Mike Gillis -- for Best Director?

Whatever the month of the year, it's always hockey season in Vancouver. Even in the midst of a 30-plus degree heat wave, there's no lack of discussion about the Canucks -- what the line-up will be in the fall, which UFAs are still available, which teams might have the missing pieces we can get in a trade... it's all on the table. On the other hand, summertime is also traditionally blockbuster movie season, and so that got me thinking:

Which movie characters should Canuck GM Mike Gillis have thought about signing this off-season?

Here are some suggestions for some players I think would look great on the Canuck roster.

1. Batman from the Christopher Nolan pair of movies, enforcer. The guy knows all sorts of martial arts, and even trained on ice in the first movie. He can take a ton of punishment and get up unhurt every time. If any of us like a little fight in our players, then, well, we're gonna love him. I considered the Joker from The Dark Knight as well, but I think he'd be uncoachable and take too many undisciplined penalties.

2. Luke Skywalker from Star Wars, sniper. Here's someone who in his youth could bulls-eye womp rats in his T-16 back home. He's always shown uncanny accuracy with his shooting. His main downside would be that he's a bit of a whiner -- hopefully coach Vigneault won't interfere with Luke's trips to pick up power converters. Yoda would be good, too. His wisdom and experience could replace what we've lost in Linden's and Naslund's departures. He's pretty quick and agile for an older veteran.

3. Neo from the Matrix trilogy, PK specialist. He's amazing in outnumbered situations -- just ask Agent Smith(s). Neo also has great speed; the game seems to slow right down for him.

4. Gollum from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, agitator. With all due respect to Alex Burrows, Gollum would be the ultimate pest. Send him into the corner after the puck ("my preciousssss..."), and he will show you just what is meant by tenacious forechecking. He knows how to talk smack ("stupid fat hobbit" could be appropriate for any number of players in the NHL), and is willing to back it up with his fists if necessary. He'd have to tone down the biting thing, but on the other hand it could be helpful to have that nasty reputation. Legolas Greenleaf might be worth pursuing for an offensive upgrade, too. The man, er, elf has a deadly accurate shot and is very reliable defensively.

5. Superman from -- wait a minute, we already have Luongo locked up for the next two years.

I think Gillis would do well to pull the Sundin offer off the table and get these guys instead. Since none have played in the NHL before, he could get away with just giving them the max on entry-level contracts. He might face trouble when it becomes time to re-up, but I think the Canucks would be legitimate Cup contenders in the meantime.

That's not too much of a fantasy, is it?