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[Blue and Green]

We're on the verge of losing Brock Boeser.

We've drafted and developed Lekkerimaki as a replacement.

He just won AHL rookie of the season for Abby voters.

Has played 64 games of AHL or NHL hockey to Howards 0.

WTF is this Howard for Lekkerimaki talk?!?

1st, 2nd, 3rd for Howard, I can justify it.

One of our only 3 Right Handed Shots on the whole team for Howard, I cannot even believe we're discussing it.

Trading the Swede we've drafted and developed for a Easrern USA kid who is spurning a destination like TBAY? CMON!

Dude, the amount of shite that you throw against the wall... and then you get on someone else's case for discussing a hypothetical trade? Please.

 

[LemonSauceD]

Dude, the amount of shite that you throw against the wall... and then you get on someone else's case for discussing a hypothetical trade? Please.

I personally think Howard is far more NHL ready than Lekkerimaki is. Lekkerimaki has a lot of glaring weaknesses that I saw from another similar player and somewhat recent 7th OA pick Alexander Holtz who ripped up the AHL but hasn’t been able to translate to the NHL because of the same similar limitations.

I do think Lekkerimaki is a better prospect than Holtz ever was and I hope he can prove me wrong. I just don’t think he’s dynamic enough.

 

[Diablo2020]

Dude, the amount of shite that you throw against the wall... and then you get on someone else's case for discussing a hypothetical trade? Please.

Ya but see my post count? I dont go up and down each proposal thread defending my case or anything. I lay out a pure armchair fantasyland trade and eat every response like a champ. I learn from it and it helps change my perspective sometimes even.

I hope the OP doesnt take offense like I never do.

I didnt intend to berate or anything even though CMON! was in all caps.

 

[LemonSauceD]

Ya but see my post count? I dont go up and down each proposal thread defending my case or anything. I lay out a pure armchair fantasyland trade and eat every response like a champ. I learn from it and it helps change my perspective sometimes even.

I hope the OP doesnt take offense like I never do.

I didnt intend to berate or anything even though CMON! was in all caps.

You’re fine and I don’t either. At least you’re not a certain poster who loves to sarcastically nitpick an impertinent sentence of a post for whatever reason.

 

[Canucks LB]

How would you guys rate from biggest things to focus on to least going into the offseason?

( Forwards / Defense / Goalie Situation / Coaching / Management)

 

[arttk]

I dont think they need everything they have a lot already. Cbs i could see but they would have to move off the elvis contract.

But what does that net result.. the pieces to dump elvis which may include retention plus the pieces in a demko trade plus a new contract for demko situation

Cbs is close enough to competing they can worry about that

I mean considering this was the 14th time they missed the playoffs and was not even anywhere close this season, I would say they do need like everything.

Not sure CBJ needs to move off the Elvis contract, only 2 years left after this. They can easily fit Demko next season and have Elvis be the 1B and then they can figure out what to do after. CBJ was close to the playoffs this season so I can see them being very motivated to improve. Having Demko in net can be a big difference.

They have 41M in cap next season, I don’t think they will spend to the cap but they don’t need to send us anything for cap purposes.

 

[Vector]

How would you guys rate from biggest things to focus on to least going into the offseason?

( Forwards / Defense / Goalie Situation / Coaching / Management)

1) Coaching
2) Top-6 play driver
3) Top-6 wing or centre

If you have a play driving wing, you can have a lesser centre so the priority should be on getting some form of play driver regardless of position then fill the other vacant spot.

Coaching situation needs to be clarified for anyone to be interested in staying or coming here. Stability is paramount.

 

[Blue and Green]

I personally think Howard is far more NHL ready than Lekkerimaki is. Lekkerimaki has a lot of glaring weaknesses that I saw from another similar player and somewhat recent 7th OA pick Alexander Holtz who ripped up the AHL but hasn’t been able to translate to the NHL because of the same similar limitations.

