Sven Baertschi | LW

[tas]

the game was just too fast and too hard for sven, and the concussions sure didn't help. good guy, I hope someone gives him a shot before he goes back to switzerland. 

[Alflives]

1 minute ago, tas said:

the game was just too fast and too hard for sven, and the concussions sure didn't help. good guy, I hope someone gives him a shot before he goes back to switzerland. 

Maybe a PTO, but most likely he’s playing in Europe.  He’s been over here since he was pretty young.  Maybe home for him is on this side of the Atlantic?  Super good guy.  

[Kootenay Gold]

55 minutes ago, Alflives said:

Maybe a PTO, but most likely he’s playing in Europe.  He’s been over here since he was pretty young.  Maybe home for him is on this side of the Atlantic?  Super good guy.  

I wonder if he would be interested if the Canucks were to take him on as an apprentice assistant coach with the Abby farm team?

[Googlie]

1 hour ago, Alflives said:

Maybe a PTO, but most likely he’s playing in Europe.  He’s been over here since he was pretty young.  Maybe home for him is on this side of the Atlantic?  Super good guy.  

Home is Portland.  (Played 2 seasons as a junior with the Winterhawks)   

 

He has NHL wheels, and an NHL shot, just such a shame that Jim put the "tentative" label on him 2 summers ago.  Ofc he was, after 2 concussions (I bet Crosby was "tentative" his first few games back ... as will Tavares) but saying so certainly didn't help his trade chances.   I still think Seattle will take a flyer on him (and even if you are from Switzerland there are a lot of worse places to spend winters than Palm Springs) 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 23, 2021 by Googlie

[higgyfan]

15 minutes ago, Kootenay Gold said:

I wonder if he would be interested if the Canucks were to take him on as an apprentice assistant coach with the Abby farm team?

I don't know enough about Baer's leadership and teaching abilities.  Lots of NHL players stay away from the coaching careers.  It seems like the more average players are more successful on the job.  I think it may be that they have a better understanding of the struggles to get to the big game and the hard work it is to develop.  Wonder kids like Gretzky can't teach his kind of skills to average and a sprinkling of above average young players.

[tas]

10 minutes ago, higgyfan said:

I don't know enough about Baer's leadership and teaching abilities.  Lots of NHL players stay away from the coaching careers.  It seems like the more average players are more successful on the job.  I think it may be that they have a better understanding of the struggles to get to the big game and the hard work it is to develop.  Wonder kids like Gretzky can't teach his kind of skills to average and a sprinkling of above average young players.

i suspect he was alluding to the comments from comets players quoted a few posts up insofar as baertschi's potential candidacy for a coaching career. 

 

that said, I think baertschi wants a clean break from the canucks organization and I can certainly understand and accept that.  

[Phil_314]

21 hours ago, debluvscanucks said:

I'm sad at how things panned out for Sven....that concussion took a toll and I had so much hope for him as an exciting player who could generate offense.  

 

Still have my Baertschi shirt....will be a fan of his no matter what.  Wish him all the best if he does move on.  He'll probably go somewhere else and come back to haunt us.  That's Canuck luck.

I'm starting to not buy the injury concerns narrative... I mean he did miss 8 games this season with Utica but he's still scoring (and of course last season he was above a point-per-game), so it's not like there's a lesser chance of injury in the minors as it's still the same sport (genuinely curious if it's really that much faster and higher risk).  Of course the team seems to have a skilled top 6, gritty bottom 6 philosophy but given how the likes of Jake and Roussel performed this season, I can't help but think that his skills as a winger could've elevated the 3rd line (vs. the crash and bang style that Roussel/ Jake played which led to no scoring, not to mention their inconsistency/ downright laziness at times).  If Tampa could shelter Tyler Johnson as a 4th line center with two bigger wings in Joseph and Maroon, he could've made it work with the array of gritty guys we have.     

Edited May 23, 2021 by Phil_314

[-DLC-]

9 minutes ago, Phil_314 said:

I'm starting to not buy the injury concerns narrative... I mean he did miss 8 games this season with Utica but he's still scoring (and of course last season he was above a point-per-game), so it's not like there's a lesser chance of injury in the minors as it's still the same sport (genuinely curious if it's really that much faster and higher risk).  Of course the team seems to have a skilled top 6, gritty bottom 6 philosophy but given how the likes of Jake and Roussel performed this season, I can't help but think that his skills as a winger could've elevated the 3rd line (vs. the crash and bang style that Roussel/ Jake played which led to no scoring, not to mention their inconsistency/ downright laziness at times).  If Tampa could shelter Tyler Johnson as a 4th line center with two bigger wings in Joseph and Maroon, he could've made it work with the array of gritty guys we have.     

