The Vancouver Canucks have had a pretty successful offseason. They improved their depth and future in the draft, moved a disgruntled player while getting near equal value in return. Then free agency happened.
The Canucks movement of Ryan Kesler to Anaheim was certainly not a concession that they are in “rebuilding” mode. The fact is that GM Jim Benning made the best deal he could for a player that had announced he wanted to leave with limited trading partners.
The return of a 1st round draft pick, Nick Bonino and Luca Sbisa while shedding Kesler’s big contract and opening up room under the salary cap. The Canucks drafts in the last two years have resulted in five players that were tabbed as first round talent.
The pick that Benning received from Anaheim was Jared McCann, a center that helps fortify the Canucks up the middle for years to come. Top Los Angeles prospect and restricted free agent Linden Vey was acquired during the draft to give the Canucks even more youth to fill in the roster.
The Canucks had everything going for them after the draft, with some roster retooling to consider. They needed to add some proven scoring, which they did, signing veteran sniper Radim Vrbata. However, Benning made a big mistake by backing up a dump truck full of money to Ryan Miller’s house.
By giving Miller more money than he could have gotten ANYWHERE else, Benning effectively started laying the kindle and twigs for the goaltending dumpster fire that had plagued the Canucks over the past two seasons.
Admittedly the Canucks options in goal consisted of Eddie Lack and Jacob Markstrom, but “The Stork”, Lack had shown plenty of promise. At 26-years old Lack would either sink or swim and if Vancouver had any faith in him they rescinded it by offering Miller his enormous contract.
Lest we forget, albeit different management, the Canucks tandem of Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider was unceremoniously shipped out of town separately after being completely mismanaged as a goaltending duo.
This scenario is completely different, but reading between the lines, the Vancouver Canucks feel like they have a better shot at winning now with Miller than Lack or Markstrom. While he certainly has the pedigree to be a number one option for the Canucks, Ryan Miller’s best days are certainly behind him. Yahoo Sports' Harrison Mooney seemed to agree with me on Twitter:
Consider that Miller was traded from a shooting gallery in Buffalo to the polar opposite in St. Louis. From a rebuilding situation to a Stanley Cup contender, Miller seemed to crumble under the weight of expectations and hardly looked like the game changer that the Blues were hoping to get.
As the “final piece” to the St. Louis Stanley Cup puzzle, Miller was unable to make a difference as the Blues were bounced out in the opening round of the playoffs. The defeat certainly can’t fall entirely at Miller’s feet, especially considering their conquerors (defending champion Chicago). But Miller was expected to be great considering the quality of the team in front of him, and quite simply, wasn’t.
The next chapter for the soon-to-be 34-year old goaltender begins in Vancouver, the city that made him an Olympic legend in 2008. He is certainly at a different point in his career six years later, but carries the hope of a city in the same way he shouldered the hope of a nation in his fabled Olympic run.