I do think Lekkerimaki is a better prospect than Holtz ever was and I hope he can prove me wrong. I just don’t think he’s dynamic enough.

The one thing in Lekkerimaki's favour versus Holtz is that the latter had some attitudinal issues re: defensive play whereas with the former I've neither seen nor heard anything of that sort. But yes, I brought up Holtz a month or so ago when people were suggesting that Lekkerimaki should be in the NHL full-time this season. The latest stint showed again that he's not quite ready. Hopefully an offseason of training will help him to get the additional strength and step of speed that he needs. Howard is more physically ready but I don't think that he has the same level of pure goal scoring ability.

 

[Canucks LB]

1) Coaching
2) Top-6 play driver
3) Top-6 wing or centre

If you have a play driving wing, you can have a lesser centre so the priority should be on getting some form of play driver regardless of position then fill the other vacant spot.

Coaching situation needs to be clarified for anyone to be interested in staying or coming here. Stability is paramount.

IMO, Mine is pretty similar.

1 - Coaching (Is Rick staying or Going?) This needs to be done first before anything else.
2 - Top 6 Center ( Are you going to Trade a 1st + Top Prospect or not? Are you Signing a player like Sam Bennett?)
3 - Speedy Winger with Playmaking ability ( I feel we have enough shooters in the line up, I wanna see somebody fast with creative play-making ability)
4 - Goalie situation probably stays the same, baring a crazy Demko unlikely trade
5 - Management gets another year to fix this mess, they had apart in, especially how they handled the defense in the first half of the season, and lack of quality replacements for injuries.

Luckily, Our defense is absolutely Set for now and future.

 

[Diablo2020]

Glass half full, one time only.

This is a team that almost made the playoffs with a slew of 40-50 point men up front but is about to lose two for free. This is where I see it being left for us today as we speak.

LW - Debrusk, Joshua, Hoglander, O'Connor
C - Pettersson, Blueger
RW - Lekkerimaki, Garland, Sherwood

-Raty is first man up.
-Chytil is found money sitting on IR.
-Sasson, Aman, Karlsson pass waivers.

With the defense being what it is now going forward, and with Lankinen secured as the 1B we really just need a few specific players to fill out the forward group.

Goals will always be hard to come by and there's no sure bets available on a platter it seems so why not really commit to Tocchet hockey.

I give you, FIVE Jean-Gabriel Pageau's.

Debrusk - Ep40 - Lekkerimaki
Joshua - PAGEAU - PAGEAU
PAGEAU - PAGEAU - Garland
PAGEAU - Blueger - Sherwood

76-13-28-41 on the season.

-RHS
-954 faceoffs taken
-60.1% on faceoffs

For reference;

Pettersson LHS, 964 taken, 47.5%
Suter LHS, 856 taken, 42.9%
Blueger LHS, 988 taken, 50.6%

-132:11 short handed TOI
-1:44 a game

For reference:

Pettersson 39:41, 0:37 a game
Suter 180:55, 2:17 a game
Blueger 168:10, 2:06 a game
Sherwood 109:08, 1:26 a game

What if the whole season of Nils Hoglander inconsistency was actually just Pageau being a tidy little defensive wizard who chipped in 13 goals.

What if we could upgrade on Drew Oconnor to a tidy little defensive wizard who chipped in 13 goals.

What if Pius Suter was replaced by a more defensively responsible faceoff winning Pius Suter.

What if Brock Boeser was hugely downgraded, to a tidy little defensive wizard who chipped in 12 less goals.

What if we didnt go big on #2 center and instead spent marginal assets on a tidy little defensive wizard who chips in 13 goals.

Five Pageau's and we just defend the opposition to death while the defense suffocates them and we play keepaway from the opening draw and every draw thereafter.

