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

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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...

 

[Izzy Goodenough]

Bring in Kaapo Kakko or Kakko Kaapo; one or the other.

One of these player is very good on the forecheck and along the boards.

 

[brock hughes007]

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.

Sorry not liking any of that

 

[rypper]

Soucy-Myers we’re a trash pairing in the playoffs.

They were pretty good actually.

 

[Vector]

They were pretty good actually.

McDavid and Draisaitl held to one even strength goal between them is pretty impressive.

 

[CanucksSayEh]

I would absolutely kick tires on Nuke.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

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.

oh man i totally forgot he existed

 

[SelltheTeamFrancesco]

They were pretty good actually.

They were terrible against Nashville and very good against Edmonton.

 

[VanillaCoke]

I would absolutely kick tires on Nuke.

then kuznetsov for mikheyev amirite

 

[CanucksSayEh]

then kuznetsov for mikheyev amirite

They can do a line together.

I meant play on a line together *

 

[VanJack]

I see Canucks Army is floating out a trial balloon about what might have been unthinkable before this past season--a major trade involving Thatcher Demko.

Admittedly it would be a serious roll of the dice for Vancouver with no logical starter waiting in the wings. But with teams like the Devils, Islanders, Detroit and to a lesser extent the Leafs and the Hurricanes desperate for a franchise goalie, the return to the Canucks could be massive.

For example, the Devils are offering up their first round draft pick (10th overall)......plus maybe Alexander Holtz and maybe a top defensive prospect like Simon Nemec. Would a return like that be enough to tempt Allvin?

 

[LordBacon]

what would it take to aquire shea theodore? another big dman who can fire the puck and play special teams

Ryan Kesler for Shea Theodore + 1st + 3rd + Etem.

 

[CanucksSayEh]

I don't have much faith that 'load management' would help Demkos injury history much, if at all.

He gets injured on routine nothing plays, and has a very low number of starts for his age.

I would at least listen to offers.

 

[TruGr1t]

I see Canucks Army is floating out a trial balloon about what might have been unthinkable before this past season--a major trade involving Thatcher Demko.

Admittedly it would be a serious roll of the dice for Vancouver with no logical starter waiting in the wings. But with teams like the Devils, Islanders, Detroit and to a lesser extent the Leafs and the Hurricanes desperate for a franchise goalie, the return to the Canucks could be massive.

For example, the Devils are offering up their first round draft pick (10th overall)......plus maybe Alexander Holtz and maybe a top defensive prospect like Simon Nemec. Would a return like that be enough to tempt Allvin?

That's a discussion for next summer, in my opinion. Assuming they think he's coming back healthy, it just makes too much sense to ride him one more season and see what you have in Silovs etc.

 

[aregora]

For example, the Devils are offering up their first round draft pick (10th overall)......plus maybe Alexander Holtz and maybe a top defensive prospect like Simon Nemec. Would a return like that be enough to tempt Allvin?

Seems highly lopsided in the Canucks favour.

 

[Burke's Evil Spirit]

I would do Demko for only the 10th overall straight up, and I don't think the Devils would offer that.

 

[Soups On]

I would do Demko for only the 10th overall straight up, and I don't think the Devils would offer that.

Why wouldn't they? They wanna win now and had a very underwhelming season. With Hughes and Nemec on ELCs, now's the right time to make a trade like that.

 

[AD16]

Sorry not liking any of that

Yeah that’s fair. Definitely less than ideal, but a possibility I suppose. It’ll be a fairly difficult task for this team to fill all of the potential holes in the lineup with the likely mass exodus of our free agents. Will be an interesting next few weeks for sure.

 

[biturbo19]

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.


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.


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.

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.

A lot of this is pretty "chalk" so i won't comment much on it. Mostly just quibbling over a million or less here or there on guys that are familiar to the organization, or familiar targets.


I will say...i think you're hitting on an important facet of any of these additions. We need to make sure we're replacing important roles and STs contributors if we're making changes.

The more i think about it, the more i feel like at least kicking tires on Chandler Stephenson is worthwhile. I think it's probably more like $6M x 6 as a baseline, given the crunch on Top-6 Centers. But i really like the flexibility that'd offer as a C/W. He's also an all situations player, with real easy speed in transition. I'm really curious what his market is going to look like tbh...because there are so many teams looking for a Top-6C and only so many available, but he continues to just sort of fly under the radar for some reason as a "middle-6er" and "product of the system" in a lot of people's minds it seems.


Wennberg on the other hand, i don't really care for. He's a bit of a real inconsistent "tweener" to me. He's not a real pure shutdown/matchup Center but he doesn't really have the offensive skillset to be a real Top-6 scorer. Possible that it'd work with Garland, but i think you probably end up overpaying for the impact he'd have there, compared to other options including just Bluegers overall.


TJ Brodie i don't have a great read on. He looked pretty cooked to me. A little different than when the Leafs signed him initially and Flames fans were claiming he was washed, but he still seemed pretty good to me - and was initially for Toronto. It looks like his mobility and compete level have just started to really fall off. Risky even as a 1-year reclamation project for one last ride, as he's not the sort of player who can be very effective if that mobility doesn't bounce back significantly. And he's just at that age where that's not very likely.

He won’t get a sniff.

