Rumor: Canucks offered 1st, 2nd, Sutter, Virtanen for OEL

[hughdreamz]

From Coyotes beat reporter Craig Morgan

“How about a 1st, 2nd, and some garbage?”

 

[FOurteenS inCisOr]

“How about a 1st, 2nd, and some garbage?”

It’s a terrible contract for many many years, for a player who’s declined.

What tf do you expect.

The fact they were offered what could very well be an early 1st and 2nd, on top of a very serviceable young forward is f***ing miraculous.

 

[DingDongCharlie]

I wouldn't take that either.

Hopefully you mean from Vancouver’s side. They got a overall better D and a better contract on Nate Schmidt for only a 2022 3rd.

 

[CapSpace]

What a bunch of crap.

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

Given the circumstances, I’m surprised they were offered that much

 

[wetcoast]

Too much in a flat cap imo. I’d prefer Schmidt for a third even though I think OEL is slightly better. But OEL’s contract is a big concern going forward. The price to dump contracts is too high right now and Sutter while overpaid is still a useful player.

Useful isn't the best way to describe Sutter.

He isn't a liability on the ice and has intangibles but also cant stay healthy and at this point has zero worth in trade value.

Also they see what Virtanen is and they had a similar type of guy they just walked away from in Grabner.

I really wonder if Jake will surpass Grabners seasons best and career totals for goals at 32 and 175.

 

[VancouverJagger]

I'm sorry, I call BS on all this "Benning was saved from himself here" revisionist history. That frames this as "Arizona was stupid to turn this down" which is a load of malarkey. This is Benning making a low-ball offer for a top pairing defender due to the current climate and it being rightfully turned down. Just because Vancouver didn't have a first rounder this year doesn't mean next year's first rounder is any more valuable to anybody save Vancouver itself. The Canucks are coming off an impressive playoff run led by a young core. That pick isn't going to be / should not be any lower than 20 overall next year. I'd way rather have Pod or Hoglander coming off the year he had or Demko than that pick. Rathbone, sure, probably the pick but the only reason people kept mentioning him is because he was the best blueline asset that most Canucks fans felt was at least somewhat reasonable to part with.

Throw all the stats about OEL declining out there you want, I'm not going to judge a 29 year-old former franchise face defender on the basis of a down year on an organization that has continually struggled.

He probably needs to get out of Arizona and the Coyotes need to get something pretty good back for him. If he ends up on Boston, high likelihood he looks a lot better and people will suddenly be like "oh I guess OEL isn't an overpaid bum".

Benning should be praised for doing his due diligence and offering a deal that is very palatable to get a player like OEL. It got turned down, they moved on and Benning STOLE Schmidt for next to nothing. It all came up roses for Vancouver, 100%. That does not mean this was a good offer or that Bill Armstrong is a moron for turning it down.

Very bang on post............A lot of our fanbase thinks that Benning was a moron for even entertaining an OEL trade (the result of too many years of bad FA contracts that Benning has overpaid for).

I was actually hoping we traded for him - if we could divest ourselves of those said bad contracts. I had more faith in OEL coming to Van and regaining his form then I did him being an anchor for years.

Our fan base can't seem to recognize that Benning played this very well.............seems like he really tried to low ball AZ . Probably best for both teams that this deal didn't go through althou AZ might end up being sorry they didn't move him when they had the chance.

 

[Siludin]

Didn’t understand why Vancouver was in on OEL anyway. Don’t they have Hughes and Edler as their top two LD? Why do they need OEL?

I think the Canucks have been in on every single top-4 d-man, but were maybe one of the fewer teams that were on on OEL himself, so all the rumours that came out on that front were around Vancouver.

 

[Thirty Seven]

Coyotes GM after receiving that offer.

 

[Pure West]

If I'm a GM, and I have a 29 year old free agent Ekman-Larsson out there that I can sign for 7 years at 8.25 million with a NMC, I probably balk at that. So why would I give up big time assets to make that happen? Did the Coyotes hope they could get a home-run deal that both offloaded the risk of that big contract and helped kick start a rebuild even though he was given 2 teams to trade with?

Sounds more like they don't want the optics of just offloading the contract of their captain for whatever they can get. Unfortunately, that's probably the best offer they will ever get for him barring a major renaissance in his game. As a Canucks fan....boy did it ever work out for us though!

 

[thadd]

LOL I can remember on first day of free agency the hockey guy was saying something like "Someone distract Vancouver's GM"
I'd love to have OEL on my team, but not for the price it would cost given the cap situation for the league. By the time the cap is changing again he'll probably be far out of his prime and teams won't be able to capitalise from inflation. Really bad value on this conract.

