Jaimito Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 thank goodness he is not delusional thinking Lack is the franchise goalie. http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks-goaltending-eddie-lack-jacob-markstrom-jim-benning-free-agent-trade/ Luke Fox May 30, 2014, 3:12 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One year ago the Vancouver Canucks’ most publicized problem was having too many No. 1 goaltenders. Now we’re not certain they have any. That’s no slight to the team’s other Swedish duo, goaltenders Eddie Lack and Jacob Markstrom. But Lack, 26, and Markstrom, 24, have just 28 wins combined at the NHL level (Roberto Luongo has more than 13 times that many himself). Though Lack filled in admirably last season — going 16-17-5 with a .912 save percentage and famously earning the Heritage Classic nod over Luongo — there is no guarantee he did enough to secure the start when the puck drops in October, and Markstrom will be entering an important contract year in 2014-15. So it comes as little surprise that the Canucks new general manager, Jim Benning, is open to making an upgrade between the posts. “We’re going to look at every avenue we have to make our team competitive. Vancouver is a big-market city, we’ve got a passionate fan base, [and] our owners want to win,” Benning told Sportsnet 590 The Fan’s Brady & Walker when asked directly about signing a free-agent goaltender. “I know they have a lot of confidence in Eddie Lack. For a first-year goalie last year, he had a good season, and we hope that he can take it to the next step this year.” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Listen Now: Canucks GM Jim Benning on Ryan Kesler, Vancouver’s goaltending and Sedins’ desire to win -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The duo of Lack-Markstrom — former Swedish Elite League teammates with Brynas — might not have the statistics of Luongo-Schneider (Markstrom’s NHL save percentage is .896), but they come cheap in an off-season the offensively anemic Canucks will be looking to add depth at forward. If he stays pat in net, Benning can get away with a $2.35 million cap hit for his tandem. Should the first-time GM decide to give fans a “We’re going for it!” signal, some compelling proven goalies will be available on the open market come July 1. Ryan Miller, whom Benning scouted and drafted to the Buffalo Sabres, will not be re-signing with the St. Louis Blues. Jonas Hiller believes he has played his last game in an Anaheim Ducks uniform. And veteran wild cards Ilya Bryzgalov and Tim Thomas (imagine!) are out there as well. Toss in a handful of UFA goaltenders whose best years could still be ahead of them — Alex Stalock, Carter Hutton, Justin Peters, Thomas Greiss — and backups/mentors like Martin Brodeur and Ray Emery, and Benning has some interesting routes he could choose to pursue. The GM also gave Brady & Walker an update on centre Ryan Kesler, whose future with the Canucks is in doubt and was linked to teams such as Pittsburgh in trade rumours at the deadline. Kesler reportedly asked to be traded from Vancouver last season but holds a no-trade clause and can essentially write his own destiny. “I touched base with Ryan yesterday. We’re still going back and forth on that. We’re going to listen to Ryan. We’re going to have a good, open, honest communication,” said Benning, who has also been speaking with Kelser’s agent. “Where it leads to, at this point I don’t know.” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What would be the best goaltending decision for the Vancouver Canucks? Stick with Lack and Markstrom Pursue a No. 1 in free agency Pursue a No. 1 through trade VoteView Results Share Related Latest on NHL's top 14 unrestricted free agents May 26, 2014 Off-season to-do list for new Canucks GM Benning May 23, 2014 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Latest NHL Videos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 The most I would do personally would be about $2m-$2.5m on a decent vet netminder to take some of the pressure off Lack. Lack would still play ~50games IMO. But frankly I think that money's better spent elsewhere. Plus then there's the question of what to do with Markstrom as he'd certainly be plucked off waivers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outsiders Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 theres bigger needs than in goal. Lack is doing a fine job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiggs50 Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Okay I'm not against signing a veteran goalie for 2.5 mill or under but where would Markstrom go? He would have to go through waivers to go to the ahl... Btw please Benning DO NOT sign Miller! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theo5789 Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 It's called building competition. This way Lack doesn't become complacent thinking he'll be the number 1 guy going into the season. A GM's job is to look for upgrades in every position if the situation allows him and requires him to do so. I'm perfectly fine going into the season with Lack as our starter. I would not want to pay a guy like Miller an overpriced contract just for his name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xbox Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 I'm fine with Lack. He was inconsistent but it was his first year and it's a learning curve. Lack had some shines of brilliance and if that can become more consistent then he'll be a great goalie. I don't have faith in Markstrom or Eriksson though. Eriksson could surprise, but not likely next year and Markstrom I dont trust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heretic Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Stick with what he got and sign goal scorers and game changing defencemen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanuckFanForever1123 Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Lack and Markstrom together are fine. Give Lack 50 starts and Markstrom 30 starts and let the duo ride it out. Miller is not worth the money and the veteran goalies stunt the growth of either both goalies, or at