RWJC Posted September 9, 2023 Share Posted September 9, 2023 Alex Edler Not Looking To Retire Yet September 9th, 2023 at 11:42am CST • By Brian La Rose Veteran defenseman Alex Edler has had a long and successful career as a capable shutdown blueliner. However, at 37, he’s coming off a year that saw him in a very limited role so some had wondered if his playing days were coming to an end. While he doesn’t have a contract or tryout yet, that doesn’t appear to be Edler’s plan as Jeff Paterson of The Hockey News reports (Twitter link) that the rearguard is hoping to play in 2023-24. Edler spent the bulk of his 17-year NHL career with Vancouver and had a 14-year stretch that saw him average a minimum of 20 minutes per night while recording at least 20 points in 13 of those. Not too many blueliners have that type of longevity. However, after an injury-riddled 2020-21 campaign, the Canucks opted to move on. He quickly landed with Los Angeles for the 2021-22 campaign, inking a deal worth up to $3.5MM with bonuses. While Edler played well in limited action (he spent nearly three months on LTIR), he opted to forego testing the market last summer, instead signing for the league minimum with another $750K in potential bonuses, a deal that gave the Kings some extra flexibility to work with. Unfortunately for Edler, last season wasn’t particularly strong. While he stayed healthy, he found himself a frequent scratch and when he did suit up, his ice time was limited to just 14:46 per game, by far his lowest ATOI since his rookie campaign back in 2006-07. Edler saw a bit of playoff action but his ice time was capped even lower. Basically, his performance last year wasn’t strong enough to command a guaranteed contract through the first two-plus months of free agency. At this point of his career, Edler is likely to be relegated to the type of role he had last season as a sixth or seventh option who isn’t an every-game player. Those players still have their uses but it would need to be on a team-friendly contract that is at or near the minimum without bonuses. In the meantime, not too many of those deals are handed out at this point of the summer so if Edler wants to extend his career to an 18th NHL campaign, he may have to go the PTO route to do so. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post RWJC Posted September 9, 2023 Author Popular Post Share Posted September 9, 2023 Not saying he’s an option but would be nice to see him retire in our jersey 5 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil_314 Posted September 9, 2023 Share Posted September 9, 2023 PTO at the very least. See if he still has enough in the tank to be an improvement over a (so far) fringe defender in Wolanin or an upstart prospect in Hirose. If he can stabilize Myers as a parting gift to us, then even better. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyone Posted September 9, 2023 Share Posted September 9, 2023 IF he'd do it... sign him up for Abby to mentor the young guns. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Korea Bob.Loblaw Posted September 9, 2023 Share Posted September 9, 2023 He has actually upheld decent underlying numbers even this year. But you know how we all complained about how he looked absolutely cooked three years ago? I know that Kings fans had it even worse and were happy to see him go. I just can't see many teams wanting to sign a left-handed D-man as slow as Edler. We certainly don't need him. Imagine waiving Rathbone because we wanted to use Edler instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Korea Bob.Loblaw Posted September 9, 2023 Share Posted September 9, 2023 16 minutes ago, Phil_314 said: PTO at the very least. See if he still has enough in the tank to be an improvement over a (so far) fringe defender in Wolanin or an upstart prospect in Hirose. If he can stabilize Myers as a parting gift to us, then even better. An improvement? In Edler you'll get a sound defender who can hit, block, and move the puck. You'll also get someone who is slower than your grandma in a wheelchair and will get into penalty trouble because of it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuck73_3 Posted September 9, 2023 Share Posted September 9, 2023 24 minutes ago, grumpyone said: IF he'd do it... sign him up for Abby to mentor the young guns. He's still an NHL player, zero chance he signs to play in the A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuck73_3 Posted September 9, 2023 Share Posted September 9, 2023 13 minutes ago, Bob.Loblaw said: He has actually upheld decent underlying numbers even this year. But you know how we all complained about how he looked absolutely cooked three years ago? I know that Kings fans had it even worse and were happy to see him go. I just can't see many teams wanting to sign a left-handed D-man as slow as Edler. We certainly don't need him. Imagine waiving Rathbone because we wanted to use Edler instead. Rathbone at this point is AHL fodder at best and significantly worse defensively than Edler and it's not even remotely close, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeNiro Posted September 9, 2023 Share Posted September 9, 2023 Only place he would have is on the bottom pair with Myers. I don’t even wanna entertain that thought. Soucy and Myers should be the bottom pair. And the idea of Edler finishing out his career in the press box just makes me sad. