thundernuts

Making room for Eriksson!

Obviously, Boston came out ahead with Cam Neely in that trade, as well as drafting Glen Welsley with what ended up being the 3rd overall pick that was included in the trade. However, if we could get a similar player in return for Virtanen, without including the draft pick, I'd make that trade in a heartbeat. People forget that Barry Pederson was an exceptional hockey player. He had scored over 100 points twice in his career before Vancouver traded for him, and his last season in Boston, he was 44th in league scoring, and was only 24 years old. If we could trade Virtanen for last season's 44th scorer, we'd end up with Sean Couturier! Get 'er done Jim!

I agree that they couldn't openly negotiate a new contract until the current one is terminated - seems like clear tampering. What I'm wondering is if there will be some teams that say something along the lines of "yeah, I don't mind the 2.5 per season, but we can't take on that cap hit." That gives Barry an idea of the interest without negotiating a thing.

Could happen, but unlikely Eriksson walks away from 2.5 million per season without any assurances, and it seems like it would go against cap rules to get these assurances before terminating the contract. Also, doubtful he'll get 2.5 million, but I hope he takes the risk! Not sure about the SHL, but I would guess that the cap hit would still apply.

Perhaps this will lead to a mutual termination of the contract. Not too sure how the rules on tampering would apply in a case like this. If there are teams that are interested, but not at his current cap hit, maybe this is a way to gauge that. Terminate the current contract, then sign anywhere he is able, potentially for similar real dollars (2.5 million per season) - likely less. In the end, it will depend what his true desire is. To play in the NHL for whatever he is able to get, or to get the 5 million he is owed. If there is no interest from other teams, then the choice is simple - get the money.

Could be, I couldn't find it anywhere else, and I'm not sure how reliable this website is. I wouldn't be surprised if permission was given though. It isn't uncommon.

https://www.traderumours.com/Loui-Eriksson-hoping-to-be-traded-by-the-Canucks-24988 Not sure if it's been mentioned here yet. According to TSN insider Pierre LeBrun, Loui Eriksson’s agent JP Barry has the green light from the Vancouver Canucks to call other teams directly and try to find his client a new home.

Making room for Eriksson!

Left Vanbiesbrouck unprotected to save Kay Whitmore

What Jake hears.

The only mismanagement was drafting him instead of Ehlers. I know it is easy to look back at drafts, and pick apart different selections. Overall, Benning has done well with his picks. Some just don't pan out. I think Virtanen could manage to develop into a decent 3rd liner, but not much more, and likely, not in Vancouver. He's had several opportunities, and seems either too immature to take advantage, or, just not good enough. Great speed, good size, decent shot, but unable to pull it all together. Seems likely that we're looking at a Steve Bernier / Taylor Pyatt type of player.

Lol. Yeah, I don't really think that will affect things. His value was diminished anyhow.

Can't imagine he'll get very much return.

Perhaps, but Raffi Torres, Max LaPierre, Tanner Glass, Ryan Kesler, and Alex Burrows were all dirty players too. Keith Ballard made a career out of hip checking/clipping players - Dan Hamhuis was pretty good at it too. Bieksa was no choir boy either. And don't forget that Aaron Rome ended Nathan Horton's playoff run with a very late hit that targeted the head. I'm not defending the Bruins, or the Blues for their cheap antics, but to pretend that the Canucks have been innocent victims is ridiculous.

Have you ever watched the NHL playoffs before? It happens every year. BTW, the 2011 Canucks had some of the cheapest and dirtiest players in the league. It goes both ways.

I don't mind the logo, the name "Kraken" is meh, but that jersey and color scheme looks like something from the UK Elite Ice Hockey League. Not a fan, but maybe it will grow on me.

We'll never really know for sure what is said behind closed doors. Personally, I think it is most likely that Boeser's name came up, and someone let it slip to Sekeres. Player's names come up all the time. If you listen to Sekeres' original take, he did not say that Boeser was on the block, or that they were shopping him To me, this is just an example of a mean nothing story being blown out of proportion, perhaps because, like you say, things are slow.

Perhaps he is, but there is no way that he just made this up. I'm sure the news came from a credible source, but I'm not sure that it was the right move to go public with it. TBH, this rumour wasn't surprising to me. We need a top 4 dman, and they are expensive. Looking down our list of tradeable assets, Boeser would probably be the guy to go. This doesn't mean I like it. I don't. I'm skeptical that JB would be able to make a deal like that without getting fleeced., but it does make sense in the grand scale of things, especially if Minnesota is over keen to bring a homegrown hero home, and willing to overpay.

How do you know that he “threw in” a 3rd round pick? More than likely, Tampa Bay had a price in mind for Miller, Benning likely made an offer, then they came to an agreement.

At the risk of sounding over dramatic, when this "rule" was initially negotiated into the CBA, and I found out that it was retroactive to include contracts that were negotiated and accepted by the league under the rules of the previous agreement, I lost a lot of interest in the league, and have never fully recovered. Clearly, it was done to punish those that circumvented the cap, which contracts like Luongo's certainly did, but in recent years, the LTIR loophole that other players/teams have used has gone unchallenged by the league, or at least they haven't done anything about it. It's hard to support a league that makes such a blatantly horrible rule, and then doesn't have the backbone to see it enforced consistently. This CBA could have corrected this, instead, it's magnified things.

I understand and appreciate your point of view, and I agree with you. However, the reports are that he was not physically distancing himself. That is the only issue here.

Very well said. This isn’t a lifestyle issue, it is a physical distancing issue. Hopefully, no one at the club was carrying the virus, and this can be used as a learning experience for Jake.

Unless the issue is that he exposed himself to Covid while at the nightclub. He could show up to camp in shape, yet utwittingly wipe the entire team out, and possibly put an end to the playoffs.

Agreed.

Perhaps. He’s definitely outspoken, and has had his share of demons and public meltdowns, but on the ice, he was great. I’d take Fleury in his prime over Turgeon any day.