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

[Just A Bit Outside]

I'm just glad I'll be able to get better seats for my ice pack.

 

[Interior Cascadian]

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.

Vancouver Canucks (includes various trades)
2014 NHL Draft Grade B+
Best Value Pick: Jarred McCann, 24th overall

Jim Benning was the talk of the NHL draft. The Canucks lost talent in the Kesler and Garrison trades, but Kesler really handcuffed the team with his trade demands, and Garrison was a redundant piece on the Canucks blueline. The pickup of Dorsett was a solid move. The team might not be better today after all of these moves, but they are ones that needed to be done. Word out of Vancouver is that the Canucks have been in love with first rounder Jake Virtanen for a long time now, and the pick isn’t a bad one even if its not necessarily the way we would have gone. Later in the first round the Canucks got the best value of the round taking Jared McCann with the pick. He’ll be a nice one-two punch with Bo Horvat down the road. Thatcher Demko was our number one ranked goalie in the draft, and getting him at 36 was good value. In Nikita Trymakin and Gustav Forsling the Canucks take two polar opposite. One is an absolute Giant (6’7″) on the blue line who uses his size and reach to play strong defence but needs to work on his awkward skating. Gustav Forsling is an undersized defenceman with very strong skating and offensive skills including a rocket of a point shot. Some people (including Canucks fans) have been rough on this draft, but we think Jim Benning made the best of some bad situations, and then made some solid pickups for the Canucks future.

http://lastwordonsports.com/2014/06/29/lwos-2014-nhl-draft-grades-part-3/

 

[Drop the Sopel]

They were cool with it.

Nice, thanks.

Everything I've heard and read about Benning from those outside this board has been good thus far. It's going to be interesting to see how these moves play out.

 

[Raincouver]

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.

The utter steam piles of crap which were the Gillis/Nonis administrations handcuffed this organization with an aging core, NTCs and a stuation pushed up to the cap with very few prospects and a lot of busts (see Schroeder, Jordan).

Right now, the Canucks have to add some vets to maintain a competitive environment and rebuild this thing...it's a 3-5 year process.

 

[carolinacanuck]

The utter steam piles of crap which were the Gillis/Nonis administrations handcuffed this organization with an aging core, NTCs and a stuation pushed up to the cap with very few prospects and a lot of busts (see Schroeder, Jordan).

Right now, the Canucks have to add some vets to maintain a competitive environment and rebuild this thing...it's a 3-5 year process.

good post. i'm sure benning wasn't absolutely thrilled at having to sign miller at this amount (just look at the pic of him shaking miller's hand on tsn).

but it's a necessary evil while the 4 year plan takes shape.

 

[Dezmoto]

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.

I don't understand this mentality. Miller cost us cap space, which we have plenty of and it doesn't look like it's even going to get used up this summer. Not only that, but we didn't have to give up any players, picks, or prospects to get him. It's win-win.

In no way does the Canucks signing of Miller hurt the team. Get over it.

 

[Barney Gumble]

The utter steam piles of crap which were the Gillis/Nonis administrations handcuffed this organization with an aging core, NTCs and a stuation pushed up to the cap with very few prospects and a lot of busts (see Schroeder, Jordan).

Right now, the Canucks have to add some vets to maintain a competitive environment and rebuild this thing...it's a 3-5 year process.

Most free agent vets of any real quality in today's environment are lilkely to want NTCs to sign here (or anywhere in Canada).

In no way does the Canucks signing of Miller hurt the team. Get over it.

If it meant not using that cap space on a guy like Bolland (or similiar bad deals) then I'd say I would give thumbs up to this acquisition

 

[Raincouver]

good post. i'm sure benning wasn't absolutely thrilled at having to sign miller at this amount (just look at the pic of him shaking miller's hand on tsn).

but it's a necessary evil while the 4 year plan takes shape.

Most free agent vets of any real quality in today's environment are lilkely to want NTCs to sign here (or anywhere in Canada).

There's a difference between a 3 year NTC and one for 12 years.

 

[Barney Gumble]

There's a difference between a 3 year NTC and one for 12 years.

True - but then again that contract (Luongo) was signed when there wasn't a cap recapture rule. And that's ONE guy.

Not thrilled about the NTCs to guys like Hansen or Higgins (with much shorter terms than 12 years).

 

[dps]

Good, a mentor for lack.

 

[Hollywood Burrows]

Good, a mentor for lack.

Yes, the surly and outspoken Ryan Miller, who was famous in Buffalo for not getting along with his backups and doing NOTHING to mentor them or even befriend them, will surely be a mentor to the guy whose job he just took.

 

[Raincouver]

True - but then again that contract (Luongo) was signed when there wasn't a cap recapture rule. And that's ONE guy.

