Management Thread | 5th Youngest Team in the League Edition

[Green Blank Stare]

I'll just say again that priority #1 this summer needs to be buying out OEL.

 

[aight]

I'll just say again that priority #1 this summer needs to be buying out OEL.

I’d rather use the necessary assets to move him.

 

[PuckMunchkin]

I'll just say again that priority #1 this summer needs to be buying out OEL.

I mean it will be.

Its not in the long term interest of the team, who should be trying to win a Stanley Cup.

But its definitely in the best interest of the management group to not get fired after next year.

 

[Breakers]

I believe it when I see it.

The chances of this idiot owner giving a 31 year old $20 million to Frank off and go and negotiate for probably another $12 million from another team

I just don’t see it

 

[sandwichbird2023]

I believe it when I see it.

The chances of this idiot owner giving a 31 year old $20 million to Frank off and go and negotiate for probably another $12 million from another team

I just don’t see it

Me neither but desperate people do desperate things.

Originally I had hope they don't buy him out as it will really handcuff us long term. But to be honest, with our assets (picks volume and location, prospect pool, cap space, etc), would we even be contending in 6-8 years? I don't see it. In that case then who cares if we still have OEL's buy out on the book in 2029? Does it matter that his buy out cap hit is like $4.5m in 2024-25?

 

[Green Blank Stare]

Me neither but desperate people do desperate things.

Originally I had hope they don't buy him out as it will really handcuff us long term. But to be honest, with our assets (picks volume and location, prospect pool, cap space, etc), would we even be contending in 6-8 years? I don't see it. In that case then who cares if we still have OEL's buy out on the book in 2029? Does it matter that his buy out cap hit is like $4.5m in 2024-25?

It's $4.76 million in 25-26 and 26-27. Next season it's $146K and the other five years it's between $2.13-2.35 million.

He's already a negative player who's only going to get even worse. I don't care if the cap savings is only $2.5 million for two of those years. They can find a defenseman off the scrap heap for $1 million that will be better than him.

 

[BrentSopelsHair]

Buying out OEL is desperate, moronic, and puts the Canucks in a place of mortgaging the future in order to possibly improve a present where their goal is to make a bottom-10 team into a bottom-20 team

So yeah, I absolutely expect it to happen

 

[EverTheCynic]

I don't know what to expect, but I'm prepared to be disappointed.

 

[SiZ]

I wouldn't put it past this team from trading another 1st rounder for a 26 year old dman having an anomaly of a year. Whatever's necessary to finish in that golden 16-24 range of mediocrity.

 

[SeawaterOnIce]

Buying out OEL is desperate, moronic, and puts the Canucks in a place of mortgaging the future in order to possibly improve a present where their goal is to make a bottom-10 team into a bottom-20 team

So yeah, I absolutely expect it to happen

There's really no downside to buying OEL out.

We aren't really mortgaging the future. Ownership is forcing management to compete the next 2 years for sure. Like it or not, we are going all in and there's no chance of a retool or rebuild.

I am fully expecting for things to take a nosedive by 2025 (I see Pettersson going to UFA and controlling his future). In this hypothetical scenario, we can probably better weaponize the cap space instead of having OEL's salary remain on the roster.

So rebuild or compete....It may make sense just to buy him out.

(Now all this is moot if we can LTIR him forever.)

 

[Nucker101]

Jeff Marek says he doesn’t think that Aquillini is interested in buyouts.

If OEL is still around next season, that’s a big crutch for the quick re-tool strategy that this team is using

 

[SiZ]

Jeff Marek says he doesn’t think that Aquillini is interested in buyouts.

If OEL is still around next season, that’s a big crutch for the quick re-tool strategy that this team is using

Buying out OEL is 8 years of at least 2m less cap/season. The only scenario where his contract isn't a crutch for the foreseeable future is if he goes on LTIR or has a highly unlikely return to form.

 

[MS]

This is OT, so @Vector please move this to the management thread if needs be.

Why do a full rebuild if/when Pettersson leaves? What does doing a full rebuild at that time get us that targeting a 25/26 year old player does not? Remember, you are not a cheerleader for draft position, you think pick surpluses are overrated, and you prefer NHL players over picks. And so, why prioritize the draft to fully rebuild at that time?

