Obviously, the goalie debate is the big one in Vancouver. (That topic just never goes away, does it?) After their scouting meetings, Benning was willing to say two things: First, Ryan Miller is not the one being traded. Second, while he is looking to get a second-round draft pick for the one he traded earlier, “We are also looking to make hockey trades.” So, if it is Eddie Lack, for example, it’s not guaranteed to be Lack for a pick. Possible, but not a lock.

If I were a betting man, even though we know that Lack is on the table in a possible goalie trade, I would guess that Benning isn’t actively shopping Eddie Lack right now. Although they seem to much prefer Ryan Miller and are high on Jacob Markstrom, Lack was easily their best goaltender last season and represents Vancouver’s best chance at having league average goaltending next season. It just doesn’t make sense to be actively shopping their best goalie in late-May.
In terms of just stopping the puck, Ryan Miller’s 2014-15 year was below NHL average for just the second time in his NHL career as he struggled tremendously to keep pucks out of Vancouver’s net at 5-on-5. This wasn’t completely unexpected however, as we predicted Miller would be a below average goalie in his first season with Vancouver thanks primarily to age-related decline. Aging another year, we expect him to start trending closer to “should be a backup” territory in the near future, and after suffering a fairly major knee in 2015, who knows how he’ll physically be able to respond.
Jacob Markstrom on the other hand will simply cost too much to play another year in the AHL, especially for a cap-strapped team like the Canucks. While he’s been dynamite in the minor leagues, he’s been catastrophically awful as an NHLer, rocking a career 0.896 save percentage so far. It’s completely possible he turns it around, but talking to guys like Greg Balloch of InGoal Magazine, I get the sense that Markstrom still has fairly severe holes in his game that are a major hindrance to having NHL success. Specifically, he has to get much faster and read the play better to avoid chasing the puck and opening up holes NHL shooters can exploit.
The Canucks like Markstrom, but he’s not exactly young anymore and his contract situation will basically necessitate a goalie moving on this offseason, so you can see why Canucks fans are pensive about Eddie Lack. He’s good, he’s not in decline, and he’s a fan favourite. I can’t speak for the whole fanbase, but I get the sense that trading Eddie Lack would go over like a lead balloon in Vancouver given how fans have grown attached to the goofy Swede, especially if the return is little more than magic beans.