Casual Canuck

He'll be bought out, according to Elliote Friedman. Higgins (VAN) on waivers for purpose of buyout — Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 27, 2016 He was a good player in his prime. Not a top level talent, but he could do a little of everything. And he was a fantastic penalty killer, too. But he's lost half a step, and the lack of NHL level talent depth at the Canucks' centre position really killed Higgins' play. There's still some play left in his bones, and he's had some time to rest up for the coming season. A playoff team should give him a chance in their bottom six. Or a rebuilding team would be happy to have him and his experience in their organization.

In all honesty, I'm fairly ambivalent about the choice for the Canucks first round pick, this year. In fact, I'm a bit hesitant. Juolevi may, and, in fact, probably will become a fine defense-men However, let's disregard what Juolevi may become, and concentrate on whom the Canucks didn't pick. They didn't pick Tkachuk, who was the consensus number five, overall, on most draft lists. Whether he'll become a star like his father before him is also unimportant, at this moment. As of this moment, Tkachuk was the best player available at number five. It's a simple argument. He's a forward, and we can guess at a forward's potential much more easily than we can a defense-man's. He scored metric tonnes in junior. He's a known commodity. Defense-men, on the other hand, are becoming a bit voodoo in the first round. We may or not get a player who'll play up to his potential. But that's unimportant, right now. Instead, let us consider the Ca...