With Vancouver Canucks seemingly press against the salary cap I am willing to give General Manager Dave Nonis some slack but in the same breathe when players of this ilk are sitting there with zero compensation (except $$$) why haven't we heard the slightest rumor of a player coming to Vancouver.Fact of the matter is that you can go over the cap in the off-season you just have to make sure that you can get back under the cap come the start of the regular season.
So in the early afternoon yesterday I noticed that most of the free agents were heading out east to the rich clubs that are able to front end load contracts. As I was watching I was just thanking god that these guys were heading out east and no one out west was really doing anything. The reason I was able to take solice in this is because being a Canuck fan means you constantly have to find a positive in every situation.
The Canucks have done this season after season after season, sat back and watched all the teams around them improve. The summer of 2006 can be labbeled an exception but in the end when Colorado adds Hannan and Smyth, St.Louis adds Kariya, Edmonton seems to be up to something, Calgary is making moves and the Canucks seem contentwith giving Lukas Krajicek $2.2 million over 2 years, this is a really tough pill to swallow.
The Canucks did have an excellent season last year but to sit back and watch all these Western Conference rivals improve is really tough. The money being thrown around is ridiculos but in the end you have to be able to find it, the leauge have determined that you can afford it. Maybe you take on the salary for now and make a move later in the summer to releave yourself from the danger of being too close to the cap.
There are lots of creative ways to improve your team and maybe Dave Nonis has something under his sleave. When things are eerily quiet is usually means that they are up to something but things aren't quiet, Nonis has been saying for weeks that the club will not be a player in the free agent market. I question your motives Dave, why throw in the towel so soon. That is a hard pill to swallow
look at the bright side, at least you are not losing the core of your team, like Buffalo and Nashville
look at the bright side, at least you are not losing the core of your team, like Buffalo and Nashville
Very true, but the Vancouver management (no matter who is in charge) has this weak history of only taking the team so far. The unwillingness to make tough decisions to put the team over the top is just pathetic. There is a possibility that they could have signed a player like Gomez and Kayria and then pulled a deal that would dump Nazzy and Morrison...this is just hypotheically speaking but my arguement is that management from the get go was 'we won't be a player'. Throwing in the towel waaaay to early. The other thing too is that players want to be 'wanted' and if the Canucks go in saying 'Well this is what we can offer and that is it' the player probably feels "well they don't 'really' want me'. So the player goes to the club that pracitcally begs for him to sign their deal. Canucks didn't want anyone bad enough and they made it very clear to everyone.
that being wanted thing may have alot to do with why kariya chose to come to st louis. several of our players called him personally to pursuade him to sign. but the 6 mil a year contract probably didnt hurt.
Why would you assume Nonis is "content" with signing Krajicek. He could be on the phone all day trying to make a deal. You want Kariya for 6 M? How about Handszus for 4 M? Nylander for 5 M? Its god damn ridiculous. I hope Nonis saves his cap space and tries to make a deal, either during the summer or early in the season. Cap space allowed San Jose to go after Thornton. Remember that. Not being at the cap by preseason isn't necessarily a bad thing. And besides, other than Colorado, has the Western Conference significantly improved in 2 days? I see most of the big signings out East. Maybe we'll see a more balanced league next season.Anyway, be patient. And ask yourself, do you really want to make a huge commitment to a player this Summer when it is arguably a very weak crop of UFA's. I mean seriously, Scott Gomez got 7 yrs at 7.36 M. WTF!