Canucks & NHL News, Rumours, and & Fantasy GM | Don’t Incur Vector’s Wrath!

[bossram]

Blaming management when the player has been awful all year and with insane contract demands talking about "accountability".

Pretty ironic stuff (and on brand).

Brock's come and said he needs to play better.

Management has literally never said they need to be better.

JR and Allvin did separate media tours in January and February, with the sole purpose of throwing shade on everything around them and deflecting blame onto everyone except themselves. It was a pathetic showing and I said it then. Same thing this deadline. Just blaming "the market" for not getting the offers he wants when anyone with eyes could see this was the most crooked sellers' market in years. It's a joke. Management literally thinks fans are that stupid to buy that BS.

The players are the puzzle pieces. Management builds the puzzle. So build it. I've praised this management group when they've made good moves. And been harsh on them when they haven't.

I get you're a management apologist, probably a burner for them, so your views are pretty on brand.

 

[sensodyne17]

Brock's come and said he needs to play better.

Management has literally never said they need to be better.

JR and Allvin did separate media tours in January and February, with the sole purpose of throwing shade on everything around them and deflecting blame onto everyone except themselves. It was a pathetic showing and I said it then.

The players are the puzzle pieces. Management builds the puzzle. So build it. I've praised this management group when they've made good moves. And been harsh on them when they haven't.

I get you're a management apologist, probably a burner for them, so your views are pretty on brand.

Hilarious. Accountability comes in the form of action - not just words.

I personally don't care if Boeser says he needs to play better. Takes zero effort to say that. Playing better is the best way to be accountable and he hasn't done that all year. He's been horrible since Miller left - like one or two even strength points since then. In addition to playing like crap all year - he has ridiculous contract demands and seemingly won't budge or negotiate.

Management has taken on accountability by moving on from there mistakes quickly. Moving on from Heinen, and Desharnais despite signing them to two year deals each is actually what accountability looks like - admitting they made mistakes and correcting them as soon as possible. We saw that with Kuzmenko and Mikheyev last year as well.

If you think Boeser coming out saying he needs to play better, but continually playing like crap is accountability - I want to live in the world you live in.

Accountability is through actions. Not words. If Boeser is actually accountable - play better. Work harder. Put in the work. Be the first one to practice and last to leave. Throw a hit. Show some emotion. Come down from your ridiculous contract demands and give a hometown discount. That would be real accountability.

Man the players are babied so hard on this forum.

FYI: I like the management team but ok if they moved on when their contracts expire to clean house. Think they have been a B/B+ so far but not an A or A- level. Threading the needle after Benning put this team in a horrible position is an extremely difficult task to perform. Overall they've been solid.

 

[me2]

I

getting more than Beau doesn't mean the offer is still crap. Considering the teams left, it could just be a 1st rounder and maybe asking us for a lower round pick back.

The question is, does getting a late 1st in a shitty draft actually help us get the player we need to replace Brock? Keeping the pick doesn't really help us because it will most likely tank the morale and I am sure you want to communicate to the room that you are throwing in the towel.

At least now you can say to the room, we don't trust you guys to go all in but we haven't done anything to downgrade the roster and it's up to you guys to prove that you guys can do it and if you can't then we'll make bigger changes in the offseason.

Allvin's pep talk "you aren't worth suppoting in the playoff drive and none of you are worth shit in a trade so we didn't bother to trade you. Now go get out there and win!"

 

[me2]

no winger outside of Ratanen fetched a 1st, fact is no teams wanted to pay a 1st for a winger unless that winger is a superstar.

I don't know how we can fault him when the market is not there. I think people see oh teams are willing to throw away their 2nd rounders for wingers as a sign that they must be willing to throw away 1st ++ for a winger too but that's just not reality.

maybe he should been a buyer if wingers are that cheap

 

[sensodyne17]

Management should have had at least some foresight to know Brock's production would dip when they got rid of the 1st line centre he had good chemistry with, especially after seeing him completely struggle with Petey for a number of games this season (before the Miller trade).

