canucklehead44

At the time the Ballard trade was brilliant. The Canucks had an insane amount of injuries on the blueline the year before, and really need - speed, durability, and toughness. Ballard was one of the fastest skating D in the league, had played 82 games for three seasons straight, and was a proven 2nd pairing dman at prime age (27 playing over 22 minutes per game), a big hitter with 151 hits to go along with 201 blocks, and averaged around 30 points per season. Given we were working our way into being a contender - a cap dump, waiver guy, and late 1st seemed like a bargin. Now that said, he was pretty bad his last season in Florida which is why he was available. But the reason he was so bad was because of the hip injury that he was hiding (again he missed no games). So what seemed to be a change of scenery trade as actually damaged goods. Fans at the time actually did not hate on Ballard - there was more frustration in giving Rome his ice time. That frustration is justified: Ballard wasn't awful (other than early in the first season) but he never gained the trust of AV and was permanently in the dog house. His point totals made him seem worse than his actual play, and he threw some sick hipchecks. The D at the time was heavily carried by Ehrhoff and Hamhuis, plus the brilliance of Luongo. We all remember how bad Juice was defensively Edler was also abysmal defensively back then So in context - it was a good trade at the time, we got screwed over from his hidden injury, and he was a bit unjustly played too low in the lineup and was overall pretty average. On a side note - Edler actually became a good defensive defenseman at 32 years old. Which makes me hope that all hope is not lost for OEL, and playing with Hronek will shift his play to the defensive side.

Comparing a 23 point player making $6.3M to a 46 point player making $4.9M actually made my brain hurt a bit

His draft year had a top 10 that consisted of Bonsignore, Storr, Wiemer, Brett Lindros, and Nolan Baumgartner. Tverdosky, Bonk, O'Neill all solid players but nothing special, it was a pretty weak draft. Smyth was very good - borderline star but certainly not a super star. Jovo was never great defensively and had a career high of 23 points at that stage- he was simply nowhere near as good or highly regarded as Dahlin despite being first overall.

I thought that was a steal for Calgary at the time and was a case of Forida way overpaying for a guy they really wanted. Weegar himself is a very good defenseman who can also play both sides. And it wasn't like Huberdeau was a 50 point 2nd liner... he had 115 points! Even so he isn't the same player Tkachuk is But given the Flames got a forwars who should have been able to replace Tkachuk's offense, a solid top pairing dman, and a 1st it seemed like a great deal.

Jovanovski = Byram Weekes = Annunen Gagner = Rodrigues Brown = Olausson Hedican = Bear Ference = Jurmo To Avs Bure Bear Jurmo 3rd To Vancouver Byram Annunen Rodrigues Olausson 1st The trade was seen as a pretty bad return at the time. The reason for it was Bure was sitting out - it wasn't like he was crushing it and the Canucks moved him to sell high like we did with Horvat. Byram/Jovo are good young defensemen with upside but a bit disappointing given their draft pedigree and have high offensive potential plus a cup run, Bear and Hedican are smooth skating defenseman who are solid middle of the road guys and prime age, Weekes/Annunen 23 year old goalie with minimum NHL experience but a relatively high pick and looking ready to make the jump, Gagner and Rodrigues bascially short term filler who can put up decent point totals, Brown and Olausson both 1st round busts and Ference/Jurmo big defenders 3 years pro without NHL games. I remember Burke saying giving up Hedican stung a little bit - same thing would happen if we moved Bear. Asking for Gagner makes me thinkg of Allvin being stubborn on needing a 3rd line centre. The goalies are pretty comparable (and I could see Allvin wanting more goalie depth). One discrepency is the fact Ference was 10th overall vs Jurmo who was a 3rd round pick.But at the time I doubt the Canucks valued him like a 10th round pick and saw him as maybe a future bottom pairing guy.

Not every player is Lidstrom or Niedermeyer. If Hronek can put up 50 points, finish 6th in Norris voting, and have underlying numbers like this there is no reason for complaint. Not sure if the Ehrhoff comment was a compliment or an insult. I'd rather pay prime Ehrhoff 8 million than Bo Horvat or JT Miller 8 million.

Bear

I hated it immensely at the time. However, I have warmed up a bit to the trade. I thought Hronek was an OFD, maybe a solid #3 guy - but the more I dove into clips, reports, and analytics he is actually a pretty rare talent. Last season he was one of the best defensemen in the entire NHL and was more impressive defensively and on the PK than offensively/points/PP Also by the way he plays I believe he is going to elevate OEL's game and gives us so many options for matchups. Bear was actually a big acquisition and Hronek makes us so much better. Based on quality of player, contract, position, and the amount of minutes they play, I would much rather have Hronek over Horvat. And I would also trade a 2nd for Raty, Beau, and a 4th so we come out way ahead. With Hronek in and a healthy lineup I think this team can do damage. They are sooooo much better than their record indicated. With tightening up of systems, Demko hopefully back to being Demko, and starting the season with Bear and Hronek we can be a very good team.

