Canucks News, Rumours, and & Fantasy GM | Off-Season Edition | Not satisfied, so now what?

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Last one was over 1,000. Continue here.

Vector, here, I've taken over this original post. Here's the link to my spreadsheet. Contains regularly updated capspace totals, projected rosters, and UFA & RFA lists with AFP's contract projections.

Click to read more...

 

[krutovsdonut]

myers is doing the team a solid if he signs a team friendly deal early. that will clarify a lot.

if they get him they should lock up hronek and celebrate by signing phillipe myers to duke it out with juulsen. then we can see for myers and myers.

on the left side i think brandon dillon and either logan stanley or jaycob megna. joel edmundson is another option but i think he will want to have a guaranteed starter slot.

 

[TomWillander1RD]

If we end up with Kotkaniemi can we all agree not to be dumb like Habs fans and nickname him "KK"?

Jesperi Kotkaniemi should not = KK in any sane universe.

Let's trade for Kaapo Kakko just to add more confusion.

 

[TruGr1t]

I was playing with some numbers last night, and really, in a lot of ways it makes sense to let both Zadorov and Lindholm walk... I was originally an advocate to sign them both, and I would still like to, but I really don't want to overpay...

Lindholm is already pretty much gone in my opinion, I think they'll engage with Zadorov one more time, make their final offer, and if he doesn't come down he's gone too.

 

[Izzy Goodenough]

Lindholm is only gone if Émilie Castonguay refuses to use the Magical Powers of the 8 year extension.

No other club can match its power.

Use the Schwartz Émilie, use the Schwartz!

 

[arttk]

I think he'll come in at 2-3 years at $3M per.

if we extend Myers and have a Soucy-Myers paring, we'll need to add a puck mover instead of extending Zadorov. Unless the plan is to play Hronek with Zadorov. Starting to think that it might be more cost effective to get Dillon to pair with Hronek and get somebody else to play with Hughes and we have 2 pairings that can move the puck (if Hronek doesn't break)

 

[Just A Bit Outside]

Lindholm is only gone if Émilie Castonguay refuses to use the Magical Powers of the 8 year extension.

No other club can match its power.

Use the Schwartz Émilie, use the Schwartz!

I don't think the extra year will make a difference.

There will be plenty of interest from other teams and they will be able to offer a higher AAV.

That and the potential to be the team's 1C which he will not be in Van.

If a team like Boston comes in, I just don't see how he turns that type of opportunity down.

 

[TruGr1t]

Lindholm is only gone if Émilie Castonguay refuses to use the Magical Powers of the 8 year extension.

No other club can match its powers.

Use the Schwartz Émilie, use the Schwartz!

The issue will be the AAV, not the term. The extra year won't help much if people are willing to offer $8M AAV.

 

[MS]

8 points in 13 games from Joshua is pretty good. I don't know why you're trying to downplay him, contract negotiations don't happen on HF boards.

Yeah, it's crazy.

Guy scored at a 50-point ES pace in the playoffs while throwing hits at a 450 hit/82 GP pace and people are somehow disappointed because he was only the best player in 2 of our wins and was only 'ok' in some other games.

It's insane. Expectations went up so high for him that people want to dump him because he didn't play/produce like a top-line star player in the playoffs. A middle-6 player that is consistently dangerous/productive every night and doesn't have ups/downs is a 1st liner.

 

[CanucksSayEh]

Good playoffs or not, Lindholm has largely been a 45-55 point guy without better players on his line.

Can't take for granted the team will make the playoffs, and need to sign guys that are good in the regular season.

 

[Hansen]

50 pt 3rd Line OX

 

[Tinhorn1]

Yeah, it's crazy.

Guy scored at a 50-point ES pace in the playoffs while throwing hits at a 450 hit/82 GP pace and people are somehow disappointed because he was only the best player in 2 of our wins and was only 'ok' in some other games.

It's insane. Expectations went up so high for him that people want to dump him because he didn't play/produce like a top-line star player in the playoffs. A middle-6 player that is consistently dangerous/productive every night and doesn't have ups/downs is a 1st liner.

My only concern with Joshua is that he can seem a tad unmotivated, as evidenced by him apparently showing up to camp out of shape when most of the others seemed to get the memo. I wonder about how he'll perform if given the longer leash of a richer, lengthier contract, but I guess it's only a mild risk, based mostly on an outside perception, and one I would still probably take.

