Lazarus feels the Canucks have the most house money in this playoffs

After much discussion, Lazarus names the Vancouver Canucks as his choice.

The notion that the Vancouver Canucks have this kind of leeway is certainly true as the team was a laughingstock last year and near the bottom of the standings.

Since the hiring of Jim Rutherford and general manager Patrik Allvin, both men have gone ahead and gutted a portion of the team where it was weakest and have made them a strong group who are in the top three in the league.

Another major decision was the firing of Bruce Boudreau and hiring former NHLer Rick Tocchett as the new head coach who has given them a new sense of identity and a new style of play which has suited this young group along with the great play of Thatcher Demko.

With all, the Canucks certainly have a lot of latitude and freedom this season and if they go the distance and potentially to the Stanley Cup final all the changes that were made are certainly vindicated.

It is worth noting however, the team is facing a significant change in its roster next season as most of the team is an unrestricted or restricted free agent with a small core players remaining.