They set themselves up for failure. There is no excuse for their mishandling of this entire season.

Why would they trade Boeser at that point when they were (and still are) fighting for a wildcard playoff position?

Huh?

I'm reading this thread and this might be the most ludicrous thing said all thread. We just traded our elite playmaking 1C (because we were essentially forced to) in the midst of our playoff battle and the best move would have been to trade our best offensive winger right after?

Not to mention, I highly doubt organizations would materially change their valuations of a player based on a 12 game sample size. Like oh, a player had a bad 12 games so I'm going to offer a 2nd instead of a 1st. Like that's not how it works. Brock Boeser has a 500 game sample size. Like we all know who he is in the NHL.

These "crystal ball" type comments are probably the most ridiculous comments. Unless you were actively posturing for this at the time, it's completely senseless to use hindsight and say management should have done XYZ. That's like saying, management should have known JTM would have a locker room outburst and should have traded him while he was coming off a 100 point year to maximize value after being our best player in the playoffs and taking us to game 7 of the Semis.

Like c'mon... what are we doing here lmao. So unserious.

 

[me2]

Marchand only fetching a 2nd from Florida actually makes me believe Allvin that the Boeser market was dismal.

Conditional 1st. The condition isFlorida wins 2 play-off rounds and Marchand is healthy enough to play 50% of the playoff games.

It is 2nd even if he never plays a game.

A darn fine return for a broken 36yowho might never play a game. A healthy Msrchand gets a 1sr+ IMHO.

 

[ExarKun80]

I’ve got such a soft spot for Boeser. Class guy as per usual.

Stupid words by Alvin but it does not surprise me since he talks like a swedish Jim Benning.

 

[Jerry the great]

One of the real good guys in hockey. And this management group has just jerked him around.

They're cowards. Allvin and JR's apparently anaphylactic allergy to taking any kind of accountability is sickening.

How have they jerked him around?

I think Alvin probably just answered a question honestly. Is it surprising that he wasn’t coveted by any of the big spenders at the deadline? Based on last year’s numbers maybe a little, but considering how this season has gone, particularly since Miller’s departure….. not at all.

They questioned his consistency last summer when the media started asking about an extension. his play this year -and three of the last four really- has completely justified their concerns IMO.

I don’t think he’s been jerked around at all. He’s been fairly compensated and given every opportunity to max production. Not sure why he should be get a raise (% of cap) at all, but the team offered him one on a 5 year deal, which is more than fair IMO.

We’ll see where it goes, but if he doesn’t pick up the pace down the stretch, he might have Klingberged himself. 2G 3A dash 9 in 12GP since Millers departure is not a great look.

 

[sensodyne17]

Some final thoughts on the day.

Let's spread some positivity here and give flowers where they're due. Good defenseman are the HARDEST pieces to acquire and teams consistently overpay. Allvin and co. with absolute wizadry with that Hronek deal - I still remember (mostly) everyone crying about this trade. Will never forget Drance face palming and whining about this trade for months. Will also never forget almost everyone here hating on the trade. He's a two-way stud and is on a great contract. He plays like a vet but he's ONLY 27. Fast forward to this year, Allvin and co. strike early and pay a first to get MP and DOC, as well as shedding the Heinen and Desharnais contracts. It's looking like another wizadry type of move - MP looks like a great defensive #3/4 D on a reasonable contract. DOC looks great as a speedy bottom six checking winger on a reasonable contract. Why do I bring this up? Here's why:

Leafs give up 1st, 4th, Minten for Carlo.
Oilers give up 1st, Berglund for Walman
Devils give up 2nd, Traff for Dumolin
Jets give up 2nd, 4th for Schenn
Panthers give up 1st, Knight for Jones
Rangers give up 2nd, 4th for Lindgren

These trades make the Hronek and MPetey deals look like robbery. Props to management for identifying Hronek and MPetey to target and getting them relatively cheap and then proceeding to sign them to good value extensions. Completely transformed the D core with these transactions.

