Vancouver Canucks: The Eye of the Off-Season Storm
By Sam Dewar
The Vancouver Canucks have taken their hits so far this off-season, but it’s just the beginning of what could be a major roster shakeup.
In a year that had the Vancouver Canucks fall well out of playoff contention, fans looked towards the draft as the moment it would all make sense. The one bright spot of joining the basement dwellers of the league: a top pick in a draft.
And not just a top pick, mind you, but a player that could jump into the roster right away.
Unfortunately for the Canucks, the Hockey gods just weren’t feeling it.
After dropping out of a top-three spot in the draft and down to fifth overall, many Canucks fans were starting to feel the pain. After all, there’s been plenty of hard knocks already, and for many, the draft was like an upper cut after the straight right of missing the playoffs and the right hook of an underwhelming trade deadline.
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Last night, the Canucks took another jab to the body, as they swung and missed on coveted college free agent Drake Caggiula, who many thought would follow fellow line-mate Brock Boeser to the west coast. Instead, he chose to follow in the footsteps of Justin Schultz and sign with Edmonton.
It’s been a tough off-season so far, to say the least. Then again, how does that saying go again?
It ain’t over until it’s over.
It wont be easy, but the Canucks have a shot at turning this off-season into something special. It started with the signings two of the four starting goalies at the Frozen Four Tournament — Thatcher Demko and Michael Garteig. Sure, it would have been nice to hit a home run by signing Drake Caggiula, creating a college free agent exodus to the same team, but signing Troy Stecher and two blue-chip goalie prospects is nothing to scoff at either.
That said, it’s going to take a whole lot more than college free agency to brighten up the weather in Vancouver.
It’s no secret that Jim Benning is one of the more active GM’s on the phones, and now that the lottery is over, Benning will get to work on what has been his greatest asset to the team so far: his work at the draft.
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After a relatively low activity draft deadline, the expectation is that the draft will be something special this year, and not just for the picks but for its potential as the new arena of the hockey trade, with so many teams close to the salary cap.
Jim Benning will have his first real shot at getting his hockey trades of the off-season, as teams begin to make room under the cap.
Let’s not get too excited just yet, but it’s also highly anticipated that after Tampa Bay’s success this post-season with phenom Nikita Kucherov and the Toronto Maple Leafs lining up first to nab Austin Mathews, the slim chances of a certain Steven Stamkos signing in Vancouver just got more interesting.
Let’s be honest, though. Stamkos to Vancouver is still an absolute pipe dream. But at this point in the off-season, dare to dream.
There’s certainly a case to be made for a Milan Lucic signing in Vancouver, for better or worse. Most will say worse, considering his age and history. Loui Eriksson will also likely get a serious look, considering his history of winning a gold medal at the Turin Olympics on a line with the Sedins.
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If you’ve been watching the Canucks defense all season, you’d point to potential unrestricted free-agent pick-ups Alex Goligoski and Keith Yandle, and to a lesser extent, potential trade partners for restricted free agents Sami Vatanen and Victoria’s own Tyson Barrie.
Time will tell how this off-season will end, but this will not be your average off-season. The Canucks will be fighting back, regardless of the odds this time. There’s a storm coming, and it’s going to get interesting, starting with draft day.