Not thrilled about the NTCs to guys like Hansen or Higgins (with much shorter terms than 12 years).

Or Burrows.

Its like Gillis assumed the Canucks had no leverage at all.

 

[ddawg1950]

I am going to wait until next season, when we get a better read on their talent evaluation. They haven't done the moves I was hoping to see, but then again, Gilis almost always made moves I liked and so many of them turned out poor in the end.

Here's what I thought of some of Gillis' work at the time, and the general consensus around here was usually very similar...

Steve Bernier trade- loved it
Ballard trade- really liked it
Booth trade- liked it
Luongo at $5.3mil- liked it
Drafting Schroeder- loved it
Derek Roy trade- liked it

Gilis also made good moves that I liked at the time as well, but it just goes to show how unpredictable things are.

I am going with a wait and see approach on Benning's work. Here's hoping he has an eye for talent.

The other thing I've noticed is, the consensus among fans from the teams we acquired other players from is more often than not spot on.

Here's what I remember the general consensus was from opposing fans about guys we brought in...

Ballard- not a very good player. Good riddance.
Bernier- hands and feet were slow. Not disappointed he was dealt
Booth- ecstatic to see him go
Garrison- disappointed they couldn't re-sign him
Ehrhoff- good player, prone to the odd major giveaway
Kassian- inconsistent, but some intriguing tools
Roy- happy to see him go

More often than not, what we heard was pretty bang on.

And this is somewhat encouraging form the digging around I've done about the guys we're bringing in.

Bonino- Duck fans loved the guy
Vey- King fans for the most part think it was a smart move by Benning.
Dorsett- not heartbroken he dealt, but feel he was good in his role
Sbisa- happy to see him go

Based on what I've heard, Luca Sbisa is the only player I expect to struggle and probably disappoint. Will reserve judgement on all these guys 'til I get to see more, but the early reports seem pretty good.

I backtracked and quoted both your posts because they just struck me as so completely honest...and of course absolutely fits into the fan reaction of all those moves. People we deliriously happy with those early trades and signings.

Of course ultimately, many of those deals that seemed to be such a major SCORE turned out to be just so hopelessly mediocre...and in a couple of obvious cases, worse than mediocre.

By comparison, Benning's chance with this fan base was amazingly short lived.

Kim Kardashian had a longer honeymoon period.

But with the moves that Benning did make, this fan bases just started screaming. We even had a couple of doofi wanting a fire Benning thread after we signed Miller.

The truth is, I have no idea how some of these moves will work out. Bonino was a fan favourite. Vey was scoring at the AHL level. And Kesler turned into a rat.

Benning inherited an absolute mess.

I'm going to give him some time to work things out.

Really liked your posts, Sopel.

 

[Verviticus]

I am going to wait until next season, when we get a better read on their talent evaluation. They haven't done the moves I was hoping to see, but then again, Gilis almost always made moves I liked and so many of them turned out poor in the end.

Here's what I thought of some of Gillis' work at the time, and the general consensus around here was usually very similar...

Steve Bernier trade- loved it
Ballard trade- really liked it
Booth trade- liked it
Luongo at $5.3mil- liked it
Drafting Schroeder- loved it
Derek Roy trade- liked it

Gilis also made good moves that I liked at the time as well, but it just goes to show how unpredictable things are.

I am going with a wait and see approach on Benning's work. Here's hoping he has an eye for talent.

the thing about these moves is that other than the luongo deal, everything is still quality thinking in hindsight. sometimes bad things happen. we didn't expect, for instance, that derek roy would be on the 2nd line, or that david booth would suffer like nine injuries in two years here

 

[Interior Cascadian]

the thing about these moves is that other than the luongo deal, everything is still quality thinking in hindsight. sometimes bad things happen. we didn't expect, for instance, that derek roy would be on the 2nd line, or that david booth would suffer like nine injuries in two years here

Even the Luongo deal made sense at the time. When that deal went down we were calling for him to win the Vezina, and it was considered a clever, legal maneuver to circumvent the cap in the midst of gearing up for some cup runs.

It was the "Luongo Rule" that precipitated from lockout negotiations that turned around to bite management in the ass on that deal. And I was fine with the rule itself, but upset that they chose to penalize a team that did something perfectly legal prior to the rule, instead of grandfathering that contract in with the new CBA.

 

[Sharpshooter]

Yes, the surly and outspoken Ryan Miller, who was famous in Buffalo for not getting along with his backups and doing NOTHING to mentor them or even befriend them, will surely be a mentor to the guy whose job he just took.

