Canucks News, Rumours, and & Fantasy GM | The Final Countdown

[Canucks LB]

Last one was over 1,000. Continue here.

Vector's NHL Transaction Tracker.

Some Important Off-Season Dates

Buyout Period: 48 hours after the SCF; players without NMCs must be placed on unconditional waivers 24 hours prior (another buyout period opens if a team has a player file for arbitration)
Team-Elected Arbitration: 48 hours after the SCF
Draft Day 01: June 28th
Draft Day 02: June 29th
Qualifying Offer Date: July 1st
Free Agency Opens: July 1st, 9am PST
Summer Development Camp: July 1st-4th
Player-Elected Arbitration: July 5th
Young Stars Classic Tournament: Sep. 13th-16th

Click to read more...

 

[Canucks LB]

We have $29m in Cap Space if we Trade Mikheyev, and or 27.5ish if we buy out Mikheyev.

Zadorov 5x5 (I think would get it done)
Leaves us with 24m
Hronek at 7.5x6
Leaves us with 16.5m
Tyler Myers at 3x3
Leaves us with 13.5m

Now we need a Top 6 F, 3rd line C, Resign Silovs, and a Budget mid Winger.
Juulson is our 6th D cheap until WIllander at the end of the year.
Add Depth at the Deadline for D.

Let's say our third liner C will cost 2.5m
Leaves us with 11m
Silovs 1m
Leaves us with 10m
You can go out and get a Guentzil for 8.5/9m or a cheaper Debrusk for 6m + Another 1.5m-ish D.

Leaves us with 1/2m in Cap Space (Maybe give Z another .25 or Myers .25)

And this leaves us with guys from Abby to take the 4th line spots like Raty or Sasson or even Lekkerimaki
It's not as impossible as it looks, and these are all pretty realistic projections honestly.

My Master Plan!
Thoughts?

 

[biturbo19]

To carry over the previous discussion...

The Canucks clearly need size (especially if Dakota walks for unreasonable salary), but they also really lack pure speed, particularly long speed through the neutral zone. Some quick little players, but very little of anybody who can break a neutral zone trap with speed...and basically nobody who also has the puckhandling to be effective doing it.


To put it in unnecessarily agrarian terms...


The Canucks currently have a lot of:

This...

And a little bit of this...

But they need a lot more of this...

and this...

And unfortunately...that's not necessarily easy, or cheap.

 

[Vector]

My Master Plan!
Thoughts?

It’s about what I think will happen. Blueger will probably be the third line centre. I think they are trying to go cheaper on Zadorov.

Basically, Myers, Blueger, and Zadorov at slightly cheaper. Guentzel at around 9.5. Then the rest divided between another RD and 3rd line wing. I could also see them splurge and concentrate on a bigger singular update and fill the 3rd line spot internally.

 

[biturbo19]

It’s about what I think will happen. Blueger will probably be the third line centre. I think they are trying to go cheaper on Zadorov.

Basically, Myers, Blueger, and Zadorov at slightly cheaper. Guentzel at around 9.5. Then the rest divided between another RD and 3rd line wing. I could also see them splurge and concentrate on a bigger singular update and fill the 3rd line spot internally.

Bluegers is a weird one, in that it's seemed almost eerily quiet on him. Are they even working on a contract to keep him? I'm not sure he'll be that expensive to keep...but i don't even have a good read on it. He shouldn't cost much more than he did last summer...but if he's asking a lot more, he's replaceable. Biggest thing is just...his defensive + PK utility. You've gotta fill somehow. If you can get that in one of the other additions, that works fine. Most of Bluegers offensive contribution was just the Blueg Man Group that was clearly Garland driving Joshua, with whoever in the middle. Pius Suter could fill that role for all i know or care. If they upgrade the Top-6 to push him back out of it.


It's weird though with Lafferty, that it sounds like they're not really interested in keeping him. He seems likely to be the cheaper of the two. Better chemistry with Hoglander. Plus positional versatility. Not as good defensively or PKer and faded later in the season. But if it's like a $1M difference between the two? I probably keep Laffy. Easily if it's more than that difference.


Obviously also have Aman floating around. He's...fine. As a 4th line Center who doesn't really do anything. Can see that being where they think they can pinch a few pennies. If you put him between the right wingers at even strength, i guess that might be alright.


Center market isn't great in UFA though. When it comes to bottom-6 guys even. So that might hurt prices for us.

Lindholm, Stephenson, Boring Sean Monahan, Wennberg. Pretty much falls off the nothing from there.

Roslovic is really more of a winger. Bluegers is...basically an ultra unremarkable bottom-6 grinding C. Domi is a weird offensive 2b C/W flake. Stenlund probably gonna get dumb money for a big zero offense Cup Finals Center. That's the list. lol.


