EternalCanuckFan

It's too bad Leivo's still out. Leivo might not be the fastest player, but Canucks could sure use his size and play style, as well as the added depth he brings to their line-up. Just imagine if the Canucks could roll out: Miller-Pettersson-Boeser Pearson-Horvat-Toffoli Roussel-Sutter/Gaudette-Leivo Motte-Beagle-Virtanen/MacEwen/Eriksson Wouldn't mind if the Canucks re-signed Leivo this summer but I have a feeling he's going to find a new home.

Loui knows where to be on D and in the O-zone, he knows where to be force defenders to pay attention to him as his linemates move the puck around which opens up space for his teammates. He's not a serious threat to score anymore but if I remember correctly, Loui was never really a "1-shot" player was mostly dangerous close to the nets due to how good his hands were. He's obviously lost a lot of that touch, but he still shows that he knows where he needs to be and is still dangerous enough near the net that D can't just leave him space. Obviously the Canucks need to figure out what to do with his contract due to their cap issues, but he's not otherwise a player that hurts the team.

Becoming a dad really powered up Bo.

Not saying we would want Hickey but rather that I would see them try to move Hickey before Mayfield and that they have options to do that. They have a good group of young D including Mayfield so I don't think the Canucks have much to offer them. I think targeting Mayfield makes sense from a player standpoint - he's a good young D on a great contract. It would be great for the Canucks. If I'm not mistaken, Mayfield's one of their top-4 D (in terms of minutes) so I would think the price would be high just because of that and even higher based on his contract. The only way I see NYI trading him is if they get a very good prospect and/or pick back so that they actually shed cap (even if it's only a bit). The Canucks already gave up their 1st rounder this year and management seems to finally be focused on retaining picks so I would think that a deal would be difficult to make. Would you want to see a Hoglander+ for Mayfield trade? I think that would be hard to stomach, assuming NYI would even be interested.

NYI is under a bit of cap pressure due to Barzal's, Pulock's and Toews' RFA statuses but I have a hard time seeing them parting with Mayfield. He's a regular for them so any replacement player for Mayfield (e.g. Dobson) would be at most a savings of about half of Mayfield's $1.5M cap hit. It would be slightly less savings if Dobson is Mayfield's replacement. I would think Mayfield is exactly the guy they would want to keep? Hickey's $2.5M will probably be buried in the minors though that may be someone they would try to move since he's not even a regular. I would think Hickey's $2.5M cap hit is low enough that it could be absorbed if a team still believed in him. If they retained 1/2 of Hickey's contract, then comparatively speaking, that would cover Mayfield's entire salary and there's no replacement needed.

I would love to see it. I think Hughes would certainly be one of the few modern NHL D with the potential to get there, but I'm pretty sure the game is very different now than when 100 or more points in a single season was achieved by NHL D. If I'm not mistaken, only Orr, Coffey, Leetch, Potvin and MacInnis ever made it to that plateau, and that was when scoring in general was much higher. Leetch is the most recent and that was already almost 30-years ago. Burns' 83 points in 2018-2019 is the highest point total for an NHL dman since then. John Carlson was scoring at a 100-point pace for a good chunk of the season but eventually lost that momentum. He still managed to get to 75 points in 69 games though. That was an 89-point pace over 82-games. If Hughes can stay healthy and if he continues to be surrounded by teammates who can put the puck in the net, then I think there's a shot he can get there. If he gets there, then it will be just another amazing achievement for him.

Yikes. 13th overall for a cap dump.

Too bad for the Jets but NYR is OK. They already have a good pool of young talent and should be decent pretty soon.

It was nice to see OJ get some time in Game 4 against the Wild but I really doubt he will get in again except for injury. My guess is Benn draws in once he's cleared and he would be ahead of both Fantenberg and OJ. Benn's size and ability to play a physical game should be a strong addition and makes him a better option than either Fantenberg or OJ IMHO. Fantenberg is not flashy but he is effective and can do that in more minutes than the Canucks were clearly comfortable giving to OJ. Fantenberg also plays a physical game that should be better suited against the Blues. I think OJ will be given every opportunity to play in the NHL next season but for now, it's good to have him gelling with the team at practice and off the ice. He's a great wildcard to have if the Canucks run into injuries on the blueline or if they play a team where OJ's offensive upside might make him a better fit than either Benn or Fantenberg (but I doubt this will happen). I'm basically just glad to see that OJ's even getting a serious look by management and coaching staff right now. It's been a rough few years since OJ was drafted but I'm still hopeful he can be a solid part of the blueline from next season on.

