Stecher's Role when Tanev returns

[Phat Fingers]

2 hours ago, RetroCanuck said:

Or 70 games in the last 2 seasons. That means biega needs 18 games and sbisa needs 13. Canucks need to keep them both to protect themselves. If they were smart they'd get them both up to or close to the 70 game mark by the deadline and see if they can trade one

 

 

Absolutely. 

 

So so it comes down to Stecher vs Larsen. Trade Larsen for a 5th and run with Stecher. 

[coastal.view]

13 hours ago, JamesB said:

Lots of comments have been made in various threads about what should happen to Stecher when Tanev comes back, but I thought I would sent up a poll and solicit specific opinions. Here is the case in favor of each option.

1. (First Pairing) Stecher and Edler have been surprisingly good together, both in preseason and since Stecher was called up. Tanev can link up with Hutton on the second pairing and probably help Hutton. And Guddy can move to the third pairing. That would give the Canucks three solid pairings. Playing big minutes with Edler can only help Stecher's progress. The kid is on a roll. Let's keep it going.

 

Let's face it, Hutton and Guddy have been kind of disappointing together -- not bad, but not as good as we hoped. The idea was that playing with Guddy would free up Hutton. But it has not worked out that way. Guddy is big, strong, tough, and physical. He skates well for a big man and plays well without the puck. But, he often struggles when under pressure in his own end and Hutton and Guddy often have a hard time getting the puck out of their own end cleanly. Playing with Tanev, who does a great job handling the puck in his own end and is generally even better in his own end than Guddy, should take some defensive pressure off Hutton and allow him to recapture his offensive game.

 

2. Play Stecher on second pairing with Hutton. The reason for this is similar to the reasoning for the first pairing option. The difference is that Edler and Tanev can take all the tough shutdown assignments if they play together, making life easier for both Stecher and Hutton on the second pairing. As Stecher and Hutton can both handle the puck well, skate well, and have good offensive instincts, playing together can allow them to make the most of their offensive talents. And they are both pretty good in their own end as well so they won't be a liability in their own end.

 

3. Third pairing. Put Tanev back with Edler and continue to play Hutton and Guddy together to continue to build their chemistry (we hope). Stecher then drops down to the third pairing to play with Sbisa or Tryamkin. Sbisa needs to play 13 more games to qualify as the veteran defenceman the Canucks need to supply for the expansion draft. So probably Sbisa continues to play until he reaches that threshold. But, either way, Stecher is a natural fit for either Sbisa or Tryamkin. Both those guys provide size and muscle and a "stay at home" mentality, allowing Stecher to be the puck mover. And the third pairing will get the easier minutes (and fewer minutes) allowing Stecher to focus more on his PP role and not get worn down.

 

4. 7th man. Everything is happening too fast. No problem with keeping Stecher as 7th man for a while to watch the game, practice, and absorb the NHL game. And, given the frequency of injuries, he will probably play most of the time anyway. No point is sending him back and forth to Utica all the time.

 

5. Back to Utica. Yes, Stecher has been one of the top 3 defenceman for the Canucks in pretty much every game he has played but, if he isn't going to play big minutes on the Canucks, he might as well continue to hone his craft in Utica. And sending him down avoids the need to expose Larsen or Biega to waivers. (Yes, that sounds feeble. I cannot actually think of any good reason to send Stecher back to Utica.)

 

And who goes when Tanev comes back? I am pretty sure that either Larsen or Biega (remember him) would clear waivers. And either of those guys would help Utica. I am not sure if Larsen would be willing to go, though. And Biega would probably help Utica more in any case as he was a leader on the team last year and likes playing there whereas Larsen has never spent time in Utica.

 

My vote is to keep Stecher on the first pairing. He is one of the few bright spots on the team this year. Let's make the most of it.

well thought out post

nice read on this site

enjoyed the many comments as well

covered all aspects of this issue that i could think of

everyone here clearly assumes edler is our number 1 dman

which is mildly surprising given the amount of criticism he gets on this site

[coastal.view]

13 hours ago, JamesB said:

 

 

[Alflives]

Other...Trade Tanev.  

[SergioMomesso]

How about dangle Tanev for a blue chip prospect or first rounder. Maybe see if Colorado is up for a Tanev plus 2017 2nd for Jost? Or see what Hutton is worth on the market? 

[alfstonker]

13 hours ago, Lancaster said:

Stecher with Edler. 

Who knows how long Stecher can keep up this level of play, or maybe if he's the real deal.  Currently, he's filling the hole that Ehrhoff left... something Tanev can't do.

 

Tanev can stabilize any defensive pairing.... so maybe have him with Tryamkin?

 

Except Sbisa had a very good game against Stars.

[Squamfan]

33 minutes ago, Alflives said:

Other...Trade Tanev.  

edler for mantha?

[Alflives]

2 minutes ago, Squamfan said:

edler for mantha?

That's a trade that (again) helps both teams with their current course.  Does Mantha skate well enough though?

[Nucker 67]

37 minutes ago, Alflives said:

Other...Trade Tanev.  

That's exactly what I was thinking. Tanev's value is as high as it's going to get. Time to cash in the chips. No knock against Tanev, he's one of my favourite players, but he would be in demand and JB could get a really nice return. If the Canucks are thinking about rebuilding, they'll need high draft picks and/or high level prospects. Let's get something great for Tanev before he blocks one too many shots and does some real damage (and possibly dropping his value).

[oldnews]

Short term decision aside:

 

Stecher emerging really puts the Canucks in a strong asset and flexibility position on the back end.

 

They can keep their depth and keep the competition for minutes strong.

They can move a defenseman if they opt to and maintain fairly solid depth.

Either way, they're in a position of strength, and may find themselves fielding some calls as other teams face injuries and their depth gets challenged.

