Confirmed with Link: Canucks sign D Tucker Poolman to 4-Year, $10M Deal ($2.5M AAV)

[Siludin]

He looks like he near top of his Jets team at suppressing shorthanded goals against (considering the previous two season's worth of data only), but he also didn't play the top PK minutes

 

[F A N]

I started watching hockey in 07 and Burkie got a cup that year but hasn’t done anything meaningful since

Oh I'm not saying he's a good GM today. He has his flaws but he's pretty good when it comes to evaluating Dmen. Look at his record in terms of his Dmen acquisitions. It's real good.

 

[lawrence]

I personally thought it could have been a lot worst if you look at some of the signings around the league particularly in Calgary and Edmonton of course.

So did some digging of my own on Poolman.

- 2 seasons ago he was their bottom pairing man according to average ice time at 17 minutes, however it was very very close also to the 3rd and 4th highest ice time dmans. It's literally 1 minute difference. Ice time was a bottom pairing dman however his stats indicates to he was on pace for 23 points, which is pretty good for a bottom pairing dman.

A season ago he was their number 4 dman in terms of ice time. One can say well Jets really lacked defense so his ice time naturally went up. But in reality he's a bottom 6 guy playing into the top 4 role. I think this is a legit point since we all know Jets defense was lacking last season. He did play as a top 4 dman on a playoff team however he also only had 1 assist the entire season which can put him in a bottom 6 dman. that is also true. Its weird 2 season go he had bottom 6 minutes but produced like a top 4 dman and last season he had top 4 minutes but produced like a plug.

we signed him as a 28 year old and he will play until he is 31. I don't have an issue with the 4 years for a sub 29 year old. for example David Savard (who I thought we had no chance of getting anyways turns 31 and is fro Quebec). So no problem on the 4 years.

I think there is a solid case of saying 2.5 million is too much for him as a bottom pairing depth guy, it's overpaid for a bottom pairing dman. However we know Jim Benning does this and in the end 2.5 million isn't too much even if its overpaid. 2.5 mill is quite manageable but again we are talking Benning here who has a horrible track record what it comes to UFA's so this is not a huge surprise. I do welcome the depth he can bring hopefully he can help us. Again he's not that old, and when his contract is done he's only 31.

Overall I'm ok on the signing since it's done. I personally wish

​

we skip this one, skip the Pearson signing, which would have given us an access of 5.7 million dollar of extra space and use this on one good player instead of 2 mediocre players. But that's just me.

 

[Braeden]

Tucker Poolman was forced into playing minutes against top competition when he was paired with Josh Morrissey. He played 491 minutes in 39 games last season with Morrissey after missing training camp and having COVID.

I think you need to throw the analytics out the window and see what Poolman does before beginning to comment on his contract. He could very well live up to his contract as a solid bottom 4 dman for us.

He should not be going up against the likes of McDavid and co. He is a 3rd pair guy who can slot into your top 2 pairings if an injury occurs. I have him pencilled in next to Jack Rathbone on the 3rd line.

OEL-Myers
Hughes-Hamonic
Rathbone-Poolman
Juolevi-Schenn
Hunt

 

[JanBulisPiggyBack]

Funny how fast people forget the Sbisa, Gubranson experience…

At nearly twice the price

 

[JanBulisPiggyBack]

Benning overpayed Poolman 500,000 dollars and an extra year to distract Canucks Twitter from OEL

4 D Chess baby

 

[GetFocht]

I personally thought it could have been a lot worst if you look at some of the signings around the league particularly in Calgary and Edmonton of course.

So did some digging of my own on Poolman.

- 2 seasons ago he was their bottom pairing man according to average ice time at 17 minutes, however it was very very close also to the 3rd and 4th highest ice time dmans. It's literally 1 minute difference. Ice time was a bottom pairing dman however his stats indicates to he was on pace for 23 points, which is pretty good for a bottom pairing dman.