I agree with this assessment. One thing I noticed looking through the market though is that there are better 3C coming into the free agency pool than what would realitically be available for trade. Nashville is a team deep at centre and light on the wing - especially after trading the afforementioned Niederrieter. Johansen (cap retained) for Boeser could be a deal worth looking at. Even if Nashville moves Johansen, they still have Duchene, Sissons, Trenin, Glass, Parsinnen, Novak, and Asplund. Nashville is absolutely stacked with picks as well, 13 in the next draft (and no 7th rounder). So they have sweeteners to add even more cap space if needed which could include moving Poolman/Pearson as LTIR to a team with space or even facilitating a Myers trade.

Garland is a bit of a mystery. Fans like him. When he is on the ice he is noticeable in a good way. His surface level results are good but he seems to get stuck in 3rd line minutes with random linemates. I am surprised he hasn't been tested a little more on the PK as his speed and 5 on 5 defensive play might lend well. As for Boeser his underlying numbers speak to the narrative throughout most of the year. Compared to Garland he gets better quality and quantity of minutes but is a liability I don't think this mean's Boeser is unmovable (although we have to retain salary). Granlund fetched a 2nd round pick with even worse results and a comparable contract, although he can play centre Nino Neiderrieter finished with 24 goals 41 points which is comparable to Garland's 17 goals 46 points. He is a bigger player and his underlying numbers, like Garland, look pretty good. A bit cheaper at $4M so again some salary needs to be retained. I think a 60-65 point guy (when healthy) with bad underlying numbers seems to have similar value to a 45-50 point player (when healthy) with good underlying stats. If we had the choice to trade Garland with $1M retained or Boeser with $1.7M retained for the exact same return I think I'd rather see Boeser go.

OEL-Bear was our 3rd best defensive pairing last year behind Huges-Bear and surprisingly Hughes-Myers. I think Hronek is even better suited style wise to play with OEL as he needs to be paired with a good skater. He was so bad with Luke Schenn last year. Hronek was such a huge acquistion because its not so much about adding one player but having an effective pairing. If we can't move Myers I think he will actually be serviceable on the 3rd pairing with Hirose.

Looking at a breakdown of defensive pairings, OEL actually played decent when paired with Bear (3rd most effective D pairing last season). He was very bad with Myers and abysmal with Schenn. I think a lot has to do with foot speed. With a faster d partner he doesn’t have to cover as much ground and can focus more on positioning and being less aggressive. Hronek is an even better skater and puck carrier than Bear. Also OEL came into the season expecting f to be a #1 or #2 guy and the team including Demko was a dumpster fire. With more structure, better goaltending, and less reliance and expectations he can settle down in a more complementary role where I think he will do better. Rehab from injuries hopefully. I think he will be as good analytically as he was his first season but with easier deployments and Hronek making him better (Vs OEL pulling up Myers).

And yet for the 15.2 million he spent between Holtby, Halak, and Nilsson they had a combined 21-40-10 record. For $1.5 million Martin and Delia were 21-21-3 The difference is Benning spent a lot of money in bad goalies

Goldy is so "meh". He had some skill and upside but even playing with good linemates against weak competition he was a slighly below average offensive player who was a libability defensively and had no intangibles (size, toughness etc). I could see a team like Arizona throwing him on the second line as a cheap $800K option to see if there is any untapped upside otherwise I don't see a place for him in the NHL.

When both Sebastian Ahos were in the penalty box it made me wonder whether Sea Bass’ name is also Sebastian

It would be interesting to see how he would do with Hughes. Hughes - Bear is an effective pairing though, and I got a feeling OEL and Hronek will good too. That said Hughes - Tryamkin, Tryamkin - Hronek, Wolanin/Hirose - Tryamkin are all interesting pairing worth exploring. I don't think OEL - Tryamkin or Tryamkin - Myers would work particularly well. Having Gochar as the defensive coach, Kuzmenko, Mikheyev, Podkolzin, Kravstov as team Russians, plus the opportunity to potentially play with Hughes or Hronek is a massive draw. What is crazy is he was here only 6 years ago and there are no Canucks remaining other than Boeser who had a 9 game stint. Crazy that Boeser, who is still only 26 years old, is the longest serving active Canuck.

He also likes a lot of Canucks content and he joined in on a live feed once haha. He seems to follow the Canucks more on social media than any other ex player. 1 year 1.75M as a bottom 3

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

It seems like the smaller deals have a better impact. Like when we got Higgins and Lappierre they were great and only cost 3rd round picks.

