Elias Pettersson

Tocchet looks like he can still play. He needs to lace them up so he can play with Petey…

Beauvillier isn’t a 3rd liner. He isn’t good defensively and doesn’t kill penalties. I’d rather have Pearson on the 3rd line. Or Podkolzin. If Beauvillier isn’t playing in your top 6 then he really isn’t that useful to us.

Close. Gary Bauman (who started the first North Stars game in their history in '67). He played his first NHL game (of a 35 game career) with the Habs the previous season.

Haha, Gretzky, Lemieux, Jagr, Coffey, Bourque and Roy. Are you kidding me? That is probably the greatest lineup in NHL history, well if you substitute Bourque with Orr. Gonna take the lineup with the Great One. And I think they would win the playoff series in a 4 game sweep... Logically, this is how I would break it down: Gretzky > McDavid Lemieux > Crosby Jagr > Ovechkin Coffey > Pronger Bourque > Lidstrom Roy > Brodeur When you break it down player for player it is totally lopsided for the team with the Great One...

I had Vlasic ahead of OEL just because he had one less year on his deal. My gut feeling is if OEL was still on the Canucks he would have been #1 on that list...

I wonder where OEL would have placed if his contract hadn't been bought out? The NHL’s 10 Worst Contracts of the 2023-24 Season (msn.com) 10. Darnell Nurse, Edmonton Oilers Contract Remaining: Seven years, $9.25 million AAV It should be noted that a player’s presence on this list only means that their contract is poor and not generating a level of on-ice value in line with their salary, rather than an outright judgment on the player themselves. Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse is one such case. The 28-year-old blueliner is a hulking 6-foot-4, 221-pound force on the backend who has gradually increased his offensive output with each successive season. He’s a workhorse in all situations and has generally posted improved defensive metrics over the past few campaigns. Where his valuation becomes muddled is the discussion around whether his offensive production and play-driving are just a byproduct of playing heavy minutes with two of the NHL’s biggest superstars in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. It’s difficult to isolate his true value in such circumstances but it seems like the Oilers fell in love with and committed to an idealistic version of Nurse. Whether it’s by the eye test or with advanced analytics, there are few reasons to justify making him the seventh-highest-paid defender in the NHL above the likes of Roman Josi ($9.059 million), Cale Makar, and Dougie Hamilton (both with $9 million), to name a few. Despite that enormous advantage, Nurse has never eclipsed the 43 points he tallied last season and at 28, has little runway if he’s to improve. Unfortunately, that leads to the rearguard being unfairly criticised on occasion, but that comes with the territory. There’s a world in which Nurse earns between $6 and $7 million and his contract is considered fair value, but it’s not this one. 9. Colton Parayko, St. Louis Blues Contract Remaining: Seven years, $6.5 million AAV Colton Parayko is far from the only problem on a St. Louis Blues blue line that has changed drastically since the organization’s 2019 Stanley Cup win, but his role as the team’s primary shutdown defender thrusts him into the spotlight. He’s one of four Blues’ defensemen scheduled to count for at least $4 million this season against the cap, and one of three to earn $6.5 million (Torey Krug and Justin Faulk), coming in just outside the NHL’s top 30 earners at his position. Parayko’s contract was a gamble from the beginning, with the Blues hoping that the then-28-year-old would not be hampered by an injury-shortened season the year prior, and that he could fill in the gap left by the departure of Alex Pietrangelo. Instead, he’s struggled in a top-pairing role beside inadequate partners and hasn’t produced enough offensively to offset his recent defensive struggles. Parayko could likely regain his form in the short term but given that he’s entering the season as a 30-year-old, doesn’t offer much hope that he will be a positive asset for the rest of his contract’s lifeline. For reference, it takes him through the 2029-30 season where he will be 37 years old, provided he makes it that far before the Blues cut ties. Parayko’s on-ice share of scoring chances, high-danger opportunities, and expected goals at five-on-five has been sub-50% for four consecutive seasons, demonstrating a consistent decline since the aforementioned Cup run. It’s not a coincidence that the gradual drop in performance has come since Pietrangelo left for the Vegas Golden Knights, and Parayko has assumed a greater role in the lineup. The Blues’ failure to successfully reconstruct their blue line group has blown up in the worst way. Their five-highest paid defenseman are all over the age of 30 and will earn at least $3.275 million this season. As I said, Parayko isn’t the lone problem in St. Louis, but he’s borne the brunt of the blame given his status within the organization. 