Patel Bure

Fair enough, but I think that YOU are having a hard time understanding as to just how much cap space we will need to clear in order to re-up Pettersson, Hughes, and Demko (should we choose to keep Demko over Markstrom). Guys like Eriksson, Sutter, Pearson, and Edler will need to go over these next few years in order to clear cap. As far as beefing up our D goes, IF the Canucks can get Tryamkin back in one year, then I think that would solve our problem. Tryamkin and Myers together on that back end is pretty big. As far as Rafferty goes, he’ll be extremely cheap which is ideal for a 3rd pairing dman. Furthermore, Rafferty is very strong at moving the puck up ice, which is a bigger need for us on defense as opposed to being bigger back there. I accept your apology. ;-)

Your above reasoning is one of the reasons why I want to keep both Toffoli and Tanev (ie don’t let them walk away for nothing). I would have felt that way about Markstrom if it wasn’t for the fact that....... 1) We have cap decisions to make 2) Demko pretty much looked like Carey Price on steroids these past three games and has completely and utterly sold me on him. I also like one of your other ideas that you mentioned, in that, we need to keep our pipeline strong. People will hate me for saying this (and many already do, lol), but I would absolutely use Brock Boeser to recoup our first lost in the Miller deal and the good prospect (Madden) lost in the Toffoli deal while clearing 5.85 million in cap space IF we can sign Toffoli long term. Podkolzin will very likely make up for the loss of Boeser in less than a year anyways (good calculated risk to take). Let’s face facts: The only way we are getting rid of the Eriksson contract is if one of the following three items was used as a sweetener: 1) Podkolzin (would be a dumb thing to do). 2) Demko (would now be a dumb thing to do based on what we just saw from Demko and what his future potential looks like). 3) 2021 1st (the correct choice to make IF we can get in on the 1st round in 2020). Clearing 11.85 million in cap (Eriksson and Boeser), while recouping our long term assets lost in the Miller and Toffoli deals, while minimizing the short term loss to keep us competitive (ie signing Toffoli long term) would help us in all aspects from both a short term and long term perspective. We remain competitive short term, continue to build towards a better future, and would put ourselves in a good position in terms of being able to re-sign all of Demko, Pettersson, and Hughes in one year. Next season: Miller-Pettersson-Toffoli Pearson-Horvat-Virtanen (Podkolzin in April) Motte-Gaudette-MacEwen (Virtanen in April) Roussel-Beagle-Sutter (MacEwen in April) Sutter Edler-Myers Hughes-Tanev Juolevi-Benn Rafferty Demko VetBackUp 2021-2022: Miller-Pettersson-Toffoli Hoglander-Horvat-Podkolzin Motte-Gaudette-Virtanen Roussel-Beagle-MacEwen Lind Hughes-Myers Juolevi-Tanev Tryamkin-Rafferty Rathbone Demko Dipietro (assets from Boeser deal in the form of a good defensive prospect and 2020 1st may also factor in to the 2021-2022 line-up).

This post wins the thread.

Good point about Benn and Seguin. Dave Bolland also made fun of the twins and attacked the city of Vancouver on twitter, and so I nailed Bolland with stiff shots about Bryan Bickel having MS until Bolland was forced to block me. I have no problem with Vegas winning the cup so that we can say that we lost to the absolute best.

1) I think the Canucks could get out of the Eriksson contract by doing the “Marleau deal” (ie 2021 conditional 1st + 7th + Eriksson for a 6th rounder), but in order to do that, I think Benning would have to find a way to get in on the 2020 1st round. Going two drafts without a 1st would be risky. 2) I think both Beagle and Sutter could be traded at 50% retention in their final years. 3) I think Baertschi could be traded at 50% retention at the end of this off-season once other teams have signed their major pieces and are looking for minor adds. 4) Benn could be moved for a draft pick. 5) We would likely be stuck with Sutter for another year unless we added a sweetener of some kind to Sutter (ie a decent prospect). Not really worth it in my eyes. I don’t think your Granlund and Hoffman suggestions are realistic (Granny will get offered more than one year from a team and the Canucks likely won’t be able to afford Hoffman when you consider the extensions that Petey, Hughes, and Demko will need to receive and the cap space we’ll need to have), but I think your Matt Martin idea *might* be feasible depending on how we manage our cap.

