Eriksson done for the year with fractured rib. Will he ever find a place in VAN?

[BananaMash]

1 minute ago, cdubuya said:

Starts 20-21 as a 15 team NTC --- maybe by then we can get a team with cap space to take him on (as his contract is front-loaded)....but even then, he will need to improve his production which seems unlikely at this point.

I don't think his production will really improve much, but he's still good on the defensive end of the puck. He could end up being a good fit for a cheap team looking to hit the cap floor.

 

...Maybe Mr. Melnyk wants him?

[Nave]

He's a valuable part of our penalty kill, but I don't know what happened to him offensively. 
He used to be considered THE most underrated player in the league, by many pundits. 

[aGENT]

21 minutes ago, DeNiro said:

I could see him have a revival season playing with a guy like Pettersson.

 

I haven't completely written him off yet.

 

If there's any way we could trade him or buy him out we should, but I don't see that happening. Gotta hope he rebounds.

 

42 minutes ago, aGENT said:

Eriksson, Gaudette, Pettersson could be a pretty decent 3rd line...

[SergioMomesso]

Anyone know what the penalty is if he retires? I could google it but I’m lazy as frack right now. 

[Beefcake]

Just about every team in the league has a Lui  Eriksson like contract  on their roster

[Mr.53]

We just need a better defener. In a perfect world, we would trade him for one. But when it comes to our forward group, he just doesn't quite fit into the now, or the future and he isn't cheap. At least a guy like Phaneuf would be mad expensive, but would at least be a serviceable defenceman we can use.

[kloubek]

7 minutes ago, Mr.53 said:

We just need a better defener. In a perfect world, we would trade him for one. But when it comes to our forward group, he just doesn't quite fit into the now, or the future and he isn't cheap. At least a guy like Phaneuf would be mad expensive, but would at least be a serviceable defenceman we can use.

Tanev says hi.  He's about as good a defender as it gets.  Our d doesn't need better defending nearly as much as it needs better production.

[Mr.53]

Tanev is our only good defender on the right side. Stecher is alright, but he's small. Biega has heart, but he's also small. Gudbranson is supposed to be good, and I think he can be, but we surely haven't seen it yet. Eriksson is a good player, but he doesn't fit in with the group. When he was brought in, he was basically supposed to be Vanek. (As well as be able to immediately click with the Sedins.) He could do neither.

 

Tanev needs help. If we had done something like flipping Eriksson for Phaneuf and swapping those contracts, a combo of Tanev - Phaneuf would be pretty solid.

[LowerMainLander18]

Eriksson needs to have a strong training camp to make the team next season..

Hope he figures it out during the offseason.

[The Great Canucks]

There is no point in buying him out. It would be better to keep him for another year or two. Even though his offense has been lacking, he is still pretty good defensively and we do have room for him still. We still need the depth. Honestly, at this point, he should to be kept for the expansion draft, which is likely happening in two years.

[Me_]

Eriksson. There's gotta be one on a team...

 

Eriksson...

 

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

1 hour ago, BananaMash said:

His NMC ends after this season and turns into a limited NTC, I believe.

NMC first two years.

NTC next two years (starting next season)

Modified NTC final two years (15 team list)

 

So next season, we could send him to Utica and save around a million in cap. Or at least we have that option (pretty unlikely).

 

EDIT: And we wouldn’t actually save that much burying his salary because we’d still need to pay a replacement player.

 

He’s pretty much guaranteed to be here for the duration of his deal. 

 

Which is ok. He’s a useful player when you ignore his salary. And at this point, you kind of have to. Thankfully the cap is headed up so his hit will become less and less in terms of percentage of total.

[riffraff]

3 hours ago, CanuckGAME said:

No he wasn't.  He may not be chipping in the points but he is a rock defensively.  We are significantly weaker without the puck, without Louie in the lineup.

Source?

[Riviera82]

2 hours ago, rekker said:

Never like to see a Canuck hurt. He is a Canuck for awhile. He will always have a place on a line as the defensive forward if nothing else. Obviosly over paid for what he brings. I could maybe see him on EP's line at some point next year or the year after.

He'll put on the jersey but I dont think he's really a Canuck.

Benning or whoever is pulling his strings saw Eriksson's 30 goals from the year before (a contract year of course) and threw the bank at him. He'd have been stupid not to accept the deal especially since (it's my belief) he was happy to come to a team in the basement. No worries about playing for free in the postseason, show up for the scheduled 82 games and then go on vacation. I think he's nothing more than a mercenary who puts on a good show in contract years and then disappears once he's been paid. All motivation goes out the window once he's fooled a team into giving him a deal.

It's highly unlikely but I hope he never comes back.

[Tystick]

I'd give him one more year to show he can still play, he wasn't doing that bad tbh.

Otherwise buy him out.

[logic]

If no Sedins + Vanek next year then there is definitely room

[rekker]

5 minutes ago, Riviera82 said:

He'll put on the jersey but I dont think he's really a Canuck.

Benning or whoever is pulling his strings saw Eriksson's 30 goals from the year before (a contract year of course) and threw the bank at him. He'd have been stupid not to accept the deal especially since (it's my belief) he was happy to come to a team in the basement. No worries about playing for free in the postseason, show up for the scheduled 82 games and then go on vacation. I think he's nothing more than a mercenary who puts on a good show in contract years and then disappears once he's been paid. All motivation goes out the window once he's fooled a team into giving him a deal.

It's highly unlikely but I hope he never comes back.

Yikes. I'm not as down on him as you. You have him rated lower than the gum under your boots. 

[bloodycanuckleheads]

5 hours ago, Green Building said:

That signing at the time was a little pricey and too much term, but that's what it takes to lure a FA to a struggling team sometimes. Who could have predicted that Eriksson would have regressed as much as he did? His drop off has been nothing short of astounding. 

We didn't have to lure him.  He telegraphed he was coming to Vancouver literally 1+ years in advance.  Which makes that contract all the more indefensible.  We could have offered him pennies and he still would have come here.  He wanted to play with his friends before they retired.

[189lb enforcers?]

Toxic media and fan-negativity must have gotten on his rib somehow. 

[RWMc1]

“Loui is an excellent two-way forward, an elite scorer and playmaker with great defensive instincts,” said General Manager Jim Benning. “He is an accomplished player who helps our team now and in the future as a leader and role model for our young players to follow. We’re excited to have Loui join our team and help us compete every night.”

People focus on the former and ignore the latter.

 

Eriksson was being used as a shutdown player against other teams best players. I thought he did alright in that role. If there was any other options then we could have used Loui on a scoring line. Granlund was being judged in the same way. Judging players, used in a defensive role, by their offensive stats is unfair. He'll never live up to his salary even if he has a couple of good seasons because of his first two seasons here.

 

I still think that paying Eriksson and giving him his contract was a good thing for the team. He can play in any situation and plays hard every game. More importantly though is the message it sends to other UFAs. We've never been a big draw to UFAs in the past. People complained about Sundin, but we drew more UFAs after that.

 

Now we get to see more young players and hopefully their defensive games get to the point that Green has more options next season.