2018-19 Utica Comets, Pt. IV: Six more years as your Vancouver Canucks affiliate

[Megaterio Llamas]

Thank God for good ol' Article 13.12 (m)

 

[Lindgren]

Cleveland and Toronto are both in action tonight, and both are down 1-0 early in the first. Here's hoping they both lose; the Comets could use some relief on the out-of-town scoreboard.

 

[Bad Goalie]

The Canucks are carrying three currently, seems there was no one under contract in Utica for them to call up. Had to reach into the juniors

I saw this one coming from a mile away and predicted it would happen. You can't expect 2 NHL keepers to go all the way. They will both likely suffer the bumps, bruises, twists, strains, and ass aches of a grueling NHL season. The same will happen in the AHL.

When the # of available NHL eligible goalies in the system
shrinks to 2 and your farm team only has 1 ECHL keeper and the other is 37 and signed out of retirement to a PTO and you know it will stay that way for the remainder of the season at both levels, it is incumbent upon management to find at least one more who can play at both levels and also meet the legal specs to do such.

All the excuses and defending of Canucks management don't make this debacle right. Imagine Marky pulling up lame next game. You have only Mikey and no backup until Benning finds another Jr to sign to an emergency contract. 2 Jrs handling the goaltending responsibilities of tending goal for an NHL team.

Essentially leaving three teams without adequate goaltending because he was hoarding one of his available NHL contracts.

 

[Megaterio Llamas]

I saw this one coming from a mile away and predicted it would happen. You can't expect 2 NHL keepers to go all the way. They will both likely suffer the bumps, bruises, twists, strains, and ass aches of a grueling NHL season. The same will happen in the AHL.

When the # of available NHL eligible goalies in the system
shrinks to 2 and your farm team only has 1 ECHL keeper and the other is 37 and signed out of retirement to a PTO and you know it will stay that way for the remainder of the season at both levels, it is incumbent upon management to find at least one more who can play at both levels and also meet the legal specs to do such.

All the excuses and defending of Canucks management don't make this debacle right. Imagine Marky pulling up lame next game. You have only Mikey and no backup until Benning finds another Jr to sign to an emergency contract. 2 Jrs handling the goaltending responsibilities of tending goal for an NHL team.

Essentially leaving three teams without adequate goaltending because he was hoarding one of his available NHL contracts.

I know, we have been discussing this problem here for weeks now and alas, it has come to pass. It's a ridiculous situation you could see coming in slow motion here.

Say, any idea what Kari Lehtonen is up to these days?

 

[Lindgren]

Cleveland lost tonight, and Toronto came from behind to tie it up late and then lost in overtime, so a single point for the Marlies.

In other words, it was a good night for the Comets, who remain in the thick of the battle for a playoff spot in the North Division. (Cleveland could win both their games-in-hand and still the Comets would hold down 4th in the division.)

 

[timbermen]

Leblanc for MacMaster was a really good trade but they could have got Gudbranson's brother. They need the toughness and if he's half as tough as his big bro, he'd be a beast for the Comets. Too bad, i like the deal though.

 

[Megaterio Llamas]

Leblanc for MacMaster was a really good trade but they could have got Gudbranson's brother. They need the toughness and if he's half as tough as his big bro, he'd be a beast for the Comets. Too bad, i like the deal though.

I didn't know Guddy had a brother. Who knows, maybe he'll find his way to Utica on a pto someday. A team can never have enough Gud imo.

 

[timbermen]

I didn't know Guddy had a brother. Who knows, maybe he'll find his way to Utica on a pto someday. A team can never have enough Gud imo.

Yep, he plays for the Growlers, pretty sure thats his brother. I wonder if the Canucks know. Somebody text JB.
Alex Gudbranson Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com

 

[Megaterio Llamas]

Yep, he plays for the Growlers, pretty sure thats his brother. I wonder if the Canucks know. Somebody text JB.
Alex Gudbranson Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com

Haha. he looks more like Colton Saucerman than Erik Gudbranson. I was expecting a second Studly Doright.

 

[Megaterio Llamas]

Kari Lehtonen - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

 

[UticaHockey]

I saw this one coming from a mile away and predicted it would happen. You can't expect 2 NHL keepers to go all the way. They will both likely suffer the bumps, bruises, twists, strains, and ass aches of a grueling NHL season. The same will happen in the AHL.

When the # of available NHL eligible goalies in the system
shrinks to 2 and your farm team only has 1 ECHL keeper and the other is 37 and signed out of retirement to a PTO and you know it will stay that way for the remainder of the season at both levels, it is incumbent upon management to find at least one more who can play at both levels and also meet the legal specs to do such.

