2019 Roster and Fantasy GM Thread III

[Horse McHindu]

Don’t know if we could get him, but would make a massive, massive pitch for Mark Stone. $10 million/year +.

Would look at mid-range guys like Silfverberg and they underrated (and fast) Ryan Dzingel.

Would also try for Brandon Tanev as that might kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

On defense, would have a look at Tyler Myers. I don’t love him as a player but he’s the best younger UFA available aside from Karlsson who is 100% not coming here.

Would also look at Nick Jensen as an under-the-radar guy.

I like Stone but NOT at 10 million. If Stone signs here for that anount, then you can forget about the Canucks getting hometown discounts from their future RFA core (Boeser, Pettersson, Hughes, etc.).

Myers is ok but given his age and playing style, I’m not sure if the money and term that he’d command would be to our benefit. I can’t see Myers aging particularly well.

Good call on Dzingel.

Matt Duchene has struggled in recent years but I’d be interested to see how he’d perform beside an ‘alpha’ like Pettersson. Duchene certainly has the skill and speed needed.

My honest opinion is that we just focus on reupping Edler and Boeser. Avoid UFA’s this Summer. See how 2019-2020 plays out (ie the Canucks with Hughes), and then create a 2020 UFA strategy based on how the Canucks perform next season.

 

[Josepho]

Stone is a better player than all of those guys so I don't really see how he'd negatively impact those signings.

 

[Pip]

It seems so backwards to be cost conscious on elite UFA’s but not care about Benning overpaying a bunch of bottom 6 players. I’d much rather “overpay” for someone like Stone and have a fourth line of league minimum contacts then have a ~7 million dollar fourth line and a mid-tier UFA.

 

[Horse McHindu]

Stone is a better player than all of those guys so I don't really see how he'd negatively impact those signings.

Stone is a great player no doubt, but I think it would be crazy to pay him 10 million. If you pay him 10 million, you can forget about our other upcoming RFA core possibly taking hometown discounts. They’ll want to get paid big as well. Look no further than what’s going on in Toronto right now (after the Tavares signing). Our window will be significantly decereased as a result, and we’ll have all kinds of future cap complications.

 

[BeardyCanuck03]

My honest opinion is that we just focus on reupping Edler and Boeser. Avoid UFA’s this Summer. See how 2019-2020 plays out (ie the Canucks with Hughes), and then create a 2020 UFA strategy based on how the Canucks perform next season.

Canucks desperately need to upgrade the top 6 wingers. They have found good solutions for the interm in Leivo and Roussel. The farm solutions aren't going to be ready for a while and we don't even know if they will pan out. Add in we don't know what Baertschi's career will look like going forward.

The crop of UFA wingers this summer is potentially quite good and I'm hoping the Canucks make a move to bolster the offense. Stone for the right price would be ideal (that price is less than 10M though).

 

[Pip]

Toronto is an elite team with an abundance of talented young players. Definitely a team we should aspire to be, not some cautionary tale. Most elite teams have cap complications, if goes along with having a ton of talented players, it is a good problem to have.

 

[Josepho]

Stone is a great player no doubt, but I think it would be crazy to play him 10 million. If you pay him 10 million, you can forget about our other upcoming RFA core possibly taking hometown discounts. They’ll want to get paid big as well. Look no further than what’s going on in Toronto right now (after the Tavares signing). Our window will be significantly decereased as a result, and we’ll have all kinds of future cap complications.

A) I'd imagine the McDavid contract had more of an implication on the Matthews deal than the Tavares one did. Both Tavares and Matthews have pretty reasonable cap hits regardless.
B) If anything, having other good players on the team might make your other good players more inclined to stay.
C) Literally every good team in the Salary Cap Era has cap complications and for the most part they're fairly easy to get out of.

 

[timw33]

It seems so backwards to be cost conscious on elite UFA’s but not care about Benning overpaying a bunch of bottom 6 players. I’d much rather “overpay” for someone like Stone and have a fourth line of league minimum contacts then have a ~7 million dollar fourth line and a mid-tier UFA.

