Tom Sestito

That is not a good deal. He's the type of guy whose game will fall off a cliff all of a sudden. He's an even strength power house who is the exact type of guy you win with and is twice the player Toffoli is. This would be a needle moving acquisition like Miller and Schmidt were. Factoring in his playstyle and age when he becomes a UFA, anything more than three years on an extension would be instant albatross. I'm all for a cheap deal if there is one to be had.

The only bad game Stecher had against St. Louis was game 3 after Myers injury where he made some really poor mistakes and struggled with the work load. After that, he looked much better. Whatever "targeting" he faced was only effective in one game the entire playoffs. In the entire playoffs, Stecher was on the ice for 15 goals for and 6 against. Myers was on the ice for 1 goal for and 5 against. Obviously, that is unsustainable and exacerbated by a short sample size.

I don't say it for the sake of saying it. If I had a hate agenda, I wouldn't be parading about how good of a trade the Schmidt trade was. At the absolute worst, it's a top 5 trade for us in the last 15 years. Not every move or player has to be defended. Myers was literally played alongside Fantenberg as his partner at a higher rate than any other player. He was hemmed in his own end during the playoffs. A common misconception is that Stecher got exposed against VGK and Myers somehow dominated the big scary 3rd liner Tuch. Stecher outscored VGK 5-1 at ES in the series. 7 games for stecher, 1 ES goal against while playing harder minutes than Myers and Tanev. I don't understand this misconception. If you have an Athletic subscription, here's an article about Myers from a year ago that is still accurate today. https://theathletic.com/1057961/2019/07/01/what-to-make-of-the-tyler-myers-contract-and-the-canucks-blue-line-overhaul/ Though I'm not sure how you feel about Harman Dayal.

I don't doubt that, but the reality is he provides 4/5 production at a top pairing price. If there is a way to get out of that contract, it has to be looked at.

The only focus for the next 9 months of this hockey club should be to get out of 3/4 of Eriksson, Beagle, Roussel, or Myers. They cannot go into 2021-2022 having those guys left. They should not deal assets to move Benn/Baertschi/Sutter.

Sure, but I'm sure that this management wished they had the capspace to sign or trade for these other guys who could have been had for cheap recently as well. In terms of just the UFA's available, Derek Grant would have been a huge upgrade at 4C for us. Wennberg is a better player than Sutter for a 3C. Those guys got a combined 3.75 AAV. Two of Craig Smith, Tyler Toffoli, and Jesper Fast would have been amazing gets as well. This team still needs to find another top four defenseman and like four new middle six players (2LW/2RW/3C/3RW). Lots of those holes could have been filled. There was lots of value to be had for the teams that were smart about cap space. Canucks need to get out 3/4 of Beagle, Eriksson, Roussel, and Myers prior to the beginning of 2021/2022. I'd probably just eat the remaining year with Benn/Baertschi/Sutter. Regardless, you have to sign good players to fair contracts for the role they provide. Schmidt is an elite player. He is paid a fair salary and will be helpful both short and long term.

It's not a might. By missing out on Markstrom, Tanev, OEL, Barrie, Shattenkirk, and all the other guys they've made offers to or kicked tires on, they've walked into a legitimate top pairing defenseman. Like, people who play the minutes against the players he does don't grow on trees. He eats hard matchups. This will ease things for Hughes even further. Schmidt instantly becomes our best defender. He's the exact guy you'd want playing in the pairing that Hughes isn't on. I don't think people in Vancouver realize how big of a win this is to get a player of this caliber. At an absolute worst, he's a #2.

It's an absolute steal. Vegas is insane for trading him. He's a much better player than OEL and a significant upgrade on Tanev. He will still be good in a few years as well. I've seen some comparisons to Myers and this couldn't be further from the truth. Myers was a 4-5D and will regress to a bottom pair one by the end of his deal. Schmidt is a certified stud who will give you at least three more years of top pairing level ability.

Schmidt is a legitimate top pairing defenseman. If he's available for anything less than a lottery pick, he's a pretty awesome asset that any team would be lucky to have. Very fair number as well. A much better hockey player than OEL. However, considering context, the Canucks shouldn't pay a full ask like with Miller last year as they literally have no choice but to move this guy because no one is taking Fleury.

Right, but there isn't much left on the market. Schmidt, Weegar, and Cernak would be fantastic additions through trade but cost dependent. If we wanted to trade some of the $35MM of dead cap, I'm sure we would have done it by now. But sure, I'll return in three months to have this discussion.

I can buy that argument with Tanev and Markstrom. It's been reported as such. My highest offer would have been pretty much the exact same for both Tanev and Markstrom as the reported offers Benning made. Not re-signing them at those retirement contracts was the right decision. Toffoli and Stecher.. there is no argument. Letting those guys go for free hurts at those contracts.

Are you implying that Toffoli did not want to re-sign when it was reported numerous times how much he and EP want to play together and that him and his wife really liked Vancouver?

If there's people who want to start playing haxball again, I can teach you guys how to play again. The game at least in NA is starting to build back up a bit. Time Lord still plays in some leagues here and there. I play competitive 4v4 and can help a lot.