Confirmed with Link: Canucks sign G Ryan Miller to 3-Year, $18m Deal ($6M AAV)

[Bleach Clean]

Right now Benning looks like a bottom 10 GM to me, but we'll see how this summer plays out.

Same impression. Early yet, but that's what it looks like right now.

You draft twice in the top 30, you better have a consensus good draft. That's just a no brainer but there are teams that drafted better with worse picks. Blues being just one of those teams.

The Blues put on a clinic in terms of targeting value at each position. That's why some of the bloggers out there (such as LastWordOnSports) gave them an A+, despite having a late draft position.

LA did well too, amongst others.

If the Canucks ever get to that level of execution, the outlook would be amazing indeed.

 

[opendoor]

I wonder about this as well. Did Benning get his first "Vancouver is not boston" lesson when he struck out of getting a forward in FA? This isn't a prime target, you won't lure a Chara here like Boston did when they were a losing team.

I was thinking the same thing. If Benning was banking on bringing UFAs to Vancouver as a means to build his roster for next year he seriously underestimated just how hard it is for Western Canadian teams to attract premier talent.

The fact that the Canucks actually thought they had a good shot at a cup chaser like Iginla would be hilarious if it didn't speak so poorly of management's grip on reality. Hopefully it was just a hail mary to sell some tickets on name recognition and they weren't actually counting on adding a player like that on July 1st as part of their plan.

 

[ginner classic]

This is true. Moving guys like Burrows/Hansen in the offseason while their stock is at an all-time low isn't great asset management. Heck, I bet if we waited until July 2nd to move Garrison, we would've fetched a better return.

Hopefully by the trade deadline, we'll know whether we're sellers or *shudders* buyers.

We have a ton of deadline fodder if things don't go well to be a seller and some depth at center prospects that are redundant if we want to be a buyer.

 

[ginner classic]

They just completely misread what was going to happen in free agency, IMO. They thought they would free up space and then load the team up. Ignoring that they had no legitimate 2C in the Kesler mould (someone who can take tough minutes) or that the team needs 5 legitimate top 4 D to account for injuries. As a result, they traded Garrison for a pittance to free up cap space that they probably won't even use up.

All the moves just scream of an inexperienced group of executives who were overly cocky for their own good.

I am concerned about the lack of experience of this team, but I am not sure that they did a poor job in free agency.


Miller was a free asset that made the team stronger. The goalie market is looking a lot tighter 12 months from now and there are at least a couple of top tier teams such as Pittsburgh and Minnesota with major question marks in goal that may need to resolve that problem by trading for a top tier vet like Miller. There are also lower ranked teams like Winnipeg that clearly lack confidence and could pony up a surprising amount for a player like Lack.


While I still hate the Kesler trade, I do not really understand how with Miller signing was a bad one. They made the team better in a position of weakness without sacrificing term. That's what they are supposed to do.

 

[Proto]

I was thinking the same thing. If Benning was banking on bringing UFAs to Vancouver as a means to build his roster for next year he seriously underestimated just how hard it is for Western Canadian teams to attract premier talent.

The fact that the Canucks actually thought they had a good shot at a cup chaser like Iginla would be hilarious if it didn't speak so poorly of management's grip on reality. Hopefully it was just a hail mary to sell some tickets on name recognition and they weren't actually counting on adding a player like that on July 1st as part of their plan.

Plus they had Linden up in Kelowna at Iginla's house. They were all-in on that front. There were even a few reports they were scrambling for a plan B after that fell through -- they were laughably off base if true.

 

[carolinacanuck]

I was thinking the same thing. If Benning was banking on bringing UFAs to Vancouver as a means to build his roster for next year he seriously underestimated just how hard it is for Western Canadian teams to attract premier talent.

The fact that the Canucks actually thought they had a good shot at a cup chaser like Iginla would be hilarious if it didn't speak so poorly of management's grip on reality. Hopefully it was just a hail mary to sell some tickets on name recognition and they weren't actually counting on adding a player like that on July 1st as part of their plan.

pure speculation.

you don't know if iginla had interest in the canucks to help drive up his price and create a bidding war or if he genuinely wanted to live in vancouver.

or maybe vancouver was in on iginla so colorado or another team would overpay too?

too many scenarios in play for you to say management doesn't have a grip on reality.

geez.

 

[SnapIt]

If management REALLY wanted name recognition, they would have targeted Brodeur and sold it to the public as a true mentoring of Lack to be the Canucks #1. I would be COMPLETELY ok with paying Brodeur 12M for 2 years if the message was:

"Brodeur is here to make Lack a world class goalie and we're going to overpay Brodeur for his WINNING experience."

Now THIS would be a heck of a positive message. 6M for a goaltending consultant that has won every major personal and team hockey award that can also play? Sign me up!

Damn. I should work for the Canucks.

Yeah, except Brodeur was whining all last year about Schneider getting more starts.