I, just like many others was very disappointed with the day but I've reined it in and came to my senses. Feels like we (obviously) didn't reach optimal outcome, but weren't even close to the worst case outcomes. In order of most optimal to least optimal outcome, here is what I think makes the most sense.

1) Get a good haul for Boeser, Suter, Forbort (UFAs) and then parlay them into young cost-controlled contributors to achieve both short and long-term objectives of fighting for playoff spot and getting better for next year. Just not a realistic outcome given how difficult it would have been, plus the market for our assets weren't there.

2) Get a good haul for our UFAs and then use the assets at the draft/offseason to bolster our forward group. This is what I was shooting for but obviously, was not reached. I don't think the market was there for Boeser and Suter. GMs notoriously love paying for centers, defense, and big/physical/gritty "playoff style" players. Boeser and Suter don't fall in this category unfortunately.

3) Status quo. Stand pat and do nothing... but this keeps our team competitive to fight for the playoffs, which players will respect. It also gives us additional time to negotiate fair or better extensions with Boeser and Suter. At the very worst case, they leave empty handed and we utilize the cap space to bring in some reinforcements.

4) Overpaying Suter and Boeser on extensions because we don't want to "lose players for nothing". This would be pretty disastrous as this would mean we have no way to improve the team and basically have to run it back next year. We already have $5M OEL penalty and an underperforming $11.6M and a $5M Demko injury roulette. We absolutely cannot overpay anyone with our current cap structure.

5) Buying at the deadline for old players/rentals. This would be the absolute worst outcome. Imagine we traded a first for Marchand or gave up a haul for Brock Nelson. Just nightmare stuff.

All in all... the top outcome was totally unrealistic and near impossible, and the second outcome couldn't be achieved because the market wasn't there for our guys (not really in our control). Not going to get into my feelings and make all these laughable overactions I've seen in this thread. I also don't understand how people say Allvin hate Boeser and at the same time, say they would pass up on meaningful assets on him at the same time. Like... pick a lane? If this management group hated this player, they would have shipped him out for anything they could get. This management group is not shy about making moves, even if it upsets people. My personal opinion is that management doesn't love Boeser, but recognizes that there aren't any better alternative options out there via trade and UFA, which is why they made/are making an attempt to keep him. They scanned the market and probably didn't receive any deals remotely even close to what they wanted (probably a first and a prospect). Instead of settling for something like a 2nd + a 3rd (that's what Toffoli got last year as a rental), they probably placed a higher value on keeping him to fight for the playoffs + more time to negotiate a better contract.

Again, why be so upset when we haven't seen the whole picture painted? If you want to be upset if they lose Boeser and Suter and don't do anything meaningful in UFA, then that's fair. I'll be on board with you. Until then, let's give the management time and belief to execute. They built the best roster (last year) with the best results this team has seen since 2011. Despite the tumultuous season, we are STILL in a wildcard spot and only couple points away from the 3rd spot in the division. Imagine if Hughes wasn't banged up all year and Petey didn't suddenly get the yips? We would most be comfortably in a playoff spot and probably buying.

Sometimes we need to zoom out and look at the big picture - not many people here capable of doing that.

 

[sensodyne17]

How have they jerked him around?

I think Alvin probably just answered a question honestly. Is it surprising that he wasn’t coveted by any of the big spenders at the deadline? Based on last year’s numbers maybe a little, but considering how this season has gone, particularly since Miller’s departure….. not at all.

They questioned his consistency last summer when the media started asking about an extension. his play this year -and three of the last four really- has completely justified their concerns IMO.

I don’t think he’s been jerked around at all. He’s been fairly compensated and given every opportunity to max production. Not sure why he should be get a raise (% of cap) at all, but the team offered him one on a 5 year deal, which is more than fair IMO.

We’ll see where it goes, but if he doesn’t pick up the pace down the stretch, he might have Klingberged himself. 2G 3A dash 9 in 12GP since Millers departure is not a great look.

Spot on - well said.

This market has coddled their players so much recently. Fans and media have really turned into softies.