least Markstrom. I also would not be opposed to using Markstrom in a trade to improve a return, and signing someone like Alex Stalock to split time with Lack as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan Belfort Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Isn't there a period of time during preseason where you can send players down without them needing to go through waivers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.53 Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 I'm fine with a lack Markstrom duo, but still, wouldn't be opposed to trading Markstrom and signing a replacement short term. I would target martin Brodeur with a one year deal. even if the price tag is like 4 million, it would be the perfect situation. One year deal, so very little risk. if it seems we won't make playoffs, we could possibly trade Marty for a small piece back. Marty can mentor and teach Lack to be great If marty plays great, than he can be the goalie for his final playoff run, (what a story that would be) offers veteran leadership, while we develop our young goaltender. The list goes on and on, I just think it's a match made in heaven that we should definitely consider. 1-2 year deal only though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viking mama Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 It's called building competition. This way Lack doesn't become complacent thinking he'll be the number 1 guy going into the season. A GM's job is to look for upgrades in every position if the situation allows him and requires him to do so. I'm perfectly fine going into the season with Lack as our starter. I would not want to pay a guy like Miller an overpriced contract just for his name. I thought it was sick how they rode Lack during a condensed playing schedule for 16 straight games in the end & on back to back nights. He was not healthy enough to play for Team-Sweden at the World Championships in the end...that meant if they had made the play-offs he might have been damaged-goods for that too. Lack was already coming-off a season lost to hip-surgery...the previous year. I just want Benning to safe-guard him...better than THAT. Tortorella ran the team into the dust on all fronts & never deployed his assets all that wisely. Gillis let him do that & watched as he purposefully went about his core-busting. I wish we had Schneider back. That ship has long-sailed. Lack has been cast as the future & I hope that he's ready 'cuz here in VAN... to Nucks' fans..., the future is always NOW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mustapha Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 So we turf Eddie Lack in favour of guys like Ilya Bryzgalov and Tim Thomas? Seriously what is it with this fanbase wanting to constantly run their goalies out of town? I think Eddie has earned a real shot in the upcoming season, how about waiting until there is a problem in goal before replacing the goaltender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elvis15 Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Can we just avoid creating a thread for each and every option Benning might want to improve on within the team? I can even use the same article: "Report: Benning open to upgrading everything" “We’re going to look at every avenue we have to make our team competitive. Vancouver is a big-market city, we’ve got a passionate fan base, [and] our owners want to win,” Benning told Sportsnet 590 The Fan’s Brady & Walker... If he wasn't open to upgrading then I'd have to say we hired the wrong GM. The article hardly says anything that suggests this is likely/probable so I'll wait for something more substantial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 So we turf Eddie Lack in favour of guys like Ilya Bryzgalov and Tim Thomas? Seriously what is it with this fanbase wanting to constantly run their goalies out of town? What fan suggested that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan Belfort Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Can we just avoid creating a thread for each and every option Benning might want to improve on within the team? "Report: Benning open to upgrading everything" If he wasn't open to upgrading then I'd have to say we hired the wrong GM. The article hardly says anything that suggests this is likely/probable so I'll wait for something more substantial. I'm surprised there isn't a thread on the Kesler portion of the article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 I'm surprised there isn't a thread on the Kesler portion of the article. Let's count our blessings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c00kies Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Isn't there a period of time during preseason where you can send players down without them needing to go through waivers? No, this isn't NHL 14. Edit: Didn't mean to come across as an ass. NHL 14 leads to a lot of misconceptions, so I'm angry at them, not you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevo882 Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 I would personally go after Hiller as a 1A to Lack at the right price and if Hiller is willing to play that role. He is the best option out of the goalies available and I definitely think we need to bring in someone with some experience to mentor Lack over the next couple seasons before he can really take off on his own. I would probably say give Lack around 45-50 starts and Hiller 32-37 starts if I was coach. That way both guys are happy, and in game form but not worn out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobble Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Lack for Pavelec. Please. Do it. Please.Please.- Winnipeg Jets fans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elvis15 Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 I'm surprised there isn't a thread on the Kesler portion of the article. Let's count our blessings. You didn't see the new Pratt thread on Kesler in Canucks Talk today after the one created just two days ago in the Trades/Rumours forum? Too late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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