[Signing] Canucks sign D Michael Del Zotto [2 year x $3.0M AAV]

[Salacious Crumb]

4 hours ago, terrible.dee said:

What is the point of these signings?

 

Besides unintended proof that Dim Jim still thinks the exact same thing he did the day he walked through the doors 4 years ago,

 

That he was going to throw some money around patch a few holes and were right back in the playoffs,

 

This guy isn't that smart, he doesn't get it. He's the guy who justified the Kesler return with "Bonino replaces Ryan's 20 G right there," and for Sbisa, my personal favorite "We don't got no defenseman"

 

Well, here we go with more of the same BS, instead of Subban getting a shot, we'll watch a disinterested Delzaster blunder his way around the ice,

 

Instead of a legit opportunity like Yak, or an in-house asset like Goldy we'll see a guy who legitimately doesn't give a f$%k like Burmistrov bring his poisonous attitude to our locker room...I don't think there is a worse player he could have signed.

 

I would say this is a job-scared GM, trying to hot shot his team in hopes of not getting fired, but no, this is business as usual for the Vancouver Canucks

 

Trev was my hero as a kid, and can still do no wrong in my eyes, it would be my NHL dream to see him hoist the cup, if not as a player than the President.

 

This whole Jim Benning era is a bad joke that won't end,

 

He's not smart enough to manage a hockey team, I could see that from his first interview

 

I just hope when he's finally gone Tre isn't gone with him, but I suppose that's a given

 

How could it go this wrong for so long?

 

 

^posts like this make me miss Desi

 

giving you another brain wouldn't help, it would just die of loneliness

[ChuckNORRIS4Cup]

Does this mean we'll see a bunch of Porn Stars at the games now? Might be interested to attend more games 

[DownUndaCanuck]

I think Del Zotto would pair nicely with Tanev, but Hutton is primed for a big year and we might see him make the jump up into our top-4. We've essentially got so many workable combinations now, it really depends on how the guys come ready to play this season.

 

Put Del Zotto with Tanev and we let him skate freely around and be more of a puck mover, which he can be. He can take gambles and jump up in the rush a lot more. We've all seen him do this and his timing is pretty poor at times, seen him caught out of position plenty of times. Plus, Del Zotto brings a bit of physicality that Tanev doesn't really.

 

Alternatively we could plot Hutton with Tanev if Hutton is having a bit of a break-out season and let him try and score 40+ points, and set Del Zotto with Gudbranson as a 3rd pairing. They'll be caught out a fair few times but still have all the tools.

 

I think Del Zotto and Wiercioch are going to get lots of PP time. MDZ isn't the biggest PP quaterback of all time (doesn't have many PP points in his last few years) but he's got the abilities to pass the puck from the point, and Wiercioch has a massive point shot that the Sedins get set up on the 2nd unit PP.

 

Should be interesting to see what Green does with all these different options.

[VanGnome]

4 hours ago, terrible.dee said:

What is the point of these signings?

 

Besides unintended proof that Dim Jim still thinks the exact same thing he did the day he walked through the doors 4 years ago,

 

That he was going to throw some money around patch a few holes and were right back in the playoffs,

 

This guy isn't that smart, he doesn't get it. He's the guy who justified the Kesler return with "Bonino replaces Ryan's 20 G right there," and for Sbisa, my personal favorite "We don't got no defenseman"

 

Well, here we go with more of the same BS, instead of Subban getting a shot, we'll watch a disinterested Delzaster blunder his way around the ice,

 

Instead of a legit opportunity like Yak, or an in-house asset like Goldy we'll see a guy who legitimately doesn't give a f$%k like Burmistrov bring his poisonous attitude to our locker room...I don't think there is a worse player he could have signed.

 

I would say this is a job-scared GM, trying to hot shot his team in hopes of not getting fired, but no, this is business as usual for the Vancouver Canucks

 

Trev was my hero as a kid, and can still do no wrong in my eyes, it would be my NHL dream to see him hoist the cup, if not as a player than the President.

 

This whole Jim Benning era is a bad joke that won't end,

 

He's not smart enough to manage a hockey team, I could see that from his first interview

 

I just hope when he's finally gone Tre isn't gone with him, but I suppose that's a given

 

How could it go this wrong for so long?