 

[pitseleh]

if we extend Myers and have a Soucy-Myers paring, we'll need to add a puck mover instead of extending Zadorov. Unless the plan is to play Hronek with Zadorov. Starting to think that it might be more cost effective to get Dillon to pair with Hronek and get somebody else to play with Hughes and we have 2 pairings that can move the puck (if Hronek doesn't break)

Yeah, for me the priority is adding a defender that lets the team run at least two defensive pairings with good puck movers.

Given the FA market, it is probably easier to find a new partner for Hughes (Roy, DeMelo, Pesce, Tanev, etc are all good fits on paper)
and move Hronek down to play with Soucy. Then assuming Myers re-signs get a cheap veteran or reclamation project to pair with him on the third pairing.

The team seems to be happy going cheap on defence - and can’t blame them given what they were able to squeeze out of the group defensively this season. But it will limit them offensively if they can’t find another pairing with offensive upside.

 

[arttk]

Yeah, for me the priority is adding a defender that lets the team run at least two defensive pairings with good puck movers.

Given the FA market, it is probably easier to find a new partner for Hughes (Roy, DeMelo, Pesce, Tanev, etc are all good fits on paper)
and move Hronek down to play with Soucy. Then assuming Myers re-signs get a cheap veteran or reclamation project to pair with him on the third pairing.

The team seems to be happy going cheap on defence - and can’t blame them given what they were able to squeeze out of the group defensively this season. But it will limit them offensively if they can’t find another pairing with offensive upside.

need to spend money on the top6 and then find guys that can enable a better transition game.

 

[TruGr1t]

if we extend Myers and have a Soucy-Myers paring, we'll need to add a puck mover instead of extending Zadorov. Unless the plan is to play Hronek with Zadorov. Starting to think that it might be more cost effective to get Dillon to pair with Hronek and get somebody else to play with Hughes and we have 2 pairings that can move the puck (if Hronek doesn't break)

I continue to think they'll look at Sean Walker. Good in transition, was on a 10g / 40pt pace in Philly. Should come in under $6M AAV. Dillon will replace Zadorov, I expect. Walker is smaller, but if you're bringing in Dillon and re-upping Myers it won't matter all that much.

Hughes-Hronek*
Soucy-Myers
Dillon-Walker

*I'm still not entirely convinced Hronek will stay if he sticks to his reported ask.

 

[Vector]

Yeah, for me the priority is adding a defender that lets the team run at least two defensive pairings with good puck movers.

Given the FA market, it is probably easier to find a new partner for Hughes (Roy, DeMelo, Pesce, Tanev, etc are all good fits on paper)
and move Hronek down to play with Soucy. Then assuming Myers re-signs get a cheap veteran or reclamation project to pair with him on the third pairing.

The team seems to be happy going cheap on defence - and can’t blame them given what they were able to squeeze out of the group defensively this season. But it will limit them offensively if they can’t find another pairing with offensive upside.

Of that group, DeMelo is the guy I am most interested in. Probably ends up at a fairly reasonable cap hit and has a history of caddying an offensive creator on a top-pair.

 

[Burke's Evil Spirit]

Here's my list "under-the-radar 3rd-pairing defencemen that would come cheap and have some amount of upside".

UFA:
Nick Blankenburg

Trade:
Jonathan Kovacevic

RFA: (require waivers)
Logan Stanley
Pierre-Olivier Joseph
Kaedan Korczak
Michael Kesselring

-Stanley and Joseph my not get qualified
-Korczak and Kesselring will but may get pushed out
-Kovacevic will be a popular target for a lot of teams and probably cost a lot more than many thing
-Blankenburg is one of the better defencemen on the Blue Jackets but he was an old, undersized, college signing competing against younger, high-pedigree but far worse performing players. He competes hard as hell and I've been impressed with him every time I see him

You're missing my favorite non-qualified candidate: Henri Jokiharju. He was looking really promising before leaving Chicago and getting pulled into Buffalo's suck vortex.

Get him at a low cap hit, potentially playing a Bear-like role next to Hughes, and run something like:

Hughes (7.9M)-Jokiharju (1.5M)
Soucy (3.25M)-Hronek (7.5M)
Dillon (3M)-Myers (3M)

I'm not sure I love Soucy-Hronek (they were horrific in limited minutes together) but they might improve given more time, and you have the flexibility to make a move if it all goes to shit.

 

[TruGr1t]

Of that group, DeMelo is the guy I am most interested in. Probably ends up at a fairly reasonable cap hit and has a history of caddying an offensive creator on a top-pair.