Fans turning on management when the player is arguably having the worse season of his career and plays even worse when they needed him to rise to the occasion after Miller left.

Management group wanted to see Boeser repeat his great year and would have been more than happy to give him a deserving extension if he was pacing for 40 goals, 70 points again. Instead, he's having an atrocious year - so much that his trade value was completely derailed. If we really think about it, Boeser has been the Boeser of 2022/2023 when we couldn't trade him away for free.

Boeser has been compensated fairly throughout his up and down tenure, not chased out of the org despite multiple years of poor performances, and even got offered a contract extension by the org for $8M x 5 years - an annual cap hit he definitely doesn't deserve.

If anything, the Canucks have been jerked around by Boeser - he's been bad 3 of the last 4 years and the Canucks are still willing to offer a fair contract extension. And yet, Boeser isn't willing to negotiate and reportedly feels "disrespected" and wants a long term deal being paid like a 70 point guy. Like huh? If anything, Boeser is screwing the Canucks, not the other way around. Canucks literally said, hey we believe in you even though you're performing poorly this year. We'll give you a raise at a fair term. Boeser, in turn, tells us to f off and feels slighted by our offer... while continuing his poor play.

It's like some fans have rose-colored glasses and don't want to be honest with the situation.

 

[sensodyne17]

Last thoughts:

The conspiracy theory of Allvin lying about not getting a good offer for Boeser and that he was just covering himself is such a foolish and improbable take. The following assumptions would have to be true for this conspiracy theory to be correct.

1) Allvin would be lying and dishonest to the entire organization and fans and also disrespecting general managers across the league by saying their "good offers" were trash.

2) Allvin wouldn't inherently want to trade Boeser for a good offer. This is a pending UFA that they can't come to an agreement on an extension. This player also is an inherited player coming off a terrible year and doesn't fit their team building philosophy. The management team has been lukewarm on Boeser for years now and wanted to trade him couple years ago but couldn't give him away for free. It's very hard to believe that Allvin wouldn't have personally driven Boeser to the airport if there was a legitimate good offer on the table.

3) Teams were even offering a legitimate package for Boeser in the first place. Boeser is -20 and is on pace for a 55 point year. No evidence based on this deadline that legit packages were sent out for wingers - only two top six wingers were traded this year and both are stars. Marchand only got a conditional first btw depsite being a much better player than Boeser. If we look at last year's deadline, Guentzel didn't even get a first and Toffoli only got a 2nd + 3rd. We also saw Fabian Zetterlund, a pretty good goal scoring winger that's an impending RFA who should have more value than Boeser (considering contract status and age) go for a pick and some spare parts. We know for a fact that teams value center, defense, and playoff-style (physical/gritty/big) players. Boeser doesn't fit any of these categories.

4) Teams had a need for Boeser price, given the price tag. If we look at the top 8ish teams in the league, those that have a real chance to win and are willing to give up assets. Who actually had a need for Boeser and had the assets and willingness to do so?

Panthers - RWs: Reinhart, Rodriguez - Potential fit here but used assets to get Jones and Marchand instead
Leafs - RWs: Nylander, Marner - Zero need for Boeser
Lightning - RWs: Kucherov, Paul, Bjorkstrand - Used all assets on Gourde and Bjorkstrand, Bjorkstrand is comparable to Boeser or at least not far behind
Capitals - RWs: Protas, Wilson - One of the highest scoring teams in the league and doesn't want to mess team chemistry, they made no big moves at all
Hurricanes - RWs: Svechnikov, Blake - Probably the only team that made sense for Boeser and had assets and the need but ran out of time with the Rantanen stuff. Shame, but out of our control.
Jets - RWs: Vilardi, Perfetti - Zero need for Boeser - had bigger needs at D and C but didn't even address those... why pay up for Boeser?
Stars - RWs: Rantanen, Granlund - LOL
Avs - RWs: Necas, Drouin - Zero need for Boeser and used assets to get Nelson and Coyle
Edm - RWs: Hyman, Arvidsson - Division rival, zero need for Boeser and used assets to get Walman and Frederic
Vgk - RWs: Stone, Dorofyev - Division rival, zero need for Boeser and their next first is in 2027

So if we actually spend the time to think and do the analysis, the only team that realistically would have paid a legitimate package (1st + prospect) would have been the Canes and their GM came out and said they ran out of time because they were dealing with the Rantanen stuff. Rantanen may have screwed us again haha. Canes couldn't parlay their first round futures into any players to help them now even though they should have.

