Confirmed Trade: [VAN/ARI] Ekman-Larsson (12% ret.), Garland for Beagle, Roussel, Eriksson, 9th OA, '22 2nd, '23 7th

[AwesomeInTheory]

Most non-Canucks fans seem generally positive about it. The many constantly negative and toxic Canucks fans who honestly seem to hate everything are unsurprisingly throwing fits.

There are a lot of concerns regarding OEL and how effective he is going to be in Vancouver. The Canucks not being in a prime position to be 'contenders' doesn't help this matter, either, as the timing of a move like this is all wrong.

Picking up Garland is nice. Moving out a laundry list of Benning's mistakes is also nice. But the elephant in the room is OEL and his enormous contract.

The concerns,

- His age. Hockey players tend to decline as they get older and very few enjoy extended longevity like Chris Chelios. Loui Eriksson and his spectacular fall from grace is on folk's minds as another Swedish player the same age as Loui comes to Vancouver on a big money contract.
- Confidence issues. Some Phoenix fans have stated that what could be the issue is that his confidence has eroded/he has felt the pressure to live up to being a captain. He's coming to a hockey mad market where there is going to be an enormous expectation to perform well. Canadian markets in general can be unforgiving, and he might not do well with increased scrutiny if he's already suffering from confidence problems.
- A completely wrong evaluation of the player by management. Benning has been singing OEL's praises quite extensively, going on radio today to state that he felt he would be a perennial Norris trophy candidate had he simply been playing in the Eastern Conference and had no explanation as to why he has struggled as of late. This indicates a disconnect and that he may not be wholly plugged in to whatever the issue was/is with OEL's performance issues. This is made worse when taking into account his history of badly misjudging defensemen who are of a similar pedigree (Gudbranson and Sbisa are the two that immediately come to mind here.)
- The fact that the Canucks D corps is, charitably, a dumpster fire. I am concerned that OEL is not going to be put into a position to succeed and is going to be utilized as a #1 defenseman without any real supporting players/depth on the backline. Schmidt, Myers, OEL and Hughes make up our top 4, with Juolevi, Rathbone and (possibly) Hamonic rounding things out.
- Injury concerns. There have been concerns raised regarding his skating from being injured.

He is probably going to be fine in the short term, but the issue is that there are a lot of things that need to go right for OEL to be fine, and the Canucks are not exactly positioned as a team that is going to do damage in the playoffs.

These moves are more about making the Canucks capable of making the playoffs vs being playoff contenders and only in the short term. Medium to longterm, this move doesn't really move the needle for the team.

 

[CanadianCoyote]

Not sure how Canucks can be dissapointed with this one, yeah they lose a 9 OA pick. But certainly get a top defender that's gonna be a top defender for many years while getting rid of the Eriksson contract.

They also could have drafted Guenther with that 9OA pick, though. OEL is not good anymore, and while losing Garland sucks, I think drafting a dude that's essentially Garland but bigger is a good consolation prize.

And all of their dumps to us are for one season, while they're saddled with nearly a decade of OEL and lost out on Guenther in the process. That's pretty damn disappointing to most organizations.

 

[CloutierForVezina]

Not sure how Canucks can be dissapointed with this one, yeah they lose a 9 OA pick. But certainly get a top defender that's gonna be a top defender for many years while getting rid of the Eriksson contract.



I mean we've seen him play for more than 10 years on the highest level. Canucks should know what they get.

You're not sure how the Canucks can be disappointed? Really?

We just got through a 5 year slog of boat anchor contract after boat anchor contract, which crippled our ability to field a competitive team. We couldn't even re-sign the players we threw picks at to acquire like Toffoli, or the players who single handedly held our entire defense together like Tanev.

After that nightmare we finally started seeing some light in the distance - the contracts were almost up. We were almost free. And now we've got a broken down OEL weighing 7M on the cap for the next 6 years on top of Myers already eating 6M on the cap. That's 13M of the cap on 2 defensemen who can't defend to save their lives when we've already got one of the brightest young pure offensive defensemen in the league in Hughes.

We were so close to being free of bad contracts and we just doubled down and opted into another 6 years of cap hell to fill a hole we didn't even have.

Jesus tap dancing christ this franchise is a trainwreck. This is the second year in a row we haven't even had a 1st round pick despite just finishing at the very bottom of the worst division in the league.


I would love nothing more than for OEL to come in here rejuvenated and healthy and playing like he did 5 years ago. That version of OEL was easily worth his current contract. But the trend has only been downhill in recent years and players rarely win the fight against Father Time.

