Gambling with Humans, part III

Leading the charge for the Canucks down the left wing is a solid 1-2 punch with Naslund and Daniel; that is if you assume Naslund gets his groove back in what will be the final year of his contract and can play like he did in the post season and Daniel plans on leading the team in goals again. Otherwise it's just a cool footnote for Ornskoldsvik and annoying for the rest of us.

Couple in the upcoming UFA issues with potential ex-Canucks in both Pyatt and Bulis not to mention pluggers Cowan and Green and, son of a bitch, we find yet another hole in the Canuck forward ranks. Get your gambling hats on then for the crop of left wingers we can likely eliminate based on salary but still drool at and imagine wearing whatever the hell the new Canuck uniform will be next season:

Ryan Smyth - A fun idea, but if not the Island, he'll get his millions somewhere to be sure.
Paul Kariya - Another fun idea to bring a B.C. boy home, but should ultimately cost too much. Unless he wants another Coloroado-esque discount?
Ladislav Nagy - I will projectile vomit all year if I have to see him on a consistent basis.
Jason Blake - I fear someone is going to give him a fat contract and then watch him do nothing for the first two years of it. It would be fantastic if that person isn't Nonis.
Keith Tkachuk - Don't you want to golf all year with your boy Roenick?
Vycheslav Kozlov - If the vet can stay healthy, he would be a decent target.
Brendan Shanahan - Not a chance in hell he'll leave Broadway for B.C.

Running in the middle of the UFA LW crop is:

Kyle Calder - Still a project as he enters his 7th year.
Taylor Pyatt - Breakout year as the third Sedin and reportedly wants to stay in Vancouver.
Richard Zednick - Not quite as dominant as he once was; haircut alone means he should stay in Long Island.
Gary Roberts - I'm just not a fan of guys over 40 taking a slot. Something tells me Vigneault feels the same way.
Ruslan Fedotenko - This guy could flourish as the third Sedin; has the skills but needs to eat some Wheaties over the summer months.
Jan Bulis - Jan Jan Jan...you have as many pros and you do cons. Damn you for making my decision making process more annoying.
Kirk Maltby - Nope.
Chris Simon - Hahahaha...but seriously no.

Finally, the sub 7-figure class:

Antti Laaksonen, Bates Battaglia, Boyd Kane, Brad Isbister, Brad Larsen, Brad May, Dan LaCouture, Dean McAmmond, Denis Arkhipov, Eric Boulton, Jeff Cowan, Jeff Friesen, Jon Sim, Josh Green, Marcus Nilson, Martin Gelinas, Mathieu Darche, Matt Ellis, Nils Ekman, Noah Clarke, Pascal Dupuis, Peter Sejna, Ramzi Abid, Riley Cote, Todd Fedoruk, Ville Nieminen and Vladamir Orszagh.

Now that I look at it, there's a lot of LW's I'd love to gamble with here, but then again that whole salary cap thing will get in the way. So, how does this grab ya?

UFA Left Wingers
Will break bank/move contracts for: Kozlov & Kariya
Hold your breath and pray: Pyatt
Go nuts, but don't expect much: Battaglia, Cowan, Green
Plan a project: Fedotenko, Ekman, Orszagh, Arkhipov.
Look fondly at Manitoba: Jaffray, Hansen (LW/RW), Raymond, Bouck
Just get a warm body: Laaksonen, Gelinas, McAmmond, Dupuis (ugh, we better be very desperate) and General Zod because he's one of the best bad guys ever who coincidentally is running for president of my country in 2008 and already has my real vote and stolen vote in Florida. Doubling up!

UPDATE - Sounds like Nonis is taking the breath holding and prayer approach.