Schedule

May 16, 2023

39 minutes ago, Coconuts said:

I don't like how it further complicated our cap scenario, management got the guy they wanted but they backed us further into the corner capwise. Maybe this move could have happened later, I don't recall hearing a whole lot of speculation surrounding Hronek back around trade deadline time.

I also dislike moving high picks.

That’s my main issue as well.

I don’t mind the trade itself. I’m fine with the value. I like Hronek as a target. And I don’t have any problem with adding a player like him to this team, even when considering where they are in their competitive cycle.

But they needed to move out some salaries before the TDL so they wouldn’t create this current cap crunch (and the leverage issues that have resulted).

What really sucks is that there are all these rumours out there that Allvin rejected fair trade offers because he set his prices too high, and actually missed out on chances to dump full salaries (no retention) on some of the contracts we’re now trying to move. Being a little more flexible on TDL returns may have offered a window to get the Canucks out of the current cap mess (and may have had an indirect result of making the team a little less competitive down the stretch, thereby improving draft position).

I don’t really know the specifics of what deals were on the table, but if the Canucks had managed to move out a salary or two before the TDL, I’d like how they’d be positioned for this summer a lot more (with the Hronek addition).

Even if the returns are the TDL were really poor, I doubt they were anywhere close to as odious as the trades being discussed now (with every team knowing the Canucks are ****ed if the don’t shed cap).

May 16, 2023

53 minutes ago, Coconuts said:

I don't like how it further complicated our cap scenario, management got the guy they wanted but they backed us further into the corner capwise. Maybe this move could have happened later, I don't recall hearing a whole lot of speculation surrounding Hronek back around trade deadline time.

I also dislike moving high picks.

Double post (keeping the one below)

May 10, 2023

15 minutes ago, PhillipBlunt said:

The Benning legacy

Hopefully another team hires JB this off-season. Allvin and co could really use him right now as a trading partner. Seemed like Benning was always willing to pay full price to help other teams clear cap.

May 8, 2023

If we’re looking at ‘95 born Russians in the KHL, I’d rather see the Canucks take a run at signing free agent forward Konstantin Okulov.

May 8, 2023

7 hours ago, Dannydog said:

If he plays in the SHL for next year does that he count as 1 of the 50 contract players? If not 1 more year in Sweden (at18) can’t hurt . Especially when the Canucks seem to have some control over which team he plays for.

I think so. I believe players under contract who are loaned to European leagues (as well as any slide eligible contract players that get returned to the CHL) are exempted from the 50 contract limit.

May 5, 2023

4 hours ago, The Lock said:

My guess is it could largely depend on how many other Russians also decide to come over at the same time. I think it would make a lot of sense if a lot of Russians suddenly decided it was better to play over here given how a certain economy's collapsing to say the least.

Actually, thinking on that, then the question would be is Tryamkin even the best option of that group at the end of the day? Perhaps there's someone even better available who would sign a deal like Kuzmenko did.

There isn’t an obvious Kuzmenko-type sweepstakes this year, but there are a couple Russian players I’m seeing mentioned repeatedly as top free agency targets. Remains to be seen if the Canucks are interested in any of them and if they will again pursue KHL free agents (other than Dhaliwal’s rumour about a Tryamkin retread).

LHD Grigori Dronov has been getting some buzz as one of this year’s top KHL options. His KHL contract just expired so he’s a free agent. Has had NHL teams interested for a few years. He’s 25 now and attended NHL development camps with Arizona and Carolina. 6’3”, 201 lbs. Had some injury issues during his draft eligible years that probably scared teams off from using a pick on him (even though he was a decently rated prospect), but when healthy, has been a top pairing guy in the KHL. Good two-way defender. Not a huge points producer but he’s a capable puck mover and walks the line well in the offensive zone. Brings a physical edge and capable of making some big open ice hits. I’ve seen some mixed reports on his skating. Nothing too bad though and most agree it’s at least passable. Reports suggest he probably could come over and immediately play 3rd pair in the NHL. And at his age, he’d be on an ELC price point, so a cheap option and not much risk in giving him a one year deal and “show me” opportunity.

