[Speculation] Let it begin: Lucic's time in LA could be short.

[aGENT]

With some other movement we'd likely still be able to afford a decent upgrade on D as well (though I don't see Seabrook happening).

Perhaps Luke Schenn (or a longer shot in Erik Johnson... though I doubt he makes UFA either) or perhaps a trade for Shattenkirk. Something along those lines.

[Gurn]

He's big, mean and slow, this will be an interesting year to see if he is too slow for the west.

[ice orca]

I imagine Chia up in Edmonton might have something to say about where Lucic lands.

[PhillipBlunt]

You guys poo-pooing the idea of signing Lucic are frickin' crazy.

- He was 4th in goal and point scoring for the Bruins last year. And that is despite his regular center out for half the year. The whole team had trouble scoring, with only 209 goals for (3 more than Toronto). He scored the exact same percentage of his team's goals as Daniel Sedin did for us.

- The guy is a career +40 in 96 playoff games. Significantly higher than any of his Bruins teammates. The Canucks have been plagued by secondary guys who perform admirably during the regular season, but then vanish when the real games start. Here's a guy who has proven he is the exact opposite - he comes to play. "Oh no, we don't want that..."

- He's 27 years old!!! He's younger than Nick Bonino! He's less than 3 years older than Linden Vey! But he has played 433 games (regular season and playoffs) in the last 5 seasons (by comparison, Daniel Sedin has played 393...and not with nearly as much grind). What some people label "decline" may just be needing a long summer to rejuvenate. This season with L.A. will reveal much.

- Those saying we have lots of size and talent in our prospect pool are right...but only at C and RW. We don't have a single prospect who is almost a surefire 2nd line LW. Baertschi and Shinkaruk have some promise, but are far from locks - and they certainly don't have size and grit. And after that we just have Kenins (likely career 4th liner, maybe 3rd), Guance (same), and extreme longshots.

- The young prospects coming in at C and RW is exactly the reason why you want a guy like Lucic at LW. He will protect them, make space for them, and draw lots of attention away from them and to himself.

Sure, Lucic will be expensive, but we can afford it. We have a ton of money coming in expiring contracts (Vrbata, Hamhuis, Prust this year; Miller, Burrows, Higgins next; Sedins and Sbisa year after that). It's not like there are myriads of key UFAs available each year that we can snap up. (Seabrook is going nowhere, people...but Bickell will be available!) And, unfortunately, we don't have any stud young gun who is lighting up the league and will need a gimongous raise (maybe Horvat will become that...maybe). In fact, pretty much NO ONE our top-6/top-4 are trending upwards right now, and in need of a future raise.

So the money is there, why not use it on a guy who 1) wants to come here, and 2) fits a glaring need?

Excellent post D-Money.

[TOMapleLaughs]

He's big, mean and slow, this will be an interesting year to see if he is too slow for the west.

He's too slow for the east, so...

[Senpai]

Canucks have enough for not Seabrook and Lucic next year.

My worry with Seabrook is; who really is the dude responsible for the CHI Cups; Seabrook or Keith?

It's obviously Keith.

Anyone in the world would pick Keith over Seabrook 10/10 times. This doesn't mean Seabrook isn't good however. I don't think we should go for him, because he isn't a puck-mover that we need, he's just a reliable 2-way guy.

To answer your question though, 100% Keith, there's not even a debate.

[buddhahoodlum]

Two words- Sea Brook!

[theminister]

Posted Today, 07:35 AM

OrrFour, on 01 Sept 2015 - 02:17 AM, said:

1. Presumably you mean after 2016-17, since expansion doesn't affect the Cap until the expansion team has been in business for a year to contribute to league revenues.

2. I've been thinking for some time that the weakness of the Canadian dollar might have an adverse impact on the cap for 2016-17. The Canuckbuck is now lower than it was last season and the league will have a full season of lower Canadian dollar.

Further, there is reason to foresee continued weakness for the dollar. The U.S. economy is strong which should lead to demand for the USD. The Canadian economy will suffer to some degree because of weak oil prices which rate to continue in the short term, leading to some degree of weakness in demand for the Canadian dollar.

Obviously, none of us know what will happen to hockey-related related revenues for the NHL in coming seasons. All anyone can do it predict and take various factors into account.

People in general are expecting hockey-related revenues to climb, and some on here assume they'll climb quite a bit. They might be right. I'd be wary, though, and think that in considering future commitments one has to take into the account the effect that continued weakness in the Canadian dollar could have on hockey-related revenues in the future.

Personally, the possibility of decline by Lucic seems a larger problem than the cap. We all remember the 30 goal, 62 pt 22 YO Lucic who was really, really tough. What will Lucic be at 32? At 30? Will he decline and by how much? Has he already declined and if so by how much?

How much punishment has his body already absorbed? What is his lifestyle like, is it conducive to long-term longevity in the NHL? How will it affect his play in the future?

We don't know, but I think extending a long term, high priced contract to Lucic would so much of a gamble as to be a huge mistake. It could work, but imo the risk of decline and having his contract be a millstone for the last few years is signficant.

Yes, I meant after the following season, as in when we say next Friday vs this Friday.

Obviously not the correct topic for this discussion but...

People tend to overestimate the effect of a falling CDN dollar on league revenue until they do the math. In empirical terms it can't equate to more than 3% in total even with a sharp decline and our seven teams accounting for 1/3rd of total revenue. The only unquantifiable is if it means less turn out and gate receipts but, knowing our insatiable national passion, I don't think that has an effect.

