Prust was a decent pick up- with Bieksa gone we needed a scrapper to share the load with Dorsett. one year left on his contract is no big deal.
Kassian was given more than enough opportunity to step up- he has only himself to blame when he flames out in Montreal. His roster spot in Van will hopefully be filled with one of the young guys- Virtannen, Shinkaruk, Gaunce etc.
Horvat should be ready for 2nd line minutes- providing he doesn't fall into a sophomore slump.
Corrado should be able to pick up some slack on defense given the opportuniy and patience from the coach.
Weber is ready for prime time- good 1 year deal at $1.5 M- if he shows us 40 points he'll be in line for a decent raise.
Bartkowski? We'll see what he has to offer- we may be pleasantly surprised.
Richardson and Mathias- thanks boys, but time to move on and give the youngsters a chance.
Higgins will be tough to move- he may get a reduced role.
Burrows is also a tough move, but he still gives 100% and is a leader and role model for the youth movement.
The Sedins will never go anywhere unless they want to and/or some GM steps up with a can't refuse offer. Great players still, great leaders and even better citizens. Any rational fan should be proud to have these guys on their team.
Miller in goal? Barring injury he should be fine. His cap hit is what it is.
Markstrom will be given a fair shake- the jury is still out on how he performs at the NHL level.
Lack for a 3rd rounder? At least we picked up a character D-man in this year's draft with the pick so that we could begin develop him now rather than a year down the line. Maybe we could have gotten a 2nd for him during this year's training camps if some team loses a goalie to injury or the like. The goalie market is fairly soft, and Vancouver fans might just over-value him a wee bit. There was no gun to Benning's head with having to deal Eddie right now, but it is telling of the organization's view of him that they acquired Miller last year instead of letting Eddie take the crease as the starter.
It's not all doom and gloom in Canuckland- we finally have a solid group of young prospects. Plugging them into a veteran core team should be good for their development, unlike some other young teams (cough, Edmonchuk!, cough).
Kassian was given more than enough opportunity to step up- he has only himself to blame when he flames out in Montreal. His roster spot in Van will hopefully be filled with one of the young guys- Virtannen, Shinkaruk, Gaunce etc.
Horvat should be ready for 2nd line minutes- providing he doesn't fall into a sophomore slump.
Corrado should be able to pick up some slack on defense given the opportuniy and patience from the coach.
Weber is ready for prime time- good 1 year deal at $1.5 M- if he shows us 40 points he'll be in line for a decent raise.
Bartkowski? We'll see what he has to offer- we may be pleasantly surprised.
Richardson and Mathias- thanks boys, but time to move on and give the youngsters a chance.
Higgins will be tough to move- he may get a reduced role.
Burrows is also a tough move, but he still gives 100% and is a leader and role model for the youth movement.
The Sedins will never go anywhere unless they want to and/or some GM steps up with a can't refuse offer. Great players still, great leaders and even better citizens. Any rational fan should be proud to have these guys on their team.
Miller in goal? Barring injury he should be fine. His cap hit is what it is.
Markstrom will be given a fair shake- the jury is still out on how he performs at the NHL level.
Lack for a 3rd rounder? At least we picked up a character D-man in this year's draft with the pick so that we could begin develop him now rather than a year down the line. Maybe we could have gotten a 2nd for him during this year's training camps if some team loses a goalie to injury or the like. The goalie market is fairly soft, and Vancouver fans might just over-value him a wee bit. There was no gun to Benning's head with having to deal Eddie right now, but it is telling of the organization's view of him that they acquired Miller last year instead of letting Eddie take the crease as the starter.
It's not all doom and gloom in Canuckland- we finally have a solid group of young prospects. Plugging them into a veteran core team should be good for their development, unlike some other young teams (cough, Edmonchuk!, cough).