Oh I agree.    I feel like he was just sort of written out and that's sad because I feel there was definitely a need for his offensive flair at times.  Absolutely agree.

[Ghostsof1915]

The sad thing is if Baer accepted a $1.2-1.5 million contract he probably would have been playing in the NHL. Because he was overpaid, he had to go to the AHL and get his contract buried. 

[Ray_Cathode]

1 hour ago, Phil_314 said:

I'm starting to not buy the injury concerns narrative... I mean he did miss 8 games this season with Utica but he's still scoring (and of course last season he was above a point-per-game), so it's not like there's a lesser chance of injury in the minors as it's still the same sport (genuinely curious if it's really that much faster and higher risk).  Of course the team seems to have a skilled top 6, gritty bottom 6 philosophy but given how the likes of Jake and Roussel performed this season, I can't help but think that his skills as a winger could've elevated the 3rd line (vs. the crash and bang style that Roussel/ Jake played which led to no scoring, not to mention their inconsistency/ downright laziness at times).  If Tampa could shelter Tyler Johnson as a 4th line center with two bigger wings in Joseph and Maroon, he could've made it work with the array of gritty guys we have.     

I'm not a Green fan, but his philosophy seems to be (as learned with Goldobin and Jake) if you won't defend you won't play... and Baertschi's defence is not strong. He scored in Utica when playing with Goldobin and Boucher - two marginal scoring NHLers who thrive in the AHL. I believe it is Baertschi's lack of a commitment to defence that keeps him out of the NHL. The fact that Green won't play him is supported by the fact that no-one else in the NHL wants him - the status of many of our overpaid, under-talented, superannuated, near retirees that Benning is trying to enrich and Green feels obligated to play.

[Phil_314]

1 hour ago, debluvscanucks said:

Oh I agree.    I feel like he was just sort of written out and that's sad because I feel there was definitely a need for his offensive flair at times.  Absolutely agree.

Yeah I wasn't disagreeing with your comment, just that it was a good latching on point to add my thoughts.
 

17 minutes ago, Ray_Cathode said:

I'm not a Green fan, but his philosophy seems to be (as learned with Goldobin and Jake) if you won't defend you won't play... and Baertschi's defence is not strong. He scored in Utica when playing with Goldobin and Boucher - two marginal scoring NHLers who thrive in the AHL. I believe it is Baertschi's lack of a commitment to defence that keeps him out of the NHL. The fact that Green won't play him is supported by the fact that no-one else in the NHL wants him - the status of many of our overpaid, under-talented, superannuated, near retirees that Benning is trying to enrich and Green feels obligated to play.

That does seem to be the case, guess he's like Brandon Pirri in that he can score but doesn't have a well-rounded enough game or is a bit of a one-trick pony.  
It's the second bold that I have some reluctance about, since I think the correlation doesn't mean that no one wants him as a player -- I feel pretty confident someone will scoop him up this off-season, even if it's for a $700k contract (but admittedly he's not worth more than $3 million).  The skill is there but when it's attached to that price tag and rumors of injury proneness then it's no wonder no one scooped him up back then.  I almost hope he rebounds well and has a successful second half of his career to give the finger to our management if it was indeed a disagreement between him and Green or someone that resulted in him getting demoted.

[Googlie]

In all fairness, the club thought highly enough of him to invite him to the bubble reserve list, but he declined. I hope this wasn't held against him.   Then JB did give Baertschi's agent permission to solicit interest from other clubs.  As was pointed out earlier, he isn't a bottom 6 player, and there wasn't room in the top 6

[J-P]

On 5/23/2021 at 11:27 PM, Googlie said:

In all fairness, the club thought highly enough of him to invite him to the bubble reserve list, but he declined. I hope this wasn't held against him.   Then JB did give Baertschi's agent permission to solicit interest from other clubs.  As was pointed out earlier, he isn't a bottom 6 player, and there wasn't room in the top 6

Lots of rumours about a rift between Green and Baertschi, so I think that + his contract + his lack of D skills is what kept him out of the NHL. Definitely don't think he'll come back to the Canucks. A middle six role on a bottom team like Buffalo or Detroit makes sense. Seattle? Maybe as a tweener 3rd line winger, I doubt it though.