A season ago he was their number 4 dman in terms of ice time. One can say well Jets really lacked defense so his ice time naturally went up. But in reality he's a bottom 6 guy playing into the top 4 role. I think this is a legit point since we all know Jets defense was lacking last season. He did play as a top 4 dman on a playoff team however he also only had 1 assist the entire season which can put him in a bottom 6 dman. that is also true. Its weird 2 season go he had bottom 6 minutes but produced like a top 4 dman and last season he had top 4 minutes but produced like a plug.

we signed him as a 28 year old and he will play until he is 31. I don't have an issue with the 4 years for a sub 29 year old. for example David Savard (who I thought we had no chance of getting anyways turns 31 and is fro Quebec). So no problem on the 4 years.

I think there is a solid case of saying 2.5 million is too much for him as a bottom pairing depth guy, it's overpaid for a bottom pairing dman. However we know Jim Benning does this and in the end 2.5 million isn't too much even if its overpaid. 2.5 mill is quite manageable but again we are talking Benning here who has a horrible track record what it comes to UFA's so this is not a huge surprise. I do welcome the depth he can bring hopefully he can help us. Again he's not that old, and when his contract is done he's only 31.

Overall I'm ok on the signing since it's done. I personally wish

​

we skip this one, skip the Pearson signing, which would have given us an access of 5.7 million dollar of extra space and use this on one good player instead of 2 mediocre players. But that's just me.

You put 5.7 million dollars into one player, gets Injured, and now you have no depth. Depth is the key to winning a championship and you need loads of it for the regular season and playoffs.

 

[Bettman Returnz]

I would tend to agree maybe he’s $500k and 1yr more than I’d feel comfortable with. But when you look at that as a whole it could be a lot worse (yes the bar is set real low with Benning/ expectations). At least we are not discussing 5+yrs @ $5M+ per anymore!!

 

[supercanuck]

I would tend to agree maybe he’s $500k and 1yr more than I’d feel comfortable with. But when you look at that as a whole it could be a lot worse (yes the bar is set real low with Benning/ expectations). At least we are not discussing 5+yrs @ $5M+ per anymore!!

That was OEL. He decided to do that damage in a trade instead of free agency this year.

 

[GetFocht]

A top pairing defenceman that puts up 40+ points, plays in every situation, and plays 23 mins a game is a 7+ million dollar player. Look at the other contracts in that range and see their production.

 

[MS]

A top pairing defenceman that puts up 40+ points, plays in every situation, and plays 23 mins a game is a 7+ million dollar player. Look at the other contracts in that range and see their production.

OEL is none of those things.

He was destroyed playing 20 2nd pairing minutes last year and won’t come close to scoring 40 points on this team with the PP usage he will get here.

If you just invent what a player is anything sounds great.

 

[iceburg]

Here's a news flash. The team actually doesn't have any classically defined top pairing defensemen. Arguably they have 6 middle pairing D-men and a bunch of 7/8s.

Point is that no one defenseman is that minute eating, good in all situations, guy. OEL was once that but now is likely more of a solid second pairing player. Hughes isn't that yet, he needs to improve defensively. Myers, Poolman and Hamonic were never that guy.

This isn't to say that they can't be collectively solid by being situationally deployed. Time will tell.

 

[Hit the post]

Here's a news flash. The team actually doesn't have any classically defined top pairing defensemen. Arguably they have 6 middle pairing D-men and a bunch of 7/8s.

Point is that no one defenseman is that minute eating, good in all situations, guy. OEL was once that but now is likely more of a solid second pairing player. Hughes isn't that yet, he needs to improve defensively. Myers, Poolman and Hamonic were never that guy.

This isn't to say that they can't be collectively solid by being situationally deployed. Time will tell.

It literally a house of cards built on one guy right now (OEL). Who I expect to be eating a good chunk of minutes (moreso because there's nobody better on the team). If he gets hurts, that house of cards will fall regardless of how the rest are played. Schmidt that that thankless duty last season (along with to a lesser extent Edler).

