[Rumour/Speculation] Hudler/Canucks

[Alflives]

2 minutes ago, mll said:

Benning also says Horvat is C3 next year and that Sutter is C2.  Like for Baer they don't want to put pressure on Horvat.  They will be LW2 and C2 once they are ready.  It's just unclear how and when they will get there.

The thing for next season is that Benning says Baer is on the 3rd but WD thinks it's not ideal for Horvat's development right now to play him with Baertschi. 

How long did Kesler play as the three centre?  I think Burr was in a third line checker role too.

[Alflives]

Just now, DeNiro said:

I would take Hudler. He seems like the more versatile player, and I think he could produce without the Sedins better.

 

Vrbata left a bad impression with fans too. He seemed to mope alot last season when things weren't going his way. Not the type of player you want around young guys IMO.

Didn't Vrbata publicly state he nixed the TDL deal by choosing only teams he knew wouldn't want him, or something like that?

[DeNiro]

17 minutes ago, Alflives said:

Didn't Vrbata publicly state he nixed the TDL deal by choosing only teams he knew wouldn't want him, or something like that?

I remember rumors about that I don't remember him publicly stating that though.

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

5 minutes ago, DeNiro said:

I remember rumors about that I don't remember him publicly stating that though.

Vrbata: “I don’t think I handcuffed them, but I knew what I was doing,” he told Postmedia. “I could have given a lot more (options) and I would have moved. If I wanted to get traded, I would have been traded.”

http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2016/04/14/vrbata-if-i-wanted-to-get-traded-i-would-have-been-traded/

[DeNiro]

6 minutes ago, SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME said:

Vrbata: “I don’t think I handcuffed them, but I knew what I was doing,” he told Postmedia. “I could have given a lot more (options) and I would have moved. If I wanted to get traded, I would have been traded.”

http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2016/04/14/vrbata-if-i-wanted-to-get-traded-i-would-have-been-traded/

Ahh I missed that one.

 

Why the hell would we wanna bring him back knowing he screwed us over at the deadline then?

[LaBamba]

54 minutes ago, DeNiro said:

I would take Hudler. He seems like the more versatile player, and I think he could produce without the Sedins better.

 

Vrbata left a bad impression with fans too. He seemed to mope alot last season when things weren't going his way. Not the type of player you want around young guys IMO.

I'm starting to question this theory. I remember McCann saying in an interview that guys like Vrbata helped him get through his mid season slump. There was also a comment by Burrows during the season along the lines of "I don't want to be remembered as the grumpy old guy in the room amongst the rookies" no one knows for sure but there were rumblings that Prust was the guy who was acting like a douche around the rookies. 

I also remember Benning praising Vrbata's professionalism throughout the deadline. That comment about wanting or not wanting to be traded might be him trying to camouflage his shame. I personally think he just has a pouty looking face no matter how he is feeling. He looks like a mortician. Anyway, that's my take on it. 

[Davathor]

Hudler plays hard, has good hands and could be real good if he finds chemistry with someone. He's a better option than most of our 'top 6' fill ins. 

[DeNiro]

13 minutes ago, Davathor said:

Hudler plays hard, has good hands and could be real good if he finds chemistry with someone. He's a better option than most of our 'top 6' fill ins. 

I agree. 

 

Hoping that Rodin will take the NHL by storm or that Hansen can continue to produce big without the Sedins is a big what if. It's best to have options in case things don't work out. I would hate to have a season like last season where we just don't have scoring cause there's nobody to fill in.

[mpt]

16 minutes ago, DeNiro said:

I agree. 

 

Hoping that Rodin will take the NHL by storm or that Hansen can continue to produce big without the Sedins is a big what if. It's best to have options in case things don't work out. I would hate to have a season like last season where we just don't have scoring cause there's nobody to fill in.

Just not sure we want him on a multi year deal

[DeNiro]

7 minutes ago, mpt said:

Just not sure we want him on a multi year deal

No definitely not.

 

Unless their plan is for Vegas to take him. That might be wishful thinking though.

[kloubek]

5 hours ago, mll said:

Baertschi and Granlund combined for two goals spread over two seasons in the AHL - in fairness they were not often paired together or in the same league at the same time.  

 

WD had them together all through March (when healthy) but they haven't put up one single point together.  Granlund is further back in his development than Baertschi and still has to find his scoring touch at this level.  It won't be an effective line until he does.   I am not sure Granlund is suited for a scoring role either - in Calgary they had him at C2 for the first part of the season but it wasn't productive so they moved him to C3 (and at times in the pressbox) before trading him.  

These we're my thoughts pretty much as well.   I'm not convinced Granlund is anything special as a 4th, let alone a third line center.   Have more faith in Gaunce,  believe it or not... 

 

Adittionally,  I know we've played Sutter on the wing before,  but I'd rather see him on center.   Plus,  though I think Horvat is probably already our best 2nd center option,  it's obvious WD didn't see it that way. 

 

Really,  we need more players who are capable of playing a top 6 role properly....  Wing in particular.   To me,  Hudler is the answer....  If not a not completely ideal one. 

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

The more I think about it, the more I'm warming up to the idea of signing Hudler.