 

[Lonny Bohonos]

Aren't we all. It seems to be as close to an even trade as you can get. I really do believe both clubs benefit. Arizona is building for the future, and the Canucks are looking for results right now. Both accomplish their goals with this trade.

Basically the gist of it.

Vancouver, right or wrong, habe decided now is the time to go for it.

And by go for it I mean realistically making the playoffs and maybe winning a round or two. Competing for the cup? Not likely.

But long terms they are back to the rebuild in a few years times likely.

 

[Lonny Bohonos]

You're not sure how the Canucks can be disappointed? Really?

We just got through a 5 year slog of boat anchor contract after boat anchor contract, which crippled our ability to field a competitive team. We couldn't even re-sign the players we threw picks at to acquire like Toffoli, or the players who single handedly held our entire defense together like Tanev.

After that nightmare we finally started seeing some light in the distance - the contracts were almost up. We were almost free. And now we've got a broken down OEL weighing 7M on the cap for the next 6 years on top of Myers already eating 6M on the cap. That's 13M of the cap on 2 defensemen who can't defend to save their lives when we've already got one of the brightest young pure offensive defensemen in the league in Hughes.

We were so close to being free of bad contracts and we just doubled down and opted into another 6 years of cap hell to fill a hole we didn't even have.

Jesus tap dancing christ this franchise is a trainwreck. This is the second year in a row we haven't even had a 1st round pick despite just finishing at the very bottom of the worst division in the league.


I would love nothing more than for OEL to come in here rejuvenated and healthy and playing like he did 5 years ago. That version of OEL was easily worth his current contract. But the trend has only been downhill in recent years and players rarely win the fight against Father Time.

Unless the Canucks can turn guys like Miller and Garland into picks ina couple of years the lack of picks will hurt us for sure.

Not including the development lag, even if we manage to recoup picks in a few years.

 

[Bounces R Way]

One of those trades that could go several different ways. A little bit Benning desperate to save his job, and honestly it could work out that he did just that with this trade. My opinion of Benning is very poor so even in my mind if the Canucks win, they lose.

 

[NoelVilla]

If OEL can find his game playing with better players then this can be huge for the Canucks.
Arizona is going to suck this year.

 

[Buresflyingelbow]

Basically the gist of it.

Vancouver, right or wrong, habe decided now is the time to go for it.

And by go for it I mean realistically making the playoffs and maybe winning a round or two. Competing for the cup? Not likely.

But long terms they are back to the rebuild in a few years times likely.

Watching a core grow can be painful. Adding to it is necessary. We added Garland, Dickinson and Podkolzin this offseason. OEL is a cherry hopefully. Jim would have won the hand tonight in my eyes.

 

[Petey But Really Jim]

I think I am happy with this trade. The concensus I see is:
1. We have a good young core now.
2. We are no longer in a rebuild.
3. Downside is that we are giving up our future (draft picks and the prospect cupboard is bare) to be strong today. The worry is it might not be strong enough to be cup worthy.
4. We have gotten rid of most of our dead weight.
5. Sutter is the last real dead weight and his contract is up. (Jim, please don't give Sutter anything more than $1.3, or $1.5M at most, in which case he might be a break even).

If we can build chemistry and get good seasons out of the guys who have potential that are not currently living up to that potential (think Myers, Pearson, Holtby, Schmidt, and Juolevi) and OEL can bounce back (his healed injuries mean he is not ever going to be at his prime again) to be a strong top 4D, then....we might have a team that is cup worthy now.

Assuming the above works, we have three very strong forward lines and Motte on the 4th. We have 6 potentially very solid D (and hopefully Hamonic as 7D). We have a 3 good goaltenders.

Let's have a breakout season.

Might not be strong enough for a cup? Oh good lord in heaven.

 

[Connor McConnor]

So i dont wanna read 40 pages of this thread... anyone wanna summarize the consensus? My gut is Vancouver just traded a handful of energy cards for two holographics.

Canucks give up all of their cap space next year for a massive gamble on a oel rebound, even though he will most definitely be an anchor contract in the later years. The sweetener for them was garland who they essentially gave up 9oa for.

 

[Lonny Bohonos]

Watching a core grow can be painful. Adding to it is necessary. We added Garland, Dickinson and Podkolzin this offseason. OEL is a cherry hopefully. Jim would have won the hand tonight in my eyes.

Maybe. But winning teams have cores at their peak and suppliment that with great players on ELC.