 

[Zippgunn]

Rumors are the other teams were thinking of offering 2 way contract…

Whatever the rumours it is apparent to me that we have to sweeten the pot considerably in order to get players to commit to our team. This is hardly Benning's fault and I notice he seems to be targeting players from this neck of the woods since they are probably more likely to sign here for more reasonable deals.

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

Here's a news flash. The team actually doesn't have any classically defined top pairing defensemen. Arguably they have 6 middle pairing D-men and a bunch of 7/8s.

Point is that no one defenseman is that minute eating, good in all situations, guy. OEL was once that but now is likely more of a solid second pairing player. Hughes isn't that yet, he needs to improve defensively. Myers, Poolman and Hamonic were never that guy.

This isn't to say that they can't be collectively solid by being situationally deployed. Time will tell.

I agree with this..OEL and Hamonic were very good on previous teams (Hamonic for NYI)...The lynchpin here is Quinn Hughes..If the Canucks want to do anything this season, Hughes has to get back to the player he was (2019-20)..Hopefully Poolman is more Willie Mitchell than Luca Sbisa (from a Reddit poster).

I'm interested to see how the D is deployed this season...Its clearly the achilles heel of the squad, the way it stands right now..It cant be any worse than last season (the way Baumgartner handled the D should be a fireable offence IMO).

 

[VanJack]

I can't really understand why people are so bent out of shape over this Poolman signing.....Sportsnet even described it as potentially "one of the most regrettable contacts signed on Free Agent Day."

Really? It's only a $2.25m contract for four years.....and Poolman has no trade protection. If it doesn't work out, the Canucks can easily bury the contract in the minors or trade him. Right-shot defenders on relatively affordable contracts are always in demand.

Would you rather be fans of the Oilers and Flames and their UFA signings? Sorry, but six years for Blake Coleman and seven years for Zack Hyman? Seriously?....both 29 year old forwards with a lot of miles on the odometer on contracts that won't age well.

Now those are two contracts 'with the real potential to be "the most regrettable deals on deadline day".....these could end up being 'Louie Eriksson contracts'.

 

[timw33]

A top pairing defenceman that puts up 40+ points, plays in every situation, and plays 23 mins a game is a 7+ million dollar player. Look at the other contracts in that range and see their production.

So you're going to continue dodging the answer to the simple question:

HOW IS OEL GOING TO GET 40+ POINTS WHEN HUGHES GETS 85% PP DEPLOYMENT

 

[GetFocht]

I can't really understand why people are so bent out of shape over this Poolman signing.....Sportsnet even described it as potentially "one of the most regrettable contacts signed on Free Agent Day."

Really? It's only a $2.25m contract for four years.....and Poolman has no trade protection. If it doesn't work out, the Canucks can easily bury the contract in the minors or trade him. Right-shot defenders on relatively affordable contracts are always in demand.

Would you rather be fans of the Oilers and Flames and their UFA signings? Sorry, but six years for Blake Coleman and seven years for Zack Hyman? Seriously?....both 29 year old forwards with a lot of miles on the odometer on contracts that won't age well.

Now those are two contracts 'with the real potential to be "the most regrettable deals on deadline day".....these could end up being 'Louie Eriksson contracts'.

Take it as a good thing if the only issue people have is paying a 28 year, 6'4 RH defenceman 2.5 million over 4 years. Before the COVID year, he was on the upswing and he is still young enough to outperform his contract. If he doesn't perform well, then you're just stuck with a low cap-hit for a defenceman that is more than capable of playing in a bottom pairing. In 2 years, he can easily be offloaded if he starts to flounder. He's best suited in a bottom pairing role that can play top minutes temporarily.

The more I dig into it, I actually like him better than Hakanpaa, they both have very good skating and physicality but Poolman has the edge in offensive skill and awareness. He parks himself infront of the net at times or even digs the puck deep in the offensive zone to generate a scoring chance.

 

[Bojack Horvatman]

OEL is none of those things.