EDIT: I think Dronov actually signed an ELC last year with Carolina but they apparently terminated it. Might have had something to do with them trying to assign him to the AHL after signing the deal (shades of Tryamkin?). He almost certainly had an out clause, so that might have been the reason he went back to Russia for the year. Details are a little sketchy (one source said the deal was never filed). But clearly he’s looking to play in the NHL (just probably not the AHL), since he’s been going to camps for tryouts, has signed an ELC previously, and only took a one year KHL deal, allowing him another opportunity this summer to find an NHL team.

Also, from some of the video clips, he’s definitely got some nastiness to his game:

(Last clip made me laugh. Luckily that puck didn’t go in. Dronov couldn’t see what was happening behind him, but also seemed fixated on smacking around #81 and using that guy’s face to knock the net off. :lol: )

On the slightly older side, but definitely more in the Kuzmenko mold, is Konstantin Okulov. LH shot RW, although he can play all three forward positions and was a centre when he was younger (he has a nice vid from years ago scoring a goal by wiring a shot directly off the faceoff). He’s 28 and coming off a career season scoring in the KHL. He’s 6’0.5”, 181 lbs. NHL teams have been interested in him for years but no one has been able to get a deal done. Now hitting a free agency window (his KHL deal just expired), this might be the year Okulov finally makes the jump across the pond. Strong skater with excellent agility/mobility and top end speed, highly skilled, great shot (his wristers have been clocked at over 80MPH during games), very good passer and playmaker, and brings a pretty solid defensive awareness to his game. Good chance he could step directly into and NHL lineup and be effective. For the past few years, hockey people have been saying that the only thing stopping Okulov from playing in the NHL is his willingness to sign a deal and make the move over to North America. But if he’s now willing to sign an NHL contract, he seems a pretty good bet to step into a lineup and have an instant impact. Probably shouldn’t expect lightning to strike twice and see Okulov have a Kuzmenko level success (Kuzy is a bit of a unicorn) but their KHL career numbers are quite comparable, so who knows?

This link includes some good video clips of Okulov from a few years back:

https://theleafsnation.com/news/amp/top-khl-free-agents-in-2020-21

And here’s a more recent highlight pack:

May 5, 2023

3 hours ago, J-Dizzle said:

Shirokov is 37???? Man I'm getting old.

You and me both! :lol:

Also reminds me of just how long I’ve been on CDC. I can remember posting about Shirokov back in 2008.

Time sure flies.

May 5, 2023

37 minutes ago, J-Dizzle said:

How about Shirokov

Maybe we can coax Kirill Koltsov and Fedor Fedorov out of retirement as well?

Jokes aside, Shirokov is surprisingly still a pretty decent player at 37. Probably a decade past any chance of him coming back over here, but he’s made a very nice career for himself in the KHL.

May 4, 2023

14 hours ago, canucklehead44 said:

His WAR is bad (penalties, offense, ice time) but his EV defense his second year was at 50+ percentile, and his PK at 45% (also likely improved) is good. So your eye test does match the analytics. Better defense, PKing, bigger, and more physical than Gudbranson at a far cheaper price. Plays how we wish Tyler Myers would play (although Myers should also be putting up 30-40 points at his salary).

Tryamkin is not a top 4 guy but I'd love to bring him back as a 6/7 as he can play both sides. Maybe split time with Wolanin if Hirose goes to Abby or can just flat out replce Myers

Also worthwhile to consider how bad those Canucks teams were overall, which can negatively impact a player’s WAR and WAR percentiles.

Looking at stats like team relative expected goals, Tryamkin’s results are much more positive.

In his 79 NHL game sample (2015-16 through 2016-17), among Canucks defencemen, at 5v5, Tryamkin ranked 5th (out of the 15 defencemen who played games during those two seasons for Vancouver), with an xGF% Rel of +1.67%.

His 5v5 xGA/60 Rel was 4th best, at -0.07.

5v5 xGF/60 Rel was 7th best at +0.08.

Notable players Tryamkin outperformed (by expected goals; xGF%, xGA/60) during his time in Vancouver: Edler, Gudbranson, Sbisa, Stecher, Hutton. Only Hamhuis and Tanev did better (among the Canucks D “regulars”).

