Jeremy Hronek

LOL, Jesus. But yeah - this kid deserves the severest punishment possible and I support whatever decision is made. I think the Jewish Resource Center is making a mistake by not pressing charges but maybe that's not for me to say.

@MeanSeanBean - c'mon man, lol.

I haven't created a team with Ohlund, Edler, or Luongo yet and so here goes: Miller-Horvat-Smyl Ohlund-Edler R.Miller Miller-Kesler-Bertuzzi Lumme-Salo Luongo

Trust me I'm aware of this. I guess my answer to your question is that I'm a biased homer with very wishful thinking? Originally, I had Calgary pegged as a team that was going to be blowing it up since there were all these rumours that everyone wanted out (i.e. Toffoli, Hanafin, Backlund, etc), but that problems seems to have been resolved (Toffoli left). Interdivisional trades do occur, but they are rare.......and the Canucks would probably have to throw in a significant sweetener for Calgary to even consider Tanev for Myers++. So yeah, it's unlikely that a trade like this would ever occur. My guess is that the Canucks will likely wait for later in the year and then re-sign Ethan Bear.......although I don't think Bear is going to move the needle much. Maybe Ilya Lyubushkin would be considered an upgrade on Myers? (and a half-decent worthy pairing for Hughes?). My gut feeling says, "no" but who knows.

The "I officially have no life" edition. This is probably my 12th or 13th entry but what can I say......I love my Nucks and their next game isn't for a few days. Miller-Pettersson-Mogilny Lumme-Bieksa R.Miller As many have pointed out, R.Miller just might be the best 'bang for the bucks' as far as the Canucks goalies listed here. While RM was passed his prime when he got here, he was still pretty solid. Not a superstar by any means, but not a liability either. He was paid 6 million and lived up to the contract....not a penny more not a penny less. J.T. would provide a physical presence and face-off ability to the forward lines. Petey and Mogilny are both highly skilled two way players that can thread the needle with passes and kill you offensively. This is an excellent line. Lumme is another "bang for the buck" player in this game and can carry the puck up the ice quite well. Not a defensive liability either. Bieksa can provide some added muscle on the back-end.

My bad. I wasn't aware of this.

Very good arguments. To be honest, I'm not sure what the intention was of the creator of this game, but perhaps he/she intended it this way? A player that costs more isn't necessarily a better player even though it is in most cases? Furthermore, a better overall player (i.e. Edler over Salo) may not provide better bang for the buck? (i.e. Salo at $1 is better value than Edler at $4?). I'm not sure.....

Hughes with the WCE would have been insane!

Bubble Demko was out of this world. Vegas completely dominated the series against and Demko almost single-handedly won us that series. In fact, he broke Vegas so much to the point where they were completely listless against Dallas in the next series (this was from Vegas' coach). Demko was also tremendous for us during the 21/22 season after a slow start. Though he was injured last season, the team was noticeably better with Demko in net (although granted, my grandmother's nut sack would have been a better goaltender than both Spencer Martin and Colin Delia). McLean was excellent for us from the early 90's to (1995?), but the whole Jeff Brown thing completely broke him. He was never the same goalie after that. In many respects, McLean was the Todd Bertuzzi of goaltending. A few insanely great years that were ultimately outweighed by more mediocre ones.

Agreed. I also realized that it wouldn't work from a long term cap perspective anyways due to the cap penalty involved with OEL (back to back 4 million dollar cap penalties with that contract in a couple of years) . My new (old?) thought is that the Canucks should try and trade Myers, with a sweetener of some kind, to bring Chris Tanev back to the fold. Not sure if it's feasible since Calgary is a divisional rival, but who knows. Hughes-Tanev Soucy-Hronek Wolanin-Cole Now THAT would be a respectable defense.

