I say trade Bieksa, Kassian & Miller if able; SJ?, & keep Vrbata. Let Richardson & Matthias walk as UFA's. We keep building the prospect pipeline & we start integrating the young players we have slowly. We can't just go for a total rebuild we have the Sedin's & Hansen signed for 3 more years, Burrows, Higgins, Miller & Bonino for 2. Edler has 4 more years & Tanev just signed for 4. That is essentially the core of the Canucks today.

The Canucks have 17 players signed at a 65.025 mil cap hit approximately. 10 forwards, 5 Dman & 2 goalies. Assuming a cap of 71.5 mil that leaves 6 & change to get to the 23 man roster limit which they can do internally by resigning their 6 RFA's Vey, Kenins, Baertschi, McMillian, Weber & Stanton. None are going to see any real raises & all will most likely have to accept their qualifying offers, essentially 10% raises over what they made last season. That's essentially 6 mil. Add Clendening who is also an RFA at about a mil & that gets you to 23 players tight up against the cap, possibly even a little over. The loss of Capgeek makes figuring out the exact # far more confusing.

The Canucks will need some wiggle room & again I say let it be Bieksa & Kassian that move, unless you can move Miller. Bieksa should garner a reasonable return & if you can move Miller I say do so, that would really solve the cap issue & keep or trade Bieksa as well. SJ would be a great fit for Miller who wants to be on the west coast to be close to his wife in LA. SJ doesn't have a goalie so maybe they can find a fit. There was a number of teams interested in Kassian but at what return & his back issue may cause trepidation from teams until he plays consistently for a bit to show there are no long term issues.

I don't trade Vrbata. Goal scorers of his ilk don't come easy or cheap generally & at 5 million he's great value & the Canucks should be in a position to resign him when the time comes if the other prospects aren't ready to step up. If he moves, do so at next seasons trade deadline if necessary & we have another solution in place. Other than the Sedin's he's our only real top 6 player unless you think Burrows, Higgins, Bonino & Hansen are really top 6 players? Bonino & Burrows soft top 6's at best. If Higgins & Hansen are playing top 6 minutes at forward that's not a very strong team. As 3rd liners their awesome & if they have to step into the top 6 occasionally due to injuries fine but other than that they shouldn't see power playtime on the 1st or 2nd units moving forward.

I would like to see the kids integrated into more important roles, specifically Vey, Horvat, Baertschi & Clendening. I see a line up something like this.

Sedin, Sedin, Burrows.
Baertschi, Bonino, Vrbata.
Higgins, Horvat, Hansen.
Kennins, Vey, Dorsett.

Spare forward Kassian unless traded or McMillian.

Edler, Sbisa. I'm not a Sbisa fan & hate his contract, 3 years at a cap hit of 3.6.
Hamhuis, Weber. I'm not a Weber fan either.
Bieksa/Stanton; if Bieksa is traded, Clendening. I like Stanton & would prefer to see him play over Sbisa. He doesn't hit or block shots like Sbisa but he doesn't look lost out there like Sbisa, he just does his job. If he goes unnoticed in a positive or negative way, perfect, he only needs to play 12 to 15 minutes.

Spares. Corrado, Clendening or Stanton depending upon whether Beiksa is in the mix, rotating in & out as required.

If Benning can move anyone of Bieksa, Miller & or Kassian it opens up options. If Beiksa moves then really we need to find a suitable replacement. I support doing everything you can to move all 3 & going & trying to get a solid younger top 4 Dman. A Dman about 25ish with in or around 300 games of NHL experience. I would love a young Dman like a Spurgeon or Ellis.

I would like to see the 1st PP unit the Sedin's with Vrbata, Edler & Vey on the points. The 2nd unit Horvat, Baertschi, Burrows with Tanev & Clendening on the points.

The other good young prospects go back to junior or the minors & are integrated in slowly over the season as injuries & opportunities dictate.

Thoughts from the bench.
- striker777

Too early.

Too early.

- manvanfan

Anyone that puts Higgins on their roster has come out of the closet and screamed the mountains that they are an Average Joe and love mediocrity

Anyone that puts Higgins on their roster has come out of the closet and screamed the mountains that they are an Average Joe and love mediocrity
- VANTEL

Anyone that puts Higgins on their roster has come out of the closet and screamed the mountains that they are an Average Joe and love mediocrity
- VANTEL

I want him moved, but expect the furthest he will move is to the 3rd line.

And the reason why I think that is his ice time this last year. He is played in every situation and is signed to a modest cap hit. The coach trusts him ahead of just about every other player save the Sedins.

I want him moved, but expect the furthest he will move is to the 3rd line.

And the reason why I think that is his ice time this last year. He is played in every situation and is signed to a modest cap hit. The coach trusts him ahead of just about every other player save the Sedins.
- hillbillydeluxe

I think if JB comes here next year with just a safe roster, there will be a huge drop off of fans.

I said it before , will say it again , bring back Burrows Higgins and Bieksa we will get a top 10 pick

Anyone that puts Higgins on their roster has come out of the closet and screamed the mountains that they are an Average Joe and love mediocrity
- VANTEL

He might still be here next season and if he is it better not be on the 2nd line. He would be an ideal 3rd liner, mentoring youth.

