My Big Board After Crazy Day of NHL Trades

 The NHL seems to be at a make or break moment for the Canadian hockey markets. Canadian teams just can't keep their American players. On one aspect, I completely understand, I would much rather live in Miami than Ottawa. 

However, something has to be done about this. Does this change the draft stock of Chase Reid for Vancouver? It's a question that I've struggled with for many weeks now. 

I do think the Canucks biggest need is at Centre. I also think that passing on one of the four Defenseman that have been shuffled around in the Top 10 the last few weeks would be a tough pill to swallow. 

What separates the tie breaker for me is that the Canucks have only once in franchise history got the first Centre off the board. That was Don Lever in 1972. I think the case could be made for Maholtra to be the best available at #3 if Stenberg and Mckenna are off the board. 

The biggest lies between if Zee Buium your poster boy #1 powerplay Quarterback. If he is and you think Buium can play in Vancouver on an eventual playoff in Vancouver down the road then you have already developed your D core in pasts drafts. 

The only way this logic isn't true is if Reid or Carels has a Brent Burns or Roman Josi celling. 

Here is my big board. 

Gavin McKenna
LW | Penn State

Ivar Stenberg
LW/RW | Frölunda HC

Chase Reid
RD | Soo

Caleb Malhotra
C | Brantford

Carson Carels
LD | Prince George

Keaton Verhoeff
RD | North Dakota

Viggo Björck
C/RW | Djurgårdens IF

Alberts Smits
LD | Jukurit

Tynan Lawrence
C | Boston University

Daxon Rudolph
RD | Prince Albert

Ryan Lin
RD | Vancouver

Wyatt Cullen
F | USDP

JP Hurlbert
F | Kamloops

Maddox Dagenais
C | Quebec

Nikita Klepov
F | Saginaw

Markus Ruck
F | Medicine Hat

Mathis Preston
F | Vancouver

Brooks Rogowski
C | Oshawa

Jack Hextall
C | Youngstown

Simas Ignatavicius
F | Genève-Servette HC

Alexander Command
C | Örebro HK

Ethan Belchetz
LW | Windsor

Adam Novotný
LW/RW | Peterborough

Mets VS Pirates Game 2 of 162

 The Mets had an impressive opening day win Thursday as they knocked out Cy Young favorite Paul Skeens in the series opener. 

Bo Bichette is still looking for his inaugural hit as a Met. Too early to judge with this Mets offense but so far so good. Looking forward to Peterson's first start of the year. He posted a 9-6 record with a 4.22 ERA last year. 

Hopefully we can keep Brandan Lowe off bases as Thursday he blasted two homeruns. 

We hopefully get Gary, Ron and Keith in the SNY booth. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 ET. 

Pirates 

hitters	H-AB	HR	RBI	SB	AVG
J. TrioloSS	1-4	0	0	0	.250
R. O'Hearn1B	2-4	1	1	0	.500
B. ReynoldsLF	1-4	0	0	0	.250
M. OzunaDH	0-4	0	0	0	.000
N. Gonzales3B	2-4	0	2	0	.500
B. Lowe2B	2-4	2	3	0	.500
N. YorkeRF	-----	--	--	--	--
J. BartC	-----	--	--	--	--
J. MangumCF	-----	--	--	--	--

SeasonCareer vs M. Keller

hitters Mets	H-AB	HR	RBI	SB	AVG
F. LindorSS	0-2	0	0	0	.000
J. SotoLF	2-4	0	1	0	.500
B. Bichette3B	0-4	0	1	0	.000
J. Polanco1B	1-3	0	1	0	.333
L. Robert Jr.CF	2-4	0	2	0	.500
B. BatyDH	1-5	0	3	0	.200
M. Semien2B	2-5	0	1	0	.400
C. BengeRF	1-3	1	1	1	.333
F. AlvarezC	2-4	1	1	0	.500

 

Mets Need to Right the Ship Before things get Ugly

The Mets emerge as favorites to win the National League Eastern division as they head into the 2026 season but as mood in flushing feels anything but smooth. 