Would have to look to the trade market or RFAs outside of that. Where there are some better options. But not sure we've got the assets to spend on that.

 

[Vector]

@biturbo19 Dhaliwal has reported and reiterated that Blueger, like Myers, is willing to wait while the Canucks sort out their bigger fish contracts. Both sides want to him to stay a Canuck.

 

[biturbo19]

@biturbo19 Dhaliwal has reported and reiterated that Blueger, like Myers, is willing to wait while the Canucks sort out their bigger fish contracts. Both sides want to him to stay a Canuck.

That'd be good news. They've got a lot to sort out.

I'm still hoping that Bluegers can be retained shorter-term @ ~$2M range. But once guys hit the market and offers start pouring in...that waiting can quickly go out the window.

 

[David71]

That'd be good news. They've got a lot to sort out.

I'm still hoping that Bluegers can be retained shorter-term @ ~$2M range. But once guys hit the market and offers start pouring in...that waiting can quickly go out the window.

the longer they wait, blueger probbaly get like 10-15offers within the first min of july 1st. maybe 3m 3.5 range.

 

[Vector]

AFP has Blueger at 2y/2.2m which I think is a little low but not by much. He probably tops out at 3y/2.5m.

 

[BluesyShoes]

General question: prior to July 1st, what kind of communication happens between GMs and agents of UFAs on other teams? If I am correct, they did away with the interview period of prior CBAs that ran from after the draft to July 1st. If my memory serves me, every July 1st it seems blatantly obvious loads of deals were negotiated well before official Free Agency. Do some teams grant permissions early, is every GM guilty of tampering so no one casts the first stone, or are GMs and agents really beginning negotiations on July 1st and getting everything done in a veritable frenzy?

Anyway, there are so many moving parts and ways for things to play out, I can't imagine it all goes down July 1st. Even right now, you'd hope Allvin has a good idea of what FAs are interested in coming here and for what money, especially before letting certain guys walk. How privileged is that information, and is getting that from agents considered tampering? Or do GMs and agents share inside information based on their social networks and cliques? Seems too much of a balancing act to fly by the seat of your pants on July 1st (unless you are Bim Jenning)

 

[biturbo19]

AFP has Blueger at 2y/2.2m which I think is a little low but not by much. He probably tops out at 3y/2.5m.

2x2.2 i'd be content with. He's a useful player. I just don't think he's the sort of bottom-sixer you want to lock in much term or dollars with.

It's something this regime did a great job of navigating to help build out this roster last year. A lot of "patch jobs". Compiled a lot of "bit part" characters like Suter/Bluegers/Lafferty on cheap and short deals to flesh out the bottom-6. To complement the more expensive bottom-6ers like Garland, and getting some surplus value out of guys like Hoglander and obviously Dakota. It worked out.


Repeating that routine is tricky. But committing too much for too long to guys who are just bit parts, is how you neuter your flexibility to do other things and improve the team. You end up with Dickinsons and Beauvilliers and guys like that you have to find ways to move out.

Fairly confident they'll find ways to make it work. But there's a lot of potential pressure from some of the "big fish" contracts. Less on the market this year, or at least...comparatively less given where the market is probably headed.

Some decent sneaky targets in trade and and RFAs. But there's gonna be more money flowing for sure this year.

 

[Paulinbc]

To carry over the previous discussion...

The Canucks clearly need size (especially if Dakota walks for unreasonable salary), but they also really lack pure speed, particularly long speed through the neutral zone. Some quick little players, but very little of anybody who can break a neutral zone trap with speed...and basically nobody who also has the puckhandling to be effective doing it.


To put it in unnecessarily agrarian terms...


The Canucks currently have a lot of:

This...

And a little bit of this...

But they need a lot more of this...

and this...

And unfortunately...that's not necessarily easy, or cheap.

I think those would be equine terms
And they still have to much of this

 

[Burke's Evil Spirit]

AFP has Blueger at 2y/2.2m which I think is a little low but not by much. He probably tops out at 3y/2.5m.

AFP might be low but I'll be disappointed if the Canucks give him anything more than that, in term or money.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

AFP might be low but I'll be disappointed if the Canucks give him anything more than that, in term or money.

Yeah, that seems quite fair and a modest raise over last season.

 

[Vector]

AFP might be low but I'll be disappointed if the Canucks give him anything more than that, in term or money.

Yeah, that seems quite fair and a modest raise over last season.

Agreed. I think that’s what he’ll get on the open market but Canucks will get him for a little bit less with probably the same term.

 

[Burke's Evil Spirit]

Yeah, that seems quite fair and a modest raise over last season.

