Jump to content
The Official Site of the Vancouver Canucks
Canucks Community

EternalCanuckFan

Members
  • Posts

    2,090
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by EternalCanuckFan

  1. Other thing to note about the Game 2 loss was that the GWG was scored on a questionable play. Doesn't make up for the fact that Abbotsford didn't seem to be able to hit the ground running, but the series was closer than the 2 game sweep indicates.
  2. At this point in Dickinson's career, I think it's fairly clear that he's not an effective NHL center. It was a risk when Dickinson was acquired, but unless the team is willing to give him a shot in that role again, I don't see it happening for him. Dickinson might get spot duty at C if needed, but full-time C doesn't make sense. I would be surprised if a team would be willing to acquire Dickinson without wanting some incentive due to his contract amount and the likely contribution he would make in terms of roster composition (e.g. bottom 6). I personally expect that Dickinson will remain as a 4th line winger who can fill in at C in emergency situations. His play did improve at the end of this past season, so unless a miracle happens and the Canucks can move him, I do want to see if he can make meaningful contributions as a 4th line winger next year. He's still a good skater, is a big guy with good reach, and does have a good shot even if he hasn't been able to create chances for himself or his linemates effectively. Highmore had a decent year but I could see Dickinson taking his minutes.
  3. It's going to be interesting to see how they build out the D core next year. I assume Rathbone would be on the 3rd pairing after Hughes and OEL. Rathbone-Dermott?
  4. OEL was definitely more productive down the stretch. I was critical of OEL's production for most of the season but did note that he had a very low shooting % so something was bound to improve. I don't know if we can expect a 40+ point season from OEL next year but it's not outside the realm of possibility, particularly with an improved partner for him. It was noticeable that OEL seemed to play better offensively when he was briefly paired with Schenn. Small sample size yes, but I guess both Hughes and OEL need a guy like Schenn to bring the most out of their game. It really stressed to me that management is going to do their utmost to trade Myers this summer.
  5. Brutal. Good on Philly for considering how to employ him in the organization.
  6. Tierney has had back-to-back disappointing seasons so I think his value is quite low at the moment. He's not really a significant generator of SOG either. If there are teams competing for Tierney then sure, his contract AAV could jump up to $2M-$3M, but considering that he's had two consecutive poor seasons, I think teams are going to be cautious about signing him. My guess would be $1.25M-$2.5M on a 1-year deal with possible multiple years if the AAV is on that low end. Definitely on board with Tierney being a "buy-low" type acquisition this summer, if only to add forward depth for the Canucks. Can't hurt to add center depth, including a guy that has played on the PK at the NHL level.
  7. lol, fair enough. There are other neat cities to live in on an AHL salary, but I think Abbotsford could still be quite attractive, even with high housing costs in the region. At the end of the day I think the hope is that the Canucks will draft well enough to stock the team mostly with prospects who are working their way up and to keep a few AHL veterans around to mentor and set good examples for a life in pro hockey. Hopefully there won't be as much of a need to stack the team with productive AHL veterans.
  8. Long term I would assume the hope is the talent in Abbotsford will consist mostly of Canucks draft picks with less reliance on older AHL talent, but there will always be a place for those guys. I could see high end AHL players wanting to play in Abbotsford. Even just as a location to play, it's close to Vancouver which might be attractive for players and their families. Even though there's a high cost of living, some players do move around so living in Metro Vancouver/Abbotsford for a period of their life might be nice. The Canucks also still aren't particularly deep so there could be opportunity to get NHL time.
