Canucks LB
My Favourite, Gone too soon, RIP Luc, We miss you
- Oct 12, 2008
- 77,861
- 32,112
Canucks News, Rumours, and & Fantasy GM | The Final Countdown
- Thread starter Canucks LB
- Start date
- Status
I like Suter and he performed very well for his cap hit, but he isn't a guy I think we'd want to roll into the playoffs with on the top line again. I do agree that there are some priorities, EP's wing and the defense most of all.
Vrana is a longshot, league min guy for sure. Him and Laine both I consider wild swings for the fences, and Laine has a much better track record and top end ability, but also comes with a huge price tag. Neither of these guys would be my first, second or third option, but at a cheap cost Vrana might be worth a swing.
Nick Lang
Registered User
- May 14, 2015
- 2,150
- 617
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.
I really like his style. To me that's how your provide the right foundation to build a winner, especially in the playoffs where keeping it tight and defensive is key. He's not a good finisher but he can carry the puck effectively due to his ability to shield the puck from the opposition and make safe plays ... he just doesn't do it at a great pace.
It feels like he really fit in with this coaching group and I think he rather likes this spot and city. As such I think he'll sign a reasonable deal and for me it's a no brainer re-sign. At worst he pops down to the fourth line and provides the same utility there.
What I mean with Suter is that ideally he’s a mid-season upgrade. I see a lot of people here trying to create the team that will go into the playoffs in its entirety now. Every playoff teams adds in-season so the goal should be to make the big acquisitions in the off-season.
Breakers
Make Mirrored Visors Legal Again
If Colorado is willing to almost giveaway Nuke
I’d do it
Huge risk, but worth it.
Get this guy some sort of personal assistant that aqua man pays for.
I’d do it
Huge risk, but worth it.
Get this guy some sort of personal assistant that aqua man pays for.
6m a year until 29/30, and you really just don't know if he will finish (or heck start) a season. He is obviously a massive talent, but for me the risk is just too great. I've worked in the addictions and recovery field for the past 20 years and want nothing but success for this guy, but I also know how hard it is to stay in recovery. He may need a lot more time away.
Mr. Canucklehead
Kitimat Canuck
There isn’t enough “no” in the word “no” to fully convey the “no”-ness of my answer to this post.
Zero chance this group brings in any potential headcase into the room like Nuke or Vrana. Zero.
Vrana is much different. You could maybe sign him for close to league minimum and there is basically no risk.
biturbo19
Registered User
- Jul 13, 2010
- 26,551
- 11,662
Luke Kunin would definitely be an interesting one if he's not qualified. Lundestrom would be great depth too. But for both those teams...they've got cap space to burn and they're still useful players. I can't see them not at least extending a QO. They don't even really have to worry about arbitration or anything. Like...they're not even at the cap floor.
And with Kunin in trade, if you can get him for a C Prospect or Pick sort of deal...you'd still have to be allowed to chat with him first, and work out a de facto multi-year extension at less than his $3M QO to have it make sense. I don't think he works here at $3M, even if he's got the potential to be a small upgrade on Bluegers (offensively at least). I think they either need to go cheap with those bottom-6 spots...or go full bore on the idea of basically making Garland+ a quasi "#2b Line" sort of thing. Kunin would kind of fall in between those two unless he's willing to go 2-3 years @ ~$2M to trade 1-year dollars for security and total $$$.
Travis Boyd to me, is one of those "faux moneypuck" guys. The ones that look decent in the box score columns, but actually kind of go against the real concept of moneypuck. As in...one of those players whose production is inflated by being the least worst option for softer/more offensive minutes on a team without good alternatives...rather than a guy who actually excels in any particular "niche" or "role" that would be useful to a stronger team. More of a "filler guy" than a "role player" of any particular type. Like Bluegers was a real "moneypock" type signing because he could be a great PKer and defensive Center in the bottom-6. Boyd is more...a bad Top-6 Skill Forward - like a "poor man's Pius Suter". Which i don't think we really need.
Well technically...we don't really have that under contract at the moment anymore. Though i am curious what that wildcard element will end up costing us, and how long Chaos Giraffe will actually be willing to sit and wait before he opts to explore other options. There's a price point at which he makes a ton of sense as a #5/6 who can step up a bit as a #4 for stretches in this system...but there's also gotta be a walk-away number for a guy who has cleaned up under this staff, but still makes a lot of really critical gaffes and takes plenty of terrible unnecessary penalties.That's a fair point on Suter i suppose. That might have to be the approach they take. With so many potential moving pieces, they might not be able to get everything pinned down and improved all at once. It's still a pretty disappointing thing to pencil in to the opening night lineup as a Top-6 Forward though. And prices tend to only go up toward the deadline, so it's cheaper in the long-run asset-wise if you can fit it all in over the offseason instead.