 

When you get down to it, I'm thrilled with the options they have at 6 and 7, and I'm entirely comfortable with their 8, 9 and 10 spots (Larsen, Biega, Pedan are pretty viable in the 6/7 spot).

 

Kudos to GMJB on rebuilding this blueline - add OJ into the mix (and perhaps another prospect or two) - and they'll be facing difficult decisions like this - the kind you want to be facing - over the next few years.  Right now they have two or three options and they're all pretty easy to live with imo.

 

[Nucker 67]

Edler - Stecher

Hutton - Gudbranson

Sbisa - Tryamkin

Pedan - Larsen

Juolevi - Biega

Brisebois - Subban

 

We would be okay without Tanev, and if he could fetch us a high 1st? (in addition to our own high 1st) 

Canucks might actually be able to ice a new top line in 2-3 years.

 

 

 

 

[Alflives]

28 minutes ago, NUCKER67 said:

That's exactly what I was thinking. Tanev's value is as high as it's going to get. Time to cash in the chips. No knock against Tanev, he's one of my favourite players, but he would be in demand and JB could get a really nice return. If the Canucks are thinking about rebuilding, they'll need high draft picks and/or high level prospects. Let's get something great for Tanev before he blocks one too many shots and does some real damage (and possibly dropping his value).

Now the greater question is: are we rebuilding with youth, or retooling with experience?  If JB did trade Tanev would it be for youth or experience up front?

[Nucker 67]

Just now, Alflives said:

Now the greater question is: are we rebuilding with youth, or retooling with experience?  If JB did trade Tanev would it be for youth or experience up front?

Well, this is JB, so I suspect he would sign a 30-year old goal scorer to play with the Sedins. Oh wait...

 

[Alflives]

13 minutes ago, NUCKER67 said:

Well, this is JB, so I suspect he would sign a 30-year old goal scorer to play with the Sedins. Oh wait...

 

and pay him over the next six seasons!

[Canuck Surfer]

5 hours ago, riffraff said:

Edler for kassian.

 

problem solved.

 

I do hope you are kidding?

 

3 hours ago, Bang Bang Boogie said:

I think he's going back to Utica.  Sbisa needs the games so he can exposed and I don't think JB will risk losing Biega on waivers.

 

Pretty sure he does not need that many games. And we only need one player who meets the threshold.

 

Besides that, Biega would most likely clear waivers.

 

1 hour ago, SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME said:

 

EDIT: That all said, Desjardins was on the radio today talking about how pleased he's been with Stecher and Tryamkin. He seemed to lean toward keeping both in the lineup as much as possible. And he likes the Edler-Stecher pairing and hinted that he might look to keep them intact and work Tanev in somewhere else. With Tryamkin, he talked about wanting to keep the big guy's energy level up and might work him in and out of the  lineup depending on whether or not he can maintain his level of play or if he starts to look tired.

 

It'll be interesting to see if management is on the same page as their coach.

 

Thanks for posting this.

 

Just in relation to Jake, it does show some credibility that he will play young players if he likes what they are doing!

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

I'd definitely be fine with "baiting the hook" on a Tanev trade and seeing what plays out between now and the trade deadline. Tanev is very highly

regarded and there would certainly be interest. But I'd want Benning to slow play things and try to build a feeding frenzy where teams are bidding against each other and potentially overpay to secure the player.

 

I'd probably want to see a lot more of Edler-Stecher before pulling the trigger on any deal. We'd need to be pretty sure that pairing works long term. But if they can continue to play first pairing minutes and get first first pairing results with that icetime, then Tanev becomes an asset we can afford to trade.

 

It also makes sense because Tanev's modified NTC kicks in next season (he can refuse trades to a list of eight teams) but right now he has no trade protection clauses in effect on his deal.

[Beary Sweet]

Stecher had a great preseason playing alongside Edler and he just continues to get better and better. He has earned a spot at this point but with Tanev soon returning back from injury, something has to give. Don't see Willie taking Sbisa out of the lineup. If someone is going out its Tryamkin.yes I know that he has been a reliable defenceman so far through his first few games and made himself noticeable. But we're going with youth you have to keep him in the lineup. You have to let them play through their mistakes as that's how they learn so they know what to improve on next around.

so if we're going playoffs:

Edler-Stecher

Hutton-Guddy

Sbisa-Tanev

We have to ease Tanev into the lineup and giving him 3rd pairing minutes with Sbisa will do that. We don't want to risk him getting injured again and reaggrivating the injury. 

If we're going youth movement:

Edler-Tanev

Hutton-Guddy

Stecher-Tryamkin

 

since this year's draft is relatively weak I'd rather go for a playoff run since it will get the kids a chance to experience what being in the playoffs is like. Either way I don't think we're a playoff team but we could surprise and pull off a Leicester City. GCG!

 

[Bissurnette]

Send him down to Utica.

 

What we have is a gem on our hands. We do not want to rush him. He's coming up through college hockey where they play 42 games a season (if I'm not mistaken). He doesn't need to be up here and burn out in January. Let him play in Utica and hone his craft. He can get used to playing big minutes in the number of games in pro hockey down there. Call him up when there's injuries.

[Gaudette Celly]

One problem with moving Tanev or Edler now is expansion.  It means we'd end up protecting Sbisa as our 3rd D (after the other and Gudbranson) and exposing another forward of likely better value.

[riffraff]

1 hour ago, Canuck Surfer said:

 

I do hope you are kidding?

 

Not entirely.

 

1 hour ago, Canuck Surfer said:

 

 

Pretty sure he does not need that many games. And we only need one player who meets the threshold.

 

Besides that, Biega would most likely clear waivers.

 

 

Thanks for posting this.

 

Just in relation to Jake, it does show some credibility that he will play young players if he likes what they are doing!