If last night's game in L.A. proves anything, it's time to just roll the dice with the kids. I really hope Jimbo can get off the pot and seriously market some of his veteran players at the trade deadline.
The bottom line is that guys like Sutter, Tanev, Gudbranson or Edler would have some value on the trade market--particularly to a team thinking it might have a shot at long playoff run.
If Benning could acquire some picks or decent young prospects from other NHL organizations, maybe there's some help in the pipeline for Utica. And if the Comets make the playoffs, could guys like Gaudette, Demko, MacEwen and Scheen all return for the playoff action?
Why do people keep asking this question? The answer is:
YYY----------EEE------------SSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
First add Brisebois to that list.
All that is necessary is for the Canucks to paper them down if they are on the Canucks roster at the paper deadline. All the NHL teams will be doing it. You announce you are sending them down. Then the next day you recall them. They never leave town, but were sent down and recalled. However, that demotion-recall was done on paper and those players are now eligible to play in the AHL playoffs.
It is all up to Benning or whomever he designates that task to and whether or not he wants them to participate in the AHL playoffs. All 5 of these guys have been big parts of the Comets success whether they have played a lot of games for the Comets or not so many and if the Canucks don't make the playoffs what the Hell does he have to lose. It would be a benefit all of these guys.
They are even eligible if the Canucks made the playoffs and were quickly eliminated. This was the case with Baertschi in '14-15 and last year the Marlies got a big boost when the Leafs were eliminated and they got players back to help defeat the Comets in the final game of the opening round series. They went on to win the Calder Cup with those additions.
It's also important that someone loudly reminds them because one season they actually forgot to do it because Benning was so hard at work trying to get deals done that he forgot and no one else brought it up. He didn't get any good deals done either. I have conveniently erased the year that happened from my memory.