Eddie Lack as our number 1.

[ForsbergTheGreat]

This is assuming Markstrom can ever reach starter potential. At 25 years old he has yet to show enough at the NHL level to prove himself as such, and to assume he can be groomed into a quality starter is something that can come back to bite us. What happens if we get rid of Lack (who has proven he is capable of being a #1 guy), Miller takes over at age 34 and starts to decline, and we're faced with the dilemma of playing an aging $6m goaltender or a question mark in Markstrom? In my opinion, this is more of a probability than a possibility.

Let's not compare Lack to Schneider in terms of trade value. Anyone who thinks we can ship off Lack for a 1st round pick needs to face the reality. The goalie market is flooded and while Lack is showing promise, I doubt we get more than a 2nd and maybe a depth forward. With Miller's proven experience, a team who is a goaltender short of a playoff run (Anaheim, SJ?) may be willing to buy high considering Miller will only have 2 years left on his contract at that point.

I'd be more comfortable dealing Miller to free up the cap space if anything. Miller is a bigger question mark heading forward than Lack based on age, and with Lack proving he can be a #1 guy I don't see any reason to ship him away for scraps. Vancouver can't be in the business of grooming goaltenders only to ship them away. Lack has been in the system long enough and deserves a shot. Either keep Markstrom as a back-up or sign a veteran goalie in the offseason, and ride Eddie Lack until Thatcher Demko earns a roster spot and we can repeat the goaltender controversy process.

At 25 what did Lack show at the NHL level? You replied with a lot of what ifs? Well what if we trade the veteran Miller and then Lack falls under the pressure of being the number one. Then we'd have a goalie struggling with confidence and only Markstrom as the back up. Or you suggest we sign a vet back up, now you just shipped out two goalies all so Lack can be a starter. As for you "what if" if miller starts declining, Benning obviously believes in miller or else he wouldn't have signed him to a 3 year deal if he had what if's in his mind.

Don't get me wrong I like Lack. But he hasn't grossly outplayed Miller. He's played good but he's got it easy with little pressure. If he falters like he did at the end of last year, no one points a finger at him, he's not the concern as he's not paid or expected to be the number one guy. Imagine the cry if Luongo would have blown the 3 goal lead last season to the NYI. It's a completely different mentality going from the guy with low expectations to being the high paid number one expected to carry the load.

Lack alone might not get a first round pick do to the market of goalies. But Lack in a package easily could. I wouldn't be after a first round pick anyways. We already have one this year and players take to long to develop. I'd stick with Bennings plan of trading for already groomed players. Lack +, for a upcoming prospect, or a struggling high talent player, similar to the Turris, or Niederreiter deals.

Cap space is only valuable if we use it. Canucks currently have too many roster players as it is and all we'd be doing is creating more of a log jam. We need to start bringing youth, Next season we have 3 players not exempt from waivers. These players need to play. Not sit in the press box.

You don't just give away assets because you have too many. No matter how you want to look at it, Unless Miller comes out and says I don't want to play in Vancouver, Lack is the one that brings more value in a deal, trading Lack fits this teams timeline better. In all honestly, Lack probably wants out, he likely wants his opportunity.

Edmonton and Buffalo seem like good destinations for the need of a goalie with Lack ability and they have the assets to lose

[nergish]

This. Arguably Lack still needed mentoring this year, but he's had the benefit of it now, and is ready to be a #1. Just look at the difference between the end of last year when he took over and the end of this year. Admittedly the team is way better this year, but Lack has been as well, stealing us several games as a starter and rarely stinking it up. This is an idea whose time has come.

Miller has been good for us this year so no disrespect there. I'm sure he'd be happy in San Jose and if it were up to me, I'd only demand a second in return just to get the cap space and move on.

You're touching upon the main issue that so many people missed about the whole Luongo/Schneider situation - this is the "business of sports". How many segments on TSN, how many threads on CDC? Goalie controversy, really? There are only like 5-10 truly exceptional goaltenders in this league, and they do not guarantee their teams Wins. If you're looking for dead average, a solid lineup and a goaltender like Jaro Halak probably has a better chance than a team that is all goaltending (see Columbus). Schneider was borderline elite, and I think our team would be better in 2015 with him in the lineup, but Horvat is a great piece for us.

