Welcome back to another column of CanucksBanter.

It has been a while, and I felt the desire to dust off a blank page and write a few things about my favorite professional sports team the Vancouver Canucks.

The Canucks finally pulled the trigger and dealt their Captain Bo Horvat, and now the Vancouver Canucks media is all over the rumour mill as to who will be next to bid au revoir to Vancouver.

Did Vancouver really get anybody that will be a difference maker in replacing Horvat who last season and this season put up remarkable numbers and led by example as team captain?

Vancouver Awesome Canucks writer Daniel Wagner in his Pass It To Bulis newsletter this week asked if the Canucks got enough in return for Horvat in their trade with the New York Islanders.

“Can Aatu Raty be a key component of a retool/rebuild or the key component of a trade for the player who is? Will they make a smart selection with the first-round pick or move it in another block buster deal? Can they either help Anthony Beauvillier find his game again or flip him for more assets for the future? Those are the questions the Canucks will need to answer to place the Horvat trade in the right context.” wrote Wagner.

Past trades of productive Canuck players have provided mixed results on their returns, as Wagner outlined in his article. How much of a success dealing Horvat proves to be for all parties involved in this trade remains to be seen.

On Sekeres and Price, Rick Dhaliwal commented on the possibility of interest in Jack Rathbone ahead of the trade deadline, saying, “If the Canucks are not going to use him at the NHL level, they would be open to moving him to a team that would give him a better chance.”

Elliotte Friedman has speculated that Tyler Myers, Brock Boeser and Thatcher Demko are possible trade targets and Canucks reporter Jeff Paterson was on Donnie & Dhali this week discussing Canucks possibly trading Demko.

How much more will Vancouver do before the trade deadline, at the trade deadline, at and/or before, the 2023 NHL Draft——is pure speculation.

One thing is clear though, name cards will be necessary next training camp.

Until next time…