This is why you need to be extremely cost effective role players and exactly why everyone gets so incensed when we sign 4th line players to term and big money, or sign/re-sign some of the most useless players ever assembled in Sutter/Eriksson/Gudbranson to bloated contracts where we could replace them with $1MM players, get the same (or better) results, and save $11MM in cap space.

You don't get many opportunities to acquire an elite 27-year old two way player like Stone, you gotta take the swing.

 

[Horse McHindu]

It seems so backwards to be cost conscious on elite UFA’s but not care about Benning overpaying a bunch of bottom 6 players. I’d much rather “overpay” for someone like Stone and have a fourth line of league minimum contacts then have a ~7 million dollar fourth line and a mid-tier UFA.

When the Canucks overpaid for guys like Eriksson, Sutter, Gagner, etc., they were still transitioning from their old core to their new core. The Canucks were paying a premium for veteran leadership.

Now that our new young core is here (Pettersson, Boeser, Horvat, etc.,), while those other veteran contracts will expire in a few short years, the key now is to....

1) re-up our young RFA core players to long term cap friendly deals.
2) become an elite team
3) sign UFA players that would be willing to take discounts to sign with a team that has a shot at winning (ie Hossa with Chicago back in the day).

Signing players to 10+ million AAV’s (I would even say 9+) before having reupped your young min RFA core players is a dangerous thing to do.

 

[Pip]

No it’s not

 

[Addison Rae]

Canucks need more skill more than adding more beef.

I would also like to see them give Zack MacEwan a shot to play as the physical winger that Ferland would be and use the extra cap space to sign a better skilled top 6 winger (specially with Baertschi's career in limbo).

This seems like way too smart of an idea for them to actually consider.

 

[Brock Boeser Laser Show]

Best players should get paid accordingly. Good GM should be able to win with Stone/Panarin/Karlsson, Elias, and Brock all getting paid. It really comes down to being selective with how the rest of the pie is dispersed and not handing out bad contract to the likes of Eriksson, Sutter, Gudbranson, etc.

 

[MS]

Stone is a great player no doubt, but I think it would be crazy to pay him 10 million. If you pay him 10 million, you can forget about our other upcoming RFA core possibly taking hometown discounts. They’ll want to get paid big as well. Look no further than what’s going on in Toronto right now (after the Tavares signing). Our window will be significantly decereased as a result, and we’ll have all kinds of future cap complications.

Stone is the best UFA forward we’re ever going to have a crack at. This is the best UFA class ever and we have the cap space to make things happen. This is not the time to be cheap with top-end guys.

The 3-4 good young players we have now aren’t a good enough core to make us a legit contender long-term. And they won’t be taking substantial discounts.

As others have said, it’s absolute lunacy to be paying $25 million/year to replaceable bottom-6/bottom-pairing guys like Roussel/Beagle/Schaller/Eriksson/Sutter/Gudbranson but then miss on a top-5 winger in the sport like Stone because you’re scared to overpay him by $2 million. Priorities completely backward.

 

[MS]

Stone and Karlsson I don't even consider anymore. They're about as likely to come here as Panarin, read: Not going to happen.

I have mentioned Nick Jensen here before. He would be a good target. I'm also considering Rutta and Heed as depth RHDs.

I wouldn't go anywhere near Myers. That Dman is going to get paid given the dearth of RHDs on the market. Not worth it.

Didn't think of Brandon Tanev. Interesting option. Dzingel and Silvferberg would also be good.


Any trade targets?

No idea who’s available via trade. Any quality defender in his 20s would be interesting.

Disagree on not having a chance on Stone. He’s from Western Canada, is playing in Canada, and we have the money to make a huge offer. Not even close to Panarin who has zero interest in playing in this market.

 

[Canucker]

You aren't giving him enough credit. He's easily worth more than $7MM given the current landscape of the league.

Plus he's already making more than $7m this year, highly doubt he's going to want to go backwards on what is likely going to be his big career payday.

Canucks need more skill more than adding more beef.

I would also like to see them give Zack MacEwan a shot to play as the physical winger that Ferland would be and use the extra cap space to sign a better skilled top 6 winger (specially with Baertschi's career in limbo).