So yeah, let's end the conspiracy theories. Sometimes we need to operate in reality.

 

[Dissonance Jr]

I would’ve been okay trading Boeser, but it's certainly plausible that there was no real market for him. Looking at teams in playoff positions, it’s tough to see who would’ve paid a 1st for him, let alone a 1st+.

Florida—paid less for a better player in Marchand
Toronto—paid a 1st for more pressing needs
Tampa—paid a 1st for more pressing needs
Washington—maybe? but clearly didn’t want a big shakeup
Carolina—maybe!
New Jersey—no pick this year, not huge buyers with Hughes out
Columbus—maybe, but not big buyers
Ottawa—paid less for probably a better asset in Zetterlund
New York Rangers—already paid for Miller

Winnipeg—maybe!
Dallas—Rantanen
Colorado—focused on other needs
Vegas—no picks
Edmonton—paid a 1st for other needs
Los Angeles—maybe, but not huge buyers
Minnesota—maybe, although already traded away this years 1st

IMO the only possible destinations were Winnipeg or Carolina. So maybe they offered us a lot and we said no. Or maybe neither team thought Boeser was a fit, especially given his poor play lately, and Alvin’s telling the truth.

Edit: oh ha I can’t believe I went through all this and the poster above was doing the exact same thing.

 

[Peter Griffin]

draft picks?

You might get a 5th/6th/7th for Boeser, but even that’s doubtful. 2 players had their rights traded last year, Guentzel for a 3rd and Tanev for a 7th. You’re overestimating the value of signing rights.

 

[Luck 6]

All we can hope for now is our team gets healthy, they come together as a team, and they start playing good hockey.

Pettersson has looked very good the last two games, that’s a start, we really need Hughes back and we need Boeser to get his head out of his ass too.

We are where we are. Let’s try to make the playoffs and see if we can stir some shit up. This team has been through a lot this year with the Miller drama, injuries, threat of trades looming, and more.. Hopefully if they’re able to put that behind them, they’ll start having some fun, and they’ll start winning some hockey games.

 

[PuckMunchkin]

maybe he should been a buyer if wingers are that cheap

Prices were too high and low so their hands were tied.

 

[jd22]

Nice to see some rational posters here. Boeser's performance does not deserve a raise, if anything, a demotion. Can't be paying 8 mil for 8 years for a 60 point player. Nut up or shut up.

I will be sad to see him go, but as everyone knows, it's a business. I fully expect Allvin and co to sign him to a 'you-had-better-live-up-to-this-deal' which will be widely panned as poor within 3 years.

Very disappointing, but not much else to come in the pipeline aside from Lek. So... what are you going to do? Pay UFA rates for offense, or have no offense.

Piss off.

 

[LemonSauceD]

Stupid words by Alvin but it does not surprise me since he talks like a swedish Jim Benning.

He’s like a Swedish Pierre Macguire

 

[LemonSauceD]

Make sure to send me my money first.

Send me your etransfer

 

[Just A Bit Outside]

I’ve gone through my five stages of grief and have come to acceptance.

It’s just not worth it anymore because it’s always just disappointment.

It is what it is.

 

[I am toxic]

Last thoughts:

The conspiracy theory of Allvin lying about not getting a good offer for Boeser and that he was just covering himself is such a foolish and improbable take. The following assumptions would have to be true for this conspiracy theory to be correct.

1) Allvin would be lying and dishonest

Fify

 

[Hammman]

Fans have historically been too soft on players here and too hard on management/ownership. Instead of pointing accountability on the player, they blame everyone else.

