What we Learned

[orcatown]

What we learned:

1. Boeser's contract was not ot of line (as some like me have maintained). Showed up when it most counted and was missed in the final game.

2. Silvos has the potential to be a bona vide NHL goalie. Need for more than this run to assess that, but certainly took a huge step in that direction

3. Mikheyev is overpaid and a overall negative. Aman and DeGuiseppe outplayed him and both of them should get a good look next season.

4. Hughes has to adjust to the type of attention and mugging he will get in the playoffs. How to play him is clearly out and clearly he had trouble in these playoffs overcoming the heat he was getting in his end.

5. Miller can only carry the team so far. Team needs to find altenatives when Miller's play falls off as it did during the Edmonton series.

6. Demko is appearing to be increasingly injury prone which makes his reliability questionable. Team may have a problem here.

7. Cole was snake bit during the playoffs and play suggested he is diminishing as NHL d-man. Injuries may be catching up to him. Some risk in re-signing him although at the right price provides good depth.

8. Zadorov was our best d-man in the playoffs. Unless he prices himself out of Canuck ability to pay, the team needs to get him back. Revealed some of the potential he has during the playoffs.

9. Lindholm did enough to want him back but likely Canucks can't meet his demands. Maybe Swede friendly situation in Van can allow the team to get a break here.

10. Blueger penalty killing was huge during the regular season and playoffs. That alone makes getting him back important.

11. Pettersson came no where close to realizing the level expected. Questions about his contract and his future are definitely there. Have to take to looking back at old highlight videos to seek any assurance he is the player they are shelling out big bucks for. Sometimes you wonder if he is suited for Tocchet type hockey.

12. Hoglander showed he was not ready for prime time. Lack of a 200 foot game and poor play intransition was exhibited through most of the playoffs. First playoff experience so hopefully he better understands areas he needs to improve.

13. Myers had a strong playoffs. Showed a good range in his defensive coverage in his zone and got consistent pressure on the puck. Beyond this, there where times when he pushed the play up ice. If he gives the team anyh break on a new contract then he has to be back. He'll easily get 4 + on the open market.

14. Suter had his moments but firmly established he is not a front line player.

15. Joshua's poor skating was exposed and he couldn't get on the end of plays. Canucks need to be very careful they don't over pay here.

16. Garland was pure gold in these playoffs. In the end, he was vrtually carrying team. Should have an A on his chest. Best bang for the buck player on the team and really has been a major contributor for a long time. Those seeking to endlessly trade him, I suggest, clearly don't n know what they are talking about.

17, deSmith is obviously gone.

18. Lafferty, unless he was significantly injured, is likely gone as well. Very poor playoffs.

19. Soucy contributed throughout the playoffs. Maybe a bit penalty prone but overall a positive. Now appears a great pick up.

Canucks have got some important issues and situations to deal with and hard, at this point, seeing them getting everyone back. Boeser situation is a difficult one although if he does have to go on long term injury list, it does open up some cap space. Other situations are tricky as well. However, Canuck management has shown a good ability to make good decisions and I think we can have some faith they know what they're doing.

Team had a great year and you hope they can build on it. But that is going to take a lot of work.

Click to read more...

 

[CanucksSayEh]

I learned, that Hughes is too short to meet high sticking requirements.

 

[LordBacon]

What I've learned:
When you let the pros (JR+Allvin) do the work, they'll perform.
The best thing Aquaman can do this off-season is keep his fingers out of the team management.

Also, Vancouver really is a goalie factory somehow.

 

[sting101]

Somehow is another word for Ian Clark

 

[LordBacon]

Somehow is another word for Ian Clark

We were blessed with good goalies and goalie coaches way before Ian Clark joined us.

 

[Hammer79]

About the only point I would disagree with is that Demko is injury-prone. I think it was just unfortunate timing.

Canucks burned a late 1st to get Lindholm, I think his re-signing is priority #1. #2 should be Zadorov, this team badly needs slap shots from distance just to get some rebounds up front and his physical presence made up for playing Hughes.

