-
Posts
3,519 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Gallery
Everything posted by Noble 6
-
I slept on it last night and the more I think about it, the more I like this deal. Schmidt is a really good player. He was a #2/#3 defensemen on a contender who instantly upgrades our defense and fills an organizational need at RD (even though he isn't a RHD). He fits well with either Hughes or Edler, but pairing him with Edler would give us a puck mover on each of the top two pairings. He's also reliable enough defensively that he could play with Hughes in offensive situations. For next year at least, who have 4 defensemen who could realistically hit 30+ points, which is pretty exciting. This could be very similar to the Miller trade in terms of the impact it could have on our team. Schmidt will have the expectation of contending given his team's success over the last three years. That should be a positive influence on our young defensemen, especially if he gets to play with one of them like Juolevi. The contract is similar to Miller's in that there is some considerable term left on the deal, which means he'll be locked in with our group for the forseeable future. The main concern I had with this deal initially was the contract. The term left on the deal was considerable and right now we don't have much flexibility to fill out our roster. However, Schmidt isn't a complimentary or depth piece that is being overpaid, he is a quality piece with cost certainty. To me, this means we will likely be shedding the bloated contracts over the next few years (Beagle, Roussel, Myers, etc.) and committing cap space to important players. Schmidt's skating ability mitigates some of the fears of a decline in the back half of the contract too. The only thing that is an unrefutably negative is his injury history. The other thing that clicked for me was the situation that the trade was made under and our offseason as a whole. I realized that management had likely been planning for this or something like this since the beginning. They were always planning on acquiring a quality defensemen on the cheap from a team that gets squeezed out. The Pietrangelo/Vegas rumours have been going on for a while, so Schmidt was likely identified as a potential target before Free Agency opened. That helps to explain why they reportedly barely contacted Tanev and Stetcher; they already had their succession plan in place, it just didn't happen on the first day of Free Agency. And then as soon as Pietrangelo signed and Schmidt was made available, management offered a deal that was good enough for Vegas to close the deal fairly quickly after. This prevents negotiations with other teams and risking losing out on their targeted player. Even then, acquiring a top end defensemen for a 3rd is a gross underpayment. Schmidt would have been worth a 1st + A prospect in a normal trade. This is me filling in the blanks without all the information so I could be way off, but this is the way I interpret it at least. I've grown to really like this deal for us.
-
Adding Schmidt definitely makes us a better team. I like him as a fit with either Hughes or Edler.
-
The Canucks are still in a really good spot for Expansion next year. We could even add another defenseman and still be alright. Hughes being ineligible is a major win. Up front it we likely won't lose anyone worth worrying over and in net its obviously Demko. I really hope we can work out a deal to dump Myers to Seattle in Expansion.
-
I think Benning made this deal quickly to make sure he secured Schmidt. Ideally there would have been either some retention or a pick coming back from Vegas, but I think management made sure they didn't miss out. Even then, a 3rd is a really good price on paper. That's in the same ballpark as a 5th, which was used to get Gudbranson
-
Now that the 2020 NHL draft has taken place virtually, its time to look ahead to 2021. Here are some early rankings: https://dobberprospects.com/2020/08/12/dobberprospects-preliminary-2021-nhl-draft-rankings/ https://thehockeywriters.com/2021-nhl-draft-rankings-bell-preseason-top-31/ Some interesting names near the top of the draft class: 1) Autu Raty - 6'1, 180 lbs, C 2) Owen Power - 6'5, 205 lbs, LHD 3) Brandt Clarke - 6,1, 180 lbs, RHD 4) Carson Lambos - 6'1, 200 lbs, LHD 5) Luke Hughes - 6'0, 161 lbs, LHD There are some really good defensemen that should be available throughout the draft, which should be good news for the Canucks.