If Boeser was playing well this year, he probably would have signed an extension months ago. An extension that matches the valuation of the player.

Boeser has been awful all year. We needed him to rise to the occasion and he's been terrible, especially after Miller left.

Yet he's demanding for 6/7 years at $8M+. Spare me all the BS about wanting to stay in Vancouver and wanting to stay loyal. The organization has completely babied Boeser his entire career and has not reaped the rewards outside of one really good year. He was supposed to be one of the faces of the franchise and a top line winger but somehow regressed from his rookie/sophmore campaigns. The last four years - he's been playing mostly as a second line/supplementary player, but now he's demanding a $50-$56M deal and talking about loyalty.

What second line winger is making $8M? Like god damn.

Do you think that nasty concussion he had earlier MIGHT have something to do with his struggles?

11 points in 12 games before, 17 in 43 since.

 

[Baby Pettersson]

Some final thoughts on the day.

Let's spread some positivity here and give flowers where they're due. Good defenseman are the HARDEST pieces to acquire and teams consistently overpay. Allvin and co. with absolute wizadry with that Hronek deal - I still remember (mostly) everyone crying about this trade. Will never forget Drance face palming and whining about this trade for months. Will also never forget almost everyone here hating on the trade. He's a two-way stud and is on a great contract. He plays like a vet but he's ONLY 27. Fast forward to this year, Allvin and co. strike early and pay a first to get MP and DOC, as well as shedding the Heinen and Desharnais contracts. It's looking like another wizadry type of move - MP looks like a great defensive #3/4 D on a reasonable contract. DOC looks great as a speedy bottom six checking winger on a reasonable contract. Why do I bring this up? Here's why:

Leafs give up 1st, 4th, Minten for Carlo.
Oilers give up 1st, Berglund for Walman
Devils give up 2nd, Traff for Dumolin
Jets give up 2nd, 4th for Schenn
Panthers give up 1st, Knight for Jones
Rangers give up 2nd, 4th for Lindgren

These trades make the Hronek and MPetey deals look like robbery. Props to management for identifying Hronek and MPetey to target and getting them relatively cheap and then proceeding to sign them to good value extensions. Completely transformed the D core with these transactions.

I, just like many others was very disappointed with the day but I've reined it in and came to my senses. Feels like we (obviously) didn't reach optimal outcome, but weren't even close to the worst case outcomes. In order of most optimal to least optimal outcome, here is what I think makes the most sense.

1) Get a good haul for Boeser, Suter, Forbort (UFAs) and then parlay them into young cost-controlled contributors to achieve both short and long-term objectives of fighting for playoff spot and getting better for next year. Just not a realistic outcome given how difficult it would have been, plus the market for our assets weren't there.

2) Get a good haul for our UFAs and then use the assets at the draft/offseason to bolster our forward group. This is what I was shooting for but obviously, was not reached. I don't think the market was there for Boeser and Suter. GMs notoriously love paying for centers, defense, and big/physical/gritty "playoff style" players. Boeser and Suter don't fall in this category unfortunately.

3) Status quo. Stand pat and do nothing... but this keeps our team competitive to fight for the playoffs, which players will respect. It also gives us additional time to negotiate fair or better extensions with Boeser and Suter. At the very worst case, they leave empty handed and we utilize the cap space to bring in some reinforcements.

4) Overpaying Suter and Boeser on extensions because we don't want to "lose players for nothing". This would be pretty disastrous as this would mean we have no way to improve the team and basically have to run it back next year. We already have $5M OEL penalty and an underperforming $11.6M and a $5M Demko injury roulette. We absolutely cannot overpay anyone with our current cap structure.

5) Buying at the deadline for old players/rentals. This would be the absolute worst outcome. Imagine we traded a first for Marchand or gave up a haul for Brock Nelson. Just nightmare stuff.