 

 

Dude, seriously? Step off your soap box before you fall from the stroke you're about to suffer.

You espouse these concepts and wacky theories like they have some credence. I see a marked improvement in JB from day one to today. The last 3 off seasons, Jim made the safe moves, going for key veteran type players. This off season he's finally gone for the smart moves, picking up quality depth still young enough to be useful by the time their contracts are up.
 

• Sam Gagner, 27 - 50 points (Good for 3rd most points on last years roster)
• Alexander Burmistrov, 25 - scored at a 44 point pace in the 26 games he played with Phoenix. Has skill, and you suggest he has a cancerous attitude. He's Russian, he could have stayed in the KHL for an easy way but decided to come back. He's always said he wants to play in the NHL for a team who trusts and believes in him. This tells me he has character and principles.
• Michael Del Zotto, 27 - Played at a 29 point pace last year (good for highest scoring D-man on the team last year). Maybe the only questionable signing given his apparent propensity for injury.
• Patrick Wiercioch, 26 - Seemed to not play a ton of games the last few seasons, averaging 50-60. He's big but not overly physical. This is a decent warm body signing given our propensity to acquire injuries during the season. At 650k, there is nothing to complain about.
• Anders Nilsson, 27 - Basically a Markstrom clone with slightly better stats. Will either support Markstrom, should he finally take the reigns as a starting goaltender or has the opportunity to take the reigns himself. Buys time for Demko to develop

 

These are exactly the kind of moves you make when you're a rebuilding team. Signing depth at reasonable term and dollars to keep the team from being an absolute joke night in, night out gives the youth already on the team the support it needs to not lose sight of the fact that this is indeed a young team that is going to be learning as they go.

Yakupov has not developed one bit since his rookie year, he's still the same player without the necessary on ice attributes needed to make him successful in the league. It's not just Benning, it's 30 other NHL GMs who see the same flaws and are unwilling to give a 23 year old UFA. He wasn't even qualified by the team who could have retained him as a RFA.

Subban. I hear people clamoring over Subban, saying he's not getting a fair shot. He's 22 years old. He's not the phenom his brother PK is. He's also 12 pounds lighter and 1 inch smaller than Stecher who would be his closest comparable on this team. He's also a lot less capable defensively than Stecher. He's simply not ready, and hasn't shown in past that he has what it takes to play at the NHL level given his stature. 26 years of age also happens to be the mean age in which NHL defensemen enter their prime years of play, he's still 4 years away from that. Maybe this year he shows more, maybe not.

Benning also did not have to "justify" the Kesler trade. He was dealing with a disgruntled player who gave a single team for him to deal with. The fact that Benning managed to get any assets at all worth speaking about is pretty decent. I have no regrets about that trade, and Kesler hasn't done much since going to Anaheim at any rate.

From day one, Benning has had a plan. To date, that plan has achieved the following:

Players traded, or other wise left via UFA:

 

• Ryan Kesler
• Chris Higgins
• Jason Garrison
• Zack Kassian
• Kevin Bieksa
• Dan Hamhuis
• Jannik Hansen
• David Booth
• Alexandre Burrows
• Roberto Luongo

 

Players and prospects he's acquired:

 

• Sven Baertschi
• Brandon Sutter
• Markus Granlund
• Troy Stecher
• Reid Boucher
• Erik Gudbranson
• Brock Boeser
• Derek Dorsett
• Nikolay Goldobin
• Jake Virtanen
• Jacob Markstrom
• Jonathan Dahlen
• Olli Juolevi
• Thatcher Demko
• Will Lockwood
• Adam Gaudette

 

The team is significantly younger, and will be significantly more exciting to watch. I for one believe Benning has certainly done enough the past three years, and especially after the most recent entry draft and today's free agency to warrant him seeing through what he's begun.

I probably shouldn't have snatched the low hanging fruit that is your post, but seriously. Stop talking like you know what you're talking about, because you don't.

[MeanSeanBean]

@VanGnome

 

While your list is missing a few players such as McCann, Vey, ect it doesn't matter. 

