After the Vancouver Canucks embarrassing 5-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Hockey Night in Canada Saturday night, fans were irate, jersey’s were tossed onto the ice and the team was booed off the ice at the end of the game.
Normally something like this happens to the Toronto Maple Leafs, but Vancouver fans are just as passionate and they are pissed.
The question facing team president Jim Rutherford is, do they go into rebuild mode or look to make a big trade?
Will the Vancouver Canucks tear down the team and rebuild?
Will the Vancouver Canucks make a quick decision and sell assets and join tank nation in the hopes of drafting Connor Bedard at the 2023 NHL Entry Draft?
Former team President Trevor Linden wanted the Canucks to embrace the full rebuild but team owner Francesco Aquilini disagreed which lead to Linden parting ways with the team.
Right now, it is looking like Linden was correct and the team should have been patient and embraced the full rebuild.
Will the Vancouver Canucks make a big trade?
If Vancouver Canucks management want no part of a rebuild, do they look at making a big trade to shake up the team?
The question is who do they trade? If they trade a big piece, they would likely be selling low and not many teams have to salary cap space to take on a big contract at this point in the season.
The first player that is hitting the NHL trade rumors mill is J.T. Miller. Yes he signed a new contract with the Canucks, but his no-trade clause does not go into affect until next summer.
Bo Horvat is a player the Canucks could look to move, he will be a free agent next summer and with no contract extension in the works, the Canucks could trade their captain to shake things up.
If the Vancouver Canucks decide not to show up tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes, the fans will be demanding something be done. It will be interesting to watch what happens over the next week or so in Canucks land.
I believe most Vancouver fans agreed with Trevor Linden at the time and disagreed with the owners. That ownership decision has backfired on this team ever since. Hiring a player agent as your GM wasn’t a winner either. Hiring a new GM who stated they were going to concentrate on the EU and elsewhere as a priority is the wrong direction to win a Stanley Cup. You stock yourself with the best core of Canadian players first and then cherry pick non-Canadian players next. How many “Cups” did the Sedins win as team leaders? Or Sundin and Salming in Toronto, or Alfredsson in Ottawa. Each one of these fellows were super talented but how many Cups did they get their name on in Vancouver, Toronto or Ottawa. Who were the team leaders in Edmonton, Calgary or Montreal when they won their Cups? They each had a strong core of Canadian talent and team leaders who were able to perform at a top level in the regular season and in the rugged grind of the NHL playoffs. Most any club today would be happy to pick up Horvat but how many would want Pettersson at his salary and ability to perform when the going gets tough? Maybe for half his salary? The club needs a better direction otherwise we’ll continue to try to make the playoffs and likely be in the same boat as Montreal and Toronto have been for a while now.