some, especially being young and having two teams from your home province in the midst of a rebuild, Raymond has yet to come to terms with another team.

While not all players of Raymond's stature can find fits quickly, one has to wonder why a young, very fast, penalty killing forward has yet to be signed to a team, especially when an obvious fit would be a team he can single-handly dismantle in the Calgary Flames, a team which has many players he trains with.

I believe the answer is simple. Not only has he spent his entire career with Vancouver. his best buddy in the world Mr. Garrison has finally joined the squad. Watching your best friend join your team long term must be very exciting especially in a league where only the best of the best make the league, and there is no assurance you will ever be on the same team as them. So you can understand the bitter-sweet feeling Mason may be feeling when after a lockout fueled short season and only a handful of games playing with your best friend, you fall out with your organization and management decides to go in a different direction.

I believe Raymond believes he can still be a Canuck. I also believe he has more than likely turned down offers from other teams so he can try and stay. I do not believe he would be willing to take league minimum in order to stay for if he did, MG would have jumped on that the minute it was an option. Still I think he is waiting for an offer fair to his talents so he can remain with a best friend he was shortly reunited with, and a strong core he has grown up with.

These are just my two cents and at a reasonable contract, I would take him back in a second...

...Just to destroy the Flames over and over and over again.

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I think he's probably coming to terms with the fact that he'll have to take much less than the 2.3 mil he was making last season.

He just doesn't bring what teams need to be successful in the playoffs.

The fact that nobody has signed him yet just proves it was time for the Canucks to move on. Time to see if some of our bigger body guys like Jensen and Kassian can step up into bigger roles full time.

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Good theory. He is a good player, a solid speedy 3rd line winger with a great defensive game and can chip in with offense.

He'll bang in 15g/15a every year, with a top upside of 40-50 pts.

At 1.5-2m he would be an excellent signing for any team.

He may end up to become one of those guys who just has to sign for dirt cheap to showcase his talents.

Look at D'Agostini, 2 years ago he had 46 points. He signs for .550k with Pittsburgh.

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He just had a pretty decent season actually. 10 goals/22 points in 46 games with limited ice time is nothing to scoff at. I think another off season of training should get him well past his injury finally. I think he could be had for a good deal and he has a lot too offer in terms of penalty killing and some offensive upside. For the right price, I would like to see him back and see what he can do under Torts.

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If things last year hadn't gone the way they did, I'd take him back. But with two consecutive first round exits, something has to change in our status quo, especially up front where our secondary scoring has dried up at the most critical moments. If we bring back Raymond, our top 9 is almost the exact same as its been for the past 3 seasons. We need fresh blood on the 2nd and 3rd lines... it's not that Raymond's terrible, but we just need a change. Perhaps if Booth was moveable Raymond could be kept but I don't see that happening. I'd rather give a young player Raymond's spot and see if he can provide a spark.

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