-
[Signing] Hurricanes sign Jesper Fast
Noble 6 replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
That's a nice cost for a bottom-6 winger. -
[Signing] Flames sign Christopher Tanev
Noble 6 replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
I'm happy that Benning and management are showing restraint and holding firm in negotiations. With that said, we have to get SOMETHING considerable done for our defense in particular. -
[Signing] Canucks sign Braden Holtby
Noble 6 replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
I'm just saying Crawford at 3.9M is cheaper for the same term. -
[Signing] Canucks sign Braden Holtby
Noble 6 replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
They're in a similar position to Vancouver: Demko = Samsonov Holtby = Lundqvist They chose a cheaper veteran to split games with their young goalie. -
[Signing] Canucks sign Braden Holtby
Noble 6 replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
I'm not going to turn this into a Beagle discussion. Washington preferred Dowd at 750k over Beagle at 3M and that's the bottom line. -
[Signing] Canucks sign Braden Holtby
Noble 6 replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
Exactly. If Clarke sees something he can work with then I'm not going to argue with him. I'm just saying looking purely at the contract, it seems a little expensive given his level of play recently. Again, the term is a major win though. -
[Signing] Canucks sign Braden Holtby
Noble 6 replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
Well yeah. They felt that they could get younger and/or cheaper players to step in to those roles. They signed Dowd for peanuts and they have Samsonov in net. They didn't feel that any extra value that the vets brought was worth their cap hit. -
[Signing] Canucks sign Braden Holtby
Noble 6 replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
His individual stats and level of play have dropped off since the Capital's 50 win season or whatever it was with the exception of the 2018 Playoffs. I think he was playing on a good team. There's a reason Washington let him go. -
[Signing] Canucks sign Braden Holtby
Noble 6 replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
Love the term on this deal; two years is perfect. Could not ask for anything better there. The cap hit is a little high. I don't think Holtby is anything special as a goalie but I would not be surprised if he improves under our goaltending coaches. Everyone else seems to. I like the experience he brings and he'll be a good mentor for Demko. Speaking of which, I am very excited to see what Demko can do with an increased workload. He did not look overly impressive to me during the season but his Playoffs were obviously unreal. I'm glad he'll get to grow with the core. -
I like this decision. I really don't like dead cap space.
-
I don't mind keeping Virtanen on the 3rd line as a bottom-6 scorer that can occasionally move up in the lineup. Removing Virtanen from the lineup makes our bottom-6 look even more like an offensive black hole. Virtanen can get 30-40 points regardless of who he's playing with and what usage he receives as he proved this year.
-
I would like to keep Virtanen, but I'm not sure management does. I would like a contract in the 4 year, 3M per range similar to Kapanen's deal.
-
[Rumour] Tyler Toffoli to hit free agency
Noble 6 replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
I actually have been advocating for letting Toffoli walk this whole time. We have young wingers in Podkolzin, Hoglander and Lind that will be ready to step in soon. No need to tie up cap space in an aging, declining winger. -
Based on Benning's comments and recent rumours, it seems reasonably likely that Virtanen's time as a Canucks is over. I still like Virtanen and think he showed relatively well over the season. He was seeing plays and making moves that we haven't seen him do before. This year he seemed a bit more confident in slowing down and trying to make something happen. His wraparound goal against Arizona is an example of this; I don't think he would have even attempted that play in the past. He still brings value as a bottom 6 contributor and someone who can carry the puck up the ice with speed. The inconsistency in effort levels are a definite problem though and it seems like it won't be possible to adjust that in Vancouver. He's grown too comfortable in his role and he's obviously comfortable in the city. Ideally I would like to keep him, but I won't lose sleep over losing him either. I've pretty much made the separation in my mind already. It just sucks that our two BC boys (Virtanen and Stetcher) both might be on different teams next year.
-
I thought Juolevi showed really well in his one game against the Wild. In his limited minutes he made some nice passes, defended well and didn't look out of place. Combine that with the good reviews of his practice habits in the bubble and it's looking good. I have him penciled in on the 3rd pairing ahead of Benn: Hughes - ________ Edler - Myers Juolevi - _________ Benn, Rafferty That's how I see the defense core for next year. We don't know who will be in those two RD spots. It could be any of Tanev, Stetcher, a UFA or an acquisition through trade. But the bottom line is I think we'll finally get to see Juolevi in the show sooner rather than later.
-
The same way I explain Bailey's invitation: he was going to be a spare below the 13th forward spot. I don't think that means much in terms of giving him another shot. Baertschi knew that and decided to stay home after his own personal evaluation. There were, at minimum, 15 forwards ahead of him at the start of the return to play. Was there interest in Baertschi as a player, or Baertschi as a cap dump to land other assets? I also thought that the Baertschi - Horvat connection was a good one for the team regardless of who ended up on LW. I think Baertschi would have provided more scoring support than Pearson, who often went cold for long stretches. He also showed well with Gaudette in the preseason. I think no matter where he played, he would have provided a reasonably effective offensive presence.