On the Vancouver Canucks …
TSN Radio Vancouver: Ben Kuzma thinks that Willie Desjardins will be back with the Canucks next year, but doesn’t think that Alex Burrows, Linden Vey and Yannick Weber will be back.
News 1130 Sports: Sources say that Thatcher Demko will let the Canucks know if he’ll sign with them or go back to college in the next few weeks. Demko met with the Canucks yesterday, and needs more time to decide. If Demko remains in college, he could become an unrestricted free agent in August of 2017. Canucks GM Jim Benning laid out a future plan for Demko yesterday.
Iain MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun: Canucks GM Jim Benning thought he could retool the Canucks to be younger while continuing to make the playoffs. They have gotten younger, but were not close to the playoffs. Benning recently told season ticket holders that he’s in the process of building a young core of eight to 10 players that will lead the Canucks in about two years when the Sedin’s contracts will over.
“Look at that 2011 Vancouver team: the Sedins, Alex Burrows, Ryan Kesler, Alex Edler, Kevin Bieksa, Mason Raymond. Those were all players that the team drafted and developed. We’re still trying to establish the next core group that we’re going to win with. We’ve made strides in that this year. Bo Horvat will be part of that group. Jake Virtanen will be part of that group. Ben Hutton and Jacob Markstrom are part of that group. Jared McCann has a chance to be a part of that group. Sven Baertschi.
“We’ve got Thatcher Demko coming, and he’s going to be part of that core group. We have Brock Boeser, who has had a helluva year in college hockey. He’s going to be part of that core group. This is my second year on the job, so we’re two years into this.”
At the trade deadline, Benning didn’t make a move to speed up the rebuilding process. Not all information that was out there was true. The Canucks weren’t offered a first round pick and Marko Dano for Dan Hamhuis.
“I guess the hardest thing about the whole thing is the misinformation that gets put out there and people think is the truth,” Benning said. “It’s the furthest thing from the truth, but because it’s out there, people believe it.
“I knew when I signed up where our team was at. There are no shortcuts in this business. You have to do things the right way. And to do things the right way, you have to draft well, you have to develop well and you have to establish your next group of core players.”