"We could've moved Ryan Miller. There were teams calling on Ryan Miller." - Jim Benning

[KeslerPlaysLikeACanadian]

How about this then.If Miller was the bridge to our next starter,should'nt Lack have been part of the 3 year transition.Year 1 he plays about 30 games.Year 2 he splits the season and plays half the games.Year 3 he plays 50 and Miller 30 or so.He knows thru the process he is working to become their starter.Yes he becomes a UFA during that period but all the Canucks do is give him a 1 year deal to prove what his value will be by letting him be the starter in year 3.This all goes out the window now with Markstrom starting in year 2 of Millers contract.

Another bone of contention.What happens if Miller gets injured again.The brain trust of the Canucks end up taking it again because they are forced to find a veteran backup/starter (because there is no way in hell Markstrom is ready) and give up another 3rd rounder out of desperation?They should have stayed the course with Lack.

Wow. Do you get paid for that pro scouting knowledge?

[Jester13]

Do you guys think Eddy heard about what transpired at the summit?

How would you feel? You got management saying your not good enough and you have the fans chanting your name.

The problem with most Canucks fans is that their prefrontal cortex's aren't regulating their amygdala properly (yes, I just went there).

Lack is arguably the most overrated Canucks player of all time by Canucks fans. Because he's a 'nice guy' and makes people laugh or smile, to them, means that management should favour him over all others. He. Is. A. Career. Backup. Goalie.

I like his laid back, care free attitude but only to a point. I would much rather have goalies like Miller or Markstrom who aren't joking around all the time, and I don't think I'm the only one.

[KeslerPlaysLikeACanadian]

It's quite obvious there was nothing lack could have done to win the trust of management and have them believe in him. The goalie battle was not based on merit. Miller is Benning's golden boy signing and he was always going to ship out lack in favour of miller no matter how well lack played.

How well did he play? Good enough to get pulled in the playoffs? You Lack fans lack understanding.

So you wanted Gillis gone.....

[KeslerPlaysLikeACanadian]

Do you guys think Eddy heard about what transpired at the summit?

How would you feel? You got management saying your not good enough and you have the fans chanting your name.

Yeah, there really hasn't been enough focus on Eddie's feelings.

[mpt]

This whole "mentorship"in the NHL is grossly over-rated. By the time a player has been a pro for 3-4 years (Markstrom's been playing pro hockey for 7 years), he knows exactly what he needs to do to be successful. If the player still goofs around and thinks he's a rock star at this point, it's not likely that any "mentorship" will change that. The things Markstrom will benefit from Miller is observing how a guy like Miller prepares for games and how Miller reacts and behaves after good and bad games. That's just a younger guy observing a vet more than anything else.

What is going to give Markstrom the best chance at succeeding in the NHL are his god-given talents, his will to succeed, and working with Rollie the Goalie on a daily basis vs. Dan Cloutier the goalie consultant.

Bottom line with Eddie Lack...as good as Eddie was at times, Jim Benning and company didn't think he was good enough to be a starter for the Canucks. And with Eddie being 27 yo, the brass put their money on Markstrom. I don't think Benning is a genius (far from it actually), but this one was a no brainer.

You pretty much described mentorship

[higgyfan]

Imagine the backlash if Markstrom turns out to be a bust. Which, I think is very likely.

Oh yes, because you probably have the inside track on Marks' abilities and development this year.

[Team Bagues]

Keeping Miller will be essential in Markstrom's development. Benning is thinking 3/4/5 years down the line, which is whats best for this team. Much better than Lack mentoring Markstrom IMO. The same process is happening to the rest of the roster gradually. Too bad the Canucks fanbase lacks patience and wants benning shot..

The mentoring factor is a good one to think about. Maybe we'll see Demko in time walked along by Ryan.

I'm neither huge on Miller nor his contract, but looking at the list of goalie contracts around the league it's actually fairly on par with what others are getting. It could be 1 or 2 million less, with Anderson or Hiller type money, but it's not. Other than length of term it's kind of funny that Ryan currently has a larger cap hit than Luongo's supposed egregious salary.

Regardless unless the defense is shored up it won't matter who's in net.

[yes we can nucks]

Imagine the backlash if Markstrom turns out to be a bust. Which, I think is very likely.

More likely he becomes the new backup goalie 'flavour of the year'... and the second coming of Patrick Roy in the eyes of many Canucks fans ... to create yet another goalie controversy. Which means he will be traded eventually too.

[smithers joe]

miller gave them a list of 5 teams, he would except a trade to...we all know those teams were close to where his wife works..maybe none of those teams were interested...

benning has made the decision that he wants miller here till markstrom is ready...they have made some unpopular decisions but they were hired to make those decisions..what do people want to just bring in management teams that will make only popular moves...

[SaintPatrick33]

The backup goalie is much like football's backup QB. In football, if the starter is struggling, everyone loves the backup, especially if he comes in and plays decent. Fact is, most backup qb's are just that: a temporary stopgap.

[Jack Fig]

"We could've moved Ryan Miller. There were teams calling on Ryan Miller." - Jim Benning

"You should've moved Ryan Miller." - Jack Fig

[Dekey Pete]

to bad they didnt eddie is a better goalie youll see him dominate this yr watch him be top 10 in nhl

I still don't think Eddie has what it takes to be a great goalie. He was good, but I'm pretty sure he's at his ceiling.

