[Waivers] 5 players (update: all clear, incl. Wiercioch) - Oct. 4th, 2017

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

I believe Wiercioch will need to be assigned to the Comets regardless. They may loan him (or another vet) out, but his first stop is Utica. Remains to be seen how long he stays there. Apparently Cull is discussing options with Canucks management regarding the veteran limit issue.

[kloubek]

8 hours ago, oldnews said:

Joe Colborne's contributions last year.

62 games

4 g 4 a, 8pts

38.5% faceoffs

86 hits

14 blocks

-21

52.1% offensive zone starts / 47,5% corsi

2.5 million cap hit

 

Jayson Megna

58 games

4 g 4 a, 8 pts

87 hits

23 blocks

-4

46.7% offensive zone starts, 44.8% corsi

675k cap hit.

 

Megna is about 18th on the depth chart - with very comparable contributions to Colborne - at 1/4 of the cap hit - nowhere close to earning a roster spot on this team.

 

Hard pass on Colborne.

Kinda tough to dispute numbers like that isn't it?  

Only 86 hits.  I actually thought he was much more of a physical player than that.  

Ok - agreed.  Pass.

[shadowscyne]

Isn't Pickard a capable starter 

[AlwaysACanuckFan]

19 minutes ago, Jimmy McGill said:

maybe not... they have too many veteran players, its a serious problem, they are going to have to sit several veterans for a while until it somehow gets sorted out. 

Hopefully sorted out sooner than later otherwise I can see the veterans getting frustrated,  not being able to play while it's getting sorted out. 

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

10 minutes ago, shadowscyne said:

Isn't Pickard a capable starter 

He's a very good backup. And could very well be a good starter somewhere.

 

His NHL stats, as a backup, in 2014-15 (16 games, 0.932 Sv%) and 2015-16 (20 games, 0.922 Sv%) were stellar.

 

Last year, his performance dipped when he was handed the reins (50 games, 0.904 Sv%). But he also had a horrible team in front of him.

 

His last two performances at the Worlds (0.50 GAA, 0.971 Sv%; 1.49 GAA, 0.938 Sv%) showed a glimpse of what he might be able to accomplish playing behind a quality team.

[JM_]

6 minutes ago, AlwaysACanuckFan said:

Hopefully sorted out sooner than later otherwise I can see the veterans getting frustrated,  not being able to play while it's getting sorted out. 

is it too late for some guys to go play in Europe? I could see that being preferable to the ECHL for some guys but that may not be an option.

 

From a team talent perspective though I suppose this is the preferred problem to have vs. last year. 

[oldnews]

7 hours ago, Dazzle said:

I love this comparison. Everyone here knows how much heat Megna got for being on the roster (which was not his fault at all), let alone playing with preferential minutes under WD.

 

Megna really didn't deserve any of that though; he was miscast for a role that he had no business being in, as someone succintly pointed out. He was playing with the Sedins, for crying out loud. Ironically, he had written something about them in years past which he had to retract.

I think WD also takes more heat for this than he should.  My criticisms of WD would revolve more around how he handled the blueline than the forward group.

 The Canucks were hammered by injuries - there were points last year where there just weren't good options.

Megna was playing with the Sedins imo, in large part because he's a pretty damn good defensive forward - with speed - and attention to detail when they're not in possession.  Henrik (iirc) was playing hurt through stretches - and people can say what they will, but Megna complemented them well without the puck - as well as being a fairly aggressive forechecker that at least gets in and attempts to retrieve puck.  He was also a right handed shot.  He started the season last year in Utica - in about the 16 spot on the depth chart - there was only one reason he was up in those situations.

[oldnews]

 Nice to retain Wiercioch's rights (and add Pouliot while still having Biega around).

With the way this team fields injuries, he could be helpful yet.

[Baggins]

On 10/5/2017 at 2:46 AM, Dazzle said:

I love this comparison. Everyone here knows how much heat Megna got for being on the roster (which was not his fault at all), let alone playing with preferential minutes under WD.

 

Megna really didn't deserve any of that though; he was miscast for a role that he had no business being in, as someone succintly pointed out. He was playing with the Sedins, for crying out loud. Ironically, he had written something about them in years past which he had to retract.

To be fair Willie didn't have a lot to choose from, particularly when injuries piled up. And it pretty much seemed everybody got a shot at playing with the Sedins from Erickson to Skille when Hansen was injured (and then traded). Megna wasn't actually there long with the Sedins anyway. It wasn't until Granlund was put with them that anybody else really clicked with them. It was really just a case of Megna being the favorite whipping boy among the forwards however Willie used him the fans would complain. Among all our forwards Megna was 11th in ice time per game (12:26) so I'm not sure what all the complaining was about considering all the injuries through the season. Did I like Megna? Not really. Not a bad player, but didn't add anything to the offense. But that could be said about quite a few on the roster last season.

 

The way I saw it Bo's line was playing well so why would you take somebody off their line to play with the Sedins? Sutters line was the same thing, playing well so why break up that line? The problem was it left the dregs to try with the Sedins. It didn't work so Granny got put with them and Bo's production dropped. It was a no win for Willie.

[Ghostsof1915]

On 2017-10-05 at 4:11 AM, alfstonker said:

Let's be clear, lest some idiots on here fill the blanks in incorrectly. Benning was to blame for the dire resources Willie was forced to use.

Also Megna was a decent fit with the Sedins given his similarity to Burr in all but scoring - the Sedins said as much when interviewed.

So, Gillis's woeful drafting and leaving the cupboards bare gets a pass, and all the blame on Benning? 

That's like Obama being blamed for the bump fire device. Excuse me, wasn't he the one that the Right was screaming was going to take away all their guns? Did he invent, market and sell the device? No. Love how people twist facts to suit their narrative. 

