I think the most likely situation is if the Canucks sign Tyler Myers to a reasonable contract for slightly too long, say 6 years at $6.5M. He played junior hockey in Kelowna and I believe his wife is from BC as well. It would be a similar sort of home coming to Dan Hamhuis.
So in this scenario, and one where the Canucks re-sign Edler but don't add any other premier free agents (Panarin, Karlsson, Bobrovsky), what is the likely roster looking like?
Goldobin Pettersson Boeser
Pearson Horvat Leivo
Spooner Gaudette Virtanen
Roussel Beagle Motte
Baertschi Granlund
[Edler] [Myers]
Hutton Stetcher
[Hughes] Tanev
Biega
[Schenn]
Markstrom
Demko
AHL:
MacEwan, Gaunce, Boucher, Lockwood
Juolevi Sautner Brisebois
Mazanec Bachman
This team has too many forwards and is still going to find it hard to score goals. If you're counting on the first line to score 20-30-35 goals, and the second line to score 20-30-15 goals, and the defense to score 30-40 goals, you're still counting on an average of 10 goals per other forward of the roster.
I would trade or otherwise walk away from Sutter, Eriksson, Schaller, Pouliot. An additional winger has to get traded as well. I think Granlund is a good 13th forward. I would bring back Schenn on a similar deal. You're kind of locked in on LW because the guys you have there are worthless in a trade for and you might be able to squeeze some future value out of them if you keep them on the roster to start the year. You're also kind of locked in on the RW other than shuffling all of them up and down the lineups.
If you look at the style of play Green likes to play, it is dependable two way hockey then transition quickly to offense. If you look on the roster, and while Goldy gets the brunt of it, it's really Boeser that's the piece that sticks out as non-conforming. He's an average skater and below average defender and an average passer.
He's also the Canucks 3rd or 4th highest value player. At the draft, I would quietly shop Boeser to gauge interest around the league. A guy like Zack Werenski is someone I would flip him for without hesitation, then flip Hutton and/or Tanev for a winger and a prospect. Kapanen (TOR) or Alex Nylander (BUF) perhaps?