Ten days into the hunt, there are far more questions than answers about the Vancouver Canucks’ search for a new hockey boss. Or is that bosses? Regardless, as the rumour mill continues to churn out names of possible replacements for Patrik Allvin — and possibly Jim Rutherford — we here at CanucksArmy are doing what we always do on Mondays. We’re dealing with your questions for our weekly mailbag. Some of you have the team’s job search on your mind. Others are still interested in revisiting last season, while others have turned the page and are already looking ahead to next season and beyond. So let’s get right to it and do our best to deliver some answers to this week’s mailbag questions.

The more I watch, the more I am convinced the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is one of the greatest spectacles in professional sports. It never disappoints. The passion, the emotion, the heat, the hatred — and that’s usually on display at the first stoppage in every series and only grows from there. It’s hard to take the Canucks’ roster we watched struggle for 82 regular season games and wrap your head around that group being dropped into a first round battle. So yes, let’s all agree that the Canucks are still a significant distance from being a playoff team and that much further from being any kind of contender. So to answer your question, there is plenty of doubt that Jim Rutherford will be the one to guide this franchise out of the wilderness.

But it’s pretty clear the franchise is in a state of transition starting with the search for a new GM and quite possibly Rutherford’s own successor. The Canucks added some quality pieces in the Quinn Hughes deal, but that’s only a start. This year’s draft should add a few more pieces of the puzzle. But it will likely take a few more high draft picks beyond whatever the team adds to the stable this season. And then they need those picks to pan out. It’s impossible to put any kind of timeline on the rebuild especially since no one knows right now who’s going to be the one guiding the next era of Canucks hockey. That’s what makes these next few weeks so fascinating. The Canucks simply have to get this GM hire right and they also have to be hoping Lady Luck shines down on them in next week’s NHL Draft Lottery.

Unless the new GM comes in with some strong views about particular prospects, I don’t think this needs to be an awkward or messy process. I’d imagine the draft would be a high priority in the interview process, so the Canucks will be collecting intelligence on their GM candidates and many of their views on this year’s draft. That should mean there are no surprises when the new GM takes over. I think we can all agree that this is a massive draft for the hockey club — and not just at the top. One thing the Canucks have done reasonably well is stockpile picks, but they have virtually no wriggle room when it comes to finding players with their first and second round selections. The new GM is going to have no choice but to lean heavily on the work the Canucks scouting staff has done throughout the year compiling the team’s final draft list.

The ‘why trade for him’ part is easy: the Canucks had a massive need at centre and had been chasing Marco Rossi for the better part of a year. They kicked tires on the Austrian pivot last off-season and clearly still had interest in him as the Quinn Hughes package came together. He’s a former top 10 draft pick who put up a 60 point season before the age of 24. There’s plenty to like there. As Rossi said shortly after the trade, he knew he was still feeling the affects of the foot injury suffered in November, but wanted to — pardon the pun — put his best foot forward for the team that just traded for him. It’s understandable, but in hindsight, it probably wasn’t the prudent play to step right into the Canucks line-up with a still wonky wheel. I think you saw after the Olympic break, what a near healthy Rossi could do for the hockey club.

He was second on the team in post-Olympic points, he was a big part of the second best power play in the league over the final 25 games. And if he wasn’t 100% healthy over the final six weeks, then that almost makes his performance that much more impressive and leaves you to wonder what an absolutely healthy Marco Rossi can do for the Canucks with a strong off-season of training. I don’t share your assertion that there was anything untoward here. Rossi wanted to show his new employers what he could for them. Unfortunately, the foot limited him at the time. If he had sat out after the trade, people likely would have skewered him for that, too. Of all the Canucks problems this past season, the addition of and handling of Marco Rossi doesn’t even register.

I don’t think so. Suzuki just finish sixth in NHL regular season scoring (101 points) and fifth in assists (72). Oh, and he’s likely going to win the Selke as the league’s best defensive forward. So we’re talking about a guy that has become one of the best and most valuable centres in the sport. I don’t think anybody is viewing Marco Rossi through that kind of lens. Now, plug him into Montreal’s top line and his production would surely take a jump.

But I don’t see Rossi as a 100-point producer and I don’t think anyone in hockey is looking at him in that way. As the Canucks improve as a team and add better offensive players to the line-up, it stands to reason that Rossi will be in a better position to increase his statistical output. Is it conceivable that at some point in his time in Vancouver, Marco Rossi could be a 75-point player? I think that’s an attainable figure. Anything more than that would be a surprise to me. But, trust me, I’ve been wrong before so let’s wait and see where Rossi tops out.

I’m curious to see what kind of success the Canucks will have attracting unrestricted free agents this summer. First, I don’t know how interested they’re going to be at this low ebb of their competitive arc. This hardly feels like the summer for the last place team in the standings to be big game hunting on the open market. But Jim Rutherford suggested last week that the addition of a couple of veteran free agents would be part of his vision to marked improvement for the hockey club next season. So did he tip his hand? Yeah, maybe. The Canucks can offer money and opportunity to players looking for a change of scenery this summer.

But unrestricted free agents are going to get paid wherever they land, so players would need more incentive than an inflated paycheque to select Vancouver as their preferred destination this summer. But put all of that aside for the moment, and let’s tackle the question head on. Two guys I’d have interest in the Canucks pursuing as UFAs are Michael McCarron and Jeremy Lauzon. I’ve always been intrigued by the 6’6″ and 232 pound McCarron to add some heft and snarl down the middle. And I wish Lauzon was a right-hander, but I’d still entertain the idea of bringing in a veteran shot blocker who is always among the league-leader in hits and would stick up for young teammates when the temperature in games gets turned up.

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