Death by a thousand cuts never felt so good.

The worst way to build a team is to wait until July 1st and spend all your cap flexibility like a drunken mother at a Walmart Black Friday sale (...is it obvious I’m American?) in hopes that bringing home a cart full of crap will make up for a year of bad parenting.

Not the best analogy perhaps, but regardless the best part of armchair critiquing the opening day of NHL free Agency is to see who throws the worst money at what player so we can all point and laugh at them. Last year many could argue Benning’s Deal for Loui Ericksson was one such deal, but since Vancouver is going for round three or four of transforming their squad into Team Sweden, maybe he was just ahead of the curve.

It’s not all negative of course. Some savvy GM’s can land nice deals that don’t financially chop block their club. Since Vancouver’s current aim, we assume, is to simply not finish 30th could be why they’re not selling the chance to win (though to be a fly on the wall if they actually tried that), but the chance to simply play for a young team and a new coach.

What you may see today for the Canucks who have a spiffy $19.5 million in cap space? Maybe Anders Nilsson arrives so Ryan Miller can go learn to lose in Anaheim with the rest of our castaways. Maybe Sam Gagner who is looking for a raise and Vancouver needs any experienced center that will bat them a pretty eye. Maybe Michael Del Zotto because Vancouver is down a few defensemen and, bonus point, he’s injury prone so he’ll fit right in. Maybe Nail Yakupov because...

Maybe all of those deals. Maybe none of them. With luck Benning lands a solid player or two to add to the mix since the real show begins in a few months with what will be a hell of an entertaining training camp for a team finally committed to a rebuild.

Here’s your open thread folks. Enjoy the day!