All the excuses and defending of Canucks management don't make this debacle right. Imagine Marky pulling up lame next game. You have only Mikey and no backup until Benning finds another Jr to sign to an emergency contract. 2 Jrs handling the goaltending responsibilities of tending goal for an NHL team.

Essentially leaving three teams without adequate goaltending because he was hoarding one of his available NHL contracts.

Yep I predicted the same thing a month ago when they traded for McKenna but didn't insist that Ottawa send him through waivers first before the trade. Benning manages by hope which is something in the business world is never done by good managers.

Hope that McKenna will clear after trading for him.
Hope that the Canucks get through the season with no goalie injuries.
Hope that Demko is only day-to-day.
Hope that Markstrom doesn't get injured.
Hope that the Flyers have no additional goalie injuries and put McKenna on waivers.

See a pattern here?

 

[Bad Goalie]

Kari Lehtonen - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

He would be a better pickup than Leighton and Benning wouldn't have to spend a draft pick that the Vancouver boys don't want him to spend.

 

[Bad Goalie]

Yep I predicted the same thing a month ago when they traded for McKenna but didn't insist that Ottawa send him through waivers first before the trade. Benning manages by hope which is something in the business world is never done by good managers.

Hope that McKenna will clear after trading for him.
Hope that the Canucks get through the season with no goalie injuries.
Hope that Demko is only day-to-day.
Hope that Markstrom doesn't get injured.
Hope that the Flyers have no additional goalie injuries and put McKenna on waivers.

See a pattern here?

Hopes they make the playoffs and hopes that keeps his job.

I've been hoping against hope for 4 years now that he'd realize he needed to find someone to run the farm the way it should be run. How's that gone?

 

[Bad Goalie]

33 days since McKenna was claimed.

Edler has a concussion? Out at least a week. Love how they estimate the rapidity of players with concussions returning to action. Yet, he is listed on LTIR. That's longer than a week.

What are the odds that Brisebois gets the '14-15 Corrado treatment?

How long does Ottawa have to play without it's #1 keeper due to Bennning still stumbling along dragging his feet to find another NHL eligible keeper. A Jr team never expects to lose it's #1 to the NHL. Maybe he can just give Leighton a contract and drag his sorry ass up there to sit while Markstrom plays himself out.

MacEwen to Vancouver for Baertschi? What's his status. DTD or LTIR?

 

[F A N]

While I agree that Benning could have made the Nilsson trade contingent on McKenna clearing waivers, there likely weren't other teams willing to take on Nilsson. Like it or not, McKenna filling in for Demko was likely a very minor part of the trade.

I just don't think the goalie depth expectations are reasonable in terms of how the Canucks started the year. The Canucks went with the same goaltending duo to start the season. You can argue that they could have upgraded on Nilsson but that doesn't necessarily add depth unless you're advocating having Demko, Nilsson, and Bachman down in Utica. The Comets started the season with Demko and Bachman who are/were clearly a capable goaltending duo who are each capable #1 goalies in the AHL. Kulbakov in the ECHL is a capable depth option for Utica. Did the Comets have better depth in those Henning years that some here like? I don't think so.

Previously, some posters here pointed to Leafs depth. Guess what happened? They lost two goalies on waivers, injuries happened, and they needed to trade for Hutchinson. These things happen. Was it bad management to not expect this?

To me, a team should look to have at least a capable 1 A/1B option in the NHL, a #3 goalie who is NHL calibre and an AHL allstar goalie, a #4 who is at least an average #1 starter in the AHL, and a #5 playing in the ECHL who is capable of playing in the AHL. Maybe teams should get into the habit of carrying 3 goalies on the roster but that's not the norm these days.

He would be a better pickup than Leighton and Benning wouldn't have to spend a draft pick that the Vancouver boys don't want him to spend.

Lehtonen hasn't played this season and is likely retired. I'm sure a 13 year NHL vet former NHL #1 goalie coming off a $5.9M AAV contract would want to play in the AHL and play his way to a callup.

 

[VanJack]

I'm just not buying all the McKenna excuses. They knew Bachman was already done for the year, and if they were truly serious about elevating Demko, they surely must have understood that Utica would need an experienced netminder. It was frankly ridiculous that it was the Canucks who were the team that had to expose McKenna to waivers and risk losing him.

In retrospect, they'd have been better off just to flip Demko and Nilsson, and let the latter play out the remainder of his contract in the minors. Acquiring another late round draft hoper pick from Ottawa, just doesn't seem worth it now in retrospect.

Canucks better pray nothing happens to Markstrom. Then they'd really be in a pickle.

 

[Tables of Stats]

If they flipped Nilsson and Demko Philadelphia takes Nilsson and the Canucks get nothing at all. You may hate the return and I agree that McKenna should have been waived pre-trade given the situation the Leafs and Flyers were in but at least we got something for a player we weren't bringing back next season. It sucks that Demko has been hurt and Marky has played so well that Demko hasn't gotten games he may have otherwise played, but we couldn't have known that a month ago.

