Yannick Weber Appreciation Thread

[aGENT]

Personally I would not wish to lose Weber to keep Clendening. Having said that I refuse to judge Clendening until we see what he can do in the playoffs for Utica. To me he didn't look fully fit when he was up in Vancouver.

I must say it is the only decision of Bennings that I have not been 100% with but I'm ready to be convinced.

I am very impressed with Weber, imo he is teak tough and his speed, pass and shot makes up for a lack of size. Also judging by his team mates reaction to his goals (even those on the bench ) he seems to be popular.

We may have little choice if we can't afford him.

[tyhee]

Personally I would not wish to lose Weber to keep Clendening. Having said that I refuse to judge Clendening until we see what he can do in the playoffs for Utica. To me he didn't look fully fit when he was up in Vancouver.

I must say it is the only decision of Bennings that I have not been 100% with but I'm ready to be convinced.

I am very impressed with Weber, imo he is teak tough and his speed, pass and shot makes up for a lack of size. Also judging by his team mates reaction to his goals (even those on the bench ) he seems to be popular.

I hate the idea of losing Weber, but ...

Canucks with the extensions now given to Tanev, Dorsett and Sbisa have committed $66.64 million (including the $800K retained on Luongo) for 17 players. If the Players' Union exercises its option to increase the cap 5% it will go to about $73 million, which leaves about $6.36 million for 6 more skaters to fill out the roster.

It makes it hard to imagine signing Richardson, Matthias and Weber and staying under the cap unless the Canucks find a way to shed cap hit through trade or waivers. Actually, it makes it tight to imagine signing any of them without finding a way to shed cap hit.

If the players don't exercise that option, the Canucks could have a really difficult job staying under the cap.

Accordingly, it may not be just a matter of Clendening v Weber v Corrado. It could be an issue of whether the Canucks have already committed so much money that they can't sign Weber on defence, nor Matthias or Richardson at forward.

Amounts committed for next season, from http://canucksarmy.com/2015/4/10/why-wednesday-s-signings-might-cost-vancouver-shawn-matthias-and-yannick-weber:

2015-16

Forwards (10) Cap Hit Sedin, Daniel $7.00 Sedin, Henrik $7.00 Vrbata, Radim $5.00 Burrows, Alexandre $4.50 Higgins, Chris $2.50 Hansen, Jannik $2.50 Bonino, Nick $1.90 Kassian, Zack $1.75 Dorsett, Derek $2.65 Horvat, Bo $1.74 Defense (5) Edler, Alexander $5.00 Bieksa, Kevin $4.60 Hamhuis, Dan $4.50 Sbisa, Luca $3.60 Tanev, Christopher $4.45 Goalies (2 + retained salary on Luongo) Miller, Ryan $6.00 Lack, Eddie $1.15 Luongo, Roberto $0.80 Total $66.64

t

[aGENT]

Such lofty expectations for a fifth round pick. All because of his brother. I feel bad for him because of people like you.

He said 7th dman IF he proves to be solid defensively. He didn't say he's be a #1 or #2 dominant offensive D.

Hardly lofty expectations for a defenseman who lead his (bad) OHL team in scoring (52 points or .83PPG). The kid's got loads of talent and adequate size.

[Guest Dasein]

Posted this in Sven Baertschi Talk a couple days ago, and Weber continues to make a case for himself:

Honestly, I could see us keeping Weber over Clendening if he has a big playoffs on the 1st PP unit [...]

My reasoning being:

Clendening is 6'00" 190lbs while Weber is 5'11" 200lbs // Clendening turns 23 this year while Weber turns 27

In the season when Weber was Clendening's age, he played 41 games for the Montreal Canadiens. He followed that up with 60 games in the season equivalent to the next one for Clendening

Basically, I see Clendening next season as Weber from 4 years ago (roughly in that ballpark) - an unproven RHD with PP/offensive upside. If Weber proves himself on the PP as a viable option in the playoffs, then he's basically what we hope Clendening can turn out to be 2-4 years down the road IMO. Forsling turned into Clendening because he's further ahead on the development path, and I think we may choose Weber over Clendening for the same reason if he really carves himself a spot on the roster in the playoffs [...]

[...] And as I said before, this is in a scenario where Weber proves himself as a viable option on our PP with the Sedins. We've badly missed having someone who can score from the point, and if Weber can provide that, at his age (still young at 26), I could see us keeping Weber because he fits right in the age group of our d-core in the near future (Edler 1986, Weber 1988, Tanev 1989, Sbisa 1990 - followed by Pedan, Hutton & Corrado, the 1993s knocking on the door)

JB's stocked up, and that means he'll have to choose which ones to keep. Just because he acquired a bunch of guys in a particular age group that we were lacking in doesn't mean he's going to keep them all - some are going to have to go because not all can make the NHL team, and some are going to have to go through waivers next season [...]