On the PK, it’s a similar story. Tryamkin ranked 3rd (out of 15 Dmen) in xGF% Rel at +6.74%. And he was 7th in xGA/60 Rel at -0.58 (which was actually better than Edler, Tanev, and Gudbranson).

Similar for PK GF% Rel (+6.25%, 4th best on Canucks D) and PK GA/60 Rel (-0.4, 7th best).

April 30, 2023

1 hour ago, Alflives said:

Great trade by Allvin. We got Hronek, who is clearly more valuable than Bo. We got new Beau who proved to put up more points than old Bo. And we got Raty who has a defensive ceiling that far exceeds what Bo is. So each piece, in its own way, is better than old Bo.

Not to mention old Bo’s new deal.

$8.5M X 8 years starting at age 29.

Perhaps the biggest win of all was simply dodging that contract.

Everything else is gravy.

I would have let him walk for nothing, rather than see the team shackled with that kind of deal. Even with no assets, it still would have been a win.

Thankfully they made a good trade(s) and picked up some very nice pieces.

April 29, 2023

38 minutes ago, aGENT said:

There's still August as well for college guys who don't sign with their teams (O'Brien?).

Yeah, and it’s a pretty decent group of college players that should be hitting free agency August 15th. Including Jay O’Brien, Skyler Brind’Amour, Robert Mastrosimone, John Farinacci, and Ryan Johnson (D), just to name a few.

We’ll also see some rights expire on non-college picks June 1st, although many of those guys will re-enter the draft.

April 28, 2023

With Aktell off the board (and reportedly never really featuring prominently on the Canucks’ target list), I believe that the remaining Swedish Dmen who’ve been linked to Vancouver in rumours at some point this year are Jacob Bengtsson (NCAA), Filip Berglund (SHL), and Samuel Johannesson (SHL).

I don’t really expect any of them to be signed here, or we’d already have seen something. It’s been really quiet lately and I’d think there’d be a lot more chatter from Dhaliwal and others if the Canucks were actively targeting any more college or European (transfer agreement) free agents.

Could be that Vancouver is done with “free prospects” for now. They’ve had a successful run, signing some really good targets in Hirose and McWard (who were both highly sought after) and also that Belarusian kid who played goal in Sweden (forgot his name, but it’s like “torpedo” or something lol). The Canucks could still be looking at some of the CHL undrafted/overagers that are still playing hockey. I wouldn’t be surprised to see one more player added from that pool. And maybe they are considering some KHL free agents (beyond Tryamkin). But it’s starting to look like the Canucks have already signed the UDFA’s they wanted to nab this year from the NCAA and Sweden.

I would still expect to see some development camp invites and Abbotsford signings to AHL contracts. College, European, and CHL free agents (undrafted or rights expired) tend to figure prominently in those additions, so we should still see some more new faces.

Plus the draft picks this year, and any trades or signings from the actual NHL ranks.

EDIT: Also Valtteri Pulli (22yo, 6’6” LHD from Finland) remains available, as the previous media reports he’d signed with Sharks were based on some bad sources.

April 28, 2023

Hardy Häman Aktell has signed a one year ELC with the Washington Capitals:

April 28, 2023

On 4/26/2023 at 3:49 AM, Elias Pettersson said:

Dhaliwal and Taylor have a running bet of $20 on whether Tryamkin will come back to Vancouver. Dhaliwal didn't specifically say Vancouver today, but it was implied from previous shows where he said it and they made a bet on it. Dhaliwal saying Tryamkin will be back on July 1 certainly means he thinks he's coming back to Vancouver, as Taylor then mentioned the $20 bet. He knows 100% he's coming back to the NHL, so that's already a given and confirmed by his agent...

Ah, ok. I rarely listen to their program, so wasn’t aware of the specifics of their bet (as you say was laid out in previous shows). If that’s the background to the conversation, then yes, it would seem Dhaliwal was saying “book it” to the idea of Tryamkin retuning to Vancouver on July 1st. It’ll be interesting to see what happens, and how the fanbase reacts to the news (people still seem to have some unusually strong feelings about this player, both pro and anti), if he’s indeed signed by the Canucks. Also will be interesting to see how the money shakes out. I don’t see the market going too high on him, even if there are a few teams interested.

