Hockey fans like to turn to former NHL general managers for their insights about the game. Vancouver Canucks fans have a very experienced resource in Brian Burke. However, he is just plain wrong about the team needing to buy now.
November is a fun time for Vancouver Canucks fans. The team has started off hot for the last five years and in four of them, the Canucks crash towards the bottom of the standings by April. Maybe this year is different. The previous five years never had Elias Pettersson on the team.
Despite the NHL season being less than 25% complete, there is this expectation of playoffs. I mean, when we are watching Pettersson out there, I don’t blame people for having that opinion. Everyone (including me) thought this team would struggle to score and stumble out of the gate after an impotent preseason.
So far, we are wrong. Again, the Canucks still have 66 games on the schedule, but they are shattering expectations. Whether you think it is a mirage or not is not relevant to what I’m talking about today. Former Canucks GM, Brian Burke was on Sportsnet 650 this morning and said something rather interesting about the team:
Burke on if #Canucks should add to get better, "1 kid is changing this and that's Pettersson. This team has a chance to win most nights. This isn't a fluky start. I watch Pettersson and I don't know if there is a bar or limit."
— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) November 8, 2018
So, he’s not wrong about Pettersson giving the team a better chance to win on a nightly basis. The fluky start is up for debate, but I do agree that we have yet to see the limits of Elias Pettersson. He is unlike any Canuck we have ever seen. Granted, there is huge recency bias and small sample sizes at play, but caman. When he’s out there scoring goals identical to Wayne Gretzky, it’s not hard to get excited.
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What struck me was Burke’s suggestion that the team needs to start buying and not selling. There is one huge problem with that. Buyers add to their team by paying with draft picks and prospects. Teams that can afford to do this are regular competitors, where their window to win is now. The smart GM’s get that.
However, if a 16-game sample is enough for you to start giving away picks and prospects, you are hacking away at the progress made at this point. If we are being realistic here, who is on the table? I don’t think Benning wants to trade away picks. Although, that could change at the deadline. That leaves the prospect pool.
Quinn Hughes and Olli Juolevi are untouchable. Jack Rathbone is off to a hot start, but maybe the Canucks may be more inclined to hold onto as many defensive prospects as they can since their current blue line is weighed down by anchors. I would also say goaltenders are untouchable as well. You can’t put all you eggs in one basket and the Canucks only have three goaltenders in their prospect pipeline.
From the forward group, there are many options. However, the ones in Utica have not been lighting up the score sheet. Injuries are playing a role, but you can count the number of stand out forward prospects this season with one hand. There may be an avenue of trade involving Will Lockwood, but I don’t know if you are getting a decent return from someone with bottom six potential.
Given who is untouchable and what is not available, I don’t think the Canucks can get much without compromising their own rebuild. Maybe Elias Pettersson can carry his team to the playoffs by himself. Maybe he doesn’t. But even if the team makes the playoffs, do they even get out of the first round? No. It just doesn’t seem like the smart move to hurt the future for a couple extra wins, especially if the team ends up losing anyway.