Hoglander is also a guy that i just don't want to see penciled in to the Top-6, even just to start the year. He's been mostly ass in that role. Doesn't really work with JT+Boeser and has negative chemistry with Petey. Most of his good work came outside the Top-6.
But i totally agree on Vrana as well. Just a poison player that this team is in no place to be experimenting or gambling with.
It does make sense for sure. I'm still iffy on Necas as a player, and whether he'll be worth the contract he reportedly wants (and potential headaches if he's set on playing at Center), but he'd undeniably be an upgrade in our Top-6 as a Winger. Not sure how the chemistry would work with Pettersson, but if there's one thing Necas does extremely well...it's carrying the puck with speed.
Duhaime too, would add a lot of speed and heaviness at the same time. Though as much as i like him, i'm a bit worried he's going to end up on a "premium 4th liner" contract we can't necessarily afford right now.
That's fair with Bluegers. His style works as a defensive 3C or 4C who isn't asked to carry anything offensively. Which...can work with either of Garland or guys like Hoglander doing a lot of the work in that respect.
I just think those limitations are why you have to be careful how much dollars, and especially term you give him. Makes him the sort of player that you're better off with flexibility on, to shuffle through, upgrade, or replace internally with cheaper options as they come along.
Hopefully he does like playing with this staff enough to sign a reasonable deal.
Yeah. Big hefty NOPE on Nuke. Not only all these questions, but he's had some other weird/shady stuff that to my knowledge, hasn't ever really been entirely resolved or explained. Like Vrana...just not an influence/attitude/potentially toxic problem that this team needs to risk having around.
This team FINALLY got it's locker room and team culture sorted last year, with tremendous buy-in across the lineup being a core tenet of what made this team successful last year. Zero reason to jeopardize that on a total shot in the dark. Just not in a position to be gambling the positive momentum built like that.
I mean, Nuke is a bigger financial commitment risk. But there's still enormous risk to the team chemistry and culture, if you're bringing in a flake like Vrana and gifting him those top offensive minutes he needs to do anything.
If you've got guys like Garland, Hoglander, et al absolutely working their bag off, trying to play the right way and doing everything the coach asks of them...and you just parachute in a guy like Vrana and let him off the hook to just float around and play his game, and play him in better "offensive minutes" just because he's a little more naturally skilled/more of a finisher...it sends a pretty toxic ripple through your messaging to the team. The sort of mentality that we don't need this team to fall back into.
Like...they dumped Kuzmenko basically over this. And Kuz looks like an Alex Burrows by comparison to Vrana.
biturbo19
Registered User
- Jul 13, 2010
- 26,551
- 11,662
I thought about a chuckwagon team, given how many of this sort of player we could really use. And the metaphorical "pulling together as a team" thing. But their aren't a lot of gifs of that and most are just crashes. lol. So slightly unhinged aggressive Barrel Racers was the play.
Breakers
Make Mirrored Visors Legal Again
The more days that pass without a Tyler Myers being signed by us is amazing
Fingers crossed he gets to free agency and is gone for good
Fingers crossed he gets to free agency and is gone for good
The makeup of the Canucks blueline next season surely has to be one of the most fascinating and a bit scary stories of the of-season..
At this juncture, the only guys guaranteed to be back are Hughes, Juulsen, Soucy and probably Hronek. So they have potentially fill in four guys on the blueline.
If you assume that nobody in Abbotsford is prepared to step up, then it's on to the trade/UFA market. I suppose there's a chance they bring back Zadorov and Myers--but the numbers and term have to make sense. And when it comes to free agency those two factors almost never line up.
rypper
21-12-05 it's finally over.
- Dec 22, 2006
- 16,779
- 21,101
He's going to re-sign.
He'll give them time to figure things out and wait for the team. But he's re-signing. I just want you to prepare for it.
I've been trying my hand at constructing a reasonable roster going in to next season. We are certainly going to be losing depth and taking fliers on a few guys who can hopefully rebound in a new environment. Realistically, I do not see any way this team can bring back Joshua, Zadorov or Lindholm without hamstringing other parts of our lineup and creating large holes. The same rationale is applied to players like Guentzel whose contract will certainly be too rich for this team to be able to fill out the rest of the lineup.
The other thing I think we've been overlooking is the importance of signing guys who can play in all situations. Losing Lindholm and Joshua puts two big holes in our PK lineup and any forward signings will need to be guys who can be trusted defensively and can PK effectively.
I've constructed the following lineup (see attachment) with what I believe are reasonable salaries although they are certainly "team friendly" to some extent and I understand if some of you take issue with that.