Center, Defense, Goaltending. A wise man once said that in order to win, you need to have a franchise center, a franchise defenseman, and a franchise goalie. So......let's put this to the test? Henrik, Hughes, and Luongo.....but then I'd be at 15 already with only two points left to fill 3 spots. So....Demko instead of Luongo puts me at 14. xxx-Henrik--xx Hughes-xxx Demko Williams-Henrik-Burrows Hughes-Salo Demko (not bad, but I don't think this line would be potent enough to be a threat offensively.......let's try again. Slight downgrade at C + upgrade on Wing). Burrows-Linden-Smyl Hughes-Salo Demko [Linden, Smyl, and Demko probably wouldn't be considered franchise players but they are/were pretty darn close......and were very solid and important pieces to a team. A voila. We have a pretty balanced line-up here].

Finally! A Williams mention. Nice to see Petey and Bure on the same line as well.

Team clutch: Burrows-Kesler-Linden Hughes-Bieksa McLean Team "Bang for buck" Sedin-Sedin-Smyl Hamhuis-Bieksa R.Miller

Some new teams from me: Naslund-Ronning-Bertuzzi Hughes-Salo McLean [This team above was inspired from the dialogue that I read between @IBatch and @JeremyCuddles. Agreed with both posters that many of the players from yester-year have been criminally underrated in this game (i.e. Ronning, McLean, etc.). Naslund-Pettersson-Mogilny Hamhuis-Bieksa Cloutier [While many talk about how great Pettersson and Pavel would be together......trust me, they would have, I actually believe that prime Mogilny and Pettersson would have been even better. Both are equally comfortable at being the set-up man and sniper, and both players play magnificent two-way games. Both guys would also easily set-up one of the best snipers in his prime in Naslund]. Miller-Horvat-Smyl Hughes-Salo Demko [A surprisingly formidable forward group even if it doesn't look scary upon first glance. Won't dominate but would easily hold their own.....and they'd be backed up our best defenseman in franchise history, as well as George Costanza's favourite, the "bubble boy!" And of course, how can I *not* create a team without my favourite Canuck of all-time.........Pavel Bure. Burrows-Linden-Bure Lumme-Salo Demko [I would have rather seen Miller up front playing with Pavel instead of Burrows but I wouldn't have been able to fit them under the cap!]

I think the creator of this game may have had a lot of 'recency bias' in mind, but I think a large part of this game might also have to do with letting candidates assess a players' cost relative to their values. For example, most would agree that Edler was a better defenseman than Hamhuis, but is Hamhuis more valuable at $2 than Edler at $4? etc.

This is a really good team. Nice bargain bins with Hammer and Juice. Petey plays the "Morrison on steroids" role with Nazzy and Bert.

I'm going to use your Lumme-Tanev idea and create a non-flashy but solid 5-man group that play a smart and responsible two-way game. Burrows-Kesler-Linden Lumme-Tanev Demko Nothing "sexy" or dynamic with the above but a formidable and responsible group with little to no weaknesses.

Slight variation to my initial "out of the box" team. The Jovo-Tanev tandem stays in-tact while I upgrade in net from 'decent' 2014-2017 Ryan Miller to 'bubble' Demko (although I still like my Miller-Kesler-Bertuzzi / Jovo-Tanev / R.Miller team better). Miller-Horvat-Smyl Jovanovski-Tanev Demko

I'll be a bit unconventional and go with the following line-up: Miller-Kesler-Bertuzzi Jovanovski-Tanev R.Miller -To what extent can Kesler's superb defensive prowess compensate for Miller and Bertuzzi's defensive shortcomings? -To what extent can Tanev's superb defensive savviness compensate for "Special Ed?" -To what extent can Miller's playmaking abilities compensate for Kesler's lack of skill in this area? My gut says that all three of the above potential concerns would be solved........and you'd see a very dynamic, skilled, and physical element with these 5 men on the ice. Jovanovski leading and joining the rush with Tanev saving his bum + Bertuzzi crashing the net and creating a physical force while Kesler back-checks and bails Bertuzzi out defensively. Miller would be there sniping and/or playmaking and giving the offense just enough creativity. Unlike most Canucks' line-ups, this is the type of line that can also physically dominate out there and really set the tone. This would come in especially handy during the playoffs. It's going to be tough for teams to batter this line on the forecheck and this line would also be superb at Face-offs with Kesler and Miller there. Speaking of "the other Miller," while it's true that Ryan Miller was a little passed his prime when he got here, he was still a very solid goalie. Not a superstar by any means (while with us), but he was worth his contract in its entirety. Not a penny more. Not a penny less. Extremely good value at just $2. My other picks: #2 (my actual "real" first choice but I wanted to be creative and so I went with the above) Naslund-Morrison-Bertuzzi Hamhuis-Jovanovski McLean #3 Sedin-Sedin-Burrows Hamhuis-Bieksa McLean #2 and #3 are likely better than my #1 but I enjoyed creating #1 since it "goes against the grain" a little bit (and also has a lot of untapped hidden potential imo).