Mental side of Markstrom's game has always seemed to be a challenge over his career. This was the first season Markstrom had a long run of consistent excellent play (which he has always been capable of). I think tonight was just Markstrom getting his head too much into the game. He looked like he wanted to be a difference but maybe too much so. He had a few adventures out playing the puck in addition to the goals against. I didn't like Staal's but have to admit that was a very accurate shot that's hard to fault Marky on entirely. The Sturm goal though, that was brutal. The most encouraging thing about this game was to see the team fight to the end. They never looked defeated, even when they were down and even after the bad goals against. It really says something about the mental make up of the team that I believe means more for their long term success than just the skill. Skill wise the team is blessed with probably the highest end talent they have ever had all at once, and those guys are still so young. It's nice to see them get rewarded with moving on to the next round and I hope they can get healthy, stay healthy and go deep into the playoffs. They just completed the first major step toward that.

The only reason I would want the Oilers to win this series is so they can't get a shot at Lafreniere. Of the confirmed lottery pick eligible teams right now, I personally would like the Jets to get Lafreniere. Lafreniere-Schiefele-Connor would be a nightmare line to play against. That team has had things go so roughly for them over the last season and a bit that I think they deserve some good news. I really hope none of the Oilers, Penguins or Leafs (if they lose their series) end up with Lafreniere.

Amazing what can happen in a short series.

I might be in the minority here but I think Hartman actually let up on that particular play. Hartman had a b-line on Petey and was put in a vulnerable position when Koivu's stick got tangled in his skates. To me, Hartman actually changes his body angle when he sees Petey flop over which made the hit look bad but less dangerous than it could have been. Granted, if Petey had been upright, then he would have been smoked as Hartman was coming in very fast and Petey was a bit away from the boards. Unless there was a charge however (which I can't tell), I wouldn't necessarily have seen that as a dirty hit even if the puck was otherwise available. It's the same kind of play of removing the player physically from the play (not necessarily dangerously mind you) that I would expect a Canuck to make on a Wild player. Hartman's been a decent depth player and had a good run with the Blackhawks and Predators before signing in Minny. He's been a reasonably effective pest during his career. That being said, I really hope he doesn't develop a Marchand/M. Tkachuk "intent to injure" type reputation from this series as to this point in his career, I haven't found him to be that kind of player. Still, he's been a guy that does play close to the edge and he's clearly been tasked with trying to engage Petey physically so yes, Petey and the rest of the roster need to be very aware of when he's on the ice.

I agree that the Canucks can't let up on the aggressive play, though I think it's still always good to try to walk the line between aggressive play that doesn't hurt the team and aggressive play that does. Myers is taking a lot of penalties but from what I can tell, they haven't necessarily been "bad" penalties. One was set off by Greenway being penalized too. Most others are from Myers making Wild players pay for going to the front of the net or just making the Canucks D zone a miserable place to be. As long as Myers and other Canucks doesn't take any majors (e.g. boarding anyone) or be a factor in sequences that place the Canucks 2 men down for extended periods of time, I'm not overly worried. What they want to avoid are interference penalties in the O zone or needless goalie interference penalties that aren't primarily from crashing the net hard (e.g. Pearson's penalty on Stalock in the 3rd period of Game 1), etc.

With Hoglander and Podkolzin potentially in or close to the NHL by the time expansion draft happens, Motte's relentless pace of play might be more evident in the lineup. I like Motte, don't get me wrong, but using up a protection spot for him seems too much. As you said, if there is room to protect him by then while also making sure we can keep our core, perhaps it'll make sense to do so.

