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Scouting the Canadiens and Wild
Stu Cowan: Scouts listed to attend last night’s Montreal Canadiens and Minnesota Wild game: Anaheim Ducks (3), New Jersey Devils (2)., Edmonton Oilers (2), Ottawa Senators, Arizona Coyotes, New York Rangers. Washington Capitals, Vancouver Canucks, Colorado Avalanche, Chicago Blackhawks and the St. Louis Blues.
Scouting the Devils and Capitals on Monday
James Nichols: Scouts listed to attend Monday’s New Jersey Devils and Washington Captials game: Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota Wild, Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Nashville Predators, Colorado Avalanche, Pittsburgh Penguins, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Dallas Stars, Vegas Golden Knights, New York Islanders, Columbus Blue Jackets, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, New York Rangers and the San Jose Sharks.
Directions to go in for the Vancouver Canucks
Harman Dayal of The Athletic: One option for the Vancouver Canucks is to make a trade in hopes of shaking things up. Jim Rutherford from his days in Pittsburgh has shown he’s not afraid to make an early season move.
The problem for the Canucks is they have holes and salary concerns to deal with. Who to move isn’t an easy decision either. Conor Garland for a top-four defenseman sounds like a great idea but easier said than done. Garland’s term could be an issue. Bo Horvat has trade value. How many teams really want to trade a high-end defenseman this early in the season?
Rutherford said over the weekend that he doesn’t want to make any panic moves.
A coaching change is another option for the Canucks, but that may only be a temporary fix for their issues. The Canucks are also still paying Travis Green, so would the Canucks want to pay for three coaches?
Changing the direction of the franchise is another option, going from a win-now mode to building for the future. The Canucks don’t have a lot of cap space, prospects or trade chips that would allow to them to have a quick turnaround.
Thatcher Demko has four years left on his deal at a friendly $5 million. Do they think they could win within that timeframe?
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