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mll

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Everything posted by mll

  1. Buffalo is the highest scoring team in the league - they don't really need another goal scorer. They also already have Tage Thompson and Cozens as their top-6 Cs.
  2. Lamoriello just extended Barzal this October to an 8 year deal - 73.2M. Clearly he thinks he is going to play an important role for their team.
  3. Why would NYI give up their recently extended C1 for a rental. Management doesn't want to give teams permission to talk to his camp about an extension per Drance/Dhaliwal.
  4. Playoff teams typically trade futures for rentals - they don't often remove from their roster.
  5. Lamoriello just extended Barzal to a 9.15M x 8 year contract - can't imagine he would trade him before his new deal has even started.
  6. Horvat is apparently being traded as a pure rental and buyers hardly ever make their moves that far ahead of the TDL. It's a cap space issue + injuries can alter a team's plan.
  7. From Friedman's 32 Thoughts: 1. I don’t believe in absolutes. Feelings change over time. What you think today might not be what you think tomorrow, and everyone should avoid emotional decisions. That said, we’re 11 weeks from the trade deadline, and it’s getting extremely hard to see Bo Horvat wearing a Johnny Canuck reverse retro past March 3. I don’t profess to know Horvat well, but here’s my amateur psychology: he’s very proud to be Vancouver’s captain, definitely capable of handling the Canadian microscope. But he prefers to keep the spotlight at arm’s length and does not like his business splashed over the internet like a Kardashian. Horvat won’t do the hockey equivalent of smashing 62 home runs like Aaron Judge in the all-time contract season, but he sure doesn’t seem distracted — on-pace for 59 goals heading into Wednesday’s game in Calgary. In his mind: summers are for talking, seasons are for playing. 2. How did we get here? At the draft, there was league-wide consensus Horvat would be extended, with J.T. Miller’s negotiation more of a challenging escape-room puzzle. The Canucks initially indicated they saw Horvat in similar mold to Edmonton’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, although that was more of a conceptual thing as opposed to offering him a similar contract ($5.125 million AAV, lower than what Horvat is earning now). Whatever the case, there was never a time an extension appeared close. As Labour Day approached, Vancouver pivoted to Miller — reigniting talks and completing a contract out of nowhere. Because of what happened with Miller, I’m loathe to declare this over. It sounds like they’ve offered Horvat both seven- and eight-year deals, but multiple sources indicate the chasm is wide and bridging it “will be difficult.” They’ve definitely put him on the market, with teams indicating the Canucks are asking what you’d want for a premium rental. Tight cap situations mean there’s time to sort it out, and Vancouver could try to sign him again. The challenge as I see it is they’re not keen on going over Miller’s $56 million figure, and Horvat’s monster season puts him in position to go above that. 3. Some other stuff about the Canucks: They’re determined to create cap room. That will take some creativity, but aren’t interested in moving first-rounders and would like to replace the second-rounder sent to Chicago in the Jason Dickinson-Riley Stillman deal. Elias Pettersson can be extended this summer, and even though he isn’t a UFA until July 2025, it’s already on their radar. 4. In Bruce Boudreau’s first 82 games as coach of the Canucks, the team had 97 points. Last year, that ties them with Nashville for the second wild card. This year, it’s slightly above the cutline. With all the craziness, you’d think Vancouver had 30 points in that span. 5. Was talking trades with one GM this week. “What kind of calculator are you using?” he asked. “None of this stuff is mathematically possible.”
  8. Canucks are ranked 13th. NYR is 1st followed by Toronto and Montreal.
  9. They didn't purposefully tank though. RoR was traded because of his salary demands (summer 2015). Sakic tried to replace him by signing Soderberg in free agency. They were even buyers at the 2016 TDL but still ended up missing the post-season. Sakic was considered one of the worst GMs in the league for quite some time. It's only after the Duchene trade (November 2017) and them making the playoffs that same season that opinions changed. Ironically it was the year Sakic decided that he was just going to bring in their youth and let things play out vs trying to improve their roster through veteran signings.