He was destroyed playing 20 2nd pairing minutes last year and won’t come close to scoring 40 points on this team with the PP usage he will get here.

If you just invent what a player is anything sounds great.

People don't realize that OEL had the most amout of power play time per game for defencemen from 2016-2018. Only behind Brent Burns for total pp time by like 5 seconds. At even strength he was 28th for total dman points, and 42nd in points per 60.

That was 3-5 years ago though. From 2019-2021 he was 59th in ES points for defencemen and 78th in points/60( at least 2000min) where he was tied with Stecher and was worse than Edler. For those saying he played for a bad team, that didn't seem to hold Thomas Chabot and Cam Fowler back. During 2013 and 2014 he was a top pairing defencemen. 3-5 years ago he was a low end offensive #1 that played insane amounts of pp time that was playing too hard of minutes. Now offensively he is a low 2/high 3 that can't play a top 4 role defensive role effectively anymore. But we are bringing him in to be a #1 all situations guy it seems.

 

[sting101]

So you're going to continue dodging the answer to the simple question:

HOW IS OEL GOING TO GET 40+ POINTS WHEN HUGHES GETS 85% PP DEPLOYMENT

His value will be in his 2nd unit Qbing and even strength play. Who cares about pt numbers within reason. Pietrangelo has had up and down seasons in StL based on PP usage but when playoffs roll around not too many guys you would rather have.
OEL just has to be damn good player or the D will be in big trouble

 

[MS]

People don't realize that OEL had the most amout of power play time per game for defencemen from 2016-2018. Only behind Brent Burns for total pp time by like 5 seconds. At even strength he was 28th for total dman points, and 42nd in points per 60.

That was 3-5 years ago though. From 2019-2021 he was 59th in ES points for defencemen and 78th in points/60( at least 2000min) where he was tied with Stecher and was worse than Edler. For those saying he played for a bad team, that didn't seem to hold Thomas Chabot and Cam Fowler back. During 2013 and 2014 he was a top pairing defencemen. 3-5 years ago he was a low end offensive #1 that played insane amounts of pp time that was playing too hard of minutes. Now offensively he is a low 2/high 3 that can't play a top 4 role defensive role effectively anymore. But we are bringing him in to be a #1 all situations guy it seems.

OEL was a top-pairing guy 5-6 years ago who has been in a long decline and was a 2nd pairing level guy for a few years before dropping even below that last year.

On merit based on last year’s performance he’s a puck-moving #5 with PP utility who needs semi-sheltered minutes to avoid bleeding goals. Soft, lazy player.

Maybe he can turn it around. But the odds of any player having a major turnaround at 30 are exponentially less than the odds of that decline continuing.

 

[logan5]

So you're going to continue dodging the answer to the simple question:

HOW IS OEL GOING TO GET 40+ POINTS WHEN HUGHES GETS 85% PP DEPLOYMENT

Everybody keeps saying this, but it’s obvious we are going to have 2 good pp units. The first unit got played so much because Hyde second unit was useless. The 2nd unit could easily get close to an even split in time if they are scoring, and there will be times when the 2nd unit is doing better than the first unit.

 

[Cornwallace]

Benning has officially brainwashed the benning-bros into accepting bad contracts because you can just offload them later now

 

[logan5]

OEL was a top-pairing guy 5-6 years ago who has been in a long decline and was a 2nd pairing level guy for a few years before dropping even below that last year.

On merit based on last year’s performance he’s a puck-moving #5 with PP utility who needs semi-sheltered minutes to avoid bleeding goals. Soft, lazy player.

Maybe he can turn it around. But the odds of any player having a major turnaround at 30 are exponentially less than the odds of that decline continuing.

When OEL is playing on the 3rd unit here, you’re going to look pretty smart.

 

[MS]

When OEL is playing on the 3rd unit here, you’re going to look pretty smart.

They’re obviously going to put him on the top pairing, where I expect he’ll get ventilated.

He was destroyed in much easier minutes last year than he’ll likely get this year.