Miller has been good to very good for us. Without Miller, we don't have our turn-around season. Lack, thanks to not being thrust immediately into the pressure-cooker that is our starting role, has calming picked up confidence and techniques to help round out his game. It almost appears he's quietly been promised that Miller is just a stop-gap if he can keep playing his game. I personally would play the hot hand, but we simply cannot understate the fact that Miller has been an essential part of this season, and may again be called upon to hold the fort for us if Lack falters (esp. in the playoffs). Like I said, I go with Lack for the remainder of the season + playoffs because he truly looks as capable as any goaltender not in that elite category to win games for this team. Exactly as capable as Ryan Miller, who is just that - capable.

tl;dr you just need "capable" goaltending to win in the NHL, and we have it!

[Dekey Pete]

Hmm...

Since I don't care that much about individual stats like GAA and SV%, since these stats when comparing goalies within the same team, isn't always true, I actually care more for how the team performs when they are in net.

Miller's win% is 64% and Lack's 50%. Lack had a bad start so if only counting his starts after the Miller injury he's been pacing 60%. (Really good, but not as good.)

Facts: He's not yet as good for the team as Miller has been. And if we disregard Lack's first 15 games (don't really know why we should!?) then we could disregard Miller's worst games as well!?

Miller´s percentage is 64 and Lack's 50.

I'd rather win, period! Then see some good goalie stats (GAA/SV%) and lose... but hey, that's just me!

I like em both but I think a lot of the members here should get their facts straight before trading Miller away.

I think Lack will be our new no 1 keeper within a year, but during that year he would most greatly benefit from Miller as a mentor.

Do not trade Miller away because Lack's been posting good win% in 15 games!!

A reminder: Without Miller from the start of this season, we would have relied on Lack's win% before the injury, which were sub 40%. Without Miller we would not even be in this playoff race!

To be fair, there were a few back to backs where Ryan Miller cherry-picked the easier of the two opponents.

Though, I agree with your point, you should go with the goalie that the team plays the best in front of. Good goal tending is much more than just GAA and save%. Neither of those stats measure making key saves at critical times during a game, or how well you control rebounds making your defenseman's job easier.

I gotta think that Ryan gets his job back as #1 when he returns, then it's up to him to play well enough to stay there.

[Mattrek]

At 25 what did Lack show at the NHL level? You replied with a lot of what ifs? Well what if we trade the veteran Miller and then Lack falls under the pressure of being the number one. Then we'd have a goalie struggling with confidence and only Markstrom as the back up. Or you suggest we sign a vet back up, now you just shipped out two goalies all so Lack can be a starter. As for you "what if" if miller starts declining, Benning obviously believes in miller or else he wouldn't have signed him to a 3 year deal if he had what if's in his mind.

Don't get me wrong I like Lack. But he hasn't grossly outplayed Miller. He's played good but he's got it easy with little pressure. If he falters like he did at the end of last year, no one points a finger at him, he's not the concern as he's not paid or expected to be the number one guy. Imagine the cry if Luongo would have blown the 3 goal lead last season to the NYI. It's a completely different mentality going from the guy with low expectations to being the high paid number one expected to carry the load.

Lack alone might not get a first round pick do to the market of goalies. But Lack in a package easily could. I wouldn't be after a first round pick anyways. We already have one this year and players take to long to develop. I'd stick with Bennings plan of trading for already groomed players. Lack +, for a upcoming prospect, or a struggling high talent player, similar to the Turris, or Niederreiter deals.

Cap space is only valuable if we use it. Canucks currently have too many roster players as it is and all we'd be doing is creating more of a log jam. We need to start bringing youth, Next season we have 3 players not exempt from waivers. These players need to play. Not sit in the press box.

