I think Boudreau getting fired was inevitable. 90% of time, the coach gets fired before a GM does, 95% compared to a DHO, and well, never an owner (which is the problem here).
The problem wit the Canucks being a lame-duck team is every other GM in the league knows it, and whatever desperate moves they make now will be exploited.
Dump a high-value player to some playoff-contender? (Miller, OEL, etc.) Well don't expect a juicy bunch of 1st round picks in exchange. Worst of all, expect that your salary dump will backfire as they all demand terms where the other team does not actually pay its own dollars for the acquired player.
If the Canucks team core is blown up:
1) getting or anyone of genuine quality in the draft is not guaranteed (esp. not with the notion that Bettman always rigs the draft lottery against the Canucks)
2) it means at least 3 more years of "rebuilding" (losing) to clean the team of all the dead-weight contracts and stock up on meaningful new talent.
3) Does anyone think the owner is not going to fuck things up for the next 2 GM's and 5 coaches? Owners are businessmen, and they want to be hands-on when so much money is involved, but usually this is a bad idea for sports teams.
So this year is a write-off. They may get that "new coach bump" just like last year, but only just enough to fuck up their draft chances. If they actually end this year holding the Stanley Cup as champions, I will kick my own ass.
in the meantime, how about dem Whitecaps ?