Clay's Canucks Commentary

An eventful weekend for the Canucks as Nils Hoglander signed a new two-year deal with the club, while Ian Cole changed jersey numbers out of respect for Luc Bourdon.

The Canucks' development camp was highlighted by a scrimmage last night, where fans were able to see prospects like Tom Willander, Elias Pettersson, Jonathan Lekkeramki, and Akita Hirose in action. And there hasn't been a lot of progress in contract talks with Elias Pettersson, but there isn't a whole lot of urgency just yet.

Factoring in all of their free agent signings yesterday, how much do you think the Canucks improved? Is this a playoff team?

The Canucks selected Swedish defenceman Tom Willander with the 11th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. He is a smooth skating, mobile, two-way defender. He is set to play in the NCAA Division 1 next year with Boston College.

It's the night before the draft, so let's narrow down who the Canucks might take with the 11th overall pick. As well, I take a look at the Canucks 2023-24 schedule and look at the long homestands and road trips and key matchups.

The NHL Draft is only 3 days away and there is still a lot of intrigue surrounding who the Canucks might/should select. Will they go centreman or defenceman? Will they trade up or trade down? We're going to find out soon!

A bit of a special episode today. I touch on the newfound cap flexibility for the Canucks (thanks to the Oliver Ekman-Larsson buyout). But more importantly, I got to chat to one of our dear community members Carol who is in the hospital, and then with my son Jacob who answers questions on the livestream.

The Canucks are set to buy out the remainder of Oliver Ekman-Larsson's contract, effectively freeing up cap space over the next few years while extending the contract on the books from 4 years to 8 years. What effect will this move have on the Canucks this summer?

Canucks GM Patrik Allvin announced today that Ethan Bear underwent successful shoulder surgery. Bear was injured at the 2023 IIHF World Championship and is expected to be out for 6 months. As well, we talk about what the Canucks' priorities should be over the next few weeks as they look ahead to the draft and free agency.

The Vegas Golden Knights thumped the Florida Panthers 9-3 to win the Stanley Cup in five games. In this episode, I look at some of the most intriguing storylines from the series including Jonathan Marchessault winning the Conn Smythe Trophy, Matthew Tkachuk missing game 5 with a broken sternum, and Jack Eichel winning a Cup before Connor McDavid.

Most of all, we talk about how the Golden Knights only took 6 years to win their first Stanley Cup...exactly as owner Bill Foley predicted.