You don't just give away assets because you have too many. No matter how you want to look at it, Unless Miller comes out and says I don't want to play in Vancouver, Lack is the one that brings more value in a deal, trading Lack fits this teams timeline better. In all honestly, Lack probably wants out, he likely wants his opportunity.

Edmonton and Buffalo seem like good destinations for the need of a goalie with Lack ability and they have the assets to lose

This is the dumbest statement I've read on here. Please explain to me how playing games trying to secure a spot in the post season playoffs is EASIER than at the start of a season when teams are trying to find their legs. The fact that Lack has played as well or better then Miller did at the start of the season speaks volumes about who is the better goalie.

[Mattrek]

Miller has played well for us and has helped mentor Lack to better his game. There's no doubt about that. That being said I think it's worth the 6 million to take a chance and play Lack as our number one and move Miller out. Even if we don't get a big return from him it would be worth it to free up the much needed space in our cap. Miller I'm sure would be fine in SJ or ANA and then all our problems are dealt with at once including the space to be able to sign some of our UFA's. Worst case scenario is Lack falters next season and we use some of the 6m to buy another goalie which will be fairly easy to do at way less cost to us. Best case scenario he becomes our number one and Markstrom is a reliable back up.

If you truly want a controversy in Vancouver you'll do what some of you are saying and trade Lack away. He's the most popular player since Luongo and may have surpassed his popularity. The fans would be extremely angry if Lack got traded and then you'd have a firestorm to put out.

[Frazzy Desjardins]

Remember when halak carried Montreal just to be traded that off season. Looks like they made the smart move keeping Price. One playoffs does not mean everything. Lack is still young and doesn't have the experience that miller has. He is yet to pay his due diligence. Patience Canucks fans.

This fan base wants a goalie controversy I swear..

[ForsbergTheGreat]

This is the dumbest statement I've read on here. Please explain to me how playing games trying to secure a spot in the post season playoffs is EASIER than at the start of a season when teams are trying to find their legs. The fact that Lack has played as well or better then Miller did at the start of the season speaks volumes about who is the better goalie.

Derr. How many fingers were pointed at Lack last season when canucks missed the playoffs? Until he has the pressure of being the go to high paid player, everything he does is a bonus. Lack playing as good as he is right now was not expected of him, if it was he would be getting paid a lot more than 1.15 million.

When Lack is the $5 million guy and the only one expected to lead the team then we can talk about pressure.

Look at the flames if they make the playoffs, good, its a nice surprise to the fans, if they don't it's not the end of the world as they really weren't expected to be there anyways. Which team had more pressure to make the playoffs this year, the shark or the flames?

[Mattrek]

Derr. How many fingers were pointed at Lack last season when canucks missed the playoffs? Until he has the pressure of being the go to high paid player, everything he does is a bonus. Lack playing as good as he is right now was not expected of him, if it was he would be getting paid a lot more than 1.15 million.

When Lack is the $5 million guy and the only one expected to lead the team then we can talk about pressure.

Look at the flames if they make the playoffs, good, its a nice surprise to the fans, if they don't it's not the end of the world as they really weren't expected to be there anyways. Which team had more pressure to make the playoffs this year, the shark or the flames?

How is he not the go to player? Miller is injured. If Lack loses, we don't make the playoffs. That's immense pressure for a guy who has never started more than two games in a row before and he's handling it very well. It's not all about the money for who has the most pressure. Right now Lack needs to lead the team and he is; not Miller.

What does the Flames and Sharks have to do with me arguing Lack has played the same or better with more pressure than Miller has had. Don't deflect.

[ForsbergTheGreat]

How is he not the go to player? Miller is injured. If Lack loses, we don't make the playoffs. That's immense pressure for a guy who has never started more than two games in a row before and he's handling it very well. It's not all about the money for who has the most pressure. Right now Lack needs to lead the team and he is; not Miller.

What does the Flames and Sharks have to do with me arguing Lack has played the same or better with more pressure than Miller has had. Don't deflect.

I never said Lack hasn't played better I said he has less pressure.

What part of my quote did you bold again " He's played good but he's got it easy with little pressure."

