The joke that's become the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers

[dragon4401]

purcell will be the 3rd line player. There's no way they do that to Yak.

I never said you made a reference to player value but this board, the cdc. It's ridiculous how they rank prospects.

Yak will play well on a line with draisatl. Just watch. That's the center he needs to be successful. Big strong and amazing vision. Everything Gagner wasn't.

Bottom line is that the Oilers and Flames are on a par right now with the Canucks. But they're younger and faster and possibly more skilled in the youth dept.

Way to early to crown ourselves the Canadian champs of the west.

Draisatl in the NHL is a mistake imo depending on training camp...And where was Yakupov when Hemsky was there? Im going by what they did with him last year as evidence that Eakins does not like him at all...Even Smyth played ahead of him sometimes so yo can't just assume he is a lock on the 2nd line when just last year they had everybody but him there

Not saying Van will be a beast in the west imo Calgary has a very good chance with how good they were post Olympic break with Van behind with Winnipeg and Edmonton wildcards

[Monteeun]

And if the worse case scenario happens you just slowly continue to get younger as per Bennings plan. (Well, even if the best case scenario happens you continue to get younger). This team still has no depth as we've had no youth to be able to contribute since the Burke era. Nonis and Gillis traded away too many 1st to 3rd round picks and that is what has put this franchise in the situation it is in. The Canucks are still about 2-3 years away from their young players starting to provide depth, then 4-5 years away from them potentially starting to take over the main roles on the team.

The moves the Oilers made this off season should make them better this year. But there are quickly running into the trap of overpaying for depth because they haven't been able to draft it. Pouliot will make them better, but 4 years at that cap hit? Nikitin's cap hit is way too much too but at least it's only for 2 years. So, yes the moves will improve the Oilers this year, but I think it also lowers their ceiling 2 years from now when their up against the cap and aren't able to put the final pieces together that they'd like.

The Canucks rebuild or retool (who cares what it's called) will look similar to Calgary's. Sure we're starting a year or two later, but I'd argue we are in a better spot than Calgary as Calgary waited a little longer to get started and the Canucks at their peak were better than Calgary at their peak.

I personally don't think we are in such a terrible position. Based on some of the moves made by Bennings and the way things are being managed, we can get out of this situation we are in quite quickly. THe positive is that we started this process quickly rather than later.

[Monteeun]

Draisatl in the NHL is a mistake imo depending on training camp...And where was Yakupov when Hemsky was there? Im going by what they did with him last year as evidence that Eakins does not like him at all...Even Smyth played ahead of him sometimes so yo can't just assume he is a lock on the 2nd line when just last year they had everybody but him there

Not saying Van will be a beast in the west imo Calgary has a very good chance with how good they were post Olympic break with Van behind with Winnipeg and Edmonton wildcards

I think they need to develop their young players. There three young players on the first line was a huge pressure on them and year after year.

I hope they don't make that mistake again by rushing Draisatl.

[dragon4401]

definitely agree with the euro thing. I was just staying on the topic of Russian because it was regarding yak. But yes all euros are a possible flight risk. I also see tryamkin staying in the khl due to his little experience with the English language and our lack of russian country men in our organization. He might as well play hockey on mars. Not that I dont like him or anything. Just my prediction.

Yup same reasons as me...Personally i hope he does come because i feel he is going to be a beast on the blueline...Does not need to be Chara level but somewhere between that and Edler(I don't consider him to be as terrible as claimed around here...Just needs a stay at home RHD beside him) and he would be a steal pick for us

[dragon4401]

I think they need to develop their young players. There three young players on the first line was a huge pressure on them and year after year.

I hope they don't make that mistake again by rushing Draisatl.

With trading Gagner and not signing/trading for anybody to fill that slot they will...Poor kid will join the rest of having all the pressure on them to lead that team out of the gutter...Just not enough veteran players with good leadership

[Warhippy]

Draisatl in the NHL is a mistake imo depending on training camp...And where was Yakupov when Hemsky was there? Im going by what they did with him last year as evidence that Eakins does not like him at all...Even Smyth played ahead of him sometimes so yo can't just assume he is a lock on the 2nd line when just last year they had everybody but him there

Not saying Van will be a beast in the west imo Calgary has a very good chance with how good they were post Olympic break with Van behind with Winnipeg and Edmonton wildcards

the irony of this is that this board had him pegged as the most nhl ready prospect not named ekblad

[Monteeun]

With trading Gagner and not signing/trading for anybody to fill that slot they will...Poor kid will join the rest of having all the pressure on them to lead that team out of the gutter...Just not enough veteran players with good leadership

Thank god Vancouver were lucky enough to have some of that veteran leadership with Naslund, Bert and Morrison before Sedins took over. Hopeflly Sedins can do the same for the next generation.

[Monteeun]

the irony of this is that this board had him pegged as the most nhl ready prospect not named ekblad

Even if he is, i'm thinking, don't do it.

[BanTSN]

Man, do they have any veterans left...

Big part of past problems in Edmonton was that Gagner, 24, was considered a vet.

[BanTSN]

You don't seem to be paying attention but Calgary has turned the corner. They played well last year and I would look for them to build on that and actually provide some good competition.

This. Their top line out-scored ours since January.

[dragon4401]

the irony of this is that this board had him pegged as the most nhl ready prospect not named ekblad

Again just my opinion

Thank god Vancouver were lucky enough to have some of that veteran leadership with Naslund, Bert and Morrison before Sedins took over. Hopeflly Sedins can do the same for the next generation.