 

Solid post man, seriously. Maybe it's the Canadian Club talking about that was a good read. 

[CRAZY_4_NAZZY]

Man adding Gagner and Del Zotto will help make 3 on 3 overtime more entertaining to watch!

[Mattrek]

19 hours ago, apollo said:

LOL! 

 

Very happy with this contract... 2 years, 3 AAV... Can't believe I'm about to say it but Jimbo you signed a great contract.

 

Curious what you think of Rodin, Granlund, Baertschi, Markstrom, Hutton, Gudbranson, Stecher, Boucher, Tanev and Boeser's contracts.

[Mattrek]

10 hours ago, 48MPHSlapShot said:

^

 

 

Too many posts deserving of a minus today. It's hard to choose.

[JeremyCuddles]

5 hours ago, CRAZY_4_NAZZY said:

Man adding Gagner and Del Zotto will help make 3 on 3 overtime more entertaining to watch!

I'm hoping they do more to our PP than 3on3 tbh. We had better scoring chances at even strength than with a man advantage.

[Hectic]

9 hours ago, VanGnome said:

Dude, seriously? Step off your soap box before you fall from the stroke you're about to suffer.

You espouse these concepts and wacky theories like they have some credence. I see a marked improvement in JB from day one to today. The last 3 off seasons, Jim made the safe moves, going for key veteran type players. This off season he's finally gone for the smart moves, picking up quality depth still young enough to be useful by the time their contracts are up.
 

• Sam Gagner, 27 - 50 points (Good for 3rd most points on last years roster)
• Alexander Burmistrov, 25 - scored at a 44 point pace in the 26 games he played with Phoenix. Has skill, and you suggest he has a cancerous attitude. He's Russian, he could have stayed in the KHL for an easy way but decided to come back. He's always said he wants to play in the NHL for a team who trusts and believes in him. This tells me he has character and principles.
• Michael Del Zotto, 27 - Played at a 29 point pace last year (good for highest scoring D-man on the team last year). Maybe the only questionable signing given his apparent propensity for injury.
• Patrick Wiercioch, 26 - Seemed to not play a ton of games the last few seasons, averaging 50-60. He's big but not overly physical. This is a decent warm body signing given our propensity to acquire injuries during the season. At 650k, there is nothing to complain about.
• Anders Nilsson, 27 - Basically a Markstrom clone with slightly better stats. Will either support Markstrom, should he finally take the reigns as a starting goaltender or has the opportunity to take the reigns himself. Buys time for Demko to develop

 

These are exactly the kind of moves you make when you're a rebuilding team. Signing depth at reasonable term and dollars to keep the team from being an absolute joke night in, night out gives the youth already on the team the support it needs to not lose sight of the fact that this is indeed a young team that is going to be learning as they go.

Yakupov has not developed one bit since his rookie year, he's still the same player without the necessary on ice attributes needed to make him successful in the league. It's not just Benning, it's 30 other NHL GMs who see the same flaws and are unwilling to give a 23 year old UFA. He wasn't even qualified by the team who could have retained him as a RFA.

Subban. I hear people clamoring over Subban, saying he's not getting a fair shot. He's 22 years old. He's not the phenom his brother PK is. He's also 12 pounds lighter and 1 inch smaller than Stecher who would be his closest comparable on this team. He's also a lot less capable defensively than Stecher. He's simply not ready, and hasn't shown in past that he has what it takes to play at the NHL level given his stature. 26 years of age also happens to be the mean age in which NHL defensemen enter their prime years of play, he's still 4 years away from that. Maybe this year he shows more, maybe not.

Benning also did not have to "justify" the Kesler trade. He was dealing with a disgruntled player who gave a single team for him to deal with. The fact that Benning managed to get any assets at all worth speaking about is pretty decent. I have no regrets about that trade, and Kesler hasn't done much since going to Anaheim at any rate.

