Post by gmcanucks on Apr 2, 2014 10:58:54 GMT -5
Vancouver - With the passing of the trade deadline and a third straight early elimination from playoff contention, Vancouver Canucks' General Manager, Joe MacDonald, took time on Wednesday to assess the progress of the massive rebuild the team undertook after the 2010-2011 season.
"I think we are right on track", said MacDonald. "We've acquired a lot of premium assets in the past year, and many of our younger players are showing signs of developing into NHL stars. The future looks bright."
It was a busy year for MacDonald, who completed no fewer than 21 deals since the start of the trading period in August. Among the many key acquisitions this season were young wingers Kyle Okposo, Teuvo Teravainen and Ryan O'Reilly, #1 goalies Jonathan Quick and Semyon Varlamov, centre Ryan Kesler, and young stud defensemen Ryan Murray and Olli Maatta.
"We expect all of these guys to be key contributors to our future success", said MacDonald. "When you add them to what we already had, it looks pretty good on paper. But we realize there is more work to be done."
MacDonald released his projected opening day roster for next season. It included:
Goal: Jonathan Quick, Semyon Varlamov and Eddie Lack
Defense: Justin Faulk, Jacob Trouba, Olli Maatta, Ryan Murray, Brendan Smith, Ben Lovejoy, Morgan Rielly and Deryk Engelland
Center: Ryan Kesler, Travis Zajac, Zack Smith, Alexander Barkov, Elias Lindholm
Right Wing: Kyle Okposo, Valeri Nickushkin, Scottie Upshall, Tyler Toffoli, Zack Kassian
Left Wing: Ryan O'Reilly, Carl Hagelin, Antoine Roussel, Matthew Nieto
Super Prospects on the way: Andrei Vasilevski (G), Brandon Gormley (D), Darnell Nurse (D), Bo Horvat (F) and Teuvo Teravainen.
In addition to the talent on hand, the club has nine first round picks in the next three drafts - two in 2014, five in 2015 and two more in 2016. MacDonald says it's time to use some of those assets to build a contender.
"We actually started trying to make some moves to bring in core veterans this year with some success. We added guys like Quick, Kesler, Okposo, O'Reilly and Varlamov, who are established stars. We definitely hope to do more of that in the coming year. If you look at our club, we have all kinds of young talent, but lack experience and grit, especially on the backend. But with the assets we have, those deficiencies are addressable."
The General Manager doesn't see his club as a legitimate championship contender this season, but he thinks his young club will surprise a few people. "I think, with the roster we have now and the moves that I'm confident we will make before the start of the season, that we're definitely a playoff team in 2014-15. And we hope to be a serious contender for the Cup the following year. Of course that will depend on our youngsters developing the way we feel they will and our ability to added some experience and leadership to the group."
All in all, it's sounds like 2014-2015 will be exciting for the Canucks' patient and loyal fan base.
"I think we are right on track", said MacDonald. "We've acquired a lot of premium assets in the past year, and many of our younger players are showing signs of developing into NHL stars. The future looks bright."
It was a busy year for MacDonald, who completed no fewer than 21 deals since the start of the trading period in August. Among the many key acquisitions this season were young wingers Kyle Okposo, Teuvo Teravainen and Ryan O'Reilly, #1 goalies Jonathan Quick and Semyon Varlamov, centre Ryan Kesler, and young stud defensemen Ryan Murray and Olli Maatta.
"We expect all of these guys to be key contributors to our future success", said MacDonald. "When you add them to what we already had, it looks pretty good on paper. But we realize there is more work to be done."
MacDonald released his projected opening day roster for next season. It included:
Goal: Jonathan Quick, Semyon Varlamov and Eddie Lack
Defense: Justin Faulk, Jacob Trouba, Olli Maatta, Ryan Murray, Brendan Smith, Ben Lovejoy, Morgan Rielly and Deryk Engelland
Center: Ryan Kesler, Travis Zajac, Zack Smith, Alexander Barkov, Elias Lindholm
Right Wing: Kyle Okposo, Valeri Nickushkin, Scottie Upshall, Tyler Toffoli, Zack Kassian
Left Wing: Ryan O'Reilly, Carl Hagelin, Antoine Roussel, Matthew Nieto
Super Prospects on the way: Andrei Vasilevski (G), Brandon Gormley (D), Darnell Nurse (D), Bo Horvat (F) and Teuvo Teravainen.
In addition to the talent on hand, the club has nine first round picks in the next three drafts - two in 2014, five in 2015 and two more in 2016. MacDonald says it's time to use some of those assets to build a contender.
"We actually started trying to make some moves to bring in core veterans this year with some success. We added guys like Quick, Kesler, Okposo, O'Reilly and Varlamov, who are established stars. We definitely hope to do more of that in the coming year. If you look at our club, we have all kinds of young talent, but lack experience and grit, especially on the backend. But with the assets we have, those deficiencies are addressable."
The General Manager doesn't see his club as a legitimate championship contender this season, but he thinks his young club will surprise a few people. "I think, with the roster we have now and the moves that I'm confident we will make before the start of the season, that we're definitely a playoff team in 2014-15. And we hope to be a serious contender for the Cup the following year. Of course that will depend on our youngsters developing the way we feel they will and our ability to added some experience and leadership to the group."
All in all, it's sounds like 2014-2015 will be exciting for the Canucks' patient and loyal fan base.