via Ed Willes of the Vancouver Province,
Assuming they sign Bo Horvat before their season-opener, you can find 15 forwards the Canucks have under contract before you get to Brock Boeser, Jake Virtanen or Nikolay Goldobin. That group includes the Sedin twins, who turn 37 at the end of this month, 33-year-old Thomas Vanek, 32-year-old Loui Eriksson, 28-year-old Sam Gagner and 28-year-old Brandon Sutter, who all figure to play key roles with the team.
Of the projected top nine, only three are 25-and-under: Horvat, Sven Baertschi and Markus Granlund.
And this is a team that is trying to sell a rebuild.
Look, we understand this season can go a number of ways and, by February, Boeser, Virtanen and Goldobin might be regulars in the Canucks’ lineup. But this is also an organization which is trying to keep its fan base engaged and it’s hard to see where the Canucks’ opening-day lineup is going to do that.
Put it this way. A 20-goal season from the newly signed Vanek isn’t going to excite anyone. A 20-goal season from Boeser will.
The Canucks maintain they want to build a competitive environment which will bring out the best in their younger players. The problem is that competitive environment is being supplied by average veterans who are largely in the decline phase of their career.
The faithful have already suffered through two excruciating seasons. Sitting through another losing campaign without seeing what’s coming is asking an awful lot.
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