Vancouver Canucks Messageboard

So what do we have here...

H. Sedin
D. Sedin
Samuelsson
Kesler
Raymond
Burrows
Malhotra
Rypien
Hansen
Glass
Hordichuk

Basically 10 spots are pretty much sewn up so that leaves 2-3 positions up for grabs and possibly one more considering the Burrows injury.

Hodgson
Bolduk
Desbiens
Schroeder
Tambellini
Shirokov
Perrault
Oreskovich
Bliznak

Things could become even more fierce depending on what happens w/ trades involving defencemen...
meanwhile we have:

Ballard
Bieksa
Edler
Ehrhoff
Hamhuis
O'Brien
Salo

Alberts
Baumgartner
Oberg
Rome
(Mitchell)

Which is about as deep as we have ever had - love it!!!
This is EXACTLY the position a GM wants to be in; now teams who NEED a blueliner will start calling him and MG can negotiate from a position of strength. Hell, if he doesn't get what he wants he can start the season w/ Bieksa as no.6 and O'Brien as no.7 w/ Alberts either in the minors or cleared off the books via waivers. As is we have 4 blueliners right there who can play at the NHL level so we're covered for injuries. Make a trade or two and suddenly we can make room for Mitchell if he's still available. Gonna be a very exciting season!

Luongo
Schneider

Definitely need some depth in this department but there's LOTS of goalies out there so finding a 3rd stringer to help the Moose out shouldn't be too difficult. With all this NHL talent spilling over the Moose should be stronger this year. Be nice to get a young prospect down there w/ Schneider's graduation.

I don't think we would want or need to make room for Mitchell. I think he's past his value for the dollar date. More importantly I don't believe the Canucks would want to risk it. I put the odds of him playing for the Canucks again at close to zero, and a slight bit higher at never playing again. His injury was just too severe. For his own health moving forward he should hang 'em up honestly.

The rest of the list looks great, but I don't see Wellwood on it, I may have missed something the last couple of days?

Well who knows; thats a call Willie will have to make. But, if he does return he could still be a very valuable contributor esp in our bottom 2, killing penalties etc. If he's come back for the right price the Canucks would be nuts not to take him. As for Wellwood, he doesn't have a contract, UFA.

From the list above, here are some names I have questions about...

Hansen. I like him, but AV doesn't seem too confident in him. After watching the effectiveness and grit of Chicago's bottom 6, Hansen might be the kind of guy MG is looking to replace with someone more physically imposing.

Hordichuk. In the end, I don't know about the value of a guy the coach will not put on the ice when the chips are down.

Glass. Probably a keeper as a 13th forward.

Bolduc. I would think Perrault's signing spells the end for Bolduc as a potential Canuck.

Desbiens. A non-entity at this point.

Hodgson. With Malhotra now here, the 3rd line RW spot has been set aside for him. He needs to come in here in training camp and take the job. I start getting concerned if he's unable, and has to start the season in Manitoba.

Schroeder. Needs at least one full year in Manitoba.

Tambellini. A soft player. Emergency player only.

Shirokov. I doubt he'll ever amount to anything. He's clearly never received much in the way of coaching before, as can be seen by his play away from the puck.

Oreskovich. A wild-card at this point. Could turn into a good 4th liner, which the team really needs.

Alberts. I would like to see him gone. If you can't skate, you can't play in the NHL in 2010. Simple as that.

Baumer. Always worth having in the system for insurance.

Mitchell. Just can't see him returning here.

Bieksa. A bad value contract that must be moved. I'd like to see a big, strong 3rd line type winger with two-way potential in return for him. I'd settle for a 2nd round pick in 2011 if need be.

Probably a pretty accurate analysis there Sid. For the record, its not like I don't have questions about some of those names myself. My list is just based on what AV has to work with now. There is certain to be more changes coming once the dust has settled from Canada Day. The way I see we're set in goal & defence plus our first 2 lines. Its our bottom 6 that is quite dreadful and needs to be addressed. Thats a pretty sweet situation for MG to be in, we haven't had this kind of roster since the early 90s. Hopefully he can flip Bieksa into assets that fit in with this group and round out the roster. The good news is upgrading lines 3 & 4 are perhaps some of the easiest areas to work with as opposed to needing top 6 help or a no.1 goaltender. We don't have a true pp QB or no.1 blueliner but I predict we'll be fine by committee and depth.

Just a Note if you missed it. Bolduc has resigned with the Canucks at 500,000 for one season

Hodgson-read(province article I think,sorry for the lack of a link) he plans on missing training camp to continue his rehab in Ontario

Mitchell-I think there is a slim chance willie could come back on a 1 year deal to re-establish his value

MG seems to have a handle on things and is in a great position for negotiating

Whoops,I guess it's just prospect camp:

http://communities.canada.com/theprovin ... ssing.aspx


whew

dangler wrote:Hodgson-read(province article I think,sorry for the lack of a link) he plans on missing training camp to continue his rehab in Ontario

Mitchell-I think there is a slim chance willie could come back on a 1 year deal to re-establish his value

MG seems to have a handle on things and is in a great position for negotiating

Ya really no need for Hodgson to come to this camp. He has been to the last two..

trouble wrote: Ya really no need for Hodgson to come to this camp. He has been to the last two..

Especially if he is training and skating with Stamkos

BingoTough wrote:

trouble wrote: Ya really no need for Hodgson to come to this camp. He has been to the last two..

Especially if he is training and skating with Stamkos

Yep, prospects camp is ok and all but I'd MUCH rather have him train w/ Stamkos & others of NHL calibre whereas prospects camp will have alot of 18 & 19yr olds heading back to junior or guys who won't even be offered minor league contracts.