After a disappointing 83-79 season that came down to the last game of the season, the Mets find themselves in-between challenging for a World Series and sinking to a below 500 record. For a team that has this high of payroll as they do, this team continues to flirt with embarrassment year after year. 

Two years ago it was a late September surge that got them into the playoffs and last year they had squandered so many opportunities that costed them playoffs. 

Do the Mets have what it takes to get back to the NLCS? Pete Alonso is a big hole to fill but Bo Bichette should fill most of that void. The other thing that needs to happen is Brett Batty needs to have a consistent season. 

Marcus Semien needs to have a .270+ batting average or at least 25 homeruns. A repeat of .230 BA with 15 homeruns would be disappointing. 

Starting pitching needs to be healthy. If all that happens, this Mets team can make the playoffs. My confidence level is at about a 5. We have seen the story unfold before. The Mets in there 65 seasons have never made the playoffs three times in a row. Which seems unfathomable considering the long list of great players on the Mets over the years.  

The other big key for the Mets is the arrival of their top prospects. Carson Benge will be in a Met uniform and hopefully starting. If Benge along with Mclean and Tong become staples in the Mets lineup, positive contributions will go a long way in getting back to the post season. 

I have the Mets going 86-76 this season and being in a wildcard series. I think they are one player a way from competing against the Dodgers. 

I still have concerns over consistency.  

Are the lack of Mid-Majors a Cause for Concern? Is there a Seeding Problem?

 Let me get this straight. A team like Miami Ohio can go undefeated during the regular season, lose in the Conference Quarterfinals and only be an 11 seed in the tournament? 

Where is the line? What if next year it's Vermont or Arkansas Pine Bluff. Will they get the same treatment? 

The two bid league feels officially dead. I feel bad for Belmont who played a harder schedule in a basketball focused conference and didn't get mentioned through out all of Champ Week because they weren't undefeated. Seems criminal. 

I'll admit that I'm in the a different side of the conversation. I think Miami Ohio deserved a 4 seed. If not, than two thirds of the NCAA is eliminated from a 1 seed just because teams refuse to play them. 

We are getting to a stage where the top 60 programs won't schedule anyone out of the the Top 60. At what point do we see a 17-15 team get in because they are in the SEC. There are good teams outside the top 6 conferences. Florida Atlantic made the Final 4 with a Net Ranking of 13 in 2023 and were giving a 9 seed. I don't think the seeding process is quite accurate. I don't even know what all the metrics really mean. 

Stephan F Austin went 28-3 during 2020. They beat Duke in Duke. If March Madness happened in 2020 Duke would have been a #1 seed. SFA an 11. 

Please make this make sense. Let's start seeding teams by record if this is what is going to happen. Maybe that will get the big boys playing fair with the underdogs. 

Right now, the system feels ruined. 

Reasons Why Seahawks Should Win Tonight

 I think the Seahawks win today, for the first time in their history they have the advantage at the QB position. Despite Drake Maye having the higher celling, as of today Sam Darnold is playing better. 

The Patriots haven't won a Super Bowl without Tom Brady and that kind of seems like the thing escaping the Pats is their Swagger that they had on the Brady teams. 

I also don't think people realize how good the Seahawks defense actually is. They gave up 38 to Tampa Bay when their team was firing on all cylinders but overall their defense has been elite. 

This will be the closest it will get for it being a home Super Bowl for Seattle. They should have the majority of fans. Will feel like payback from Super Bowl XL when the Steelers had so many fans. 

The weather got to about 47F today in the sunshine. Warm enough for shorts. I'm trying to have a healthy mindset about life. In fact, work doesn't feel like work anymore. Will be focused on a few goals soon (Knock on Wood). I know I always say that but I have dealt with a lot of bullshit over the last few years. 

Need to celebrate the little victories.  

What Will the Canucks Need in the Draft This Year?

 In my 25 years of being a Vancouver Canucks fan, I have never quite seen a year like this before. The Canucks sit 31st at the halfway mark of the season and after watching both of the games Friday and Saturday it seemed very apparent that this team struggles to score goals. 