If you can't figure that out we probably shouldn't be haven't a debate in any sort. Good day

[aGENT]

I never said Lack hasn't played better I said he has less pressure.

What part of my quote did you bold again " He's played good but he's got it easy with little pressure."

If you can't figure that out we probably shouldn't be haven't a debate in any sort. Good day

Team fighting to make playoffs in tight Western conference with now 5 games left... To you that = "little pressure"...?

[MattA16]

At 25 what did Lack show at the NHL level? You replied with a lot of what ifs? Well what if we trade the veteran Miller and then Lack falls under the pressure of being the number one. Then we'd have a goalie struggling with confidence and only Markstrom as the back up. Or you suggest we sign a vet back up, now you just shipped out two goalies all so Lack can be a starter. As for you "what if" if miller starts declining, Benning obviously believes in miller or else he wouldn't have signed him to a 3 year deal if he had what if's in his mind.

Don't get me wrong I like Lack. But he hasn't grossly outplayed Miller. He's played good but he's got it easy with little pressure. If he falters like he did at the end of last year, no one points a finger at him, he's not the concern as he's not paid or expected to be the number one guy. Imagine the cry if Luongo would have blown the 3 goal lead last season to the NYI. It's a completely different mentality going from the guy with low expectations to being the high paid number one expected to carry the load.

Lack alone might not get a first round pick do to the market of goalies. But Lack in a package easily could. I wouldn't be after a first round pick anyways. We already have one this year and players take to long to develop. I'd stick with Bennings plan of trading for already groomed players. Lack +, for a upcoming prospect, or a struggling high talent player, similar to the Turris, or Niederreiter deals.

Cap space is only valuable if we use it. Canucks currently have too many roster players as it is and all we'd be doing is creating more of a log jam. We need to start bringing youth, Next season we have 3 players not exempt from waivers. These players need to play. Not sit in the press box.

You don't just give away assets because you have too many. No matter how you want to look at it, Unless Miller comes out and says I don't want to play in Vancouver, Lack is the one that brings more value in a deal, trading Lack fits this teams timeline better. In all honestly, Lack probably wants out, he likely wants his opportunity.

Edmonton and Buffalo seem like good destinations for the need of a goalie with Lack ability and they have the assets to lose

First off, trying to look into the future in any situation involves a lot of what-ifs. It's absolutely possible that Lack falls under the pressure of being a paid #1, but at the end of the day he has done enough to warrant an opportunity at that spot. Markstrom is still young yes, and I understand Lack hadn't proved much at his age, but if you wanna talk about opportunities at the NHL level Markstrom has failed in essentially every aspect. I understand goalies take a while to develop but for every Ben Bishop there are 50 Justin Pogge's. You have to go with the least unknown, and in this case it's Eddie Lack. Also, despite his low contract etc., Lack has been playing in high pressure games practically every start down the stretch as we try to maintain a playoff spot.

As far as Miller goes, I'm not saying he's guaranteed to start faltering. He has played okay this year, but he'll be 35 at the start of next season and is coming off of an injury. As mentioned already in this thread, the Miller signing was a stop gap signing until either Lack or Markstrom developed into a #1 goalie. Given Lack's play at this point I would say he's reached #1 status. Do we ship out assets simply because we have them? No, but like you said, Lack wants an opportunity. Miller obviously will not give up that role willingly. We either ship off the young goalie and ride out the last two years of Miller's contract (assuming he maintains solid play throughout the remainder of his contract) and hope for the best with Markstrom or Demko, or we ship a proven Miller to a win-now organization and keep Lack long term. I believe we can get more than we think for Miller, as he is a proven goalie with only 2 years of commitment contract wise. Teams who would want Lack are teams who want a long term fit in net, and with one year left on his contract after this season Lack doesn't provide that unless he essentially guarantees a new contract the following year i.e. Bobby Ryan in Ottawa. For those teams there may be more certainty in signing long term deals to the Dubynyk's of the free agent pool. Also, with the likelihood of Andrew Hammond or Robin Lehner hitting the market, the commodity of a young long term goalie becomes more available, thus lowering the price of Eddie Lack.

