Monday Mailbag: Ben Hutton, Jesse Puljujarvi, and Rooting Interests

I don’t know if it’s improved much over such a short time span but I’d imagine it will significantly if he keeps it up. Playing over 20 minutes a night with Erik Gudbranson as your partner and looking relatively comfortable in the process is a huge step. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Canucks just decide to keep him if he continues to improve.

Almost certainly, but what he isn’t is younger or a significant part of the team’s future and for that reason I don’t mind seeing Adam Gaudette, Tyler Motte, or even Darren Archibald in his place. I think it’s fair to criticize them for a lack of foresight, but their handling of Gagner this season is defensible in a vacuum. They probably aren’t going to be very competitive this season, so I’m okay with handing the car keys to a couple of unproven younger guys as opposed to sticking with a veteran who doesn’t fit well in the lineup.

Depends on what you mean by “significant”. They’d probably have to offer up someone like Olli Juolevi, but Puljujarvi has struggled enough that it’s definitely possible they could still hold on to most of their remaining core young players. Depending on the price I could definitely get behind a Puljujarvi trade, it’s just a matter of whether or not there’s a deal to be had that makes sense for the Oilers.

My advice to everyone looking to go to a game is never to hope for a win. If you go in hoping to just be entertained you’re less likely to be disappointed. I’m not sure the Canucks are going to pull out wins consistently this season regardless of what their defense looks like.

I don’t think any decisions regarding concussions are made without the approval of the medical staff, so I don’t think it’s fair to blame Jim Benning for what happened to Antoine Roussel and Thatcher Demko. In the future, I’d advise them to maybe respect the player’s opinion a bit more when it comes to flying after a head injury, but I can’t bring myself to get worked up about what seems like an honest mistake.

The Canucks only had two players suit up for 82 games this season, so it’s definitely possible they won’t see a player make it there this year. We’re a long way off from being to say that with any confidence, though.

I thought they looked pretty good, although you can tell Boeser is still under the weather. I like the idea of playing the three together given their individual skill sets and the fact that Nikolay Goldobin has been snakebitten over the last stretch of games and looks poised to break out any second now.

I’ve mentioned it quite a few times but I think the team is going to be aggressive in their pursuit of Tyler Myers this offseason. I personally wouldn’t go that route, but I just think it makes too much sense given his age, size, and skill set. As far as what I would do given the opportunity, I’d make calls on Jake Gardiner and Martin Marincin and see if the price is right, and also see if I could pry Jacob Trouba out of Winnipeg since his name seems to always be thrown about in conversations about trade speculation.

I mean, he should be looking at all of them, otherwise he wouldn’t be doing his job. If I were the Canucks scouting department I’d probably take a centre in the first round and then take a volume approach in the middle rounds and try to make as many dice rolls on defensive prospects with upside as possible.

He’s only laced up for one game so far, but he registered and assist; so, so far so good. To be honest I’m going to have a tough time determining what his ceiling is since he’s spent so much time at the high-school level. What I’ve seen, I’ve liked, but I won’t feel comfortable making any bold declarations until he plays a bit more college hockey.

Whether they’ll admit it or not, most people who cover one specific team would prefer if that team did well, all things being equal. When the team does well, the media does well; and when you follow one team 82 times a season it’s hard not to be more invested in the success of that team than you would be for an away team in a different timezone you only see a few times a year. It’s a little different if you cover the NHL at large, but for in-market guys it’s difficult to be truly neutral just by virtue of how much time is spent singularly focused on one team. The emotional element is completely gone, though. I don’t cheer when they score or get upset when they lose anymore and haven’t for a long time. The only thing I really “root” for is individual players to succeed and teams that make good decisions to be rewarded.