No Gabby eh? Damn. lol. I think what our team needs in terms of free agency is either a top-line forward to go with the twins or a secondary scoring threat.

The thing about the first option (finding a third Sedin) is that it’s been tried before. The reason it’s so hard to find someone to complement them is that they’re fucking identical twins. They each instinctively know what the other is going to do based on a lifetime playing together and a weird telepathic link. Nobody in the world is going to be able to cycle with them, so the best bet has just been to find somebody on the right wing who will raise hell in front of the net. I think Burrows has done a good job of this, and Kesler could too, so it doesn’t make too much sense spending our limited cap space chasing somebody who likely won’t have chemistry with them.

That leaves Option # 2: Sign a secondary scoring threat. We also tried this last year and came up short it Matts Sundin. The thing about this is I think it was a successful formula, the only flaw being Sundins performance based on age/conditioning. If I were GM, I’d try this route again, trying to land a big name goal scorer for the second line. Fedorov, Afinogenov, Cole, Hossa would all be good choices IMO. I’d also like to throw in a little Chris Neil somewhere as he adds toughness and the occasional goal. The lines could be:

D. Sedin H. Sedin Burrows/Kesler

Demo Kesler/FA Kesler/Burrows/FA

With Du Hodge Mich on the third line.

For me..
Gionta,
Cammalleri,
Beauchemin

I wish we could afford all 3.

Or take Pahlsson to shore up the 3rd line. I was hoping Gillis would get him at the deadline. Awesome shutdown guy that can score.

Hey! Let’s shoot for both Niedermayer brothers! (gag)

Cammalleri would be a great fit with the Sedins IMO, he’s a great finisher which is something we’re lacking.

Hossa would be even better, but he probably doesn’t want to play for the Canucks and will cost a lot.

…for awfully few players. Cammalleri is out – no way is he going to be ignored this year, and Calgary’s going to pitch hard for him.

I’m thinking more depth up front than a game-breaker. Add one, possibly two of the following forwards in addition to Hodgson, and we’ll still have the cash for a defenceman.

On defence, Edler’s going to have to become the time-eater who can score, as I don’t think Ohlund will stick around. Love the guy, but he’s getting tired; and Salo’s become our Gaborik: fantastic when he’s in the line up, but…

So who can we add for little scratch? I do like Kotalik, for a couple of years yet. Twenty to twenty-five goals at $2.5 mil, which is a reasonable number these days.

Satan can reach the 30 goal mark again without too much trouble – his time in the minors was for financial reasons, not his game play. See if he can be had for a repeat of his $3.5 salary.

Petr Sykora is worth a shot, as a fourth or fifth choice. He’s only 32, sits at the 25 goal mark, and has been reasonably durable.

I will shamelessly announce that I want Vancouver to make an offer to Shanahan just so I can say he was a Canuck. I also think he can pot 20 next season, but that’s neither here nor there.

Want to swing for the fences? The biggest is Gaborik, of course; but that cost is WAY too high for uncertain surgery results. The cap hit would cripple the team, even if Gaborik wasn’t. After him is Kovalev. Mercurial, but loaded with talent if he can be kept interested. Plus the small detail that he’s a right winger who took over 200 shots last year.

Gosh, I wonder what position Vancouver could offer a first line right winger who likes to shoot…?

As for defence, we could do worse than go after Adam Pardy (who’s a class 6) for some developing depth (what we have is a long way away right now); but really we’re going to need someone who can change the look back there, and I think Marc-Andre Bergeron is one of the most undervalued players going. Less than $2 million for 14 goals is more for less than any of our current guys.

Outside of Ohlund, that’s really it for puck-movers on the blue line. Problem is, that’s why Ohlund is going to get a heap of money thrown his way.

Bouwmeester would be a fantastic addition, but one we just can’t afford.

What about Bieksa? Why can’t he be our puck-moving d-man who scores 45 points?

No reduction for Ohlund tho. Not happening. He’s going for the money elsewhere, guaranteed.

That’s all. Just a thought.

And if he can be had cheap, Fedotenko.

i’d give up any of 1.bieksa, 2.salo, 3.mitchell, in a trade to free room for him, in that order. i seriously doubt that the canucks will get a free agent forward that will be an upgrade over what they have this year. all of the top 6 forward candidates will be too expensive to be worth it after spending 12-14M on the sedins. what this team needed this year to get over the hump and still needs is mats sundin 4 years ago – big body forward with great hands that can finish around the net and can keep up with the canuck pace of defense and transition. if bernier had some clutch in him he could be that guy but he doesn’t and he won’t. taylor pyatt will never have hands, or feet. however i have a hard time seeing the canucks booting him out the door after the carly thing so i’d bet they give him a short deal to stick around, 1 or 2 years at a reasonable price for a 3rd/4th line checker. i wanted the canucks to make a run at franzen but he’s off the table now. maybe there’s a good big forward coming free next year but it would be nice to draft one or two that work out.

what really sucks about offseasons in vancouver is the paucity of talent on the farm. good teams usually have a few kids making a push to get into the lineup and adding intrigue to the preseason. we have exactly 1.

I’d take Scott Niedermayer on a one year at $7 million WAY before Jay-Bo.