I see the Weber vs Clendening argument as being really similar to the Lack vs Markstrom argument - Weber and Lack are in the NHL and playing a big role on the Canucks, while the Clendening and Markstrom are in the AHL waiting for their turn to break into the league

Clendening and Markstrom both are bigger hockey names (more hype surrounding them due to their "pedigree" - high 2nd round picks) who have the potential to be better than Weber and Lack. However, we must choose to keep one of each, as we will lose them through waivers otherwise at the beginning of next season

[aGENT]

I hate the idea of losing Weber, but ...

Canucks with the extensions now given to Tanev, Dorsett and Sbisa have committed $66.64 million (including the $800K retained on Luongo) for 17 players. If the Players' Union exercises its option to increase the cap 5% it will go to about $73 million, which leaves about $6.36 million for 6 more skaters to fill out the roster.

It makes it hard to imagine signing Richardson, Matthias and Weber and staying under the cap unless the Canucks find a way to shed cap hit through trade or waivers. Actually, it makes it tight to imagine signing any of them without finding a way to shed cap hit.

If the players don't exercise that option, the Canucks could have a really difficult job staying under the cap.

Accordingly, it may not be just a matter of Clendening v Weber v Corrado. It could be an issue of whether the Canucks have already committed so much money that they can't sign Weber on defence, nor Matthias or Richardson at forward.

Amounts committed for next season, from http://canucksarmy.com/2015/4/10/why-wednesday-s-signings-might-cost-vancouver-shawn-matthias-and-yannick-weber:

2015-16

Forwards (10) Cap Hit Sedin, Daniel $7.00 Sedin, Henrik $7.00 Vrbata, Radim $5.00 Burrows, Alexandre $4.50 Higgins, Chris $2.50 Hansen, Jannik $2.50 Bonino, Nick $1.90 Kassian, Zack $1.75 Dorsett, Derek $2.65 Horvat, Bo $1.74 Defense (5) Edler, Alexander $5.00 Bieksa, Kevin $4.60 Hamhuis, Dan $4.50 Sbisa, Luca $3.60 Tanev, Christopher $4.45 Goalies (2 + retained salary on Luongo) Miller, Ryan $6.00 Lack, Eddie $1.15 Luongo, Roberto $0.80 Total $66.64

t

Bye Miller.

[Pink Sock]

Should be Edler and Weber on the PP for the duration of the playoffs.

[Guest Dasein]

For those of you who worry about how much re-upping Weber will cost:

**COPIED FROM ANOTHER THREAD**

Here are some interesting numbers:

[...]

2. Weber's 11 goals are exactly half of his career total of 22 in 228 games.

3. Five of his 11 goals came on the power play [...]

First of all, Weber is an RFA so he doesn't have that much leverage

Second of all, #2 above shows that Weber scored half his career total this season. That means he has no case asking for big $$$ in contract negotiation since the Canucks could easily say that they cannot commit and reward him with a big contract because he has not proven that this is not a fluke yet

Third of all, given that he has low leverage as an RFA with only one year and needs to prove whether it was a fluke or not, #3 above shows that staying in Vancouver might be the best career move for him at the moment. Where else in the NHL can he go and immediately become the trigger man on the point as an RHD on a playoff team?

Weber was given the opportunity to succeed here that he is not guaranteed to have elsewhere in the NHL. In Vancouver, as long as Tanev doesn't develop an NHL slap shot (in other words, the foreseeable future), Weber is going to have the opportunity to tee up on Henrik's sweet feeds. Staying in Vancouver for 2-3 more years may be the best career move to prove that this year was not a fluke and to earn the big $$$ on his next contract

Finally, Vancouver may be attractive for personal reasons. We have two other Swiss products in Sbisa and Baertschi. Weber's girlfriend is Carey Price's sister, so that might be another reason to stay

I could see Weber signing a deal similar to Ryan Ellis ($2.5mil) for 3 years. As a career journeyman so far, I'm sure that type of a deal with security, given the personal reasons and the career opportunity he'll have, would look enticing

[D-Money]

I believe Weber's still an RFA this summer not UFA.

Corrado's got one more year in Utica.

Clendening does complicate matter. I think management will try to retain Weber for something reasonable and if not work on turning Clendening in to the next Weber. They'll likely have to pick just one though.

Oh, well that changes things...a little.

But he'll still probably get close to 3 in arbitration, considering his stats.

[HerrDrFunk]

After this last stretch of game, I agree: they definitely need to keep Weber on the point during the PP. As long as we have someone properly screening the goalie, he's got the kind of slap shot that will get through.

[ChuckNORRIS4Cup]

Agreed....he does't panic like a fainting goat (Alex Edler) in tense situations.....keep it rolling Yannick!

[Miss Korea Bob.Loblaw]

He said 7th dman IF he proves to be solid defensively. He didn't say he's be a #1 or #2 dominant offensive D.

Hardly lofty expectations for a defenseman who lead his (bad) OHL team in scoring (52 points or .83PPG). The kid's got loads of talent and adequate size.