I'm rambling, but point is the last thing I wan't to see is another Cory Schneider shipped out of Vancouver. We pulled through in that situation with the home run draft pick of Bo Horvat and a solid replacement in Eddie Lack. Eddie has been groomed in our system and has played his way into a #1 role IMO.

[CroSen]

I thought last night's game against Nashville said a lot about Lack's heart and work ethic. It would have been easy to give up or to become less focused after the goals nashville got back, the stick in the mask, as well as the officiating, and yet in the last few minutes of the game with all of the pressure Nashville put on, Lack played like a star.

I never really understood the Miller signing from the beginning, however my hope going forward is that there is no official number 1 goalie for the Canucks, and rather there is more of a split in games played.

[ForsbergTheGreat]

First off, trying to look into the future in any situation involves a lot of what-ifs. It's absolutely possible that Lack falls under the pressure of being a paid #1, but at the end of the day he has done enough to warrant an opportunity at that spot. Markstrom is still young yes, and I understand Lack hadn't proved much at his age, but if you wanna talk about opportunities at the NHL level Markstrom has failed in essentially every aspect. I understand goalies take a while to develop but for every Ben Bishop there are 50 Justin Pogge's. You have to go with the least unknown, and in this case it's Eddie Lack. Also, despite his low contract etc., Lack has been playing in high pressure games practically every start down the stretch as we try to maintain a playoff spot.

As far as Miller goes, I'm not saying he's guaranteed to start faltering. He has played okay this year, but he'll be 35 at the start of next season and is coming off of an injury. As mentioned already in this thread, the Miller signing was a stop gap signing until either Lack or Markstrom developed into a #1 goalie. Given Lack's play at this point I would say he's reached #1 status. Do we ship out assets simply because we have them? No, but like you said, Lack wants an opportunity. Miller obviously will not give up that role willingly. We either ship off the young goalie and ride out the last two years of Miller's contract (assuming he maintains solid play throughout the remainder of his contract) and hope for the best with Markstrom or Demko, or we ship a proven Miller to a win-now organization and keep Lack long term. I believe we can get more than we think for Miller, as he is a proven goalie with only 2 years of commitment contract wise. Teams who would want Lack are teams who want a long term fit in net, and with one year left on his contract after this season Lack doesn't provide that unless he essentially guarantees a new contract the following year i.e. Bobby Ryan in Ottawa. For those teams there may be more certainty in signing long term deals to the Dubynyk's of the free agent pool. Also, with the likelihood of Andrew Hammond or Robin Lehner hitting the market, the commodity of a young long term goalie becomes more available, thus lowering the price of Eddie Lack.

I'm rambling, but point is the last thing I wan't to see is another Cory Schneider shipped out of Vancouver. We pulled through in that situation with the home run draft pick of Bo Horvat and a solid replacement in Eddie Lack. Eddie has been groomed in our system and has played his way into a #1 role IMO.

I agree with almost everything you said and yes it really comes down to, do we keep Lack or Miller. Both goalies will not be here at the start of the season. It also comes down to Miller. What happens if Miller doesn’t want to go, his limited NTC (He picks 5 teams he’s willing to go to) makes it almost impossible to move, it he decides he like Vancouver. Quite frankly at this point, Lack in all likely hood gets a greater return. Hammond and Lehner really don’t have anything on Lack. Talbot, perhaps but NYR locked up Tablot for another year.

All in all the goalie market has never really been that great. Every team has a young guy they believe is going to be their next future starter. But Lack due to his low contract, and no NTC, opens up greater possibilities. Very similar to why Schneider was dealt and Luongo was kept.

Your right Miller is a short team solution for teams wanting to win now, but he also wants to be a #1 guy, why would he want to go to ANA to split a season with a young goalie in andersen, And with SJ, does Miller really provide that much more stability than Niemi. Niemi was a Conn smyth nominee and a Stanley cup winner. Plus he'd be cheaper. Add on top of that, SJ likely go into a new direction next year and a vet goalie like miller doesn't really make sense to giving up assets to acquire.

