Let’s be real — Adam Gaudette should be allowed to wear whatever number he wants.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I’ve heard nothing about this rumour from sources I trust, so I wouldn’t worry too, too much. Besides, it doesn’t make any sense based on the Canucks’ language. Canucks general manager Jim Benning said that they wouldn’t trade Chris Tanev unless they get a young defenceman who can step into his role. I don’t get the sense that the Canucks have any desire to trade Tanev, and if they do, it’s not going to be for a winger.

I think the Canucks roster isn’t going to change much between now and September, if at all. What you see is what you get.

Using the word “progression” implies he’s taken steps forward, but that’s really not the case. Cole Cassels is 22-years-old and has scored at a pace of 0.13 points per game in the AHL. When Cassels left the OHL, I thought there was a reasonable chance he could develop into a third line centre. Now, I think the Canucks would be lucky to salvage a player capable of filling a 13th forward role. My opinion of Cassels? I don’t think him worth an NHL contract to keep him in the organization at the expiration of Cassels’ entry-level contract.

Let’s not get carried away here. Thatcher Demko is a hell of a goalie prospect, and he’s likely the Canucks’ goalie of the future. I wouldn’t go so far as to suggest his ceiling is that of the best goalie in the world. Demko isn’t even the best goalie prospect at this stage of his career, so let’s just manage our expectations accordingly.

The reality of the situation is that Demko is more likely to be a bust than the world’s best goaltender. It’s just the nature of drafting and developing players from the draft onward. That’s why we preach a volume approach at Canucks Army. It’s also why we give the Michael DiPietro selection our stamp of approval, for whatever that’s worth.

I can’t remember when or where I heard this, but I feel like the Canucks have come out and said that they will handle the Sedin twins on a year-to-year basis following this contract. And, yes, I tend to think that’s the best scenario for everyone involved.

It’s hard to say what the Sedins are worth at this stage in their career, but they’re probably in line for something of a pay cut from the $7-million they made annually on their last deal. My best guess is something between $4-million and $5-million.

The Vegas Golden Knights will definitely best No Horvat’s point production. They’ll probably out-do the Canucks, too.

Yes, the Canucks should sign a veteran free agent to a one-year deal to add to their asset base at the trade deadline. And if I were in their shoes, I’d look at signing Jaromir Jagr to a one year deal to play him with the Sedin twins and flip at the deadline.

I wouldn’t offer John Tavares a max contract as the Canucks or any other team for that matter. If Connor McDavid can’t get a contract at maximum value and term for the prime years of his career, I don’t think anyone should.

Tavares is going to be 27-years-old when he hits the market. That operates under the assumption that he’ll even get to market period. I’m willing to bet Tavares stays on Long Island. If he doesn’t, then the Canucks, in this hypothetical scenario, are paying for years outside of his prime. I don’t know if John Tavares at his peak is worth the max deal, but when he’s in his 30s, he certainly won’t be.

I would just let the Sedins decide their fate. Offer them one-year deals at the end of each season starting this year and let them retire on their own terms. They’ve earned that right.

If I expect a surprise, is it still really a surprise? In this case, I think it’s Brendan Gaunce who’s going to surprise everyone. If he can become even an average skater, Gaunce is capable of putting up somewhere between 10-15 goals a season. He’s far too smart a player to remain this unproductive.

Olli Juolevi.

HockeyData’s DTMAboutHeart, the creator of the WAR (Wins Above Replacement) and GAR (Goals Above Replacement) metrics for players and teams, created a Coaching GAR, too. In fact, I saw some of the coaching data for the last few seasons after he was kind enough to send it my way.

Want a Canucks-centric observation? Of course you do! Former Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins was right around the league average in terms of impact on his team’s ability to win games. Go figure.

Nope.

I’d imagine this varies from owner to owner, and the situation each is in with their respective franchise. If you have the option to take a long-term approach — a luxury some ownership groups can’t afford –, then most owners will make sustainability a significant part of how they approach their hockey operations.

I’ve heard nothing but great things about Canucks head coach Travis Green. From what I can gather, he’s a highly intelligent coach who gets the most of his roster like clockwork. I wouldn’t put it past Green to improve the Canucks for next season.

It’s paramount that Green improve on Desjardins player deployment and usage. I tend to think we overstate how large the negative impact of a coach’s deployment decisions, but in the case of Desjardins, he was so significantly bad at utilizing his lineup that it probably did have a fairly significant impact.

Loui Eriksson: Scores north of 50 points and has the best overall impact of any Canuck forward.

Erik Gudbranson: Doesn’t score and continues to struggle at controlling play at even strength.

Jake Virtanen: Scores at a much better pace on an offensive powerhouse Utica Comets lineup.

If the Canucks have another year like last, and that’s a distinct possibility, I expect some changes in the front office. Specifically, I think Benning loses his job.

I hate to do this to you, but I’m going to make you snap. My ideal fourth line for the Canucks out of training camp is one that includes Brandon Sutter, Brendan Gaunce and Alexander Burmistrov.

It’s Jason Demers, apparently.

If the Canucks wanted to get a package of futures, though, I’m sure they could get a package similar to what they paid for Gudbranson in the first place. For reasons that escape me, Gudbranson has serious cachet among the league’s brain trust.

The deadline for a Bo Horvat extension is probably training camp. I wouldn’t worry about this stretching out.

I seem to recall the league flirting with the idea of implementing chips in the player’s jerseys to provide better live stats tracking, but I don’t think anything ever took off with that. There are companies out there, like HockeyData, who manually track player data in the most detailed ways imaginable, though. It’s not exactly what you described, but it’s in the ball park.

I’ve told my agent to reach out to the Canucks, and have yet to hear back. Weird, I know.

Yes.

In no particular order:

*This list subject to change at a moment’s notice.

**I know I’ve probably forgotten an obvious album that should be there.

That’s just silly. First of all, you’re not even asking me to answer a question — you’re asking me to tell you what you want to hear. Sorry, that’s just not how this site operates. And Virtanen was legitimately terrible last year. The team adopted a far more structured system, and shockingly the player who struggles to process the game looked genuinely lost.

We’ve been fair to Virtanen in this space, so let’s not pretend this hasn’t been the case. I wrote at length in his first year with the Canucks about the way his speed positively impacts the game and how some of his underlying metrics reflect as much.