  9. Good to see Boeser get two goals last night, including the OT winner. It's been fun following Boeser's career to date but per the above discussions, I don't think there's any way to deny that his future with the Canucks is a central question in the overall remodeling of the team this summer. As far as I see it, the pros and cons of keeping Boeser are: Pros You basically know what you're going to get at this point. Boeser could still be a guy that breaks 30G despite his lesser production this year. The rumors about the Canucks being very much in the mix for Kuzmenko is interesting, but even if they sign Kuzmenko, there's no way to know if he'll be able to produce at least as much as Boeser did this year Boeser clearly gets along very well with his teammates The Canucks don't have that many bona fide top-6 wingers in the system. Despite Boeser's faults, he has an elite shot and he does produce at least at a low-end top-6 level (this season at least) Despite the issues with Boeser's QO this summer, there has been discussion about the Canucks being able to avoid the QO and instead file a team initiated arbitration which could bring the next contract's AAV down, at most to $6.375M (Monday Mailbag: Exploring reverse arbitration with Brock Boeser, and how to fix the Canucks' salary cap situation (canucksarmy.com)). As such, I can't imagine the Canucks simply not qualifying Boeser and letting him hit UFA. $6.375M might still be a bit high, but I think the team could live with that. Boeser has generally produced at a rate of around 0.8 PPG over his career with this year being his worst output. That would equate to about 65 points in 82 games. $6.375M for 65-points isn't great value but it's not terrible either. It also doesn't close the door for trading him. Boeser could still re-sign for less than $6.375M but for longer term to give him security. If there's no trade protection or very limited trade protection, then there's again still the possibility of trading him and this time with contractual certainty which will probably help his value Cons Boeser's lack of foot speed has become more obvious over the years. Obviously it hasn't completely hampered him from producing, but it does make him less able to fully make use of the rest of his skillset. He's also not very physical despite being a relatively big guy. The overall picture doesn't seem to mesh with management's long term vision for the on-ice product The team already has several inefficient contracts and if management does decide to keep Miller and possibly even Horvat, then they have to be even more efficient in their application of all remaining funds. Even if Miller and Horvat are signed at slightly more team friendly deals, they're still going to eat up a lot of cap space. The Canucks can offset this a bit if they can trade Myers this summer without taking on any or much money in return (or at least using Myers' cap space to receive roster players in return who will help plug holes elsewhere), but that's a big ask considering many thought he was untradeable at the start of the season, and it doesn't really solve their issue with Boeser's cap hit, particularly if he fails to improve his numbers in the next few years Pros and cons for trading Boeser are: Pros Boeser's history of performance should at least provide some good value on the trade market. The Canucks have holes they need to fill and Boeser may be a good asset to use to address those holes. Cap space savings from trading Boeser will be relatively significant and could be more efficiently applied to address other needs Cons We have no clue what the market for Boeser is and the fact that he's had his weakest offensive output this year doesn't help The situation with Boeser's QO makes it difficult to trade him until there's more certainty about his contract status Personally, I'm expecting the Canucks to at least take Boeser to team elected arbitration and for that process to conclude. I believe it was Friedman who insinuated that Pierre Luc Dubois could possibly be shopped this summer. Hard to imagine the Jets trading Dubois considering they traded Laine for him, but I'm curious if they could have interest in Boeser. Both are RFAs this summer and both have arbitration rights so both teams would be dealing with uncertainty about these players. The Jets have good overall team speed which might offset Boeser's foot speed issue. They could run with Scheifele and Wheeler as their #1C and #2C and play Boeser on RW on either of those lines with either Connor or Ehlers completing the line. That could be a very potent line. Winnipeg is also much closer to Minnesota, which might be good for Boeser and his family. Not saying there are any legs to this, but just curious. Dubois has outproduced Boeser this season but overall their levels of production aren't that far apart. He's a big, physical forward who can play centre or wing and would add elements to the Canucks top-6 that they have been missing for a long time. Not 100% sure about Dubois given his fallout in CBJ, and it's also a bit strange that he could be available after only 1 1/2 seasons with the Jets, but he's an intriguing potential add.
  10. Will always think of this photo when I think of Dustin Brown. He had quite the career. Could always tell that he was a pain to play against for Canucks' teams, particularly during his prime.
  11. My guess is there's probably some kind of Right of First Refusal provision in his Marlie's contract that gives the Leafs first dibs to sign him at the NHL level.
  12. Even though the Canucks still technically have a chance to make the playoffs, no point potentially exacerbating an injury of Demko's by playing him more. The next 3 games will be good experience for Martin and maybe even Silovs.
  13. If the Canucks can re-sign Boeser below his QO and at the same AAV or even at a bump up to around $6.5M, then that would make him more valuable as a trade piece, no? There was an article detailing how the Canucks might opt not to qualify him but still retain his rights by filing for arbitration to lower his contract amount next year. In that case it seems that the lowest it could go is around $6.4M, but only for 1 year. That's still maybe not great value for this year's Boeser, but he has produced at superior level before. Knowing all this, there was speculation that Boeser may be convinced to re-sign for an amount around $6.4M AAV but for multiple years to avoid arbitration. Nothing to stop the Canucks from shopping Boeser at that point as cost certainty and term should make Boeser a more attractive trade piece. At the end of the day, I still like Boeser but he does not seem to fit the direction management is looking to go. He'll never be fast and he doesn't use his size to engage physically, so if he's not still finding a way to score at a high level then he's not really fitting into the structure of the team. I think he definitely still has a place in the NHL but unfortunately it may not be in Vancouver.
  14. The team has certainly provided a lot of encouraging signs for next season but there are still very tough decisions to be made moving forward, even if they make the playoffs this year (as unlikely as that may seem at this point). Just enjoying the ride.
  15. Lockwood has been solid. His speed and willingness to engage physically is great. This stretch of play in the NHL will be good for his development.
  16. It makes Benning's presumed reluctance to fire Green all the more odd. I wasn't necessarily surprised at the firing of Benning and Weisbrod, but I thought Green and his staff would get canned first. I'm not trying to bash Green but it was becoming more and more clear that the players weren't responding to him and his staff.