Hronek is arbitration-eligible RFA, so we will find out soon if they hold or move him.

Myers, if re-signed, should be on short term. This is one year where he performed in his entire last contract.

Garland should have an A, but stay on the 3rd line. He's not a top 6 answer, but someone to inject energy.

Likely Gone:
Joshua - too expensive, was good vs Nashville but not against Edmonton
Lafferty - bad playoffs and regular season
Blueger - Too expensive for a 4th liner
Friedman - didn't get into a playoff game and is UFA
DeSmith - packing his bags right now
Mikheyev - buyout candidate? Buyout cost is $1.55M x 4 years. Tempting

 

[racerjoe]

It was a great run, but I would say don't put too much stock in 13 game sample sizes.

Every players comes down' to what their ask is. I would be ruthless enough if you are asking more than I have allotted for where you figure in the lineup. Thanks. have a great career elsewhere.

 

[Bertuzzzi44]

What we learned:


1. Boeser - somehow has become a 2-way monster, big goals, clutch.

2. Silvos - Future goaltender of the Vancouver Canucks

3. Mikheyev - is an anchor, sinks any line he plays on.

4. Hughes - Needs to play with more urgency and pace, can’t play as casual in the playoffs as the forwards are coming in hot and heavy, move puck quickly and keep shifts short.

5. Miller - Heart & Soul player, the Leader of this team. Great playoffs.

6. Demko - Great goalie, durability is a concern.

7. Cole - Great in the Nashville series, struggled in the Edmonton series. Old body likely wore down and played through injuries in the 2nd round, great as a 7th Dman as he needs frequent rest to play at his best.

8. Zadorov - Was our best d-man in the playoffs. Changed the teams identity with his physicality, showed good offensive instincts as well.

9. Lindholm - Solid 2-way play, played hard and won most of his puck battles, scored a couple big goals.

10. Blueger - Average offensively and above average defensively, good speed.

11. Pettersson - no comment (enough has been said).

12. Hoglander - needs to be a hound on the puck and win puck battles consistently. Very good speed but can’t score as many rush goals in the playoffs, needs to improve board play.

13. Myers - Solid playoffs. Showed good range in his defensive coverage, was consistently good.

14. Suter - underrated, very smart player, seems to always make the right reads.

15. Joshua - was great in the beginning of both series but faded as they progressed. Scored a couple big goals. Solid forechecker that needs to improve his consistency.

16. Garland - Amazing playoffs, relentless puck hound, great player.

17. DeSmith - Good character, likely gone.

18. Lafferty - Very poor playoffs, likely gone.

19. Di Giuseppe - Capable 4th line winger, good on PK.

20. Soucy - Solid playoffs, a couple bad decisions but overall his defensive coverage was very good.

21. Hronek - Overwhelmed at times in the defensive zone, didn’t have much impact offensively.

22. Aman - Good PKer, capable of handling full time 4th line duties.

23. Juulsen - Brings physicality but sometimes at the expense of making the right play, plays hard but lack of awareness is concerning.

 

[krutovsdonut]

What we learned:

1. Boeser's contract was not ot of line (as some like me have maintained). Showed up when it most counted and was missed in the final game.

2. Silvos has the potential to be a bona vide NHL goalie. Need for more than this run to assess that, but certainly took a huge step in that direction

3. Mikheyev is overpaid and a overall negative. Aman and DeGuiseppe outplayed him and both of them should get a good look next season.

4. Hughes has to adjust to the type of attention and mugging he will get in the playoffs. How to play him is clearly out and clearly he had trouble in these playoffs overcoming the heat he was getting in his end.

5. Miller can only carry the team so far. Team needs to find altenatives when Miller's play falls off as it did during the Edmonton series.

6. Demko is appearing to be increasingly injury prone which makes his reliability questionable. Team may have a problem here.

7. Cole was snake bit during the playoffs and play suggested he is diminishing as NHL d-man. Injuries may be catching up to him. Some risk in re-signing him although at the right price provides good depth.

