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CallAfterLife

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Everything posted by CallAfterLife

  1. Exactly. I don't want to see the Canucks trading picks as freely as they did in the Gillis era as they tried to supplement their core with rental pieces for another run at the Cup. I'd like to see some of those pieces come from within. I want Benning to draft players that could force him to deal anyone up and down the line up in order to upgrade a positional need or to better manage the cap. I basically want the Canucks to be in the opposite position they were in 2014 in the Linden Vey trade. I want teams to ask Benning for a Vey equivalent and for Benning to draft a Christian Dvorak equivalent and develop them in order to push out a Pearson equivalent out for more assets. If Benning can draft the next Sebastian Aho ... so many possibilities.
  2. Oh god. My mistake. Wow. I wonder what happened in Boston. That is an absolutely brutal record and looking back at some of those years, Benning definitely missed a lot of quality NHL players. I'll amend my original post. Thanks.
  3. I'm optimistic about Pettersson and Hughes signing fair contracts. I think both these players understand that a small financial sacrifice on their part is necessary in order to build the type of team they themselves would like to be a part of. Thomas Chabot is comparable to Hughes and he's only signed for $8 million. I think whatever amount Mathew Barzal signs for could indicate Pettersson's contract.
  4. That's why I think the Canucks could regress in these next few seasons. I think these next few years may be a bit challenging as Podkolzin and Juolevi etc adjust to the NHL. I don't think that's necessarily a terrible thing going forward because the Canucks will be competitive just as Benning and Aquilini's want but will still retain a draft pick in the bottom half of the first round. At the very least the Canucks still have all their draft picks after this year. I don't think the Canucks will be drafting in the top 10 again for a while so I'm quite interested to see what type of players Benning will take in the bottom half of the first. I'm hoping Benning will take the BPA regardless of how long the development time it takes. Way too many players in the top 10 are over rated just because they've physically matured and teams think they can play in the NHL sooner rather than later. This was essentially the problem with Virtanen. If Benning can continue to draft good players that either force him to make space for them or give him the option to trade them to fill another positional need on the team then the Canucks will be in such a good position going forward. If Benning could take Boeser at #23 then I have faith that he'll be able to pick another guy with similar talent and give the Canucks a lot of good problems to have.
  5. I’ve noticed that a lot of people on these boards are worried about the salary cap. I agree that the situation isn’t ideal. Numerous players have been paid too much money, young players will be demanding raises and difficult decisions will have to be made going forward. I actually think the Canucks could see a regression in the next few years because they won’t be able to afford to keep key pieces this off-season. Despite that I think it’s ridiculous for people to start panicking about wasting Pettersson and Hughes ELC years and Horvat and Boeser’s affordable contract years. If Benning can continue to have success at the draft, cap space won’t be a problem despite numerous core players signing big money contracts because the cap can be managed internally through ELCs and RFA bridge deals. Now that Benning has the core pieces in place in Pettersson, Hughes, Horvat etc and a lot prospects with NHL potential in Podkolzin, Hoglander, Lind, Juolevi, Rathbone, Rafferty etc I’m hoping the era of packaging picks for players like Sutter, Gudbranson and even Miller and Toffoli has come to and end. I’m looking forward to seeing if Benning can draft, develop and deal players to manage the salary cap. In 1998 Benning became the director of amateur scouting for Buffalo and in 2006 he became the assistant GM for Boston. Ryan Miller, Jason Pominville, Dennis Wideman, Clarke MacArthur, Andrej Sekera were all picked outside the first round under Benning’s tenure. There are a lot of other names that don’t stand out as much but have seemingly had decently long NHL careers as depths players in Benning's tenure as well. If Benning can continue to have success at the draft and start to wheel and deal players for assets then the Canucks will be in a good position to succeed over the long term.
  6. Boeser will still be an RFA in 2022 so even if his base salary is $7.5 million by then the Canucks can still go to arbitration if Boeser doesn't produce the numbers that justifies that or a higher amount for his next contract. Players like Pettersson and Hughes will get paid upwards of $8 million. No question. But there's a reason not every 50 point player in the NHL makes $8 million. Jake Guentzel in Pittsburg is getting paid $6 million because everyone knows that his production is dependent on Crosby and Malkin. If Benning chooses to re-sign Miller he'll likely be in that boat. And this is where I don't get why you're such an alarmist about the cap. Miller is still signed for another 3 years. We don't know what his next contract will look like and we don't know where the Canucks will be at that time. For all we know, Podkolzin, Lind and Hoglander or whoever else Benning has drafted will be able to take Miller's place. For all we know Miller could be dealt for picks or prospects before his contract is up and however much he'll be worth by then won't be Benning's problem.