20 hours ago, 6of1_halfdozenofother said:

Those better versed in NHL contracts can probably correct me, but according to capfriendly:

I don't think Tryamkin falls into any of the three.

I won’t claim to be “better versed in NHL contracts” than anyone else here, but your information is certainly correct. Tryamkin can’t receive performance bonuses on any NHL deal he potentially signs this summer.

April 26, 2023

17 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

He said he’ll be back with the Canucks. And Taylor said they had the $20 running bet still going.

Yeah, I just listened to the segment.

I agree that it sounded that way and definitely could be interpreted as such. Just noting that Dhaliwal never directly said that Tryamkin is coming to Vancouver, but just said that he’s “coming back,” which could mean a return to the NHL, but not him specifically signing with the Canucks.

I’d agree, however, that in the context of conversation (which lasted about a minute), it really did sound like he meant the Canucks.

It just wasn’t ever explicitly stated that Vancouver plans to sign Tryamkin on July 1st, which leaves me with some uncertainty regarding what Dhaliwal actually meant with his comments.

We’ll see. I definitely think the Canucks could sign Tryamkin, if he’s a player they want to target. And I think there’s a decent chance Tryamkin would pick Vancouver over other teams, if the money is equal. Especially now that every staff member who had negative dealings with Tryamkin (when he was here) has been fired. And the team has also added more Russians to both the roster and the coaching staff.

Dhaliwal has been pretty accurate this year, when it comes to his scoops (Hirose, McWard, etc) and he definitely has some strong contacts with player agents (a group that seems to make up almost the entirety of his sources), including Todd Diamond (who reps Tryamkin).

April 26, 2023

4 hours ago, Canucks Curse said:

is this real, is there a link he said this:

I bet Sergei Gonchar has reached out and promised to develop him, + we have a great nucleus of Russians now, this is actually a great place for him + he is somewhat familiar with the city, organization/owner, and the ppl he did not like (Willie D, JB) are gone...a 1 or 2 year contract makes sense, he might also change his agent to MILL$$$$CHTEIN

On the most recent podcast it’s around the 26 minutes mark that they start discussing Tryamkin.

“He’s back on July 1st, book it.” -Dhaliwal

I couldn’t tell, however, if he was saying the Canucks will sign Tryamkin or just that he’ll be signed by an NHL team.

April 25, 2023

1 hour ago, AnthonyG said:

Mind sharing somecnumbers? I’m just curious to see what these numbers are. Or if you have a link for where you do your research?

I appreciate your overall response, well written and a very fair/non bias summary

For free access (most of the better analytics will have paywalls) you could look at Natural Stat Trick or some of the limited access on Evolving Hockey.

Here’s last season’s Canucks defencemen, relative to team stats (5v5):

https://www.naturalstattrick.com/playerteams.php?fromseason=20222023&thruseason=20222023&stype=1&sit=5v5&score=all&stdoi=oi&rate=r&team=VAN&pos=D&loc=B&toi=0&gpfilt=none&fd=&td=&tgp=410&lines=single&draftteam=ALL

And here’s OEL’s player page (with GAR based stats per season):

https://evolving-hockey.com/stats/players/?_inputs_&player="Oliver Ekman-Larsson"

MoneyPuck also has some good data available for free. You can apply filters to look at OEL relative to the league or relative to other Canucks:

https://www.moneypuck.com/stats.htm

There are others too (free hockey analytics sites), but I’m drawing a blank right now. I have the links on my laptop but I’m away and just using my phone. I’m sure others will chime in with some suggestions.

April 25, 2023

1 hour ago, AnthonyG said:

Curious what metrics you use to confidently say OEL was the worst dman in the league?
You watch all 32 teams 82 games?

Trash goaltending has no impact at all in any of the numbers you look at to render your verdict of “pretty much the worst dman in the NHL”?

Yeah, “worst Dman in the league” is pretty unfair. It’s debatable whether or not he was even the worst Dman on the Canucks (among the regulars with 40+ games).

On the other hand, it would be difficult to disprove that, at least statistically, OEL was very clearly a negative value asset and sub-replacement level player in 2022-23.

And, obviously, that’s not good.

But there are plenty of worse performing and worse value defencemen in the NHL, no matter what metrics you want to use.

