Who drives the van? You or Canada cup?
- kaptaan

We take turns and we have a very strict rule of NOT picking up hitchhikers.

My bigger picture says if you're gonna trade for a needed player like Gudbrason, trade from a position of strength. The team has two centers under the age of 25, Horvat and McCann, now they have one.

I'm a big proponent of building with centers and defense. Henrik retires in two years, WHERE'S THE SUCCESSION PLAN for down the middle?

Dubois, if he's available and they select him, will be 19 years old (turning 20) or in the same position Horvat was in as a fourth line center last year. He doesn't fill Henriks spot.
- LeftCoaster

It started with firing MG.
JB has had 2 years & drafts & got Sutter.
Idk how u speed it up? Habs cannot do it.
Winning 1OA is a quick fix. U gotta suck & be lucky.

It might work if Gillis had left them more assets to work with, but he didn't, IMO this will fail unless they can improve the top six through free agency.

If they sign Eriksson and Lucic, well then maybe they've got a chance at a playoff spot, but I doubt that happens.
- LeftCoaster

Ya, I don't like how this is going either. JB was brought in for his perceived ability to assess young talent. So I'm pretty sure Linden and JB are on the same page. They're both smart hockey guys and they know that good drafting is key to long term success.

So there must be something else that's driving the desire to be competitive now. I wonder what that could be...

Stay at home defender Erik Gudbranson's shots against impact comparable to Jared Cowen and Nate Guenin. He's not who you think he is.
— Travis Yost (@travisyost) May 26, 2016

And that's his supposed strength. His EV scoring rates are Adam McQuaid and Luca Sbisa. This is just lunacy.
— Travis Yost (@travisyost) May 26, 2016
- walshyleafsfan

if he wants an extension I think Karl Alzner would be comparable. 2.8 not sbisa contract.

Ya, I don't like how this is going either. JB was brought in for his perceived ability to assess young talent. So I'm pretty sure Linden and JB are on the same page. They're both smart hockey guys and they know that good drafting is key to long term success.

So there must be something else that's driving the desire to be competitive now. I wonder what that could be...
- bloatedmosquito

Linden needs to spend less time selling glasses and more time running the team

So we draft a player and trade him for a player who is NHL proven with his full prime ahead of him in a position we are suffering in and you call that detrimental to the rebuild... what ever Lefty... keep spinning. I'll continue to call it a rebuild...

McCann looks terribly soft even for a rookie. After this draft, we will have more of the players JB sees as his model. He apparently likes bigger guys like JV, Dubois, Tkachuck, Boeser for our top 6. McCann was the obvious choice to move for a big young physical RD. Sven also helped make JM expendable as a winger.

I wish it didnt take the 2nd rounder to close the deal. That sucks. JB proabaly was planning on selecting D with it. Acquiring EG makes that somewhat of a wash much like giving up the 2nd for Sven. When it fills the hole you were hoping to fill with that selection... it's more or less the same thing... except this time there is much less risk since EG is proven.

Step back and take a wider look. I know you could do this in the past...
- boonerbuck

Thanks it's tough battling the hysterics crowd alone. I'm not getting any work done today

We'll see how that pans out. So far in the immediate he's not made the team better, he has however made the future brighter with his drafting.
- LeftCoaster

Thats a good assessment

It started with firing MG.
JB has had 2 years & drafts & got Sutter.
Idk how u speed it up? Habs cannot do it.
Winning 1OA is a quick fix. U gotta suck & be lucky.
- Nighthawk

I think that's JB's plan. Get a good D core, then get a few 1OA on forward.

I kind of thought that he was done giving away draft picks for "younger" players to bridge the gap. Need some of the prospects in a couple of years that can move up and down without waivers. To me this trade should have been made when this team is ready to compete and has prospect depth at more then one position. The rumours is he wants 5 million a season, worries me.
- manvanfan

The saving grace, if there is one, is that he only just turns 25 next season and they've got two more full seasons to acquire prospects thru the draft before the twins retire.

The sad thing is they probably won't be ready to step in though, unless they win a few lotteries, which is entirely possible with the current lineup.

I don't know about that, he's very young. I'm sure we will all watch him closely from here on out.
- golfingsince

I am willing to bet that this was JB's assessment. JM has skill... yes... but while our other 19 year old JV was putting on mass in his rookie season, JM was losing weight and players were throwing him off the puck with one hand... Dubois is not that type of player. JB must be confident that's who he's taking in the draft. If we get Dubois, there will be little to cry about. We end up with a stronger C and don't have to gamble that our 2nd we traded would maybe be some kind of usable D one day because we have EG instead... a proven player.

People are crying because JB didnt take the longer more risky path to improving our future. Single mindedness is all it is.

My bigger picture says if you're gonna trade for a needed player like Gudbrason, trade from a position of strength. The team has two centers under the age of 25, Horvat and McCann, now they have one.

I'm a big proponent of building with centers and defense. Henrik retires in two years, where's the succession plan for down the middle?

