Canucks News, Rumours, and & Fantasy GM | Playoffs Approaching

[sandwichbird2023]

I'd argue they need to upgrade both the top and bottom six, plus fill-out the better part of a defense sans the top pair. Discounting anything to do with chemistry and roster turnover, because the current line-blender group doesn't seem to have a lot of that, I do wonder how you go about materially improving scoring by just adding one player.

It is not like you have a concrete first or second line to build around. I think floating a similar record next year will be challenging, let alone improving any specific metric outside probably special teams, which is probably more of a coaching issue anyway.

We need that Horvat-replacement on the PP bumper slot. If we can get the PP back to being top 5, or even top 10 in the league, that will solve a lot of our scoring issue. We still have to improve 5 on 5 as well, but fixing that PP is definitely a priority.

I agree that having a similar record for next season will be a challenge. We have a lot of things broke right for us this season, we haven't been hit with many injuries, we have a lot of depth players producing above their expectation, and we have some players providing exceptional value relative to their cap hit (specifically Hughes, JTM and Hoglander, but also to a certain extent Boeser, Demko and Petey). It is going to be tough to have all the stars aligned again next season.

 

[sting101]

Hate to say it beause i think they did a really good job this season but management let the team down at the trade deadline.

Everyone and their dog knew that this team needed another top 6 winger. The fact that Tofolli and Guentzel both went for peanuts in my opinion is criminal,.
We should have matched and beat those offer.

Management tried to go " half all in"

Jury is still out on the Lindholm move as i believe he has been injured for a while.

The fact that we consistently have Mikhayev and Suter in our top 6 should have been a big red flashing alarm to management. Instead they stood still.

Im sure Aquaman will be happy with the revenue money he will make from a couple of home playoffs games though.

"Let the team down"????

Aren't you the "quietly one of the best wingers groups in the NHL" guy? And what and how were they going to do it without cap space. Some suggestions would be a good starting point. What was the obvious move

"Half all in"........they traded Kuzmenko a 1st, 2-3rds, 2-5ths, Brzustewiscz and more to get DeSmith plus eating that shit OEL contract 20 million. Got Pettersson signed some astute depth signings and free agents.

Guentzel went for 3 recent 2nd rounders a 1st and a decent gritty roster player in Bunting. You think that is peanuts?

 

[vancityluongo]

this was always the risk of the oel buyout in this window vs swallowing the pill this year and getting some more flexibility going forward.

i think the only option for more flexibility is to hope someone sees garland as a $5m player and getting some trade chips for him (or a winger that could be a better fit). no one is going to take mikheyev at his cap hit. doubt they look at moving boeser.

guentzel wasn't worth the price; the real miss was not landing buchnevich, even if it cost lekkermaki + 2025 1st ++. maybe that's still available for one playoff run.

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

this was always the risk of the oel buyout in this window vs swallowing the pill this year and getting some more flexibility going forward.

i think the only option for more flexibility is to hope someone sees garland as a $5m player and getting some trade chips for him (or a winger that could be a better fit). no one is going to take mikheyev at his cap hit. doubt they look at moving boeser.

guentzel wasn't worth the price; the real miss was not landing buchnevich, even if it cost lekkermaki + 2025 1st ++. maybe that's still available for one playoff run.

I’m afraid you are still thinking in the flat cap mindset. The cap is forecasted to go up, and should next year as well. Mikheyev is playing like a negative asset right now, but he still has value. Garland would have plenty of suitors if the team put him up in the summer.

 

[LemonSauceD]

this was always the risk of the oel buyout in this window vs swallowing the pill this year and getting some more flexibility going forward.

i think the only option for more flexibility is to hope someone sees garland as a $5m player and getting some trade chips for him (or a winger that could be a better fit). no one is going to take mikheyev at his cap hit. doubt they look at moving boeser.

guentzel wasn't worth the price; the real miss was not landing buchnevich, even if it cost lekkermaki + 2025 1st ++. maybe that's still available for one playoff run.

Mikheyev shouldn’t be too difficult to move. He’s not a negative value asset. Speed + defensive instincts and is good for 30, 40 points a year (in a full season) playing without much PP time. A little pricey but a team that lacks the kind of qualities he brings will definitely open up their wallets. However with Joshua’s emergence, there’s really no real need for Mikheyev as Joshua is more of a team need with his added physicality and size and will assuredly be cheaper than $4.75M. So moving on from Mikheyev makes sense as he’s not an ideal top 6 winger and we have Suter, Joshua, Garland and Hoglander who already fill that middle 6 status quo with similar production and a fraction of the cost.

As for Garland, there’s no actual reason to trade him in the off season unless you’re planning on revamping the team. While he’s certainly an expendable asset, you also have to make sure you bring in a guy that replaces his 5 on 5 production and role on the team. He’s one of our only true play driving players on the team. He’s overpaid by $500-950k, not really enough justification to move simply because of contract.