While I think our defense will be better as a whole, with a significantly improved PK, my concern for this team is that there's still too much of a drop off on the back-end after Hughes and Hronek. We don't really have a true #3 guy. To further complicate matters, Hughes and Hronek are not stylistically compatible to play with one another and so you'll basically have Soucy (a #4 calibre d-man) playing with Hughes while Cole (and #5 calibre d-man) will be playing with Hronek.......and this of course, is assuming that everyone stays healthy! (which is not realistic obviously). The Canucks have very good depth on defense in terms of guy that can fill in on a 3rd pair, and guys that can possibly ride shotgun on a 2nd pairing (i.e. Wolanin, Hirose, Rathbone, McWard, Juulsen, etc.), but this team really need another #2 calibre d-man. #1/#1A - Hughes #2 - Hronek #2A/3 - MIA #4 - Soucy #5 - Cole #5 - Myers #5-#6 - Hirose, Wolanin, etc. Depending on what Management's goals are for this season, it might be worth our while to try and trade Myers with a sweetener to try and upgrade on defense (in hopes of getting that missing 2A/3 guy). Chris Tanev would have been ideal but there's no way Calgary trades him to us. I thought Dumba would have been nice but I've been informed that the guy has dropped off a lot.

I've been impressed with PDG so far. Keep up the good work.

The good news with Pettersson is that he's made it clear that he wants to be here long term, and that, he's just waiting for the end of the season so that can get offered a premium market value contract (using his performance for this upcoming season as proof that he's deserving of a David Pastrnak-esque type contract). This is according to the rumours. Now having said all that - I'm not sure if I see a pathway for this current core to take the next step and become elite. A LOT will need to happen over these next 3 years and I just don't see it happening for the following reasons: 1. Most of Myers' money will be used for Pettersson's new contract. 2. Hronek will receive a significant raise and so I'm guessing a lot of that money will come from Beauvillier's expired contract? 3. Boeser will come off the books in two seasons but a lot of that money will be used on OEL's cap penalty. And so we'll have some cap challenges to deal with over these next few years and here's the kicker: 3 years from now: -Demko will be a 30 year old UFA -Miller will likely start to begin his age related decline -Kuzmenko will have been off the books one year prior and may look to go to a contender (or, re-sign here at unfavourable term and money...."unfavourable" given his age at that time). -Quinn Hughes will only have one year left on his deal and his two younger brothers and family live in the USA. So even if Quinn doesn't go to NJ, he might want to sign close to there. Think - Johnny Gaudreau. American born hockey players aren't the most loyal guys on the planet. So again, my outlook for this Canucks' core is kind of 'meh.' maybe we'll get to the playoffs once or twice over the next 3 years but I can't see us progressing much beyond that. Personally? What I would have done? I would have blown things up in January of 2023 (earlier this year). -Trade Pettersson for a 2023 1st + elite prospect -Trade Hughes for a 2023 1st + elite prospect -Trade Demko for a 2023 1st (and prospect). -Trade Miller to Pittsburgh for two 1sts (as was the rumored deal). -Horvat to NYI for Raty and/or their 2023 1st (2023 1st was what was being rumored for Horvat at one point) -Kuzmenko for a low 2023 1st. -Do a natural tank and finish bottom 3 in the standings (securing one of Bedard, Carlsson, or Fantilli). -Weaponize cap space and bring in players on bad contracts (2 years left) while accepting sweeteners. Keep guys like OEL, Myers, Boeser, Garland, etc. to ensure that we can hit the cap floor. Make Luke Schenn captain. That's what I would have done, but anyways.........