[Ray_Cathode]

On 5/23/2021 at 11:26 AM, Phil_314 said:

Yeah I wasn't disagreeing with your comment, just that it was a good latching on point to add my thoughts.
 

That does seem to be the case, guess he's like Brandon Pirri in that he can score but doesn't have a well-rounded enough game or is a bit of a one-trick pony.  
It's the second bold that I have some reluctance about, since I think the correlation doesn't mean that no one wants him as a player -- I feel pretty confident someone will scoop him up this off-season, even if it's for a $700k contract (but admittedly he's not worth more than $3 million).  The skill is there but when it's attached to that price tag and rumors of injury proneness then it's no wonder no one scooped him up back then.  I almost hope he rebounds well and has a successful second half of his career to give the finger to our management if it was indeed a disagreement between him and Green or someone that resulted in him getting demoted.

After watching Baertschi’s lack of defensive effort in Utica all year long, his marginal top six performance when he was here but lack of usefulness in the bottom six, it is hard to justify why any team would have him. In fact, taking him off waivers would only have cost half his normal salary, which means no-one wants him at about 1.6 mil. Considering the asset cost of acquiring him is near zero, that is a good sign that his presence is not much desired on nhl teams.

[FaninMex]

 

I wish he all the best. It must have been so hard on him. I hope he finds a home and stays healthy.

 

 

[DeNiro]

6 minutes ago, FaninMex said:

 

I wish he all the best. It must have been so hard on him. I hope he finds a home and stays healthy.

 

 

I mean he can blame the organization all he wants but I think he’s gonna find out this offseason that there won’t be much interest.

 

There were players better than Baerstchi all season going on waivers and there will be lots available before the expansion draft and during free agency. Hell look what Mikael Granlund signed for last offseason!

 

If he can get a deal for anything over a mil that isn’t a two way deal I would be shocked.

 

Edited June 10, 2021 by DeNiro

[FaninMex]

6 minutes ago, DeNiro said:

I mean he can blame the organization all he wants but I think he’s gonna find out this offseason that there won’t be much interest.

 

There were players better than Baerstchi all season going on waivers and there will be lots available before the expansion draft and during free agency. Hell look what Mikael Granlund signed for last offseason!

 

If he can get a deal for anything over a mil that isn’t a two way deal I would be shocked.

 

I agree. He lost a step after that last concussion for sure. I was referring more to the emotions involved. Concussions are such a nasty thing.

 

I remember the winter Olympics 2010. In snowboarding Shaun White was going to take gold and his sponsors built him his private park to ride. However, there was this kid that was in a position to beat him. Tragedy struck when he faceplanted a jump and he was finished. Motor skills slowed to a crawl. I have forgotten his name.

 

I just feel sad for these guys to have your dream taken away like that.

[AK_19]

I get why he didn't get played this year. I didn't get the impression his play in the AHL warranted it. It was last year where it didn't make sense to me. He did play well in camp, he played well during his call-ups, he had great chemistry with Horvat, and despite what others are saying about him now, his D was average at worst back then. He was seen as a 2-way forward prior to the concussion. I'm not sure why people are saying he wasn't "gritty" enough for the bottom 6. Gaudette was less gritty than him and Virtanen as well unless he was on. I can't even say if it was a coaching conflict since they obviously worked together before in junior and in Utica with success. Honestly, one of the strangest line up decisions I've seen watching this team and I assume there was something else going on in the background. 

[aGENT]

18 minutes ago, AK_19 said:

I get why he didn't get played this year. I didn't get the impression his play in the AHL warranted it. It was last year where it didn't make sense to me. He did play well in camp, he played well during his call-ups, he had great chemistry with Horvat, and despite what others are saying about him now, his D was average at worst back then. He was seen as a 2-way forward prior to the concussion. I'm not sure why people are saying he wasn't "gritty" enough for the bottom 6. Gaudette was less gritty than him and Virtanen as well unless he was on. I can't even say if it was a coaching conflict since they obviously worked together before in junior and in Utica with success. Honestly, one of the strangest line up decisions I've seen watching this team and I assume there was something else going on in the background. 

How many of those guys are coaches supposed to shelter and 'hide' in a lineup though?

 

Unfortunately, he lost a bit of his willingness to go to tough areas after his concussion issues and we had younger guys (Gaudette/Virtanen) who were a higher priority to give that sheltering 'leash' too, to try and push their development.

[Bertuzzipunch]

Tough tough interview. Poor guy i felt i already knew what he was going thru and it was pretty much confirmed.