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

[LuLover96]

I think we see a rejuvenated, reawakened Canucks next year. A new defensive structure means that Demmer won’t get absolutely murdered every night, so expect his numbers to go up. We have someone to take the defensive load off of Bo in Dickinson, so he should be given more offensive freedom. Expect a big year from him. OEL, while overpaid, can still play. It’s a major risk, but I think he has somewhat of a turnaround season. He can munch minutes, so it takes the pressure off of Huggy in the D and O zones. Expect a big season from him too.

We keep forgetting about Garland too. This is a player that could’ve picked up the ninth overall pick on his own, and is everything we have ever hoped that Hoglander will be. Tenacious, skilled, fast, and high IQ. I imagine Garland has a big, big year with Petey and Brock or Bo and Piggy, and I think we got Hoglander a mentor with this trade.

If Klimovich hits, who is a major boom-or-bust pick, then we have major offensive depth in the coming years.

Miller - Petey - Brock
Garland - Bo - Piggy
Pearson - Dicky - Podz

Young, defensively responsible and high octane top nine.

OEL - Myers
Hughes - Hamonic(?)

We have to wait and see how this top 4 plays. I think OEL and Myers are actually a decent fit together under Brad Shaw, and maybe the defensive inconsistencies can be remedied a bit this season. I think Shaws emphasis on forwards defending will help, but a minute eating top pair is something to be excited for.

There’s a lot of risk this season, but I’m optimistic that things will work out.

 

[LogicalOrca]

So now tell that to Bo Horvat, how many of his prime years do you want to waste here?

Theres the talk of this compressing our window, I'd make the argument the other way. Horvat is a win now player, if we wait 2 more years to start challenging your shortening his window - and he's a massive part of our team ever becoming a contender..

Agree with the Bo Horvat part, but it's also arguable that it would make more sense to shorten Bo/Miller's window by a mere 2 years if it meant extending the window for Pettersson, Hughes, Hoglander, etc. by 6-7. Bo would be effective in his early 30s and our team will be better with Pettersson, Hughes and the rest of our core hitting their prime. And if Bo still decides to leave at this point, fair play to him and we'll get a good younger cheaper version of him through his trade.

5 out of our top 6 forwards are under 26 how isnt that a long term plan with sustainability? might be 6/6 if Podzokain hits.

Since we would hope they all reach their full potential (for obvious reasons), in 3 years we would have Pettersson on $10m+ a year, Hughes at $8m+, Garland/Boeser/Demko at $6m+, and Hoglander/Podkolzin/Rathbone/Juolevi at $4-5m per year, with Horvat and Miller at 6m+ each if they stick around. That's half of our roster taking up $70+ million of our cap space, and we'll still be nowhere near the cup with ELC's and league minimums to rounding out our roster.

Not the best timing for a 34 year old OEL to be taking up almost half of our remaining cap space. Even with a buyout we will be scraping for every penny of cap space we can get for the next few years. Our plan A would be to pray for the cap to go up, which worked out great for us last year.

Now let's say we didn't do this deal. Guenther will be on his ELC taking the place of $6m Garland and without OEL we would save upwards of $12m, more than enough money for us to sign quality depth (or even sign the 2024 version of Pietrangelo) to push us over the top. No doubt we would be in a better position to challenge for the cup compared to today.

What we really lack is RHD which has been beat to death over the past 3 seasons.

We are farther away from getting one after trading our most valuable assets and capping ourselves out without one.

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

Agree with the Bo Horvat part, but it's also arguable that it would make more sense to shorten Bo/Miller's window by a mere 2 years if it meant extending the window for Pettersson, Hughes, Hoglander, etc. by 6-7. Bo would be effective in his early 30s and our team will be better with Pettersson, Hughes and the rest of our core hitting their prime. And if Bo still decides to leave at this point, fair play to him and we'll get a good younger cheaper version of him through his trade.

I don't view these as mutually exclusive though. Pettersson, Hughes & Hoglander are good players that can help u win right now & in the long-term.

Theres no need to shorten anyone's window. Being a legit playoff team that can challenge (and them getting that experience sooner) may lengthen it.

 

[LogicalOrca]

I don't view these as mutually exclusive though. Pettersson, Hughes & Hoglander are good players that can help u win right now & in the long-term.

Theres no need to shorten anyone's window. Being a legit playoff team that can challenge (and them getting that experience sooner) may lengthen it.

Agree with the last point, but right now we have Hoglander, Podkolzin and Rathbone on ELC contributing as our "cheap depth" that every deep contending team should have. When our prospect cupboards are completely empty for the foreseeable future, who will be our "cheap depth" for our window 3 years and beyond?