And the previous season, OEL was actually pretty good. Not $8.25M good. Or even $7.26 (his salary after retention) good. But probably somewhere in the neighborhood of $5M value on the ice, which isn’t bad for a ~30 year old, elite (at times) in their (mid-20s) prime, defenceman on a UFA contract (most players in that age group, and with similar pedigrees, are overpaid, just by virtue of how the NHL market is set up, and they will tend not to return positive value, as in surplus to salary, most seasons).

I suppose the question (and this may get things back on the road toward talking about Rathbone) is whether or not 2022-23 OEL or 2021-22 OEL is the player we’re more likely to see in 2023-24?

The 2021-22 version, while still overpaid, is at least a player that probably provides more value on ice than any of the Canucks’ other options (whether players currently in the system or available via the market) to replace him. That version of OEL is far from the worst Dman in the league. In fact, he’s probably a top-4 defenceman on most teams.

The 2022-23 version, however, is not even “replacement level” in the NHL. This is pretty clear in the numbers. And also in the eye test. Even the college free agents and AHL journeyman who passed through the lineup seemed to provide better results for the Canucks. And statistically, last season’s version of OEL offered negative impacts almost universally across most metrics.

When it comes to that 2022-23 version of OEL, the team is arguably better served by simply removing him from the lineup and replacing him with almost any other option (including some of the guys, like Rathbone and others, currently playing in the AHL).

I don’t, however, necessarily believe that OEL’s 2022-23 season is an accurate representation of his current player value or projected performance for next season. There are lots of reasons that might explain his poor results this year. And also reasons to expect he’ll be better next season. Though almost certainly not better enough to justify his $8.35M ($7.26M) salary. But quite possibly better enough to justify his place in the lineup (like we saw from him in 2021-22), ahead of other options (whether players currently in the Canucks’ system or any new acquisitions available in this year’s market).

April 22, 2023

https://canucksarmy.com/news/cant-remember-puck-management-issue-nils-hoglander-dominating-ahl-playoffs-abbotsford-canucks

Through two tightly contested AHL playoff games, Nils Höglander is beginning to show that he belongs in the NHL.

Following two full seasons in the NHL, Höglander was assigned to the AHL in December. Upon arriving in Abbotsford, Höglander managed to put up 14 goals and 18 assists for 32 points in 45 regular season games. Those numbers are certainly not something to write home about and many likely simply saw the numbers and came to the conclusion that the 22-year-old winger simply wasn’t playing well in the AHL.

Through his time with Abbotsford, there has been a focus on his decision-making with the puck and commitment to a structured style of play.

Höglander is somewhat of a wild child on the ice. He’s got some of the best puck-control skills in the world and he showcased that by scoring the goal of the year in the SHL in three consecutive seasons before he turned 20 years old.

It’s not like Höglander is looking for those fancy plays but he says that when he is playing with confidence, those types of situations present themselves to him on the ice. He’s got all the skill in the world and will obviously be back in the NHL soon but there needs to be a focus on development in his game. It’s not about building on his strengths right now — it’s about rounding out his weaknesses to an acceptable level to be an everyday NHL player.

We’ve seen growth in Höglander’s decision-making over the past four months. A big focus is his play with the puck around his own blue line. Höglander still tries to make some moves in the neutral zone and will lose possession from time to time, but it seems like he is buying into the thought process behind just simply getting the puck out of your own zone and then chasing the puck down. It’s not about making the perfect pass for this Abbotsford team, it’s more about how they shut down opponents’ offensive zone possessions.

Höglander has tightened up his defensive play and is now thriving offensively in the AHL playoffs, which began on Wednesday and saw the Abbotsford Canucks sweep the Bakersfield Condors on Friday night. It was a best-of-three series, and you may remember that those Condors swept the Canucks last year in the opening round of the AHL playoffs.

Abbotsford allowed two goals over the two wins and played extremely good defensive hockey in front of their goaltenders. Through the two games, the best line on the ice was the trio of Höglander, Max Sasson, and Kyle Rau.

“They’ve been excellent,” said head coach Jeremy Colliton after Friday night’s win. “We rolled [that line] because they were generating momentum, drawing penalties, [creating scoring] chances, and they were helping us flip the ice. [It was] a really good two-game performance. Nils was a big catalyst — winning races, strong on the puck, and winning battles. I can’t remember a puck management issue in two games, which is for as much as he had the puck, is pretty impressive. That’s a big reason why we won.”