Signings - RFA
Hronek RD - 7.5 M x 8 years. At the end of the day, I did not feel we could easily replace Hronek and his impact. Certainly, there is more to give offensively and hopefully he can reach that next level next year.
Silovs G - 925k x 2 years. This is probably an underpayment. He had a good playoffs but his regular season in the AHL prior to that was relatively average. I don't think he has much bargaining power at this point.
Signings - UFA
Alex Wennberg C - 2.5 M x 1 year. He had a fairly lacklustre year followed by a below average performance in the playoffs so I think he could be had for a decent price. This is likely also an underpayment as he has a track record of being a roughly 0.5 ppg player and may fetch a larger/longer term contract on the open market. He's certainly not at the top of my list of acquisitions as I don't believe he's someone you necessarily win with in the playoffs but would certainly help get us there. He plays all situations and is good penalty killer, which is a major need. Has some decent offensive skills and is primarily a playmaker. Is a decent option as a 3C and likely an offensive upgrade on Blueger.
Chandler Stephenson C/LW - 5.75 M x 6 years. Signed as Petey's winger and running mate. Not as sexy as a Guentzel, but plays a good two way game. Is trusted on the PK, which is a big plus. Can slide over to centre to allow us to roll Miller-Petey-Stephenson down the middle depending on the matchup. I'm not in love with this contract given his age but he doesn't have the same number of miles as other 30 year old top 6 players (only 495 regular season games; Miller was at 718 at the same age for reference). At the end of the day, we have to do something to improve our ability to generate offence in the top 6 and Stephenson is certainly someone who will help do that while also adding utility in other areas. Teravainen is another name I considered, but I suspect he will not accept any contract under 6 M AAV.
Tyler Myers, RD - 2.75 M x 2. Probably a bit of an underpayment as well, but hopefully he's willing to take a bigger hair cut on his salary as good will for being overpaid the last 5 years. Otherwise self-explanatory signing. He wants to be here and provides good value at this price point.
Chris Tanev, RD - 4M x 3 years. Another hometown discount. Hopefully takes only 4 M AAV if we tack on the third year to his contract. Value on the open market likely closer to 4.5-5. He seems to want to come back so hopefully would be willing to resign.
TJ Brodie, LD/RD - 2M x 1 year. A reclamation project after falling out of favour in Toronto and having a very tough end to his season. Hopeully, this means he will be relatively cheap. Prior to last year, he was playing top 4 minutes with fairly good defensive metrics. Hopefully a bounce back year and we can lure him over with opportunity to continue to compete for the cup and regain some value while playing further down in the lineup.
Teddy Blueger, C - 2M x 2 years. Maybe slight overpayment and could be closer to 1.8 M AAV, but overall very important to our PK and defensive game. Can move up the lineup if need be but ideally slots in as 4C.
Again I tried to target forwards that would fill more than one hole and avoided one-dimensional players, such as the Toffoli's/Arvidsson's of the world who do not typically play the PK.
I ended up slotting Mikheyev in the top 6 as hopefully he can regain some of his burst and be able to get in on the forecheck as the F1 for the Miller line. Playing with other skilled guys may help rebuild some of his value. He's obviously one of the biggest inefficiencies in the lineup and freeing up his salary certainly opens other options for the club such as signing Joshua or Zadorov or investing that money into a top of the lineup player such as Guentzel (in this scenarior as a substitute for Stephenson).
Also in order to make this team cap compliant, there are only 22/23 roster slots filled.
Interested to hear other's thoughts and if some of these signings are completely out to lunch. Also interested to see others' mock rosters. One thing is for sure, the team is in a tough spot and even treading water may be difficult this offseason.
The other thing I think we've been overlooking is the importance of signing guys who can play in all situations. Losing Lindholm and Joshua puts two big holes in our PK lineup and any forward signings will need to be guys who can be trusted defensively and can PK effectively.
I've constructed the following lineup (see attachment) with what I believe are reasonable salaries although they are certainly "team friendly" to some extent and I understand if some of you take issue with that.
Signings - RFA
Hronek RD - 7.5 M x 8 years. At the end of the day, I did not feel we could easily replace Hronek and his impact. Certainly, there is more to give offensively and hopefully he can reach that next level next year.
Silovs G - 925k x 2 years. This is probably an underpayment. He had a good playoffs but his regular season in the AHL prior to that was relatively average. I don't think he has much bargaining power at this point.