  7. "The biggest part of his game was his skating. He was an elite skater," he said. "And if you take that out of his game, he wasn't as elite anymore. When you lose something, you've got to be able to adapt and maybe pick up a different part of your game. And I think he found that hard." Color of Hockey: Etem eager to start next phase of career This should serve as a cautionary tale for Jake. This is going to be another big off season for him.
  8. “I know I spent maybe a little more money (on veterans) to help those young players learn how to play the right way. But once they learn the right way to play and get this playoff experience, they’re going to do the right things. They’re always going to score a lot of points in this league. But there’s a difference between putting up a lot of points and not having success as a team, and putting up maybe not as many points but doing the right things to win.” My original post wasn't about Benning and his ability to manage cap space. It was about everything he said above. Benning has basically diagnosed the problem with teams like Toronto and Edmonton. Vegas absolutely dominated the Canucks. But the Canucks played with pride and grit and a real team first mentality. They were able to give themselves an opportunity to win, not solely because of Markstrom and Demko, but also because of the way the players played in front of them. The Canucks weren't getting many chances in the offensive zone and that didn't make players like Pettersson, Hughes, Boeser etc lazy on defence. Say whatever you want about the cap and contracts but this team was able to take a Cup favourite to game 7 when they were down 3 games to 1. Maybe that's just a meaningless victory to you but it's not to me. That's the type of thing that will effect the core players on this team well after those bloated contracts are cleared.
  9. I like Jake too. I hope McNabb's hit doesn't cause any hip issues because Jake's speed and mobility has really given Green the option to shake things up on Horvat and Pettersson's lines every now and then.
  10. What are you talking about? It's in the best interest of both Benning and Virtanen to sign a short term show-me type contract. Benning has no incentive to sign him to a long term deal after just one improved season. Nor does Virtanen have the leverage to demand anything over $2 million. And what exactly has Virtanen done to justify being called selfish? In every interview he's done he's never complained about his ice-time. He's never complained when he's been demoted to the third and fourth line. Whenever he does get an opportunity to play with Pettersson or Horvat he's been fairly responsible and his speed has given them time and space.
  11. Ferland's case is a wider issue that needs to be addressed by the NHL. When a player is struggling with something so amorphous like concussion symptoms and things like pride and money are motivating them to play despite the risk that's unfair to the player and the team that signs them. Despite the issues with Ferland, I still think it was a decent signing because's he's the type of player that can play up and down the lineup. Despite his personality he's not exactly a meathead when it comes to hockey. He's got an IQ for the game that allows him to be effective with Pettersson or Beagle. And I again want to tip my hate to Benning. Game 6 tonight was amazing. Vegas absolutely dominated but the team held firm and competed. If Ferland stayed healthy and produced around the 40 point mark everyone would be calling him a steal at $3.5 million.
  12. Would I have loved for Benning to have drafted Christian Dvorak or Brandon Montour instead of picking up Vey? Yes. Would I have loved for Benning to have drafted Carter Hart or Sam Girard instead of throwing an extra pick in for Gudbranson? Yes. Does Benning have a questionable trade record? Yes. Sutter, Gudbranson and Miller all came from teams struggling with cap space and Benning should have thrown them 3rd or 4th or 5th round picks in return. But I'm still tipping my hat to Benning for putting together a team with a culture that battles despite being considered underdogs. As I've watched the series with Vegas, the Canucks have largely been dominated but they've come out and played with a lot of pride. They haven't played safe and timid. They've played every game determined to win it.
