Canucks & NHL News, Rumours, and & Fantasy GM | 4 Nations Break Edition

[TruGr1t]

I still think they will prioritize Brayden Schenn. He ticks a lot of the boxes that this management group has prioritized before.

Whether he can actually execute in that role is another question.

Him or O'Rielly if he shakes free in Nashville probably make the most sense on term etc. Gives you a boost into Hughes contract negotiations and solidifies C for a couple years so you can draft a few. I would have said Brock Nelson but sounds like he's being signed ... Canucks were tied to Yanni Gourde. I dunno, Ryan Strome's name has also been out there. I'd look at guys like that.

 

[JanBulisPiggyBack]

Keep the pick
Roll with who we got, try to hit up the free agent market, see who’s shakes free from teams, draft well, win whatever rounds you can, retool as need

Its so easy

 

[David71]

will we see movement during the 4 nations break??

 

[VanJack]

The 2025 draft looks to be incredibly weak. If there was a year to trade the 1st to strengthen the roster this is it. The primary focus of management should be strengthening the roster to give the team the best chance of winning while we have Hughes on an undervalued contract.

A mid-to-late 1st in a weak draft is very unlikely to make a difference in the competitiveness of the roster during our window with Hughes.

It doesn't appear to me that the Canucks brass shares your pessimism about the 2025 draft. Last year, the Canucks dumped a lot of draft picks in deadline deals, and didn't have a pick until the third round.

According to Puckpedia, the Canucks have traded three picks in the 2025 draft--but two of those were 'extra picks' acquired via trades.

They picked up Ottawa's fourth rounder via the Oilers in the Podkolzin trade, and immediately flipped it to Colorado to acquire Brannstrom and rid themselves of the Tucker Poolman contract. And of course they traded the extra first round pick they got from the Rangers to Pittsburgh to acquire Marcus Pettersson.

Puckpedia also lists the Canucks as having previously traded their third rounder. That might have been the deal that brought Zadorov over from Calgary. And of course the Rangers first rounder they sent to Pittsburgh is top-13 lottery protected, so it could still slide to 2026.

So heading into the 2025 draft, the Canucks have picks in every round with exception of the third. As things stand right now, the Canucks are hovering around the last wildcard in the West, with roughly the same number of points as the wildcard team in the East.

So if the standings remained unchanged, the Canucks first rounder would be in the 15th or 16th range. It's interesting to note that they snagged Jonathan Lekkerimaki at 15th overall back in 2022.

I suppose if they flipped their 2025 first for a useful player with term left on their contract it might make some sense. But if they were to blow it on a pure rental like Lindholm or Zadorov, it would be a huge mistake imo.

 

[racerjoe]

I'm sorry guys.... using that pick would be a catastrophic disaster.

The goal is to build the best team around Quinn Hughes so that when he's a UFA, it'll be more likely for him to stay. Picking someone who may not make a tangible impact in a weak draft for another 3-4 years is a fruitless endeavour.

Here's how you guys should look at this.

Quinn Hughes leaves - this team is screwed and needs a full rebuild

Quinn Hughes stays - this team can realistically compete for the next decade.

A 2025 draft pick will NOT convince Quinn Hughes to stay.

I would say keeping the pig doesn’t mean you have to wait for that pick to play to make a difference. It could be keeping it and using that prospect at next years deadline.

I think the Canucks should only use that pick for a guy who will be here long term, and not a rental. If there is no one good that fits this, are the pick, and and you have more assets for next season.

 

[Vector]

will we see movement during the 4 nations break??

Seravalli thinks so.

 

[JanBulisPiggyBack]

Seravalli thinks so.

so no then?

 

[Vector]

so no then?

My personal belief is that we may see some trades next week right before and as teams are permitted to practice.

 

[VanillaCoke]

Seravalli thinks so.

So does dreger....for what thats worth.

 

[F A N]

I would say keeping the pig

Definitely keep the pig.

 

[Lindgren]

Definitely keep the pig.

Pigs are very intelligent.

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

Pigs are very intelligent.

They'll also f***ing eat you without a second thought if they have to. There's a reason Muslims don't eat pig.

 

[604]

It probably would have been a nice season to sell off parts to all the teams looking for a playoff spot in the East. I just hope Van doesn't pay to add to try and win a round this year. It's just not there year.

Why not?

We’ll have a rested Hughes and a rested Demko. Along with Hughes being on a super low cap hit relative to production (maybe $9m below market).

If Petey can get it going, it’s as good as it’s going to get with this core.

Our 2nd and 3rd best defensemen are 27 and 28. Our new #2 centre is entering his prime.

This is clearly the time to decide to support the core rather than waiting until next year.

Nobody wins without going all-in.

 

[Vector]

They'll also f***ing eat you without a second thought if they have to. There's a reason Muslims don't eat pig.

Yes but it has nothing to do with your previous sentence.

Anyway...hockey.

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

Yes but it has nothing to do with your previous sentence.

Anyway...hockey.

Well I ain't Muslim. I'm sure there's a reason but I am ignorant to it. That's as far as I'm going with that.

 

[credulous]

Well I ain't Muslim. I'm sure there's a reason but I am ignorant to it. That's as far as I'm going with that.

jews and muslims don't eat pork because people in the levant started keeping pigs in their yards and it made everything stink forever (because not enough rain) so the religious authorities made it taboo to eat pork so people would stop keeping pigs and keep cleaner animals instead

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

jews and muslims don't eat pork because people in the levant started keeping pigs in their yards and it made everything stink forever (because not enough rain) so the religious authorities made it taboo to eat pork so people would stop keeping pigs and keep cleaner animals instead

That is fascinating. Thanks for the wisdom, bro.