[Gaudette Celly]

On 10/5/2017 at 4:11 AM, alfstonker said:

Let's be clear, lest some idiots on here fill the blanks in incorrectly. Benning was to blame for the dire resources Willie was forced to use.

On the contrary, Benning actually tried to stabilize and deepen the roster, acquiring the likes of Vey, Baertschi, Pedan, Granlund, Etem, and Dorsett for draft picks plus signing UFAs like Weber, Bartkowski, Eriksson, etc.  Of course he was then criticized for that as an attempt to "win now" and "refusing to rebuild".

[mll]

Marincin and Pickard have cleared waivers.

 

[stawns]

23 hours ago, SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME said:

I believe Wiercioch will need to be assigned to the Comets regardless. They may loan him (or another vet) out, but his first stop is Utica. Remains to be seen how long he stays there. Apparently Cull is discussing options with Canucks management regarding the veteran limit issue.

this is exactly why it was shortsighted to keep Boes and Virt to start the season, imo

[coryberg]

37 minutes ago, stawns said:

this is exactly why it was shortsighted to keep Boes and Virt to start the season, imo

Shortsighted because some of the career AHL vets will have to sit out a few games in utica? So much for our future!

[cyoung]

55 minutes ago, stawns said:

this is exactly why it was shortsighted to keep Boes and Virt to start the season, imo

No. Better to reward them. We can loan on Wiercioch cant we.. 

[oldnews]

6 minutes ago, cyoung said:

No. Better to reward them. We can loan on Wiercioch cant we.. 

Yes, exactly - they earned it.

Clearly outperformed the veteran bottom six guys that were waived.

 

I think Wiercioch should be one of the guys Utica keeps in Utica - loan out the more marginal replacement players like Megna.

 

Wiercioch was essentially the last cut - and D are harder to come by, and the blueline seems to suffer more than it's share of injuries every year.

 

Wiercioch, Holm, Rodin, Chaput....Bachman....

 

Loan out Megna.

[stawns]

8 minutes ago, oldnews said:

Yes, exactly - they earned it.

Clearly outperformed the veteran bottom six guys that were waived.

 

I think Wiercioch should be one of the guys Utica keeps in Utica - loan out the more marginal replacement players like Megna.

 

Wiercioch was essentially the last cut - and D are harder to come by, and the blueline seems to suffer more than it's share of injuries every year.

 

Wiercioch, Holm, Rodin, Chaput....Bachman....

 

Loan out Megna.

There would have been no down side to having them start in Utica, but a lot of upside for them, for JB and for Utica. 

 

I agree they played well and earned a spot, but sometimes roster management isn't fair.  I just think it would have given JB some time to tinker and figure out the best plan.

[oldnews]

5 minutes ago, stawns said:

There would have been no down side to having them start in Utica, but a lot of upside for them, for JB and for Utica. 

 

I agree they played well and earned a spot, but sometimes roster management isn't fair.  I just think it would have given JB some time to tinker and figure out the best plan.

Meh.  I don't really see a problem here - shuffling replacement players in Utica / loaning them is not a problem - it's a sign than they finally have enough viable depth - and their youth are pushing.

 

Disagree with the idea that there would be "lot of upside for them" in being assigned - I think the opposite would be the case - the downside of sending a player that earned a spot down to Utica, and the impact that has on their perception of fairness, and the team's stated commitment to making space for young players that earn it.  JB is walking what he talks and that in itself has value to the morale of his team.

 

Loaning a Jayson Megna is a non-issue imo.   Rodin needs time to play and heal - Goldobin needs seasoning etc - but the replacements ideally should and conceivably could be coming from the youth in due course this year - so literally a non-issue.  Not worth it to assign a deserving young player in order to avoid this 'problem'.

[stawns]

12 minutes ago, oldnews said:

Meh.  I don't really see a problem here - shuffling replacement players in Utica / loaning them is not a problem - it's a sign than they finally have enough viable depth - and their youth are pushing.

 

Disagree with the idea that there would be "lot of upside for them" in being assigned - I think the opposite would be the case - the downside of sending a player that earned a spot down to Utica, and the impact that has on their perception of fairness, and the team's stated commitment to making space for young players that earn it.  JB is walking what he talks and that in itself has value to the morale of his team.

 

Loaning a Jayson Megna is a non-issue imo.   Rodin needs time to play and heal - Goldobin needs seasoning etc - but the replacements ideally should and conceivably could be coming from the youth in due course this year - so literally a non-issue.  Not worth it to assign a deserving young player in order to avoid this 'problem'.

It depends how much they are going to play and in what situations.  I think it's very beneficial for them to be the go to guys on the Comets......get the lions share of the PP time and maybe even learn how to be a PK'er at the pro level.  If they're going to play bottom 6 mins and no PP time in Van, then I think it's a mistake to keep them there.  That's just me though.  Selfishly, I watch a lot of Comets games and would love to see them dominate there and give those fans a powerhouse team again.

[oldnews]

18 minutes ago, stawns said:

It depends how much they are going to play and in what situations.  I think it's very beneficial for them to be the go to guys on the Comets......get the lions share of the PP time and maybe even learn how to be a PK'er at the pro level.  If they're going to play bottom 6 mins and no PP time in Van, then I think it's a mistake to keep them there.  That's just me though.  Selfishly, I watch a lot of Comets games and would love to see them dominate there and give those fans a powerhouse team again.

I agree - but I don't think they're up to idle around on the pine.

Boeser will play top 6 minutes with Horvat and likely 1st, or at least 2nd pp unit minutes.

Virtanen I'd expect to play 13-15 minutes ('3rd line' minutes if you will)  - I really don't see this team having a "4th" line - I think it will look more like 4 middle six lines when it shakes down / rolling lines.