Canucks & NHL News, Rumours, and & Fantasy GM | Playing out the stretch.

[credulous]

We have to look at moving most if not all of Chytil, Hoglander, Joshua (as hard as it may be), Blueger, and possibly Lankinen.

i dunno. i don't think cap space is going to be nearly as useful going forward as it has been. they're probably better off holding onto all these guys (except for chytil who i'd keep on talent alone but whose health makes him way too unreliable to count on)

guys with "bad" contracts are going to start being traded for real value again because it's going to take years for teams to actually spend back to the cap in most cases. if you're banking on getting paid a 2nd rounder to take a player who has some utility like zibenjad or kreider i think you're living in the past. a team like utah or carolina will pay a 2nd or 3rd to get those guys if the rangers need to move them to pay cuylle or whoever

 

[Nuckles]

I know some people here have been high on Duclair in the past. Possible buy low option if/when they miss out on all the top 6 forwards in free agency.

Roy: Duclair 'god-awful' during Isles' 4-1 loss

In the heat of the Eastern Conference playoff race, and with his team struggling, New York Islanders coach Patrick Roy said Anthony Duclair was "god-awful" in a loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, and that the veteran is failing to meet expectations.

www.espn.com

Duclair played 12:15 in the Islanders' 4-1 loss to the Lightning with zero points and finished at minus-1. He only had four shifts in the third period. It was the third straight game in which Duclair played 12:15 or less. He's averaged 15:03 in ice time this season, his first with the Islanders.

"He was god-awful. He was god-awful. He had a bad game. That's why I didn't play him a lot. And he's lucky to be in the lineup. Sorry if I lose it on him right now, but that's how I feel," Roy said.

When asked what he's seeing in Duclair's game, the Islanders coach said "it's an effort thing" for the veteran forward.

"He's not skating, he's not competing, he's not moving his feet. He's not playing up to what we expect from him," Roy said.

Duclair has 7 goals and 4 assists in 44 games with the Islanders, skating to a minus-15. The 29-year-old winger is averaging one point per 60 minutes -- which would be a new career low for the 11-year veteran. Duclair signed a four-year, $14-million free-agent contract with the Islanders last summer and has a full no-trade clause through 2026.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

I know some people here have been high on Duclair in the past. Possible buy low option if/when they miss out on all the top 6 forwards in free agency.

Roy: Duclair 'god-awful' during Isles' 4-1 loss

In the heat of the Eastern Conference playoff race, and with his team struggling, New York Islanders coach Patrick Roy said Anthony Duclair was "god-awful" in a loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, and that the veteran is failing to meet expectations.

www.espn.com

Duclair played 12:15 in the Islanders' 4-1 loss to the Lightning with zero points and finished at minus-1. He only had four shifts in the third period. It was the third straight game in which Duclair played 12:15 or less. He's averaged 15:03 in ice time this season, his first with the Islanders.

"He was god-awful. He was god-awful. He had a bad game. That's why I didn't play him a lot. And he's lucky to be in the lineup. Sorry if I lose it on him right now, but that's how I feel," Roy said.

When asked what he's seeing in Duclair's game, the Islanders coach said "it's an effort thing" for the veteran forward.

"He's not skating, he's not competing, he's not moving his feet. He's not playing up to what we expect from him," Roy said.

Duclair has 7 goals and 4 assists in 44 games with the Islanders, skating to a minus-15. The 29-year-old winger is averaging one point per 60 minutes -- which would be a new career low for the 11-year veteran. Duclair signed a four-year, $14-million free-agent contract with the Islanders last summer and has a full no-trade clause through 2026.

I’ve been a fan of his. Sucks that it hasn’t worked out for him in NYI, but I’ve always felt he contributes pretty decent offense considering his historical acquisition costs (either in trade or free agency).

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

Habs are so much more exciting to watch than this team. I hope they go on a run.

 

[LemonSauceD]

i dunno. i don't think cap space is going to be nearly as useful going forward as it has been. they're probably better off holding onto all these guys (except for chytil who i'd keep on talent alone but whose health makes him way too unreliable to count on)

guys with "bad" contracts are going to start being traded for real value again because it's going to take years for teams to actually spend back to the cap in most cases. if you're banking on getting paid a 2nd rounder to take a player who has some utility like zibenjad or kreider i think you're living in the past. a team like utah or carolina will pay a 2nd or 3rd to get those guys if the rangers need to move them to pay cuylle or whoever

Well that’s precisely why we should move on from some of our depth. We have a lot of building block players that teams have no problem sending a 2nd or 3rd. Columbus, Carolina, Anaheim, SJ, etc.

