Originally posted at The Hockey News:


Vancouver Canucks

Pending UFAs – Mike Santorelli, Andrew Alberts, Jeremy Welsh, Benn Ferriero, Pascal Pelletier, Colin Stuart
Pending RFAs - Chris Tanev, Yannick Weber, Zac Dalpe, Jordan Schroeder, Zack Kassian

Incoming - a new coach to replace John Tortorella

Looking to add – Assuming the Canucks do not have a fire sale – and I think any decision that big wouldn’t take place until closer to the deadline – they have their usual need for high-end talent on the wing. And if Alexander Edler cannot find his old form, they need a serious puck-mover on the back end. Let’s assume the team starts the season with an Eddie Lack – Jacob Markstrom tandem in net, though that’s far from assured.

Vancouver has about $12 million in cap space to fill five spots. It may push the big names like Thomas Vanek, Jarome Iginla and Paul Stastny out of range. But secondary guys such as Ales Hemsky, Radim Vrbata and Matt Moulson could be had.


Ready for full-time – Ready or not, here Markstrom comes. At one time not so long ago, he was considered the best goaltender outside of the NHL. But every time he plays in the show, he shows flashes of brilliance…but only flashes. New GM Jim Benning has a lot of big decisions to make quickly, and what to do in net is arguably the biggest.
Many scouts consider last summer’s ninth overall pick, center Bo Horvat, ready to make the jump. One of the last cuts in camp last year, Horvat has little left to prove at the junior level and with a strong camp he’ll almost assuredly start the season with the Canucks. If that happens, an expectation of 35 to 40 points is fair.
Speedy winger Nicklas Jensen played the final 17 games for Vancouver, including a stint playing with Henrik Sedin when Daniel was injured. Overall, he had his ups and downs, though that stint with Henrik looked pretty sweet at times. A new coach changes everything, though, and nothing is even remotely assured when it comes to what league Jensen plays in, let alone what line he’s on.


Fantasy Outlook – Right now, the Canucks players hold little fantasy appeal. After all, the Sedin twins led the way in offense with 97 points combined. Combined! They used to each rack up that many points, let alone combined! So a fantasy owner’s faith is relying on this team’s ability to bounce back under new coaching and new management. So most owners of Henrik, Daniel, Edler, Ryan Kesler et al are in full waiting mode. Or they’re selling. Fantasy Grade: D+ (last year was B-)