8. Josh Anderson, Montreal Canadiens Contract Remaining: Four years, $5.5 million AAV Burly forwards who rely on their speed and physicality to create offense rarely age well into their 30s, and 29-year-old winger Josh Anderson of the Montreal Canadiens looks to be the latest example in that mould. Signed to a seven-year deal almost immediately upon being acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets, Anderson’s tenure with the Canadiens has been a mixed bag to date. While it’s true that he’s scored at a 24-goal, 38-point pace in the regular season and potted five playoff goals during Montreal’s unexpected run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, he’s frequently penalized and has compiled a minus-42 plus/minus rating over the last three seasons. Anderson’s on-ice share of scoring chances, high-danger chances, and expected goals at five-on-five has dipped steadily since his first season in Montreal, hitting the sub-45% mark in all three categories in 2022-23. The Canadiens have been more interested in securing a better draft position over the past two seasons so they’re not necessarily concerned about a drop in form, but that’s a disappointing return on investment nonetheless. The Canadiens have to be hoping for more from Anderson, rebuilding or not. His cap hit puts him just outside the top 100 of all forwards for the 2023-24 season and despite his goalscoring sitting near that level, his point production put him near the 200th-ranked forward for the 2022-23 campaign. At 29 years of age, there’s little room for improvement at this stage of his career, and health is already an issue (he missed 13 games in each of the last two seasons). This contract has the potential to drop even lower in the future. 7. Brendan Gallagher, Montreal Canadiens Contract Remaining: Four years, $6.5 million AAV Like his teammate mentioned in the previous section, 31-year-old Brendan Gallagher is in the same boat due to his play style. A feisty scoring winger in his prime, he is paying the price as he progresses further into his career. Since the start of the 2020-21 season, Gallagher has only appeared in 128 out of the Canadiens’ 220 regular-season games (58%) and scored at an 18-goal, 42-point pace during that time. That lack of availability and diminished production coupled with the term remaining on his deal throws the veteran forward into this uncomfortable discussion, and it’s difficult to see him ever return to the level which earned him the contract in the first place. At this rate, even staying healthy would not make Gallagher a positive asset at his current price point. The Canadiens are inching closer back to relevance with every passing season and Gallagher has admittedly been surrounded by a depleted supporting cast, but his individual chance generation has dropped off in tandem with his injury concerns. This one hurts, but it was worth it at the time and Gallagher had played two consecutive seasons in which he appeared in all of the team’s games. Sometimes, all it takes is one setback to send the entire structure tumbling down and that appears to be the case with Gallagher, though only time will tell. 6. Torey Krug, St. Louis Blues Contract Remaining: Four years, $6.5 million AAV Going into the 2023-24 season, 32-year-old Torey Krug is tied with Parayko and Faulk for the biggest cap hit on the Blues’ blue line, and sits just outside top-pairing territory league-wide. For that kind of investment, one would like more than the 63 games and 32 points that Krug offered in 2022-23, and his term is the main reason why he doesn’t rank lower on this list. The last time that Krug played more than 70 games in a single season was during the 2017-18 campaign, and has yet to match the 49 points he scored in his final season with