Forgetting that overhauling the D is the biggest priority...I think they need a big playmaking LW who can be a net front presence and create space for EP and BB, and also bring a bit of jam..hopefully that is MacEwen, but he is a RW I believe. Besides that, I do agree that more skill is needed on the 2nd line...but that might need to be resolved internally.

 

[Drop the Sopel]

I hope they go after Hoffman and Heinen to shore up the LW position.

Donskoi, Johansson, Dzingel and Sifverberg are the most interesting names of that secondary forward set to me.

Where does E. Staal play here and how much do you give him?

Wouldn't trade for a bottom 6 LW like Heinen. Already a logjam at that position in the bottom 6. Would prefer to just sign a Donskoi/Tanev if you want an upgrade there.

E. Staal would be the perfect guy to stick on the top line LW. Big horse that can protect the puck, make plays, finish and take faceoffs along with Pettersson. All that NHL experience would be invaluable for Pettersson's development , much like we got out of Sundin. But Staal will likely sign with a top team, so it's a moot point.

Zuccarello and Anders Lee would also be huge upgrades to the top line, and both look like terrific fits. The good thing about having such a deep pool of UFA talent is, you don't have to blow your brains out trying to get 1 guy. Make a dozen reasonable offers and there's a decent chance you come away with a couple quality additions.

Tyler Myers makes a lot of sense because his skillset looks like the perfect compliment to Quinn Hughes. Alongside Hughes you want a dman that can shoot the puck and take advantage of his passes, while also covering a lot of ice and defending well. Myers on the bottom pairing should be able to excel in the matchups he would get, while giving us a good option to step into the top 4 when Tanev gets hurt.

If Myers couldn't be signed to a reasonable deal, throw a high cap hit, short term contract at Stralman. He would be another strong fit alongside Hughes and be able to step into the top 4 when injuries hit. The only concern would be the defense would be getting pretty small...

IMO you exhaust all options in free agency before exploring the trade market. Exception being if a guy like Dante Fabbro shakes loose.

 

[Addison Rae]

No interested in Tyler Myers, I'd look at Stralman to help anchor the defense for a few years and help ease Hughes into the lineup.

This is a key off-season for the Canucks they need to start transitioning to a team that can take the next step otherwise they can go in the direction of teams like the Oilers. They need to find pieces that can supplement the core moving forward.

Mark Stone in a vacuum is probably worth 10 million when you factor in inflation, him and Marchand are the two best two-way wingers in the league, If you strike out on Mark Stone, I would pay literally anything for Taylor Hall next summer if he makes it to free agency.

 

[Bleach Clean]

No idea who’s available via trade. Any quality defender in his 20s would be interesting.

Disagree on not having a chance on Stone. He’s from Western Canada, is playing in Canada, and we have the money to make a huge offer. Not even close to Panarin who has zero interest in playing in this market.

With the amount of interest Stone is going to get, it may as well be zero interest to play here. Stone can pick and choose where to go. I find it very hard to believe that he would choose to come here, even if overpaid.

 

[Fire Benning]

Stone at 10 million would be an easy yes, he's a top 20 player in the league, you don't get cracks at elite difference makers very often, if you have the chance to add one without giving up assets you'd be stupid not to at least try. He's not an Eriksson 2.0 who cashed in when he was a 31 year old 50-60 point scorer.

 

[PetterssonSimp]

Don’t know if we could get him, but would make a massive, massive pitch for Mark Stone. $10 million/year +.

Would look at mid-range guys like Silfverberg and they underrated (and fast) Ryan Dzingel.

Would also try for Brandon Tanev as that might kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

On defense, would have a look at Tyler Myers. I don’t love him as a player but he’s the best younger UFA available aside from Karlsson who is 100% not coming here.

Would also look at Nick Jensen as an under-the-radar guy.

Have you seen Myers this year? He’s a bottom pairing defenceman at this point.

 

[Bleach Clean]

Wouldn't trade for a bottom 6 LW like Heinen. Already a logjam at that position in the bottom 6. Would prefer to just sign a Donskoi/Tanev if you want an upgrade there.

I'd swap Goldobin for Heinen if possible. Otherwise, yeah, probably an unlikely fit for both teams.