 

[Kai Yo T]

OEL starting to get scary under rated now.

"He is a big reason why Arizona was awful" - LOL get real.

He's not the only reason, but he was a big reason. Sucked as team Captain, seemed like he didn't care any more, defeated attitude. He checked out when we needed him the most. Granted, coaching among other things didn't help matters. This all trickles down.

Anyways, a fresh start may very well rejuvinate him but he'll never be the same as he used to be. Age and injury have caught up to him.

 

[LogicalOrca]

He's not the only reason, but he was a big reason. Sucked as team Captain, seemed like he didn't care any more, defeated attitude. He checked out when we needed him the most. Granted, coaching among other things didn't help matters. This all trickles down.

Anyways, a fresh start may very well rejuvinate him but he'll never be the same as he used to be. Age and injury have caught up to him.

Sounds eerily similar to one of our players that was part of the same trade. Hopefully for you guys Loui Eriksson will also be "rejuvinated" by a fresh start and regain his 1st line winger form from all these years ago.

 

[XX]

OEL starting to get scary under rated now.

"He is a big reason why Arizona was awful" - LOL get real.

He absolutely was. Between his inconsistent play and lack of leadership as captain, the team floundered and routinely got blown out. He did nothing to stop it and was often on the receiving end of the slam dunks opposing teams were enjoying on AZ goalies.

There's a reason this player had no trade value and desperately needed a fresh start.

 

[JAK]

All our "Dead Cap" disappeared at the cost of our prospect cupboard which is now barer than bare, when they would have fallen off with no cost in a year.

I respect the difference in opinion regarding teambuilding philosophy, but to me having a solid team through quality prospects who can step in and contribute on ELC and providing the team enough depth to compete year after year sounds a lot more "flexible" than being forced to fill holes with rentals and expensive FA signings to stay competitive and possibly getting ourselves into another Toffoli situation in 2024/2025.

I would bet Pettersson and Hughes would more than willing to commit their long-term future with us if we sold them a solid, sustainable long-term plan to stay competitive for the next 10 years instead of just the next 3.

You need to change your handle to IllogicalOrca.

We have arguably the most talented core in our franchise history, all entering their prime together.

Can the 9th OA pick become Garland? Maybe.
Can the 9th OA pick become an impact player fast enough that it doesn't waste the next three years of the core? No.

What was started with Horvat, a mistake with Virtanen and McCann, bad luck with Juolevi, continued to a chain of success from Boeser, Pettersson, and Hughes which are all star level players, to Hoglander and Podkolzin, both of which looks to be solid middle 6 players.

This trade adding Garland is a perfect follow up to the JT Miller trade. Adding competitiveness and grit to support a core of stars.

Say what you will about our defense, Juolevi showed promise, Rathbone could come in a year or two, and Woo is developing as well.

Yes, losing first two round picks sucks, but they are all lottery picks anyways, the odds of players who get drafted after the first 15 spots or so developing into NHLers are slim regardless.

Fresh ELCs don't just come from the draft. The college developing route has continued to rise in importance in the league, and as our draft picks diminish, the scouting department could spend more resources scouting undrafted college age players.

ELCs cost minimum cap, and having a crop of college level players competing against each other in Abbotsford to fight for spots to graduate to NHL might not be a bad thing either.

I respect the draft focused ELC chruning model, however, this isn't the time as the core are in their mid 20s. We are past the time to develop ELCs because they are all developed, and we need to push.

The time is now for the team to shift gears into competitive mode. Pieces are in place, the stars have gotten their experience and learn many lessons in the past few years.
Continuing to wait for more draft picks to develop will only waste time for the core.

If the Canucks don't make it to the second round this year, I can see Travis Green losing his job. Our defense might still have holes, but the forward group should outscore our issues in this current weak cycle in the Pacific Division.

 

[strattonius]

He absolutely was. Between his inconsistent play and lack of leadership as captain, the team floundered and routinely got blown out. He did nothing to stop it and was often on the receiving end of the slam dunks opposing teams were enjoying on AZ goalies.

There's a reason this player had no trade value and desperately needed a fresh start.

One of the the dumbest arguments I've ever seen on hf.

Ah yes, his lack of leadership needed to turn around that sinking ship...he just needed to puff his chest out more and make sure his teammates saw that jawline at the perfect angle.

Being off your game and needing a change of scenery doesn't mean he mailed it in and was doing nothing, you are definitely projecting.