Brock Boeser, Jake DeBrusk and Evander Kane are all having years slightly below expectations. Elias Pettersson has shown glimpses of getting back to a point per game but isn't quite there. 

For a team that is now 5-3-2 since the Quinn Hughes trade I start to wonder if he was bringing down the team moral. When I look at this roster it doesn't seem to be a last place roster. Perhaps, they have too many Abbotsford players in there at one time but Linus Karlson looks like a full time NHLer. 

We are missing a game changer. That might come with this years draft. I'm a Mckenna fan. I think the pain of passing on that type of player could be horrific. My friend wants Stenberg. What this draft class lacks is a Centre that can do everything. This in fact, could be the silverling if the Canucks drop in the draft lottery. Interesting note, the last time a Centre didn't go in the Top 3 you have to go back to 2002 Entry draft when Rick Nash went #1 overall. 

 Mckenna's celling is Patrick Kane where as Stenberg's comparable would be Nikita Kucherov. Great players, but you still need a Robin for every Batman. 

Tynan Lawarnce would be a great consolidation prize at #4 because your getting the first Centre off the board. Canucks are deep at Centre when healthy and Cootes arrives for good but right now they are thin.  

Interesting note, the last time a Centre didn't go in the Top 3 you have to go back to 2002 Entry draft when Rick Nash went #1 overall. 

Canucks have Petterson, Rossi, Cootes and Raty that are under contract for next year but adding a Centre wouldn't be a bad problem to have. 

The Canucks seem set with young D-men but it's hard to pass up a 6'4 defenseman. I feel confident the Canucks to pivot in whatever direction they need to depending on what happens at the lottery. 

 

Canucks Rut Might Not Be Management's Fault

 When the NHL shut down in March 2020, every organization faced uncertainty. However,  few teams were hit in the long term quite like the Vancouver Canucks. What began as a temporary global pause became a developmental setback that rippled through the roster and the organization’s competitive timeline.

For a team that was just starting to climb out of a rebuild, the lost months of growth, training, and cohesion mattered—and we’re still seeing the effects today. For instance, the remaining 14 games that were never played may have dictated which direction the Canucks would have potentially fired Jim Benning and Travis Green or those 14 games the Canucks core would have grown by leaps and bounds and clinched a playoff spot during a crucial game. 

The Bubble playoffs wasn't the same ambiance and I think the Bubble year tested the Canucks core in other ways that shouldn't have happened in normal circumstances.

For a maturing core, the timing couldn’t have been worse. Instead of accelerating into their peak years, several players were forced into maintenance mode, losing a critical summer of growth.

The 2020 playoff bubble was fun—objectively so. Thatcher Demko’s legendary performance against Vegas, Horvat's star-making moments and the team’s unexpected playoff run injected hope into a city desperate for it.

But in hindsight, the bubble created misleading evaluations.

The bubble run wasn’t a sign of sustainable success—it was an anomaly fueled by goaltending heroics and a surreal environment. COVID’s distortion of reality pushed the Canucks down a path that cost them draft picks, cap flexibility, and developmental patience.

Consequently, the Canucks made bold moves in giving up a 2021 1st round pick for current top 6 forward Connor Garland. This trade to me only made sense if they could get back to the playoffs in 2022. Otherwise, the value of the 2021 1st round pick would be more valuable. 

 Similarly, the Hrornek and Marcus Petterson deals fall into the same category. I will gladly give up a 1st round pick to be in the 2nd round Game 7 16 months later. 

 The Marcus Petterson deal remains sketchy if the team is going to be around 500. They have given up too many draft picks before and after drafting them and haven't gotten the return in production. 

A rebuild is not necessary, a Hughes trade could set this team up for years to come. They should be able to fetch four assets in return. Benning's rebuild of  1st round draft picks were Oli Juolevi, Elias Petterson, Quinn Hughes and lastly Podkolzin. They will get a framework of something like that in return. The defenseman in return wouldn't be as good as Quinn Hughes but their would a D-man coming back in return. 

This is painful, but if there is anything that I have learned about being a Canucks fan its that we always bounce back within four years. The bounce backs always seem short lived unfortunately.