Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Not The Way To Sell A Rebuild In Vancouver

09/05/2017 at 8:25am EDT

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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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

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