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On H&B the other day they had Drance on.

In regards to a rebuild…..

It was pointed out that the examples given in argument against a rebuild, saying don’t necessarily work, had been Buffalo, Anaheim, Chicago, Arizona (now Utah) and San Jose. All of those teams are now pushing in the right direction. Sure, Buffalo has only just started to get shit together after nearly 15 years of suck, but they axed some front office guys and you can see the culture starting to shift. The other teams are clearly looking at bright futures with their collection of youngsters coming into their own and all of them either in, or less than 3 wins back of, wildcard spots. So the dominos have fallen and there is no reasonable excuse left. Hence why we are hearing JR and PA use the term hybrid rebuild. Wordplay and spin to save face for the owners. Either that or FA is a complete buffoon who actually thinks a hybrid rebuild, when your team is 32nd overall and just traded away the best player ever to suit up in Vancouver, is anything besides an actual rebuild.

On Petey…..

LA and Carolina were the discussions. Drance pointed out that teams are always gambling on players regaining something. He said that so long as a trade can be made to work that is right now cap compliant, plenty of teams would roll the dice on unlocking the 100 point EP40 from 2023. Especially with his now see ability to Datsyuk it up defensively. The return wouldn’t be what we fans want, but the goal is to clean the slate (for both team and player).

I’ll add that any trade would also need to work for future cap hit for the Canucks. None of this retention bullshit. I for one would be happy with a late 1st or prospect + 2nd/3rd if there was no retention.

That being said, I’ll refer to Blobcat and add that the Canucks should absolutely weaponize the hell out of cap space this year and next.

In my view retention is by far preferable to any buyouts pushing dead cap further into the 2030s; especially if it translates into futures coming back in a trade.

That said, I’m of the opinion that this rebuild needs to be a 3 or even 5 year project, with that in mind I don’t care about a couple of awkward years in the early 2030s as the team should still have tons of ELCs.

If we’re planning on trading picks to unload these contracts then we might as well start talking about the next rebuild after the core we build out of the Hughes trade and a draft or two runs its course.

donlever wrote: ↑Tue Jan 13, 2026 5:50 am There are 3 guys on that list I give 2 shits about.

Garland
Karlsson
Hronek

Unfortunately, Garland is the most easily moved - no trade protection until July 1st. He would definitely be my pick from the top-6 forwards if he wants to stay and see it through here.

Karlsson doesn’t qualify as a vet in my books. 69 career games? No. I do want to keep him though. Replace him with Myers on the list or vets. Myers was a solid top-4 guy for years. He may be in the twilight of his career, but he has the respect of his peers and works hard. Mistakes in the moment and slowing feet do not take away the knowledge of the game and what it takes to be a successful pro with longevity.

If Hronek wants to be part of the process…..thrilled to have him.

dbr wrote: ↑Tue Jan 13, 2026 5:01 pm In my view retention is by far preferable to any buyouts pushing dead cap further into the 2030s; especially if it translates into futures coming back in a trade.

That said, I’m of the opinion that this rebuild needs to be a 3 or even 5 year project, with that in mind I don’t care about a couple of awkward years in the early 2030s as the team should still have tons of ELCs.

If we’re planning on trading picks to unload these contracts then we might as well start talking about the next rebuild after the core we build out of the Hughes trade and a draft or two runs its course.

Agreed. No trading away picks to unload players.

I don’t think we should be retaining on anything beyond 4 years. You need to start winning games in years 4 and 5 or the losing culture perpetuates itself…..and we’ve had a decade of it already. If you can’t put competitive teams on the ice because of cap space, that demoralization can be especially impactful on the development of young players…..and not in a good way.

I don’t know that we would have to retain much on Pettersson. Buyers know they are gambling and offers will be commensurate with that. It’s why I like LA as a suitor. Kopitar is done. Cap space opening up. Byfield is in his 6th season and has (so far) peaked at 55 points…..he’s pacing for 53 this year. Kempe is 29, and for some reason they figured he should get 8 figures until he’s 37. Who is he gonna play with? I submit they might just gamble that Petey comes in and is their new Gretzky/Robitaille, albeit with a Swedish twist. Petey would almost certainly waive for LA.

Maybe retain $1.6M…..we won’t even notice that when all the buyouts finally come off in a few years.

EP to LA...why didn't I think of that.

donlever wrote: ↑Tue Jan 13, 2026 5:32 pm EP to LA...why didn't I think of that.

donlever wrote: ↑Tue Jan 13, 2026 5:32 pm EP to LA...why didn't I think of that.

It's pretty obvious...

..as obvious as who Kevin McDonald is I guess.

donlever wrote: ↑Tue Jan 13, 2026 5:32 pm EP to LA...why didn't I think of that.

You did. Multiple times. I’m this case I was just referencing the podcast (you weren’t on it).

Sorry, next time I’ll make sure you get a byline of sorts.

donlever wrote: ↑Tue Jan 13, 2026 5:45 pm ..as obvious as who Kevin McDonald is I guess.

I had to look that one up…..woulda been lost without the Kids in the Hall reference.

There’s also a Kevin McDonald who played 1 NHL games, eked out a career in the minors, and went on to coach junior for a few seasons in the WCHL from 98-01.

So WTF?

...and in case anyone cares, Evan Gold.

I like the KMac option, Evan sounds solid as well. Not familiar with them but seem like good managerial options for sure.

Even if Alvin gets ditched and keep Rutherford for the balance of his contract but he just sulks into the shadows.

Build from within:

Co-Presidents: Hank and Dank
GM: Ryan Johnson
Head Coach: Malhotra

.....to each his own.

Not for me though Picker.

Bring new blood in......clean house.....give the new guy total autonomy of construction.

Build a fucking solid, quality organization and team top to bottom and do it the right way.

It's time we stopped suckling at the tits of our past....

No more Delormes, Smyls, Lindens, Sedins...

Canuck Gods love them but they all failed.