We need to clear up more space if we really want to improve our top 6. Chytil might not be moveable so I’d look to buy him out. I don’t think you can comfortably rely on him to be healthy and he would kind of screw up our cap maneuverability for next season if we’re forced to LTIR him after spending to the cap.

At the very least you have to look at moving Hoglander as I really don’t see a fit for him on this team. 3x3M for a player who isn’t really safe from being healthy scratched at any given point is not ideal.

 

[Diablo2020]

i dunno. i don't think cap space is going to be nearly as useful going forward as it has been. they're probably better off holding onto all these guys (except for chytil who i'd keep on talent alone but whose health makes him way too unreliable to count on)

guys with "bad" contracts are going to start being traded for real value again because it's going to take years for teams to actually spend back to the cap in most cases. if you're banking on getting paid a 2nd rounder to take a player who has some utility like zibenjad or kreider i think you're living in the past. a team like utah or carolina will pay a 2nd or 3rd to get those guys if the rangers need to move them to pay cuylle or whoever

Nah man youd have to pay to dump Jacob Trouba!

2024-Dec-06 Traded from New York Rangers for Urho Vaakanainen and conditional round 4 pick in the 2025 draft

Okokokok but youd have to retain heavily on Jacob Trouba!

Current Contract​

$8,000,000

Okokok but with a NMC he will only goto one team!

2024-Dec-06 Traded from New York Rangers to Anaheim Ducks

Maybe a 2nd is high for Zibby or Kreider but your not wrong.

Just the fact Kreider only has 2 years left when Roslovic will likely get 3-5 is enough for me to be scouring the bargain bins.

 

[Nick Lang]

We need to clear up more space if we really want to improve our top 6. Chytil might not be moveable so I’d look to buy him out. I don’t think you can comfortably rely on him to be healthy and he would kind of screw up our cap maneuverability for next season if we’re forced to LTIR him after spending to the cap.

At the very least you have to look at moving Hoglander as I really don’t see a fit for him on this team. 3x3M for a player who isn’t really safe from being healthy scratched at any given point is not ideal.

I agree completely. After signing DOC we already have that role filled. He's just wasting $3 mil in cap space that can be filled by DOC, Joshua, Garland, Lekkerimaki, Karlsson, Raty, Aman, or anyone really. His shoddy D, 6 goals and 21 points, can easily be replaced. He would be good on a team looking for a reclamation project.

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

I don't know...we have Quinn Hughes....like 25+ other teams would kill to be in our "unenviable" position. If you insert the late 70s-Canucks with Bobby Orr. That's where we are right now. Just a few of the right tweaks and we could be a juggernaut. I mean that.

 

[Diablo2020]

Well that’s precisely why we should move on from some of our depth. We have a lot of building block players that teams have no problem sending a 2nd or 3rd. Columbus, Carolina, Anaheim, SJ, etc.

We need to clear up more space if we really want to improve our top 6. Chytil might not be moveable so I’d look to buy him out. I don’t think you can comfortably rely on him to be healthy and he would kind of screw up our cap maneuverability for next season if we’re forced to LTIR him after spending to the cap.

At the very least you have to look at moving Hoglander as I really don’t see a fit for him on this team. 3x3M for a player who isn’t really safe from being healthy scratched at any given point is not ideal.

After 5 calendar years of Michael Ferland and Tucker Poolman, some overlapping with each other, you think we can buyout a concussion case?

I agree we could do a better job reallocating capspace, but "Chytil, Hoglander, Joshua (as hard as it may be), Blueger, and possibly Lankinen" is not even close to where we start.


We dont have the assets to be upgrading on Dakota Joshua. This isnt an orgnization that gives up on Dakota Joshua one year removed from a cancer scare, regardless of the implications on that longterm deal we gave.

We didnt sign Lankinen to immedietly shop him. Especially not while Demko is one stretch away from another injury. Especially when Demko is one year away from UFA. Especially when Silovs is the #3.

Hoglander IS likely our best and frankly only trade chip. But 3,000,000 is peanuts now. Jordan Greenway makes 3. Just got a raise to 4. He has 8 points and had a nasty hernia injury, when they gave him the raise.