The issue is our great ELCs are running out now or in the next two years

As for Podkolzin we havent added him. Its not a given he plays in Vancouver and not Abbottsford.

This trade does however make clear that "winning" ie making the playoffs in the next two years is the goal.

After that?

Again depends on how management flips players for picks as we have been trading away our picks and the prospect cupboard is increasingly bare.

 

[Ice Mammoth]

I am not a fan of these two clubs. It's hard for me to judge this deal correctly.
Of one thing, I'm sure. Bill Armstrong works in place of Ron Francis. Arizona's third deal is Ron Francis's third setback.
For me Antoine Roussel + Jay Beagle = John Doe + John Doe. Now we know the real cost of the exchange.
Canucks was in talks with Kraken ahead of the expansion draft (Holtby?). Ron Francis could get 9OA.

The real deal:
Vancouver: Oliver Ekman-Larsson + Conor Garland.
Arizona: Loui Eriksson + Antoine Roussel + Jay Beagle + 9OA + 2023 7th + 2022 2nd

Proposed deal:
Vancouver: No return.
Seattle: Loui Eriksson + Antoine Roussel + Jay Beagle + Kole Lind + 9OA + (Braden Holtby ???)

If you compare the two deals, which one is more suitable for Vancouver?
Compare with the real deal (9OA!!!). Who adds?

I dont know.

 

[Siludin]

Maybe. But winning teams have cores at their peak and suppliment that with great players on ELC.

The issue is our great ELCs are running out now or in the next two years

As for Podkolzin we havent added him. Its not a given he plays in Vancouver and not Abbottsford.

This trade does however make clear that "winning" ie making the playoffs in the next two years is the goal.

After that?

Again depends on how management flips players for picks as we have been trading away our picks and the prospect cupboard is increasingly bare.

Canucks ELCs aren't running out... Hoglander, Rathbone, Podkolzin all on ELCs? How many ELCs are you penciling into a playoff roster? I don't want to waste the core's prime years waiting for Guenther draft to make an impact in 2024/2025...

 

[GranvilleIsland]

They also could have drafted Guenther with that 9OA pick, though. OEL is not good anymore, and while losing Garland sucks, I think drafting a dude that's essentially Garland but bigger is a good consolation prize.

And all of their dumps to us are for one season, while they're saddled with nearly a decade of OEL and lost out on Guenther in the process. That's pretty damn disappointing to most organizations.

Yes 6 rounds up to 10.

 

[Lonny Bohonos]

Canucks ELCs aren't running out... Hoglander, Rathbone, Podkolzin all on ELCs? How many ELCs are you penciling into a playoff roster? I don't want to waste the core's prime years waiting for Guenther draft to make an impact in 2024/2025...

Did you read my post???

 

[Petey But Really Jim]

I am not a fan of these two clubs. It's hard for me to judge this deal correctly.
Of one thing, I'm sure. Bill Armstrong works in place of Ron Francis. Arizona's third deal is Ron Francis's third setback.
For me Antoine Roussel + Jay Beagle = John Doe + John Doe. Now we know the real cost of the exchange.
Canucks was in talks with Kraken ahead of the expansion draft (Holtby?). Ron Francis could get 9OA.

The real deal:
Vancouver: Oliver Ekman-Larsson + Conor Garland.
Arizona: Loui Eriksson + Antoine Roussel + Jay Beagle + 9OA + 2023 7th + 2022 2nd

Proposed deal:
Vancouver: No return.
Seattle: Loui Eriksson + Antoine Roussel + Jay Beagle + Kole Lind + 9OA + (Braden Holtby ???)

If you compare the two deals, which one is more suitable for Vancouver?
Compare with the real deal (9OA!!!). Who adds?

I dont know.

Jim Benning would have hurt the franchise less by just giving the 9th overall away for future considerations and never collecting on them.

 

[lawrence]

First off I will say, still not a Benning supporter, would rather him replaced, however I like the the team more than disliking Benning, this is what I think.

2 years ago Dubas traded 1st round pick to get rid of 1 year of Marleau's 6 million dollar contract left. Dubas didn't get anything else in return. However Carolina only had to deal with one year left of Marleaus contract and he was essentially bought out. the trade was the Canes literally buying a 1st round pick, as the Leafs faced cap issues.

To Toronto : Nothing
To Carolina : 1st round pick, Patrick Marleau with 1 year left of 6 million.

