If you're ready to take a deep breath after the drama of draft weekend, Ed Willis' "Monday Morning Musings" in
The Province is a good place to start.
Click here for his take, where he reminds us that, all told, maybe the sky isn't falling after all.
Sure, the Canucks still need work. And yes, the playoff loss to Calgary has left a sour taste in the mouths of Vancouver fans that's probably worse than if the team hadn't reached the postseason at all. But there's room for hope about next season—a transitional year that could see more young players get integrated into the lineup as change continues.
Willes points out that the Canucks are now on their fourth general manager in the last decade—a decade in which they've actually had a good deal of success.
Whether it was John McCaw or the Aquilinis, it’s a reflection of ownership to some degree. But there’s also something about this market and its over-the-top reaction to every Canucks move that makes it difficult for the GM. Sometimes the criticism is justified. A lot of times it’s simply judgment for its own sake.
I don’t know if Jim Benning is the man who’ll build the Canucks into a championship-calibre team but I do know you can’t form that opinion based on one draft.
If you're looking for an example of misguided hysteria, the Cody Hodgson trade is a timely example. As expected, Hodgson was placed on waivers today by Buffalo for purposes of a buyout after the Sabres' big upgrades over the weekend.
Remember the unabashed fury in this town when Mike Gillis dealt Hodgson for Zack Kassian at the 2012 trade deadline?
Though it still looks like Hodgson can't play defense to save his life, his biggest sin was being signed to a $25.5 million contract by then-Sabres GM Dary Regier back in September of 2013—a move that helped lead to Regier's dismissal just two months later. If Hodgson was on a contract like Kassian's—a "show-me" deal with a cap hit of $1.75 million—he might still have a job today.
Still just 25 years old, I wonder if Hodgson will be picked up by another team once his buyout goes through?
I do hope Vancouver's management team stays active this week. I don't expect much in terms of free-agent signings—we don't have the budget or the roster space, really. But I hope they keep working to try to resolve the Kevin Bieksa situation and start inking their restricted free agents of reasonable new deals.
Here's a good start:
I haven't heard Shawn Matthias' name much at all among the free-agent rumours for other teams, which again might be a result of him playing for a lower-profile team that doesn't get seen much on the east coast. But he should be getting interest in the marketplace:
Consider that Matt Beleskey of Anaheim is perceived to be one of the stronger forward options available this year. He and Matthias are both 27. Beleskey put up 22 goals and 32 points with the Ducks last season, as well as nine points in the playoffs, but Matthias was close behind. He had 18 goals and 27 points.
I'll expect Matthias to be a first-day signing when free agency opens on Wednesday.
Today's the deadline for teams to issue their qualifying offers to restricted free agents. Here are the players on Vancouver's RFA list:
Linden Vey
Brandon McMillan
Ryan Stanton
Yannick Weber
Jacob Markstrom
Mike Zalewski
Sven Baertschi
Adam Clendening
Alex Grenier
Cory Conacher
Peter Andersson
Frank Corrado
There are some pretty important pieces of the future on that list in addition to Markstrom: Baertschi, Vey and Grenier up front, plus Corrado, Clendening and Weber on the back end.
My guess is that, despite their low cap hits, Brandon McMillan and Ryan Stanton won't be qualified.
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