E. Staal would be the perfect guy to stick on the top line LW. Big horse that can protect the puck, make plays, finish and take faceoffs along with Pettersson. All that NHL experience would be invaluable for Pettersson's development , much like we got out of Sundin. But Staal will likely sign with a top team, so it's a moot point.

Zuccarello and Anders Lee would also be huge upgrades to the top line, and both look like terrific fits. The good thing about having such a deep pool of UFA talent is, you don't have to blow your brains out trying to get 1 guy. Make a dozen reasonable offers and there's a decent chance you come away with a couple quality additions.

Tyler Myers makes a lot of sense because his skillset looks like the perfect compliment to Quinn Hughes. Alongside Hughes you want a dman that can shoot the puck and take advantage of his passes, while also covering a lot of ice and defending well. Myers on the bottom pairing should be able to excel in the matchups he would get, while giving us a good option to step into the top 4 when Tanev gets hurt.

If Myers couldn't be signed to a reasonable deal, throw a high cap hit, short term contract at Stralman. He would be another strong fit alongside Hughes and be able to step into the top 4 when injuries hit. The only concern would be the defense would be getting pretty small...

IMO you exhaust all options in free agency before exploring the trade market. Exception being if a guy like Dante Fabbro shakes loose.

Staal would make too much money and term for my liking.

Zuccarello would be interesting. I think Lee re-signs.

What is a reasonable deal for Myers?

I agree, exhaust all options in FA before a trade.

Fabbro expected to sign with NSH after his season is over, per McKenzie.

 

[MS]

Wouldn't trade for a bottom 6 LW like Heinen. Already a logjam at that position in the bottom 6. Would prefer to just sign a Donskoi/Tanev if you want an upgrade there.

E. Staal would be the perfect guy to stick on the top line LW. Big horse that can protect the puck, make plays, finish and take faceoffs along with Pettersson. All that NHL experience would be invaluable for Pettersson's development , much like we got out of Sundin. But Staal will likely sign with a top team, so it's a moot point.

Zuccarello and Anders Lee would also be huge upgrades to the top line, and both look like terrific fits. The good thing about having such a deep pool of UFA talent is, you don't have to blow your brains out trying to get 1 guy. Make a dozen reasonable offers and there's a decent chance you come away with a couple quality additions.

Tyler Myers makes a lot of sense because his skillset looks like the perfect compliment to Quinn Hughes. Alongside Hughes you want a dman that can shoot the puck and take advantage of his passes, while also covering a lot of ice and defending well. Myers on the bottom pairing should be able to excel in the matchups he would get, while giving us a good option to step into the top 4 when Tanev gets hurt.

If Myers couldn't be signed to a reasonable deal, throw a high cap hit, short term contract at Stralman. He would be another strong fit alongside Hughes and be able to step into the top 4 when injuries hit. The only concern would be the defense would be getting pretty small...

IMO you exhaust all options in free agency before exploring the trade market. Exception being if a guy like Dante Fabbro shakes loose.

Mats Zuccarello is the sort of guy you stay a million miles away from. Is the same sort of signing as the Eriksson/Backes/Nielsen/Brouwer disasters of 2016 or James Neal last year.

32 y/o 50-point players are disasters waiting to happen in UFA. These guys pretty much all fall off the face of the earth aged 31-33 and you’re left holding the bag on an albatross.

Either go hard after the 27-28 y/o UFAs where you can finish up their contract at age 32 or so or wait until July 10 and see what’s left over that will take short-term deals.

 

[MS]

With the amount of interest Stone is going to get, it may as well be zero interest to play here. Stone can pick and choose where to go. I find it very hard to believe that he would choose to come here, even if overpaid.

How many teams have the space to offer him $10 million once Karlsson and Panarin are off the table?

 

[Drop the Sopel]

Mats Zuccarello is the sort of guy you stay a million miles away from. Is the same sort of signing as the Eriksson/Backes/Nielsen/Brouwer disasters of 2016 or James Neal last year.

You obviously wouldn't throw more than 2 years at Zuccs. But the guy is a heck of a two-way player. Would be the perfect compliment to Pettersson and Boeser.

 

[Fire Benning]

Brandon Tanev is a guy I'd look at in free agency.