He might still be here next season and if he is it better not be on the 2nd line. He would be an ideal 3rd liner, mentoring youth.
- Marwood

Sedin Sedin Kassian
Bonino Horvat trade
Sven McCann Hansen
Kenins ??? Dorsett

Sedin Sedin Kassian
Bonino Horvat trade
Sven McCann Hansen
Kenins ??? Dorsett
- VANTEL

Horvat will be 3rd line centre.
Kassian may not be here.
McCan unlikely ready to make the big jump.

Just use nhl numbers instead of cap geek. It's pretty decent for playing around with line ups for fun

Sedin Sedin Kassian
Bonino Horvat trade
Sven McCann Hansen
Kenins ??? Dorsett
- VANTEL

This excites me. We won't win but the twins will continue to help Bo and now mccann. I love this.

I would trade Edler for a young top 6 forward and cross your fingers and hope you can get a 1st for vrbata. Frees up money and gives us flexibility to start rebuilding the de. We will never ever win a cup without a Norris calibre dman never.

Horvat will be 3rd line centre.
Kassian may not be here.
McCan unlikely ready to make the big jump.
- Marwood

You can call him a 3rd line center all you want but he is our second best center by a mile

DP

Utica was the top Western team , and second overall in the AHL. Why would anyone want to ice a bubble team with a stale core when they have a solid farm team?

Until Kassian is traded I will leave him on the roster. If he is traded it would be for a roster player.

McCann in our best prospect. He is better than Vey in every part of the game . Watch him tonight match up against McDavid.

Horvat is a better centre than Bonino

I wonder if Phoenix would be willing to part with Martin Hanzal. That's a guy I want on this team.

I know Ehrhoff has had some tough years since leaving, but e played for very little $ this season. If he could be brought back for cheap, I'd do it. He's still only 32.

I wonder if Phoenix would be willing to part with Martin Hanzal. That's a guy I want on this team.

I know Ehrhoff has had some tough years since leaving, but e played for very little $ this season. If he could be brought back for cheap, I'd do it. He's still only 32.
- micah555

Hanzal would be perfect no to the hoff

There is very little room on the Canucks roster. Benning will run this like a business & players will start to be developed in junior & the minors more consistently. I don't see either JV or McCann playing for the Canucks next season baring a cup of coffee late in the season as injury or trade replacements.

Go to NHLnumbers.com look at the contract situations & opportunities available. Benning will make room as they prove their ready but no 1 will be rushed.

The Canucks are in transition & that transition will take 3 to 4 years. 1 or 2 rookies/young players will be introduced per season slowly over that time frame. Horvat & Vey last season. Baertschi & Clending had cups of coffee after being acquired in trade. All 4 of these players will take on greater roles next season. Horvat & Vey will see better minutes & better quality minutes. Clendening & Baertschi will get 40 to 55 games each approximately in sheltered roles. At or near Xmas some of the rookies will start to get called up to deal with injuries & other.

That's the way good teams transition there prospects. See Detroit, Montreal & now Tampa Bay. Your better served not to rush most of these kids.

I wonder if Phoenix would be willing to part with Martin Hanzal. That's a guy I want on this team.

I know Ehrhoff has had some tough years since leaving, but e played for very little $ this season. If he could be brought back for cheap, I'd do it. He's still only 32.
- micah555

Arizona did have him on the block and the asking price was nuts

There is very little room on the Canucks roster. Benning will run this like a business & players will start to be developed in junior & the minors more consistently. I don't see either JV or McCann playing for the Canucks next season baring a cup of coffee late in the season as injury or trade replacements.

Go to NHLnumbers.com look at the contract situations & opportunities available. Benning will make room as they prove their ready but no 1 will be rushed.

The Canucks are in transition & that transition will take 3 to 4 years. 1 or 2 rookies/young players will be introduced per season slowly over that time frame. Horvat & Vey last season. Baertschi & Clending had cups of coffee after being acquired in trade. All 4 of these players will take on greater roles next season. Horvat & Vey will see better minutes & better quality minutes. Clendening & Baertschi will get 40 to 55 games each approximately in sheltered roles. At or near Xmas some of the rookies will start to get called up to deal with injuries & other.

That's the way good teams transition there prospects. See Detroit, Montreal & now Tampa Bay. Your better served not to rush most of these kids.
- striker777

Canucks are glacial slow at preparing prospects. Who was the last draft pick before Bo still with the Canucks? 2004?

Canucks are glacial slow at preparing prospects. Who was the last draft pick before Bo still with the Canucks? 2004?
- VANTEL

That's not a good reason to rush what they do have. McCann seems like a pretty smart defensively responsible player so who knows, but while I like Virtanen's size and physical play, the kid doesn't look ready. At the world juniors he was basically benched late in games because he was a liability on the ice.

Good morning,

I'm already liveblogging the Rangers and Capitals to kick off a huge sports day, so here's today's blog....

http://www.hockeybuzz.com...e-Brink-How-Old/194/68374