That we were and i have no doubt the Sedins/Burrows/Hamhuis/Bieksa with additions of Miller and Vrbata will help develop Horvat/Gaunce/Virt/Shink/McCann/etc. into solid NHL players

Future of the Canucks looks good to me

[Wilbur]

I personally don't think we are in such a terrible position. Based on some of the moves made by Bennings and the way things are being managed, we can get out of this situation we are in quite quickly. THe positive is that we started this process quickly rather than later.

I agree. I don't think the Canucks are in such a terrible spot. If my post came off that way, that wasn't my intention. The Sedin era core is winding to a close though and we need more youth to eventually get a new core. That takes time. Forget Calgary and Edmonton for a second. Look at past Canuck contenders. The transition from the '94 Linden/Bure team to the West Coast Express era took almost a decade and had the painful (but perhaps necessary?) Keenan era. The transition from the West Coast Express era to the Sedin era was much quicker and smoother. With the youth we have now, and where we're getting started it looks like this transition may fall somewhere inbetween. Now if Benning makes all the right moves and drafts well it may very well be closer to the quicker transition of the Sedin era. Hopefully with higher highs

[73 Percent]

Again just my opinion

That we were and i have no doubt the Sedins/Burrows/Hamhuis/Bieksa with additions of Miller and Vrbata will help develop Horvat/Gaunce/Virt/Shink/McCann/etc. into solid NHL players

Future of the Canucks looks good to me

looks real good. Although I do agree with others that we are missing the 2 hardest pieces to obtain.

A true 1c to replace hank when he goes

And a true 1d that we've needed since like forever

[dragon4401]

looks real good. Although I do agree with others that we are missing the 2 hardest pieces to obtain.

A true 1c to replace hank when he goes

And a true 1d that we've needed since like forever

Way i see it we have 4 years for that 1C to come...and if Horvat/Gaunce/McCann develop to potential we can run 2A/2B

And 1D is a little harder but thats where they took the high risk high reward Tryamkin...He comes over and reaches potential that search would end

Ahhh if only things were ever that simple

[Monteeun]

I agree. I don't think the Canucks are in such a terrible spot. If my post came off that way, that wasn't my intention. The Sedin era core is winding to a close though and we need more youth to eventually get a new core. That takes time. Forget Calgary and Edmonton for a second. Look at past Canuck contenders. The transition from the '94 Linden/Bure team to the West Coast Express era took almost a decade and had the painful (but perhaps necessary?) Keenan era. The transition from the West Coast Express era to the Sedin era was much quicker and smoother. With the youth we have now, and where we're getting started it looks like this transition may fall somewhere inbetween. Now if Benning makes all the right moves and drafts well it may very well be closer to the quicker transition of the Sedin era. Hopefully with higher highs

Oh no its alright. I wanted to let all the ppl here know it anyways. lol

[Wilbur]

looks real good. Although I do agree with others that we are missing the 2 hardest pieces to obtain.

A true 1c to replace hank when he goes

And a true 1d that we've needed since like forever

That's where hopefully doing due diligence in scouting and development the Canucks can get "lucky" and unearth the next Weber or Datsyuk. Even then there are other methods. Boston nabbed Chara through unrestricted free agency I believe. I'll ignore the Minnesota method for the moment as who knows if that'll work in the long run.

[DeNiro]

I don't think we're as far away from Edmonton and Calgary as people think in terms of developing our next core.

Both Edmonton and Calgary are developing their young players with a lack of an old core and solid veteran leadership to help guide them through the next level. Sure Edmonton had Smyth, but he was a shell of his former self as a player. Who does Calgary have to help mold guys like Bennett and Monahan? Giordano? Stajan?

That's why I shake my head when people don't understand the importance of developing young players on a competitive team. Some people seem to think that if we strip the team down to nothing and insert a bunch of young players, that somehow that's going to bring us closer to being a competitor. That formula is not a winning one. As we've seen with Edmonton, their rebuild is taking much longer due to this strategy. Imagine their young players had been kept in junior, and spent a couple years in the AHL. Then insert them into a lineup that is already competitive, and they would easily be a playoff team right now.

That's why leaders like the Sedins, Bieksa, Hamhuis, Burrows, Higgins, and Miller, are going to be so important for molding the next crop of Canucks into the future of this team. Players like the Sedins became as good as they are because of guys like Naslund, Bertuzzi, Linden and Morrison leading the way. I can't even imagine how badly their development would have gone if they were thrown onto the first line as 19 and 20 year old kids. It would have been a disaster.

Patience and a solid foundation is the proper way to go. It may be painful and take longer than people want, but I think it will make this team much better off in the long run.

[smithers joe]

no one is talking about their move behind the bench...torts screwed up a lot of players...lets see what new coaching will do....

[drummer4now]

no one is talking about their move behind the bench...torts screwed up a lot of players...lets see what new coaching will do....

I disagree Joe.. Torts didnt do anything to screw the players up, they were already screwed. If anything he exposed the weaknesses. I remember him saying that many players are still thinking about the 2011 loss.. The core was stale and now its getting better because of him.

[asian player]

Calgary's an extremely hard working team and have some very good prospects. I truly think they hit homerun with Bennett and Monahan and they have guys like Poirier, Klimchuk, Gaudreu, Reinhart. It'll all depend on what management does through trade and free agency to bring in some veterans and other role players