It is difficult to have a conversation about what to do around Pettersson-Hughes-Demko if you position the argument as A) Rebuilding around them means you lose them vs B) Re-tooling around them is not inherently win now (it is win now, relatively speaking). No one should accept the discussion being framed this way because there's nothing exchanged or lost with option B.

Instead, hold Pettersson as a constant regardless of what happens around him, rebuild or re-tool.
What then? To me, it's leveraging the draft and making smart signings elsewhere. For you, it's probably to deal into the best mid-aged players now, sacrificing the draft. Is one way inherently better? No. It's because we each assign the optimal outcome to our relative positions. I draft the best players and you trade for the best mid-aged players. However, realistically, with this management group, with this team's cap, the terrible pipeline... Your method is very unlikely to succeed. It no longer becomes an equal proposition. That's why people choose to liquidate around Pettersson-Hughes-Demko in the short term. It's so they can be bolstered the best later with current pain now.

All that said, their conservatism may lead to a middling strategy, which is the worst of all scenarios.

You just continue to play video games and do this magical multiple-year rebuild/retool around these guys and manage to keep them at the end of it. I really don't know how to respond to it. It's like saying we should trade Garland for McDavid this summer. It's fantasy nonsense.

 

[Breakers]

Jeff Marek says he doesn’t think that Aquillini is interested in buyouts.

If OEL is still around next season, that’s a big crutch for the quick re-tool strategy that this team is using

And Friedman was the one who said to tell an owner to give a 31 year old that type of golden parachute out of your pocket, he doesnt see it happening at all.

This owner is hoping for LTIR and insurance coverage
apparently insurance and signing bonuses is where coverage is iffy

OEL has no SB's left, and he makes $10+ million next year

 

[Johnny Canucker]

I'll just say again that priority #1 this summer needs to be buying out OEL.

Friedman already said ownership is not buying anyone out.

Out of all the embarrassing things this year (and there were a ton) for me it’s JR / PA hiding in a bunker and sending Stan f***ing Smyl to handle the firing squad at the yearly season ticket holder state if the union thing.


Absolutely gutless.

 

[hookshott]

There's really no downside to buying OEL out.

We aren't really mortgaging the future. Ownership is forcing management to compete the next 2 years for sure. Like it or not, we are going all in and there's no chance of a retool or rebuild.

I am fully expecting for things to take a nosedive by 2025 (I see Pettersson going to UFA and controlling his future). In this hypothetical scenario, we can probably better weaponize the cap space instead of having OEL's salary remain on the roster.

So rebuild or compete....It may make sense just to buy him out.

(Now all this is moot if we can LTIR him forever.)

Your last statement is most important. As soon as you buy him out you are stuck.... and he can never be on LTIR. Not a good choice at all!

 

[aight]

This is the Canucks near the end of every season since Aquilini has started to take over hockey ops.

 

[Diogenes92]

Friedman already said ownership is not buying anyone out.

Out of all the embarrassing things this year (and there were a ton) for me it’s JR / PA hiding in a bunker and sending Stan f***ing Smyl to handle the firing squad at the yearly season ticket holder state if the union thing.


Absolutely gutless.

They've been hiding from season ticket holders ever since they booed Benning and Linden at a past ticket holder meeting.

My guess is Benning cried to Fatquilini about hurt feelings and he put a stop to it immediately.

 

[Green Blank Stare]

Jeff Marek says he doesn’t think that Aquillini is interested in buyouts.

If OEL is still around next season, that’s a big crutch for the quick re-tool strategy that this team is using

And Friedman was the one who said to tell an owner to give a 31 year old that type of golden parachute out of your pocket, he doesnt see it happening at all.

This owner is hoping for LTIR and insurance coverage
apparently insurance and signing bonuses is where coverage is iffy

OEL has no SB's left, and he makes $10+ million next year

I have no hope that they will do the right thing and buy OEL out. I also have no pity for this bozo owner who allowed a lame duck GM to pull that atrocity of a trade that was like Chernobyl for the franchise.