Signings - UFA
Alex Wennberg C - 2.5 M x 1 year. He had a fairly lacklustre year followed by a below average performance in the playoffs so I think he could be had for a decent price. This is likely also an underpayment as he has a track record of being a roughly 0.5 ppg player and may fetch a larger/longer term contract on the open market. He's certainly not at the top of my list of acquisitions as I don't believe he's someone you necessarily win with in the playoffs but would certainly help get us there. He plays all situations and is good penalty killer, which is a major need. Has some decent offensive skills and is primarily a playmaker. Is a decent option as a 3C and likely an offensive upgrade on Blueger.
Chandler Stephenson C/LW - 5.75 M x 6 years. Signed as Petey's winger and running mate. Not as sexy as a Guentzel, but plays a good two way game. Is trusted on the PK, which is a big plus. Can slide over to centre to allow us to roll Miller-Petey-Stephenson down the middle depending on the matchup. I'm not in love with this contract given his age but he doesn't have the same number of miles as other 30 year old top 6 players (only 495 regular season games; Miller was at 718 at the same age for reference). At the end of the day, we have to do something to improve our ability to generate offence in the top 6 and Stephenson is certainly someone who will help do that while also adding utility in other areas. Teravainen is another name I considered, but I suspect he will not accept any contract under 6 M AAV.
Tyler Myers, RD - 2.75 M x 2. Probably a bit of an underpayment as well, but hopefully he's willing to take a bigger hair cut on his salary as good will for being overpaid the last 5 years. Otherwise self-explanatory signing. He wants to be here and provides good value at this price point.
Chris Tanev, RD - 4M x 3 years. Another hometown discount. Hopefully takes only 4 M AAV if we tack on the third year to his contract. Value on the open market likely closer to 4.5-5. He seems to want to come back so hopefully would be willing to resign.
TJ Brodie, LD/RD - 2M x 1 year. A reclamation project after falling out of favour in Toronto and having a very tough end to his season. Hopeully, this means he will be relatively cheap. Prior to last year, he was playing top 4 minutes with fairly good defensive metrics. Hopefully a bounce back year and we can lure him over with opportunity to continue to compete for the cup and regain some value while playing further down in the lineup.
Teddy Blueger, C - 2M x 2 years. Maybe slight overpayment and could be closer to 1.8 M AAV, but overall very important to our PK and defensive game. Can move up the lineup if need be but ideally slots in as 4C.
Again I tried to target forwards that would fill more than one hole and avoided one-dimensional players, such as the Toffoli's/Arvidsson's of the world who do not typically play the PK.
I ended up slotting Mikheyev in the top 6 as hopefully he can regain some of his burst and be able to get in on the forecheck as the F1 for the Miller line. Playing with other skilled guys may help rebuild some of his value. He's obviously one of the biggest inefficiencies in the lineup and freeing up his salary certainly opens other options for the club such as signing Joshua or Zadorov or investing that money into a top of the lineup player such as Guentzel (in this scenarior as a substitute for Stephenson).
Also in order to make this team cap compliant, there are only 22/23 roster slots filled.
Interested to hear other's thoughts and if some of these signings are completely out to lunch. Also interested to see others' mock rosters. One thing is for sure, the team is in a tough spot and even treading water may be difficult this offseason.
Attachments
Just A Bit Outside
Playoffs??!
- Mar 6, 2010
- 17,092
- 16,536
That's a low blow.
Myers was awesome this season, especially playoffs. I get it we all have ptsd, but lets be reality
Hoping Z signs as well to have atleast our D core be big
For forwards, we will need a Joshua replacement and a couple more in that mould
Hoping Z signs as well to have atleast our D core be big
For forwards, we will need a Joshua replacement and a couple more in that mould
Ya let’s let the guy that wants to sign at a discount walk and try to acquire the human trafficker currently in the player assistance program.
Can we grab both Kanes and Perry too?
Can we grab both Kanes and Perry too?
Breakers
Make Mirrored Visors Legal Again
Myers at the veteran minimum is an overpayment
Dude sucks
Soucy-Myers we’re a trash pairing in the playoffs.
Dude sucks
Soucy-Myers we’re a trash pairing in the playoffs.
Wry n Ginger
Water which is too pure has no fish
And a mighty fine play it was friend. I'm a big fan of that type.
I thought about a chuckwagon team, given how many of this sort of player we could really use. And the metaphorical "pulling together as a team" thing. But their aren't a lot of gifs of that and most are just crashes. lol. So slightly unhinged aggressive Barrel Racers was the play.
Wry n Ginger
Water which is too pure has no fish
what would it take to aquire shea theodore? another big dman who can fire the puck and play special teams
- Status
Ad
Latest posts
-
Speculation: 32 thoughts podcast, Pageau buy-out?
- Latest: LEAFANFORLIFE23
-
-
-
Confirmed with Link: Linus Ullmark traded to OTT for 25th, Kastelic and Korpisalo(25% retained)- Latest: frightenedinmatenum2
