JR better retire ASAP or this Vancouver shitshow is going to taint his reputation.
I think JR should've stuck to his word and stayed retired after he left us. I don't know what he thought he could achieve, bouncing back so soon into the game to a dysfunctional organization like that. Van was always going to be a bubble team, and has never had a clean rebuild under an incompetent GM (Benning) that was there for years, f***ing things up.
My only hope is that, somehow, the Pens can take advantage of the old man knowing his trade Achilles heels (unquenchable thirst for reclamation projects, youngish PMDs, and his old locker room stalwarts, convinced he is just a few more deals away from the right mix). Obviously someone like JT Miller would've been ideal for us before they signed him to that insane deal.** But now Horvat and Boeser being available, Garland landing with a thud, and reportedly (according to the never-ending stream of Van rumors on the trade board) Pettersson starting to get antsy, there is some real quality that can be pried off that team.
I feel like the Nucks should just shop all of their major, mid-20s pieces around, and offer retention on everyone. Drop down the standings and try to maximize draft capital in a rich draft year. Lord knows if the Canucks somehow manage to land Bedard, they better flush the entire organization out the airlock, top to bottom, if they hope to rebuild around him, Hughes and Pettersson to make a real contender. Otherwise, its going to be like McDavid and Draisatil all over again, where clowns like Lowe, Chiarelli wasted that duo's best years without even getting a whiff of respectability.
**I still wonder, as insane as the idea is, if Van could just eat part of the cost of the Miller deal in an attempt to move him. My rationale is that Kessel was moved to us, 1 year into an 8 year deal, with 15% retention. The Leafs realized they miscalculated and actually were nowhere near contention, and pulled the plug. If the Nucks agreed to eat 2M a year on Miller, for the rest of his deal, they could probably still get a good return on him. 2 million in 2030 will be an even smaller % of cap, and the potential return from a contender. I would imagine, for example, the Avs would pay handsomely for a locked up Miller that has cost certainty through the rest of their window**
