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SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME

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Everything posted by SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME

  1. I think the situation has changed a lot since then. Right now, Demers can’t even get a contract, and beggars can’t be choosers. He’s just at a different stage in his career now (aka the “survival” stage). The Canucks are also a different team. Hopefully one on a more favourable trajectory. And we just added two of the core players Demers was teammates with in Arizona, including OEL, who had played quite a bit with Demers, and successfully in the past. Taken all together, I’d say the landscape has shifted enough that I wouldn’t rule out Demers signing a deal with Vancouver, if one was offered.
  2. Injecting melted Jolly Ranchers is not recommended. (Although I did see a Facebook post that said it cures Covid. )
  3. Surprising he couldn’t find an NHL league minimum deal somewhere (although it’s possible he’s getting paid pretty close to that much in the NLA). There were definitely worse defencemen than Vatanen getting NHL contracts this year, some even penciled into NHL starting-6’s. I suppose perception plays a role, in that if Vatanen isn’t producing offence, he’s probably viewed as not providing much value. But his defence really isn’t even that bad. Certainly not bad enough that he can’t play as an NHL bottom pairing or spare defender. By some analytics, he’s actually a net positive value on 5v5 defence, which really can’t be said for scores of other current NHL Dmen, and even many that are widely considered to be “defensive defencemen.” Vatanen was never a free agency target for me this off-season, other than possibly as a PTO invite, but now that we’re looking at some uncertainty around Hamonic, I probably would have been fine with a late signing of Vatanen at $750K x 1yr, just for veteran RHD depth and insurance. I’m pretty surprised there weren’t some other teams (where he’s a better potential fit) that were willing to throw Vatanen a cheap one year contract for this year.
  4. In addition to Jurmo’s 3 points in 5 games, he’s also getting the 2nd most defensive deployment of Jukurit’s main six Dmen, with just 47.6% offensive zonestarts. Averaging 20:41 TOI/GP on the season. Has 18 shots on goal in 5 games. Solid start for the 19 year old. He’s currently second in Liiga for U20 defencemen scoring and points/game. And from the looks of his deployment, he’s not really getting sheltered, or favourable offensive minutes.
  5. In addition to his 9 points (3G 6A) in six games, Jasek is +4, is winning 53.6% of faceoffs, and averaging 19:25 TOI per game. He’s also at 46.8% offensive zonestarts (he’s on-ice for more defensive zone faceoffs than offensive zone). And he has the third best CF% on the team.
  6. I mentioned it in another thread, but there’s antivax disinformation out there that claims “viral shedding” causes vaccinated people to infect others with Covid, and that the 4th and 5th waves are the result of the high numbers of people getting vaccinated, and then spreading the virus. It’s complete BS, totally disproven garbage, but it gets traction on social media, and if you’re on the wrong side of the algorithms, you’ll get spoonfed articles that look “scientific” enough to be convincing, at least to more gullible, unsophisticated readers, or those who are already suspicious of MSM, intellectual “elites,” scientific consensus, etc, and prefer to “do their own research.” There’s Facebook stuff going around right now that advises people how to “protect themselves” from the vaccinated. It’s wild stuff, but if people go down these rabbit holes, they become convinced that the vaccines are evil and causing most of the infections, rather than preventing them. I’m not saying Hamonic is caught up in all that BS, but if he is, he’d probably think his best way to protect himself and his family is to not take the vaccine, and to avoid contact with anyone who is vaccinated. (What a world we live in. )
  7. Definitely. And thanks to Chris Faber’s Twitter account, no one would question it if OJ got sent down on a conditioning loan. It’s also well established already that Juolevi had a rough time with Covid, so there’s likely enough proof already in his medical chart to meet the league requirements. That said, it’s not like OJ has looked consistently terrible. He had one really bad 40’s skate, but otherwise has been mostly okay through camp. Could be he bounces back from this, shows well in preseason, and gets himself back on the coaches’ good side and a spot on the Myers pairing. But if he finishes preseason not having done enough to earn even a #7/8 role, even on what many consider a bottom-5 defence in the NHL (I don’t think we’re quite that bad but it’s a pretty widespread view), I doubt he’d even get claimed on waivers. There aren’t many teams that would have a lineup spot for a defenceman who can’t crack the 2021-22 Canucks. And if he’s not good enough to make this team, there’s really no reason to keep him up, regardless of the reasons for his performance issues (whether it’s Covid, poor training/preparation, conditioning issues, character weakness, or whatever else people have speculated).
  8. Not usually, unless they have a promo or free trial going.
  9. I’ve seen you take this line a few times and wondering what it’s based on? Not at all “calling you out,” just legitimately curious why you’ve been pretty consistently negative/dismissive on this guy’s chances? I’d concede that Di Giuseppe is a bit of a bubble NHLer/AAAA player, but he’s also logged 200+ NHL games by age 27, so saying he’s “not an NHL player” just doesn’t track for me. He’s legitimate NHL grade depth IMO. With a decent enough chance of cracking the lineup as a 4th liner or spare. We have a lot of players this year in the same category, so the competition for final forward spots will be fierce, but I wouldn’t count him out. Di Giuseppe played 31 NHL games last season and was never demoted. And for his NHL career, he’s put up pretty solid numbers (and good underlying data), for a depth/bottom-six player. He’s also been one of the better performers through camp.
  10. Ouch. That’s pretty damning from Greener. “I don’t think he did himself any favours” is about as critical/negative a statement as you’ll hear from Travis in this kind of media Q&A. It was clear from Olli’s second day demotion that the staff wasn’t happy, but I’m a little surprised Green didn’t just dodge the question, or at least minimize, rather than outright state his disappointment with OJ’s camp performance so far.