What we can quantify is the increased TV revenue, which is already a confirmed amount, plus the addition of sold out arenas in new expansion markets, whenever that will be. Then we have many new buildings ready to come on line in the next 1-4 years which will add increased luxury box revenue and advertising. I'm of the opinion that following this upcoming season, which will be bolstered by Brooklyn, that the revenues will climb for the foreseeable future on the backs of new buildings and corporate sponsorship deals.

I don't really have much of a comment on Lucic... It would depend on the contract. I'd give him a similar one to his current deal without losing much sleep.

[Coconuts]

I'd much rather overpay for a top tier D if at all possible.

[Outsiders]

Would love to have Lucic on the team, but depends how well he does in LA this year. Regardless he will probably sign a 4 yr deal with Vancouver anyway. will we overpay: yes

[Maniwaki Canuck]

I will say it again..if your going to overpay for a B.C. homeboy wait for Ryan Johansen, number 1c question solved.

Absolutely right.

[The Weasel]

Whether we like it or not, if he comes here, he will get a very large contract. Do I think he deserves it? No, but our GM has been overpaying like crazy for very average players and our team sucks which means players won't sign here for a discount/shot at a Stanley cup.

Just look at Sbisa/Dorsett/Sutter's contracts. Benning has already shown interest in Lucic. He will pay him a hell of a lot of money if he wants to sign with us next season.

I think Lucic is a bully that is on the decline, but I'm sure his boneheaded comments and actions will at least keep us entertained. It would be pretty satisfying having a legit heavyweight pummel someone every once in awhile, especially if he was sticking up for the Sedins.

[Me_]

I will say it again..if your going to overpay for a B.C. homeboy wait for Ryan Johansen, number 1c question solved.

Miller, Burrows and Higgins contracts expire.

[Me_]

I guess some people think Miller would rather stick with the much more likeable guys...like Jannick Hansen...despite any tendency to slam himself into the crease.

I never understood why none of the Canucks are the types to get the the hell out of the goaltender's way when speed crashing. What the hell are they thinking? How many times did that happen to Luongo, Schneider, Lack and Miller?

If I'm the Canucks, I trade Hansen after that. It just happens way too often for my liking.

[Mathew Barzal]

Lucic - Horvat - Virtanen

*grools*

[PhillipBlunt]

Whether we like it or not, if he comes here, he will get a very large contract. Do I think he deserves it? No, but our GM has been overpaying like crazy for very average players and our team sucks which means players won't sign here for a discount/shot at a Stanley cup.

Just look at Sbisa/Dorsett/Sutter's contracts. Benning has already shown interest in Lucic. He will pay him a hell of a lot of money if he wants to sign with us next season.

I think Lucic is a bully that is on the decline, but I'm sure his boneheaded comments and actions will at least keep us entertained. It would be pretty satisfying having a legit heavyweight pummel someone every once in awhile, especially if he was sticking up for the Sedins.

Your name is so very apt.

[PhillipBlunt]

I never understood why none of the Canucks are the types to the the hell out of the goaltender's way when speed crashing. What the hell are they thinking? How many times did that happen to Luongo, Schneider, Lack and Miller?

If I'm the Canucks, I trade Hansen after that. It just happens way too often for my liking.

Truly. The Canucks have shown a huge lack of discipline in their own end over the years. Not to mention Hamhuis' own goal when Garrison's errant pass went of his skate (or was it the other way around?). Embarrassing.

[Ilya Mikheyev]

I'm conflicted on Lucic, IMO, he brings good, risky and possibly bad things to the table. If he can regain 55-60 point form and keep his ego in check on a new team and different environment, I don't think it would be a terrible idea to get him on a contract through his prime years, although last year, he looked like a player who may have peaked at 24.

If he's willing to come home on a fair contract, to be closer to his family after his father passed, and has a good year (as outlined above), then I don't think it would be the worst signing. The dollar amount depends on how much the cap goes up, but a 5.5M for 4-5 year contract wouldn't be the worst idea.

[PhillipBlunt]

This idea that Lucic has peaked is funny. He's 27 years old.

He was part of a Bruins team that had a horrible year and missed the playoffs. Everyone sucked wind on that team.

I can see him killing it in LA. He's a winner going into a winning environment.

The Canucks need to create a winning environment for the kids to play in. Right now, it's a pretty lukewarm environment where scraping by has been acceptable.

And with that type of malaise comes the vitriolic attitudes of posters on this board. Lucic is a born and bred Vancouverite who returns to his home every off season. His statements are positive towards his home, yet some feckless posters here would prefer to dreg up controversy surrounding a fight he got into at the Roxy. Really? A fight at the Roxy is akin to water in a lake.

Johansen ain't coming here. Neither is Seabrook.

Appreciate that there still are notable star player like Lucic and E. Kane that want to play for their hometown.

[Ilya Mikheyev]

This idea that Lucic has peaked is funny. He's 27 years old.

He was part of a Bruins team that had a horrible year and missed the playoffs. Everyone sucked wind on that team.

I can see him killing it in LA. He's a winner going into a winning environment.

The Canucks need to create a winning environment for the kids to play in. Right now, it's a pretty lukewarm environment where scraping by has been acceptable.

And with that type of malaise comes the vitriolic attitudes of posters on this board. Lucic is a born and bred Vancouverite who returns to his home every off season. His statements are positive towards his home, yet some feckless posters here would prefer to dreg up controversy surrounding a fight he got into at the Roxy. Really? A fight at the Roxy is akin to water in a lake.

Johansen ain't coming here. Neither is Seabrook.

Appreciate that there still are notable star player like Lucic and E. Kane that want to play for their hometown.

I agree with you that Lucic will probably bounce back this year, his point totals might not be high on a Sutter team, but he'll be noticeable. But that's still a prediction, luckily Benning can scout Lucic for a full year and see how things go on his 2nd NHL team.