 

[TruGr1t]

I’d put Mikheyev back with Pettersson and ride it into the sunset this year. They’ve have some success in the past. If he’s still an offensive blackhole, ditch the salary in the summer because we can’t have a third-liner making that money who doesn’t even PK.

 

[arttk]

I'd argue they need to upgrade both the top and bottom six, plus fill-out the better part of a defense sans the top pair. Discounting anything to do with chemistry and roster turnover, because the current line-blender group doesn't seem to have a lot of that, I do wonder how you go about materially improving scoring by just adding one player.

It is not like you have a concrete first or second line to build around. I think floating a similar record next year will be challenging, let alone improving any specific metric outside probably special teams, which is probably more of a coaching issue anyway.

Honestly I feel like they have less loyalty to players, much less than we imagine. Wouldn’t be surprised that they shop everyone outside of like Petey, Miller, Hughes, Demko and Hronek if they can get him signed.

 

[F A N]

I am interested in seeing how a healthy Garland performs in the playoffs. Personally, I feel many of us should re-rate Garland. He's not a 1st unit PP guy so he's probably going to be a 40ish point guy through his prime. But he's consistently right up there with Miller and Petey and ES point production and penalties drawn. He's clearly knows how to play Tocchet's system (his takeaway and giveaway stats are phenomenal). With 2 years left at $4.95M AAV at 28/29, I think there's value there.

 

[Baby Pettersson]

I am interested in seeing how a healthy Garland performs in the playoffs. Personally, I feel many of us should re-rate Garland. He's not a 1st unit PP guy so he's probably going to be a 40ish point guy through his prime. But he's consistently right up there with Miller and Petey and ES point production and penalties drawn. He's clearly knows how to play Tocchet's system (his takeaway and giveaway stats are phenomenal). With 2 years left at $4.95M AAV at 28/29, I think there's value there.

With how he's been playing lately his contract is starting to look like a steal!

 

[B-rock]

this was always the risk of the oel buyout in this window vs swallowing the pill this year and getting some more flexibility going forward.

i think the only option for more flexibility is to hope someone sees garland as a $5m player and getting some trade chips for him (or a winger that could be a better fit). no one is going to take mikheyev at his cap hit. doubt they look at moving boeser.

guentzel wasn't worth the price; the real miss was not landing buchnevich, even if it cost lekkermaki + 2025 1st ++. maybe that's still available for one playoff run.

Garland is a $5m dollar player. He's one of the the only guys creating any offence since the all-star break. Take him away and you've got even fewer goals.

 

[David71]

Hate to say it beause i think they did a really good job this season but management let the team down at the trade deadline.

Everyone and their dog knew that this team needed another top 6 winger. The fact that Tofolli and Guentzel both went for peanuts in my opinion is criminal,.
We should have matched and beat those offer.

Management tried to go " half all in"

Jury is still out on the Lindholm move as i believe he has been injured for a while.

The fact that we consistently have Mikhayev and Suter in our top 6 should have been a big red flashing alarm to management. Instead they stood still.

Im sure Aquaman will be happy with the revenue money he will make from a couple of home playoffs games though.

2 playoff games and be done in 4/5 depending on opponent

 

[mriswith]

Garland is our best ES winger and easily worth 5M. People are still getting fooled by his raw numbers not realizing it's almost all even strength and unlike Boeser he's a line driver. And he draws an absolute ton of penalties, almost as many as EP.

 

[Diamonddog01]

Interesting that posters think it will be so easy to move Mikheyev - I don’t as I think they tried to move him at the tdl and couldn’t.

 

[VanillaCoke]

Interesting that posters think it will be so easy to move Mikheyev - I don’t as I think they tried to move him at the tdl and couldn’t.

Copium from all the times they said elite defensive utility, resurgence, playing better just snake bitten, still recovering from surgery, and all the other bs excuses for his boat anchor contract.

He sucks, he's literally always sucked, and ppl dont want to admit it to themselves. If allvin could've punted him he would, nobody wants a 5m 4th liner for pk ulility.

 

[TruGr1t]

Garland is a $5m dollar player. He's one of the the only guys creating any offence since the all-star break. Take him away and you've got even fewer goals.

It would seem to me if you're signing Joshua it's probably to pair with Garland longer term, so I'd be quite shocked if Garland is moved. The fact he's been so effective obviously also a big factor.

 

[SopelFanThe3rd]

I'd extend Garland at this point lol

Not just our best ES winger but our best ES forward and best winger on most nights.

 

[SeawaterOnIce]

Copium from all the times they said elite defensive utility, resurgence, playing better just snake bitten, still recovering from surgery, and all the other bs excuses for his boat anchor contract.

He sucks, he's literally always sucked, and ppl dont want to admit it to themselves. If allvin could've punted him he would, nobody wants a 5m 4th liner for pk ulility.

There have been two miscalculations Allvin has made so far in his tenure.

