If Only This Were Baseball, and We Could Buy Them All

Living in Montreal, getting caught up in the Habs madness, and free new kicks from Foot Locker have somewhat dampened the usual post-Canucks hangover that usually rolls around in early May. However, with a Flyers-Hawks final looming and the thought that Dustin Byfuglien may soon wrap his greasy paws around a Stanley Cup, the offseason blues have started to hit home. With that in mind, we're looking ahead to see what our godly GM can do to fill in our weaknesses; namely, our defense and arranging a quick and efficient ride to the airport for Demitra. Keeping in mind that Gillis is the only mortal who can go in against a Sicilian when death in on the line, let's look at his top defensive targets.

Anton Volchenkov:
Contract Status: UFA, Current Salary: $3.20 million
A shot-blocking machine and a defensive coach's wet dream, Volchenkov is the perfect fit for the Canucks which unfortunately means he's the perfect fit for a lot of teams needing defensive help. Reports over the last few days have suggested that it's all but a done deal that he'll be joining a specific team not named the Canucks. Quick, lets play the guessing game! Which team has firepower up front but needs a defensive defenceman? And which team has a plethora of Russians? Hmm...

Paul Martin
UFA, $4.50 million
Probably the second-most desirable defensive UFA out there, Martin will likely be too pricey for the Canucks unless some trades get made. Also, he may steer clear of Canadian teams in order to avoid the onslaught of "former Prime Minister" jokes.

Dan Hamhuis
UFA, $2.50 million
Despite the Nostradamuses over at the Canucks.com forum, the race for Hamhuis is wide open. Like he did at the deadline, Gillis will target him, but only at the right price. He's a good young player, but don't forget he's played the last few years with Weber and Suter, who are apparently pretty good at hockey.

Braydon Coburn
RFA, $1.40 million
This kid is only 24, and will be an anchor on some team's blueline for years. The Flyers paid a heavy price to get him, although heavy in this case refers to the 215-pound Alexei Zhitnik who gave the Thrashers a year and a half of service before leaving for the KHL for reasons related to "not being good at playing competitive hockey." Philly won't give him up easily, but with Pronger, Timonen (making $6.33 million for the next three years) and Carle on the back end and Briere, Carter, Richards et al. up front commanding big salaries, Gillis might be able to swing a deal. Bieksa and Schneider perhaps? Anyone? Anyone?

Scott Neidermayer
UFA, $6.00 million
He's been on the 'Nucks wishlist for years, and for those who say Old Man 'Neids still can't bring it they may have missed that tournament thingy earlier that gave out all them pretty gold medals. Are the Ducks committing to a semi-rebuild? If so, Scott could return back to his home province. If not, the Ducks will surely throw the kitchen sink at keeping him a Duck until retirement.

Niklas Hjalmarsson
RFA, $0.666 million
The current runner-up in the "Blackhawks Whose Name Nobody Can Pronounce" sweepstakes, he may be a victim when the Hawks realize the whole "cap" thing might be an issue. A well-placed offer sheet could force Chicago to take the picks and let him walk.

Pavel Kubina
UFA, $5.00 million
Old, probably too slow, couldn't effectively anchor an albeit much-improved Thrashers blueline, but hey, he's out there. He'll probably re-up with the Thrashers or bolt to the KHL.

James Wisniewski
RFA, $2.75 million
Young defenseman? Check. Lots of potential? Check. Hurts Blackhawks? Check. Where do we sign?

Andreas Lilja
UFA, $1.25 million
While he may best be known for anchoring my buddy Jack's NHL 07 run to the Stanley Cup years ago, he's the kind of big body with championship experience Gillis might look at if the price is right. After all, going out and getting a big defensemen at the deadline worked out soooo well...

Joe Corvo
UFA, $2.75 million
Gillis could target Corvo if he gets desperate, but another offensive blueliner with questionable defense is not needed on this team, thank you very much. Kevin Bieksa is filling that void very nicely.

Marc Staal
RFA, $0.76 million
We can dream, can't we? The Rangers are still mired in a tough cap situation, but unless a Luke Schenn, 10-first-round-draft-pick type situation emerges, even Sather won't let this kid go.

What do you think? Did we miss anything? Think Alberts is ready to take the next big, big step next year and that our defense is sound? Let us know.