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWJC Posted September 9, 2023 Author Share Posted September 9, 2023 3 minutes ago, DeNiro said: Only place he would have is on the bottom pair with Myers. I don’t even wanna entertain that thought. Soucy and Myers should be the bottom pair. And the idea of Edler finishing out his career in the press box just makes me sad. He’s likely to finish out his career in a press box elsewhere too though, so why not it be with us. A 1 year league min contract would be great. Then transition him (if he wants) into a consultant/advisor for eventual/up and coming D (like Pettersson, Willander, etc) and the Swedish contingent in Abby. It would be a good full circle career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeNiro Posted September 9, 2023 Share Posted September 9, 2023 Just now, RWJC said: He’s likely to finish out his career in a press box elsewhere too though, so why not it be with us. A 1 year league min contract would be great. Then transition him (if he wants) into a consultant/advisor for eventual/up and coming D (like Pettersson, Willander, etc) and the Swedish contingent in Abby. It would be a good full circle career. Yea but we don’t have to watch him night after night sit up there. Just leave his legacy here the way it is, no need to tarnish it. We also don’t need to be blocking our younger players path to the NHL. Hirose, Brisebois, and Rathbone all deserve a chance to prove they can play in the NHL. And if they’re not ready Irwin is more than capable of filling in. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-AJ- Posted September 9, 2023 Share Posted September 9, 2023 Would be awesome for Abbotsford, but I'm not sure if he's willing to drop to that level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWJC Posted September 9, 2023 Author Share Posted September 9, 2023 (edited) 23 minutes ago, DeNiro said: Yea but we don’t have to watch him night after night sit up there. Just leave his legacy here the way it is, no need to tarnish it. We also don’t need to be blocking our younger players path to the NHL. Hirose, Brisebois, and Rathbone all deserve a chance to prove they can play in the NHL. And if they’re not ready Irwin is more than capable of filling in. Fair enough, I’d still like to see him come home. Give him a chance to play out the remaining few games of a solid NHL career amongst the fans who still hold him dear. With the Twins and the rest of the Swedish mafia here, to me it just feels like he’s an estranged part of this club. He’s another (limited) depth option if we trade Myers. Still need vet presence on the backend, alongside Irwin, who can assist a younger player in their on ice positioning and how to read plays. He’s slow as molasses sure but so was Schenn, and can best utilize their pairing/partner to be more mobile while guys like Edler hang further back to ensure coverage. We don’t know what’s going to happen this season. I think it’s best to have a couple league min vets on the backend who have the reliable experience to step in as and when needed, knowing full well that their role is just that. Eg. Imagine a mobile Dman like Bear when/if he returns, paired with a guy like Edler (if need be due to injuries). It could work. It’s an option at least. Barring any cap relief though I agree it’s better to go with another option. Even reserve $ for a Bear return. Edited September 9, 2023 by RWJC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Korea Bob.Loblaw Posted September 9, 2023 Share Posted September 9, 2023 44 minutes ago, canuck73_3 said: Rathbone at this point is AHL fodder at best and significantly worse defensively than Edler and it's not even remotely close, For sure, but you'd also have to place Edler ahead of all the other LDs to justify signing him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuck73_3 Posted September 9, 2023 Share Posted September 9, 2023 17 minutes ago, Bob.Loblaw said: For sure, but you'd also have to place Edler ahead of all the other LDs to justify signing him. at or around league minimum he can easily be a 6/7 guy with someone like Brisebois rotating in and out of the lineup pending strengths and rest days/back to backs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBatch Posted September 9, 2023 Share Posted September 9, 2023 (edited) Sign him got one day and let him retire a Canuck to appease the masses. Maybe a PTO, but why set either side up for disappointment. He was good for LA when Doughty went down two years ago and received a lot of praise for it. That was his last hurrah though. Some players, just don't know when to quit. Others like Roy and Borque do, and go out on top, well before any serious decline. Roy had two of his best seasons before he hung them up, worthy of Hart consideration and Vezina. Borque of course, a cup and a runner up for the Norris. Edited September 9, 2023 by IBatch 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Korea Bob.Loblaw Posted September 9, 2023 Share Posted September 9, 2023 1 minute ago, canuck73_3 said: at or around league minimum he can easily be a 6/7 guy with someone like Brisebois rotating in and out of the lineup pending strengths and rest days/back to backs The problem with Edler is that LA was happy to let him go and there isn't a team that wants to pick him up. I believe his wife is from here, so that rules out Sweden. If not Vancouver, maybe he should just retire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWJC Posted September 9, 2023 Author Share Posted September 9, 2023 20 minutes ago, IBatch said: Sign him got one day and let him retire a Canuck to appease the masses. Maybe a PTO, but why set either side up for disappointment. He was good for LA when Doughty went down two years ago and received a lot of praise for it. That was his last hurrah though. Some players, just don't know when to quit. Others like Roy and Borque do, and go out on top, well before any serious decline. Roy had two of his best seasons before he hung them up, worthy of Hart consideration and Vezina. Borque of course, a cup and a runner up for the Norris. So what you’re really saying is Edler *could* still be a Norris candidate…? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rekker Posted September 9, 2023 Share Posted September 9, 2023 2 hours ago, Phil_314 said: PTO at the very least This. If he's up for it, why not. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rekker Posted September 9, 2023 Share Posted September 9, 2023 I'm sure Calgary will make an offer. Ex Canuck and all. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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