From day one, Benning has had a plan. To date, that plan has achieved the following:

Players traded, or other wise left via UFA:

 

• Ryan Kesler
• Chris Higgins
• Jason Garrison
• Zack Kassian
• Kevin Bieksa
• Dan Hamhuis
• Jannik Hansen
• David Booth
• Alexandre Burrows
• Roberto Luongo

 

Players and prospects he's acquired:

 

• Sven Baertschi
• Brandon Sutter
• Markus Granlund
• Troy Stecher
• Reid Boucher
• Erik Gudbranson
• Brock Boeser
• Derek Dorsett
• Nikolay Goldobin
• Jake Virtanen
• Jacob Markstrom
• Jonathan Dahlen
• Olli Juolevi
• Thatcher Demko
• Will Lockwood
• Adam Gaudette

 

The team is significantly younger, and will be significantly more exciting to watch. I for one believe Benning has certainly done enough the past three years, and especially after the most recent entry draft and today's free agency to warrant him seeing through what he's begun.

I probably shouldn't have snatched the low hanging fruit that is your post, but seriously. Stop talking like you know what you're talking about, because you don't.

you my friend are the type of fan I would love to grab a beer with

[DallasDrake]

Lets see how he handles western conference.

[bobbyg43]

41 minutes ago, DallasDrake said:

Lets see how he handles western conference.

Exactly ,

he fills Sbissa An Tryamkins skates?

offensive D-man ?

 

May be okay price is bit of value perhaps the thing I worry is can he play D in his own zone?

 

I have a few flyer

fan friends whom have said it did not pain them to see Delzotto go. They also indicated he rode the pine a lot,  on a eastern conference team to boot.

This is the only signing that purturbs me a bit by Jim.

 

I think Jim could have done bit better than Delzzotto here , but hope coach Green can work with him?

[theo5789]

2 minutes ago, bobbyg43 said:

Exactly ,

he fills Sbissa An Tryamkins skates?

offensive D-man ? May be okay price is bit of value perhaps the thing I worry is can he play D in his own zone? I have a few flyer friends whom have said it did not pain them to see Delzotto go. They also indicated he rode the pine a lot,  on a eastern conference team to boot.

This is the only signing that purturbs me a bit by Jim.

 

I think Jim could have done bit better than Delzzotto here , but hope coach Green can work with him?

There have been plenty of players and coaches that CDC were glad to let go and they either turned it around on another team immediately or progressively got better. Opinions change when they see them having success elsewhere.

 

At the term and price, especially no trade restrictions, I can't see how Benning could've done any better based on the market available. There are questions about his personal life, but hopefully that's in the past.

 

He isn't filling anyone's shoes. Benning had stated that they are retooling the back end and are trying to be more mobile. It almost seems that Benning is glad that Sbisa was taken which opened up cap and room for change.

[CanadianRugby]

13 hours ago, VanGnome said:

These are exactly the kind of moves you make when you're a rebuilding team. Signing depth at reasonable term and dollars to keep the team from being an absolute joke night in, night out gives the youth already on the team the support it needs to not lose sight of the fact that this is indeed a young team that is going to be learning as they go.

 

I don't have a problem with most of what you said, these are ok signings.  All the guys signed are role players, unless Gagne suddenly is going to have 50 point seasons regularly.  Canucks needed to add players to replace the AHLers that shouldn't have been on the NHL, unless you're tanking.  I only wish we got size because our forwards are tiny and we lost Tryamkin & Sbisa too.  No matter who we got, we needed to get someone to make sure our prospects aren't given anything for free, or rushed before they're ready.

 

What you say though about winning games, that 23rd is better for rookies than 29th.  People say that a lot on CDC like it's a fact that coming 2nd last feels so much better than 7th last.  I think 23rd and 29th both suck to go through, 23rd had 5 more wins last year.  Do 5 more wins make it a non-demoralizing season?  I don't think so, not enough anyway to be worth the cost of going from 12.1% to 5.4% of getting Rasmus Dahlin. That's what this team needs, stars.  Toronto went from dead last to a 95 point season and it wasn't just Matthews that lit it up for their youngsters, so obviously losing can't ruin a team that bad to come in last if you have a plan ready.  

[captaincowbasher]

On 7/1/2017 at 9:06 AM, ItsMillerTime said:

replacement for sbisa

absolutely, but way better, this could be the changing off the guard as Boesser, Horvat, Ganger, MDZ and Stech could be the 1st line PP. The woeful Sedins and Edler could be the 2nd line PP. It's about time...