This team cant afford to sell low on Hoglander then turn around and be forced to add, to upgrade, regardless of whether Hogs is a fit on the roster or not and whether a tough RH center or winger would be a better allocation of that 3m.

Blueger as a 30+ UFA to be, will either sign to a decent deal to stay as a veteran presence, or be dealt for something insignificant but when he's our 2nd line center today, probably best to just keep him.

You wanna reallocate the space properly, start at 11,6000,000.

Accept Chytil just carrys on our luck of dead capspace.

Luongo -> Ferland -> Poolman -> Chytil most of it overlapping!

 

[Vector]

when you consider who is expiring on the canucks roster and who is expiring on the teams with less cap space the canucks are probably like bottom five cap situation

dallas is worse. colorado is probably worse depending on what happens with nelson and landeskog. tampa is arguably worse but only if you think they need to resign gourde. st louis and montreal have less cap space but also are losing basically no one they'll need to replace. new york and edmonton are probably about equal to vancouver but all new yorks free agents are rfas and edmonton just has bouchard and maybe skinner or frederic to really worry about

every other team either has more cap space than they can use or have their rosters already set

this doesn't mean vancouver will finish bottom five next year of course but they are faced with losing two key players in boeser and suter and they don't have the cap space to throw around that teams like carolina, winnipeg, minnesota, florida and los angeles have

this is a little out of date now with some subsequent contracts but nothing has gotten better for vancouver

I have the Canucks at about middle of the pack but it’s more like a tiered system than a true ranking. They basically need to figure out how to acquire two top-6 forwards and have the cap space to accommodate that. The hard part, as always, is identifying and actually acquiring those players.

And I’m with you in that I don’t necessarily think cap space is going to be as valuable as it was in the past, at least for one season. Eventually teams will cap themselves out.

 

[Peen]

I have the Canucks at about middle of the pack but it’s more like a tiered system than a true ranking. They basically need to figure out how to acquire two top-6 forwards and have the cap space to accommodate that. The hard part, as always, is identifying and actually acquiring those players.

And I’m with you in that I don’t necessarily think cap space is going to be as valuable as it was in the past, at least for one season. Eventually teams will cap themselves out.

The bigger problem, as has been for fifteen years now because they keep trying to compete while running asset deficits, is that they do not have the assets to compete. So they have to be creative.

They always pick the path that requires the impossible. And they made it seem possible a year ago. They have to do it again next year.

They should probably do next to whatever they can to dump Chytil this summer & they should move one of Garland or Hoglander. Guessing if you keep Tocchet, it’s the latter.

But even then, you really don’t want to move them and be stuck with an unused loaded gun cap wise come July 2nd if you strike out on trade targets at the draft and on free agent targets on day one.

 

[Vector]

The bigger problem, as has been for fifteen years now because they keep trying to compete while running asset deficits, is that they do not have the assets to compete. So they have to be creative.

They always pick the path that requires the impossible. And they made it seem possible a year ago. They have to do it again next year.

They should probably do next to whatever they can to dump Chytil this summer & they should move one of Garland or Hoglander. Guessing if you keep Tocchet, it’s the latter.

But even then, you really don’t want to move them and be stuck with an unused loaded gun cap wise come July 2nd if you strike out on trade targets at the draft and on free agent targets on day one.

I don’t really see them moving Chytil. Mostly because then they need two centres and with nothing but cap space in a market where that should be undervalued. Probably more worth it to the dice and hope to get extremely lucky with his health.

They are pretty much stuck. There is a decent surplus of encouraging defenders and some draft picks to trade away as the war chest.

Speculating this early on offseason moves is always folly since most teams don’t even know what their own plans are. We lack so much information.

 

[thecupismine]

I don’t really see them moving Chytil. Mostly because then they need two centres and with nothing but cap space in a market where that should be undervalued. Probably more worth it to the dice and hope to get extremely lucky with his health.

They are pretty much stuck. There is a decent surplus of encouraging defenders and some draft picks to trade away as the war chest.

Speculating this early on offseason moves is always folly since most teams don’t even know what their own plans are. We lack so much information.

I’m on the same page as you re: being two top 6 forwards away. How they get them is too far away to speculate, but I also don’t see the team dumping a bunch of guys this offseason either while their value is at its lowest.

They’re also going to bank on Hoglander, Joshua, and Petey rebounding next year. While they may not reach last years level, that alone should be worth 30+ goals next year (15+ from Petey alone) if they don’t have nightmare seasons from hell all over again.

