When the Vancouver Canucks rolled into trade deadline day some twenty days ago, people expected to see cash moved out. Whether it be retained rental salary or veterans like Alex Burrows moved out, the offseason spending budget was bound to grow if not stabilize.
Well, that turned out great. Dan Hamhuis will be back on a multi-million dollar contract. To add to the spending woes, Sven Baertschi is having himself a good season, looking for that next contract. And when everyone thought that the Canucks had some $15 million to spend, someone forgot that Brandon Sutter got a raise — a foundational one, too.