We might yet see Ferland play another game with the Canucks though this obviously depends entirely on what the team decides to do in the offseason. I can't see another team trading for Ferland, given his health situation and the fact that he has 3-years left on his deal. $3.5M is a lot to absorb as well. If the Canucks can find a way to clear Baertschi's contract and cap hit, then that will alleviate most of Ferland's cap hit. After that, I'm very curious about whether the team will be forced to do anything with Eriksson's and Sutter's contracts this offseason. Canucks Army posted an article about trading Pearson which, while I personally would not prefer, is an option and might be the easiest to accomplish. I can see it being a more serious option if Lind or Hoglander have a very good training camp. Back to Ferland however, like pretty much everyone else, I hope he will recover quickly from whatever is bothering him after last game, even if it's just so he can start enjoying life with his family away from hockey (for awhile anyway).

What I noticed about Jake's game last night: Jake's speed is still one of his main assets aside from his shot. The backcheck showed just how fast he can be, even if Eriksson Ek isn't the fleetest of foot. The common thread for Jake is overall conditioning as he seems to get tired more quickly than other players, but his sheer speed adds a critical element to the Canucks. Just having a bigger body with speed in the line-up made for a noticeable difference in how the bottom 6 faired. Maybe Jake was a bit tentative/thinking too much at the start of the game, but I did notice a bit of discomfort on his part when handling the puck early in the game. He didn't make any bad decisions with the puck ultimately, but there were a few plays where it looked awkward as you could tell that he was thinking of multiple things at once while handling the puck. Thankfully it didn't bite the team in the behind as the Wild looked just as confused. As mentioned by others, with all the injuries already, Jake's presumably going to be in the line-up again tomorrow. I certainly don't think Jake did anything to warrant taking him out of the line-up and, if anything, adding him back in was a positive. With all the injuries to wingers, my guess is that MacEwen and Gaudette may draw in on the wing if all the injured players aren't fit to play tomorrow.

A bit surprised that this was a suspension but a good sign if the league is taking headshots more seriously. The video stressed that the head being the main point of contact was avoidable, which I think is evident from the video. Thankfully for Ennis, the hit didn't put him down.

Sigh, I must have misunderstood that. Thought it was a COVID measure. Haven't been paying as much attention to the rule changes :P.

I wouldn't necessarily call Sutter garbage but Jake certainly adds a dimension to the roster that, unless Ferland can find his old form, is basically totally missing. Jake isn't consistent of course, but his ability has to be respected by opponents. I really think that having Jake in as the 13th forward would make a lot of sense. Green can still ice the 12 forwards he trusts the most and roll in Jake whenever appropriate. Unlike rolling in MacEwen or Eriksson, Jake's speed and ability to hit would require a significant adjustment from Minnesota. He's not as safe a player as Eriksson and not as big as MacEwen, but he seems like he would be a handful for Minnesota to handle. Was just notified that 13th forward rule might have just been for exhibition so disregard if that's the case... sigh.

I hope Jake gets dressed at least as the 13th forward for Game 1 against the Wild. What's the harm? MacEwen was rewarded for a good camp with the exhibition game. I suppose Eriksson might be the better option if we're concerned about PKs, but honestly, I'm a bit more concerned about the physical match up with the Wild. If Green's concern is icing the best line-up, then Jake as the 13th forward allows Green to keep Beagle and Sutter in the 12-man forward unit as backup for Gaudette and for PKs. Jake can rotate in when needed, or if it's clear they need more speed and size. I have said before that I really like MacEwen's game, but I don't necessarily think he's a better option than Jake right now unless Jake was really that bad at camp. A lot was made about Jake being out of shape at the start of the season but he did just fine after. If it's an issue of shape, then it was overblown then and it's presumably overblown now. If it's a matter of effort in practice, then obviously that's on Jake, but even then, is it enough to scratch him even as the 13th forward? Jake seems like exactly the kind of player you want as a 13th forward. You can ice a safer 12-man line-up but then roll him out in the right situations. Having Jake roll in and out could also throw off Minnesota's structure since Jake would be a much faster player than whoever he replaces.

I can't say I have seen much of Rathbone's play but from the clips I have seen, he seems to have the puck less than Hughes. Controlling play with the puck in Rathbone's possession is part of his game, but having watched Hughes this season, it seems like it's a much bigger part of Hughes' game. Happy to be wrong about this though. It really cannot hurt for the Canucks to have two legitimate D who can either skate or pass the puck up effectively.

