Jeremy Hronek

Lindholm will cost a pretty coin. I wish Hodgson the best but I don’t think things are going to work out for him. Even if he was able to overcome that health defect, skating was never his strong suit and he’s much older now…..and the game is much faster.

If there is evidence of this then I’m certainly open to hearing about it. I’m only going by the Jenner and Block findings that did a thorough investigation of the situation. Their report doesn’t mention anything about the players.

This is also one thing that I’m willing to accept. Despite the inefficiencies of our 2nd line, we are still getting consistent secondary scoring. The Lotto line, along with our bottom 6, and teeing off on opponents with no end in sight.

As much as I disliked Toews and Kane during the rivalry, I don’t think they knew what was happening to Kyle Beach at that time. Jenner and Block (law firm that conducted the internal investigation) concluded that senior officials, the GM, and the head coach of Chicago all knew about the incident but did not mention anything about the players. Toews and Kane themselves were interviewed and expressed sadness and horror over the incident (and perhaps I’m wrong, but I believe they were being genuine).

Even if he was a free asset that would sign with us for $1 million? With restricted ice-time to keep him fresh, I think he could still be similar to the 'Toews of old' in defensive situations, PK, and in face-offs. That plethora of successful playoff experience would come in handy.

I won't get into the Beach stuff as I believe it's still very unclear as to how much the players actually knew the full details. I'm more upset with Quennville, Bowman, and the owners on that one, but again, I don' want to get into this. Toews isn't what he once was but I think he can still 'bring it' defensively and with face-offs. If you keep him well rested and save him more for defensive deployments and the PK, I think he could really help. Having won 3 cups, I think his experience and insight could be a valuable addition for guys like Pettersson, Hughes, Demko, Boeser, and Miller. Toews has lost a step but I think his defensive game and intangibles (and potentially low signing costs without having to give up any assets). Pettersson-Miller-Boeser Mikheyev-Toews-Kuzmenko Joshua-Bluegar-Garland Hoglander-Suter-Lafferty PDG Hughes-Hronek Soucy-Myers Cole-Zadorov Juulsen Demko DeSmith

We also completely dominated them in 2014. The U.S. were shut-out if I recall correctly and most of their shots were perimeter shots. Three of the best four players in today's game are still Canadian (McDavid, Makar, MacKinnon). Marner, Stone, Crosby, and Marchand are all still up there. And then there's that Conor Bedard kid. Only thing that team Canada is really missing is a superstar goalie (MAF is long in the tooth, while Carter Hart is 'whatever').

Lol, damn, yikes.

Sorry I should clarify. I meant, "who better" in terms of cap accommodation, attainable acquisition (signing), and filling a need. Obviously, guys like Lindholm and Eriksson EK would be way better but we'd have to give up significant assets. With Toews, maybe you could turn it into a mini-Mats Sundin situation, essentially signing him for the 2nd half / playoffs. Toews, Canadian, had his biggest non-Stanley Cup moment in Vancouver with the 2010 Olympics. There is a loose connection to the city of Vancouver here for Toews. Yes, the Canucks and Hawks were fierce rivals from 2009-2011 but there was also a mutual respect there. I have no idea what the league rules are, and if signing Toews would even be an option, but if it is, I'd definitely have a talk with the guy if I'm Jim Rutherford/Patrik Alvin.

So let me get this straight: The Canucks need a two-way defensive minded 2nd line center that can help on the PK, potentially help a 2nd line chip in some offense, and bring some championship pedigree to the lockerroom……….all for a very cheap cost? Who better than Jonathan Toews? Would it still be possible to sign him? Get him training and then officially sign him at the trade deadline for league minimum to $1M. I know Toews has said that he wants to take this year off to focus on his health, but if he ever had one last shot of helping a team go on a cup run, this could be his chance right here.

Fair enough. Do Team North America against Team World again then

Didn’t Calgary have Gaudreau-Lindholm-Tkachuk as their first line that year? As far as Edmonton goes, while Nurse is significantly overpaid, he’s still a bonafide 2nd pairing calibre defenseman that wouldn’t look completely out of place on a top pairing. McDavid is a lockerroom cancer? Sorry man but I think we might have to agree to disagree with the above. I’m not seeing it.

There is no replacing Hughes but having that #3 calibre dman to step up and play with Hronek (Chychrun or not) would help mitigate that to a very large degree. This would not be the case if Soucy, Zadorov, Myers, or Cole were put in that spot.

I wanted Ovie to break the record but the dude is washed in my opinion. Having said that, my hats off to Ovie. Him and Crosby were the two generational talents that defined this past era. McDavid has now taken that mantle obviously but Ovie, along with Crosby, were clearly the alphas of their time.