Lack isn't ready to be put into a "swim or drown" situation with the team. Next year, a 1A 1B is what we need. Miller is signed until he's 37, games will slowly transition towards Lack's favour. Talk about a greater upbringing, playing with Luongo, and then Miller.

And for anyone suggesting that luring FAs here is near impossible, do you REALIZE what position the team is in right now? This isn't just 'Western-Canadian' bad luck... we're not contending right now. Why sign here when playoff teams like CHI/STL/DAL are looking to sign you? Or when there are other teams stupid enough to agree to terrible, long term and high cap-hit terms.

*edit* And why not try your luck on Iginla? He's older, so not as likely to be looking for a long term contract, unlike other FAs. Sign him while our salary cap is not as constrained, and roll him with the Sedins. We knew that Iginla would go to a team closer to the cup, or else why not just return to Calgary instead of our equally middling team?

 

[BloatedGuppy]

too many scenarios in play for you to say management doesn't have a grip on reality.

geez.

In order to take one's thoughts into a public space, like an internet forum, one must first varnish them heavily with hyperbole, to make sure the message has maximum impact.

So example A:

"If I were the team's GM, I think I would have targeted a different player on the first day of unrestricted free agency, for reasons A, B, and C"

becomes...

"LOL management has no grip on reality! These clowns are running the team into the ground. Next Calgary Flames! Benning worst GM in league."

Lack isn't ready to be put into a "swim or drown" situation with the team. Next year, a 1A 1B is what we need. Miller is signed until he's 37, games will slowly transition towards Lack's favour. Talk about a greater upbringing, playing with Luongo, and then Miller.

I agree with this in principle, but we're in a somewhat awkward spot where Miller's contract expires one year AFTER Eddie Lack's. It's not Luongo "signed through to the heat death of the universe" awkward, but it's less than ideal.

 

[GJB]

If Ryan Miller can score 25-30 goals this season then it helps the team.


If not, we didn't need him at this cost.

 

[opendoor]

pure speculation.

you don't know if iginla had interest in the canucks to help drive up his price and create a bidding war or if he genuinely wanted to live in vancouver.

or maybe vancouver was in on iginla so colorado or another team would overpay too?

too many scenarios in play for you to say management doesn't have a grip on reality.

geez.

Like I said, hopefully it was just a long shot ploy to get a guy whose face they could put on the tickets.

But by the sounds of it he was the team's Plan A, Linden flew up to his house to try to woo him, and the team preemptively cleared cap space for signing a big ticket free agent like him. Reminds me of when Feaster traded Regehr for scraps so he could take a run at Brad Richards.

 

[carolinacanuck]

In order to take one's thoughts into a public space, like an internet forum, one must first varnish them heavily with hyperbole, to make sure the message has maximum impact.

So example A:

"If I were the team's GM, I think I would have targeted a different player on the first day of unrestricted free agency, for reasons A, B, and C"

becomes...

"LOL management has no grip on reality! These clowns are running the team into the ground. Next Calgary Flames! Benning worst GM in league."

did you really just explain that to me?

haha thanks. but i think the poster knew why i was calling him out.

 

[SnapIt]

I agree with this in principle, but we're in a somewhat awkward spot where Miller's contract expires one year AFTER Eddie Lack's. It's not Luongo "signed through to the heat death of the universe" awkward, but it's less than ideal.

That worried me as well, but for all we know, Lack could be the clear starter at that point. Miller will be 37, and may be playing 25-35 games while Lack plays the majority. Or Miller could be traded, bought-out, whatever. We're in a sort of 'cap window' where it will be fine to have a backup goalie earning 6M. If Miller doesn't like it, he'll be moved out. Benning has at least shown the ability to act swiftly in that regard.

It's so far down the road, it's impossible to predict what will exactly happen with our goaltenders.

 

[Just A Bit Outside]

Burnside on Miller:

There is something equally perfect and sad about the Vancouver Canucks ponying up $6 million a year for three years for goalie Ryan Miller.

If you believe in things like karma -- or just weirdness -- then maybe this was how it was all supposed to work out for one of the NHL’s most mercurial franchises. Not that you’d have imagined this a year ago, when the Canucks had two top-end goaltenders in Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider.

Of course, the team for whom dysfunction didn’t become just a word but a way of life didn’t manage to hang onto either one, trading Schneider for the eighth overall pick in the 2013 draft, and sending Luongo to Florida at the trade deadline for a marginal goalie in Jacob Markstrom and marginal winger in Shawn Matthias.

That left them with Eddie Lack, who showed only hints that he could be the Canucks' goaltender of the future, as they missed the playoffs for the first time in six seasons.

Since then, general manager Mike Gillis was given the heave-ho, as was John Tortorella after his first season as the coach. And they were replaced by president Trevor Linden, Jim Benning as GM and Willie Desjardins as coach, who curiously turned down a chance to coach Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

And then there was Miller, the former Vezina Trophy winner and MVP of the 2010 Olympics in (where else?) Vancouver. Miller was acquired at great expense by the St. Louis Blues from Buffalo at the trade deadline in the hopes that he might help them erase decades of Stanley Cup frustration.