the Boston Bruins. Krug has never been a defensive stalwart by any means, but his effectiveness on that end has diminished even further in recent years. He only ranked fifth among Blues blueliners in even-strength scoring last season (18 points) and has seen his share of scoring chances and expected goals at five-on-five drop every year since joining St. Louis as a free agent. If nothing else, it’s difficult to justify paying Krug like a first-pairing defender while not giving him anywhere near that level of usage. Among defensemen who played in at least 10 games last season, the veteran rearguard averaged the 134th-most ice time in all situations. That puts him just outside the threshold for a top-four defender, making this an even bigger indictment of his deal and it’s no wonder he’s been on the trade block. 5. Ben Chiarot, Detroit Red Wings Contract Remaining: Three years, $4.75 million AAV Steve Yzerman’s tenure as the general manager of the Detroit Red Wings has been marked by puzzling free-agent decisions, but none is more confusing than signing an already 31-year-old Ben Chiarot to a four-year deal worth nearly $5 million annually. One of the biggest benefactors of the Canadiens’ surprising run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, Chiarot earned a (misguided) reputation as a physical, no-nonsense shutdown defender. If one looks past the name, one would see a blueliner who struggles to move the puck out of the zone, bleeds chances despite his aggressiveness, and owns the third-worst penalty differential in the league over the past three seasons. A player who provides very little in attack while constantly putting their team at a disadvantage is not worth $4.75 million per year, even less so for four more seasons. Chiarot arguably hampered the development of Moritz Seider, saddling the phenom with virtually everything to do both offensively and defensively. Seider lacked the calming defensive conscience that is so crucial for young NHL defensemen, and it’s no surprise his scoring totals and defensive metrics jumped once separated from Chiarot. Chiarot ranked last or second-last among the Red Wings’ regular defensemen in terms of his on-ice share of shots, scoring chances, high-danger chances, and goals at five-on-five. There’s no doubt that he was over-matched in a top-pairing role, but that’s a strike against Yzerman’s previously infallible judgment given the mountain of evidence which loudly decreed Chiarot as a player worthy of much more than league minimum. If this deal was longer, it would undeniably be the worst in the league. 4. Jonathan Huberdeau, Calgary Flames Contract Remaining: Eight years, $10.5 million AAV Ranking Jonathan Huberdeau‘s contract this low may be harsh and reek of recency bias, but there is no doubt that the runner-up for the 2021-22 Art Ross Trophy (115 points) had an extremely underwhelming 2022-23 season. Inked to his current deal before ever playing a game as a member of the Calgary Flames, Huberdeau came into the season with enormous expectations. A combination of a significantly altered Flames roster, a more conservative on-ice gameplan, and issues with former head coach Darryl Sutter all factored into the playmaker’s paltry sum of 55 points in 79 games – less than half of his total from the previous season. Toss in a contract that only kicks in this season and takes Huberdeau through his age-38 campaign and you have all the ingredients of an albatross of a contract. There’s little upside for a player already on the back-swing of his career at 30 years old, and the percentages are against a complete resurrection of Huberdeau’s production. While it’s extremely unlikely that Huberdeau will ever replicate his performance from 2021-22, there’s still hope that he can be a top-line talent albeit not one worthy of carrying the 10th-highest cap hit in the league among all skaters. He was a point-per-game player in the three preceding seasons and even the most severe of age-related declines should not have resulted in such a precipitous drop in scoring. Newly minted head coach Ryan Huska promises to inject some youthful exuberance into a locker room that was by most accounts, dreary and despondent at times last season. Playing to Huberdeau’s strengths will be crucial to unlocking the Flames’ offense and at over $10 million a season, there is no alternative. 