8. Zadorov was our best d-man in the playoffs. Unless he prices himself out of Canuck ability to pay, the team needs to get him back. Revealed some of the potential he has during the playoffs.

9. Lindholm did enough to want him back but likely Canucks can't meet his demands. Maybe Swede friendly situation in Van can allow the team to get a break here.

10. Blueger penalty killing was huge during the regular season and playoffs. That alone makes getting him back important.

11. Pettersson came no where close to realizing the level expected. Questions about his contract and his future are definitely there. Have to take to looking back at old highlight videos to seek any assurance he is the player they are shelling out big bucks for. Sometimes you wonder if he is suited for Tocchet type hockey.

12. Hoglander showed he was not ready for prime time. Lack of a 200 foot game and poor play intransition was exhibited through most of the playoffs. First playoff experience so hopefully he better understands areas he needs to improve.

13. Myers had a strong playoffs. Showed a good range in his defensive coverage in his zone and got consistent pressure on the puck. Beyond this, there where times when he pushed the play up ice. If he gives the team anyh break on a new contract then he has to be back. He'll easily get 4 + on the open market.

14. Suter had his moments but firmly established he is not a front line player.

15. Joshua's poor skating was exposed and he couldn't get on the end of plays. Canucks need to be very careful they don't over pay here.

16. Garland was pure gold in these playoffs. In the end, he was vrtually carrying team. Should have an A on his chest. Best bang for the buck player on the team and really has been a major contributor for a long time. Those seeking to endlessly trade him, I suggest, clearly don't n know what they are talking about.

17, deSmith is obviously gone.

18. Lafferty, unless he was significantly injured, is likely gone as well. Very poor playoffs.

19. Soucy contributed throughout the playoffs. Maybe a bit penalty prone but overall a positive. Now appears a great pick up.

Canucks have got some important issues and situations to deal with and hard, at this point, seeing them getting everyone back. Boeser situation is a difficult one although if he does have to go on long term injury list, it does open up some cap space. Other situations are tricky as well. However, Canuck management has shown a good ability to make good decisions and I think we can have some faith they know what they're doing.

Team had a great year and you hope they can build on it. But that is going to take a lot of work.

really solid summary.

my views are still evolving.

-usually when an improving team breaks through into the playoffs effective playoff performers emerge and take a step in their games.

-garland finding a way to play the way he did in physical playoff hockey is a revelation and the biggest win of these playoffs imo. if he can maintain the groove he found i think he will break out next season and cement himself as a top line player.

-soucy, suter and zadorov also emerged as more valuable players to me. none made a quantum leap though, although maybe i am wrong and zadorov has found another gear. suter came up against his physical limits. soucy i thought showed he can be a top 4 dman. zadorov is the puzzle for me. i think he may lose his mojo quickly under regular season referreeing.

-on the "downside", hughes is not superhuman and can be worn down and pressured in playoff hockey to reduce his effectiveness. we need a strategy to mitigate this as our highest priority.

-surrounding hughes with big physical dmen is effective defensively but prioritizing those characteristics comes at a price of running too much of the transition and offence through hughes. the team needs a second dynamic dman to take the pressure off hughes and generate more offence.

-hronek as a canuck has not been dynamic and has become a complimentary player to hughes. we need a top rhd who carries his own pairing and prevents a defensive strategy of "shut down hughes:. if we keep hronek then separating hughes and hronek is necessary so both can play their own game and drive play in their own way.

-pettersson has dug himself into a hole in the playoffs trying to be a complete two way gritty player when he is physically not built for that role. the grit is good, but he needs to accept his limitations and rethink his ozone role to get out of traffic and into position to be efficient and useful when other people retrieve the puck. right now he is a brain surgeon trying to prove he can dig ditches.

-miller is the only shutdown guy we have able to handle a top player matchups and using him that way negates a lot of his offence. we need another matchup guy.

-suter and blueger are very good depth but cannot play top six matchup roles. they do show us what we are missing though, which is a bigger more physical defensive all rounder version of those guys. that is our second priority after ensuring we have a strategy to take the heat off hughes.

