How much better are the Canucks

Team: 2021-22 Vancouver Canucks

Initial Creation Date: Aug. 2, 2021

Published: Aug. 2, 2021

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Is this roster better than last years? Absolutely. Did these moves make us a Stanley cup contender?? Not very likely. Are we at least contending for a playoff spot?? YES!! Finally ownership and GM Benning can legitimately claim to be a playoff contender. It only cost them multiple first, second and third round picks and the commensurate depletion of the prospect pool due to the resulting lack of high picks, but WE ARE A PLAYOFF CONTENDER!!

On the roster front, there is some good news in that the goaltending appears to be set for the near future. On the blueline though its a mixed bag. The system has a mixture of young d-men, all with at most the projected ceilings of third pairing players. There is not one impact blueliner in the pipeline...not one. The good news is it doesn't matter as there are three 3rd pairing RD locked up tight for the next 2-4 years!! LD though is where we really shine though....Hughes and Rathbone have tremendous potential, and if Juolevi ever reaches HIS full potential, look out! The OEL trade was a masterpiece of cap management and talent acquisition on the part of the Canucks to hear the Benning Bros carry on. OEL only appears to be a declining, highly overpaid player, in fact he will turn around our whole defensive group!!! OEL knows he has been playing poorly and is now going to try really hard!! PHEW!! Boy he better or the 1st and 2nd we paid to acquire him will be small potatoes compared to what we will have to ante up to get rid of him!!! The real bonus is that now we have an EXTRA young LD that we are going to have to trade. Talk about an embarrassment of riches!! The forwards are pretty much set, apart from the fact that Klimovich and Lockwood are the only real reinforcements looking like even a remote possibility in the next few years. Bah.....there's always free agency!!!!

If this has a negative connotation, that is purely unintentional and merely factual in nature and ultimately irrelevant because WE ARE A PLAYOFF CONTENDER!! And have no fear folks, if somehow our team can't get the job done (how could that happen??) we still have our upcoming first round picks for Benning to use to make that elusive playoff dream come true!!!