3. Seth Jones, Chicago Blackhawks Contract Remaining: Seven years, $9.5 million AAV Is this ranking unfair to Seth Jones and more a reflection of the current state of the Chicago Blackhawks’ rebuild? Perhaps, but he’s as much a factor in their dysfunction as the rest of the roster. Miscast as a number one defender, Jones’ deal takes him through the 2029-30 season when he will be 36 years old and his no-move clause (NMC) all but guarantees that he will stick around until the rebuilding Blackhawks circle back into Cup contention. Jones’ cap hit is currently tied for fourth among all NHL defensemen, with Adam Fox and Charlie McAvoy also coming in at a $9.5 million hit. Both have the benefit of being surrounded by stronger teammates but both also posted excellent relative metrics (how their team fared with them compared to without) despite playing on better teams. Jones offers the Blackhawks value by eating up more difficult minutes while insulating his younger teammates as they develop, but he’s a net-negative in a vacuum which is what this exercise is working towards. He’s a victim of early-career hype and has yet to replicate his 2017-18 season in which he scored 16 goals and 57 points in 76 games as a 23-year-old. There’s still hope for Jones given his age (28) and noticeable physical gifts (he stands 6-foot-4, 209 pounds) but unless he finds his way onto a team where he’s pushed down in the lineup, will remain a negative asset in his current role. Whether his future lies with a rebuilding Chicago squad or elsewhere remains to be seen. 2. Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars Contract Remaining: Four years, $9.85 million AAV When the Dallas Stars initially signed Tyler Seguin to his current deal, the center had just come off of five straight seasons of at least 70 points, as well as scoring 40 goals in the most recent campaign (2017-18). He continued the streak with 80 points in 2018-19, but dropped to 50 in 69 games in the first COVID-shortened season (2019-20). Since then, Seguin has only reached 50 points in a season once, and missed nearly the entire 2020-21 campaign due to hip and knee injuries sustained during the previous season. In a sport where skating mobility is king, such setbacks can spell the end for many a career, and Seguin endured a grueling rehab process to even return to play in the first place. At only 31 years old, there is still time for Seguin to regain some of his on-ice value before his contract is up. Time is of course not on his side and his decline cannot be discussed without the context of his major lower-body injuries. Yet, he should still be able to provide reliable secondary scoring to a Dallas side growing into Stanley Cup contention and could even buck his trend of diminished production with another offseason for recovery. When it comes to contracts in sports, there is little room for sympathy. You either produce or you don’t, and Seguin has not produced at the level of the 12th-highest-paid forward heading into the 2023-24 season. Unfortunately, that earns him a spot on this list, and may do so for the foreseeable future. 1. Marc-Edouard Vlasic, San Jose Sharks Contract Remaining: Three years, $7 million AAV At last, we arrive at Marc-Edouard Vlasic of the San Jose Sharks, with the 36-year-old defenseman earning the unfortunate title of the NHL’s worst contract for the 2023-24 season. His deal doesn’t carry the same term or AAV as some of his competitors on this list, but his significant physical decline means he’s offering very little at either end of the ice. Notably, Vlasic’s former teammate Erik Karlsson may have led this list if not for a tremendous Norris Trophy-winning campaign and some modest salary retention by the Sharks in the trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins. It’s a sad state of affairs for the veteran blueliner who was once considered the league’s best defensive defenseman. His disciplined defending and canny on-ice awareness positioned him as a key cog for one of the NHL’s top Stanley Cup contenders of the last decade. Among Sharks defensemen to have played in at least 10 games in 2022-23, Vlasic ranked fifth in ATOI in all situations (17:30 minutes per game). It was a slight jump from the year before, but still the second-lowest usage of his entire career. It’s a moot point since the Sharks have not been anywhere near legitimate contention in several years, but a bottom-pair defender should not be paid as well as Vlasic (26th in cap hit) through his age-39 season.

