Trade Deadline Day has come and gone - as have some players - and the Canucks are well into their latest home stand. Have any questions been answered? Do we have a clear direction? Is there at least one sign of what the management or ownership intends in the long term?

Kinda.

Mind the Steps

Going into the deadline, we all knew it wasn't going to be the One Weekend that Solved Everything. There was plenty of hope that the obvious moves would be made, plus one of the large contracts shuffled off. That was pretty much an ideal set for the workday.

That didn't happen, but they got a return for Lukas Reichel, which is a frikkin' miracle in itself. So they get a pass on this one. But what's coming up?

Short-Term Goals are Goals

Goals would be nice. On-ice goals that home fans could cheer for. Yeah, it's going to be a little chaotic on the back end, so giving up more than we want to is going to happen. But losing 5-4 or 5-3 is a lot more fun than losing 4-1. Are there any signs of the Canucks getting to that point? With 16 games to go, half are at home. Give some entertainment to the folks who are finally able to afford tickets now that the scalpers are quitting the field!

The best thing going right now is that coach Adam Foote may have discovered a line that works.

A line of the finally healthy Marco Rossi centring Liam Öhgren and Brock Boeser has three goals in their last 24 minutes together with just one against. And more than that, they've been fun to watch. While there's a question of whether Boeser should still be with the team next season (he should), they should probably keep together what works. And this line looks like it works. I'd be perfectly happy to have this as the working second line going into next season. Reserving the right to change my mind in another ten games, of course.

On the blue line, Zeev Buium is coming along, too. It helps that he's getting time beside veteran Filip Hronek, but that's what you should do with talented rookies. He's using his speed, showing his creativity, and getting 20 minutes a night. Excellent! Over the past three games, that duo's possession metrics have been through the roof! In all of 23 and a half minutes together, sure, but that counts!

In goal, Nikita Tolopilo has been getting far more time than planned, and he's been...decent. I'm not going to sugarcoat his numbers; they've been rough. But he and Kevin Lankinen are playing behind three and sometimes four rookie defencemen out there. That can't be easy, especially given that Tolopilo is an NHL rookie himself. He still has a tendency to lose his posts, especially when play goes behind the net, but has plenty of skills worth waiting for.

Grading Beef

We're going to give a hat-tip to new arrival Curtis Douglas, too. Adding a "nuclear option" to a young, light team that is going to be outmatched on plenty of nights is a relief. He knows what his job is out here, and he's going to get plenty of ice time to show us more. He's a Group 6 unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, so he's playing for a contract.

He's at the league minimum right now, and if he wants NHL ice time, he'll likely sign for that again. But if he shows that he can keep up to the pace, Vancouver probably has a two-year deal in the offering. There is no possible way that Evander Kane is returning, so he won't be interested in flexing his muscle between now and game 82. And while Marcus Pettersson is willing, he really isn't good at the gloves-off portion of the game.

The Canucks are going to be a bad team again next season, and they damn well should be trying to be one. But there is a cost to that, and it's in enduring loss after loss over 84 games.* But at least they have a safety valve on hand. Having someone like Douglas doesn't just stop teams from trying to win by roughing up the kids. His presence can also quell the temptation to run up scores to ridiculous levels, or to try alleviating the embarrassment of actually losing to the Canucks by gooning it up.

Carnegie Hall

This homestand has been pretty mixed after three games. It should - in theory - get better for a simple reason: the team can practice.

There is a difference between the practice without opponents - what they had after the Olympic Break, for instance - and what they get between games. Without needing to travel, the new arrivals, medical ward escapees, and call-ups can get used to each other. With a team this bad, a lot of experiments can happen, and they can try them out the next day. That's good.

The bad news is that not many experiments work. The good news is that the pressure for them to do so is as low as it will ever be. Stick Öhgren in front of the net on the power play? Sure! Stick Rossi on the point with Buium? Why not? Have Tom Willander kill penalties? He'll have to sooner or later, so why not now?

Line combinations, special teams work, communicating with the goalies, breakout plays, all sorts of stuff can be experimented with. That's one argument that can be made.

On the other side, there's something to be said for simplifying everything. Go back to basics and see how the younger players perform. They'd probably get shredded the instant an opposing coach saw what they were doing, but at least everyone would be on the same page. And don't worry about rebuilding anyone's trade value this season. Sixteen games with the pressure off isn't changing anyone's mind.

Leave the World Behind

As far as watching goes, well, it's not going to be pretty. We the Fans have the draft lottery to look forward to, followed eventually by the draft itself. Sure, there could be some action between the end of the season and Draft Day, but that's not for a while yet. Find a player you like, and see how they do. Check out what Foote does in what are possibly his last days as coach. Speculate whether ownership will clean house this offseason or next.

The Canucks season is essentially over, but there's entertainment to be had yet. You just have to look a little harder for it.

*Incredible timing for Vancouver to be the worst team in the league just as the season gets longer.