Boeser and Eriksson being moved in this off-season: I’d only be interested in trading Boeser if it resulted in us freeing up cap space (I.e. a good defensive prospect and/or a 1st round pick). Using Boeser to recoup the first lost in the Miller deal and the good prospect lost in the Toffoli deal (Madden) would be ideal in my books if we went that route, but I’d also only be interested in going that route IF we signed Toffoli. Trading Boeser straight up for a guy like Dumba, Pesce, or whoever is akin to robbing Peter to pay Paul in my opinion, and more importantly, doesn’t help us much from a long term cap perspective (I.e. having enough money to resign Petey, Hughes, and Demko when the time comes). One possible idea that I’d be interested in exploring is trading Boeser for a 1st and a good defensive prospect (recouping the 1st and good prospect while clearing 5.85 million in cap), and then doing the “Marleau to Carolina” deal by trading Eriksson with a conditional 2021 1st + 7th for a 6th. Doing that would give us an extra 11 million or so in cap space to sign Toffoli and Tanev (we would need Toffoli if we moved Boeser and I still think we need Tanev regardless for our young guys like Juolevi). Letting Markstrom walk and replacing him with a 1A goalie would save us about an extra 3 million, and LTIR’ing Ferland would add some extra cap space as well. Unqualify Stecher. Miller-Pettersson-Toffoli Pearson-Horvat-Podkolzin (in April) Motte-Gaudette-Virtanen Roussel-Beagle-MacEwen Sutter Edler-Myers Hughes-Tanev Juolevi-Benn Rafferty Demko VetBackUp 2021 off-season: -extend Demko, Pettersson, and Hughes -Hoglander replaces Pearson -Tryamkin replaces Edler -Sutter and Spooner off the books -Dipietro possibly replacing our cheapVetBackUp -walk away from Jordie Benn 2021-2022: Miller-Pettersson-Toffoli Hoglander-Horvat-Podkolzin Motte-Gaudette-Virtanen Roussel-Beagle-MacEwen Hughes-Myers Juolevi-Tanev Tryamkin-Rafferty Demko [Dipietro or VetBackUp] The 2020 1st and the (defensive?) prospect from a hypothetical Brock Boeser deal might also play a factor in the 2021-2022 line-up (which is also why it’s important for us to keep filling the pipeline by getting in on this year’s draft). All things considered, I THINK the scenario above would allow us to...... 1) Have enough cap space for Petey, Hughes, and Demko. 2) Allow us to continue to field a competitive team that makes the playoffs. 3) Allows the Canucks to fill the pipeline with draft picks and prospects.

Yes I am serious and no Rome didn’t “basically” end Horton’s career. Check your facts son.

I would be all for “rolling with the kid,” but keep in mind that Demko will be an RFA next season and so IF he has a huge season next season, the Canucks could be looking at three huge RFA signings next season: -Pettersson -Hughes -Demko Go with the younger asset (Demko) if you must, but it may not help our cap issues as much as we think. The real decision for management might depend on the following: Do you go with the younger asset, or do we go with the older asset and use the younger asset as a sweetener to move a bad contract?

Choosing Demko over Markstrom might not alleviate our cap challenges as much as we think: Many of us have been pondering the idea of moving on from Markstrom so that we can proceed forward with the younger and cheaper Demko as a way of alleviating our short term cap issues. Demko however, like Pettersson and Hughes, will be an RFA next season. In other words, if Demko lights it up next season, the Canucks could be looking at not just two huge extensions (Petey and Hughes), but three huge extensions. Oh - and if Juolevi, Rathbone, or :::insert young Canucks dman:::: isn’t ready to step up and replace Edler, letting Edler walk away for free could be a huge hit to our defense (my hope is that Tryamkin returns to us at the end of next season). In other words - the Canucks best play might still be in using Demko as a sweetener to rid themselves of a bad contract. Demko has proven himself in these playoffs and he likely will be a big enough sweetener to get rid of the Eriksson contract now.

