[Proposal] 2019-20 Opening night roster

[Eastsidenuck]

There is no secret that the Canucks roster needs to look moderately different by the beginning of next season if they would be seriously capable of competing for a playoff spot. My proposal sums up what changes could be made this offseason through trade/draft/free agency. Without dreaming too much, I hope the beginning of next years roster looks like this (which I believe is relatively conceivable) :

 

Anders Lee-EP40-Boeser

Brandon Saad-Bo-Kasperi Kapanen

Pearson-Chris Tierney-Leivo

Rousell-Beags-Macewen

 

Edler-Justin Faulk

Quinn-Stecher 

Marcus Pettersson-Anton Stralman

 

Marky

Demko

 

2019 1st rounder: Cole Caufield

 

Obviously, the players left off of the roster I proposed are players that would be traded for who is on this new roster. What would your opening roster for next season look like?

 

[Guest]

I just can’t take lineups like this seriously without seeing the actual proposals for guys, and I know I’m not the only one. 

[48MPHSlapShot]

Not sold on drafting someone as small as Caufield with our 1st rd pick. Yes, I know skill > size and all that, but he's absolutely tiny, and we've already taken a couple of smallish guys with our last couple of 1st rd picks. Anders Lee might be a decent pickup as a free agent signing and I'd be totally game with putting a package together for Kapanen, but I don't know if making a deal for Faulk is the direction I'd go. 

[gameburn]

I love that you have this going already, because this is a nice time of the year to think about WHO SHOULD NOT RETURN.  As for who we might get... let's go with most of yours...

 

Anders Lee -- EP40 -- Boeser -- 

Pearson -- Horvat -- Virtanen

Roussel -- Gaudette -- Leivo

Schaller -- Beagle -- MacEwen

 

Hughes -- Rafferty

Juolevi -- Faulk

Stralman -- Woo

Hutton/ Schenn

 

Marky

Demko

 

And, you are right about the Draft.  Even if we pick at 9 or 10, we still have a chance at picking a center who could start next season.  If we choose higher than that... it's even more assured.   Newhook, Lavoie, Suzuki look like safer bets than Caufield... and of course if we could get Hughes, Cozens or Dach, or (my choice, after Hughes) Newhook, I think we'd be in a great spot.  Gaudette isn't in the same class as any of these guys imo, and Sutter is injured too much, so these guys would all be high on my list if I were Benning.  He doubtless has a D or two on that list too. 

 

Guys to go: Edler, Tanev, Sutter, Schaller, Baertschi, Pouliot, Sautner, etc.  Not sure if they yield much in return, but in the case of Edler, Tanev and Baertschi, you'd hope for a couple of 2nd round picks at least.  

 

Your point about Stralman and Faulk is interesting... better bets than Edler imo, and a fresh start for all.

 

Edited April 8, 2019 by gameburn

[Down by the River]

28 minutes ago, 48MPHSlapShot said:

Not sold on drafting someone as small as Caufield with our 1st rd pick. Yes, I know skill > size and all that, but he's absolutely tiny, and we've already taken a couple of smallish guys with our last couple of 1st rd picks. Anders Lee might be a decent pickup as a free agent signing and I'd be totally game with putting a package together for Kapanen, but I don't know if making a deal for Faulk is the direction I'd go. 

I had Justin Faulk in my fantasy team and he was great... but I also watched some Hurricanes games and he seemed defensively inept. 

[elvis15]

Says roster needs to look moderately different, proposes 18 man lineup with 7 new players.

[NewbieCanuckFan]

22 minutes ago, gameburn said:

I love that you have this going already, because this is a nice time of the year to think about WHO SHOULD NOT RETURN.  As for who we might get... let's go with most of yours...

 

Anders Lee -- EP40 -- Boeser -- 

Pearson -- Horvat -- Virtanen

Roussel -- Gaudette -- Leivo

Schaller -- Beagle -- MacEwen

 

Hughes -- Rafferty

Juolevi -- Faulk

Stralman -- Woo

Hutton/ Schenn

 

Marky

Demko

 

And, you are right about the Draft.  Even if we pick at 9 or 10, we still have a chance at picking a center who could start next season.  If we choose higher than that... it's even more assured.   Newhook, Lavoie, Suzuki look like safer bets than Caufield... and of course if we could get Hughes, Cozens or Dach, or (my choice, after Hughes) Newhook, I think we'd be in a great spot.  Gaudette isn't in the same class as any of these guys imo, and Sutter is injured too much, so these guys would all be high on my list if I were Benning.  He doubtless has a D or two on that list too. 

 

Guys to go: Edler, Tanev, Sutter, Schaller, Baertschi, Pouliot, Sautner, etc.  Not sure if they yield much in return, but in the case of Edler, Tanev and Baertschi, you'd hope for a couple of 2nd round picks at least.  

 

Your point about Stralman and Faulk is interesting... better bets than Edler imo, and a fresh start for all.