I’d expect them to get one guy like they did with Debrusk last year, then wait till the season starts to see what/if anything shakes loose.

 

[Diablo2020]

They are pretty much stuck. There is a decent surplus of encouraging defenders and some draft picks to trade away as the war chest.

I'll be the first to admit our farm team is the best its ever looked. But after the Melvin Fernstrom trade I realized, we do not have another left in the whole orginization.

We dont have a Jonathan Myrenberg left we can trade for a Jack Studnicka.

We dont have a Joni Jurmo left to add to a Elias Lindholm.

We dont even have a Jackson Dorrington as he also went in the Fernstrom day.

Aiden Celebrini's rights, good basically only to SJS and Kravstov's rights are the only thing we have in Europe.

Ricky Bobby in the dub might give us throwin value.

Ty Young G but he's progressing well.

Maybe Ty Mueller has "plus" addon value to a trade.

We actually have nothing to trade BUT the 7 draft picks every single team gets allocated yearly.

We so have some young defenders yeah. For once. And theyre going to have to be sacrificed by default. But again so does every team.

Willander, Pettersson, Mancini, Kudryatsev, Mynio..

Mateychuk, Svozil, Ceulemans, Elick, Marrelli..
Parekh, Grushnikov, Brzustewicz, Morin, Mews..
Simashev, Lamereoux, Duda, Szuber, Skahan..

SJ has about 8 great young D..
CHI has about 8 great young D..

All these teams are chasing top 6 forward upgrades and dangling the same things we are, sometimes at a better quantity and quality plus they actually have forward prospects to give.

Its gonna be tough sledding for Allvin.

 

[Diablo2020]

Only took 5 seconds on another teams board to see what were up against. The last three posts on Hawks Roster Building thread just posted now..

Thread '2025 26 Roster…too Soon'

Mar 5, 2025

Why not start this now?

• MHO
• Replies: 537
• Forum: Chicago Blackhawks

"Do look for Davidson to enter the trade market for a young top 6 forward however, whether they get Marner or not."

"Agreed. I think they should trade for Lafrenierre."

"If a guy like Marner hits the open market, you try to get him. All it costs is Cap Space and owners money."

Now im not saying theyre a destination or anything but EVERY single team is vying for what we need and I cant help but notice Hawks for example actually have double the capspace, picks and young D we have to trade.

(30m capspace, 18 picks over 2 yrs, about 8 great young D)

 

[credulous]

Well that’s precisely why we should move on from some of our depth. We have a lot of building block players that teams have no problem sending a 2nd or 3rd. Columbus, Carolina, Anaheim, SJ, etc.

We need to clear up more space if we really want to improve our top 6. Chytil might not be moveable so I’d look to buy him out. I don’t think you can comfortably rely on him to be healthy and he would kind of screw up our cap maneuverability for next season if we’re forced to LTIR him after spending to the cap.

At the very least you have to look at moving Hoglander as I really don’t see a fit for him on this team. 3x3M for a player who isn’t really safe from being healthy scratched at any given point is not ideal.

oh i'm not saying don't trade those guys if you can get good value for them. i just don't think the canucks need to make cap space badly enough to move them for cheap

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

Only took 5 seconds on another teams board to see what were up against. The last three posts on Hawks Roster Building thread just posted now..

I don't take other team's fans opinions that seriously. I barely take my own that seriously.

 

[credulous]

I have the Canucks at about middle of the pack but it’s more like a tiered system than a true ranking. They basically need to figure out how to acquire two top-6 forwards and have the cap space to accommodate that. The hard part, as always, is identifying and actually acquiring those players.

And I’m with you in that I don’t necessarily think cap space is going to be as valuable as it was in the past, at least for one season. Eventually teams will cap themselves out.

oh yeah the cap space thing isn't a permanent situation. teams will eventually manage to outspend any growth in the cap and we'll be back to where you can get a bjorkstrand or toews for some picks because teams simply can't afford them. it's going to take a while with the current cap growth and the poor free agent market though. there simply won't be enough players to spend all that money on

 

[Diversification]

oh yeah the cap space thing isn't a permanent situation. teams will eventually manage to outspend any growth in the cap and we'll be back to where you can get a bjorkstrand or toews for some picks because teams simply can't afford them. it's going to take a while with the current cap growth and the poor free agent market though. there simply won't be enough players to spend all that money on

It's likely that we have a situation where half the league does not spend to the cap what with the recession looming, the weak Canadian dollar, tariffs, and other grim economic indicators. Bjorkstrand and Toews were symptoms of COVID-19, and the resultant flat cap era followed. Perhaps you're arguing that we're heading for another prolonged escrow period and perhaps even cap contraction?