And thank Allah that you know the basic spelling of Canuck players. Oh wait a minute.....

*Motte* No player named “Mott” was involved in the incident.

Aaron Rome got 4 games for his hit on Horton back in 2011, but was this not just as predatory? (If not, worse?)

#PlayerSafetyMatters

I would likely avoid free agency these next few years and just focus on shedding salary while re-upping our RFA’s. 1) Let Markstrom, Toffoli, Domingue, Fantenberg, and Leivo walk. 2) Unqualify Stecher 3) Trade Baertschi with 50% retention 4) Re-Sign Tanev 5) Re-sign Virtanen, Motte, and Gaudette. 6) Sign a guy like Thomas Greiss as a back-up to Demko 7) LTIR Ferland 8) Domingue off the books. I think doing all of the above would make us cap compliant for next season while still allowing us to be competitive. Miller-Pettersson-Boeser Pearson-Horvat-Eriksson (Podkolzin in April) Motte-Gaudette-Virtanen Roussel-Beagle-MacEwen Sutter Edler-Myers Hughes-Tanev Juolevi-Benn Rafferty Demko Greiss In the following off-season: 1) Tryamkin replaces Edler (if not Tryamkin, some other all situations left D via UFA). 2) Hoglander replaces Pearson. 3) Let Sutter walk. 4) Eriksson moved with a very small sweetener to a cap floor team (1 year left + only 2 million in real dollars left). If no one bites of Eriksson, pay him 2 million under the table to retire. 5) Let Jordie Benn walk 6) Spooner off the books. Here is one thing that I just noticed however: Demko will be an RFA next season. IF the Canucks commit to Demko and let Markstrom walk this year, it means that we will have to re-up Demko at the same time that we have to re-up both Hughes and Pettersson. . Anyways - if they find a way to do that, here is what the team could look like: Miller-Pettersson-Boeser Hoglander-Horvat-Podkolzin Motte-Gaudette-Virtanen Roussel-Beagle-MacEwen Lind Hughes-Myers Juolevi-Tanev Tryamkin-Rafferty Rathbone Demko [Greiss or Dipietro]

I could get on board with this, depending on what our overall cap strategy is.

Given our cap situation and given what we’ve seen from Demko, we need to take a calculated risk here and move on from Markstrom. 1) Let Markstrom walk 2) Sign a 1A vet goalie like Thomas Greiss and go into the season with the expectation that Demko will play 60% of the games. If Demko proves worthy of handling a bigger load and plays at the caliber that we saw him these past two games, give him more games.

The fact that we got to the 2nd round 7th game should be enough evidence to suggest that we’ve left the rebuild stage (or are close to it). The point remains though - even when you’re in compete now mode, you have to keep filling the pipeline. When I wrote the above post, it was under the assumption that the only way moving Eriksson was to use a 2021 1st rounder as a sweetener (although Demko’s recent performance has probably changed this). I just personally think it would be too risky for the Canucks, or any team for that matter, to go two years in a row without drafting a 1st. Hence, why I believe that if the Canucks were going to use a 2021 1st to get rid of Eriksson (the Marleau to Carolina deal), then they’d likely try and get in on this year’s 1st round.

