Canucks Army Monday Mailbag: December 27th

Before I get into the Canucks and your questions, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and the happiest of holidays.

Thanks so much for continuing to engage this website, whether as a reader, commenter or passerby. I hope you’ve all had a great time this holiday season and are looking forward to an awesome 2017. It can’t be any worse than 2016, right?

Back to the Canucks, though. They play tomorrow night against the Los Angeles Kings. That should be… fun? Onwards to the questions!

Well, I think I speak for the entire Canucks Army staff when I answer with a resounding yes. We’ve an interesting collection of lifestyles and age groups, so I reckon we covered the entirety of the Christmas enjoyment spectrum.

The way this season is going, I’m thinking Canucks tickets. While we’re on the topic, though, who buys Boxing Day gifts? I mean, I guess if you count gift cards or money accrued on Christmas, that works. But even then, I’d just consider them an extension of my Christmas. 

There’s only one real answer to this question, and it’s Nolan Patrick. I get that the class in its totality is a weak one, but I think people are overstating the notion that you can’t find a “franchise player” in this class. I tend to think Patrick is going to be a first line centre. In fact, I’d be surprised if he’s anything less. Given the Canucks don’t have anything resembling a succession plan for Henrik Sedin, he’s my dream pick.

That’s more a statement than a question, but I’ll answer it all the same. The Canucks have needed a succession plan to Henrik Sedin for, well, a while now. They haven’t reached to grab a centre at any point in any draft. I don’t think they’ll break that trend now. If they take a centre, it’s a function of that player being the best available more than anything.

This is a tough question to answer. Brock Boeser’s spent this entire season dealing with a severe wrist injury, which he eventually had operated. So even in the small sample of games I was able to watch, I don’t think it was terribly representative of where Boeser is at in his development.

I tend to think Boeser could benefit from some time in the AHL. He’s far along, but I don’t have any qualms with easing him into the professional transition. Short of injury, I’m not even sure the Canucks will have an open spot for him. Not many contracts on the way out this off-season.

In a world where Adam Larsson lands Taylor Hall, I’d like to think the Canucks could do slightly better than Matt Duchene for Chris Tanev. I wouldn’t hate the trade. I can tell you that much right off the hop. I’m not sure I’m terribly keen on it, though. Not at this moment. Might need to look into that further. 

Here’s a trade I think both teams could get behind: Erik Gudbranson and Jordan Subban for Gabriel Landeskog. The Canucks have been shopping Subban since the summer, and the emergence of Troy Stecher means the Canucks might have an excess on the right side. The Avalanche are still terrible defensively, and I can see them viewing Gudbranson as value added in that department, whether he is or not. The Avs are also reportedly interested in shaking up their core. What better way to do that then by trading the captain?