I didn't get to see the whole game but if Sutter is truly looking like he lost a step, then that might indeed be how Jake returns to the line-up. As much as I like MacEwen, I personally think it will be hard for Green to play him over Jake if they end up sitting Sutter, particularly against the Wild. The Wild are a big strong team but with good speed as well. MacEwen has decent speed for a big guy but Jake has great speed and, despite having defensive lapses, has been pointed out as a player who can be very effectively defensively using his speed and body 5 on 5. If both Beagle and Sutter have slowed down, then between the two I would expect Beagle to stay in the line-up and we could see a 4th line of Motte-Beagle-Virtanen. The main problem for Jake is that he has not been trusted for PK, but if that's the main issue for inserting him rather than MacEwen if Sutter sits, then I don't see why MacEwen would be trusted much more than Jake in that role. Jake scored 18 goals this year and was having a solid season. He's frustrating to watch because he has all the tools to be a great player but just hasn't put it all together for long stretches. This was the first season where we saw very good play from him for a decent stretch of time, and when he's on his game, he's perfect for the playoffs. If coaching staff ends up going with Sutter or MacEwen then, to me at least, that seems a bit harsh to Jake. I get why they may feel the need to do that and Jake should not be taking anything for granted. Hopefully this fires him up in practice and gets him playing time because if Jake is fired up and on his game, I honestly think he will be the best option to help the team win between Sutter or MacEwen (at least right now).

Given Sutter's recent history, there's unfortunately a good chance that he will miss some time. For Sutter's sake, I hope not. Personally, I see Green running with (probably covered before in previous posts): Miller-Pettersson-Toffoli (all three can play C and they were very good just before the shutdown) Pearson-Horvat-Boeser (solid line and allows Boeser to play with two heavier players that might help create space for him to use his shot in a different way from Petey/Miller ) Roussel-Gaudette-Ferland (Gaudette was used with a lot more confidence just before the shutdown so I could see him slotting in here for now. I don't see him coming out of the line-up. This gives the Canucks 3 dangerous lines that can score and Gaudette will eventually need to firmly establish his 2-way game anyway. With two veteran wingers, and one he has already shown chemistry with in Roussel, I think this works) Motte-Beagle-Sutter (Sutter is insurance for Gaudette and can come out for D-zone draws for Gaudette's line when needed. Control of the puck is going to be even more important in the playoffs so having Miller, Horvat, Beagle and Sutter available (two lefties and two righties) will give the Canucks way more options if they're not confident with having Gaudette take D-zone draws yet. MacEwen probably deserves to dress so he could go in for Motte but I think Green will ultimately like Motte's energy and speed. It could be important for helping slow down guys like Parise and Fiala (who was red hot before the shutdown). Still, the Wild are a relatively big team so maybe Green will go for MacEwen over Motte though with that being said, Virtanen might actually be a better replacement for Motte than MacEwen due to Virtanen's speed.

Can't see Baumgartner and Green pairing Rathbone and Stecher together. Size aside, not sure if their styles of play compliment one another. It's going to be really interesting to see how management moves forward with Stecher. I agree that there is a good chance they do the same thing with Stecher as they did with Hutton. He's just too expensive to qualify at his current base. I totally neglected to include Juolevi. While that's my bad, it's also sadly because he doesn't really register right now. I'm not writing Juolevi off in any way. A lot has been written about how Juolevi can still be a solid D. He has taken a lot of time to recover from injury and be fit for play, so I really hope he can solidify a spot on the roster moving forward. Edler-Myers Hughes-Tanev (?) Juolevi/Rathbone/Benn/Stecher/Rafferty As much as Brisebois has been a solid contributor with the Comets and hasn't looked terribly out of place at the NHL level, it will be quite something if the Canucks include him as ae regular next year. Given Brisebois' age and experience, I could see him kept as a 7 or 8 in replacement of Fantenberg. There's not much development left for Brisebois. He's a decent depth D but not much more. If the Canucks don't want to lose him to waivers (assuming there's a strong risk of that), then keeping him as a 7th or 8th D makes sense. Assuming Stecher is re-signed, then that would have to push down two of Juolevi, Rathbone and Rafferty. I think the Canucks will want to see what they have in Juolevi (might even get a chance if the playoffs do in fact go ahead) so Rathbone and Rafferty seem like the odd ones out unless the Canucks are prepared to waive Brisebois and send him to the Comets (which is reasonably possible).