 

[thadd]

Coyotes GM after receiving that offer.

If that's what he did, he's insane.
He's saving tons of $$$ and Arizona can put that cap space to good work while also stocking up on futures, which they need.

 

[RemoAZ]

I'd much rather watch OEL and his stupid ass diving than take that deal. Armstrong made it clear he was only going to make a deal that was good for the organization. So far, he is walking the talk. Love it.

 

[Static]

OEL hasn't been good for awhile and is signed to an albatross of a contract. I don't see how that is a bad offer at all.

 

[780il]

Canucks fans should be very happy they dodged that bullet. Holy f*** that would have been a bad trade for them.

 

[PavelBure10]

I'm glad that neither team budged to make this deal.

Firstly", the offer Benning gave to Arizona for Ekman-larsson was weak. As a rebuilding team, the Yotes are looking to cash in on one of their top assets in the organization.

Secondly", the Coyotes wanted either Demko, Podkolzin or Hoglander involved in the deal. One of the Canucks top prospects, or the future of the Vancouver Canucks goaltending, and a first round draft pick. The deal wasn't worth it. Giving up a huge chunk of the future for a star player who is nearly entering the twilight of his career, was too much. Not worth the gamble.

Thirdly", Ekman-larsson's salary is way too much for an already cap strapped team. $8.25 million per, "holy smokes", one of the leagues highest paid defenseman.

Fourthly", if the Canucks acquired Ekman-larsson, then they wouldn't of been able to trade for, and afford Nate Schmidt. A player who is better suited for Vancouver's needs.

A win for both parties involved. One of the very few times where I've been actually really impressed with Benning's trade negotiating tactics.

 

[Bitz and Bites]

I don't see how this is terrible. Are people purposefully forgetting the context of this deal?

Management went to OEL for a trade list and he returns with two teams which severely limited the return from the start.

OEL is not worth his deal now let alone seven years from now. He is being paid to be a top 5 defenseman in the league and didn't deliver in the first year of his contract. The Canucks would be assuming a huge risk in this trade. Who knows if he ever lives up to the expectations of his contract however considering he will be on the wrong side of 30 for most of it, the odds are he will not.

Now factor in the flat cap and the current economic state of the league and the fact there are many teams looking to dump cap and his contract looks even more unappealing. The Canucks are two years way from emerging from this cap hell and this deal would put them right back in it for the next seven years. His contract would be a benchmark for the team moving forward.

The Canucks were also slipping in the standings when play was stopped due to Covid. Prior to this year they have also been one of, if not the worst team in the league over several seasons. There is a very real chance they regress this season and fall back into the lottery. If the Coyotes owned both of their high picks that would be a disaster.

In the end, it sounds like Benning was saved from himself and fell into a much more favorable deal in Schmidt. Once again, it shows the kind of value that can be extracted if your team has cap flexibility. I am skeptical the Coyotes are going to receive a better offer moving forward.

This pretty much nails it.
People posting that we made a crappy offer obviously have no clue about context or how much the players contract affects their value.
Glad ARZ passed.

 

[Buresflyingelbow]

Wow 3 rebuilding pieces and a potential LTIR or leader that plays center signed for one more year at 4 million. Phoenix missed the boat on that one as it doesn’t say anything about retaining salary.
I’m glad as a Canucks fan and the final outcome that this wasn’t excepted. With two teams on the list this was a more than fair return for a contract that will look terrible in a few years.

 

[Shocker]

That's a bad offer so i get why Arizona rejected it, but also wondering why Vancouver was even trying to get him.

 

[Seras]

8.25 for 7 more years is rough

 

[member 328930]

Arizona waited 3 years too long with OEL. This is the best offer they are ever going to get.

i suspect in another year he will be a pure cap dump...meaning AZ will have to pay to drop him.

 

[sxvnert]

"Canucks offer scraps for elite talent"

 

[VanJack]

If the Coyotes turned that deal down, they need another new GM. This is a team desperate to jettison payroll and they're a already bereft of draft picks because of ill-advised trades and a penalty levied by the league.

The Canucks dodged a huge bullet on this one....Schmidt is the same age, and comes in with 40 percent less on a cap hit.

 

[Wry n Ginger]

If OEL was a UFA right now I doubt he would get his current contract. Why would the Canucks give up assets in this market to take on that contract?

 

[Kuznetsnow]

Coyotes should have lobbied for Eriksson or Sutter... bigger cap hit but less salary, perfect for them. Could have tried to ply an extra asset for that.

All in they should have moved OEL while they had the chance, if he goes the way of Subban that contract turns insanely ugly