What the Plan Should Be: Trade Vbata, Burrows, Higgins, Prust and Hamhuis

[chickenman92]

It’s pretty clear right now - even with the Canucks being mathematically in a playoff – that Vancouver will not be doing much even if they do by some miracle get in to the playoffs.

This team is aging, but I won’t waste anyone’s time heading down that road, but getting younger and clearing cap room should be the No. 1 priority this season.  

Here’s what Benning should do between now and the deadline to get this team ready for next season.

Ship out Vrbata, Burrows, Higgins, Prust and Hamhuis

-          - Vrbata, he’s on an expiring contract and in reality, there’s probably, two-to-three guys in Utica capable of chipping in his -17 with 12 points type of play. I was hopeful Vancouver could have got a first for him, but with his play, he’s more a take what you can get. Maybe by paying some salary they could land a second or a solid prospect for him, but at this point I’m guessing a third-round pick is his value.

-        -  I’m a big Burrows fan, so this is a tough decision, but his ship has sailed in Vancouver.  Why pay a player the remainder of this season and next 4.5 million to put up 35ish points. And in all honesty, I used to notice Burrows every game, this I MIGHT notice him ever fourth game. As far as value, I think his is similar to Vrbata’s value.

-         -  I’d like to trade Higgins, but I’m not sure there is demand for him based on his play this year. Put the feelers out there and if there’s no interest waive him and send him to Uticia.  I’d rather watch Gaunce learn the NHL game than Higgins forget it.

-         - Prust hasn’t been too bad at hockey this season. He tries hard, but there are a lot of times I’m left scratching my head, wondering, “Why the heck are you fighting now”? For all the fights he’s been in and all the so called toughness he provides that Vancouver is any tougher as a team. He’s a big part of Vancouver being third in the NHL in penalty minutes, yet still being considered by a lot of people as the NHL softest team. Add in, he’s an expiring contact, and at 31 the type of guy you don’t want to sign long-term, and you have to move him. As far as value, getting a fourth or fifth round pick would be a win.  

-        -  For all the heat he’s taken as of late, he’s still tops on the Canucks defence in +/-, so he hasn’t been that terrible. He’s still only 32 and a player that I’d talk about a three year extension with at around the same money. But since I think it’s higher unlikely he’d re-sign for 14 million over 3 years, ask him where he wants to play and move him. I bet they could get a decent package out of Chicago if they retain salary or take Bickell back.

All in all, I think by making these moves you can hopefully land a few more decent draft picks, clear more cap room for 2016-17 and give some of the younger guys in Uticia some NHL experience.

 

[smithers joe]

as long as you don't expect too much coming back for them...nobody we can bring up...i'm sure benning has a plan.....that's good enough for me...

[Shift-4]

Proposals section?

[Ryanstorm]

Vrbata: Good player, bad year for him probably won't get a 1st.

Hamhuis: Also a great player, but probably not a 1st either.

Burrows: Decent player, maybe a 3rd.

Higgins: Not consistent, AHL prospect, 5th round?

Prust: Same as Higgins.

 

I'm not saying trade them all for picks as we'd have multiple holes in the team that already has holes but that's what I think we'd get for them.

I'd hope we can find that 1st line player for the Sedins (although Hansen is usually good with them) hopefully upgrade our defense a bit and have a future team that will be a good one.

[higgyfan]

I don't know what the plan 'should be' but I am hoping that JB will trade players at the most effective and advantageous time.  Just 'dumping' players so that the team can rush some more rookies into the NHL is not a good plan.

There's a lot of hockey to be played before trade deadline, so there's a good chance that some of the likely candidates for a trade will improve their play.  Hopefully, JB can improve the team's prospect pool at that time and during the offseason.

[ForsbergTheGreat]

You forgot Edler. 

Vbrata/Burrows at RW are replaced with Rodin/Grenier/Virtanen next year.

Higgins/Prust at LW are reaplaced with Lucic/Baertschi/Shinaruk/Gaunce next year

Hamhuis/Edler at LH D are replaced with UFA signing Yandle next year. Worst case we resign Hamhuis in the off season as a UFA.

Besides only getting picks in return we should be using some assets (edler & Vbrata) to go after a young RH D.