Meh. I’m just spitballing ideas. My thought process was based on the following: 1) Rolling with Toffoli, Virtanen, Eriksson (eventually Lind), and MacEwen isn’t the greatest RW depth, but it’s not terrible either. 2) The Canucks will need to clear cap space over the next few years and trading Brock for a good defensive prospect would achieve that. 3) The Canucks don’t have anyone in their system right now that look like sure fire replacements for Edler and Tanev. Guys like Juolevi, Rathbone, Woo, etc., are good prospects, but aren’t projecting to be viable Edler and Tanev replacements. IF the Canucks were to get good defensive prospects that could realistically replace Edler and Tanev, then we could realistically walk away from Edler and Tanev when their contracts expire (which would allow us to achieve our ultimate goal in comfortably re-signing Pettersson and Hughes). I’m not saying that we have to specifically trade for Dobson and Byram. Those are just examples. I am however, seriously pondering the idea of using Brock and Podkolzin as trading chips to.... 1) Give us temporary cap relief 2) Give us a potential future all star defense 3) Help us walk away from Edler and Tanev when the time comes (this year and next) without leaving our defense in a risky position. xxxx-xxxx-Toffoli xxxx-xxxx-Virtanen xxxx-xxxx-Eriksson (Lind in one year) xxxx-xxxx-MacEwen The above isn’t great but it’s not terrible either, and give that Virtanen was on pace to scoring 20 goals last season with 3rd line minutes, it would be well worth the risk letting him grow into that 2nd line role. Hughes-##### #####-[Brock or Pod young dman] [Brock or Pod young dman]-##### That above defense would be among the best defenses in the league if you had those above three pieces. The Canucks would easily be able to walk from Edler and Tanev (Tanev now) and have a good peace of mind in knowing that the future of their defense would likely be in good hands. Anyways, that was the thought process behind my post. Would I do the above? Probably not as it would ultimately be too risky. However, I don’t think running with Toffoli, Virtanen, Eriksson (Lind), and MacEwen on right wing would be that bad, and our defense would potentially be out of this world (ie young cost controlled defensive assets that we would receive from both Podkolzin and Boeser complementing Quinn Hughes). Future: Miller-Horvat-Toffoli Hoglander-Pettersson-Virtanen Motte-Gaudette-MacEwen Roussel-Beagle-Lind Hughes-[PodkolzinReturn] [BrockReturn]-[Myers] #####-Stecher (maybe the #### ends you being Tryamkin). Demko VetBackUp or Dipietro I understand why people would be upset with my idea and that’s perfectly fine, but that above defense would have the potential to be top 3 in the NHL......and you’re not sacrificing that much in relative terms on the right side.......AND you solve all of upcoming cap storms. Anyways, like I said, that’s my above thought process.

I would keep Demko and walk from Markstrom, but I’m also wondering if it would be possible to get Markstrom to agree to a sign and trade so that we receive assets? Probably not possible unfortunately.

[proposal] Sign Toffoli + trading Boeser and Podkolzin for young defensemen Again, I realize that this won’t happen in a million years but I am extremely intrigued at the idea of.... 1) Turning Boeser and Podkolzin into young defensive assets to complement Quinn Hughes, which would then allow us to comfortably move on from both Edler and Tanev when they become UFA’s (so in this case, Tanev this year and Edler the year after). 2) Rolling with Toffoli, Virtanen, Eriksson, and MacEwen (Eriksson is eventually replaced by Lind after next season) as your RW’ers. While that right wing depth isn’t anything to write home about, it’s not terrible either. More importantly however, the defensive assets you’d receive from Boeser and Podkolzin would more than make up for the subtracted prowess on RW. Allow me to illustrate my proposal: 2020 off-season: 1) Sign Toffoli 2) Boeser trade for Noah Dobson 3) Podkolzin and Juolevi for Bowen Byram + low draft pick 4) Let Markstrom walk 5) Let Tanev walk 6) Let Leivo walk 7) Baertschi trade at 50% retention for a pick. 8) Rafferty as a sweetener to move Sutter 10) Sign Thomas Greiss or some other “1A” back-up to complement Demko in net (65-35 split with Demko as the number one as he eases into the starting role next season). 11) Trade Jordie Benn to clear cap space 12) Sign our RFA’s: Gaudette, Virtanen, Motte, and Stecher Miller-Pettersson-Toffoli Pearson-Horvat-Eriksson Roussel-Gaudette-Virtanen Motte-Beagle-MacEwen Lind Hughes-Myers Edler-Dobson Byram-Stecher Rathbone Demko Greiss (or other cheap vet backup) 2021 offseason: -Let Pearson walk. Replaced by Hoglander -Let Edler walk. Replaced by Tryamkin -Trade Eriksson to a cap floor team for a 7th rounder. He will have one year left on his deal and will only be owed 2 million in real dollars. -Dipietro possibly replaces Greiss. -Sign Petey, Hughes, and any other RFA’s. Miller-Horvat-Toffoli Hoglander-Pettersson-Virtanen Roussel-Gaudette-MacEwen Motte-Beagle-Lind Byram-Dobson Hughes-Myers Tryamkin-Stecher Demko Dipietro or Greiss Ultimately, the Canucks would still have a solid group of forwards combined with what should be brilliant goaltending, but would also have a young world class defense backing them up.

