We're back in waiting mode until the Canucks make their next move. If you missed it, Ben Kuzma and Jim Jamieson did a pretty thorough evaluation of the current situation for The Province yesterday. Here's the link. It's worth a read.
No real surprises, but a few interesting tidbits and turns of phrase. My thoughts—and some random asides:
Kesler:
Does Ryan Kesler have an “agenda…? Absolutely. He wants to win now.That list of six teams Kesler is willing to waive his no-trade clause for could expand or contract by draft week next month. If a coach isn’t in place by then, it will irk Kesler. As much as he played with and has a friendship with Linden, he’s been promised help for years and it has yet to materialize. That’s a huge psychological wound to heal and that may take time because a significant retool and uptempo approach would interest Kesler. A rebuild wouldn’t.
This feels a bit more factual than most of the speculation that circles around Kesler. I still hope he stays, but understand that he could bring back some valuable trade pieces. Win-win, as long as the right deal is there.
New Coach:
First off—hooray! Barry Trotz signed on in Washington, so he's out of the running for our job. Brilliant.
The names that are now in the mix for the Canucks are Willie Desjardins, John Stevens and Doug Houda. I'd be willing to wager that one or two of those men will be behind Vancouver's bench when the 2014-15 season begins—Kuzma thinks Houda could fill Mike Sullivan's shoes as an associate coach.
Like most of you, I think Desjardins is an intriguing option. And he's still playing hockey—his Texas Stars beat the Toronto Marlies 6-3 on Monday to even the AHL Western Confererence Final at 1-1.
I saw some speculation on Twitter last night that if the Kings go on to win the Stanley Cup, Darryl Sutter might retire and hand the reins to John Stevens in Los Angeles. Sutter's only 55—Willie Desjardins is 57. Darryl doesn't seem like he "enjoys" his job, exactly, but I don't think he'll be rushing out the door just yet.
The question regarding Stevens, I think, is whether or not the Kings would be willing to release him to a division rival. They were pretty quick to ensure that the Canucks got nowhere with possible GM candidate Michael Futa.
Bottom Six:
The thinking here is pretty similar to what I laid out on the weekend. Richardson and Matthias stay and Booth is probably bought out—mostly to create a roster spot. The Province guys suggest that Tom Sestito will get a chance to stay and see if he can earn more minutes—I think that's possible.
Don't forget, the team really has 14 spots open at forward, when you count the injury/healthy scratch spaces. That offers a little more room to maneuver.
Even as our young players compete for roster spots, I'm expecting Benning to bring a couple of NHL vets who can offer good bottom-six value. After Trevor Linden's early remarks when he talked about the "Boston Model," soon-to-be-37-year-old unrestricted free agent Shawn Thornton had better be an abstract example of the type of player they're after—not the actual guy they sign!
Goaltending:
I don't believe for a second that the Canucks are interested in Ryan Miller.
They will start the season with Lack and Markstrom, and if they need to acquire a goalie as the season wears on, that can happen.
Even if Chicago loses to Los Angeles, I don't think they'll pursue Miller either, for a couple of reasons:
i) They beat Miller and the Blues in the first round. That would make it a tough sell to the fans. ii) Cap space. Chicago doesn't really have the dough available to sign Miller to the type of contract he'll be seeking.
It looks to me like San Jose would be a good landing spot for Miller. It's the California location that he prefers—he's not going to get Anaheim or Los Angeles—and the Sharks need to make a change in net.
The article also mentions the Canadiens' use of Dustin Tokarski in their playoffs to illustrate the idea that "the future is now"—strengthening the argument that the Canucks will go with Lack and Markstrom. It reminded me that Devan Dubnyk is also Habs' property and didn't even get a sniff of the net when Carey Price went down. Yesterday's starters are falling out of the picture pretty quickly these days.
My takeaway: I think development of goaltenders has become a lot more scientific in recent years. As a result, the market is flooded with young, relatively cheap goalies who the Canucks could target if it looks like the Swedish trio of Lack, Markstrom and Joacim Eriksson can't do the job.
No-Trade Clauses:
They suggest that the Canucks try to move Dan Hamhuis, who had probably the best season of all the blueliners. To me, it's unlikely that he'd waive: Hamhuis' B.C. roots go as deep as anybody's. Like Kesler, he has two years left on his current contract before becoming an unrestricted free agent. He could have decent trade value and might be able to bring back the bounty of young studs that the Canucks desire; I just don't think he's willing to leave.
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I'm leaving the conundrum of Daniel Sedin alone. I don't have any answers, and I don't think he's going anywhere. That's a cross the team will have to bear as best it can. It is interesting that the writers note that Daniel's decline actually started *before* the Duncan Keith hit in March of 2012.
And one final note—last night's Kings/Blackhawks game was the last national broadcast for the TSN crew for the next 12 years. Not much of a game, but I have really appreciated the insight an analysis that they've brought over the years—even if they were wrong about Drew Doughty's goal being tipped by a Los Angeles player last night.
I fear for the quality of the Rogers national broadcasts that we'll see next season, since TSN was able to lock up all its top talent. That kind of loyalty is rare in broadcasting and really speaks to the culture they've built.
I'm not sure how much longer Rogers' regional deal with the Canucks will run, but I'm hoping that TSN will aggressively pursue those regional games when the contract comes due. They already cover regional games in several Eastern markets: I'm assuming they'll now go after the west as well.