We’ve seen from Lack that he can be just as good as Miller, were also likely going to find out what Lack can do in the post season. If Lack comes out and proves he’s solid, it will only drive his value up even more. It'll show the Gm's that he can also be relied on in post season, when games really matter.

Value wise I don’t think Lack gets us into the first round alone but him plus a prospect does, or even better him plus a prospect gets us a player in the 20-22 age range. Canucks have bigger holes on this team than clearing up cap space, especially when the UFA market doesn’t have anything younger and more appealing. In two or less years Burrows, Hamhuis, H. Sedin, D. Sedin, Juice, Higgins, Bonino, and Vbrata all hit UFA stats. Aside from Bonino, all the players mentioned have a good chance of not being resigned due to their age. Let’s use a valuable piece like Lack to try and bridge that gap. A young RW with potential to break out is who I want. Someone to replace Vbrata’s offence after he goes UFA at the end of next season.

Honestly if you think about it. When Benning signed Miller to a 3 year deal. The writing was pretty much on the wall for Lack. None of us really saw Lack waiting in the back till he was 29 to finally get his shot, did we? Miller going down with injury and Lack coming in and playing strong only improved his traded value. Trade him get a decent return and wish him the best. You don’t have to hate a player to be ok with them being traded. Just have to realize it’s a business. I would like nothing more than Lack to be solid full time starter in this league and hope he does one day. Just don’t see it happening in Vancouver. I’d still cheer for him, just like I do with Luongo, and Schneider.

[ForsbergTheGreat]

Team fighting to make playoffs in tight Western conference with now 5 games left... To you that = "little pressure"...?

Team has pressure yes. Good or bad, no one blames lack, Why is that. Oh that's right, because he's not the paid guy who's expected to be there. Everything he does is a bonus, look at Talbot this season. If he does bad, ranger fans blame Lundqvist' injury to the bad stretch, No one would have blamed Talbot

Like this isn't that hard to figure out. Yes vancouver is in a playoff race, yes theirs always pressure on any player when playing in the NHL, but there is less pressure on a player when you don't have high expectation placed on you, Both players play on this team but tell me, who has more pressure to come up big in a game, Henrik sedin or Bo horvat.......Gee I wonder why that is.

[bluesman60]

I would say Miller started out as our # 1 but I think Eddie has proven to be his equal if not better. Both are unproven in the playoffs, both have almost identical save percentages and Eddie's games are at the tail end of the regular season when teams are peaking and fighting for a spot in the playoffs. I would say that Eddie has had the tougher games to play.

I would say that they are equals right now and that neither is the #1 guy until they prove it in the playoffs. So on what basis are you pencilling Miller as #1?

[Mackcanuck]

Jeff Paterson ‏@patersonjeff 9m9 minutes ago

#Canucks Willie D tells @tsn1040 he's running with Eddie Lack. Only way he'll change is if Lack's play drops off

[bluesman60]

They said the same thing about Schneider when he was here....he hasn't proven he can play a full season as #1. With Miller coming off a long injury, I would rather play Lack in the playoffs until Miller gets up to speed.....at which time I would share the workload between them equally unless one of them plays lights out.

[bluesman60]

I was upset when we traded Schneider but getting Bo Horvat in return was sweet. Let's say they do trade Lack for a 1st rounder like they did with Schneider, if we got another guy like Bo Horvat, I would be partying for a week....except I am too old to party for a week now but I would have a permanent smile on my face.

Right now, I think we should just be happy that we have two solid goalies and ready to do some damage in the playoffs.

[MattA16]

I agree with almost everything you said and yes it really comes down to, do we keep Lack or Miller. Both goalies will not be here at the start of the season. It also comes down to Miller. What happens if Miller doesn’t want to go, his limited NTC (He picks 5 teams he’s willing to go to) makes it almost impossible to move, it he decides he like Vancouver. Quite frankly at this point, Lack in all likely hood gets a greater return. Hammond and Lehner really don’t have anything on Lack. Talbot, perhaps but NYR locked up Tablot for another year.