  10. They were talking of teams having good players but not building a contender because the pieces didn't fit together before even the Pettersson/Hischier draft. Getting 1st overall is not the guarantee of building a winning team - eg Buffalo. There's no reason that the Canucks aren't further along either.
  11. That's only 2 players for a roster of 23. What if Detroit picked Hughes - does Vancouver get Zadina instead. There's always some luck but you also need the right vision/planning along with the luck. Lamoriello always refused to rebuild - NJD had made the finals in 2012 and he was replaced in May 2015. Shero too went for the re-tool on the fly. Gave up multiple picks 2nd/3rd rounds for Palmieri, Johansson, Mirco Mueller even went for a 2nd, Gusev, Subban etc - never gave up a 1st though. NJD ownership just as impatient - one of their owners was complaining that they had picks/prospects to trade so it was really unacceptable that they weren't in the playoffs. Could even argue that the Canucks drafted just as well during those years in the 1st round till the Shero firing - Bratt was a steal in the 6th round though but other teams had ample opportunity to take him before NJD. Fitzgerald only took over in January 2020. Winning the lottery is not the reason one team is doing well and the other is struggling. It's more the pieces they brought in on the side and how they constructed the team. Not giving up 1st round picks. Not extending players that didn't fit their core. Having an identity of how they want to play - speed and pace. NJD one of the fastest if not the fastest team in the league - they can suffocate opponents with their speeed and it's a differentiating factor (for now). Vancouver has no real identity and have pieces that don't quite fit together. 2014 Virtanen (6) McCann (24) Quenneville (30th) Benning's 1st draft and Lamoriello's last Demko in the 2nd round 2015 Boeser (23) Pavel Zacha (6th) Sheros' 1st draft 2016 Juolevi (5th) McLeod (12th) but Bratt in the 6th round 2017 Pettersson (5) Hischier (1) 2018 Hughes (7) Ty Smith (17) 2019 Podkolzin (10) Hughes (1) 2020 - Holtz (7) + Mercer (18) + Mukhamadullin (20) Fitzgerald's 1st draft So far only Mercer is a regular. 2021 - Hughes (4)
  12. Pettersson - Hischier drafted the same year. Canucks have Pettersson and Quinn Hughes - also a combo that can carry a franchise + they have the goaltending in Demko. Right now they've simply failed to find the right pieces that fit together. NJD completely rebuild their D-corps over the past 20 months. Of their current regulars only Severson was drafted by them. Their top-4 are all new players acquired recently. Siegenthaler for a 3rd round pick in April 2021. Graves for a 2nd in July 2021. Hamilton free agent signing in summer 2021. Marino this past off-season by trade and Smith free agent signing this past summer. Vancouver could have done the same if they weren't stuck with the wrong contracts.
  13. 4 years left after this season. Expensive deal too. Hard to find the perfect fit in any trade / signing especially in free agency. Teams have to often make concessions to get what they feel they need. Per Fitzgerald they felt it was essential to add someone with Cup winning pedigree. NJD was very low in the standings last season and weren't going to attract top UFAs without paying the price and/or adding some term. Fitzgerald was just talking about how it changes a team to bring in guys who have that kind of playoff experience / success where they expect to win and losing is unacceptable. Last season some players were giving up on plays early and didn't always push themselves so they felt it was important to add Palat/Haula who come from winning organisations who demand to be in the post-season. Was talking of how it changed the room and the professionalism.
  14. Can't see that happening. NJD are relentless and never give up on plays. That's really not Miller - can't see them wanting his attitude on the ice influencing their young players. Dellow was an analytics blogger before being hired by NJD - he apparently reports directly to ownership. He has long mocked teams who hand out long term contracts to players nearing 30 because age decline is inevitable.