Sasson is an NCAA signing who agreed on an amateur tryout with the Canucks and that made him eligible to play in the AHL playoffs. He joined the team for seven regular season games before the playoffs and has been a much-needed offensive centre in their top-six. Sasson played on one of the best lines in the NCAA this year and his ability to play with skilled players has him in a great spot with the Canucks.

“He’s awesome,” said Sasson about playing with Höglander. “He’s just so fun to be around. Off the ice and on the ice. He has so much energy. You know, he’s probably the fastest player I’ve played with. He’s so skilled and my job is to get him the puck and get him some space. And [then] he usually makes the right play.”

As for Rau, he is an AHL veteran who was a third-round pick in 2011 and has played in over 400 AHL games. He’s one of the few veterans on this team and leads with his strong two-way play and timely offensive bursts.

With his line playing well, Höglander has been dynamic.

In this goal, which was originally credited to Sasson and later changed to Höglander, he chips the puck around a defender in the neutral zone, then slips a check to continue on with his possession, and most importantly, he goes to the net hard and is quick onto a loose puck from his rebound. It’s a play that showcases how good Höglander can be and really gave him a chance to showcase his high-end puck-control skill.

Höglander has picked up a goal and an assist in both of Abbotsford’s playoff games.

His assist in the first game was a beautiful saucer pass through the slot and onto the stick of Rau, who sent it back to Sasson, who fired it into the back of the yawning cage.

Highlight reel assists have been consistent in Höglander’s play through two games. He made a gorgeous backdoor pass to Brady Keeper on Friday night and helped the defenceman pick up his first goal in 162 days.

During the postgame media availability, Höglander said that that back door play was something that he and Keeper had talked about and when Höglander saw Keeper sneaking down, he didn’t hesitate to fire a pass across the ice.

Höglander scored the series-winning goal on Friday night and put a cherry on top of what was a great two-game series for himself.

The Abbotsford Canucks now await their second-round opponent. It will depend on how Sunday’s one Pacific Division semifinal game goes.

If the Tucson Roadrunners win on Sunday, the Canucks will play the Colorado Eagles. If the Eagles win on Sunday, the Canucks will play the best team from the AHL regular season, the Calgary Wranglers.

No matter the case, the Canucks will begin on the road in a five-game series.

We’ve been damn impressed with Höglander’s play so far in the playoffs and he is by and far the leader of the offence right now for the Canucks. Nobody was as dominant as Höglander in the opening-round series and he will look to build on his game and show the management group that he can raise his play in high-pressure situations.

Abbotsford’s next game of the series is projected to begin on Wednesday, April 26 with the first home game at the Abbotsford Centre looking like either April 30th or May 1st.

April 22, 2023

58 minutes ago, canuckleheads fan said:

Hogs looks great through two games, he's playing for a contract or a fresh start elsewhere.

Really exciting to see how he’s improved. Work rate, puck management, energy/effort, shift-to-shift consistency, etc. All the elements he needs underpinning his game so that his talent can shine through. There’s never been much doubt about his skillset and creativity. But his overall game is so much stronger now. Hope he can bring everything he’s learned this year to next camp and earning a spot and the minutes to shine in the NHL lineup. Credit to his own determination and the work of the coaching staff. Gotta love what this organization seems to be cooking up down in Abbotsford. If they can start consistently developing and churning out more finished and compete players for the NHL, it’ll be such a huge boon for the Canucks.

April 21, 2023

12 hours ago, -Vintage Canuck- said:

Sounds like there won’t be a direct replacement hire coming, but still have to wonder if there’s anything to the recent reports out of Russia about Metallurg Magnitogorsk head coach (and former Russian national team head coach) Ilya Vorobyov joining the Canucks?

Would be an interesting hire. Born in Latvia, raised in Germany, and his dad is a former Russian player and coach (and his brother is also a former player and coach). Holds German and Russian passports and apparently speaks excellent English. Cut his teeth as an assistant coach to Paul Maurice and Mike Keenan during their KHL coaching stints with Metallurg.