$4.75 million is the going rate for 20 goal scorers. Mikheyev is not only a 20 goal scorer, but he's also a very good defensive player. There was nothing wrong with this signing at all. Both him and Kuzy were free assets. It's not Allvin's fault that Benning burdened him with all the bad contracts. They bought out OEL which had to happen, so they freed up enough cap space to fix the defence somehwhat and get some new centres for the penalty kill as well. They've done a good job considering what they had to work with. I expect this team to make the playoffs this year. Even a 10% improvement on the penalty kill will push up to the playoffs. As well, I expect our goaltending to be alot better this year with less high danger chances and with a better defensive structure...

Bear is a UFA and can sign with anyone. So I am sure he will take the best deal for himself. Cap wise we won’t have any room for him unless we make a trade. It would be pretty hard to make a trade in December to open up cap space. I don’t really see him as an option for us this season.

The SEL and the NHL have an agreement that 1st round picks can come over to North America at any time and play here. They can even be sent to the AHL. It’s only first round picks though so you won’t see D-Petey come here until he is ready for the NHL. Lekkerimaki could be here next year and can play in Abby.

At the end of the day we got Hronek, Raty and a 4th for Horvat and a 2nd. That’s actually more than I thought we would get. Hronek straight up for BO would have been a fair deal. A top 4 RHD is more valuable than a 2C tweener who isn’t great defensively and is a career 55-60 point guy.

Edmonton built an entire “ice district” downtown. It was like a $3 billion project with developers building hi rises around the area. Also, the City of Edmonton funded 50% or more of the project. So in the course of redeveloping downtown Edmonton they added a practice facility to the site. We don’t have the land to do that. And even if we did it would cost billions. Downtown Vancouver is much more expensive than downtown Edmonton. Most NHL practice facilities are not next door to the actual rink. Edmonton is an exception as they built an entire community from scratch.

No the mall was never shut down. However, the underground parking is mostly in the area where there was parking already above ground, so they shut down most of the parking area for that. For Rogers Arena they probably need to close off the street for all of the excavation that would be needed as well as reinforcement of the current structure. So that site is probably all closed off for a year or two. They also built the Skytrain underground on Cambie and are doing the same on Broadway, so you can drive by and take a look at the mess on Broadway. It won’t be complete until 2026.

I’m not irritated at all. I can just tell from your questioning that you probably don’t know a lot about construction and building in Vancouver. My buddy builds houses for a living so I know exactly what is entailed in getting permits from the City of Vancouver and my other buddy also owns a real estate company of which I work directly with him through my own company so I’ve had dealings with developers in the city for a long time. Zoning bylaws and permit procedures are different depending on location. City of Vancouver is the worst, although the new mayor Ken Sim is trying to fix that. Burnaby is way easier to get a permit than Vancouver but still a pain in the butt. All the land that Aquilini currently owns is already zoned for this type of use, or is in the process of rezoning. Going out and getting new land would restart the timeline, which is several years. SFU already has sports facilities on its lands, so correct zoning is probably already there. In terms of Rogers Arena, most likely the land would need to be rezoned for a higher use and more density if you are wanting to build beneath a current structure. Plus, as someone already pointed out, that structure, i.e, Rogers Arena, will probably need to be shut down for several years while they are building underground. I’ve never heard of a building being built below another building in Vancouver, however the transformation of Brentwood Mall included building several floors of new underground parking around an existing structure. That project took over 3 years just for the underground parking. They are doing the same thing at Oakridge Mall but are having challenges due to the soil and water levels around that area.

Wow, was Myers really that bad when we gave him $30 million? We aren't getting a 24-25 year old top 4 RHD for Demko. At the end of the day, if Silovs is the real deal then Demko has to go. Are we going to sign Demko to a 6-7 year extension at 30 years old when Silovs is around? Also, Pesce has only had one major injury to his shoulder. And he rehabbed mostly in the offseason. He played every game last year. I mean Petey already has missed half a season with injury, plus had a concussion in his first season, so injuries can happen to anyone at any time. I'm not too concerned about that.

Vegas won the cup with Adin Hill. Colorado won the cup with Philip Grubauer. We had a hall of famer in Luongo and still couldn't win the cup. Rangers can't get to the final with the best goalie in the world in Shesterkin. Rangers couldn't even beat New Jersey last year who had a rookie goalie in net. What the Canucks really need to do is put a defensive structure in place so that we don't need to rely on a goalie to win games. That's exactly what Tocchet is trying to do...

