You have to look at the big picture, man. If they are ever going to be a legitimate Cup contender, they are going to need to find that franchise centre.
And I'd rather they build their offense around guys like Stamkos, Hodgson, Beach or Boychuck than the Sedins.
Just think of the cap space they'd have to work with if they made a deal like that. They'd have a top 6 that would start with Stamkos, Raymond and another good young prospect, and they'd have 27 million of cap space to use to add to those three.
Here is an example of what I'm talking about...
Trades
To Tampa Bay - D. Sedin, H. Sedin
To Vancouver - S. Stamkos, A. Roy
To Ottawa - A. Edler, C. Schneider, 2008 2nd Round Pick
To Vancouver - D. Heatley, R. Emery
Now let's say they take Kyle Beach with the 10th pick in the draft. At this point, you can see if the Oilers want Emery for a draft pick. If not, release him. His cap hit would then be 1.056 per over the next two seasons. Count it as part of Heatley's salary if it helps take the sting out.
UFA Signings
M. Naslund, M. Sundin, B. Campbell, R. Robitaille, C. Sanford
Sign Naslund and Sundin to short term deals, say 2 years. Both players will be over 35 next season, so you can write in a chunk of their salaries as performance bonuses to give you some breathing room under the cap.
Roster
Heatley / Sundin / Naslund
Raymond / Stamkos / Beach
Pyatt / Kesler / Burrows
Pettinger / Robitaille / Roy
Cowan, Brown
Campbell / Mitchell
Ohlund / Bieksa
Salo / Krajicek
Weaver
Luongo
Sanford
Reserves
Jaffrey, Grabner, Hansen, Gendur, Simek, Bernier, Rypien, Bourdon, McIver, Ellington, Fitzgerald, Rahimi, McIntyre +
You can argue the merits of the trades and signings all you want. My point is that dealing the Sedins for Stamkos wouldn't mark the end of the rebuilding process here, nor it would mean the Canucks would have to sacrifice even one playoff year over the short term.
That is an example of how Gillis could move the Sedins for Stamkos and end up with a better offensive team.
