Aquilini has tried to buy a winner. It’s not working. Yes, there is a model out there that says wise choices via trades and free agency wins cups, but not in Vancouver. Trying to buy a Cup in Vancouver will never succeed.
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Why is Edmonton, a smaller Canadian market, a somewhat attractive destination? Only because they drafted two of the best players on the planet. The Canucks lucked into Quinn Hughes in the draft. But one top level player is not going to create the gravity for others to want to come here.
jun 27, 2025, 2:33 pm • 1 0 • view
The bottom line is that the strategy for team building in this market has to be the draft. Not just with a couple of high picks, but a cohesive strategy to consistently draft high with as many picks as possible until you get that right core and collection of assets that you can then build around.
jun 27, 2025, 2:34 pm • 0 0 • view
You have to have an owner and a fan base committed to that clear, slow evolution. Arizona, almost a joke franchise before moving to Utah, are perhaps a recent example, whether by design or inevitability, of a team building a core of players and assets through the draft that they can now run with.
jun 27, 2025, 2:34 pm • 1 0 • view
So my fellow Canucks fans, enjoy watching Quinn Hughes while he’s here. Unfortunately, and I’ve said this many times, the Vancouver problem is a well-intentioned but impatient and sometimes meddling owner whose strategy dooms this franchise to mediocrity.
jun 27, 2025, 2:35 pm • 2 0 • view