Vancouver Canucks Offseason Survival Guide: June Edition
By David Joun
The Vancouver Canucks had the most interesting month of May, but June is going to be the craziest month this offseason. Guaranteed.
The Vancouver Canucks ended the month of May with a bang, trading away 20-year-old forward Jared McCann for 24-year-old defenseman Erik Gudbranson. The trade also brought about a flurry of analytics talk in Van City. As far as the numbers guys are concerned, Gudbranson is not an NHL-level asset.
And now, here is June. If you think you are about to get bored by the offseason, rest assured — you will not be. On the other hand, if you thought the Gudbranson drama and all the free agent prospect signings were too much to handle, I have some bad news for you.
June is shaping up to be the craziest month of the offseason. Here is your survival guide for the month!
Musical Chairs: The NHL Coaching Edition
The Pacific Division is the NHL’s coaching hotspot as the Calgary Flames and the Anaheim Ducks find themselves as two of the last teams without a head coach. How is this relevant to the Canucks?
Utica Comets head coach Travis Green has drawn great interest from both of these teams. The Canucks would like to keep him, however, to be the future man behind the bench in Vancouver. The latest is that Green has gotten himself second interviews coming up in both Anaheim and Calgary.
However, that is not all.
Willie Desjardins’s assistant, Glen Gulutzen, has also gotten himself an opportunity in Calgary. Should this be considered a blessing for the Canucks if they end up sacrificing Gulutzen in Green’s place? What if both are taken, one by Anaheim and the other by Calgary?
There is hope, however.
Randy Carlyle, the former Toronto Maple Leafs coach, has an opportunity to return to the NHL. The Ducks and the Flames have both interviewed him already. The Flames have also talked with Ralph Krueger.
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