Welcome back to WDYTT, the only hockey column on the internet that’s either as forgettable or as unforgettable as you want it to be each week.

Speaking of forgetting about things, that’s expressly what Simple Minds demands you not do in the chorus of “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” their 1985 single that took the world by storm and eventually wound up obtaining the highest of musical honours – being the goal song of the Vancouver Canucks.

But if one keeps an ear to the street in this market, one tends to hear more than a little dissatisfaction with the Canucks’ current celebratory chanson. And even the best goal songs, like Green Day’s “Holiday,” don’t last forever, so whether it happens in the immediate future or the not-so-immediate future, the Canucks’ goal song will change at some point.

All of which raises the important question of, if not Simple Minds, then who? Then what?

Now’s your chance to state your case. Here, in the age of viral content, who knows? Maybe a suggestion here could pick up enough steam to catch the attention of the organization itself. Wouldn’t that be something?

This week, we’re asking you:

Let it be known in the comment section.

You answered below!

I think the Canucks should consider acquiring Parker Wotherspoon. He’s gritty, not afraid to drop the gloves, a decent skater, and he can make a decent pairing with Myers is super cheap and, finally, he’s a BC boy. He definitely can play Rick Tocchet hockey and the Canucks wouldn’t have to give up a lot to get him.

My favourite (semi-)realistic defence addition is Braden Schneider. He is the long-term partner I envision for Hughes and one of the few players I would be fine paying multiple assets to acquire, including a first.

Canucks were fully functional on defence last season. They paid large to assemble that defence and were very lucky. Then they (Benninged it) alienated people in negotiation and needed replacement parts. This failure impacted the entire team. They let down players expecting a certain dynamic and doomed them to personal fails.

A new defenseman won’t fix this. They need Cole and Zadorov!

For now, the other Elias Pettersson. Won’t cost us any assets and can play the stay-at-home role beside Brännström. Push Myers / Soucy / Juulsen to the third pairing. See if we can trade Vinny D for future considerations to get the salary off the books. Once Forbort returns, roll with those guys and see if the team gels a bit. If they’re looking like a contender in February, then they can try to upgrade.

The realistic solution is no trades for now.

This management group is very active on the trade front which can lead to instability in the locker room and far too many faces trying to learn new systems and fit in.

It also can give the players and coaches an out as the idea of help being on the way is always looming over them.

Bottom line is they need to learn how to work with the systems put before them and how to consistently win together a team. There are several options available in Abbotsford that can be worked through and tried out if needed, so that would be the only change I would be proposing.

Wait until the offseason and sign Provorov and Will Borgen. Don’t trade assets for a team that might not even make the playoffs; they might have to sell at the deadline, not add.

Hughes/ Hronek

Provorov/ Willander

Saucy/ Borgen

I would like the Canucks could get Parayko from St Louis. He is a big right side defender who can play big minutes and is signed for another three years after this season. Parayko can carry the puck, as well as provide more offense from the backend, as well as being physical.

Blues may be looking to get younger, which could make players like Parayko available.

Ha. Friedman floated the idea of the Canucks taking Zadorov back from the Bruins. How about Forbort and Heinen for Zad, and then ask Soucy to waive his NMC to go back to Seattle…for Will Borgen. Reunion trades ftw. Still result in a poor man’s top-four.

Probably not going to see a trade for a little while, why not try something else out in the meantime? Give Brännström a shot in the top-four with Myers, bring up D-Petey for a short trial run. What’s the harm in that? Rolling out Soucy and Myers game after game and getting the same results makes me want to bang my head against a wall.

I think they’re looking for a second pair RHD. Nashville may not be going anywhere this season, how about Alexandre Carrier? He’s a little smaller than I would prefer, but would complement Soucy well.

Wouldn’t mind having Cole back, either.

I don’t want to spend big assets when this may not be an ALL IN year with all the adversity the team is facing this year.

Colton Parayko from St. Louis. Is it realistic? A right-handed tree for Tocchet and Foote to pair with Quinn or anchor his own pairing. Minute-muncher who can take all matchups and play PK.

St. Louis would obviously need to retain salary, but they know they need to get younger as evidenced by their offer sheets on Holloway and Broberg in the summer. We replenish some of their lost picks from those offer sheets and make any young player other than Lek or Willander available.

Not so much a dream, but a realistic and under the radar option is Cody Ceci from San Jose. Expiring UFA contract. 6’3” right shot guy who was a key guy for the Oilers in their run last year and played a shutdown and PK role. The tricky thing with Ceci is that San Jose has no more retention slots, so the Canucks would need to take back the full salary or get a third team involved as a broker to retain salary.