 

Three NHL rookies on the blueline (top six)?  I don't see that happening at all unless the team is going all in on 'team tank'.  Hughes will probably be the only one of the three.

[Eastsidenuck]

42 minutes ago, Stamkos said:

I just can’t take lineups like this seriously without seeing the actual proposals for guys, and I know I’m not the only one. 

Free agent signings:

Lee,Stralman

Offer sheet:

Kapanen (surrender 2nd)

Trades in:

saad

faulk

Tierney

out:

baertschi

tanev

virtanen

hutton

gaudette

As for the exact proposal, I’ll let you put that together but none of the incoming players hold enough value to warrant a return that we couldn’t afford. I think these players could really help the Canucks for awhile going forward. Crazier trades have happened but if you want to contribute positively to the thread that would be great 

[gameburn]

29 minutes ago, NewbieCanuckFan said:

Three NHL rookies on the blueline (top six)?  I don't see that happening at all unless the team is going all in on 'team tank'.  Hughes will probably be the only one of the three.

It does sound frightening.  But the D we have had in the lineup this year has, with the exception of Stecher most nights and Hutton some nights, just not been good enough.  Rookies are entirely capable of replacing just about anyone not named Hughes or Stecher.

 

Rafferty looked great the last couple of games.  Better than Pouliot, more upside than Biega.  He will see time on the Canucks whether he starts the season or not.  Brisebois and Sautner did, we had 2 or 3 rookies in at various times this year, just not to start, only after injuries. 

 

Juolevi is a special case, he would have made the team/played half the year here at least if he hadn't been injured.  I see Juolevi as a very likely guy on the Canucks at least by late November.  

 

Woo has a lot of what the Canucks need, he too will see time with the Canucks, no doubt about it.  Whether he starts or not is hard to tell.

 

Hughes is in Pettersson's class, at least in terms of this D.  He has already made the team.

 

I think it is very likely that all 4 will play a lot of minutes for the Canucks next year.  How many START could be different.  

As for the starting line up...

 

I think Tanev and Edler are going to be gone by the Draft.  Hell, they're usually gone by Christmas from injury anyway, lol.  I just don't think you can build a team around a pairing that misses half the season.

 

Pouliot is gone.  Briesebois and Sautner didn't show enough,

Rathbone is a long-shot but might beat out Biega for the 7th or 8th D. As with most of the College guys, he's a bit older, which helps.  Same with Rafferty of course.

Almost certainly the Canucks will get a D FA this summer; I just can't see them missing out on this.

 

In descending order of importance:

Hughes, Stecher, Stralman, Hutton, Juolevi, Rafferty; with Woo and Biega as 4th pairing.  Schenn might start ahead of Woo. Rathbone is a long-shot to start but will probably see a lot of ice time with the Canucks, as they do tend to injure their D. 

So, a difference between the starting D, and the D we have by mid-to-late season. 

[hatedkid666]

1 hour ago, 48MPHSlapShot said:

Not sold on drafting someone as small as Caufield with our 1st rd pick. Yes, I know skill > size and all that, but he's absolutely tiny, and we've already taken a couple of smallish guys with our last couple of 1st rd picks. Anders Lee might be a decent pickup as a free agent signing and I'd be totally game with putting a package together for Kapanen, but I don't know if making a deal for Faulk is the direction I'd go. 

You were team Cody Glass weren't you?

[Nuck1991]

i know one thing for sure

Tanev, pouliet, goldobin, spooner, eriksson, sutter, schaller should NOT be on opening night roster next season. The defense needs big upgrades, cant rely on injury prone, underperforming players. Biega, schenn, sautner, did decent job but should be 7 or 8th d-men. Benning needs to find 2 Rhd. Erik Karlsson should be targetted. People worried abt contract and term, seriously? he is the best defenseman in NHL, 9 mill per for next 6yrs should get the job done, with front loaded contract. Hes elite and has done better job playing on 1 ankle than our entire defense this year.

Edited April 8, 2019 by Nuck1991

[48MPHSlapShot]

3 minutes ago, hatedkid666 said:

You were team Cody Glass weren't you?

Is this the thing that everyone is gonna start jumping to when people suggest that 5'6 and 150 lbs is smaller than they'd like? 

[48MPHSlapShot]

1 hour ago, Down by the River said:

I had Justin Faulk in my fantasy team and he was great... but I also watched some Hurricanes games and he seemed defensively inept. 

He might be a good addition. My problem is with the idea of making a move for him. I'd prefer to either sign someone like Myers without having to cough up any assets or target someone that fits with our core age group a bit better if we go the trade route.

[JM_]

6 minutes ago, Nuck1991 said:

i know one thing for sure

Tanev, pouliet, goldobin, spooner, eriksson, sutter, schaller should NOT be on opening night roster next season. The defense needs big upgrades, cant rely on injury prone, underperforming players. Biega, schenn, sautner, did decent job but should be 7 or 8th d-men. Benning needs to find 2 Rhd. Erik Karlsson should be targetted. People worried abt contract and term, seriously? he is the best defenseman in NHL, 9 mill per for next 6yrs should get the job done, with front loaded contract. Hes elite and has done better job playing on 1 ankle than our entire defense this year.

so you'd play Biega, Schenn and Sautner over Tanev? 

