The Vancouver Canucks were so close to signing Drake Caggiula, but so far from acquiring the services of the NCAA’s top free agent forward. Now that the hate, the disappointment, and the hype has settled down in Vancouver, it is time to really analyze what the Canucks lost here.
Just to recap the events leading up to Caggiula’s signing with the Edmonton Oilers, here is a summary of the Canucks’ case to sign Caggiula:
The Canucks were one of the handful teams interested in the Caggiula before the Frozen Four was even over. Jim Benning was in person in Tampa Bay and was impressed by what the then-North Dakota Fighting Hawk was doing.