1) Mikheyev signing - I know we needed an injection of speed and help on our PK, and yeah, he had decent 5 v 5 numbers with Toronto, but it was still a very perplexing signing to make when we were near the cap and needed to move out salary. Additionally, Mikheyev's durability was called into question when he kept getting hurt in Toronto. Admittedly, I was hoping he would have a Hyman-like bump with the added minutes and responsibility but his injuries have continued to set him back.

2) Lindholm trade - Proceeded to beat the deadline rush, and unfortunately ended up overpaying for a player who was likely already hurt. The good thing in all it is dumping Kuzmenko's cap hit next season I guess but the Lindholm acquisition is looking to be a blunder based on the results so far.

Every GM makes similar mistakes though. Can't bat a thousand in this league.

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

It would seem to me if you're signing Joshua it's probably to pair with Garland longer term, so I'd be quite shocked if Garland is moved. The fact he's been so effective obviously also a big factor.

Perfect time to move Garland after this season, his recent up tick in play should make him attractive in trade offers, without having to retain salary.

I've enjoyed watching him this season, but you cant keep everyone..Its more imperative that they re sign Hronek and Joshua.

 

[Quinning]

How so?

Prevented us from acquiring multiple other assets at a lower acquisition cost to improve redundancy, while underperforming and now not actually being in the lineup to contribute.

 

[Nick Lang]

Mikheyev shouldn’t be too difficult to move. He’s not a negative value asset. Speed + defensive instincts and is good for 30, 40 points a year (in a full season) playing without much PP time. A little pricey but a team that lacks the kind of qualities he brings will definitely open up their wallets. However with Joshua’s emergence, there’s really no real need for Mikheyev as Joshua is more of a team need with his added physicality and size and will assuredly be cheaper than $4.75M. So moving on from Mikheyev makes sense as he’s not an ideal top 6 winger and we have Suter, Joshua, Garland and Hoglander who already fill that middle 6 status quo with similar production and a fraction of the cost.

As for Garland, there’s no actual reason to trade him in the off season unless you’re planning on revamping the team. While he’s certainly an expendable asset, you also have to make sure you bring in a guy that replaces his 5 on 5 production and role on the team. He’s one of our only true play driving players on the team. He’s overpaid by $500-950k, not really enough justification to move simply because of contract.

Garland has really been great this year. I would still consider moving him in order to redistribute the cap to a top 6 winger for Petey, and get out from the last year as the OEL hit increases. As good as he's been $5 mil is expensive for a third line player. I also give the coaching staff a lot of credit for finally getting Garland to play the right way. I'm unsure if he has the same season next year if circumstances, like say his linemates change. He's still only on pace for 43 points. This is where you typically want to see your younger prospects step in on the third line for a mil or so. Podkolzin perhaps and maybe a Lekkerimaki, Raty, or Sasson, the year after.

Sure loved how happy he was yesterday after scoring a beauty winner against his old team.

 

[arttk]

Prevented us from acquiring multiple other assets at a lower acquisition cost to improve redundancy, while underperforming and now not actually being in the lineup to contribute.

That’s debatable, we gave a better offer for Tanev and Calgary just didn’t wanted to trade him to us and if we didn’t get Lindhom, the only player we might’ve gotten instead is Toffoli.
So it’s like lindholm va Toffoli, it’s not that big of a diff. For context, Toffoli played 11 games so far for the jets and he has been pointless 8/11 games.

 

[vancityluongo]

Perfect time to move Garland after this season, his recent up tick in play should make him attractive in trade offers, without having to retain salary.

I've enjoyed watching him this season, but you cant keep everyone..Its more imperative that they re sign Hronek and Joshua.

exactly.

either your top-9 wingers heading into next season are boeser, garland, hoglander, joshua, mikheyev, suter... or you move another asset (hronek? soucy and hughes are our only signed defensemen) to add to that group, or you don't sign joshua and promote pod and allocate the cap on a free agent. or... you have to move one of those guys and/or prospects + picks. i don't think they consider moving boeser, i wouldn't touch hog, suter has no value, joshua is a free agent. that leaves two guys, and i'd look to sell high on garland and get something back rather than selling low on mikheyev and getting nothing back.

in any case, would not be too impressed with allvin if that's the winger group heading into next season. garland being the canucks best winger over this past month is a credit to him, but a very clear indicator that it's a big area of weakness for the team.

maybe you can count on lekkermaki being a stud in his rookie year, capable of holding down a top-6 spot with the canucks, but that's a risky bet.

 

[Quinning]

That’s debatable, we gave a better offer for Tanev and Calgary just didn’t wanted to trade him to us and if we didn’t get Lindhom, the only player we might’ve gotten instead is Toffoli.
So it’s like lindholm va Toffoli, it’s not that big of a diff. For context, Toffoli played 11 games so far for the jets and he has been pointless 8/11 games.

Right, but the Jets also got Monahan who has been excellent.

 

[arttk]

Right, but the Jets also got Monahan who has been excellent.

we would not have enough assets and cap to get both Monahan and Toffoli. also its completely hindsight to say Monahan is a better target for us compared to Lindholm because we are not sure if Lindholm is crap due to decline or injury suffered post acquisition.