Dubois, if he's available and they select him, will be 19 years old (turning 20) or in the same position Horvat was in as a fourth line center last year. He doesn't fill Henriks spot.
- LeftCoaster

McCann looks like a winger to everyone but you and his parents. But sure, he is sure thing top 6 center

Linden needs to spend less time selling glasses and more time running the team
- DeflatedPucks

Heh how is the Rangers rebuild goin?

My bigger picture says if you're gonna trade for a needed player like Gudbrason, trade from a position of strength. The team has two centers under the age of 25, Horvat and McCann, now they have one.

I'm a big proponent of building with centers and defense. Henrik retires in two years, where's the succession plan for down the middle?

Dubois, if he's available and they select him, will be 19 years old (turning 20) or in the same position Horvat was in as a fourth line center last year. He doesn't fill Henriks spot.
- LeftCoaster

Think on the bright side. You had 4 centers on the right side of 35. Now you have 3!

Ya, I don't like how this is going either. JB was brought in for his perceived ability to assess young talent. So I'm pretty sure Linden and JB are on the same page. They're both smart hockey guys and they know that good drafting is key to long term success.

So there must be something else that's driving the desire to be competitive now. I wonder what that could be...
- bloatedmosquito

ya geez I wonder...

ya geez I wonder...
- LeftCoaster

We have Demko.

I'm just really against trying to win now with the poop that is the Vancouver Canucks! They've got some good young pieces Benning put together in two short years, Demko, Virtanen, Boeser & Tryamkin, but they've gotta continue down that path and give up this idea they can be a playoff team!

That train of thought will have them continuing down the path of mediocrity for the foreseeable future...I'm sick of that!!!!!!!!!!
- LeftCoaster

Come on Lefty. He didnt trade for a vet. If it was the way you are spinning it... we would be getting the Gillis so called bargain trades for vets instead. This trade for a 24 year old is about the future.

The saving grace, if there is one, is that he only just turns 25 next season and they've got two more full seasons to acquire prospects thru the draft before the twins retire.

The sad thing is they probably won't be ready to step in though, unless they win a few lotteries, which is entirely possible with the current lineup.
- LeftCoaster

I fully understand why JB wanted him. He's a right shoot, bigger body. Plays good minutes and he is 25. If JB made this trade next offseason, I would be jumping for joy. JM could have shown his full worth.

Heh how is the Rangers rebuild goin?
- Nighthawk

I believe the word "rebuild" is taboo. I'd call it: "Renovating"
(translation: keep riding Lundy)

The saving grace, if there is one, is that he only just turns 25 next season and they've got two more full seasons to acquire prospects thru the draft before the twins retire.

The sad thing is they probably won't be ready to step in though, unless they win a few lotteries, which is entirely possible with the current lineup.
- LeftCoaster

In those same 2yrs our cap space means sign smart UFA deals.
Injection of shrewd UFA's can mentor the kids & make them earn a spot.

McCann looks like a winger to everyone but you and his parents. But sure, he is sure thing top 6 center
- CanuckDon

No he's definitely a center, as Willie Desjardins said last year. His talent is best in the middle. It just takes time to get there, you can insulate him on the wing because it's easier to play, like Montreals done with that Russian/American kid or Colorado did with McKinnon.

The saving grace, if there is one, is that he only just turns 25 next season and they've got two more full seasons to acquire prospects thru the draft before the twins retire.

The sad thing is they probably won't be ready to step in though, unless they win a few lotteries, which is entirely possible with the current lineup.
- LeftCoaster

Let me approach the trade a different way Lefty...

Would you trade Mccann and the 33rd pick for the number 12 pick? Then we could draft Dubois and Sergshev for example. Didn't Benning just pull of a similar move except we have a sure thing young D man instead of a prospect?

I hope that comes to fruition, but it's a big leap of faith at this point. Also, Sutter as a top six center means you've got a weak team.
- LeftCoaster

Agreed.

Sutter is a 3C. Horvat is a 2C, although i will concede he struggles with it right now....but moving forward. Still need a 1C.

I believe the word "rebuild" is taboo. I'd call it: "Renovating"
(translation: keep riding Lundy)
- DeflatedPucks

MSG renos r done time for the team to catch up lol
Since '94 beating us for the cup they have not achieved much.

Linden needs to spend less time selling glasses and more time running the team
- DeflatedPucks

Linden ain't running this team. He was given that role to appease a very unhappy fan base after the Torts/Mike Gillis fiasco.

People don’t want to talk about it but our team’s owner has made some strange management choices. In my experience when an Executive surround themselves with unproven directors it suggests the desire to control everything. They don’t want advisors/leaders, they want followers.

No he's definitely a center, as Willie Desjardins said last year. His talent is best in the middle. It just takes time to get there, you can insulate him on the wing because it's easier to play, like Montreals done with that Russian/American kid or Colorado did with McKinnon.
- LeftCoaster

True but Mac is a stud n they had Duchesne ROR Stastny already then.