All in all... the top outcome was totally unrealistic and near impossible, and the second outcome couldn't be achieved because the market wasn't there for our guys (not really in our control). Not going to get into my feelings and make all these laughable overactions I've seen in this thread. I also don't understand how people say Allvin hate Boeser and at the same time, say they would pass up on meaningful assets on him at the same time. Like... pick a lane? If this management group hated this player, they would have shipped him out for anything they could get. This management group is not shy about making moves, even if it upsets people. My personal opinion is that management doesn't love Boeser, but recognizes that there aren't any better alternative options out there via trade and UFA, which is why they made/are making an attempt to keep him. They scanned the market and probably didn't receive any deals remotely even close to what they wanted (probably a first and a prospect). Instead of settling for something like a 2nd + a 3rd (that's what Toffoli got last year as a rental), they probably placed a higher value on keeping him to fight for the playoffs + more time to negotiate a better contract.

Again, why be so upset when we haven't seen the whole picture painted? If you want to be upset if they lose Boeser and Suter and don't do anything meaningful in UFA, then that's fair. I'll be on board with you. Until then, let's give the management time and belief to execute. They built the best roster (last year) with the best results this team has seen since 2011. Despite the tumultuous season, we are STILL in a wildcard spot and only couple points away from the 3rd spot in the division. Imagine if Hughes wasn't banged up all year and Petey didn't suddenly get the yips? We would most be comfortably in a playoff spot and probably buying.

Sometimes we need to zoom out and look at the big picture - not many people here capable of doing that.

That was a good read and very level headed. Definitely made me realize it's not all doom and gloom.

 

[pitseleh]

I’m not surprised Boeser didn’t carry much value. The only players that pulled premium assets were worth more. Laughton and Carlo play premium positions and had extra years bought down to cheap levels through retention. Rantanen and Marchand are on a different level. Nelson was the top centre available, which always carries a premium.

I’m mostly surprised Suter and Forbort couldn’t be moved for a good haul. Suter is better than some of the depth guys who moved for a second and he plays centre. I like Forbort more than some of the depth defenders who moved for second/third round picks. But I’m also not sure those picks will be as useful as they have in years past to improve the team in the offseason, so it may not be much lost.

 

[mriswith]

The most frustrating thing about the Boeser situation is it looked like he'd finally turned a corner until the concussion. He was awesome last year, then he was our best forward in the playoffs, and he was awesome again to start the season looking like he'd picked right back up where he left off last year. Then post concussion it's back to the Boeser we saw for years before last.

The cap uncertainty is also not fully appreciated yet.

If the cap really rises as much as it is supposed to, there is going to be 2-3 years where a lot really stupid contracts are signed as teams try to fill out the roster without enough available talent and pretty much any contract considered semi-reasonable now will look really good in a couple years.

On the other hand, if a certain world leader's global trade war continues for a few years then the cap will not rise like it's supposed to and any team that banked on it will get skewered much like Toronto did banking on the cap going up before covid hit.

 

[Ernie]

I’m not surprised Boeser didn’t carry much value. The only players that pulled premium assets were worth more. Laughton and Carlo play premium positions and had extra years bought down to cheap levels through retention. Rantanen and Marchand are on a different level. Nelson was the top centre available, which always carries a premium.

I’m mostly surprised Suter and Forbort couldn’t be moved for a good haul. Suter is better than some of the depth guys who moved for a second and he plays centre. I like Forbort more than some of the depth defenders who moved for second/third round picks. But I’m also not sure those picks will be as useful as they have in years past to improve the team in the offseason, so it may not be much lost.

I think the surprise comes from Boeser's fall from grace over the past season. 2 seasons ago at this time he was a net negative asset so perhaps this shouldn't be much of a shocker.

With the team sitting on the verge of a playoff spot, it was a situation where you trade all of your upcoming FA's, or none of them. If you trade Forbort and Suter, you may get two late 2nds, but is that really worth mailing in the season?

My biggest issue is not that the team stood pat - it is a totally reasonable position and a lot hinges on Hughes' health. It's that they were unable to figure this out over a week ago, made obvious attempts to trade these players at the last minute, then threw their hands up and shit talked the players they were trying to trade and who they are hoping will power them to the post-season. Their actions were inept and well below the standards of basic professionalism.