[Zuongo]

The reality is that most of these guys won't fetch much anymore.... Hammer is a shell of his Olympic self and I just can't see us getting a kings ransom for any of these guys. So don't get your expectations too high on the return.... It won't be much.

[LaBamba]

Wow you really went outside the box on that one eh?

[Canucks Prophet]

Many people have been saying we should trade those exact players for a long time now, this doesn't bring anything new to the table...

[oldnews]

Extra points for originality and avoiding redundancy.

[TOMapleLaughs]

Winning environment though?

[Down by the River]

Canucks shouldn't trade Edler.... they should simply stop having the expectation that he is a top 2 defenceman. He's on a decent contract when you compare around the league. The problem is with asset assessment. Put him in a situation where he is not playing against the best players in the league every shift. His play will look better once his skillset is matched appropriately. 

There is no way to trade for a top 2 dman. The Canucks need to have a few good drafts, time to stockpile picks and hope that depth guys like Biega can weather the storm after Hamhuis and Weber are traded or not re-signed. 

[stawns]

38 minutes ago, chickenman92 said:

It’s pretty clear right now - even with the Canucks being mathematically in a playoff – that Vancouver will not be doing much even if they do by some miracle get in to the playoffs.

 

This team is aging, but I won’t waste anyone’s time heading down that road, but getting younger and clearing cap room should be the No. 1 priority this season.  

 

Here’s what Benning should do between now and the deadline to get this team ready for next season.

 

Ship out Vrbata, Burrows, Higgins, Prust and Hamhuis

 

-          - Vrbata, he’s on an expiring contract and in reality, there’s probably, two-to-three guys in Utica capable of chipping in his -17 with 12 points type of play. I was hopeful Vancouver could have got a first for him, but with his play, he’s more a take what you can get. Maybe by paying some salary they could land a second or a solid prospect for him, but at this point I’m guessing a third-round pick is his value.

 

-        -  I’m a big Burrows fan, so this is a tough decision, but his ship has sailed in Vancouver.  Why pay a player the remainder of this season and next 4.5 million to put up 35ish points. And in all honesty, I used to notice Burrows every game, this I MIGHT notice him ever fourth game. As far as value, I think his is similar to Vrbata’s value.

 

-         -  I’d like to trade Higgins, but I’m not sure there is demand for him based on his play this year. Put the feelers out there and if there’s no interest waive him and send him to Uticia.  I’d rather watch Gaunce learn the NHL game than Higgins forget it.

 

-         - Prust hasn’t been too bad at hockey this season. He tries hard, but there are a lot of times I’m left scratching my head, wondering, “Why the heck are you fighting now”? For all the fights he’s been in and all the so called toughness he provides that Vancouver is any tougher as a team. He’s a big part of Vancouver being third in the NHL in penalty minutes, yet still being considered by a lot of people as the NHL softest team. Add in, he’s an expiring contact, and at 31 the type of guy you don’t want to sign long-term, and you have to move him. As far as value, getting a fourth or fifth round pick would be a win.  

 

-        -  For all the heat he’s taken as of late, he’s still tops on the Canucks defence in +/-, so he hasn’t been that terrible. He’s still only 32 and a player that I’d talk about a three year extension with at around the same money. But since I think it’s higher unlikely he’d re-sign for 14 million over 3 years, ask him where he wants to play and move him. I bet they could get a decent package out of Chicago if they retain salary or take Bickell back.

 

All in all, I think by making these moves you can hopefully land a few more decent draft picks, clear more cap room for 2016-17 and give some of the younger guys in Uticia some NHL experience.

 

 

 

I'm not sure why everyone is focusing on picks, I'm betting JB is looking at prospects in the 20-22 range as more attractive targets.

[Fanuck]

35 minutes ago, chickenman92 said:

It’s pretty clear right now - even with the Canucks being mathematically in a playoff – that Vancouver will not be doing much even if they do by some miracle get in to the playoffs.

 

This team is aging, but I won’t waste anyone’s time heading down that road, but getting younger and clearing cap room should be the No. 1 priority this season.  

 

Here’s what Benning should do between now and the deadline to get this team ready for next season.

 

Ship out Vrbata, Burrows, Higgins, Prust and Hamhuis

- 

I like how people think that just because they want something to happen it will......