 

[canucksfan100]

OEL is not much better than Myers, replacing Edler with OEL is a step backward. Garland however I think could be a top player in this league reminds me so much of Brendan Gallagher would not be surprised to see him score 30 goals and 60 pts next year.

 

[Heldig]

I predict OEL has a big rebound year...his heart has not been in the game for better part of 3 seasons. The trade will rejuvenate him.

Canucks still wont like his cap hit when he is 35.

 

[XX]

Ah yes, his lack of leadership needed to turn around that sinking ship...he just needed to puff his chest out more and make sure his teammates saw that jawline at the perfect angle.

There was a total leadership void in Arizona between him and all the hockey bros like Kessel, Demers, and Stepan. It was an ongoing issue with Rick Tocchet's budding country club. It's why Bill Armstrong is currently in the process of nuking that culture from orbit.



When you throw your most expensive player out there with the C on and he can't handle basic defensive assignments or turns the puck over in key situations it becomes a drag on everyone.

 

[PatrikBerglund]

OEL hasn't been the same since his mom died of cancer.

They are athletes, not robots.

 

[rt]

One of the the dumbest arguments I've ever seen on hf.

Ah yes, his lack of leadership needed to turn around that sinking ship...he just needed to puff his chest out more and make sure his teammates saw that jawline at the perfect angle.

Being off your game and needing a change of scenery doesn't mean he mailed it in and was doing nothing, you are definitely projecting.

How is it that you’re defending games you didn’t watch against someone who did watch those games. OEL was very obviously checked out. It’s pretty disastrous for ANY team when their captain sleepwalks for three years in a row. You can’t really recover from it.

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

Agree with the last point, but right now we have Hoglander, Podkolzin and Rathbone on ELC contributing as our "cheap depth" that every deep contending team should have. When our prospect cupboards are completely empty for the foreseeable future, who will be our "cheap depth" for our window 3 years and beyond?

Whoevers coming. I agree this is a legitimate concern, but these guys aren't about to break the bank tomorrow.

And don't forget Hoglander was a 2nd rounder, & Rathbone a mid rounder that took time to become a legit top prospect. This regime has been able to find guys throughout the draft. I liked the picks we made yesterday.

That said I agree we need to hold off on trading another 1st for awhile.

 

[rt]

There was a total leadership void in Arizona between him and all the hockey bros like Kessel, Demers, and Stepan. It was an ongoing issue with Rick Tocchet's budding country club. It's why Bill Armstrong is currently in the process of nuking that culture from orbit.



When you throw your most expensive player out there with the C on and he can't handle basic defensive assignments or turns the puck over in key situations it becomes a drag on everyone.

Especially when he looks like he wants to be anywhere on earth other than on the ice, playing hockey for the Arizona Coyotes.

I’m not bashing OEL. I’ve been over that a long time. I’m not mourning the loss either. I feel nothing but relief. He’s been dead in the hearts of Coyotes fans for a long time. This has been a long time coming.

I hope he gets what he needs in Vancouver. I expect him to rebound and play better there. It was clearly not going to happen in Phoenix. My only regret is that they didn’t find a way to make it happen a year ago. There’s fault on all sides for that. They gave it another season, and it could not have become more clear that it was a huge mistake for everyone. It was a miserable season and just degrading all around.

 

[rt]

OEL hasn't been the same since his mom died of cancer.

They are athletes, not robots.

There were several things that happened all at the same time. His coach got fired, he signed a mega contract, he hurt his wrist (he admits he’s “lost his wrist shot”), they hired a new coach that he butted heads with immediately and never stopped, they gave him the C, his play suffered, the team had nothing but disappointment. It was really a huge, dark spiral of pressure, disappointment, failed expectations, hurt feelings, and finally apathy and defeat.

It’s ugly. It’s been ugly. It wasn’t just one thing. In fact, if you ask OEL himself, he’s unable to pinpoint what exactly went wrong and what he actually needs to make it right. The only answer is “our” but I don’t think that was 100% clear until this last season, unfortunately.

 

[RemoAZ]

I will not be surprised if OEL has 50 points and Garland 60 next season. They'll be playing with a lot more talent than they had with us.

 

[JTmillerForA1stLOL]

Uncle Lou turned the Islanders around. They were a joke before him. He is a bit old school but it works
for them.

If our GM managed 3 years of consecutive playoffs only to be denied by a dinasty team, i would also praise Jim.

I don't get what you are arguing about here? You deny that Jim is incompetent or what?You seem to put your trust in him.

