The Vancouver Canucks - Bland and Blander

Introduction

The Vancouver Canucks have a difficult and exciting off-season ahead of them. With the Sedin twins supposedly set to test the market, the Canucks may have to bring in top notch free agents in order to replace them. Despite the fact that it is very unlikely that the Sedins actually end up leaving Vancouver, the Canucks still have a lot to build on from their 2nd round loss this season.

Vancouver Salaries

So Much Room!: The Vancouver Canucks are incredibly well set up over the next few years. Except for the fact that they won't have any players.

Projected Lines for 2009-10

?-?-Bernier
Burrows-Kesler-Demitra
Raymond-?-Hansen
Hordichuk-Johnson-Wellwood

Bieksa-?
Salo-Edler
Mitchell-O'Brien

Luongo
?

Future Watch

Forward: Winger Michael Grabner had almost a goal every other game and should be ready to fill a slot on the big club. Center Cody Hodgson had a huge season in junior but is likely a season or two away from the NHL.

Defense: The unfortunate death of Luc Bourdon seriously impacted the Canucks' future on D, as he was their top prospect. There seems to be no one close to making a significant dent on D.

Goalie: Cory Schneider is as NHL-ready as he'll ever be.

Trades

Kevin Bieksa has already been traded twenty times by Eklund, Mason Raymond 15 by Canucks fans. The Canucks don't really have the kind of asset that needs trading, but they may see fit to exchange a defenseman for a center.

Free Agent Discussion

Money To Spend: 20.0 million

Holes To Fill: 5

The Best Of The Best: This blog has talked about all the mediocre free agents out there in one post or another - if one searches the blog one can no doubt find stuff about them. But now we're going to discuss the Best:

Marian Hossa (7/52.5) - Hossa won't have a real center here, and he's not a perfect fit. He didn't have a real center in Ottawa either. He'd be expected to score 35-40 goals every season.

Henrik/Daniel Sedin (9/47), (9/47) - Identical 9 year deals for the Sedin Brothers break down like this: 7 7 6 6 6 5 4 4 2. Only Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver realistically have the room to sign the Sedin Brothers without major moves - they will probably end up back here.

Marian Gaborik (6/39.5) - Gaborik also wouldn't have a real center, but he's a good enough scorer to not need one. The key, of course, is keeping him healthy

Jay Bouwmeester (8/60) - A coming home of sorts for Bouwmeester, Vancouver can truly blow him out of the water with an offer, if they so choose. It does mean losing the Sedins, however.

Scott Niedermayer/Rob Niedermayer (1/6) (1/2) - It's unclear whether the Niedermayer brothers will play in Anaheim this season - Scott should have a decision on whether they will by July 2014. Regardless, Vancouver is closest to home for the Niedermayer brothers, and they may lure him away.

Conclusion

GM Mike Gillis has some large decisions to make. He needs at least one center and possibly two from a market that likely won't supply many of them. He must decide whether he has to replace Mattias Ohlund, or try to re-sign him. His team has gotten bogged down in the second round two seasons of the last three - is it a Stanley Cup contender? Gillis has one of the hardest jobs this off-season - what he does will either propel the Canucks into the tier of elite clubs with San Jose, Detroit, and Pittsburgh, or condemn them to the second division for several more seasons.

Outlook

The Canucks will be trapped in the second division for several more seasons - they lack the elite-level forwards that the best teams have nowadays. If the Canucks are to go anywhere in the post-season, it will be because of Luongo's stellar play.