Yes. But it isn’t that easy. Also buying out OEL means adding another big contract which compounds issues when EP and Hughes need contracts. If we were in a two-year compete window then maybe, but we aren’t. It is almost better to roll the dice in the chance that OEL goes on long term LTIR. Myers contract expires when Hronek and EP are up for renewal (Pearson as well) so that money will just be shifted to those two. Here are the moves I would make: Out - Boeser, Dries, Dermott, Pearson (waived/ltir) In - PDG, McDonough, Hoglander, Bjugstad (1x2), Soucy (4x4), Wolanin, Juulsen/Woo Hogz EP Kuz PDG Miller Garland Mikheyev Bjugstad Kravstov Joshua Aman McDonough/Podkolzin Studnicka Hughes Bear OEL Hronek Wolanin Soucy Myers/Juulsen - since Soucy can play both sides this adds to a lot of combinations Hughes Soucy OEL Hronek Wolanin Bear Myers/Juulsen Hughes Myers/Juulsen Soucy Hronek OEL Bear Wolanin

If Woo doesn't make the Canucks he makes it through waivers. Not a former first rounder, never received an NHL callup, and overall has pretty weak numbers in the AHL. A team high up on the waiver wire will have better options, and the top teams at the bottom I doubt Woo can make their lineup if he can't even stick in Vancouver.

I am not sure if Myers is moveable. The Canucks need to be cap compliant by the start of the season, and waiving him would only save 500k if no team picks him up. In that case if he can't be moved then we would get stuck having to waive Boeser/Beau/Garland (whoever is remaining) or trade with a good chunk of retention.

Carlo and Zacha are two guys who would make our team significantly better as they fill two massive holes in the lineup. Now their stats are a bit inflated playing on a team like Boston but both have size, play positions we are weak in, and are PK specialists. If Boston would do this deal i'd consider it in a heartbeat. I could also see Reilly and Myers with retention thrown in.

Ommited Gaudreau. Acciari is very physical and good at faceoffs as well, he could be a good pickup. Barbashev looks like a pure offensive guy, and Kampf purely defensive which could work. My pick, despite the bad PK number, is Bjugstad. I think he could be had for a lower price on a short contract - like 1 year 1.75 or 2 years 1.5. He plays pretty well offensively and defensively and great size (6'6 209lbs).

Up front we got to move out one or two of Boeser, Garland, Beau Brock was very bad last season, and not great the year before, but he HAS been a fantastic player in the past. Either we trade him and hope to salvage some value, or hold and hope he bounces back. Beauvillier actually looks a lot like Brock (but with better defensive metrics early on). I think these numbers run until January - and both players played better the last quarter of the season. Benefit of Beauvillier is that he plays both wings and is a bit cheaper. Now Garland is a bit of an oddity. He plus up good underlying numbers, but provides no special teams value and was demoted to third line minutes. I don't really know who has the most value - Boeser probably with the most upside and Garland with the great underlying numbers. I think each player has different appeal depending on the team we are trading with. But when it comes down brass tacks, Beauvilier and Boeser seem like guys we have to "pump" whereas Garland is effective regardless of where he plays. When it comes to defense the two question marks are OEL and Myers. Now OEL actually played VERY well his first season here, sandwiched between two awful seasons. Given his injury, the teams calamity, having to work with so many partners etc I think OEL is worth another shot (vs buyout) with Hronek and hopefully a fully receovered foot Now Myers. What I find interesting is while his over WAR dropped he actually has made steady improvements defensively, with the big drop being his offensive game. One thing we have seen is big RHD get WAY overpaid. Be basically lost two 40 goal scorers in McCann & DeBrincat to pay $4M per year in the leagues worst defenseman in Erik Gudbranson. If we can find someone to take Myers for free at 50% retained he should be moved - but perhaps he might settle in ok on the 3rd pair in a primarily defensive role. Juulsen was better in his limited minutes but at least Myers is a guy who could jump up minutes when injury hits. As much as it kinda hurts I'd vote to not buy out OEL and just let Myers contract run its course. We should absolutely re-sign Ethan Bear. Finding an effective RHD who is 25 is not easy and costs ALOT to acquire. He was close to 80th perentile defensively last year. Hughes' game was elevated with Bear and OEL & Bear actually made the third most effective D-pairing. He does everything pretty well, not a special teams guy but on Hughes right side will eat a lot of 5 on 5 minutes. For this price and no assets having to be given up he is a no-brainer. When it comes to free agents, here are guys who show well. My first choice would be Carson Soucy. 6'5, 143 hits, solid defensively and on the PK, and effective on both the right side and left. At 28 he is on the younger end for UFAs and I can see him fitting in a nubmer of spots, moving all around the lineup depending on injuries. If we can sign Gavrikov and buyout OEL that is another solid direction. Another dark horse would be Mayfield to play with Huges - 6'5, 220lbs, and a solid all around defender. De Haan could be a good fit as a #7.