I'm good with this also, the thing I'm somewhat iffy on is DeMelo's age versus contract term.

 

[MS]

You're missing my favorite non-qualified candidate: Henri Jokiharju. He was looking really promising before leaving Chicago and getting pulled into Buffalo's suck vortex.

Get him at a low cap hit, potentially playing a Bear-like role next to Hughes, and run something like:

Hughes (7.9M)-Jokiharju (1.5M)
Soucy (3.25M)-Hronek (7.5M)
Dillon (3M)-Myers (3M)

I'm not sure I love Soucy-Hronek (they were horrific in limited minutes together) but they might improve given more time, and you have the flexibility to make a move if it all goes to shit.

I'll be shocked if Jokiharju is non-qualified.

His QO is like $2.8 million and even if Buffalo doesn't want to pay that I doubt they'd have too much trouble finding another team who would give them a pick for a 25 y/o RD who has multiple seasons playing 20+ minutes in his recent background.

 

[arttk]

I continue to think they'll look at Sean Walker. Good in transition, was on a 10g / 40pt pace in Philly. Should come in under $6M AAV. Dillon will replace Zadorov, I expect. Walker is smaller, but if you're bringing in Dillon and re-upping Myers it won't matter all that much.

Hughes-Hronek*
Soucy-Myers
Dillon-Walker

*I'm still not entirely convinced Hronek will stay if he sticks to his reported ask.

I think that could work too, even though I think Tanev might be cheaper than Walker and brings dad energy.

 

[Just A Bit Outside]

Yeah, it's crazy.

Guy scored at a 50-point ES pace in the playoffs while throwing hits at a 450 hit/82 GP pace and people are somehow disappointed because he was only the best player in 2 of our wins and was only 'ok' in some other games.

It's insane. Expectations went up so high for him that people want to dump him because he didn't play/produce like a top-line star player in the playoffs. A middle-6 player that is consistently dangerous/productive every night and doesn't have ups/downs is a 1st liner.

6 of Joshua's points came in 2 games. That means he had 2 pts in the other 11.

There was just more expected TBH.

And it has nothing to do with wanting to dump him. It has everything to do with how much he wants and what he could get on the open market.

I could easily see him getting $4M AAV if he hits FA. That's much too rich to stay in Van.

So the real question is how much is Joshua willing to take to stay that also makes sense for mgmt.

 

[MS]

Of that group, DeMelo is the guy I am most interested in. Probably ends up at a fairly reasonable cap hit and has a history of caddying an offensive creator on a top-pair.

DeMelo is a terrific player but I feel like there are going to be 10+ teams who are hoping to add this terrific player in UFA and we'd need to win a bidding war.

 

[sting101]

Not sure why you guys think Utah would want Hronek when they have Durzi (similar player) and Kesselring (shut down) both coming along nicely. I mean they have the cap space and im sure they would like to add another top4 D but what/why would they blow a bunch of assets at this stage while Cooley Guenther Simashev etc are a few yrs away from making noise

 

[StickShift]

My takeaway from this video clip is that Dhaliwal is saying the Canucks are actively trying to clear cap space before they commit to anyone (such as Zadorov).

The only signed player on the roster that I would put into a cap-clearing bucket is Garland. Perhaps Boeser? Perhaps it’s anticipating moving Hronek’s contract?

 

[TruGr1t]

My takeaway from this video clip is that Dhaliwal is saying the Canucks are actively trying to clear cap space before they commit to anyone (such as Zadorov).

The only signed player on the roster that I would put into a cap-clearing bucket is Garland. Perhaps Boeser? Perhaps it’s anticipating moving Hronek’s contract?

Still trying to ditch the Poolman contract and probably sniffing around on Mikheyev.

 

[thecupismine]

Myers potentially staying is interesting. Am very curious what the Canucks plans are on the bottom pairing.

Looking back the last couple years, most cup contenders are paying their #6 under 2 million per year, so they can squeeze more out of the top 4/top 6 lines.

Myers performed admirably down the stretch, but I'm unsure he's more than a high-end, bottom pairing player at this point in his career, particularly given his age. Soucy is in the same spot as a solid 4/5. His chemistry with Hughes is non-existent, which makes separating Hughes/Hronek to spread out puckmoving across pairings difficult as well.

Unless the Canucks are going to go down a similar path next year of two high-end third pairings behind their top pairings, they still somehow need to acquire a top 4, puckmoving dman that can develop chemistry with either Soucy or Myers.