Jim Benning operates like no other gm. Not to say he's the worst (although the argument can be made), but he's making risky moves and has an abysmal winning percentage to show for it. So regardless of the long term outcome of his tenure - as of right now, he's objectively awful. How anyone can still believe in his goalpost moving strategy is beyond me at this point.

 

[mdobbs]

Jim Benning operates like no other gm. Not to say he's the worst (although the argument can be made), but he's making risky moves and has an abysmal winning percentage to show for it. So regardless of the long term outcome of his tenure - as of right now, he's objectively awful. How anyone can still believe in his goalpost moving strategy is beyond me at this point.

He's not the worst, although at times during his early tenure there was a real argument that he was the worst. Unfortunately he now has to dig himself out of the hole that he created.

My bet is that the Canucks miss the playoffs again this year and he's fired.

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

There were several things that happened all at the same time. His coach got fired, he signed a mega contract, he hurt his wrist (he admits he’s “lost his wrist shot”), they hired a new coach that he butted heads with immediately and never stopped, they gave him the C, his play suffered, the team had nothing but disappointment. It was really a huge, dark spiral of pressure, disappointment, failed expectations, hurt feelings, and finally apathy and defeat.

It’s ugly. It’s been ugly. It wasn’t just one thing. In fact, if you ask OEL himself, he’s unable to pinpoint what exactly went wrong and what he actually needs to make it right. The only answer is “our” but I don’t think that was 100% clear until this last season, unfortunately.

Thanks to you and other Yotes fans for the perspective. Sounds like a real tough road for everyone involved.

From this side I take the sentiment that he checked out as a positive, atleast implies there's more to give & he's obviously got skill. Very intrigued to see what he looks like coming here.

Given the situation I think the Yotes did really well - Guenther is a great player, plus the extra picks - good trade for both imo.

 

[Catamarca Livin]

OEL is not much better than Myers, replacing Edler with OEL is a step backward. Garland however I think could be a top player in this league reminds me so much of Brendan Gallagher would not be surprised to see him score 30 goals and 60 pts next year.

Eight point Edler? How big of a step back can OEL be? He scored at more than 3 times the Edler's rate. Hope is is better than 35 year old Edler.

 

[Sinistril]

He's not the worst, although at times during his early tenure there was a real argument that he was the worst. Unfortunately he now has to dig himself out of the hole that he created.

My bet is that the Canucks miss the playoffs again this year and he's fired.

That's a bad bet considering the state of the western conference right now. Canucks are in a much better position than most teams in the west and last season was expected due to their recent record against most of the north (plus the EP injury). They won't be a contender but they should make the playoffs. Obviously the defence is sketchy and Green lacks any ability to coach, but they have one of the better forward groups out there right now and an elite goaltender (and maybe they can replace Holtby with a serviceable backup).

 

[rt]

Thanks to you and other Yotes fans for the perspective. Sounds like a real tough road for everyone involved.

From this side I take the sentiment that he checked out as a positive, atleast implies there's more to give & he's obviously got skill. Very intrigued to see what he looks like coming here.

Given the situation I think the Yotes did really well - Guenther is a great player, plus the extra picks - good trade for both imo.

I think he’ll have at least two good seasons. His shot deterioration is not psychological, though. Those twenty goal seasons are long gone. That’s an injury thing. He let that slip during a between periods interview on the local fox sports station recently. I also think his decline in mobility cant be pinned on issues between his ears, entirely. He’s not that old, but we’re talking hard miles, here.

I’ve got serious doubts about Garland’s longevity, too, if he doesn’t change his game drastically. If he does change his game drastically, I have serious doubts about his overall value.

I think this trade is all about years 1-3 for the Nucks and for the Yotes is a huge L until year four. Then, it’s entirely dependent on Dylan Guenther and how wisely they use all that cap space.

 

[Catamarca Livin]

That's a bad bet considering the state of the western conference right now. Canucks are in a much better position than most teams in the west and last season was expected due to their recent record against most of the north (plus the EP injury). They won't be a contender but they should make the playoffs. Obviously the defence is sketchy and Green lacks any ability to coach, but they have one of the better forward groups out there right now and an elite goaltender (and maybe they can replace Holtby with a serviceable backup).

So the Pacific is
L.V.
Edmonton
Calgary
SJ
L.A.
Anaheim
Seattle
and Vancouver

Las Vegas and perhaps Edmonton are the only division rivals better. Canucks were close to Calgary last year with everything going wrong. They placed ahead of the 3 California team and Seattle is looking like a true expansion team. They should make playoffs rather easily though every year a team or two surprises.