Jeremy Hronek

I agree with most of your post (i.e. winning percentage being a more accurate reflection of where we are in the overall standings and in the West), the part in bold raises my eyebrows a little as this might indirectly imply that "the bounces haven't mostly gone in favour of our rivals." That's probably not what you are trying to say but there is a bit of a hidden inference there (intentional or not). At the end of the day, if the bounces have gone our way, I'd argue that it's because of our work ethic. In the NHL, more times than not, teams often put themselves in a position where luck can favour them (and hence, "luck" not really being luck most of the time).

Alright Provost, you're off my shit list. :-p. That's one hell of a post and it's definitely something I can agree with. :cheers: I disagree with on Silovs - we're going to need him to potentially replace Demko in 3 years. Demko will be 30 and doesn't exactly have a track record for being durable. I know this will be 'taboo' to say, but I honestly would consider packaging Willander with Garland in a "hockey deal" to bring in a solid #2A/#3 RHD right now if given the chance. Rasmus Andersson is the guy I have in mind if Calgary decides to be sellers this year. So not only do you bring a 'win now' piece in Andersson, but you'd also reduce your long term liabilities by getting Garland off the books.....which would ultimately allow us to allocate more term and money towards both Pettersson and Hronek (7-8 year deals as opposed to the rumoured 3-4 year). Aside from Willander, I would then keep every single other one of our prospects. For the future: -Though he's not Willander, Brzustewicz could still end up being that #2A/#3 calibre defenseman for us one day. -Silovs could possibly replace Demko in the future -Lekkerimaki potentially replaces one of Boeser or Kuzmenko -Podkolzin potentially replaces Garland -Raty potentially replaces Bluegar And so forth. edit - And to add to this, even if all/most of our young guys don't have the ceiling of Tom Willander, we're already seeing some of the benefits of these low key prospects stepping into the line-up when we have injuries. Nils Aman for instance, netted two points against Seattle when he got called up. Hoglander, whom many people have included in trade proposals, many of which revolve around an aging Tanev, has taken a noticeable step forward in his game this season. I don't think it will be too long before Hirose will be able to be fill in nicely and consistently on a bottom 6 pairing.

"Prime Ribs, prime seats and transportation $12.25" $12.25 in 2023 Vancouver will get you what? A Kit Kat?

He's a troll, lol. Take his posts with a grain of salt. If anything it's half-decent comedy.

Tenner on this being a burner/troll account.

Successful Season for me + preparing for next season. 1. 2nd round appearance (so, this answers the Tocchet question). 2. Sign both Pettersson and Hronek to long term 7-8 year deals in the off-season. 3. Do not blow up the farm or trade multiple young assets to make a push this year. We're not ready yet. Having said that, I probably *would* trade Willander and Garland in a "hockey deal" to land a legit #2A/#3 defenseman like Rasmus Andersson, but that's the only deal I would make. 4. Let Myers and Beauvillier walk in the off-season, and use a bulk of that freed up money to sign Pettersson and Hronek to long term extensions. 7-8 year deals; NOT 3-4. 5. One or more of Raty, Podkolzin, Silovs, and Lekkerimaki can be interjected into the line-up next season if they are ready. Ditto for guys like Hirose and Aman. Keep all of these guys on our team.

Zub is too important for the Sens. Can't see them giving him up. Juulsen is about as worthless as Farhan Lalji's underpants.

The Rangers are almost the best team in the league. Would they risk making such a significant change to the complexion of their team? Try this trade on NHL 24 and let us know what happens.

Did you see how the team was playing (zero structure) before he got here?

Beauvillier has about as much value as my poo with corn in it. In other words, Chicago won't see him as a guy that could legit replace Taylor Hall. Now having said all that, if there was a time for the Canucks to move Boeser, or even Kuzmenko, now might be the time to do it. Yes Chicago is rebuilding, but they need a top line winger to play with Bedard. Obviously, for someone like Boeser or Kuzmenko, they could pad their stats playing with Bedard even if they don't make the playoffs any time soon. Personally? I probably wouldn't risk messing with team chemistry by moving one of Boeser or Kuzmenko, but the Canucks will likely have to part ways with one of these guys at some point (probably best to do in the Summer).

I would strongly consider trading Boeser in the Summer. I wouldn't take the risk of messing with the team chemistry right now.

Earlier this season, I had suggested Kuzmenko for Rasmus Andersson. Given Andersson's age and contract, that might be a better fit.

Deslauriers might be able to fill a need for us.

Cinderella run or not, the Canucks didn't "break" in so called "pretender or contender" one-game-stands during the season. My point being that the 93/94 Canucks probably lost a few of these types of games at the time.

