Vancouver Canucks

Still Hope

Brian Gionta left to re-join Scott Gomez in Montreal. Marian Gaborik bolted East to the Rangers. Chuck Fletcher quickly replaced a talented yet oft-injured winger with another one in Martin Havlat. What do all these wingers have in common? They’re not in Vancouver.

With the belief that the Sedins signed in Vancouver at less than market value, the idea was that Mike Gillis would have enough cap space to make another run at a scoring winger to provide the Canucks with another scoring option. So far that hasn’t materialized and unless the Canucks trade or make offer sheets, it seems very unlikely that they’ll solve that problem through free agency. The organization is of course counting on Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows to build on their great seasons, but I think it’s a reach to expect anything more than 50 goals combined from those two. Despite their production I think they’d be mis-used and mis-labeled as second liners and will not be able to shoulder some of the offensive load. Cody Hodgson, despite all the praise and skill set, can only do so much as a rookie.

I can’t say I was too pleased with how the first day went, but there’s still time left. It’s never reported which other teams were in contention for a certain player’s services, but I felt we could have made as good a run, if not better, than the Habs did for Mike Cammalleri or Brian Gionta. There are plenty of RFAs that remain unsigned, but I really question whether or not Gillis can fill the offensive void left by Mats Sundin. Despite the drop-off in production, Sundin was still a valuable player and while his half-a-point-per-game pace could be easily replaced, I’m not sure his presence can. Opposing defenses often had to decide whether or not they had to check the Sedin line or the Sundin line, and without a formidable presence on the second line I fail to see how the Sedins can capitalize on second or third pairing defensemen.

While I can’t say that a lot of the contracts (Gaborik, Havlat) are good ones, the Wild, Canadiens, and Rangers realized that there’s always a certain amount of risk in free agents. However, the respective franchises showed that they’re not afraid to take risks that could really pay off big time. Ultimately, barring any kind of injury, these are the teams that are going to improve the most. If Gillis has shied away from these players because he has deemed those players aren’t worth the contracts they’ve signed, I agree, but for far too long in the Canucks’ franchise history the organization has opted to go the safe route. As the saying goes, “nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

I’m disappointed in the fact that for the first time in so long, the Canucks have cap space to really go hard after some players for offensive help. The team has not improved for the past couple of seasons and all the moves they’ve made have been lateral. The team doesn’t look any better right now than it did last year and that’s simply not good enough. No matter how you slice it, the Sedins are simply not enough. Whether you believe they’re good first-liners who don’t have nearly enough secondary support, or if you believe they’re great second-liners and that the team lacks a superstar, the conclusion is still the same: this team needs more. The Wild added Havlat and may very well add Saku Koivu as well, while Calgary and Edmonton made improvements in certain areas. This was the season that we showed Roberto Luongo and Canucks fans that we were committed to winning now. So far, Gillis hasn’t sent that message but like I said, there’s still time left.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that the Canucks signed Lawrence Nycholat for a second tour of duty, signed Matt Pope to an entry-level contract, and re-signed Nolan Baumgartner.