 

[Bleach Clean]

You just continue to play video games and do this magical multiple-year rebuild/retool around these guys and manage to keep them at the end of it. I really don't know how to respond to it. It's like saying we should trade Garland for McDavid this summer. It's fantasy nonsense.

Actually, a short rebuild around them has a better chance to keep them at the end of it (if we're talking an 6-8 year contact for Pettersson and an extension for Demko). It gives them the best chance to add impact players over term. What's debatable is whether the act of of collecting picks over 2 years will induce one of Pettersson, Hughes or Demko to request a trade out amidst each player's tenure. Meaning: the action itself, because no matter what they do (Hronek), they can't ensure a good team as result.

What you're talking about is the impact of the appearance of trying vs the appearance of not trying. I don't think players are this fickle, generally. The core of this team will drag it out of the basement, as we've just seen. They just don't have the supports around them... and that's what they need to build.

 

[sandwichbird2023]

Actually, a short rebuild around them has a better chance to keep them at the end of it (if we're talking an 6-8 year contact for Pettersson and an extension for Demko). It gives them the best chance to add impact players over term. What's debatable is whether the act of of collecting picks over 2 years will induce one of Pettersson, Hughes or Demko to request a trade out amidst each player's tenure. Meaning: the action itself, because no matter what they do (Hronek), they can't ensure a good team as result.

What you're talking about is the impact of the appearance of trying vs the appearance of not trying. I don't think players are this fickle, generally. The core of this team will drag it out of the basement, as we've just seen. They just don't have the supports around them... and that's what they need to build.

No they are. Remember the time when MacKinnon and Landeskog forced their way out of Colorado because they finished last in the NHL with like 40ish points in 2017? How they hated adding Cale Makar to the team as a result.

Or when Scheifele and Wheeler forced their way out of Winnipeg because that loser organization did so bad in 2016 that they ended up with the 2nd overall pick and added that bum Laine?

You MUST protect the feelings of your young stars, because they won't accept the chance of adding a superstar to their team if you struggle, but they will be perfectly happy if the team finish just out of the playoff though.

 

[Cancuks]

I'll just say again that priority #1 this summer needs to be buying out OEL.

Should but won't happen.

Buying out OEL is desperate, moronic, and puts the Canucks in a place of mortgaging the future in order to possibly improve a present where their goal is to make a bottom-10 team into a bottom-20 team

So yeah, I absolutely expect it to happen

The buyout isn't the thing that would worry me. It's what they do with the cap space. You just know, they'll be using it to sign another UFA dman like Gavrikov. If it were short term then fine but you just know they'll be going 6x6 at the minimum and it'll backfire like Myers and then we'll be even worse in cap hell and it'll cost us Hughes or Demko eventually.

 

[F A N]

I'll just say again that priority #1 this summer needs to be buying out OEL.

I hear this a lot and I don’t know why. I am not trying to be argumentative but why?

Buying OEL this summer as opposed to next summer saves a ton of cap space for 23-24 season. That’s it. It’s worse for the Canucks in every other way in terms of dead cap. Correct me if I am wrong.

Assuming we aren’t Cup contenders next season I think buying out OEL this summer is a mistake. On balance summer 2024 might be the best time.

 

[PuckMunchkin]

I wouldn't put it past this team from trading another 1st rounder for a 26 year old dman having an anomaly of a year. Whatever's necessary to finish in that golden 16-24 range of mediocrity.

With the goal they have set for them selves, they really should.

 

[MS]

Actually, a short rebuild around them has a better chance to keep them at the end of it (if we're talking an 6-8 year contact for Pettersson and an extension for Demko). It gives them the best chance to add impact players over term. What's debatable is whether the act of of collecting picks over 2 years will induce one of Pettersson, Hughes or Demko to request a trade out amidst each player's tenure. Meaning: the action itself, because no matter what they do (Hronek), they can't ensure a good team as result.

What you're talking about is the impact of the appearance of trying vs the appearance of not trying. I don't think players are this fickle, generally. The core of this team will drag it out of the basement, as we've just seen. They just don't have the supports around them... and that's what they need to build.

Dhaliwal reported literally yesterday that Pettersson will end contract negotiations and Tkachuk his way out if the team doesn’t turn things around next year. But keep going with Pettersson magically staying through a rebuild.