That was essentially the message that president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford sent on Monday in a mid-season address that seemed directed more towards the other 31 teams in the NHL than Vancouver’s ownership group or a disgruntled fanbase that has been littering the ice with Canucks jerseys this year.Article content
A lot of this was not exactly anything new to anyone that has been paying attention to a team that is sitting in 12th place in the Western Conference standings. At the same time, this was the first indication that Rutherford was effectively throwing in the towel and turning his focus towards the upcoming deadline.
St. Louis is dangling Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko. Depending on if they waive their no-trade clauses, Chicago’s Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews might also be available. There’s San Jose’s Timo Meier and Philadelphia’s James van Riemsdyk, Ottawa’s Alex DeBrincat and Montreal’s Sean Monahan.