Oconnor 10-14-24 ---> Pageau 13-28-41
Hoglander 8-16-24 ---> Pageau 13-28-41
Boeser 25-24-49 ---> Pageau 13-28-41
Miller 9-26-35 (40gp) ---> Pageau 13-28-41
Suter 24-21-45 ---> Pageau 13-28-41

Out 76 goals. In 65 goals. Just find 5 Pageau's and hope Ep40 and Lekkerimaki can make up for some lost goals.

 

[Diablo2020]

Can anyone speak on Christian Dvorak's time under Rick Tocchet? Thats the bargain bin I can see us in.

Also Max Domi looks like a pending cap casualty, I see Tocc coached him for Ricks first year then they sent him for Galchenyuk.

Domi and Dvorak. Both dirt cheap and capable of playing center in a pinch.

 

[Three On Zero]

Surprised Allvin hasn’t tried to dip into the NCAA/Euro pool for free talent. A bit concerning

 

[Diablo2020]

I dont wanna steal from the people who do a GREAT job of transcribing things but before I log off for a bit..

Forbort broken Orbital Bone
Demko shut down wont play again
Tolopilio to get a start
Myers still out AHL callup coming (TOMMMMMMMY)

Im so sad for Demmer but he's more toasted by the day.

 

[andora]

I mean considering this was the 14th time they missed the playoffs and was not even anywhere close this season, I would say they do need like everything.

Not sure CBJ needs to move off the Elvis contract, only 2 years left after this. They can easily fit Demko next season and have Elvis be the 1B and then they can figure out what to do after. CBJ was close to the playoffs this season so I can see them being very motivated to improve. Having Demko in net can be a big difference.

They have 41M in cap next season, I don’t think they will spend to the cap but they don’t need to send us anything for cap purposes.

what do they need in your opinion

 

[thecupismine]

1) Coaching
2) Top-6 play driver
3) Top-6 wing or centre

If you have a play driving wing, you can have a lesser centre so the priority should be on getting some form of play driver regardless of position then fill the other vacant spot.

Coaching situation needs to be clarified for anyone to be interested in staying or coming here. Stability is paramount.

Pretty much agree with this. They need to figure out the Tocchet situation first and foremost, as that determines the system and structure the team is going to play with moving forward.

After that, they need another play driving forward. It should be cheaper to acquire a winger who does this than a center, and given the Canucks lack of assets, might make more sense to go after the winger. Given they're unlikely to find that kind of player in free agency, I'm curious what teams are going to look to sell this offseason. Some teams I have questions on:

Islanders: Is Roy gone? Does ownership realize they need to rebuild and tell Lou it's time? If so, do one of Barzal/Horvat shake loose?

Predators: Do they rebuild? Roster is old and bad, not much in terms of game changing prospects (but lots of middling ones). Lots of picks this year, but Forsberg will be 35+ by the time those guys are ready, and Josi is already there. Trotz is stubborn, so it might not happen, even it should.

Kraken: Currently in a bit of purgatory. Not sure if they'll do anything this summer. McCann is the interesting one here, but they need guys to play with Wright and Beniers.

Ducks: Are they willing to trade one of their young centers? No one has taken that next step there offensively.

Flyers: Still need to keep building, they have nothing at center long-term. Would they consider dealing Konecny?

Bruins: How much of a re-tool are they willing to do? Will Zacha be available? No way Pastrnak is going anywhere.

Rangers: What direction are they going in? Will they finally deal Laf?

Sabres/Red Wings: Remain in purgatory. Won't sell, but never acquire the right kind of players to take the next step either. These two are always ripe to be ripped off in a deal.

Penguins: Why are Rakell and Rust still there? My suspicion is they wanted a 1st but couldn't get it at the deadline because wingers aren't valued highly around the league. Is Malkin made available too?

 

[Diablo2020]

Okokokok one more in me before I nap.

Elias Pettersson for Dylan Larkin.

Subban for Weber but with forwards.

Michigan boy maybe comes here to play with Quinn?

Swedey Pete leads the Raymond, Edvindsson, ASP brigade?

I'll hang up and listen.

 

[arttk]

what do they need in your opinion

CBJ or BuF?