 

[JT Milker]

Mentions about Keeping the 1st and/or utilizing Cap space to add draft picks, are both ridiculousness and not based in reality

Suggesting we should retain on bad contracts in exchange for like 3rd or 4th round picks right now is f***ing hilarious.

 

[VanJack]

Can the Canucks squander more draft picks at the TDL, and suddenly transform themselves into a legitimate Cup contender?

I'm as much a Canucks optimist as the next guy, but short answer is 'no'. There are a few guys around the league who might be useful, but there's also a lot of 'Elias Lindholm's' out there. Guys who are dramatically underperforming their contracts--with far too much money and term.

Unless the Leafs and Canes are dumping Marner and Rantanen before the deadline, I'm really struggling to find any impending UFA's who could come to Vancouver and move the needle that much.

This is one year where the Canucks might have to keep their powder dry--and make a splash on July 1st.

 

[sandwichbird2023]

yes it is a systemic weakness that we have no big physical shutdown centres and i am not sure adding one who is not a true 2c helps us address that because we're still so diluted in that position.

Strictly speaking for a big physical shut down center, Nic Dowd would be an interesting option. He is big, strong and used to play the shutdown role. Seems like a good bottom 6C. He might get the Beagle-special though, and be vastly overpaid, but signing him as a UFA in the summer does seem appealing to fill out that specific need.

 

[David71]

So does dreger....for what thats worth.

big or small? deal you think? wyt of this idea?
mccann+bjorkstrand for 1st+prospect mynio.?

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

Can the Canucks squander more draft picks at the TDL, and suddenly transform themselves into a legitimate Cup contender?

I'm as much a Canucks optimist as the next guy, but short answer is 'no'. There are a few guys around the league who might be useful, but there's also a lot of 'Elias Lindholm's' out there. Guys who are dramatically underperforming their contracts--with far too much money and term.

Unless the Leafs and Canes are dumping Marner and Rantanen before the deadline, I'm really struggling to find any impending UFA's who could come to Vancouver and move the needle that much.

This is one year where the Canucks might have to keep their powder dry--and make a splash on July 1st.

I'm sorry but I unilaterally disagree. Now is the time to make rentals. Cash those 1sts in. I think ROR still has a couple of playoff runs left in him yet. That's the only name people have brought up that makes any sort of sense to me.

JT Miller accomplished a lot for this team - he drove his line, he won faceoffs, controlled possession for better or worse. We don't get another one of those and we will definitely be trapping ourselves in another prison of mediocrity that we built for ourselves by being and I don't mean to use this word for you, but cowards. Quinn Hughes isn't going to play like this forever and he knows it. This just happens to be the right situation for Quinn. He seems to like it here, he wants to be a showtime player and better than that, he's been our emotional heartbeat. This team will do as well as Quinn Hughes does.

 

[LemonSauceD]

Suggesting we should retain on bad contracts in exchange for like 3rd or 4th round picks right now is f***ing hilarious.

How so? Not if it’s a pending UFA.

It’s basically the same idea as Podkolzin > 4th > 4th + Poolman > cap flexibility. Instead we use the 3rd rounder gained as part of a package for a top 6 upgrade.

We’re going to have roughly 16.2M of cap space at the deadline. We have 1 retainment slot left and we’re one of those teams that has a ton of deadline cap space as well as a retainment slot unlike for instance SJ who have none.

Chicago, Calgary, Anaheim, and Nashville are the other teams with a lot of deadline cap space and have 1 or 2 slots remaining. Utah, Columbus and Buffalo can definitely afford to retain but are both already sitting on a bunch of assets and are waiting to spend.

If you retain 50% on Nelson we’d still have 13M of cap space and we get a 3rd, there’s literally nothing bad about this.

 

[JT Milker]

How so? Not if it’s a pending UFA.

It’s basically the same idea as Podkolzin > 4th > 4th + Poolman > cap flexibility. Instead we use the 3rd rounder gained as part of a package for a top 6 upgrade.

We’re going to have roughly 16.2M of cap space at the deadline. We have 1 retainment slot left and we’re one of those teams that has a ton of deadline cap space as well as a retainment slot unlike for instance SJ who have none.

Chicago, Calgary, Anaheim, and Nashville are the other teams with a lot of deadline cap space and have 1 or 2 slots remaining. Utah, Columbus and Buffalo can definitely afford to retain but are both already sitting on a bunch of assets and are waiting to spend.

If you retain 50% on Nelson we’d still have 13M of cap space and we get a 3rd, there’s literally nothing bad about this.

If you’re Aquilini are you agreeing to pay like $1M for a 4th while the team is trying to compete? If you play for the Canucks are you wondering why we didn’t use that cap space on a useful upgrade? It’s similar to people expecting us to move Boeser even if we’re in a playoff spot. Competing teams don’t do that.

 

[StickShift]

Suggesting we should retain on bad contracts in exchange for like 3rd or 4th round picks right now is f***ing hilarious.

They have so much cap room at the deadline it will be impossible for them to use it all up. Why not try and farm a couple extra assets?

They could be used to for other deadline acquisitions that the club wants to make without giving up their own draft picks.