-management seems to think this guy is lindhol, while lindholm was much better in the playoffs to me he is not a matchup centre and nor is he a top line offensive player. he's a competent second tier top six player in either role who can hang with the elite but does not drive play or shut down play. if there was no salary cap i would not worry about this and run him as a third top six centre, but i think we can't afford him and we really need to use his cap on a guy who can take the load off miller.

 

[HockeyWooot]

Overall a great step forward year for this team. A much needed first year playoff experience for some of this core group. It’s rare for inexperienced teams to go on deep runs.

I’ve always maintained that the best shot will be 2 -3 years from now when the younger core have developed physically with experience bolstered by young ELC players in Lekkerimaki, Willander et al.

Tochett has done a great job completely changing the identity and culture of this team. Had some shortcomings in the PP or making in game adjustments, I have no doubt he’ll assess over the summer and make some changes.

This is a resilient group overall. Many teams would have been sunk by having their Vezina goaltender and backup dropping so early on.

I do think it gives a bit more clarity on some of the players that may be prioritised in free agency, as well as additions to next years group.

Calling next years team The Revenge Tour lol

 

[Killer Orcas]

We need to fix PP, team speed over all and coaches need to make adjustments quicker as I learned from others here during games. Was a great year but where we were I expected more. Silovs what a gem we have for the future though. Myers and Zadorov were my favorite players on the back end during the playoffs. Hughes cannot be partnered with Hronek during the playoffs again was open season on him and it showed with him wearing down. He needs a physical partner. Upfront I don't know what happened maybe we play different with Demko in net and forwards take more chances but was embarrassing watching us get barely get any shots per game the whole playoffs.

I will say have confidence in JR and Allvin to access the team over the summer and trust they will make the right moves. Look forward to next season !

 

[sandwichbird2023]

I learned that while we had a great season, good structure and some solid core pieces, we are still very far away from contending. We need more speed, skill, size and better PP. We should be a solid team going forward, but there are lots of holes and not much in the form of assets (cap space, picks, prospects) to plug them, and not much coming up from the farm.

 

[StreetHawk]

I learned that while we had a great season, good structure and some solid core pieces, we are still very far away from contending. We need more speed, skill, size and better PP. We should be a solid team going forward, but there are lots of holes and not much in the form of assets (cap space, picks, prospects) to plug them, and not much coming up from the farm.

That's the main concern given the 202X has yielded minimal assets/prospects that you can count on.
2020 - really at this point nothing to depend on
2021 - Klim seems headed to the K. Aku K the goalie has played 21 games in the NCAA since his draft year. Myrenberg traded. Danielsson probably the only other prospect but he's still at the same league level the past couple of years.
2022 - Lekky and D Petey main guys
2023 - Wallinder and a bunch of wait and see
2024 - no picks in rounds 1 or 2.

 

[Hit the post]

Maybe some better load management for Demko during the regular season.

 

[sandwichbird2023]

That's the main concern given the 202X has yielded minimal assets/prospects that you can count on.
2020 - really at this point nothing to depend on
2021 - Klim seems headed to the K. Aku K the goalie has played 21 games in the NCAA since his draft year. Myrenberg traded. Danielsson probably the only other prospect but he's still at the same league level the past couple of years.
2022 - Lekky and D Petey main guys
2023 - Wallinder and a bunch of wait and see
2024 - no picks in rounds 1 or 2.

The timeline of the prospects doesn't really line up with our contention window either. By the time Lekky/D Petey/Wallinder becomes impact player (optimistically the 2025-26 season, but that might be too soon), there is a good chance that JTM will be on the decline. We will also have to extend Quinn, who should easily commend $13m+ (although the cap is likely over $100m by then). We are unlikely to get too much surplus value from our prospects the next couple seasons. We are likely to trade more picks going forward to either dump Mik's contract, TDL deals, or more "Hronek's type" moves.

