Notes

There's a reason why I hate Vancouver Canucks fans and media. In reality, the latter is just a glorified version of the former. They both think alike. They constantly ignore the obvious and side with the popular narrative.

This was the case with Eddie Lack, even though he's a goaltender who would be starter for around 10 teams in the NHL, none of whom would make the playoffs. The reason why general manager Jim Benning traded Lack to the Carolina Hurricanes for a third and seventh-round pick is because the majority of the interest was from teams in the Pacific Division. Benning could've easily acquired first-round selections for the Swede, but he wanted to bolster his arsenal for this year's draft and didn't want the goaltender going to a direct rival. Not one executive in their right mind would think otherwise, unless they had no other option.

Ryan Miller is a short-term fix because the Canucks don't have a young franchise goaltender. Jakob Markstrom is not in that category. He's the same calibre of a goalie as Lack. He's a solid backup and someone you'd be comfortable with in case of injury to the starter, but if he's the man you choose to guide you in the playoffs, you'll end up booking a tee time on a sunny April morning in the Okanagan. Markstrom's fellow Swede was below average in the post-season against the Calgary Flames. It's not his fault, because he was out of his element.

The Kevin Bieksa trade was more puzzling. Receiving a second-round pick for an experienced defenceman from the Anaheim Ducks, a division rival, does not seem sufficient. However, Benning was handcuffed. Bieksa gave his GM a list of teams he wanted to play for next season. Anaheim had leverage and took advantage. It happens all the time in every sport. Besides, Bieksa was a liability in the playoffs. He's too slow, he's constantly out of position and gives up at least one mindless penalty every game. He'll help the Ducks on the second line, but if he's a first-liner, good luck.

Free agency day was the biggest headache. It's easily the most gimmicky and moronic days of the year. Teams spend stupid money on players who had one impressive season (in a contract year) and expect him to replicate that form with a fatter deal. The Calgary Flames will pay Michael Frolik - a player who hasn't scored more than 45 points in a single season - $21.5 million over five years. He had 42 last year with the Winnipeg Jets, who paid him a reported $5.2 million in two years.

The Edmonton Oilers handed a six-year, $33 million contract to Andrej Sekera. He's a solid defenceman and the Oilers need some veterans on the blue line, but that is absurd money. General manager Peter Chiarelli drove the Boston Bruins into a salary-cap dead end. There's a reason why they made all of those deals over the past couple of weeks. They needed to clean up the mess that Chiarelli left behind.

Credit Benning for not hurting this rebuild by spending that kind of cash on players who are just going to be bandaids. For years, all I've heard from Canucks fans is how poor the team's drafting has been, plus the history with young players in general. Well, guess what? He's giving those people their wish by offloading Bieksa and not using up valuable cap space on Sekera-types. He's going to use that cap space to sign Bo Horvat, Jake Virtanen, etc. to long-term deals and let them thrive in a competitive environment. This is what the Chicago Blackhawks did with Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Corey Crawford, Andrew Shaw, Brandon Saad, etc. Even the likes of Johnny Oduya were signed for decent money. This is what it takes to be a Stanley Cup contender.

This is why this process will be long and sometimes painful, but fans have to remain patient. Stanley Cups aren't won in one, two, or even three summers, especially with a roster this poor. Blame Mike Gillis and his fondness for no-move clauses (Kesler, Bieksa, Luongo, etc. all left for peanuts thanks to these things). Benning is just trying to fix this cesspool and so far, he's done a good job.