Or, we could turn Quinn Hughes into a Canadian and make him a goalie?

I can’t remember how they did last year but they made the 3rd round in 2022 and absolutely dismantled Calgary. Although they got swept by Colorado, I remember the Avs talking about how difficult each game was. I don’t like the Oilers much either but that offense is absolutely scary when clicking. Calgary’s defense was razor sharp in 2022 and they got absolutely dismantled. The Oilers broke Markstrom.

I hear ya. As well as Myers is playing this season, you wouldn’t be able to play him on a top pairing (to form an elite top pairing) just in case we lost Hughes for the entire season (or extended period of time). Could you play Soucy, Cole, Zadorov, or Myers with one of Hughes or Hronek and get away with it? Absolutely. Would you be able to “tilt the ice” in the same manner that Hughes/Hronek are currently doing? No, you would not. Hence, for me, I would absolutely be willing to package Myers, 2024 1st, + a top prospect for someone like Chychrun to help insure us just in case we lost someone like Hughes to injury. The Canucks are insured for the most part up front. Mikheyev or Kuzmenko could replace Boeser on the top line in case someone from the lotto line got hurt. Suter could replace someone on the Garland line if someone there got hurt. Miller and Pettersson could be split up if we wanted to go in that direction. Hoglander + Raty and Podkolzin can play anywhere on lines 2-4 in case of injury. DeSmith would fill in admirably for Demko incase of injury while Silovs could fill in admirably as a back-up. What’s my main point here? My argument is that the Canucks are insured against injury in every single area for the most part *except* if one of Hughes or Hronek went down with injury.

Very creative proposal. That 2nd line would definitely turn some heads if brought together, and would definitely be a second line that could strike fear into an opposing team. It’s a very solid end result but I can’t see this actually playing out in real life. On NHL 24 however, I could definitely see your Canucks sipping from Lord Stanley. As far as that defense goes, Lauzon would be nice but the Canucks already have a lot of terrific depth for their #4-#7 defensemen in the form of Cole, Soucy, Myers, Zadorov, Juulsen, Friedman, Hirose, etc, The Canucks biggest need on defense is a #3 guy that could help ensure that our top pairing stay elite even if one of Hughes or Hronek went down with injury. (for example - Soucy-Hronek as a top pairing would be doable but it probably wouldn’t be elite, whereas Chychrun-Hronek would still be elite even if we lost Hughes for the entire season).

For the All-Star Game, do Team Canada vs Team World. So on one side for example, you’d have McDavid, Crosby, Mackinnon, Makar, Marchand, etc, On the other team, you’d have Matthews, Quinn and Jack Hughes, Draisaitl, Panarin, Barkov, etc

It’s that kind of thinking that got Calgary into trouble back in 2022. Oilers will always be tough to play against as long as they have McDrai.

The only possible “logic” (and I use that term very loosely) in having Quinn as a center (lol) is that you, in “theory” (lol) still have great depth down the middle with Petey and Horvat, but also move Miller back to the wing on one of those lines. Furthermore, you could then utilize OEL more by making him the primary PMD on the back end (giving him QH’s old #1 spot basically). But yeah, this was a bad idea. Corky Thatcher from Life Goes On must have been working for the Canucks last year.

It’s not unreasonable at all for one to believe that we have the best President, GM, and coaching staff in the entire league. Alvin is on the same level as Joe Sakic as far as I’m concerned.

3-2 Columbus Marchenko = GWG

I don’t mind the occasional quip from guys like Linden, Boudreau, Benning, Gillis, etc, but I take it with a grain of poo because none of these guys are relevant to the Canucks in 2024. Rutherford, Alvin, Tocchet, Gonchar, Foote, and the twins have taken our core players, surrounded them with complementary pieces, and have turned this team into a championship caliber team. While I personally don’t think we are at our 2011 level, I do think we are similar to our 2012 team……..which is still pretty damn good. Unlike 2012 however, my hope is that we have a happier ending.

The Canucks’ core have always had a lot of the right pieces in the right places however. -Franchise Center: Pettersson -Franchise Defenseman: Hughes -Franchise Goalie: Demko -1st line calibre winger: Boeser/Kuzmenko (switched spots basically) -2nd line match-ups center: Miller/Horvat I would argue that since the bubble, more teams should have been saying, “How the fuck are they doing so poorly?” (to which, the answers are any combination of poor management, misguided coaching, various core players battling through injuries/personal obstacles, etc). Long story short - We’ve had the right pieces in the right places for many years now and should and would have taken off after the surprise bubble playoffs if our current coaching and management had been here.