That's a low blow.

what would it take to aquire shea theodore? another big dman who can fire the puck and play special teams

This is still a big question for me in the Hronek situation. Ideally, having both would be huge. But i think whatever Theodore costs in trade...is probably right around abouts the same as what we could get by trading Hronek. And that is very likely the only way to make it enticing for Vegas. It's also the only way i think you can find the money to actually retain Theodore longer-term. Basically...kick the can down the road a year on things, getting Theodore at $5.2M and giving him the contract Hronek wants for next season.

It'd probably split our defensive depth. But i like the idea of Theodore playing big minutes and anchoring a second pairing with Zadorov or similar, if we can find a stopgap to play with Hughes that isn't a total scrub.

Theodore is really more of a Big Minutes even strength puck mover and PP Defenceman though. He doesn't really PK at all. Isn't a real pure matchup D. He's tall but doesn't necessarily play any bigger than Hronek per se. But i think he's a noticeably better even strength ice-tilter, by himself...with a cheaper, more "stay at home" partner to carry a de facto #1b Pairing.

Bring in Kaapo Kakko or Kakko Kaapo; one or the other.

One of these player is very good on the forecheck and along the boards.

Names amirite?

But nah...i like Kaapo Kakko and think he can be better than he was this past season. But as much as i like his size, all-around game, and somewhat decent complementary skillset...i don't think his cost is likely worth it to acquire here. Contract is reasonable, but he's still going to cost a lot for "potential" and "pedigree" to acquire. And as much as he's big and plays a solid all-around game...he's not really a big physical "power forward" who creates that sort of space on the ice and havoc on the forecheck and around the net.

But the biggest thing is like...he's got sub-Mikheyev levels of finish. Which is just not what i think we really need. Not sure people could handle the frustration.

I see Canucks Army is floating out a trial balloon about what might have been unthinkable before this past season--a major trade involving Thatcher Demko.

Admittedly it would be a serious roll of the dice for Vancouver with no logical starter waiting in the wings. But with teams like the Devils, Islanders, Detroit and to a lesser extent the Leafs and the Hurricanes desperate for a franchise goalie, the return to the Canucks could be massive.

For example, the Devils are offering up their first round draft pick (10th overall)......plus maybe Alexander Holtz and maybe a top defensive prospect like Simon Nemec. Would a return like that be enough to tempt Allvin?

If we have a healthy Demko, i think there's a half-decent chance we're where the Oilers are right now. He was also an enormous difference-maker in giving the team confidence in their backstopping this season for the whole turnaround in general. He's a huge impact player, when he's healthy.

The problems staying healthy are the only thing that'd have me at least maybe entertain offers.

If the Devils were willing to go...10th Pick + Nemec...and maybe even more even if i don't care much for Holtz value...well, that's an offer i'd take. Even though it creates an enormous hole and i'd have to scramble to fill it.

If that's the value available though, i think you can find a way to get yourself "good enough" goaltending and hope that Silovs can split a few more games, and continue to develop on some of his shortcomings. Weighing that against Demko being a potential Conn Smythe caliber difference-maker, but with some reliability problems...i'd entertain the idea.


I just don't think there's any chance whatsoever that the Devils would offer that.


The last goaltender to go for that sort of value was basically...Cory Schneider. Who didn't have the same dependability questions. And that was for like one half of that value or less. Nemec is on his way to be a stupid Top-3D sooner, rather than later. Not a chance they're moving that for a goaltender.

So it's kind of a moot point.


I don't think there's a team out there that'd give up the right value to move a Vezina caliber goaltender in his prime on a cheap contract.

 

[LordBacon]

I would do Demko for only the 10th overall straight up, and I don't think the Devils would offer that.

The idea should definitely be considered but we're not at where we were back in 2013 when Gillis was actually trying to restock the cupboard.

Im pretty sure the current mgt. is looking to go all in within the next 2-3 years. You cant go far without a solid goalie.

 

[Blueston]

Vrana is much different. You could maybe sign him for close to league minimum and there is basically no risk.

Blues fan coming in peace. I'd hit the brakes on Vrana. There is reason his last 2 teams chose to pay him to not play for them, and it's not the substance abuse issues he reportedly had. The guy doesn't want to put in work required to be NHL player. We didn't have enough skilled players and still exiled him. Buyer beware.

 

[biturbo19]

Blues fan coming in peace. I'd hit the brakes on Vrana. There is reason his last 2 teams chose to pay him to not play for them, and it's not the substance abuse issues he reportedly had. The guy doesn't want to put in work required to be NHL player. We didn't have enough skilled players and still exiled him. Buyer beware.

Yeah. Vrana is the epitome of "fools gold". He's fast and has the talent to score goals. That's literally it. No desire to actually really "play hockey" and help a team win.

Last two teams just wanted him gone, and even the third team before that really just wanted to unload him by the end, despite scoring well on a cheap contract. It's multiple organizations, multiple coaches now...that want absolutely nothing to do with him.

 

[ziploc]

Yeah. Vrana is the epitome of "fools gold". He's fast and has the talent to score goals. That's literally it. No desire to actually really "play hockey" and help a team win.

Last two teams just wanted him gone, and even the third team before that really just wanted to unload him by the end, despite scoring well on a cheap contract. It's multiple organizations, multiple coaches now...that want absolutely nothing to do with him.

Welp, Laine it is then.

 

[Breakers]

They were pretty good actually.

Not really

 

[Nucker101]

Bring in Kaapo Kakko or Kakko Kaapo; one or the other.

One of these player is very good on the forecheck and along the boards.

Do you think he's a center?

 

[Nuckles]

Do you think he's a center?

Yes