You're going to need at least a few trading partners to accomplish this proposed wholesale trade.  Last I looked, there wasn't a whole lot of movement around the league right now.  Even guys that obviously want out (Hamonic) can't get their wish and supposedly he and his agent have been trying to get out of NY since last summer.  You forget about the NTC as well, those are there for a reason - to give the player control; that makes it even more complicated. 

You just don't 'move' guys out because it's what you want to do, someone has to be willing to take them and their contract (or part of their contract anyway). 

I have a feeling that ownership is trying to sell this team without making it public knowledge right now (obviously it will come out eventually), and because of that they will not allow GMJB to make trades that would harm the team in the short-term but help in the long-term.  Ownership wants to stay competitive right now, make the playoffs (because even one round is great for the bottom line when you present your finances to a potential buyer) and sell high - problem is that to get better sometimes you gotta get worse first but ownership won't accept that essentially asking JB/TL to do the impossible - make this club better now and in the future at the same time. 

[Kevin Biestra]

I'd keep Burrows.  He'll be serviceable (though eventually as a 4th liner) for years to come.  And he'll probably re-sign at a big discount if we want him.  If we can't get more than a 3rd, may as well do the honorable thing and let him ride it out as a Canuck.  He can still contribute.  I honestly think he'll be a very good 4th liner in 4 years.

[homersexual]

So basically anyone over the age of 30 should be moved except the twins?

[PhillipBlunt]

15 minutes ago, Down by the River said:

Canucks shouldn't trade Edler.... they should simply stop having the expectation that he is a top 2 defenceman. He's on a decent contract when you compare around the league. The problem is with asset assessment. Put him in a situation where he is not playing against the best players in the league every shift. His play will look better once his skillset is matched appropriately. 

There is no way to trade for a top 2 dman. The Canucks need to have a few good drafts, time to stockpile picks and hope that depth guys like Biega can weather the storm after Hamhuis and Weber are traded or not re-signed. 

Ok. So they shouldn't trade Edler, but they should put him in a position where his average to below average effort and consistency are better served. As in a second pairing.

Who exactly would then play the big minutes once he is moved to the second paring? Who would be playing against other teams top lines, if you refuse to trade him in a multi player deal for a true number one? Drafting excellent d prospects is a great idea and Benning will do as such, but

Yes Edler is not true number one material, but as long as management believes he is (Linden said as much last year) he will be on the top pairing. His size, shot, and experience puts him there, as there is no one else who possesses that.

The Canucks don't have a real top defensive pairing. At all. They have a pretty decent 2nd d pairing in Edler/Tanev. But that has proven to be far from good enough.

[EmilyM]

35 minutes ago, Zuongo said:

The reality is that most of these guys won't fetch much anymore.... Hammer is a shell of his Olympic self and I just can't see us getting a kings ransom for any of these guys. So don't get your expectations too high on the return.... It won't be much.

This sums it up.
Benning has already made indications that he tried pitching Higgins with no takers. The sad reality is that trades just don't happen that easily nowadays. So tired of seeing armchair proposals of packaging up a bunch of our scraps for 1st rounders/prospects. It doesn't work in real life like it does in EA Sports. Also, we have nobody to take their spots right now. So we could trade them away for literally nothing, or keep them around as mentors to our young players. We are doing the latter right now.

[Fozzy]

Looks like myself and a few others were right about tanking being the best thing for this hockey club.

No point clinging onto the dreams that 'if we make the playoffs anythican happen' fantasy.

 

 

[canucksnhl]

48 minutes ago, Ryanstorm said:

Vrbata: Good player, bad year for him probably won't get a 1st.

Hamhuis: Also a great player, but probably not a 1st either.

Burrows: Decent player, maybe a 3rd.

Higgins: Not consistent, AHL prospect, 5th round?

Prust: Same as Higgins.

 

I'm not saying trade them all for picks as we'd have multiple holes in the team that already has holes but that's what I think we'd get for them.

I'd hope we can find that 1st line player for the Sedins (although Hansen is usually good with them) hopefully upgrade our defense a bit and have a future team that will be a good one.

Vrbata, Hamhuis, Higgins, and Prust are the holes on the team. We gotta get rid of those holes and patch them up with some fresh patch from the farm. Burrows will stay, he has done too much and is still producing considering his now lessened roles on the team.