Don’t know much about his personality or coaching style. Read an article that said he encourages a lot of freedom and creativity. And that he’s good at working with talented, big name players.

Has won two Gagarin Cups (KHL championships), three bronze medals at the Worlds, and one Olympic gold (2018) as a coach.

April 19, 2023

3 hours ago, VancouverHabitant said:

Those studies would seem to be highly biased, don't you think?

I remember reading about them a few years back.

Definitely they’re biased. Doesn’t necessarily mean they’re wrong. Even Bill Daly (during the last negotiations) conceded that it was also the NHL’s finding that too many European players were being signed to NHL contacts (before they were NHL-ready) and assigned to the AHL, under the old agreement. It had become obvious to both sides that this was harming some players and European clubs.

42 minutes ago, ronthecivil said:

What happens if this year, or more likely the next, he makes the team out of camp. Then part way through the year, because of slump or what not, they want to send him down to get more minutes.

Do we have to send him to Sweden at this point? Make him sit in the box? Or can we send him to Abbottsford to play 20 minutes a night instead of five?

It will depend on the circumstances. If a U24 player from Sweden (drafted round 2-7) makes an NHL team to start the season, but sometime during the season could benefit from a brief AHL demotion, to get some extra minutes and attention, I think most Swedish clubs would be open to having the conversation and they very possibly would approve it, so long as the player is on board with the plan. But if we’re talking anything long term, they’d almost certainly demand the player gets returned, as is their right under the agreement.

EDIT: I think a good way to think about it is that every Swedish player drafted rounds 2-7 gets an automatic European assignment clause until they’re 24. It’s not exactly the same, but the effects are similar.

April 19, 2023

23 minutes ago, flat land fish said:

With the SHL transfer agreement are we stuck developing d Petey in Sweden until we deem him NHL ready?

Pretty much. Unless the Canucks can convince his Swedish team (Örebro) to waive their rights. The teams involved are allowed to have discussions to this effect. However, NHL teams are strictly forbidden from offering any form of payment/incentives (other than the fees described within the transfer agreement) to convince a Swedish club to waive their rights under the transfer agreement and authorize an AHL assignment.

So basically, until Pettersson is 24, he can’t be assigned to the AHL unless his Swedish club approves the move. And the Canucks can’t “bribe” them to do so. All parties would have to agree it’s the best choice for the player’s development and the Swedish club would have to be willing to forego their rights.

EDIT: The silver lining is that Swedish and other European hockey associations have studied this issue in great detail. They have some pretty compelling evidence that developing prospects in their home systems yields better results than sending them to the AHL. There are a couple good studies that were done in the past few years that suggest European players tend to go on to be better players and have better careers this way. So Pettersson may very well have increased odds of eventually becoming a good NHL player for the Canucks by developing in the SHL instead of the AHL.

April 18, 2023

22 hours ago, Bure_Pavel said:

Give him the Tkachuk 9.5 million X 8 years, and call it a day. Hopefully they get this done and not be a big distraction.

Tkachuk’s $9.5M AAV deal is 11.52% cap.

On a $87.5M salary cap (projection for 2024-25), that would be just an hair over $10M ($10,080,000).

Maybe put a 40 in there for fun, and go with $10,040,000 AAV?

I think there’s a good chance EP40 gets more, but anything in that $10M range would be a bargain and a great result IMO.

April 18, 2023

2 hours ago, N4ZZY said:

intriguing prospect. younger than Jake Livingstone. I would take a flyer on him, but given that he hasn't been signed yet, and that there's really no rumour about him linked to the Canucks (at least nothing I've heard online), maybe he's not on their radar?

Signings have definitely slowed down, I wonder if it has to do with the cap.

Yeah, he’s probably not a target or he’d already be signed.

Still, maybe he catches Ryan Johnson’s eye for an Abby addition? You never know.

I don’t think he’s high upside, like a Hirose, capable of stepping into an NHL lineup right now, and potentially becoming a top-4 in time. More of a depth/3rd pairing upside most likely. But I do like the combo of size, strength, character, and work ethic. Also he seems like a genuinely good person, and I have a soft spot for the guys like that. He might not be an ELC option but he’s probably a solid enough player for an AHL opportunity, and should eventually get a pro deal somewhere.

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