  15. Sounds more like speculation than rumours. Dan Rosen doesn't even buy it. It's a weird target. NJD is relentlessness and never gives up - that's not guys like Kane who when they lose the puck don't always put in the full effort to get back after it. Can't see Miller being a fit for the same reasons + he's too old to fit their pillars as Fitzgerald calls Hughes/Hischier. Dellow, their head of analytics who reports directly to ownership, has always criticised teams who give long term deals to players at 30 given the inevitable age decline. NJD always says that building a contender is not about hoarding talent but having pieces that fit together. Again last month Fitzgerald was talking about how you need complementary players like Haula, Tatar, Wood. Don't see why they would want to pay Horvat 8-9M to be C3 or why himself would want to play behind Hughes/Hischier. Miller doesn't fit their culture. Can't imagine they want that kind of give up on plays and limited backchecking around their young players. Since when they would be allowed to retain only on this year. Have you seen confirmation. Can't find anything in the CBA but the league has their own interpretation of rules that are unclear - eg the 35+ buyout rule staying on the books was never written in the CBA but was still applied that way.
  16. Re Boeser and whichever other player with term the Canucks might be trying to trade - cap space might continue to be tight around the league next season.
  17. He plays bumper on the Canucks' PP where he has 8 of his 20 goals. Would he even get that role on another team. Canucks are also pushing for offence and give up a lot of chances the other way. It's typically easier to produce if the D-side of the game is forgotten vs playing the right way and being on the right side of the puck. It really doesn't feel like he will be able to sustain his scoring pace on a more structured team and a different role/setup on the PP.
  18. Horvat doesn't share the puck though and Gaudreau needs the puck to drive the line.
  19. Canucks apparently are looking to trade him as a rental per Dhaliwal/Drance. So can't see teams out of the playoffs making a move for him. Can't see Horvat wanting to extend in Columbus either.
  20. He might not even interest Boston as a rental and he is unlikely to play ahead of Bergeron. Canucks don't plan on giving teams permission to talk to him about an extension - ie he would be traded as a pure rental per Dhaliwal/Drance. Boston is top of the league - not sure they would even want to disrupt their chemistry. He is shooting at 22% - that doesn't feel sustainable. He's not a playmaker either.
  21. Schenn. They are leaning towards trading him but will likely circle back to him in free agency. They note that his wife is pregnant with a due date near the TDL and the team will be mindful in finding a trade that works for all. Bear. He has a 2.2M qualifying offer and is arbitration eligible. They think he is building a case where the arbitration award could be pretty hefty. It's going to give him leverage in extension talks that could start sometime in February/March. Buyouts. The team is apparently willing to take an unbalanced return on Boeser, Myers, Garland and Pearson in an attempt to clear their cap space. If they can't move out big contracts they could seriously consider buyouts. They note that it's been a tough sell to get ownership to agree to buyouts though. They didn't give Miller permission either. Pretty much takes out non-playoff teams or those on the bubble. They might feel that giving him permission to talk extension would give him leverage to dictate his destination and it could affect the return.
  22. Dhaliwal/Drance speculate that Vancouver won't give his camp permission to talk extension and that he will be traded as a pure rental.
  23. Can't see Nashville trading Sissons. Would create too big of a hole in their lineup with no one ready to replace him at C3. Not sure they would have interest in Boeser either - skating issue and lack of two-way play. Nashville also tight on cap - reason why Fabbro is apparently available.
  24. Miller lives near Pittsburgh and even trains in their facilities in the off-season. Before naming Larsen CBJ talked at length how they deviated from their hard working culture and how it was something they had to fix. They are trying to rebuild their hard-working culture and are integrating a fair bit of youth. Miller's effort when things don't go his way is pretty poor. Have a hard time seeing them wanting Miller as role model. Don't see him wanting to go there either - they look far from contending. He doesn't have a trade clause but to have him upset is probably not going to help CBJ much.
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