D-Money Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 (edited) With Erik Karlsson re-upping in San Jose, there isn't much on the UFA market for RHD. The few definitive NHL-calibre ones (Myers, Stralman...and McQuaid?) will likely require too much salary and term. But there is one guy who hasn't got much attention at all, and that is former SHL defenseman of the year Tim Heed (Elite Prospects page). He is a Swedish offensive RHD that has played with San Jose for the last 3 seasons. He has put up phenomenal numbers at the AHL level, and in the NHL games he's played, he's been very productive (67 GP, 24 points - 0.36 ppg), and not a complete liability in his own zone (+9 so far). The problem is, he's been stuck behind one of the deepest RHD groups in the league - and with Karlsson there, definitely the deepest. When Burns and Karlsson are in, he has almost no chance to play, especially as an offensive guy and PP specialist. With Karlsson re-signed, Heed will almost certainly look for a better opportunity elsewhere as a UFA. I think Heed would be a great buy-low target in free agency. He's only 28, and should have a lot to give. And Vancouver would be a great fit for him too. We desperately need RHD, and someone who can run a PP (Hughes will likely get PP1, but Heed could take PP2). And the Canucks have numerous Swedes on the team, and a long history with them. He's a bottom-pairing guy at even-strength, but after Stecher and Tanev, that's also what we need anyway. Edited June 17, 2019 by D-Money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptKirk888 Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Seems like a bit of a fringe player, don’t know if he would substantially improve the Canucks d. He is also on the small side at 5’11” and 180lbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Money Posted June 17, 2019 Author Share Posted June 17, 2019 8 minutes ago, CaptKirk888 said: Seems like a bit of a fringe player, don’t know if he would substantially improve the Canucks d. He is also on the small side at 5’11” and 180lbs. He's the exact size of Shayne Gostisbehere. And bigger than Tyson Barrie, Torey Krug, Jared Spurgeon, Ryan Ellis, Will Butcher, Samuel Girard... He's been a "fringe player" stuck behind Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson, and Justin Braun - all RHDs. He's played when one of those guys were out, and played quite well. (His points-per-game were above Troy Stecher and Ben Hutton.) There's a possibility he'd be a solid regular roster player on a team without those 3 in front of him on the depth chart. Of course it isn't a slam-dunk. If it was, he wouldn't be available at a reasonable rate of salary/term. To me, he's a guy who stands out as possibly being a good-value signing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptKirk888 Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Fair enough. Given all these attributes, why won’t SJ resign him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Money Posted June 17, 2019 Author Share Posted June 17, 2019 2 minutes ago, CaptKirk888 said: Fair enough. Given all these attributes, why won’t SJ resign him? He's UFA. He can choose not to sign. If your largest attributes are being a RHD PP specialist, would you pick San Jose to play for? You got no chance whatsoever to make an impact with those 2 ahead of you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM_ Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 interesting idea, and wouldn't be a big risk from a cost pov. I would think if Myers somehow doesn't make it to free agency this could be a thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73 Percent Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Tim heed is that you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hindustan Smyl Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 I’ve been saying this for years. Great depth player and wouldn’t look at all out of place on a bottom pairing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ojibwa72 Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Myers is going to be a bidding war with Karlsson gone and we don't want a part of that. His stats look impressive. If we could by Low enough for sure. No reason not to have options in training camp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rocket Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 Yes! I’m very much in favour of bringing in Tim heed and maybe a defensive defensemen on the right side as well. Could see big changes to the Canucks d-core. Some other moves they could make: 1) if Edler walks (likely) sign Gardiner. Good pp guy, good first pass, and his shortcomings are overrated due to game 7 magnifications last few years. 2) trade Brandon Sutter to Edmonton for Kris Russel. Pretty even trade I would say. Defensive specialist players who are overpaid for their role, similar contracts. Each team filling a position of need. 3)see if you can flip Tanev (50% retained) for a pick or forward or something. If no good offer keep him on the team until he inevitably gets injured. 4) if there is a real gap in signing Ben Hutton, Pursue Jordie Ben with a 3 year deal. Brings a lot of different tools to the table that Te Canucks don’t have. Potential New top 6 D-core Gardiner - Stetcher Hughes - Russel Benn - Heed right side still need a lot of work but imo it’s a one step at a time process. All the other parts are in place and it’s a lot better than the d group from this year, and should be pretty easy to put together Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senrik Hedin Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 Only if we can sign kash heed too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senrik Hedin Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 Teams would have to heed the warnings about entering our defensive zone.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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