My plea to Canuck management: No matter how itchy your trigger finger gets do not, under any circumstances, sacrifice the future of this team for short term gain.
Let’s be serious here. I love the Canucks and want nothing more than the Stanley Cup parading down Robson Street. However, despite possible Luongo playoff heroics, this team is not yet equipped nor mature enough to grind out enough games to make it to the cup final.
I’m excited by the play of Raymond, Shannon, and Cooke as of late, the emergence of Brad Isbister on a shut down line with Burrows and Kesler, and (finally) Luongo losing the kryptonite that had been holding him back since the all-star break. Naslund has been scoring key goals with the Sedin’s and a healthy defense corps will add to some stability on the back end. I love having Bieksa back as a right-hand shot on the PP and Salo seems to be regaining his confidence as well.
This team is coming together and the players have shown they will stick up for each other. They have a solid group of young talent and reasonable salaries (compared to most teams at least). Furthermore, this summer there will be an additional $11 million or so from Morrison and Naslund to sign some good free agents to add to the core group. So why go and mortgage the future for a few playoff games this year? It doesn’t make sense and, thankfully, Nonis seems to agree. In the old system you could spend your way out of trouble. Not any more. Just look at the Leafs. As Stephen Brunt said today, “They’re screwed”.
What about signed players like Brad Richards instead of a rental player you say?? I would do a deal if it made the team better, made financial sense and the player was going to be around for more than a year or two. Few players fit into this category and Brad Richards is…almost one of them. Unfortunately his grotesque contract makes him virtually untradable. Few teams can assume that kind of contract for a player who is grossly underachieving this year. If the Canucks did get him, it would prevent them from signing Naslund and Morrison and take them off the market for any decent free agents this summer. All for one player? In the new NHL I would only pay a goalie that kind of crazy money as a goalie can single-handedly steal games for you and affect your performance like no other player. The rest of the team has to have balanced scoring and depth…we see too many one line teams easily shut down by an opponent’s checkers with no one left to score (sounds familiar??).
Okay, I’m a no fun trade day party pooper. Might as well call me “Stand Pat”. But for the Canucks, no trade may be the best trade of all.
