Canucks AM Skate: RFA What-If’s, Hot Prospects, The Kraken Threat

Vancouver Canucks signings? Not yet, soooo …

Let’s Skate! …

While the Vancouver Canucks have their own RFA issues, as in getting two key cogs signed, plenty of others are out there looking for work. Pittsburgh Hockey Now throws out some “what if’s” on three names that could be lured to new homes. Consider it an aside as the Penguins figure out their centre position with Sidney Crosby and Geno Malkin starting the season out of the line-up.

The last Detroit Red Wing to win the Calder Trophy was goalie Roger Crozier back in 1965. You should have heard the late-great play-by-play man Budd Lynch yelping a high-pitched “Crooow-zher” when the netminder made a tremendous save. Anyway, the Detroit Hockey Now boys are thinking they have the definitive Top-5 Calder Trophy candidate list, with an add-on who happens to be a Red Wing.

Concerns and interests with the other Pacific Division teams? We welcome Steve Carp, who’s been writing about the Golden Knights since they’ve been around anyway, to Vegas Hockey Now. He’s the man there, and he has the goods on the latest hot prospect Peyton Krebs. Sounds like a character from a Harper Lee novel. Anyway, worth a peak at a potential point producer in the Pacific.

Worried about the Seattle Kraken threatening the Vancouver Canucks for a playoff spot? We broke down the starting goaltender comparison last week. But Nick Cotsonika takes it a different direction and looks at the top-5 questions confronting this expansion team, including the fact that their alleged number-one centre is out for two months.

Even though I’ve been known to jokingly refer to him as “Stubbsy”, writer Dave Stubbs is kind of above or beyond the hockey nickname thing, kind of like calling Scott Bowman anything outside of Scotty. Speaking of the coach, Stubbs has a really neat history lesson for you, involving Bowman’s almost seven-decade friendship with Dick Irvin Jr., that started at a riot at the Montreal Forum. Stubbsy is always worth a peak.

Meanwhile, we’re getting close. Enjoy the hockey action!