A 7th d-man is basically a backup player who gets scratched. How is that type of player supposed to solve the powerplay problems of any team?

Subban has the skill. I've never heard anyone say he's got adequate size. If he were to play in the NHL he'd be the shortest defenseman in the league, and also the shortest since the PP specialist Marc-Andre Bergeron. And Bergeron had the tools to man the point but pretty much nothing else. I hope someone from Bellville can tell us that Subban's playing great defence.

[tyhee]

For those of you who worry about how much re-upping Weber will cost:

First of all, Weber is an RFA so he doesn't have that much leverage

Second of all, #2 above shows that Weber scored half his career total this season. That means he has no case asking for big $$$ in contract negotiation since the Canucks could easily say that they cannot commit and reward him with a big contract because he has not proven that this is not a fluke yet

Third of all, given that he has low leverage as an RFA with only one year and needs to prove whether it was a fluke or not, #3 above shows that staying in Vancouver might be the best career move for him at the moment. Where else in the NHL can he go and immediately become the trigger man on the point as an RHD on a playoff team?

Weber was given the opportunity to succeed here that he is not guaranteed to have elsewhere in the NHL. In Vancouver, as long as Tanev doesn't develop an NHL slap shot (in other words, the foreseeable future), Weber is going to have the opportunity to tee up on Henrik's sweet feeds. Staying in Vancouver for 2-3 more years may be the best career move to prove that this year was not a fluke and to earn the big $$$ on his next contract

Finally, Vancouver may be attractive for personal reasons. We have two other Swiss products in Sbisa and Baertschi. Weber's girlfriend is Carey Price's sister, so that might be another reason to stay

I could see Weber signing a deal similar to Ryan Ellis ($2.5mil) for 3 years. As a career journeyman so far, I'm sure that type of a deal with security, given the personal reasons and the career opportunity he'll have, would look enticing

You realize, of course, that paying Weber $2.5 million leaves the Canucks, asuming the players exercise their 5% cap hit increase option, about $4 million for 5 places on the roster. This is without Richardson (currently $1.15 million), Matthias (current salary $1.85 million), Vey, Clendening, Stanton and Baertschi signed.

[aGENT]

A 7th d-man is basically a backup player who gets scratched. How is that type of player supposed to solve the powerplay problems of any team?

Subban has the skill. I've never heard anyone say he's got adequate size. If he were to play in the NHL he'd be the shortest player in the league, and also the shortest since the PP specialist Marc-Andre Bergeron. And Bergeron had the tools to man the point but pretty much nothing else. I hope someone from Bellville can tell us that Subban's playing great defence.

Weber started the year as our 7th D and is now our PP specialist

Subban is 5'9", he's not the shortest player in the NHL. He's also built like a tank.

[Canada Hockey Place]

Another great find by previous management and signing him to a minimum deal.. Hard to believe he wasn't qualified by MTL. Good job by this management to re-sign him. And he's still RFA. Great development and contract management.

I believe in MTL he was expendable because of teammate Raphael Diaz, who VAN traded for later. And Weber proved last season he was the one to keep. Diaz of course is in CGY now, he's probably on their 3rd pairing to start the playoffs.

Fun fact : 5 of 12 active Swiss players in the NHL will be in the VAN-CGY match-up.

[Phil_314]

I'm so glad Weber is starting to get the recognition he deserves. Hes very offensively minded and his defensive play ain't too bad either. If he doesn't get resigned, I hope he gets a decent contract with another team we pressure Benning to move Sbisa to make room for him.

Fixed that for you.

Who needs Shea Weber

Well he's our #6 Weber

[Miss Korea Bob.Loblaw]

Weber started the year as our 7th D and is now our PP specialist

Subban is 5'9", he's not the shortest player in the NHL. He's also built like a tank.

I'm sorry. I meant he would be the shortest defenseman in the league, and the last d-man his height was MA Bergeron.

Subban... is built like any 5'9 needs to be in order to survive in the NHL. I just don't know if that's enough for a defenseman.

[Mustapha]

Yannick Weber, I now dub thee 'Salo Jr.'

Just don't get injured.

[Guest Dasein]

You realize, of course, that paying Weber $2.5 million leaves the Canucks, asuming the players exercise their 5% cap hit increase option, about $4 million for 5 places on the roster. This is without Richardson (currently $1.15 million), Matthias (current salary $1.85 million), Vey, Clendening, Stanton and Baertschi signed.

Yes but you pay for what you need, then make adjustments afterwards - it's called prioritizing

[aGENT]

Yes but you pay for what you need, then make adjustments afterwards - it's called prioritizing

I'd prefer we prioritize trading for/signing a d-man that could play with Edler on the first pairing, moving Tanev to second pairing with Sbisa and develop Clendening (as 7d) personally. Trade/package Weber's rfa rights for a decent return rather than overpay him.

[Ronning4center]

lol..awsome