Boeser and Podkolzin for defensive prospects: . (Thinking out loud - not sure if I’d do - just playing armchair GM) 1) Sign Toffoli. 2) Boeser for Noah Dobson 3) Podkolzin and Juolevi for Bowen Byram and a low draft pick 4) Let Tanev walk 5) Let Markstrom walk 6) Rafferty as a sweetener to move Sutter 7) Baertschi trade at 50% retention 8) Trade Jordie Benn 9) Sign Gaudette, Virtanen, Motte, and Stecher 10) Sign a cheap Veteran back up like Thomas Greiss Next Season: Miller-Pettersson-Toffoli Pearson-Horvat-Eriksson Roussel-Gaudette-Virtanen Motte-Beagle-MacEwen Lind Hughes-Myers Edler-Dobson Byram-Stecher Rathbone Demko Greiss A year later in the off season: 1) Pearson and Edler come off the books. 2) Trade Eriksson to a cap floor team (will only have a year left on his contract + 2 million in real dollars). 3) Hoglander replaces Pearson in the line-up 4) Tryamkin replaces Edler in the line-up 5) Dipietro possibly replaces Greiss in the line-up (if Greiss gets claimed in the expansion draft). 2021-2022 Miller-Horvat-Toffoli Hoglander-Pettersson-Virtanen Roussel-Gaudette-MacEwen Motte-Beagle-Lind Byram-Dobson Hughes-Myers Tryamkin-Stecher Demko Greiss or Dipietro

Hard fought effort by the Canucks but in the end, the better team won. Nothing but respect for the Canucks and I look forward to them coming back hard next season. Great overall learning experience and I’m glad that us fans were treated to some good old August post season hockey.

Agreed. One other concern that I have in signing Markstrom, is that the issue of an NMC will likely come up. If the Canucks give Markstrom an NMC (to prevent expansion draft exposure), then you’re pretty much creating a situation where Demko is on borrowed time here. On the flip side, I can’t see Markstrom and his agent agreeing to a contract that doesn’t have an NMC, or agreeing to a deal that is less than 4 years. If Markstrom signs here, it would be with the expectation that he’d be the clear cut number one guy through the duration of his contract. However, if you sign Markstrom to a deal anything longer than 2 years, then you’re pretty much cutting into Demko’s prime. long story short - I think the Canucks will have to make a decision in this off season. Given what we’re seeing from Demko, I would proceed with Demko.

Which is why it would be important for the Canucks to sign a “1A” goalie (like Thomas Greiss) to complement Demko until Dipietro is ready to be the back-up.

Well said. We also have to consider the fact that if Markstrom signs here, he might ask for an NMC which would make him ineligible for the expansion draft if I recall correctly. Let’s face facts: If Markstrom signs here, it would be for 4-6 years......more likely towards the latter. Even on a 4 year deal, the Canucks would pretty much be committing to Markstrom an in essence, making Demko’s time in Vancouver borrowed time.