Astute post.
Your outline stands out because it's against the grain... which is surprising to me.
On balance, Joshua was poor in the playoffs. Zadorov imploded late, basic 4/5 utility in season, but somehow these are the players that made the team good in the first place? Hardly. They are complementary players at best. Short samples and unique skill sets don't change that fact.
Mikheyev: Is this regime's worst signing, but what are you really getting back for him? Going though the exercise, the best I could manage was Reilly Smith in return. At that point, just keep him and see if he bounces back.
In the larger sense, this team lost because they lack puck movers on the back end and scorers on the wings. They lacked talent. So people need to be less in love with the players that were here and push for player with talent. Forget big, or snarly, get players who can push the play forward.
On Talent: It doesn't go away. Other factors impede it or keep it dormant, but it's there (to reference a past discussion about Zaitsev (
@Vector)). If you can find enough talent plays at the mid and low points of the roster, then you don't get stuck with an overpaid Mikheyev. Instead, they play into higher salaries over time. The Canucks need to employ and perfect that process here. They had a good start this past offseason.