 

This guy can put-up 50 points per season and usually produces at >2 points per 60 5v5TOI. He plays all three forward positions. He's pretty sound defensively. He's been fairly durable (he hasn't played less than 72 games in any full season). He's considered a good teammate, brings veteran leadership, and seems to have been well-liked wherever he's played.

 

If he's open to coming here on a short term deal that fits within our price range, I really don't see any downside (other than possibly losing someone to make room).

 

Sure our forward group lacks some size and grit and Hudler, standing 5'10" and being a former Lady Bing winner, is not going to help make the team bigger or nastier. But what we lack most is scoring and Hudler has proven he can produce points quite consistently year-to-year. And at even strength he's often scored at near elite rates (based on his points per 60). 

 

There's little doubt in my mind that Hudler would make this team better.

[BabychStache]

I'm on the fence with a Hudler signing. On one hand I like the offensive options, on another I worry about team identity, lack of toughness etc.

 

Then I remember watching Hudler with Gaudreau and Monahan. They were a dynamite line. I'd be pumped at the prospect of Sven/Bo/Jiri line. 

 

Thank God Gudbranson is a Canuck. That toughness is going to be very needed. 

[73 Percent]

39 minutes ago, BabychStache said:

I'm on the fence with a Hudler signing. On one hand I like the offensive options, on another I worry about team identity, lack of toughness etc.

 

Then I remember watching Hudler with Gaudreau and Monahan. They were a dynamite line. I'd be pumped at the prospect of Sven/Bo/Jiri line. 

 

Thank God Gudbranson is a Canuck. That toughness is going to be very needed. 

Shhhh.  Don't tell the advanced stat junkies that last part. 

[Hugor Hill]

I'm good with a 2 year contract, he is a good player. But I suspect he is asking for more. 

 

His last contract was 4m X 4yr. I would be shocked if he is not asking for around the same $ amount. It's a fluid situation but at this point according to GF, We don't have that much cap space.  

[WhoseTruckWasIt]

13 hours ago, DeNiro said:

I agree. 

 

Hoping that Rodin will take the NHL by storm or that Hansen can continue to produce big without the Sedins is a big what if. It's best to have options in case things don't work out. I would hate to have a season like last season where we just don't have scoring cause there's nobody to fill in.

Adding a player will also limit our options as it will almost certainly mean losing players to waivers.  It's one thing to have a PTO as a plan B, but if we sign Hudler he becomes plan A, and it won't matter how good our fringe players look at camp.

 

I'm not totally against adding Hudler, because I certainly see the logic, but it doesn't make me comfortable.

[Realtor Rod]

He's better offensively than many on our roster, bring him in. Better than Etem, Granlund, Burrows, Dorsett, possibly Sven, Gaunce and Virtanen (at this point). We lost Vrbata and could use a few more goals. Just don't have a hudler bobble head night or the arena may collapse under the sheer weight...

[Provost]

I wonder if things are all kind of in limbo until the Vesey decision and then teams will go with plan B.

 

I also wouldn't be surprised if Benning makes a hard push for Vesey as well.  Whenever he talks about his needs he says a LW with some size and grit to be slotted into the top 6 and can score them 20 goals.... sounds a lot like the kid from Harvard to me.  Not exactly an established player who has shown that kind of production at the NHL level, but most certainly a better option than Hudler considering age and upside.

 

Apparently all has been completely silent from the player's camp and the rumours are all rampant speculation rather than sources.  Most of them have him wanting to be in the East, not sure if that is based on anything beyond where his hometown is and where he played in college.

 

If he is just concerned over having an opportunity to play significant minutes and have a chance at power play time, etc... we are a great option.

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

1 hour ago, WhoseTruckWasIt said:

Adding a player will also limit our options as it will almost certainly mean losing players to waivers.  It's one thing to have a PTO as a plan B, but if we sign Hudler he becomes plan A, and it won't matter how good our fringe players look at camp.

 

I'm not totally against adding Hudler, because I certainly see the logic, but it doesn't make me comfortable.

I hate exposing players to waivers as much as anybody. But we shouldn't become paralysed by the fear of losing a #12-14 grade forward or #7-8 defenseman.

 

If you can upgrade a top-six position then you take the risk of exposing a depth player to waivers.

 

I like guys like Etem, Granlund, Pedan, etc, and recognize that we traded good assets for them, but if they're sitting in bubble positions on our roster (which isn't all that strong a group to begin with), then you don't let waivers risk stop you from making additions that will improve the team.

 

Of course it's tough to risk losing a early-to-mid twenties player to make room for a 30+ player. And such a move goes against the spirit of a rebuild. But if we're truly "retooling" and trying to compete, then sometimes these risks need to be taken.

 

There are lots of young bubble players moving up and down every season. Many similar players to our current depth guys will hit the waiver wire. If we lose another Corrado type, we should be able to replace them fairly easily, either through in-season waiver claims, signings/trades next offseason, or upward pressure from developing prospects. Our current D depth chart, compared to that of one year ago, pretty much proves this point (and the Corrado loss, for all the handwringing, myself included, hasn't really set us back one bit).

 

 

 

 

[cbdoubleu]

People keep talking about toughness like they still think we are in the 2011 SCF.

 

I think he's a great utility piece to add to a team that is in desperate need of secondary scoring.