Running down the Vancouver players to get a feel for who can actually end up in Utica and who is more of a pipe dream.
Horvat ($5,500,000)
Eriksson ($6,000,000)
Sutter ($4,375,000)
Baertschi ($3,666,666)
Gagner ($3,150,000)
Roussel ($3,000,000)
Beagle ($3,000,000)
Schaller $1,900,000)
Boeser ($925,000/$70,000) Ha, Ha! Like he's ever going to get assigned to the AHL part of that contract.
Granlund ($1,475,000
Gaunce ($750,000)
Leipsic ($650,000)
Virtanen hanging out in the breeze after he received a qualifying offer. I get the feeling his contract may be a 2-way and he's not liking that at all.
For all intents and purposes that's 13 forwards on one-way contracts because Boeser is not getting sent down.
Still in that NHL mix are:
Pettersson ($925,000/$70,000) He will be given every chance to make that roster above.
Goldobin ($832,500/$70,000) Goldy is the question mark. He has to make the team this year or he will get passed by. To do that he has to get the chance to play himself on or off the roster. That has always been Green's means of making his decision on a player.
Gaudette ($916,666/$70,000) A major portion of HF posters want him on the roster, but they don't make the decisions. I think his likelihood of being in Utica or Vancouver is 50/50. If he plays as he did at the end of last season he will be in Utica. If his game proves to be more productive in preseason, they will have a problem on their hands.
Boucher ($725,000/$300,000) I think he had his shot with 2 NHL teams now and he will be waived and they will pray no other NHL team finds his AHL game to be transferable to the NHL. He might still be a call-up at some point.
Archibald ($650,000/$250,000) The new acquisitions will make Archi a Comet if again, providing no other NHL team thinks he is worth taking an instant NHL roster spot.
Motte and Kero - Some may argue for Motte and others for Kero. Motte is waiver exempt, but I don't see him unseating any of the 13 above let alone Pettersson. Kero is not waiver free. Kero has not put up the kind of #s in his 72 NHL games over 3 years that would have an NHL team itching to put him on their NHL roster at the season's opening roster final cut. Thus, I see Kero passing through waivers
and both assigned to Utica at the final cuts if not sooner.
So in order for any of these 7 guys to make the Canucks, someone on that list of 13 has to be waived or traded. Another angle is for the Canucks to change philosophy and keep 14 forwards and 7 D-men instead of their 13/8 pattern of the past. That would allow for one more without rocking the 13.
Pettersson will be there on either decision.
I find Leipsic, Gaunce, and Granlund as the most likely guys to be bumped and that would mean a trade or risk losing them for nothing on waivers.
Granlund just got a nice bump in salary, but it was only a 1-yr contract.
Gaunce just doesn't put up points in spite of being a defensive juggernaut.
Leipsic was acquired at the TDL and risking losing him before he even starts a season isn't Benning's M.O.
I think they'll keep 13 forwards and 8 D. The only move will be to waive Gaunce to send him down and keep Pettersson.
On D there will be up to 10 to have to deal with if Stecher accepts his qualifying offer, Juolevi is given every chance to stick, and Hughes signs. Hughes and Juolevi can be sent down without any potential consequence. I think it's 50/50 on Hughes going back to school to play with his brother for a season.
One of the current 8 is likely to be traded and Biega would be the guy waived which would suck because he is at least the least the 5th best D-man in the bunch and should still survive both Hughes and Juolevi making the roster. Without a trade I think you might see both Juolevi and Hughes start in Utica. Hughes has already intonated that the AHL could be his beginning. Not sure how Olli's ego would take it.
So based on this I can put together a semblance of who will be in Utica with a side list of the certainly might be. That's my next post. Not tonight.
