Vancouver Canucks: More to a Season than Just the Playoffs

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Feb 10, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; The Vancouver Canucks celebrate after beating the Arizona Coyotes 2-1 at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports /

Of course the Vancouver Canucks want to make the playoffs.

The more the Vancouver Canucks struggle and slip away from the playoffs, the more the team and the city seem hungry for it. With just seven games left before the 2016 NHL Trade Deadline, all the talk in Vancouver is about the playoffs and how the veterans and the pending unrestricted free agents could find themselves on the way out from Vancouver.

But is the entire season really about the playoffs and the trade deadline frenzy?

Vancouver fans have a knack for being irrational, you know.

Especially for a Vancouver team with the youth movement in full swing, the highlight of the regular season should not be the anticipation of the playoffs, nor the endless drama and exhilaration surrounding the trade deadline.

Really, the main delicacy of the season is the development of the youth. Watching McCann’s Corsi For percentages climb up, watching Ben Hutton get his powerplay time, watching Jake Virtanen make a push after a disappointing World juniors — these are the underrated things that all Canucks fans should be on the lookout for.

It can hurt to watch the team sit so many places out of the playoffs. Therefore, it’s okay to dream about the playoffs, folks. I do too.

But there is even more to the 82-game marathon NHL season, beyond the wins, the losses, the trades, the playoffs, and the developing youngsters. It’s just that Vancouver is so obsessive with these things that nobody cares about anything else.

So here it is, this week’s edition of the Canucklehead Lament, on the four underrated storylines of the Canucks’ 2015-16 season. It is time to think outside the box, step away from the obsession over #tanknation or #playoffs, and quit talking about renting out a suite for the Canucks’ moms.

Next: Storyline No. 1: The Compensatory Pick

Jan 8, 2016; Raleigh, NC, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella looks on from behind the bench against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports /

Storyline No. 1: The Compensatory Pick

The Vancouver Canucks could have up to three of the first 30 picks of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

Heading into a strong 2016 draft, the talk is about the Vancouver Canucks tanking for Auston Matthews. But in a year headlined with the abundance of strong prospects that could spill over into the middle picks of the second round, the Canucks have got to be happy with where they are in the standings and now with Brandon Sutter and Alex Edler out for some two months.

But with the team and the moms refusing to tank, it will be tough to take advantage of the early picks.

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Guess what, if there is anything positive that John Tortorella has accomplished for the Canucks, it is fetching Vancouver a second-round pick from the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Now that pick looks better than ever with Columbus so close to the bottom of the league. They enter Saturday as the fourth-best team to win the Draft Lottery this year. That means that the Canucks could have one of the first picks of the second round, followed closely with their own second-round pick.

Actually, there is more to the story than just the one pick.

Last year the Calgary Flames entered the draft with three second-round picks. Calgary then flipped the first two of the three to the Boston Bruins as part of the Dougie Hamilton transaction. Could the Canucks pull a similar act? If Vancouver trades away a pending free agent for a second-round pick, the surplus of picks could serve to be a lethal weapon in Trader Jim’s hands.

Don’t forget about this pick!

The one condition to this, though, is that Columbus has the option of deferring the pick transfer to next year, or even 2018.

Next: Storyline No. 2: The Utica Comets Struggling

Oct 29, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen (32) talks with former teammate Vancouver Canucks goalie Richard Bachman (32) before the game at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

Storyline No. 2: The Utica Comets Struggling

Maybe placing third in the AHL North Division with 53 points in 47 games doesn’t exactly spell out a struggle for the Utica Comets, the AHL Affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks, but the Comets are not meeting expectations.

Can anyone think of three factors that have resulted in this slumping season?

Right. I am sorry that some of us are not on the Comets Bandwagon that flared during the Calder Cup Playoffs last year.

Storyline No. 3: Re-signing Baertschi, Etem, and Vey?

Yes, the offseason means that Dan Hamhuis, Brandon Prust, Radim Vrbata, Yannick Weber, and Matt Bartkowski (oh no! What about Beth Bartkowski?) are all going to hit unrestricted free agency.

Also previously discussed, it means that guys like Andrey Pedan, Taylor Fedun, Alex Grenier, Mike Zalewski, and Ronalds Kenins are going to hit either unrestricted free agency or restricted free agency. All five mentioned above are 24 years old or younger, with the exception of Fedun, who is set to hit the UFA market as a 27-year-old.

But has anyone thought of how much raise that Sven Baertschi, Emerson Etem, and Linden Vey might demand? The three are all coming up on their RFA status. The combined cap hit of the three this year? $2.75 million.

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You can bet my life that those three will demand a sum of more than just $2.75 million for their next contracts.

Just kicking around some numbers, the figure rises to $5 million pretty quickly.

Vey would take a minor raise from his $1 million. Etem would take just a minor raise too, similar to the one-year contract Baertschi inked last year following the trade from Calgary. But Baertschi’s next contract would probably be at least two years long and at least at $2 million per year. And there it is, the three are getting paid at least $4.5 million next year.

For the Vancouver Canucks who want to make a big splash at the Free Agent Frenzy, that is not good news. Of course, there is the option of not re-signing them in the first place. Should that happen, I can see the rights to Vey being dangled for a minor pick, if at all anything.

But regardless, Jim Benning has some re-signing to do, even if he chooses not to bring back some UFA veterans and the RFA prospects. And as far as I am concerned, no one really cared about re-signing and giving raises to Vey, Etem, and Baertschi.

Next: Storyline No. 4: Never Enough Prospects?

Jun 27, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning announces Jake Virtanen (not pictured) as the number six overall pick to the Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Storyline No. 4: Never Enough Prospects?

Rarely do fourth-round picks ever draw any attention after draft day, unless they reach the NHL after years of hard work in the CHL and the AHL.

But because the Vancouver Canucks and their fan base are so focused on making either making the playoffs or flipping rental players for picks, no one has had the slightest tinge of guilt for ignoring prospect Dmitry Zhukenov and his stellar performance in his draft+1 year.

The Bottomline

It is great to be passionate about the Canucks. Not everyone has enough time to think about a compensatory pick, re-signing issues, farm team struggles, and some international prospects action. But let this serve as a reminder to us all that the 82-game season is not all about the playoffs, the tank, the trade deadline, the wins, and the losses.

This is a lament, and it laments the lack of fans who truly understand the building of an NHL franchise. And that was this week’s edition of the Canucklehead Lament.

Next: Forget about Stamkos to the Canucks?

So what do you think? Let your thoughts be heard in the comments below!

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