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

It's likely that we have a situation where half the league does not spend to the cap what with the recession looming, the weak Canadian dollar, tariffs, and other grim economic indicators. Bjorkstrand and Toews were symptoms of COVID-19, and the resultant flat cap era followed. Perhaps you're arguing that we're heading for another prolonged escrow period and perhaps even cap contraction?

I don't really agree with your interpretation of his foresight.

Bread and circus policy is married with Trump's America. Pro sports are primed to explode in monetary gain in the next 10 years even more than they have. The insane cap growth is real, and will send Canadian markets straight back to the 90s with no hard cap since it's a gate-driven league and they'll be making 60 cents on the USD.

This offseason I actually see a bit of a window for the next 3 years. I don't see a whole lot of quality on the FA market, but the names out there will set the market up to inflate cap numbers. I don't know 100% that @Vector is with me, as we've butted heads on this, but I think this offseason could be a lot like the 2014 offseason where the Panthers signed Dave Bolland to an absurd deal and then flopped like the disaster everyone except Tallon knew it would.

Lots of high numbers for players who haven't really earned it. But you can always ease in to your gambles. Is a guy like Ehlers worth 8 figures? f*** no. But could he be? Yeah, probably. The beauty here is we really only need to mark one top-end guy. But remember in doing so, the internal cap that agents push in negotiations will be f***ed. If we give Ehlers 10, how does Hughes' camp not demand at least 15?


Never mind that these players don't deserve it. Some footie players get paid a king's ransom to kick a ball and flop upon any sort of contact.

 

[Vector]

This offseason I actually see a bit of a window for the next 3 years. I don't see a whole lot of quality on the FA market, but the names out there will set the market up to inflate cap numbers. I don't know 100% that @Vector is with me, as we've butted heads on this, but I think this offseason could be a lot like the 2014 offseason where the Panthers signed Dave Bolland to an absurd deal and then flopped like the disaster everyone except Tallon knew it would.

I think it's certainly a possibility just not a guarantee. There's a few of those contracts every offseason (see Stephenson, Chandler) but this generation of GMs has shown themselves to be maddeningly conservative. Maybe that translates to only being cautious with trades rather than signings, though.

 

[Vector]

i dunno. i don't think cap space is going to be nearly as useful going forward as it has been. they're probably better off holding onto all these guys (except for chytil who i'd keep on talent alone but whose health makes him way too unreliable to count on)

guys with "bad" contracts are going to start being traded for real value again because it's going to take years for teams to actually spend back to the cap in most cases. if you're banking on getting paid a 2nd rounder to take a player who has some utility like zibenjad or kreider i think you're living in the past. a team like utah or carolina will pay a 2nd or 3rd to get those guys if the rangers need to move them to pay cuylle or whoever

I don't think the prices will inflate that much but I definitely agree that this is a very likely outcome. The main deterrent to all this sometimes NHL GMs can be incredibly stupid.

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

I think it's certainly a possibility just not a guarantee. There's a few of those contracts every offseason (see Stephenson, Chandler) but this generation of GMs has shown themselves to be maddeningly conservative. Maybe that translates to only being cautious with trades rather than signings, though.

I think signings are seen as free money. They are more scared of losing a trade than taking a clear-cut "L" on July 1. Trades you can be fired over in a matter of weeks. Benning's clock started ticking the moment he traded for OEL and started praying. But people/fans caught on to the Aquilinis act and "pressured" them implicitly to take a cautious approach with Benning, which is why I think he lasted longer than 3-4 years. Signings take months....years sometimes to become a firable offense.

 

[pitseleh]

oh i'm not saying don't trade those guys if you can get good value for them. i just don't think the canucks need to make cap space badly enough to move them for cheap

Yeah, the benefit of all the extra money that will be floating around is that the team can be aggressive in adding impact players knowing they can clear cap if they need to later in the offseason. The problem is every team is in the same boat which is why the top free agents are going to get paid ridiculous dollars this offseason.

 

[TruGr1t]

I'm not sure how they don't pony up for Suter at this point, the centre situation is dire.