Oh I think he could get the higher projection - cap is rising and the UFA center market is barren, a team could easily throw Sean Kuraly money at him.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Oh I think he could get the higher projection - cap is rising and the UFA center market is barren, a team could easily throw Sean Kuraly money at him.

Totally - and he was great on the PK (big part of why I want him to stay). Hot and cold offensively, but he was a really solid addition. He and Suter were good bargain adds.

I know the Canucks are hoping some guys will step up internally - but I wonder if there’s any bargain value contracts like those two to be had out there this summer.

 

[Burke's Evil Spirit]

Totally - and he was great on the PK (big part of why I want him to stay). Hot and cold offensively, but he was a really solid addition. He and Suter were good bargain adds.

I know the Canucks are hoping some guys will step up internally - but I wonder if there’s any bargain value contracts like those two to be had out there this summer.

Travis Boyd, and potentially Luke Kunin and Isac Lundestrom if they don't get qualifying offers.

 

[Hodgy]

Bleuger is the kind of guy you may see take a hometown discount because he has a relationship with management and they have him a second chance, so to speak, with his last contract.

 

[ziploc]

To carry over the previous discussion...

The Canucks clearly need size (especially if Dakota walks for unreasonable salary), but they also really lack pure speed, particularly long speed through the neutral zone. Some quick little players, but very little of anybody who can break a neutral zone trap with speed...and basically nobody who also has the puckhandling to be effective doing it.


To put it in unnecessarily agrarian terms...


The Canucks currently have a lot of:

This...

And a little bit of this...

But they need a lot more of this...

and this...

And unfortunately...that's not necessarily easy, or cheap.

This is what we have:

 

[ziploc]

Suter and Blueger are the guys I want to see occupying the 3rd and 4th line centre roles. Aman is a great 13th forward, he is low-event and PK's like a monster-beast. He just doesn't bring much more to the table.

But if Huey Suter and the Bluegs are in the bottom 6, it means we need to somehow acquire two top 6 wingers (assuming of course that Mikheyev is out the door).

Maybe a guy like Vrana could be a bargain basement steal to ride shotgun with Miller and Boeser? And then Guentzel plays alongside EP and Hogs? It's a risk for sure.

 

[Vector]

@ziploc I think Suter is fine as a cheap top-6 winger. They don’t have to upgrade every position now and I’d rather they focus on quality in the most pressing spots and only look to upgrade Suter/Hoglander afterwards.

Vrana’s been kicked off multiple teams now and has substance abuse issues. He’s a league min or training camp incite to me. Makes sense for San Jose or Chicago to offer him a little more.

 

[Wry n Ginger]

To carry over the previous discussion...

The Canucks clearly need size (especially if Dakota walks for unreasonable salary), but they also really lack pure speed, particularly long speed through the neutral zone. Some quick little players, but very little of anybody who can break a neutral zone trap with speed...and basically nobody who also has the puckhandling to be effective doing it.


To put it in unnecessarily agrarian terms...


The Canucks currently have a lot of:

This...

And a little bit of this...

But they need a lot more of this...

and this...

And unfortunately...that's not necessarily easy, or cheap.

We need cowgirls to ride our players. Love the idea. I volunteer to pretend to be a player for the summer to test this theory.

 

[Jerry the great]

It's weird though with Lafferty, that it sounds like they're not really interested in keeping him. He seems likely to be the cheaper of the two. Better chemistry with Hoglander. Plus positional versatility. Not as good defensively or PKer and faded later in the season. But if it's like a $1M difference between the two? I probably keep Laffy. Easily if it's more than that difference.

Lafferty is kind of an odd one. Ticks a lot of boxes for the team they want to build and he has had PK utility in the past. With Micheyev dinged up, he was easily our best skating forward (probably top 50 league wide) above average size, physical without being hotheaded. good chance he's going to cost less than $2MM after a somewhat lackluster finish. IF they don't go down the Guentzel/Reinhart road and prioritize depth, he'd be a guy i'd be inclined to keep around.

 

[StickShift]

To carry over the previous discussion...

The Canucks clearly need size (especially if Dakota walks for unreasonable salary), but they also really lack pure speed, particularly long speed through the neutral zone. Some quick little players, but very little of anybody who can break a neutral zone trap with speed...and basically nobody who also has the puckhandling to be effective doing it.


To put it in unnecessarily agrarian terms...


The Canucks currently have a lot of:

This...

And a little bit of this...

But they need a lot more of this...

and this...

And unfortunately...that's not necessarily easy, or cheap.

I think it makes a lot of sense that the Canucks have been connected to players like Martin Necas and Brandon Duhaime who are often in those top speed burst lists.

I wonder too how interested they might be in a speedsters like Anthony Duclair or trading for Mathieu Joseph (@Vector )