Travis Boyd, and potentially Luke Kunin and Isac Lundestrom if they don't get qualifying offers.
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.
This is what we have:
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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.
@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.
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.
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 )
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Vrana is much different. You could maybe sign him for close to league minimum and there is basically no risk.
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.