The greatest beneficiary of Quinn Hughes’ decision to return to the University of Michigan may just be Derrick Pouliot. Quite frankly, it’s difficult to fathom a scenario where Troy Stecher, Derrick Pouliot and Quinn Hughes would have made up half of the Canucks’ defence group entering the 2018/19 season. Removing Hughes from the equation subdues…
Travis Green’s insistence on running a shutdown line coupled with injuries to Brandon Sutter and Bo Horvat to create a tremendous opportunity for Nic Dowd. The 27-year-old centre averaged over 15 minutes a night over a 14 game stretch that lasted even after Sutter’s return to the lineup. That the Canucks let Dowd walk this…
The free-agency frenzy has long passed with the Canucks emerging once more as active players. All in all, the team committed just shy of $8-million in annual average value and multi-year commitments for three depth players. The problem? While each of their signings provides varying degrees of grit and defensive acumen, none of them can…
Free-agency hasn’t been the kindest of times for the Canucks under Jim Benning. Two years ago they inked Loui Eriksson to a mammoth 36 million dollar contract; one that will handcuff the team for another four years. Last offseason’s acquisitions weren’t nearly as costly, but with the exception of Thomas Vanek, none of them worked…
The Canucks are one step closer to bolstering their centre ice depth, rumoured as the front-runners for the services of Jay Beagle. Multiple teams in on Jay Beagle but looks like VAN is front runner to land the UFA centre who is expected to leave WSH for a multi-year deal on July 1. — Bob…
The reality of life after the Sedins is finally starting to set in and it’s a grim one to be sure. Say what you want about their decline, but the Twins were productive offensive players to the very end of their careers, combining for 105 points in 2017/18. In the short term, Henrik’s loss has…
The Canucks appear to have taken a step towards addressing their logjam on left defence, choosing not to tender an $840,000 qualifying offer to 24-year-old Derrick Pouliot. The #Canucks did NOT qualify the contract of D Derrick Pouliot who is now a UFA. The 2 sides do continue to talk about a 1 year deal…
Vancouver announced this morning that they’ve signed Markus Granlund to a one-year extension carrying an AAV of $1.475-million dollars. #Canucks have re-signed Markus Granlund (@GranlundMa) to a one-year, one-way contract. https://t.co/8UlHuWhPp0 — Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) June 22, 2018 The pact looks the part of a “show me” contract after the 23-year-old Finn suffered a precipitous…
Should the Canucks keep the seventh overall pick, they’ll have no shortage of sensible options when they walk up to the podium on June 22nd in Dallas. Two of the most intriguing prospects among that cohort are right-handed defencemen, Evan Bouchard and Noah Dobson. Ranking one above the other is a difficult task — one that’s yielded…
When your game draws parallels with Erik Karlsson, you’re bound to generate hype. That’s been the case for Swedish defenceman Adam Boqvist, who’s hoping to hear his name called as the second blueliner after Rasmus Dahlin. The merit of those lofty comparisons to Karlsson makes sense when examining Boqvist’s raw offensive tools, but there’s also…
Few players have seen their stock rise higher in this draft than Acadie Bathurst Titan defenceman Noah Dobson. The lanky 6-foot-3 blueliner capped off a commendable regular season performance where he finished above a point per game in the QMJHL with a Memorial Cup title that flashed his two-way acumen. Dobson’s unique package of size,…
Evan Bouchard has one of the most impressive statistical profiles of any 2018 draft-eligible defencemen not named Rasmus Dahlin. Bouchard outpaced all OHL defencemen — regardless of age — when it came to points(87), assists(62), shots(297), and primary points per game(0.9). Narrow down the criteria to sort by U19 defencemen historically and Bouchard’s production looks…