 

[Shattered Dreams]

Kari Lehtonen - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

To throw another hat in the ring, I believe Steve Mason is unsigned as well.

 

[VanJack]

If they flipped Nilsson and Demko Philadelphia takes Nilsson and the Canucks get nothing at all. You may hate the return and I agree that McKenna should have been waived pre-trade given the situation the Leafs and Flyers were in but at least we got something for a player we weren't bringing back next season. It sucks that Demko has been hurt and Marky has played so well that Demko hasn't gotten games he may have otherwise played, but we couldn't have known that a month ago.

Thanks to Jimbo and his free agent frenzy of a few years ago, there is basically 'zero' chance Nilsson would have been picked up on waivers. His salary is a prorated $2.5m a season. McKenna on the other hand is making the league minimum.

More likely the Canucks GM would have been embarrassed to bury another expensive UFA contract in the minors, where Gagner is already with the Marlies earning $3m a season. And more and more likely Schaller will eventually be joining them. I mean how many NHL salaries can you foist off on the AHL before the owner starts to ask what the hell's going on?

 

[Tables of Stats]

Thanks to Jimbo and his free agent frenzy of a few years ago, there is basically 'zero' chance Nilsson would have been picked up on waivers. His salary is a prorated $2.5m a season. McKenna on the other hand is making the league minimum.

More likely the Canucks GM would have been embarrassed to bury another expensive UFA contract in the minors, where Gagner is already with the Marlies earning $3m a season. And more and more likely Schaller will eventually be joining them. I mean how many NHL salaries can you foist off on the AHL before the owner starts to ask what the hell's going on?

The Flyers have over $8 Million in cap space and no LTIR if they wanted a goalie, and as we know they did, they would have easily snapped up Nilsson to fill that role. He'd be off the books at the end of the season too so it's not like they'd need to worry about his cap hit going into the offseason.

 

[topched88]

Thanks to Jimbo and his free agent frenzy of a few years ago, there is basically 'zero' chance Nilsson would have been picked up on waivers. His salary is a prorated $2.5m a season. McKenna on the other hand is making the league minimum.

More likely the Canucks GM would have been embarrassed to bury another expensive UFA contract in the minors, where Gagner is already with the Marlies earning $3m a season. And more and more likely Schaller will eventually be joining them. I mean how many NHL salaries can you foist off on the AHL before the owner starts to ask what the hell's going on?

Well someone gave up a pick for him so I’m not sure how you figure there’s 0% chance he wouldn’t have cleared waivers

 

[Lindgren]

Cleveland bounced back to beat Charlotte in the second of their back-to-back's tonight. I was thinking they were on the verge of dropping out of the playoff picture, but I was jumping the gun with wishful thinking. They're now 4 points behind the Comets with one game in hand.

 

[F A N]

In retrospect, they'd have been better off just to flip Demko and Nilsson, and let the latter play out the remainder of his contract in the minors. Acquiring another late round draft hoper pick from Ottawa, just doesn't seem worth it now in retrospect.

Canucks better pray nothing happens to Markstrom. Then they'd really be in a pickle.

The deal resulted in the Canucks getting an extra draft pick in return, gain cap space, shed a bit of salary, promote their bluechip prospect in goal who you want to see get some NHL starts this season, and possibly upgrade their backup position. This is the type of deal pretty much every Canucks fan wanted to see Benning make. The only hiccup is that this deal didn't end up making Utica better and all of the above gains wasn't expected to move the needle unless Demko plays like Carter Hart.

 

[tyhee]

...It sucks that Demko has been hurt and Marky has played so well that Demko hasn't gotten games he may have otherwise played, but we couldn't have known that a month ago.

Going forward nothing is certain in life so we couldn't have known that Markstrom would play well and Demko would be hurt, but they are hardly surprising.

1. The Nilsson trade was made January 2.

In the month preceding the trade Markstrom had a .943 save % and a goals against average of 1.62.

From January 2 to February 4 Markstrom had a .912 save percentage and a 2.67 goals against average.

Demko's getting into only one game up to the time he was hurt can hardly be attributed to Markstrom being surprisingly good. The hot streak Markstrom was on before the trade has cooled off and his play has been that of a capable NHL starter behind a team that was giving up a lot of scoring chances.

2. An NHL player getting injured is never surprising. It is expected and, in places other than Vancouver, planned for.

 

[stampedingviking]

Well someone gave up a pick for him so I’m not sure how you figure there’s 0% chance he wouldn’t have cleared waivers

Doesn't fit the narrative to admit that.