[Speculation] Canucks’ Rathbone may request trade

[Lemon Face]

On 10/4/2023 at 9:22 AM, DeNiro said:

Trading Rathbone for a stay at home right D man makes sense at this point.

 

Look into a Miramanov or Coghlan.

Miramanov is my choice too

[Elias Pettersson]

1 hour ago, Miss Korea said:

You could say the same thing about Hirose, who is also 24 and technically wasn't good enough to make the main team.  If you don't think McDonough and Rathbone will develop more, why are you sold on Hirose?

 

Age is different from experience, in my opinion.  A college grad is obviously going to have a shorter runway to work with,but they still deserve to have an opportunity to develop their game under the organization.  Andy Greene broke into the NHL after four years in college and one year in the AHL.  Eked out a 1000-game career.  Martin St. Louis had an extremely slow development path, spending four years in college and three years in the Flames system before gradually improving in Tampa.  Alex Burrows didn't do college but he also took an interesting development path.

 

We signed a bunch of grown-ass men as prospects last Spring.  But they are still prospects.  These aren't 4/5-year projects like Rathbone/Woo but they still deserve at least a year or two to find their game.

 

Hirose has a high hockey IQ, knows what he is doing on the ice.  Knows how to play defence.  He is small so he needs to play positional hockey, which he does very well.  He may never be a top 4 Dman, but I expect him to crack the Canucks lineup at some point and be a 7/8 Dman for sure with potential to play in the top 6.

 

Rathbone does not know how to play defence.  Guys his size who can't play defence have to be big point producers at the NHL level in order to make it.  30-40 point guys.  If Rathbone doesn't know how to play defence at 24 years old then he will never learn.  That's my opinion but I could be wrong.

 

McDonough is not a good skater.  He also isn't a bottom 6 type of player.  He won't be killing penalties and he won't be used to check the opposition's top line.  He has a great shot and fits into a top 6 role.  I don't see him as a top 6 player.  Again, I could be wrong, but that is what I see right now...

Edited October 6, 2023 by Elias Pettersson

[King Heffy]

5 hours ago, Elias Pettersson said:

 

Hirose has a high hockey IQ, knows what he is doing on the ice.  Knows how to play defence.  He is small so he needs to play positional hockey, which he does very well.  He may never be a top 4 Dman, but I expect him to crack the Canucks lineup at some point and be a 7/8 Dman for sure with potential to play in the top 6.

 

Rathbone does not know how to play defence.  Guys his size who can't play defence have to be big point producers at the NHL level in order to make it.  30-40 point guys.  If Rathbone doesn't know how to play defence at 24 years old then he will never learn.  That's my opinion but I could be wrong.

 

McDonough is not a good skater.  He also isn't a bottom 6 type of player.  He won't be killing penalties and he won't be used to check the opposition's top line.  He has a great shot and fits into a top 6 role.  I don't see him as a top 6 player.  Again, I could be wrong, but that is what I see right now...

Guys who play defence as poorly as Rathbone does have no place in the NHL regardless of offensive production.  He needs to either learn how to play D or switch to the wing.

[VegasCanuck]

Asking for a trade doesn't mean anyone is willing to trade for him. Any team could have picked him up for free in the last few days and didn't.

 

His best bet at this point is, go to Abbotsford, play solid games and watch his defensive zone coverage and keep his head up so that he doesn't get hit into next month again.

 

He needs to put together a stretch of consistent play without additional injuries.