No it didn't. Even though the Bruins won the game 4-0 (one of which was an empty-netter), the Canucks actually outplayed Boston that game. Look at the shot totals and hit totals of that game. Bruins won that game because Thomas played extremely well and they capitalized on their chances.

Even if that had happened, I would have disagreed with that take. Most teams go through peaks and forays throughout a season. Back in 1993/94 for instance, I'm sure the Canucks had an example or two of poor stretches of play throughout the regular season.

Even if that had happened, I would have disagreed with that take. Most teams go through peaks and forays throughout a season. Back in 1993/94 for instance, I'm sure the Canucks had an example or two of poor stretches of play throughout the regular season.

This is a good post but I don't agree with the thesis. One game doesn't determine if a team is a contender or a pretender. 82 games. The season is a marathon not a sprint.

No. In theory, it's supposed to be a hockey package as opposed to sweeteners being used to move iGarly.

In defense of this idea, both Eriksson and OEL were at or near 30 years old when they got here and were generally seen as being past their primes. Laine is 25 years old and produced like an absolute beast the last time he played alongside a premium #1 center (Schiefele). He hasn't played with a center of that calibre ever since. Would Pettersson help Laine get back to his pre-2020 levels? Now having said all that, I'm not really "gung ho" on this idea. Just killing time on a slow day.

who?

That's a really good point about Kuzmenko and something that I hadn't considered. Agreed with you that Boeser could be pumped and dumped if he continues his level of play (i.e. traded in the Summer + Lekkerimaki steps in and replaces BB). Here's my thing with Laine - yes, he's a floater but the way this guy scored goals during his first few seasons in the NHL.......that was very Ovechkin-like. Laine had 16 goals in one month one time. Floater or not, the guy achieved some incredible results when he was playing with a legit 1st line Center in Schiefele. Why Laine was bullied by Schiefele and Wheeler is beyond me, but Laine hasn't played with a legit elite center ever since that time. Can you imagine what pre 2020 Laine could do with Elias Pettersson as his center? Anyway, it's a fantasy. I'm not really "sold" on this idea as I am with my Willander-Garland-Andersson idea, but it had crossed my mind. You are right however that from a cap perspective, Kuzmenko would likely be the wiser decision both short term and long term.

At the time (January 2023), my hope was that we could tank hard enough to the point where we'd be guaranteed one of Bedard, Fantilli, or Carlsson. That, combined with a 2023 1st + elite prospect for EACH of Pettersson, Hughes, Miller, and Demko, and perhaps a low 2023 1st for Kuzmenko, and you'd be looking at a MASSIVE potential to build a long term winner. As far as Hughes went, one idea that was going through my mind at the time was that we'd trade with Detroit with Simon Edvinsson being one of the elite prospects coming back our way (they, in turn, would get to pair-up Hughes and Seider). On top of ALL that, we'd weaponize our new found cap space and bring in even more prospects with some vets signed to 2-3 years. It was nice to fantasize about at the time but I realized that it wasn't logistically realistic (i.e. Tocchet would have never accepted the job in the first place had we decided to go in that direction). Anyways, I'm glad we did what we did. I didn't anticipate our current level of play at all.

True. His contract will also expire when he's 28 next season. Not old by any means but it could turn problematic if he was looking for a longer term deal. Laine on the other hand, is 25, and would have two more seasons after this one (27). It's only one year's difference in terms of the age their contracts will expire, but maybe that one year would give us an extra year of a player in his prime if he were to sign long term? Ignoring age aside, I think Laine's ceiling is much higher than Kuzmenko's. Put Laine with an elite center and he could easily be among the best players in the NHL again........as he was when he initially started out with Winnipeg.

Edit - Newly revised idea to an original idea: To Columbus: Andrei Kuzmenko + Anthony Beauvillier To Canucks: Patrik Laine This post might raise a few eyebrows given that Kuzmenko has outperformed Laine since getting into the league. Having said that, lets consider the following: 1. Laine hasn't really had a true "elite" center to play with since his Winnipeg days and even in Winnipeg, he was bullied off the Schiefele line. Remember what Laine's production was when he was playing with Schiefele? 2. Laine is 25 years old and is significantly younger than Kuzmenko. My ultimate point being this. IF you can bring Laine here and staple him to Pettersson, with Mikheyev being the defensive conscience on the other wing, then you might not only see a very formidable line but you'd likely see the return of peak Laine. Pettersson, a great playmaker, and a very good 200 foot player, playing with a guy that would be a clear upgrade over Kuzmenko if he gets back to his peak. More importantly however, Laine, given his age, could possibly become a long term core player for us if he liked it here. Laine-Pettersson-Mikheyev PDG-Miller-Boeser Suter-Bluegar-Garland Joshua-Lafferty-Hoglander Hughes-Hronek Cole-Myers Soucy-Bear Demko DeSmith