Vancouver Canucks: This has not been a rebuilding year

After the 2016-17 debacle, Vancouver Canucks team president Trevor Linden pledged that the team was “rebuilding.” So far this season, the Canucks have been anything but a team in rebuilding mode.

The Vancouver Canucks finally seemed ready to establish a direction that probably could have taken place four years earlier. After the 2016-17 season, team president Trevor Linden had the following to say:

"“Obviously we’ve been forthright in saying we’ve been transitioning as a team to a younger group and that was becoming a bit of a sticking point with some people. So to get alignment with our fans and our media I used the rebuild word today, which everyone can get their head around. If that word makes everyone happier then I’m more than happy to use it.”"

Kudos to Linden for finally coming clean. Unfortunately, the Canucks haven’t acted on that. We know management has been trying to sell the idea of “rebuilding on the fly,” where they ice a competitive team that can make the playoffs all while bringing in younger players.

General manager Jim Benning seemingly learned from his Loui Eriksson signing mistake and went bargain hunting last offseason.

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Sam Gagner, Michael Del Zotto and Anders Nilsson were signed to cheap, low-term contracts.

But when it’s come to shaping the everyday roster and making the necessary trades, the Canucks have not been doing that.

So many questionable decisions by head coach Travis Green and GM Benning, so little time.

The Canucks should have made the right decision and trade Erik Gudbranson at the trade deadline. The 6-foot-5 rearguard simply hasn’t found his form in Vancouver, and he could have been had for draft picks at the deadline:

Ah, so rather than get draft picks to help your rebuild, you’ll re-sign him to a three-year extension? That’s a move that a playoff hopeful team would make. Not seeing how re-signing Gudbranson makes this a rebuild.

The team has also been scratching defenceman Ben Hutton, who made his frustration evident to Farhan Lalji of TSN:

You should want to play, Ben. And you should be playing. You’re only 24 years of age, received a two-year extension in Nov. 2016 and you display excellent skating and solid speed. And the Canucks are scratching him? What? Why? You either trade the man or you realize he’s young, entering his prime years and can be a key part of the rebuild.

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Nikolay Goldobin — the marquee addition from last year’s Jannik Hansen trade — has brought some highlight reel stuff. Slick hands, terrific wheels. But he’s only played in 17 games, averaging 12:21 a game. Shouldn’t rebuilding teams let a talented youngster like Goldobin get more minutes? Top-six, maybe?

Does anybody else find it strange that Jake Virtanen is averaging less time per game than the likes of Eriksson, Gagner, Brandon Sutter and Nic Dowd? Shouldn’t the 21-year-old be getting more ice time than bottom-six forwards?

While we’re at it, the Canucks could probably try and force Alexander Edler into waiving his no-trade clause. It doesn’t make sense to keep a soon-to-be 32-year-old veteran around, given his decline in production and age. But the rebuilding Canucks can keep getting “younger” by keeping him and extending Gudbranson.

Conclusion

The 2015-16 Toronto Maple Leafs were the prime example of how to rebuild. They moved out virtually every veteran they could (including captain Dion Phaneuf), and simply played the kids. One year younger, Toronto was in the playoffs.

Thus far in 2017-18, the Canucks haven’t traded any of their veteran assets away. Nor have they seemingly tried that hard to. Young players like Hutton, Virtanen and Goldobin aren’t getting their ice time. The Canucks continue to favor underachieving and fading veteran players over the young kids.

Just because the Canucks are in line to be a bottom-five team for the third consecutive year, it doesn’t mean they’re “rebuilding.” If they were, we’d be seeing the youngsters playing more. We wouldn’t see Hutton getting scratched. We wouldn’t have seen a Gudbranson extension.

Next: A shallow pool expects too much of Brisebois

If this is truly a rebuilding year, then Benning really must have something up his sleeve as the trade deadline on Monday nears.

*Stats courtesy of Hockey Reference*