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Where Vancouver Stands Now

I see Aaron Rome, what the hell do you see?

I see Aaron Rome, what the hell do you see?

1. The Sedins: Right down to the damn wire but the twins heard a number they liked and signed right before free agency kicked off. In the end, this was the best move for both sides. Vancouver would have been f'ed had the twins left plain and simple; judging by the numbers we've seen today there was no chance free agency would have filled that void. And, as we know, Vancouver doesn't have too many desirables to dangle in a trade scenario either.

For the twins, they still have a better chance at the Cup with Vancouver than if they followed the money to Montreal, Toronto or Los Angeles.

This is very much their team (as it is Luongo's) and Gillis has to make it a priority to do something Nonis never did: get them proven, quality support. The Sundin move last season was a one-off. No more Taylor Pyatt or Steve Bernier pet projects. If Burrows remains on their line, that's fine but the second line needs a Sundin replacement and slotting in Hodgson or scouting the bargain barrels isn't an answer, certainly not to keep pace in the West.

2. Luongo's extension: I wouldn't put too much worry into TSN reports of a snag into the negotiations. Luongo will get extended, though maybe it'll wait a few days as Gillis and team pay attention to the free agents frenzy. Latest numbers are five years and $40 million.

3. Aaron Rome: Hey a guy with a Cup ring! That aside, he's pure depth and nothing else. Don't expect much (unless you expected a lot of Davison last year and, in that case, bottoms up). More information on what we got is here.

A quick word on Ohlund: we knew all along he wasn't returning. But he got an incredible deal at his age and joins a solid defensive unit and gets to be a mentor for Hedman to boot. All around it worked for both sides and we wish nothing but the best for our franchise defensive point leader.

4. The rest of the Northwest: Quite a stacked set of goalies in our neck of the woods, eh? Khabby, Backstrum, Lui, Kipper and now Anderson?

I've heard a lot of complaining that everyone is getting better but us today...well they said that last year and look what happened. Things will work themselves out. And for the record Boumeester doesn't make the Flames Cup favorites anymore than adding the Joker at the trade deadline does (and remember, the media kept falling over themselves praising that move too).

This isn't to suggest there isn't cause for concern about how Gillis fills the remaining gaps. Personally I fear he's going to go the bargain bin route because he has no other option. Or maybe he's banking on at least Grabner and Hodgson making the roster and he'll focus his remaining efforts on the blueline (as the reports he was kicking the tires on Niedermayer up until he resigned in Anaheim).

If you look at the new reality, you can see where he has to get another top six forward and then work on the defense (started today with the Rome pick-up). Some protection for Lui's groin is also required.

July1_roster_2_medium

If you check the big board, lots of names are still out there. On defense there's still guys like Derek Morris, Paul Mara, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Francois Beauchemin and Jordan Leopold (come on back to the NW sir!). Up front there's still some potential deals to be made with Kyle Calder, Travis Moen, Ruslan Fedotenko, Mikael Samuelsson, Manny Malhotra and Jason Williams. Or larger gambles on Nik Antropov, Saku Koivu, Marian Gaborik, Martin Havlat, Brian Gionta and Alex Tanguay.

Though, you should know the names in that "larger gamble" group don't have a snowballs chance in hell of becoming a Canuck. Dare to dream though, it is July 1st.

So how do you think today went?

Poll
How would you grade Mike Gillis on day #1 of free agency?
A - Losing Swedish twins is always terribly painful
65 votes
B
104 votes
C - Aaron Rome is considered a steal? Yawn
82 votes
D
12 votes
F - I miss Donuts and his rosy red cheeks
12 votes

275 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs  |  Comment 15 comments |

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Gaborik signed with NY Rangers

for 5 years at 7.5 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR. They’ve gotta be nuts!

by blaurg on Jul 1, 2009 6:04 PM PDT reply actions  

Yeah, another great move by Sather. I love that man, seriously. I wish he did stand up.

'Nucks Misconduct - Housing Swedish Millionaires Since 2000.

by Yankee Canuck on Jul 1, 2009 6:14 PM PDT up reply actions  

Where will that 10 mil go this year?

So we need one top 6 forward and a top 4 Defenceman. What are your thoughts on who is available?

by T.Haynes on Jul 1, 2009 7:10 PM PDT reply actions  

My hunch is Gillis will try and sweet talk Sundin back at a far reduced price. If that fails, my guess would be he’d use about 7 million between the two positions (so 3.5 per position) and then maybe bundle a package together of mid range names for (Hansen, Raymond, etc) for another warm body.

Prepare yourself for a defense that, on paper, quite likely looks weaker but hopefully up front is easier on the eyes.

