Feel like we need more of an upgrade on forward than just Miller, and more than just Gardiner on D

I think they COULD sneak into a wild card spot

Haha gardiner wont be a good role model or partner for Hughes if he's the same handedness and apparently doesn't defend.
Try and get rid of eriksson contract (along with sutter which is good that you did). that should be priority number 1.
Granlund is cheap and a really good bottom 6 checking forward. You know how many contenders need or want that? Once you get good, you'll need players like that. The pens are my number 1 favourite team and they need that even if they dont know it yet.

In the case of a good role model for Hughes, which dman that is hitting the ufa market would actually do that?

Yeah I agree that we probably need more to be a legit playoff contender. But I also think that the Canucks would be wise to avoid doing too much this year, given that they will have a cap crunch coming soon. They have been rumored to be interested in Gardiner, I think at a reasonable term and cap he would be a good addition. As far as Miller, the hope is you get him cheap because of Tampa's cap situation. Also with this lineup your banking on Juolevi, Pettersson, Boeser, Gaudette and Hughes all taking some type of step forward (although that might be a bit of a stretch).

Canucks only have boeser to resign as far as big contracts. Every other resigning they have to do is really minor and they have more than 30 million in cap space. They can throw money at some pretty big names.

Yeah they could definitely sneak into a playoff spot, but I also think that it might be beneficial for this team to be bad for one more year. Apparently the 2020 draft is loaded with offensive talent. It could really bolster this teams offense moving forward. However, playoff experience is also very valuable.