At any rate, after thinking long and hard about it, here's how I fall on the Canucks roster detonation.
Sell: Miller, Horvat, Motte, Myers (retain on Myers if you have to - Myers with a $4M cap hit, eg, will have real value). All for picks/prospects. Don't accept any long-term money back (this season is okay, but past that, no).
Keep: Hughes, Pettersson, Garland, Hoglander, Podkolzin, Highmore, Lammikko, Burroughs, Schenn.
Dump: Hamonic, Pearson, Dickinson (if you can't find takers, then AHL. Yes, even Pearson - Canucks can't waste roster spots on low-ceiling players).
Boeser - if you can get him around ~$6M (either on a show-me deal, or something with term) keep him, otherwise sell.
OEL - we're stuck with him
Poolman - contract is probably untradeable, and he does have some value as a bottom pair PK specialist. don't mind keeping him around.
For the rest of this season, give long looks to Lockwood, Rathbone, and Martin. I'd also see what, if anything, Rempal/Dries/Di Giuseppe could do at the NHL leve. I'd also test how OEL and Hughes do playing the right side. If our off season RHD problem can become an off season LHD problem, that makes life a LOT easier. Also sign some European FAs and give them ice time (from the Olympics, I liked Petr Cehlarik's and Corban Knight's games a lot).
I'd try to sign Highmore, Lammikko, and Burroughs and to 3-year extensions between $1M and $1.5M, bargain contracts if they keep developing.
Next season:
xxx-Petey-xxx/Boeser
xxx-xxx-Garland
Podkolzin-xxx-Hoglander
Highmore-Lammikko-xxx
Hughes-yyyy
OEL-yyyy
Burroughs-Schenn
Rathbone-Poolman
Next season, every single open roster spot needs to be filled by young players with upsde, or a quality veteran that's a cap casualty on a good team (Eg, Kerfoot in TO might be a decent Horvat replacement for us), or a show-me free agent (look for a lot of unqualified RFAs to sign deals like these - in particular I've got my eye on Ethan Bear and Kailer Yamamoto).
The only type of UFA I would go for term for would a young-ish 3C type that could kill penalties (Andrew Copp, Nick Paul, etc). Otherwise don't give anyone term.
And of course it won't happen, but assuming we accumulate some picks I would really look at tendering some RFA offer-sheets. Would not mind a $4M flyer on Tim Liljegren (2nd round pick) or a $2M on Mathieu Joseph (3rd round pick).