Before we start dishing out more assets in trades under unfavorable negotiating conditions, I would like to see how some of our prospects might look in the NHL. Give DePetey a couple of games next to Myers, or perhaps try Cole McWard next to Soucy. Sure, that is a bit of a fast-track on the arrival time for those guys, but it’s worthwhile to see how they handle it and will give Allvin and Tocchet a good sense of how close they are (or if that time is actually right now). It also gives time to wait on Forbort to return, as he hasn’t really had the chance to show whether he can stabilize either of the bottom pairings.

If we absolutely need to look externally, I agree with a lot of the suggestions put forth already. For the sake of novelty, I would suggest someone like Olli Maatta. He’s not flashy, but he’s pretty solid and reliable and could handle second pairing minutes and be a stabilizing force to play with Myers. He’s fairly big and can play physical, and Rutherford would be familiar with him from his time in Pittsburgh (although JR did eventually trade him away). Maatta was already traded once this season, from Detroit to Utah, but Utah might be in a position soon where they should be realistic about the slimness of their playoff chances. If so, Maatta might shake loose as a pending UFA, and probably wouldn’t cost a fortune either.

It is a real dichotomy to think of your dream blueline add and simultaneously need to consider if a trade is realistic. That leaves us needing to identify the best realistic trade for a D-man. At this point, trades for a dream blueline add are not realistic.

We’ll never all agree on a trade target because we will never agree which and how many future assets the Canucks should be willing to give up.

A compromise I really like, mentioned in an article yesterday, is Zach Whitecloud. He is 28, 210 lbs, makes $2.75 million this season and the next three, and would have good trade value even after a couple seasons. The salary can fit if Desharnais is traded. If the VGK look to cut costs and use Korczak on their second pairing, they might be willing to give him up.

Given his steady play, age, right shot, and relatively low cost he will cost to acquire. When considering the cost of acquiring an asset you must factor in salvage value. Whitecloud has no trade protection and his trade value is unlikely to drop much over the next couple seasons. Vegas does need a good LHD prospect. Maybe they would consider Kuds or Mynio, a 2nd, and a 4th. VGK has no 1st round pick in ‘25 or ‘26. If the Canucks look to draft in the twenties, that 1st round pick can be traded.

While not my absolute favourite choice, I think Kris Letang is at least a semi-realistic possibility. Has Cup-winning experience, is an RHD, has skill, can move the puck, and is not small at 6ft/200lbs (though not a tree, to be fair) and is currently playing 20+ minutes a night for the Penguins, which are not in exactly the greatest shape this season. He has a $6.1 mil cap hit, which isn’t great, but not horrible either for a decent RHD. The major issue with Letang is he is 37 and on contract for another three years. This contract will turn into another anchor in the long run, but he would be a major improvement over Myers and Soucy. Not sure what it would take to get him, or even if he wants to move (I assume he has a no-movement clause and with two Cups already, maybe he just wants to play with Malkin and Sid).

I imagine pairs like:

Hughes – Hronek

Soucy – Letang

Brännström – Myers

And assume that you lose the likes of one or two of Forbort and/or Juulsen and/or Desharnais in the trade (most likely at least Juulsen I would think).

I haven’t really looked around the league, but three names that have come up already:

Rasmus Andersson. I’m really concerned with the cost of acquisition here. Other than that he plays the right side and is under contract for another year. Two runs with him on the right side on a team friendly deal would be just what the doctor ordered. I think Soucy looks good with a strong partner..

Marcus Pettersson. I really like this option. I think the acquisition cost will be reasonable. He’s young enough that you can re-sign him if he fits. Short term, I think you need Soucy to play the right side which I think he can do. In the long run you have to make room for WIllander. Myers and Hronek are under contract. If you add another righty with term, you block your top prospect

Bowen Byram. Love the player. I worry about his health obviously. If you had a crystal ball and told me he’d have an ordinary amount of injuries moving forward. Go get him and forget about your draft picks. He’s a good hockey player. He’s young. He played well in the playoffs. Sign me up. That said, this is a big and likely expensive gamble. I’m not sure I roll the dice unless I do a very deep dive in to his medical history and get some realistic probabilities moving forward. But yeah, Hughes-Hronek, Byram-WIllander for a handful of prime years would be tasty

All in all, I’m probably leaning Pettersson here. But as they say: no guts, no glory.

My realistic dream take is the player no one knows or mentions and PA will surprise us with; like the trade he made for Hronek.

It would be nice to call out names like Byram, who’s an RFA not fitting in, or Jiricek, who’s fallen out of favour. It’s not realistic though, as they are on teams who wouldn’t want what the Canucks are willing/able to offer.