Canucks Army Monday Mailbag: April 10th

Considering Jared McCann had something like five goals in his first nine career games, I’m going to try and not get carried away with Brock Boeser’s hot start to his NHL career. I’d be happy with a fifteen goal season, truthfully. Although, I do wonder if it’s not best for everyone if he spends a year with the Utica Comets.

I didn’t expect Lindy Ruff and the Dallas Stars to split like this, so admittedly I haven’t spent much time thinking about the idea of Ruff as a Canucks head coach. I remember disliking his candidacy when the Canucks last needed a head coach, though, much of that was based on notions of what Ruff is as a coach that he’s since shattered with Dallas. I’m more open to the idea now than I last was. This much I can say with some confidence.

I believe the Sedin twins, yes. I don’t think they can carry a line anymore, and that much reflects itself in their point totals this season. They spent a third of the year with Brandon Sutter, Jayson Megna and Michael Chaput as wingers. If they have a semi-competent linemate next season, I’d like to think they can still be useful in a top six role.

The Canucks? I really doubt it. There’s not enough coming up through the ranks to break them out of this organizational malaise, and they don’t have the resources to add to the franchise any other way. It’s going to get worse before it gets better, no matter how impossible that seems.

I think they’re going to re-sign Ryan Miller. This isn’t the most creative franchise in the league, and Miller’s the most obvious option. I’m just interested to see how much they spend and for how long. It’s an interesting storyline given they’re only bidding against themselves. That didn’t stop them from overpaying and granting no-trade protection last time, though.

I have absolutely no clue. I was too young for Marc Crawford’s best days and haven’t seen enough since to have a good idea of what he is as a coach at the NHL level anymore. Sorry for the lame answer.

There are days where I wonder…

It’s way too early to try answering this question. Sorry, man, I just don’t fancy it’s worth the effort. Perhaps, next week, if you ask something more specific like who I’d draft where or what free agents I’d target, that’s something I can tackle. This is far too broad, and I’m far too tired for it, truthfully. Apologies.

I’m the wrong guy to ask.

I’ve always been opposed to the idea. The beauty of the Sedins has always been that they’re better than the sum of their parts. I don’t know why you’d ever mess with that. Let them play out their careers together. Even if there’s something gained by splitting them up, I don’t imagine it makes a big enough difference to be worth exploring.

Because I’m a big meanie.

At one point, I thought Owen Tippett was the guy in the three spot. I’m less certain of that now. Timothy Liljegren and Casey Mittelstadt are a part of the conversation. So too are Gabriel Vilardi and perhaps even Cody Glass and Cale Makar. That group after 1-2 is so tightly packed in terms of quality, you really can’t go wrong.

I’ve been advocating for this for years. That’s what a rebuilding team would do. Are the Canucks committed to rebuilding? Who knows. If they are committed, do they have the creativity to make that kind of a decision? Doubt it.

Denmark. Between Oliver Bjorkstrand and Nikolaj Ehlers, they have a good starting point.

Yes.

A walrus to play goaltender. I’d go with an elephant, but I figure that they would be awkward on skates.

Management fields, in my estimation, about 90% of the blame for this disaster. I don’t think the world of Willie Desjardins as a coach, but honestly, what can we expect from him with this roster? That’s one hell of a task.

I think Michael Shuckers and Scott Cullen have written about this. I usually find their findings on this subject with the handy google machine.

I think so, yes. The NHL is a funny place. When one extreme doesn’t work, the pendulum often swings so ridiculously far in the other direction. Take the Canucks, for example. They used to be the league’s most progressive team. Now, they’re probably among the league’s least progressive. And when they move on from that, I imagine they’ll make like the Leafs and go all-in on analytics and the like.

Maybe I’ll throw a Canucks Army staff party, I don’t know.

I’ve never seen “Casey Mittelstadt” spelt that way before. And he’ll look fine, I suppose.

I know it doesn’t fit the #LOLAnalytics in Florida narrative, but Dale Tallon was trying to move Erik Gudbranson before the new front office actually did. And there are enough smart people there to prevent the acquisition of either player.

I doubt it. I’d like to see Anton Rodin get another chance, but I just don’t see it happening. Not with the amount of contracts the Canucks already have on the books.

That’s a question I’m ill-equipped to answer. And one I’m at grips with myself.

The San Jose Sharks going on a Stanley Cup run and the fourth-round pick Vancouver acquired for Jannik Hansen becoming a first-round selection. Wouldn’t that be something?

This used to be fun, I swear.

It’s going to be a Nashville Predators and Washington Capitals final. I think they’re the two deepest rosters in the playoffs, and depth is kind this time of year. Especially when the high-end pieces are already there.

I’ve been pretty consistent all year that Nolan Patrick is still the player I rank as the best prospect in this draft. I’m starting to wonder about injuries, though. Patrick’s still first overall for me, but I’m less certain than I was even two weeks ago. You can’t go wrong with either, to be honest.

Yes, they can, but that’s an awful lot of money to commit to a player to not play hockey.