If the contention window is JTM peak + Hughes' current contract, I'm not sure we can rely on our prospects to fill holes. Maybe Lekky will be ready, but that is probably not enough.

 

[supercanuck]

Was there a similar thread for last season? Would be really interesting to read through it. Amazing what a 180 this season has been.

Would have been quite a few:

• Give up picks to trade Boeser and Garland
• Mik was such a warrior playing through his injury
• Can't wait to never see Myers again.
• EP40 is a beast. Top 10 forward in the game

 

[arttk]

That's the main concern given the 202X has yielded minimal assets/prospects that you can count on.
2020 - really at this point nothing to depend on
2021 - Klim seems headed to the K. Aku K the goalie has played 21 games in the NCAA since his draft year. Myrenberg traded. Danielsson probably the only other prospect but he's still at the same league level the past couple of years.
2022 - Lekky and D Petey main guys
2023 - Wallinder and a bunch of wait and see
2024 - no picks in rounds 1 or 2.

We do have Bains, Sasson and Raty who look like they can make the roster in a bottom 6 capacity. I think 1 out of the 3 has 3rd line potential and 2/3 should be 4th liners.

So realistically in the next 2 years we should have an influx of
1 top4 D in Willander
1 bottom paring D in DPetey
1 top6 F in Lekk
3 bottom 6 F in Raty/Bains/Sasson

It's not great but 6 guys that are low paid helps free up money to spend at the top end as log as we don't piss away money extending players to term that don't deserve it.

 

[credulous]

Was there a similar thread for last season? Would be really interesting to read through it. Amazing what a 180 this season has been.

Would have been quite a few:

• Give up picks to trade Boeser and Garland
• Mik was such a warrior playing through his injury
• Can't wait to never see Myers again.
• EP40 is a beast. Top 10 forward in the game

the canucks had basically no cap space last season and the roster was set basically at the previous trade deadline (when they picked up hronek). they only really added suter, blueger, cole and soucy

 

[StreetHawk]

We do have Bains, Sasson and Raty who look like they can make the roster in a bottom 6 capacity. I think 1 out of the 3 has 3rd line potential and 2/3 should be 4th liners.

So realistically in the next 2 years we should have an influx of
1 top4 D in Willander
1 bottom paring D in DPetey
1 top6 F in Lekk
3 bottom 6 F in Raty/Bains/Sasson

It's not great but 6 guys that are low paid helps free up money to spend at the top end as log as we don't piss away money extending players to term that don't deserve it.

The lack of prospects who can play top 6 F and top 4 D is concerning moving forward.

The timeline of the prospects doesn't really line up with our contention window either. By the time Lekky/D Petey/Wallinder becomes impact player (optimistically the 2025-26 season, but that might be too soon), there is a good chance that JTM will be on the decline. We will also have to extend Quinn, who should easily commend $13m+ (although the cap is likely over $100m by then). We are unlikely to get too much surplus value from our prospects the next couple seasons. We are likely to trade more picks going forward to either dump Mik's contract, TDL deals, or more "Hronek's type" moves.

If the contention window is JTM peak + Hughes' current contract, I'm not sure we can rely on our prospects to fill holes. Maybe Lekky will be ready, but that is probably not enough.

That's why when looking at prospects for next season, it's not the ones from the last 2 drafts. More like the ones from 3 years before and later. Which is why 2020 and 2021 which does not appear to yield anything is concerning.

Someone has to surprise.

 

[CpatainCanuck]

We were blessed with good goalies and goalie coaches way before Ian Clark joined us.

Ian Clarke was also the Canucks' goalie coach/consultant from 2002-2010.

 

[arttk]

The lack of prospects who can play top 6 F and top 4 D is concerning moving forward.


That's why when looking at prospects for next season, it's not the ones from the last 2 drafts. More like the ones from 3 years before and later. Which is why 2020 and 2021 which does not appear to yield anything is concerning.

Someone has to surprise.

if we can spend less than 1M each for 6 roster spots, that opens up cap for us to pay for an additional top4D and top6 forward. Yes it's much more ideal if we can get more homegrown top6 and top4 guys but having a bunch of bottom 6 and bottom paring guys being home grown helps alleviate that problem in a different way.