Today

To Vancouver : OEL, 6 years left of 8.2 million but its 12% retained Connor Garland so 7.2 million for OEL.
To Arizona : 1st rounder 2nd rounder, 7th rounder. Beagle 1 year left of 3 million, Rouselle 1 year left of 3 million and Ericsson 1 year left of 6.5 million.

although we also gave up a 1st round pick, and 1 bad contract, the Canucks were able to add on 2 more bad contracts, in return, the canucks actually get something in return unlike the Leafs trade. The Canucks get Larrson and actually a young player in Garland.

Now right now the Canucks do get a top 4 dman in return, and a top 4 wingers, these are facts, Larrson can very much become a new Ericsson, no argument here we will have to see, Garland seems very excited like super excited to come to Van as he compared us and Vegas as the 2 teams outside of Arizona he would love to play in. Garland played on their top line.

to be honest, I think Benning did pretty good here now.

Now I won't get into If this is is the right move for the team of the Vancouver Canucks? I'm going to stay out of this one, personally, I wanted us to keep the pick, I would love Guenther, ask me again, I would prefer Guenther, save the 1st and naturally let the bad contracts of Louis, Beagle and Rouselle just fall off in 10 months from now, keep our 1st, keep our 2nd next year and 7th.

But overall I think Jim Benning, Love him or hate him, he did pretty well.

 

[Petey But Really Jim]

Lol

 

[geebaan]

Did anyone here even watch OEL play? He’s not anything like his 87 rating on NHL21 would suggest.

 

[CanadianCoyote]

Did anyone here even watch OEL play? He’s not anything like his 87 rating on NHL21 would suggest.

Exactly; he's worse. And going into his 30's. As a defenseman. Who's signed for most of the next decade.

Meanwhile, we take a couple of not great contracts for one season and get effectively Guenther and a couple of other draft picks.

Unless Van's really high on Garland and was willing to eat OEL's term, I don't see any way this is a "Canucks W".

 

[BrilliantBroReferee]

I'm curious where does Jimbo get the cap next year to sign: Brock, Bo and Miller. He will need at least 21m. Like in 2019-2020, he loaded for 1 year after missing the year before.

 

[yabanjin]

When I first glanced at the headline announcing the trade, all I saw was Canucks trade 9OA for OEL. Naturally i was furious. But then i saw JB also got rid of Eriksson, Beagle and Roussel's contracts. I started calming down. Noticed that the canucks gave up a 2nd round and 7th round, hmm not good. Oh wait, Garland? yes, that is nice acquisition. I go to capfriendly. Hey, how come it lists OEL cap hit at 7.2? i thought it was 8.5? oh, i see that Arizona retains. 1.3 million in salary. hmm.
-
Now, if OEL has a decent few years, this isn't bad. I am not sure this is the albatross contract people say. Unlike Eriksson, I expect OEL will play. and if he declines dramatically due to age, possible buyout. if declines to due to injury, possible LTIR relief.


Canucks have improved their cap situation substantially, even without buyouts, which are surely coming. there should now be money to sign EP, QH, and Garland plus add 2-3 good pieces.

For sure this is a short term gain. I am not sure the long term will be as painful as some assume though.

The loss of the 9OA hurts.

But I am not angry any more.

 

[alternate]

I'm curious where does Jimbo get the cap next year to sign: Brock, Bo and Miller. He will need at least 21m. Like in 2019-2020, he loaded for 1 year after missing the year before.

Only Bo needs to be signed next year. He makes almost $6m AAV now. He will get a raise, but likely an 8 year deal that will keep the AAV manageable.

 

[yabanjin]

I'm curious where does Jimbo get the cap next year to sign: Brock, Bo and Miller. He will need at least 21m. Like in 2019-2020, he loaded for 1 year after missing the year before.

Bo and Miller expire year after next, 2022-2023. anyway, he doesn't need 21m additional dollars, he just needs the incremental amount.

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

Exactly; he's worse. And going into his 30's. As a defenseman. Who's signed for most of the next decade.

Meanwhile, we take a couple of not great contracts for one season and get effectively Guenther and a couple of other draft picks.

Unless Van's really high on Garland and was willing to eat OEL's term, I don't see any way this is a "Canucks W".

Has OELs skating declined? Can he not think the game anymore? Is he just not at his peak mentally?

The strength of his game has always been reading the game, and then skating. If he's more rejuvenated coming here it could be big upside. If not would u agree he's atleast a solid 2nd pair D that's overpaid.

Garland seems like a younger Brendan Gallagher type, or atleast some similar attributes. And we definitely need that.

OEL is a real wildcard but Garland is a good bet & could be here long term. Worst case if OEL disappoints Garland should salvage the trade.