Friedman thinks Vancouver is interested in Eberle

[48MPHSlapShot]

Just now, lewddruid said:

Why do people want to get rid of Sutter? I thought he showed improvment last year we he did play.

It's not hard to show improvement when you've spent almost the entirety of the previous season injured.

[Rick Blight]

7 minutes ago, lewddruid said:

Why do people want to get rid of Sutter? I thought he showed improvment last year we he did play.

There are very few players that avoid the wrath of CDC. The only forward on the team that is not routinely being bandied about in trade talk is Bo Horvat........Sutter has a lot of company.

[VIC_CITY]

1 hour ago, Rick Blight said:

There are very few players that avoid the wrath of CDC. The only forward on the team that is not routinely being bandied about in trade talk is Bo Horvat........Sutter has a lot of company.

This. 

 

Granlund was pretty consistent this year but I was one of the people that was on him before that. I literally can't think of one other guy that avoids criticism on these boards and that includes coaching, management, ownership, scouting, the fans, fin....the zamboni driver is about the only Canucks employee earning his pay lol. 

[kanucks25]

You have to be able to be critical to have a proper discussion. What's wrong with calling a bad player bad or an average player average? He is what he is and you need to discuss the topic honestly. I assume management does the same thing in the board roam despite having a much closer relationship to the players than us fans do.

 

17 hours ago, lewddruid said:

Why do people want to get rid of Sutter? I thought he showed improvment last year we he did play.

 

Simply put, because his contract is too large and too long for what he brings. 3rd liner production is replaceable through free-agency or a cheap trade, top-6 talent is not as easy to acquire.

 

 

[Rick Blight]

59 minutes ago, kanucks25 said:

You have to be able to be critical to have a proper discussion. What's wrong with calling a bad player bad or an average player average? He is what he is and you need to discuss the topic honestly. I assume management does the same thing in the board roam despite having a much closer relationship to the players than us fans do.

 

 

Simply put, because his contract is too large and too long for what he brings. 3rd liner production is replaceable through free-agency or a cheap trade, top-6 talent is not as easy to acquire.

 

 

There is nothing wrong with  "calling a bad player bad or an average player average" but as part of a discussion we should at least try to justify why we see a player as bad or average. A player is not bad or average simply because a poster states that he is.

 

In terms of Brandon Sutter specifically, I disagree with your assessment and here is why I believe he brings reasonable value to the team.

• His contract expires at age 32 and I see no evidence that is unusual or excessive by NHL standards.
• For the 2016/17 season, Sutter was the 52nd highest paid centre in the NHL and that suggests to me that he is being paid as a lower 2nd liner based on a 30 team league. However, there are quite a few centres on ELC's that currently fill #1 or #2 center roles and their current salaries are justifiably lower than Sutter's at this point. This would include players such as Eichel, Reinhart, Matthews, Wennberg, Domi, Draisaitl, McDavid, and our very own Bo Horvat. Therefore, I believe Sutter is being paid as a 3rd line centre, albeit as a top 3rd line centre.
• In terms of what he brings to the team, he is their top face-off man, plays in all situations, is 2nd amongst our forwards in TOI and routinely serves as our shutdown centre.
• Additionally, I believe his contract provides us fair value just for his point production. His cap hit is $4.375M, he had 34 points and that means we pay him $126,676 per point. That sounds pretty outrageous but it really isn't compared to many other centres in the NHL. Other notable centres around the league such as Malkin, Kopitar, Backes, Giroux, Getzlaf, H. Sedin and the guy in your sig (Toews) are all paid much more for every point they produce. 

I really don't care if the Canucks trade Sutter or not but I don't see trading him as a need. From a "money ball" perspective he seems to provide fair value.