Pesce will get a 6.5x6 deal from someone. I mean we gave Myers a 6x5 deal at the same age 4 years ago. Pesce is still playing at a high level. He's not rapidly declining like Parayko. If Silovs is the real deal, then we are back to Luongo/Schneider or even Markstrom/Demko. One of them has to go. We kept the older goalie in Luongo, but then kept the younger goalie in Demko. I guess we could always trade Silovs if he lights it up this year. But my hunch is Demko will be the one to go in the next two years prior to him becoming a UFA. Pesce for Demko is a fair deal for both parties, I even threw in a 2nd round pick. The other players are only in the deal for cap reasons. Demko isn't going to have a huge trade value on the open market. Most goalies don't. if you can get a top 4 RHD for Demko who is under 30 you can pull the trigger...

At some point, Allvin is going to read CDC and make the trade proposal to the other team and it's going to happen. The more trade proposals I make the better chance I have that one of mine is the winner. Like buying a lotto ticket...

You obviously are not familiar with how the zoning bylaws work and how long it takes to get a permit for new construction in the City of Vancouver. It takes up to one year just to get a permit to build a house. 4-5 years to get a permit to build a hi-rise. If you are talking about building a practice facility below the parking, then you are going 4-5 levels deep at least. That's the equivalent of a hi-rise in Vancouver. You most likely need to re-zone the land in order to do that. Re-zoning takes probably 3-4 years at least...

Yes, I'm aware there is a parkade under the building, I have parked there many times while attending games when my buddy had club seats. First off, you can't just eliminate the parking, that is basically VIP parking for everyone that is paying big bucks to go to a game. You can't ask those people to park on the street. Parking is attached to the club seats. Also, that is where the players, coaches and everyone else parks. Do you expect Petey to park his car at the impark lot across the street? In order for your proposal to work, you'd have to dig deep to get underground parking below a second rink. There are zoning bylaws attached to that. You are looking at 4-5 years of dealing with the City of Vancouver to ever approve such a concept.

I'm not sure how you are going to get a rink to be built underneath an already existing rink. How would that be possible? The building is almost 30 years old. I doubt it has the infrastructure to accomplish such a feat. I'm sure, Aquilini, as a developer, has already looked into this, as it would save him millions if he could actually do it...

To Carolina: Thatcher Demko Anthony Beauvillier To Vancouver: Brett Pesce Frederik Andersen 2024 2nd round pick Cap numbers work. We get our partner for Quinn Hughes. Carolina gets their #1 goalie for a cup run this year. Andersen will be our starter until Silovs is ready. We also open up $1.7 million in cap space so we should be fine on opening night. I would only do this deal with a Pesce extension in place. 6.5x6. Gives us time to properly develop Willander and not rush him. Once Willander is ready to play with Hughes then Pesce can play on our 3rd pairing in 3-4 years.

Of course UBC would be more desirable at the end of the day given everything else all being equal. But maybe UBC isn’t interested in the idea. So it’s a moot point then. And there is no empty land available to buy and build a practice facility close to Rogers Arena. You are talking about some of the most expensive land in North America. The Plaza of Nations is going ahead with the public rink no matter what. So Aquilini can always go back to them. It won’t be built for at least 3 years so there is lots of time to negotiate a deal with the developer.

This is true. But how often would that overlap? Some teams come in the night before and don’t even practice. Wasn’t Tocchet’s biggest complaint last year that the team never had enough practice time between games? At the end of the day, SFU would be totally fine. They are looking to get an NCAA Division 1 team so they would be looking to build a state of the art arena. They have the space to do it with the empty parking lot that was going to be used for the Olympic Oval. The issue of players having to travel there in the winter is a small minor detail that can be worked around with using Rogers Arena instead during those times. The Canucks used to practise at 8 rinks for years. These players all have vehicles and are not practicing during rush hours so travel to and from SFU is really a minor problem in the grand scheme of things.