  13. Unfortunate that Dahlen and Goldobin didn't work out.
  14. I'm not trying to knock the Kesler trade. I know Benning was ultimately hampered by Kesler's NMC and the lack of NHL ready prospects that ultimately caused him to accept Bonino, Sbisa and the 24th OA in return. I'm just acknowledging that Theodore has been amazing in these playoffs and it's unfortunate that Benning couldn't have brought him home. Chayka wasn't exactly spending his own money though was he? The point being is that the Canucks could have use a Chychrun type to back up Hughes. It's been far too easy for Vegas to shut the Canucks offence down when Hughes is on the bench. I have a long list of mistakes that I think Benning has made. But it's not exactly a stretch to say that the Canucks are arguably the best team in Canada and will likely continue to be in the years ahead. Benning signed Boeser to a fair deal with the understanding that Boeser could prove that he was worth what he was initially asking for. And we don't know what Hughes and Pettersson will ask for next year. And we especially don't know what Horvat will ask for in the next 3 years. Will some hard decisions have to be made this summer? Yes. Might the team struggle in the next couple of years until a few contracts can be cleared and some young players step in under ELC's? Yes. But the Canucks don't have a long-term unmanageable cap situation.
  15. Remember when Jayson Megna and Michael Chaput practically played a full season in the NHL? Remember Jack Skille and Adam Cracknell? Would cap friendly players like that have helped this team against Minnesota and St. Louis? Or even have the mental fortitude to not feel intimidated or defeated while down 3-1 games against Vegas? Could the Canucks face a setback next year or even the year after in the time that it takes to clear out a few bad contracts? Maybe. A lot of teams emerging from a rebuild do. Colorado certainly did after they drafted Landeskog and MacKinnon. But that's alright. Would it be so terrible to draft in the top 10 or 15 again next year? Arguably not since this team will need another young top 6 winger and top 4 defenceman. The youngest players on this team, many of them likely core pieces in the years to come, Pettersson, Hughes, Demko, Horvat, Boeser, Virtanen, Stetcher and Gaudette, now have the experience of making the playoffs and defeating the former Cup champions in the first round and are now in the process of learning what it takes to to defeat a deep team in Vegas that many consider to be a Cup favourite. This type of experience will only help the team when players like Podkolzin and Juolevi step in. McDavid, Draisaitl, Larkin, Eichel, Matthews and Marner don't have this experience. Unlike with Eichel, Pettersson and Hughes now know that Benning is capable of assembling a winning team. If prospects like Rathbone and Lind etc can make a solid impact, Benning will be able to manage the cap internally through the draft. This team's future will be decided by the drafts to come. The type of players Benning drafts in the bottom half of the first round will determine the future success of this team. We should be confident since Benning picked Boeser out at #23. Benning needs to prove that he can pick out a Thomas Chabot or a Travis Sanheim since his record with defencemen has been lacking. And if Benning can pull more Madden's to use as the centrepieces for trades, he can start asking teams to retain salary on key players at the trade deadline. The overall point was the Canucks didn't turn into Toronto, Edmonton, and Buffalo. Perennial losers that have some of the best young talent in the NHL but can't even make it into the playoffs, let alone find the determination to win in them. The Canucks have played with a lot pride and confidence despite being considered the underdog in these playoffs. Can't help but think that Sutter's 3 seasons of competing for the Cup with Crosby and Beagle actually winning the Cup with Ovechkin played a factor in keeping moral up in those years.
  16. When Benning first came on as GM and started making a series of slight upgrades and lateral moves via trade in Sutter, Gudbranson, Prust etc and signing expensive UFAs like Miller, Schaller, Del Zotto etc I was left unimpressed. I thought Benning's efforts were futile. I actually distinctly remember derisively laughing when I heard him say that he was doing all of this so that the young players on the team could be brought up in a "winning environment." I thought the Sedins, Edler and Tanev would have been enough to mentor the next generation. But I was wrong. Benning's willingness to improve the team, despite mixed results, guarded Edler and Tanev from becoming jaded and lazy during the team's roughest years. Unlike the vets on some perennial losing teams that just play to cash a giant paycheque, Edler and Tanev are just as hungry to win now as they were back in 2011. They may not be leading the team in points but their passion to win has really stood out. Whatever happens against Vegas, I want to salute Jim Benning and the winning environment he's built in Vancouver. The Canucks are once again Canada's best hope of bringing the Stanley Cup home. Though I will say that the biggest mistake Benning has made so far was not demanding Shea Theodore in return for Ryan Kesler. Theodore has been an absolute terror. Or at least taking on Pavel Datsyuk's contract in order to draft Jakob Chychurn, the Canucks clearly lack a #2 puck mover to back up Hughes. Here's hoping Juolevi, Rathbone or Rafferty can give the Canucks that option.
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