@Biff Tannen, @King Heffy @Elias Pettersson I'll try and respond to your guys' points with this post (apologies in advance to others if I've missed your response as my time is limited). Here is why I didn't quite feel that a Seth Jones-OEL comparison/analogy was quite 1:1 despite the fact that both players' contracts are/were set to expire at 35/36 respectively. 1. Stylistic differences: While OEL was mistakingly pegged as a two-way defensemen by Benning (and perhaps OEL was this type of player during his peak years), the truth of the matter is that OEL was an OFD (Offensive defenseman), and had been an OFD for most of his career. Why is this relevant? Because - his stylistic similarity to Quinn Hughes made it a mismatch to have him playing alongside Quinn to make a super pairing. Same thing with Nate Schmidt. Benning had assumed that Schmidt was a two-way guy but he was more of an OFD. Seth Jones on the other hand, is a two-way defenseman. 2. Physicality: Jones can play physically and with grit which would complement Hughes' style. 3. OEL and Seth Jones' sub-par play - differences. When the Canucks acquired OEL, OEL had been playing poorly for a few years (father had passed? I can't remember). Whatever the case, OEL needed a change of scenery. When OEL first got here, he actually played pretty well for us in the two way role. He carried Myers in that second pairing role (although OEL tailed off in the final 1/3rd of the 21/22 season). Last season, he was injured most of the summer and didn't have a full training session. Hence, he was sub-par last season. Seth Jones on the other hand has had very good underlying numbers in Chicago despite playing on such a bad team. In fact, the only reason why Jones appeared to be struggling in Chicago initially was because he was paired with Jack Johnson. Once paired with brother Caleb however, Seth was dramatically different. So - can you imagine Jones with Hughes?.......under Tocchet's structured system? (as opposed to whatever fruity system was being employed in Chicago last season). So that was my logic in wanting to bring in Seth Jones from a few days ago. Now having said ALL THAT, I agree with @Elias Pettersson that bringing in Seth Jones wouldn't work from a long term cap perspective since we will need money to re-sign Pettersson and Hronek, combined with the fact that OEL's buyout will rear its ugly head in a few years (4 million cap hit for two seasons). So with that in mind, I also agree that Jones' cap hit wouldn't work for us and we'll need guys like Boeser's and Myers' contracts to come clean off the books. While I like poster Elias Pettersson's idea of making a waiver claim for Bjork (and taking a calculated risk on other cheap guys), my biggest concern is that the Canucks could be at risk in "spinning their wheels" over these next few years and not really gaining any significant ground. 3 years from now -Demko will be a 30 year old UFA -Miller will likely no longer be at his peak -Kuzmenko will have become a UFA in the year prior and might be looking for a long term contract at this point (he's not a young guy) -Hughes will only have one year left on his deal So - even if we are successful in re-signing both Pettersson and Hronek in the long term (which is not guaranteed by the way), what can we realistically achieve over these next 3 seasons given that we have albatross contracts such as Boeser and Myers, combined with OEL's ugly buyout cap penalty coming up 2-3 years from now). Looking at our current defense, even with a fully healthy line-up (which as we know, is a rarity during the season), you have Soucy slated to play with Hughes and Cole slated to be a 2nd pairing guy. On a good team, Soucy would be a #4 while Cole would be a #5 guy on a 3rd pairing. I hate to admit it, but I'm not sure if I see a "pathway" or a "window" for this team in which we make the jump to elite hood over these next 3 seasons given our cap challenges to come.

Would be pretty neat if they Jays won their 3rd World Series 30 years after their previous one. Hard to believe that Dave Winfield is 71 years old now. Paul Molitor is 67!

Agreed - although I'd be interested to hear Linden's perspective about how that whole thing went down and what was actually happening in the locker room at that time. Would also be interested to hear about Linden's perspective on the alleged power struggle between him, Benning, and the Aqua's.