  17. Boeser was decently productive in the Bubble Playoff run but not $7.5M AAV productive. I like Boeser but unless he can improve his speed and physical engagement, his elite shot is only going to carry him so much further. On another team that isn't as poor in team speed and physicality, Boeser could still be an effective NHL player. Whatever the case is, this is a Podkolzin thread so I'll join in the praise of Podkolzin this year. I can definitely see Podkolzin being relied on much more next season. He has clearly improved over the course of the year and is looking confident. The Canucks definitely need more guys who, at the very least, have the same level of determination combined with speed and size.
  18. I agree that the Rangers probably have a bit less interest in Miller, but I think there could still be something there. Copp has fit in well with the Rangers and he'll fit in well if they intend to re-sign Ryan Strome as their 2C. It's possible they will want to try Copp at C but he has pretty much been a full-time winger at the NHL level for awhile now. They could still be interested in Miller if they're not sold on Strome heading into next season or as a TDL rental. Not sure what kind of return the Canucks could expect, but wouldn't consider the Rangers to be out of the picture for Miller.
  19. Right now, the Canucks have the following Dmen under contract for next year: Hughes, OEL, Myers, Poolman, Dermott, Schenn, Burroughs, Rathbone (RFA), Brisebois (RFA), Keeper, and Woo. Even if Livingstone was wanting to sign next year or even the next summer (2023) (which I'm all for), he would have to unseat at least Poolman to get regular playing time in the NHL unless there are significant changes with the D core. He may perceive better options with other teams. I'm very intrigued about what management will do with the D core this summer. I think we're pretty much guaranteed to have Hughes and OEL but anything could happen with the rest. I assume Rathbone is going to be given every opportunity to make the team next year, but very curious how management will handle roster composition - does Rathbone pair well with any other D on a third pairing since he presumably wouldn't play with Hughes or OEL? Is Rathbone trade bait? I've liked what Burroughs has provided but he is not a regular on a very good team. I fully expect Myers to be shopped extensively. Does Poolman have any value (especially after his injury problems)? Will the Canucks give up on Woo? All interesting storylines to watch.
  20. They still need a goalie and better depth but they have some solid pieces. Tage Thompson's emergence is huge for them especially since Mittelstadt is still pretty underwhelming. Cozens and Krebs could be decent as they mature.
  21. Good opportunity for Martin to prove himself. Provides some cost certainty next season. Basically means the Canucks are paying about $2M for a backup next year when factoring in Halak's bonus.
  22. I agree $8M+ is way too much for Bo. That's probably top 15-20 Cs in the league type money. Bo has made the most of the season in its latter half but not nearly enough to justify that kind of money. Even if we use someone like Joe Pavelski as a comparable at the same age, he was paid at about 6.73% of the cap at the time which would be equivalent to what Bo's currently being paid, $5.5M AAV.
  23. That's going to be a choice the Canucks have to make though. There are very few forwards making $8M AAV or more across the league. If the Canucks really do re-sign Miller, then there's a good chance his contract could be north of $8M AAV. Pettersson's current deal ends in 2 years and if he keeps up his production from the last 30+ games over the next 2 years, then he's going to demand a significant raise too, presumably more than $8M AAV also. I can see the Canucks trying to keep Miller, Pettersson and Horvat as their top-3 Cs, but not at $8M+ each. In that care, even if the cap rose to $100M, those 3 players would take up about a quarter of the entire cap. As it stands, the Canucks already need to reallocate cap space for next year if they really want to make any meaningful changes for next season. This mostly means making some changes with the D core, but the most immediate decision (as far as an actual free agent) is Boeser. If they can re-sign him below his QO then great, but that will impact available cap space for Miller, Horvat and eventually Pettersson's new contract too. It's been good to see Bo turn his season around and doing so makes management's decision making all the more complex. If the Canucks prioritize keeping Bo and spend money on wingers while also trying to rebuild the D, then that signals to me that Miller is gone. If Miller's traded however, then that leaves the Canucks with weaker C depth again unless they can get at least a decent top-9 C in return.
  24. I agree with the comment on the 2nd PP. It needs to be more effective. OEL is scoring at around a 25-point pace over an 82-game season so he's not necessarily too far off the floor of 30-35 points that I mentioned originally. With a more effective 2nd PP unit and/or more productive forward depth, he might be able to get to that level. He'll just need to keep up a high level of defensive play at the same time. If the cap rises by $5M-$10M over the next 5-years, then that should also help to take the sting off his contract.
  25. If OEL can get to 8 G and 30-35 pts a season for the next few years while playing solid D, then I think the Canucks can live with the deal. It's still not great value, but the biggest disappointment about OEL for me this year is the lack of production. His defensive play has been pretty good nearly all season.
×
×
  • Create New...