Canucks Army Monday Mailbag: October 16th

It’s penance for crimes committed against humanity in a previous life.

I think so, yeah.

If push came to shove, I could honestly see the Sedins being willing to waive their no-trade clauses in much the same way Alexandre Burrows did last season. I just don’t think it will get to that point, and honestly, that’s okay.

Alexander Edler is a non-starter, and I don’t see anyone lining up to take Loui Eriksson off the Canucks’ hands. So, who else is left?

The Canucks are never going to trade Brandon Sutter. It’s highly unlikely, anyway.

All that leaves is Chris Tanev, and his no-trade protection is limited to a list of eight teams that he can provide to the Canucks as destinations he won’t waive to join.

You can’t even begin to imagine how much I don’t care about what NHL players think about Corsi.

I think Rasmus Dahlin certainly could be a generational defenceman. That would be a hell of a feat, though. Especially depending on how judicious you are with the word “generational”.

I don’t think that’s likely, no.

If the Canucks turn out to be as bad this season as they were the last two, or even close to that, I don’t think Canucks general manager Jim Benning survives it. He’ll have been with the Canucks for four seasons and have whiffed on his goal of fielding a playoff-competitive team completely while boasting a slightly above average prospect pool for the trouble.

Consumer confidence is at an all-time low in the market, as evidenced by the empty seats at Rogers Arena. Don’t you think ownership notices that?They haven’t been renowned for their patience historically, and I think they’ve already shown more than one could reasonably ask of anyone for this current front office.

Ownership hasn’t been renowned for their patience historically and I think they’ve already shown more than one could reasonably ask of anyone for this current front office. It’s not looking good.

Rasmus Dahlin.

I think the Canucks are willing to trade Erik Gudbranson as is. Look at their failed attempt to send Gudbranson back to the Florida Panthers for Jason Demers only a few short months ago. If Canucks head coach Travis Green continues to marginalize Gudbranson, I think it will be all the easier for management to walk away from his lofty contract demands, too.

Do I think people have undervalued Alexander Edler to a criminal extent over the years? Absolutely. Do I agree with this line of analysis? Not really, no. Consider that the Edmonton Oilers had a better record without Connor McDavid out of the lineup when he went down with injury in his rookie year and ask yourself if that’s a valid way to assess a player’s value.

I could see the Canucks calling up Anton Rodin ahead of Nikolay Goldobin, or even Reid Boucher. Rodin had an okay training camp and deserves a real chance to make it in the NHL. The Comets have more veterans than their roster can accommodate, and losing Rodin to the Canucks would help with that, too.

It might depend on the severity of Eriksson’s injury. If he’s out long-term, the Canucks might be more open to bringing Goldobin up to the show. If it’s for a couple of games, the Canucks might not want to mess with Goldobin’s development, as he’s making big strides with the Comets right now. At the end of the day, Goldobin needs to play.

James Neal is on fire, and it’s great. It’s not all smoke and mirrors, too. The Vegas Golden Knights aren’t a strong possession team by any stretch, but they’re not even in the bottom-five of the league, which is a remarkable feat given they’re a first-year expansion team that’s had to leave their first line centre in the AHL because of waiver eligibility and roster construction issues.

It’s going to take a lot. From my perspective, it’s broken in every way imaginable. The scheme is terrible. Often it’s three Canucks attackers fighting off four defenders low while their outlets are nowhere to be found for puck support. The personnel decisions are awful; Edler and Sam Gagner as triggermen are just maddening to watch.

The Canucks basically need to go back to the drawing board and start from scratch because what they’re doing right now is just untenable.

I don’t think Benning has ever made a trade exclusively because of a coach’s recommendation. That just seems outlandish to me. I’m willing to bet Benning had scouted Linden Vey and saw something that confirmed to him why Willie Desjardins wanted him on his team.

In the case of Sam Gagner, the Canucks signed him in free agency, and Newell Brown and Gagner haven’t even spent that much time together, so I doubt there’s a connection there.

Well, first, I’m going to fly the small sample size warning flag. The season is very young. In the case of New Jersey and Colorado, both teams are in the top five of the league in score-adjusted PDO, so they’re getting exceedingly lucky, and I wouldn’t expect them to remain this successful for the entirety of the season. The Vegas Golden Knights have the second-lowest expected goals for share in the league. This won’t last.

I absolutely would construct the Canucks roster differently. In fact, the team would look so vastly different as to leave me wondering where I should start with this question. Based on the current roster, I don’t see many players I’d send up or down, though. So we can’t start there.

Now, as for trading players, that’s a different story. I’d immediately try to move Erik Gudbranson, Brandon Sutter and Chris Tanev. And then I’d cruise to the deadline with Thomas Vanek and perhaps Alexander Burmistrov as ammunition for a move for more picks.

It’s four games into the year. No.

For as long as injuries keep Eriksson from the Canucks lineup, I would imagine so, yes.

If either of those two is brought to the Canucks, I’d have a hard time seeing them not play on the Canucks power play. That’s one area where I’d think both players are already at an NHL level.

I wouldn’t just say it’s possible that the Canucks sign Adam Gaudette by the end of this season. It’s probably likely. And if they move Thomas Vanek at the trade deadline, as they should, then I’d imagine that creates an obvious roster spot for the Canucks newest signee.

I’d play Gaudette in a bottom-six role to start and give him sheltered even strength minutes and low leverage special teams time.

I don’t think it would make a worthwhile difference. You could have Mike Babcock coach this team, and they’re not going to do much better than they will under Green.

The Canucks have won far more power play faceoffs than they’ve lost (24 wins to 14 losses) so I don’t think that’s why they’re struggling. I don’t think it’s a huge factor, no.

They don’t go cheap. Looking ahead to next year’s free agent class, only Joe Thornton and Paul Stastny qualify, barely, as first line centres, and they’re both coming off deals at or higher than $7.5-million. Basically, you have to draft and develop them or get exceedingly lucky in a trade.

I just might write an article on this very topic. Assuming a healthy roster, I’d move Loui Eriksson onto the Sedin unit playing in Thomas Vanek’s spot in the slot. Brock Boeser slides into Sam Gagner’s spot on the point and Ben Hutton is the other point man. And then I’d move them into an overload formation. That’s how I’d start.

I don’t think anyone outside of the Canucks organization thinks this team should be good, really.

Quinn Hughes.

No. He made every single one of those moves to improve the team.