Management made the right move taking a chance on Markstrom, at least there is some possibility that he could rise to the elite level. With Eddie, we pretty much already knew what we were getting.

[Baer.]

Trading Miller and keeping Lack-Markstrom would have been like when Toronto went with Reimer and Bernier or Edmonton with Fasth and Scrivens. Decent goalies, but cannot handle the full workload of not only being a starter, but on a bad team to boot. Lack would have struggled all year to stay .500 I guarantee you. His numbers will not get better, they will get worse on an abysmal Hurricanes team. Miller has the ability to steal games and keep the confidence in the locker room.

I thought by now it was common sense that you do not run with 2 unproven goalies. And don't say Anaheim can because we are nowhere close to an Anaheim.

Confidence in the locker room and keeping guys happy (hense the Prust trade) is one of the most essential keys to the development of young players. Edmonton is a prime example of how you have to keep some veterans to lead the young core, instead of relying on 22 year olds to lead your franchise.

Markstrom will be a #1 goalie. I believe Benning when he says that. But he needs time to develop. Enter Miller. Miller's 60-50 games a season with a winning record will really help ease Markstrom into the NHL. Again, the veteran core will be able to keep Markstrom safe and confident. The last thing you want is your goalie whispering "oh boy" to himself every time there's a 3 on 2.

That's where guys like Hamhuis come in. A stable veteran presense is essential on the back end. We traded Bieksa, but Edler has been here a long time now and can be considered a veteran in the likes.

I will respect Benning for choosing not to fully tank. I don't believe in the phrase "tank on the fly". But I do believe a rebuild can be done without tanking. With proper drafting, which Benning has done, we do not need to tank.

We will get a great player with the pick we got from Bieksa. And seeing last draft, Benning takes every pick he has very seriously. Boeser and Virtanen are. top 4 power forwards Kassian didn't become. Zhukenov will be a top 6 forward if he pans out. Brisebois will be a top-4 defenseman, and so forth. Even Tate Olsen, the 7th round pick, has potential to be a bottom pairing/depth guy.

All these pieces are here to help our team of tomorrow. This will be a hard year, and don't expect playoffs even though they're trying, and just stick to your damn team through thick and thin.

[CroSen]

Time will tell I suppose, however I still don't get what would have been wrong with keeping Eddie. Eddie/Markstrom, Eddie/Miller...it shouldn't matter. If all the guys involved are hard working professionals, they will push each other to be better. I would have preferred to stay young, and cheaper.

As for the mentoring piece, I will take Eddie's character and devotion to the team over the mentoring. Character and devotion are just as important.

[ForsbergTheGreat]

For anyone saying what is Markstrom bust?

He’s been elite at every other level of hockey, and we can clearly see it’s not his abilities that are lacking. It’s a mental thing, Markstrom has 2 years to figure out the NHL game, so there is no rush. Proper development and a veteran number one goalie to take all the pressure is the best way to minimize risk. Canucks have done this.

Markstrom is only 25. He’s younger than when Lack got his first start in the NHL back in October of 2013. If both goalies were giving a clean NHL slate, Markstrom is the clear choice. A 25 year old Markstrom is better than the 25 year old Lack.

For anyone bringing up the what if Miller get hurt?

Where were all of you at the start of 2013 when Luongo’s back up was a 25 year old with zero NHL experience. Guess what Luongo did get hurt, and thus began the love fest with the legend of Lack

It’s also the same question 25 other teams are asking in the NHL. What if our number 1 goalie gets hurt? This isn’t a strong argument. Having a 1a and 1b is a luxury, not a necessity. It’s also a luxury that cannot be maintained is not long term by any team. Canucks have just been lucky to have strong young backups come in and play well. But there is always that risk with every new back up. As mentions 2 years ago Lack was named a backup and he had zero NHL experience coming off a pour year and a injury in the AHL. That seemed to turn out ok. Time for us to give the same opportunity to younger, higher potential goalie.

[Boudrias]

Demko is talking pro after the upcoming season. After this season Benning will know how well he recovers

from surgery and he will know how Markstom adapts to NHL play. Riskier to move Miller with Lack gone. I

suspect that Benning will get offers for Miller next March, if uninjured. Not likely he is moved. best

case scenario is that Marky backs up this season and they slit games in the final contract year.

[Baer.]

Demko is talking pro after the upcoming season. After this season Benning will know how well he recovers

from surgery and he will know how Markstom adapts to NHL play. Riskier to move Miller with Lack gone. I

suspect that Benning will get offers for Miller next March, if uninjured. Not likely he is moved. best

case scenario is that Marky backs up this season and they slit games in the final contract year.

Demko will be Utica's starter in 3 seasons.

[JeremyCuddles]

Given how many people wanted to keep Lack why would you say this? Lol. Trying to stir up the fanbase?

[stawns]

You can't possibly be that dense to actually think Lack is going to be a backup. Ward has been going downhill for the past three years. Carolina traded for Lack as a replacement for Ward not a bloody backup. Sometimes you should think critically about these things instead of regurgitating management's rhetoric.

We'll see i guess, but i think you'll find eddie sitting at the end of the bench a lot this season.

[LeanBeef]

Did they not stream it this year?

If so I'll release things I remember.

lier