 

It doesn't matter if Karlsson is "targeted" by us, there's zero indication he wants to be here, let alone play on a Canadian team again. 

[Mathew Barzal]

Anders Lee is going to be an Islander come fall.

 

He's was basically anointed captain by the locker room and is a homegrown talent for the Isles. Unless they land Panarin (which they won't) they'll pay up to retain him.

[hatedkid666]

13 minutes ago, 48MPHSlapShot said:

Is this the thing that everyone is gonna start jumping to when people suggest that 5'6 and 150 lbs is smaller than they'd like? 

It just not a good way to think about drafting players thats why chicago got debrincat. The NHL is just catering more and more to the small fast guys, so if he can skate then dont worry about his height.

[xereau]

What is that 8 UFA?  Not very realistic.

Don't be surprised if we get a winger and a D, and if we are really lucky, a journeyman bottom six like Brett Connolly.

[J.I.A.H.N]

42 minutes ago, hatedkid666 said:

It just not a good way to think about drafting players thats why chicago got debrincat. The NHL is just catering more and more to the small fast guys, so if he can skate then dont worry about his height.

Let's watch the playoffs before we start thinking that completely 

[gameburn]

1 hour ago, Nuck1991 said:

i know one thing for sure

Tanev, pouliet, goldobin, spooner, eriksson, sutter, schaller should NOT be on opening night roster next season. The defense needs big upgrades, cant rely on injury prone, underperforming players. Biega, schenn, sautner, did decent job but should be 7 or 8th d-men. Benning needs to find 2 Rhd. Erik Karlsson should be targetted. People worried abt contract and term, seriously? he is the best defenseman in NHL, 9 mill per for next 6yrs should get the job done, with front loaded contract. Hes elite and has done better job playing on 1 ankle than our entire defense this year.

In my opinion, Tanev is done here. Sutter too, and for the same reason.  I WISH Edler were done, but I have a queasy feeling that they will re-sign him and for some ridiculous number of years, like 3.  

Goldobin and Pouliot are gone as well, but not because of injury, as we all know.  Eriksson is an embarrassment -- I suspect they will try to bury him/give him away/ find some way to get him off the books or in Utica.

 

Schaller and Spooner: interesting situation... they work cheap, and both showed some life only at the end of the season, don't envy Benning on this.  Man, we have gone through a LOT of players the last year and a half....  Etam… remember him... Del Zotto… Burmistrov... Chaput and Megna, Brendan Leipsic, Dowd, Darren Archibald, Philip Holm, Dorsett, Anders Nilsson, Sam Gagner… goes on and on.  And contract oddities like Jokinen. 

 

Karlsson would be great... but I don't think he'd chose us over a team with more support.  On the other hand, he has seen Pettersson and Hughes, so he knows things are improving.   Biega was a bit of a surprise -- better than expected, especially offensively -- and Hutton had a comeback year.  So, things improving. With less injuries (to Juolevi as well as the guys on the big team) we'd have won 5 or 6 more games at least. With Karlsson signed and with Hughes, Stecher and Hutton and maybe Juolevi and Rafferty backing him up, the D would be stronger too.  A much quicker team, much better on the pp.  (Hughes alone is good for the pp getting 20 more goals.) 

 

 

Edited April 8, 2019 by gameburn

[J.I.A.H.N]

     October 2019 Line-up                                           October 2020 line-up

       

Ferland -- EP40 -- Boeser --                                 2019 draft pick - EP40 - Boeser

Pearson -- Horvat -- Virtanen                                Pearson - Horvat - Ferland

Roussel -- Gaudette -- Leivo                                 Rousel - Gaudette - Virtanen

Schaller -- Beagle -- Eriksson                               Schaller - Beagle - McEwen

Motte - Sutter                                                        Motte - Madden

 

Hughes -- Myers                                                   Hughes - Myers

Edler -- Stecher                                                     Edler - Stecher

Juolevi -- Tanev                                                     Tryamkin - Woo

Saunter - Schenn                                                  Juolevi - Schenn

 

Marky                                                                     Demko         

Demko                                                                    UFA

 

I do not see Benning buying the farm...….it just isn't in him

 

But in saying that, Ferland is a big up-grade over Goldobin and Myers is a huge up-grade over whoever's turn it is to play RHD this week

 

Benning will go after one of Dach/Zegras/Boldy/Krebs for his 1st 2019 pick. Defensemen with next 2 picks

 

All other players...…...Baertschi, Granlund, Pouliot, Goldobin, Hutton, Spooner, and Biega will be moved or let go this summer (2019)

 

I also see Tanev moved, my gut says asap, my head says next TDL, probably Draft of 2020