  11. I’m sure the guys are real torn up about that “devastating” loss. But they’re all competitive guys and bragging rights are on the line, as well as chances to catch the coach’s eye, make impressions, and even earn jobs, so I’m sure the players on Team Blue will be looking to even up the “series.”
  12. Nope. You need an NHL contract to be contractually obligated to attend camp. Neither Petey nor Hughes are signed to contract for the 2021-22 season, so they can’t be forced to do anything. They could attend camp, if they really wanted to, but this is extremely rare for unsigned RFAs. Any good agent would strongly caution against it, both because it weakens their negotiating position, and it puts the player at unnecessary injury risk, while not protected by a contract. It happens occasionally, but almost always with players who are just about to have their contracts signed and filed, and they choose to show up a day or two before their deals are formally registered (it’s still extremely rare though). Paid days (salary) in the NHL are only during the regular season. The season opener is the first paid day, and the final game of the regular season is the last paid day. Players under contract are obligated to attend camp, but they’re not technically “paid” for training camp. (At least they’re not paid their annual salaries, other than signing bonuses, until the regular season. There is a modest per diem for meals/sundries during camp/preseason, but that’s not part of their salary, and it’s the same for each player. There’s also travel expense coverage and accommodations.)
  13. 770 games in 13 seasons probably looks impressive to a goalie. (Couldn’t resist welcome back btw)
  14. You can generally expect some shrinkage post-Lay.
  15. There are better trades on value, with some outright steals over the years, but the series of moves that secured both Sedins will always be tops for me. Just a franchise defining move and one with an overall impact on this team and this city that no other Canucks trade comes close to touching.
  16. Brock looks leaner this year. Not really any less strong, but just looks like he focused his training on aspects that will support continued improvement in his skating (which he mentioned). I think after his injuries, he wanted to build strength and added some bulk as a preventative measure, but I suspect this off-season he really worked on his skating, and I can’t wait to see if the results are noticeable on the ice.
  17. Chiasson can also kill penalties. He didn’t do much PK work in Edmonton, but was a regular penalty killer (mostly playing on 2nd units) in his previous stints in Ottawa, Calgary, and Washington, and he actually has pretty decent career PK analytics.
  18. Hopefully. Seems like PJ is speculating and we know that “anonymous sources” have led to stories like the Hughes I.V. drip, which were later shown to be untrue. That said, I suppose it’s possible. Good people sometimes make bad decisions, especially if they get sucked down the wrong rabbit hole on social media. I could see a situation where Hamonic gets duped by some of the “viral shedding” conspiracy theories, and becomes worried that his taking the vaccine might actually put his child at greater risk. Or him somehow believing that his “natural immunity” (IIRC he was one of the first reported infections on the team) is better than vaccination. I really hope not, but it’s possible. You never really know who’s going to get taken in by the ridiculous conspiracy theories and disinformation around this virus and the vaccines. More likely, however, that the story is garbage, and the team will end up being 100% vaxxed, including Hamonic.
  19. Yeah, it’s hard to say until the Petey and Hughes extensions are actually done and we see the final numbers, but it definitely seems like waiting hasn’t helped management’s case too much, unfortunately. In hindsight, I wish there’d been a stronger push to get both extensions done early, even if the team was forced to make what might have been considered an “overpayment” at the time, I think there was a window when deals could have been done, maybe in the first half of July (or earlier—my preference was always to extend Petey and Hughes during the season), that would have proven cheaper under those market conditions than whatever they’re looking at now. It’s always a bit scary to be the first team to act, without really knowing the direction the market will be taking, but I do think that Benning would have ended up saving money by getting deals done before some of these newer comps were established. The Pearson extension also is starting to look like a slight error. I like the player, and understand why the team wanted to lock him up, but looking at the forward depth now, it’s quite possible the team would have been okay without Pearson, and just filling that spot with a <$1 million player. This would have given them an extra ~$2.5 million in wiggle room under the cap (plus returned an asset, if they’d gone ahead and sold Pearson at the TDL, instead of extending him). (And that’s not really a hindsight observation, as selling off Pearson was always my preference.) Similarly, the Poolman contract, and the overall free agency moves that boxed the Canucks into a $16M ceiling for Petey and Hughes, might prove regrettable, especially if it’s only $1-2M of cap space that actually ends up being what prevented the team from going long term on both Pettersson and Hughes. (That’s not a dig at Poolman or his contract. I just wonder if the team really needed to make that signing, or if it was a relative “luxury.” Possibly they could have constructed the roster with a right side defence of Myers/Hamonic/Schenn, and then maybe added another veteran depth RHD later on, after the extensions were completed on EP/QH. It’s more a question of flexibility, and whether they spent too much too early on some of the lesser priorities, rather than leaving themselves with the maximum options available for competing what could easily be the two most important contracts of the entire Benning regime.) The situation isn’t all that dire, however, as the bridge comparables are still pretty favourable, on both Petey and Hughes, so it shouldn’t be an issue to get both players signed to RFA expiry deals (and still possibly longer term on Hughes). But the longterm contract comps have really only gotten worse with time, and that may end up proving a missed opportunity. Had the Canucks acted earlier and more decisively, they probably could have gotten both extensions done at long term and AAV’s that people may have grumbled about initially, but likely would have started looking very reasonable as the months passed over this summer, and other teams announced their extensions. Anyway, I’m still optimistic we’ll see fair deals, maybe even slight “bargains” (at least based on some of the newer market comps, as well as the “true value” of Pettersson and Hughes, when it comes to what they contribute on the ice), but I’ll be surprised if “taking their time” will prove to be a overall winning strategy for the Canucks, compared to what might have been possible if they’d prioritized completing the Petey and Hughes extensions at a much earlier date.
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