'Nucks Misconduct - Housing Swedish Millionaires Since 2000.

by Yankee Canuck on Jul 1, 2009 7:25 PM PDT up reply actions  

10.8 mill of space does NOT include:
Welly
Hodgson
Grabner
Schneider
Hansen
SOB

So whomever of those is included (and clearly at least two will have roster spots) have to be knocked off the cap space available. That means we really have about 8 Mill to spend on a forward and a top-4 d-man. And probably need another depth d-man…

by Beantown Canuck on Jul 1, 2009 8:50 PM PDT up reply actions  

Keep in mind Hansen is rumored to be on the block so even signing him may eventually end in a trade. Ditto Schneider and even Grabner depending on the return.

'Nucks Misconduct - Housing Swedish Millionaires Since 2000.

by Yankee Canuck on Jul 2, 2009 4:05 AM PDT up reply actions  

Neil for 2 per was a nice deal by the Sens…
Maybe Gillis is working on trading for Heatley!!! HAAA!!!

We are all Canucks.

by Chinese Canuck on Jul 1, 2009 7:45 PM PDT reply actions  

I’m happy with the Nucks and there moves today. Gillis has 3 months to tinker, and I think he will add a scoring winger and a solid d-man still.

Just say no to Heatley, I’ve always considered him a jerk, and this Oil/Sens trade business proves it. No prima donnas needed here.

And finally, what about Bertuzzi back for a one year deal. He’s big, skilled and would come cheap. Although the baggage might be a but much…

by Nuckels on Jul 1, 2009 9:32 PM PDT reply actions  

Totally agreed… I was trying to be sarcastic on bringing in Heatley LOL!
Gillis just wouldn’t like his character…

We are all Canucks.

by Chinese Canuck on Jul 1, 2009 11:14 PM PDT up reply actions  

Bert doesn't exactly strike me as passing the Gillis "character" test

Though it would be neat to see the modified test for Todd:

Question 1: [picture of little girl holding teddy bear] “Do you help this girl cross the street or smash her in the face with a broken bottle?”

'Nucks Misconduct - Housing Swedish Millionaires Since 2000.

by Yankee Canuck on Jul 2, 2009 4:06 AM PDT up reply actions  

I don’t think Bert is coming back. I still think he’s a valuable player and would be a good addition to certain teams (like the leafs), but under the circumstances in which he left I think Vancouver is the last place he’ll end up. I wish it could happen though.

Heatley is currently being quite selfish, he doesn’t seem to be putting his team first, which isn’t a desirable quality in a potential franchise player. That being said he is very talented, and if we could pick him up as a short term solution I think he could put us over the edge. We really are one top six forward (and now a defenceman or two) away from a cup, and I think we’re at a point where we should try whatever we can to secure that missing piece on offense. Obviously we tried with Sundin and it didn’t work out as planed, but I don’t think the formula was off.

Bring me Stanley. Alive if possible, dead... just as good.

by King Luongshanks on Jul 1, 2009 10:24 PM PDT reply actions  

I’m cool with Gillis’ activities on Wednesday. He didn’t panic and give out ridiculous contracts just for the sake of making splashes. ie. Sather with Gaborik, Gainey overpaying for small players, etc.

There’s lots of time and players left.

by cyxj on Jul 1, 2009 11:58 PM PDT reply actions  

Some of the remaining players I’d like to see Gillis target: Beauchemin, Bergeron, Samuelsson, Barker (offer sheet), Versteeg (offer sheet).

by cyxj on Jul 2, 2009 12:26 AM PDT up reply actions  

Right, you keyed in on it: he didn’t panic. A lot of teams out there either panicked or just used their cap space and the opening of UFA to make a splash. Look at the two top teams last year and remind me which of them either panicked or blew out their cap on July 1st (hell, go top four and only Chicago makes that list and one season in it’s clear Campbell isn’t worth the terms of his deal).

So many people bitched about what Gillis did yesterday, but with the exception of Sundin, what splashes does the guy make? Everything he does is depth-related (Johnson on day one last year, Rome this year). He’s approaching the FA’s with an entirely different playbook than the majority of other GMs. Good to keep in mind.

'Nucks Misconduct - Housing Swedish Millionaires Since 2000.

by Yankee Canuck on Jul 2, 2009 4:00 AM PDT up reply actions  

I have to agree. Gillis strikes me as a man with a plan. I will patiently (and confidently) wait to see what he does over the duration of the free agent period. In Gillis I trust…

by nelboski on Jul 2, 2009 6:43 AM PDT up reply actions  

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