Another week has gone by, and we still have no idea how to take this Canucks team. They started off by giving people false hope with a pair of wins, yet finished by looking relegation worthy against Chicago.

It’s a wild ride, if nothing else. In the meantime, we have another edition of the mailbag for you!

One of the issues that this discussion faces is the injury to Dan Hamhuis; I’d love to talk about the possibility of a firesale of pending UFAs, but there’s a huge possibility that their best expiring defenceman won’t be back in the lineup by then, which could lead to another UFA defenceman having to stick around solely to fill a roster spot.

I do think that the team explores the possibility of trading Radim Vrbata, but the likes of Prust, Cracknell, Bartkowski and Weber are up in the air. I’d bet that Benning would be happy to keep Prust at a reduced salary, that Cracknell’s return wouldn’t be gigantic, and that they’d be looking to keep at least one of those defencemen. Even if the Canucks are near the bottom, they might not be aggressive at selling just yet.

Grenier was pretty fun to watch in person yesterday; the Comets were in town and Thom was with me in the press box, pointing out a few things in particular that he liked watching in his game. I don’t know if he’s quite producing at a level that will gain him the attention of the big, club, though; his half-point-per-game pace is a drop off from his first two AHL seasons.

This may have been a fairer discussion when he had his streak of 8 points in 9 games streak in the beginning of November, but I doubt he gets a significant look unless several forwards get injured.

As we’re seeing right now, the Canucks have a lot of options to experiment with in the lower levels. There aren’t many low-cost defencemen that appear to be on the market right now, and the Canucks are near the top of the league in salary spent, leaving them with little to work with. Giving the likes of Fedun, Pedan, Biega, and maybe even Jordan Subban opportunities is likely the best look for them until some salary can be cleared.

That line would be a blast to watch. Strome and Marner are both incredibly skilled, and Virtanen can act as a finisher and as a protector for them both. Canada has a lot of high profile talent this year, though, so it’s hard to guess lines until we get closer to exhibition games. Virtanen will definitely be in the top six though, even if only due to status and prior experience. 

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