 

[andora]

CBJ or BuF?

Buffalo

 

[wetcoast]

I personally think Howard is far more NHL ready than Lekkerimaki is. Lekkerimaki has a lot of glaring weaknesses that I saw from another similar player and somewhat recent 7th OA pick Alexander Holtz who ripped up the AHL but hasn’t been able to translate to the NHL because of the same similar limitations.

I do think Lekkerimaki is a better prospect than Holtz ever was and I hope he can prove me wrong. I just don’t think he’s dynamic enough.

I agree on Howard being more NHL ready but I think Lekkerimaki is dynamic enough he just needs a little more speed and strength and if he get it he will be a player, if not kinda like a better version of Holtz.

 

[wetcoast]

How would you guys rate from biggest things to focus on to least going into the offseason?

( Forwards / Defense / Goalie Situation / Coaching / Management)

CENTER

 

[andora]

I agree on Howard being more NHL ready but I think Lekkerimaki is dynamic enough he just needs a little more speed and strength and if he get it he will be a player, if not kinda like a better version of Holtz.

The thing he's got going for him is that he's a smart player so you have that up with his already evidence skills and being reasonable we can expect those to get better he has potential to be a real decent goal scorer. The fact that he's got sense about him is huge

 

[StreetHawk]

Islanders: Is Roy gone? Does ownership realize they need to rebuild and tell Lou it's time? If so, do one of Barzal/Horvat shake loose?

I could see both Lou and Roy gone. After the b2b final 4 with Trotz, things haven't gone well on the Island with lambert and now Roy. Team got stale with their veteran group.
But, that's the issue, it's a veteran group.

Lee, Pageau have 1 year left. Probably can move them in the off-season
Mayfield, Pelech, Pulloch have term and are into their early 30's. Some trade protection in there.
Horvat and Sorokin are 30 in 2025 and have term left
Barzal is 28 in 2025 and has term left
Dobson and Romanov are 25 and are closing in on UFA age as they bridged coming off ELC. So, they don't need to stick around a rebuild if they don't want to.

That's a lot of players to maneuver if the goal is to be bad enough to land top 3 talent via the NHL draft. Can't just be the guys already over age 30 that they move.

It would be a good 5 year commitment to this rebuild for the Owner and new GM and a couple of HC that they would go through if they commit to it. I don't see a short cut for them as they have very little prospects come up due to their limited draft capital from 2019-2023. Holmstrom/Walhstrom didn't develop for them. And traded so many picks away. So minimal upcoming help in the pipeline.

 

[arttk]

Buffalo

Culture change, seems like their reputation is they don’t play the right way so I presume they have issues preventing goals.

Start from net out, add a really good goalie to hold the fort while you try to implement defensive conscience. Add a couple of vet D that can defend and do the right things. Looks like their PK is ass, so add a bunch of forwards that can PK and is more defensively responsible, preferably one for each line.

Get the GAA down first and then see where the offense is.

 

[andora]

Culture change, seems like their reputation is they don’t play the right way so I presume they have issues preventing goals.

Start from net out, add a really good goalie to hold the fort while you try to implement defensive conscience. Add a couple of vet D that can defend and do the right things. Looks like their PK is ass, so add a bunch of forwards that can PK and is more defensively responsible, preferably one for each line.

Get the GAA down first and then see where the offense is.

I agree with your sentiment but it doesnt mean you need goalies - juat support the goalies you have better and they get better

Agree on the pk focus and yeahget dahlin a vet and imo a couple garlands and coach accountable

I dont know how their culture and program is in rochester but it has to be on the same page with your pro club

 

[Nick Lang]

Did the Canucks pay too much for O'Connor extension. 3 points in past 10. 28 games played 8 points.

I didn't like the contract the second it was signed. Already had too many depth pieces with $$ and term attached. Should have been focusing on the top of the lineup. At least he's fast and big. Not a total waste but unnecessary.