All in all the goalie market has never really been that great. Every team has a young guy they believe is going to be their next future starter. But Lack due to his low contract, and no NTC, opens up greater possibilities. Very similar to why Schneider was dealt and Luongo was kept.

Your right Miller is a short team solution for teams wanting to win now, but he also wants to be a #1 guy, why would he want to go to ANA to split a season with a young goalie in andersen, And with SJ, does Miller really provide that much more stability than Niemi. Niemi was a Conn smyth nominee and a Stanley cup winner. Plus he'd be cheaper. Add on top of that, SJ likely go into a new direction next year and a vet goalie like miller doesn't really make sense to giving up assets to acquire.

We’ve seen from Lack that he can be just as good as Miller, were also likely going to find out what Lack can do in the post season. If Lack comes out and proves he’s solid, it will only drive his value up even more. It'll show the Gm's that he can also be relied on in post season, when games really matter.

Value wise I don’t think Lack gets us into the first round alone but him plus a prospect does, or even better him plus a prospect gets us a player in the 20-22 age range. Canucks have bigger holes on this team than clearing up cap space, especially when the UFA market doesn’t have anything younger and more appealing. In two or less years Burrows, Hamhuis, H. Sedin, D. Sedin, Juice, Higgins, Bonino, and Vbrata all hit UFA stats. Aside from Bonino, all the players mentioned have a good chance of not being resigned due to their age. Let’s use a valuable piece like Lack to try and bridge that gap. A young RW with potential to break out is who I want. Someone to replace Vbrata’s offence after he goes UFA at the end of next season.

Honestly if you think about it. When Benning signed Miller to a 3 year deal. The writing was pretty much on the wall for Lack. None of us really saw Lack waiting in the back till he was 29 to finally get his shot, did we? Miller going down with injury and Lack coming in and playing strong only improved his traded value. Trade him get a decent return and wish him the best. You don’t have to hate a player to be ok with them being traded. Just have to realize it’s a business. I would like nothing more than Lack to be solid full time starter in this league and hope he does one day. Just don’t see it happening in Vancouver. I’d still cheer for him, just like I do with Luongo, and Schneider.

We'll agree to disagree on the trade value part. However you bring up a good point. Benning, at the time, probably did not see Lack fitting into this team down the road, which he indicated by signing Miller and drafting Demko as high as he did. This makes all the sense in the world considering Lack did not play like a #1 down the stretch last year. Obviously it wasn't in the plans to have Miller hurt and Eddie Lack take over and play as well as he has, but this is Vancouver and it wouldn't be a normal season without a goalie controversy.

I think if you're Benning you have to step back and take another look at the goaltending situation, both short and long term. Short term, I would not be too upset having Miller in net nor would most franchises. The issue comes 2+ years down the road when Miller is 37 with an expiring contract, and like you said, with many of the core guys becoming UFA's. If Markstrom turns out to be the guy than problem solved, but I have my doubts. Demko will be 21/22 and more than likely too young to make an impact in the league. That leaves us in an unfavourable situation that can be avoided if we keep Lack long term. Am I saying Lack is a guaranteed bonafide #1 goalie who can play so consistently for years to come? Of course not, and like you said the playoffs will be a big test, but at 27 years old he is showing everything that he needs to be so: size, athleticism, technique, and mental toughness.

If I had to make my guess, I would agree with you and say Lack ends up elsewhere. If I had it my way, I'd ship off Miller and sign Lack long term. I just worry that we get rid of a gem and regret it down the road. Time will tell.

[Burnsey]

Truthfully I was hoping to see Lack as the no. 1 this year before we got Miller. Last season showed us that he had great potential. This year has shown he can be a no. 1 guy, a lot of people talk about Markstrom being no. 1 and Lack being the back-up in a few years time. Lack has great potential and without him playing as well as he has we'd be on the outside looking in.

He has kept us in games, even before Miller was injured. He kept us in games when the rest of the team didn't bother to show up and fans were ripping on him for losing - I'm talking about his first 3-5 games where he played the 2nd game (of a back-to-back).