 

[ahmon]

While you can't ignore how the players played, and their performance this run has to be part of the evaluation - got to be careful not draw concrete conclusions on 1 playoff run.

For example Boeser looked like crap in the bubble run, looked better this time.

If Red Wings only looked at Datsyuk's first few playoff performance, they would have traded him.

 

[sandwichbird2023]

We do have Bains, Sasson and Raty who look like they can make the roster in a bottom 6 capacity. I think 1 out of the 3 has 3rd line potential and 2/3 should be 4th liners.

So realistically in the next 2 years we should have an influx of
1 top4 D in Willander
1 bottom paring D in DPetey
1 top6 F in Lekk
3 bottom 6 F in Raty/Bains/Sasson

It's not great but 6 guys that are low paid helps free up money to spend at the top end as log as we don't piss away money extending players to term that don't deserve it.

I'm not as high on the Bains/Sasson/Raty trio as you are. I project them more as 13th forwards at this point. Maybe Raty can become a decent 4th liner, but his effectiveness should be capped by his speed.

I'm not sure if Willander is ready to be a top 4 D in 2 years (assuming you meant the start of the 2025-26 season?) He should be back in college next season, and after that likely 1 year in the AHL or as a bottom pairing guy being sheltered if he does play in the NHL.

I think D Petey is also going to take some time to marinate in the AHL, counting on him in 2 years might be premature.

Lekky should be a top 6 F by 2025-26 though, if he doesn't then that means something went really wrong with his development in the AHL.

I still hope Pod will take over Joshua's role in the future, without the fighting. That should provide some cap relief. Other than that, we'll have to hunt for bargains for bottom 6 players, and I'm not sure we can expect the team to constantly find gems like Suter/Blueger/Joshua/Lafferty on a consistent basis.

 

[arttk]

I'm not as high on the Bains/Sasson/Raty trio as you are. I project them more as 13th forwards at this point. Maybe Raty can become a decent 4th liner, but his effectiveness should be capped by his speed.

I'm not sure if Willander is ready to be a top 4 D in 2 years (assuming you meant the start of the 2025-26 season?) He should be back in college next season, and after that likely 1 year in the AHL or as a bottom pairing guy being sheltered if he does play in the NHL.

I think D Petey is also going to take some time to marinate in the AHL, counting on him in 2 years might be premature.

Lekky should be a top 6 F by 2025-26 though, if he doesn't then that means something went really wrong with his development in the AHL.

I still hope Pod will take over Joshua's role in the future, without the fighting. That should provide some cap relief. Other than that, we'll have to hunt for bargains for bottom 6 players, and I'm not sure we can expect the team to constantly find gems like Suter/Blueger/Joshua/Lafferty on a consistent basis.

I am pretty high on Bains, there is something about being able to grow consistently and meet the challenge of the next level, you don't want to count guys that can do that out.
Sasson looks like he is ready to be a 4th line guy for us and yeah there are concerns about Raty's speed so we'll see what happens with him after this offseason. But projecting having a 4th line composed of min wage kids is not that big of a leap.

I think Willander will probably be in the NHL full time in the 25/26 season. I think Lekk will probably be called up after like 40 games in the A and stick for the rest of the 24/25 sseason. D petey adapted to the A pretty fast at the end of the season, if he plays well next year in the A, I think he will be ready in 25/26, probably not the start of it but by the middle of 25/26 as an injury call up and hopefully take over the spot.

I think Pod will take over Joshua's role next season just from the fact he is cheap and Joshua is going to price himself out and we can get better gains by spending money somewhere else. Not sure if he will be effective but the fact he will only make 1M and that might be the thing that allows us to extend Lindholm to ice a Pod-Lindholm-Garland line.

 

[LordBacon]

Ian Clarke was also the Canucks' goalie coach/consultant from 2002-2010.

Huh I could’ve sworn it was Rollie Melanson.