The Vancouver Canucks were winners in the Loui Eriksson sweepstakes but the question is: did that really help them? Their 2 best players, Henrik and Daniel Sedin are both 36 and not getting younger. They traded away their top prospect (Jared McCann) and that\’s not helping a rebuilding team. Goalie Ryan Miller is also 36 and aging so 26 year old Jacob Markstrom is their future goalie.
Defensemen Alex Edler, Chris Tanev and Erik Gudbranson lead a solid defensive core. Behind Eriksson and the Sedin\’s isn\’t much. Jake Virtanen is the only member with a super bright future on the team. Miller and Markstrom shouldn\’t be terrible but are not as good as some other tandems teams have.
In the first round of the 2016 NHL draft, the Canucks selected D Olli Juolevi with the 5th overall pick. Juolevi should be a solid d-man for Vancouver but they already have some good defensemen and passing up on LW Matthew Tkachuk is something they will come to regret.
The Canucks\’ projected lines look like this:
Daniel Sedin- Henrik Sedin- Loui Eriksson
Markus Granlund- Brandon Sutter- Jannik Hansen
Sven Baertsci- Bo Horvat- Jake Virtanen
Alexandre Burrows- Brendon Gaunce- Emerson Etem
On defense is:
Alexander Edler- Chris Tanev
Ben Hutton- Erik Gudbranson
Luca Sbisa- Phillip Larson
In net is Ryan Miller and Jacob Markstrom.
D Alex Biega, LW Derek Dorsett and Nikita Tryamkin are scratched.
Finally, for my prediction, the Vancouver Canucks, a team on the decline, will not make the playoffs in 2016-17.