[canucksuberalles]

1 hour ago, CanadianRugby said:

I don't have a problem with most of what you said, these are ok signings.  All the guys signed are role players, unless Gagne suddenly is going to have 50 point seasons regularly.  Canucks needed to add players to replace the AHLers that shouldn't have been on the NHL, unless you're tanking.  I only wish we got size because our forwards are tiny and we lost Tryamkin & Sbisa too.  No matter who we got, we needed to get someone to make sure our prospects aren't given anything for free, or rushed before they're ready.

 

What you say though about winning games, that 23rd is better for rookies than 29th.  People say that a lot on CDC like it's a fact that coming 2nd last feels so much better than 7th last.  I think 23rd and 29th both suck to go through, 23rd had 5 more wins last year.  Do 5 more wins make it a non-demoralizing season?  I don't think so, not enough anyway to be worth the cost of going from 12.1% to 5.4% of getting Rasmus Dahlin. That's what this team needs, stars.  Toronto went from dead last to a 95 point season and it wasn't just Matthews that lit it up for their youngsters, so obviously losing can't ruin a team that bad to come in last if you have a plan ready.  

Yeah sure fine.  I think tho, Benning has determined that we cant put faith in a "lottery" system and is now going full in on FA and trades if need be. A lot of these signings are buying time until the kids develop and that we dont completely suck.

[erkayloomeh]

On 7/1/2017 at 10:15 AM, Outsiders said:

They Obviously don't think Juolevi is ready for the NHL full time yet. Allows him to develop and physically mature. I bet they are thinking. 1 year of junior, 1 season in the AHL with a call up at the trade deadline when they deal Del Zotto. Good not to rush him smart move

Can't OJ play in the ahl already! Has his play outgrown Junior? 

[Spoosh]

I'm personally happy with del Zotto over Sbisa next year.

 

I have been hoping for us to get him for years now, so I'm very excited about this.

 

Would have been nice to have him here a few years ago, but you can't get everything you want right away. I learned this over time when I grew up. 

[erkayloomeh]

On 7/1/2017 at 4:12 PM, terrible.dee said:

What is the point of these signings?

 

Besides unintended proof that Dim Jim still thinks the exact same thing he did the day he walked through the doors 4 years ago,

 

That he was going to throw some money around patch a few holes and were right back in the playoffs,

 

This guy isn't that smart, he doesn't get it. He's the guy who justified the Kesler return with "Bonino replaces Ryan's 20 G right there," and for Sbisa, my personal favorite "We don't got no defenseman"

 

Well, here we go with more of the same BS, instead of Subban getting a shot, we'll watch a disinterested Delzaster blunder his way around the ice,

 

Instead of a legit opportunity like Yak, or an in-house asset like Goldy we'll see a guy who legitimately doesn't give a ^$%@ like Burmistrov bring his poisonous attitude to our locker room...I don't think there is a worse player he could have signed.

 

I would say this is a job-scared GM, trying to hot shot his team in hopes of not getting fired, but no, this is business as usual for the Vancouver Canucks

 

Trev was my hero as a kid, and can still do no wrong in my eyes, it would be my NHL dream to see him hoist the cup, if not as a player than the President.

 

This whole Jim Benning era is a bad joke that won't end,

 

He's not smart enough to manage a hockey team, I could see that from his first interview

 

I just hope when he's finally gone Tre isn't gone with him, but I suppose that's a given

 

How could it go this wrong for so long?

 

 

The point of these signings is improve depth and overall skill and competition as well. 

If these signings move us up the standings even 5 spots I'm happy with it. 

Picture yourself a young player and losing almost every night. 

It's important for us and the young players to be a somewhat competitive team

 

[cripplereh]

well this signing is great as we have more help getting more goals and for me that is one thing from last year that should make us a better team.Del Zotta still has years left and has shown he is a good nhl D man who can make good plays as Gangner.We had so many one goal games and these moves will get us closer to winning those games.Benning and Linden I agree should be kept to see the rebuild threw which at best should be two more years.This signing is either to help the young guys get better to take over, or like I said with gagner a TDL player to be moved,either way I am happy!