But after the Blues went up 2-0 in their first-round series against Chicago, they lost four straight, with Miller turning in just adequate performances in allowing 12 goals in the final three losses. It was a performance that brought his tenure in St. Louis to an abrupt end and sent him to the free-agent market with his reputation in need of some serious rehabbing.

Will that get done in Vancouver?

Well, it would make for some serious storytelling if Miller is somehow able to resuscitate the Canucks’ flagging fortunes, what with center Ryan Kesler gone after demanding a trade, and the team in a definite state of flux and rebuilding.

Just as Luongo is being counted on to somehow lift the Panthers back to respectability in the Eastern Conference, Miller will get a chance to show that his turn in St. Louis was a blip on the radar and that he has the goods to help an average team be so much more.

Edit: Dingle screwed up that Horvat was the 9th and not 8th pick.

 

[carolinacanuck]

Like I said, hopefully it was just a long shot ploy to get a guy whose face they could put on the tickets.

But by the sounds of it he was the team's Plan A, Linden flew up to his house to try to woo him, and the team preemptively cleared cap space for signing a big ticket free agent like him. Reminds me of when Feaster traded Regehr for scraps so he could take a run at Brad Richards.

ok, let's assume iginla had genuine interest and so did the canucks.

are you saying you're upset the canucks tried to woo him?

 

[Drop the Sopel]

The Blues put on a clinic in terms of targeting value at each position. That's why some of the bloggers out there (such as LastWordOnSports) gave them an A+, despite having a late draft position.

How did 'lastwordonsports' rate the Canucks draft?

I wouldn't have taken Virtanen, McCann or Demko, but a lot of people outside Vancouver seem to think it was a good draft by the Canucks. Won't know for a long time yet.

 

[carolinacanuck]

Burnside on Miller:



Edit: Dingle screwed up that Horvat was the 9th and not 8th pick.

wow, talk about a mail-it-in article by burnside. he didn't even try on that one. basically regurgitated everything we already know and hit send.

 

[ginner classic]

This is true. Moving guys like Burrows/Hansen in the offseason while their stock is at an all-time low isn't great asset management. Heck, I bet if we waited until July 2nd to move Garrison, we would've fetched a better return.

Hopefully by the trade deadline, we'll know whether we're sellers or *shudders* buyers.

We have a ton of deadline fodder if things don't go well to be a seller and some depth at center prospects that are redundant if we want to be a buyer.

 

[BC Ben]

But by the sounds of it he was the team's Plan A, Linden flew up to his house to try to woo him, and the team preemptively cleared cap space for signing a big ticket free agent like him.

The Canucks shed salary that didn't play into their long-term plan (i.e., Garrison) and while I wasn't enthusiastic about the return from this particular trade, I agree in concept about the overall plan.

Then Linden broke the bank by spending $139 on a Vancouver-Kelowna flight and likely another $80 on sushi to speak with a potential FA signing that would fit relatively well into the lineup.

I have zero problem with the attempts made...

 

[bo2shink*]

Spending upwards of $5000 on seasons tickets entitles fans to a little "hysteria". Its going to be an interesting July 11. At this rate I suspect the Canucks lose another 10% of season ticket holders. 10% in one day-ouch that is going to hurt! Look for the axe to fall again in the ticket marketing department. July 11 will be more interesting than July 1st, book it!

This is great news though. Then all of the superfans can start buying tickets and supporting the team the way it should be done!

 

[m9]

By all accounts the Canucks were in on Iginla until the very end. I don't know why people think it was so crazy for him to sign here, as it seems like they came quite close and in his final three.

 

[bo2shink*]

If Ryan Miller can score 25-30 goals this season then it helps the team.


If not, we didn't need him at this cost.

Letting in 25 less would be just fine.

 

[bo2shink*]

They also added Miller and Dorsett while shipping out Markstrom, Dalpe and Schroeder.

You better add Costello so your list of non NHLers looks more impressive.

 

[Jimson Hogarth*]

This is great news though. Then all of the superfans can start buying tickets and supporting the team the way it should be done!

in this expensive city, unfortunately average working joe fan simply can't afford seasons tickets.

 

[bo2shink*]

Just like how you argued Miller's demise in St Louis was circumstantial, I can argue that Markstrom played behind a rubbish team who couldn't stop an odd man rush to save their lives and he might be able to "revive" his career in Vancouver, getting a more comfortable 55:25 split with Lack.

You can argue anything on the internet. This however would be a very stupid argument.

 

[bo2shink*]

in this expensive city, unfortunately average working joe fan simply can't afford seasons tickets.

They don't need to buy season tickets. But here is the chance to stop complaining about the "suits" in the arena and get in there and show everyone how it is down.