People grow up as they age(maybe not on this board though). Give Miller a chance to see how he and Lack co-exist before proffering that Miller will not support Lack. It's quite obvious that Lack is a young goalie who will be playing with Miller, and that Miller is at the tail end of his career. Those two variable ought to be enough of a reason why Miller would more than likely be good with Lack as they share duties or if Lack is his backup and eventually becomes the starter. Miller's only here for 3, probably 2 years, so I doubt he's going to sour anything with Lack for competition at the position.

 

[ginner classic]

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

Watching hockey is not a social entitlement.


Average Joe's can't afford to do much of anything in this city except hike and enroll their kids in soccer.

 

[Barney Gumble]

People grow up as they age(maybe not on this board though). Give Miller a chance to see how he and Lack co-exist before proffering that Miller will not support Lack. It's quite obvious that Lack is a young goalie who will be playing with Miller, and that Miller is at the tail end of his career. Those two variable ought to be enough of a reason why Miller would more than likely be good with Lack as they share duties or if Lack is his backup and eventually becomes the starter. Miller's only here for 3, probably 2 years, so I doubt he's going to sour anything with Lack for competition at the position.

Again, not that I'm a fan of Miller but Luongo also started out as a pretty moody type of guy - a sort you wouldn't think would be able to mentor anybody. Luongo did have a healthy relationship with Schneider & I assume Lack. One could suppose Miller can change as well.

 

[Drop the Sopel]

Benning inherited an absolute mess.

I'm going to give him some time to work things out.

I agree. You have half the fanbase complaining he's targeting guys that are too old in Bonino and Sbisa, while the other half complaining because the team doesn't look like it's going to make the playoffs. And oddly enough, some people are pushing both those points. As if getting younger, while also getting better was a realistic proposition.

You're right, Benning inherited a complete mess. He gets a Kesler-less Canuck team that finished 25th in the NHL with Kesler, while icing a veteran, cap team. To top it off, he was left with a farm system in complete shambles.

the thing about these moves is that other than the luongo deal, everything is still quality thinking in hindsight. sometimes bad things happen. we didn't expect, for instance, that derek roy would be on the 2nd line, or that david booth would suffer like nine injuries in two years here

That's the point. Even though his big moves had reasoning behind them and they looked like good gambles to take, so many turned out to be complete disasters.

It's why I'm willing to take a wait and see approach and hope Benning's eye for talent is better than those who proceeded him. If nothing else, Benning was known to be a quality talent evaluator during his time in Buffalo. We desperately need some of that, as I'm not sold on the Canucks pro and amateur scouts.

And as I said before, the consensus opinion of the guys he's bringing in has been very good, save Luca Sbisa. And based on what I've witnessed in the past, opposing fans have given us an excellent read on the quality of players we've brought on board.

 

[Shareefruck]

Again, not that I'm a fan of Miller but Luongo also started out as a pretty moody type of guy - a sort you wouldn't think would be able to mentor anybody. Luongo did have a healthy relationship with Schneider & I assume Lack. One could suppose Miller can change as well.

Even as a moody guy, Luongo was always great with backups even in Florida with McLennan

 

[Gormo]

@RealKyper: #Canucks Miller deal calls for 5m sal and 1m SB each season. A key #NHL clause is modified no trade listing only 5 teams he will go to.

This really is the gift that keeps on killing

The way I see this is that they are making contingency plans in case things go south.

I wouldnt expect this kind of attention to detail unless they plan on going through with it down the road.

Gillis wouldnt touch a player with an NTC with a ten foot pole.

Now instead of having the zero options we would have with Gillis, we have 5 with Benning, that is assuming Benning was brought in for the right reasons.

Im not the biggest fan of this move, but you just cant go into next season with our goaltending the way it is, you just cant.

If Lack gets lit up and loses confidence, he has a project backing him up. Its a ridiculously precarious situation.

 

[LolClarkson*]

The way I see this is that they are making contingency plans in case things go south.

I wouldnt expect this kind of attention to detail unless they plan on going through with it down the road.

Gillis wouldnt touch a player with an NTC with a ten foot pole.

Now instead of having the zero options we would have with Gillis, we have 5 with Benning, that is assuming Benning was brought in for the right reasons.

Im not the biggest fan of this move, but you just cant go into next season with our goaltending the way it is, you just cant.

If Lack gets lit up and loses confidence, he has a project backing him up. Its a ridiculously precarious situation.

Does this NTC mean that he has to provide a list of 5 teams ?

So he can't reduce the list to 2 like Kesler did. He is bound by 5

Dallas might be another team that will need a goali if Lehtonen goes down again. There is lots of possibilities. Maybe SJ will trade Niemi streight across for Miller.

 

[mossey3535]

I'm not a big Botchford fan, but he raises some interesting points about the potential dynamics between Miller and goalie coach Rollie Melanson.....

"Rollie Melanson, who will be looking to modernize Miller’s game, pushing him deeper in the net, and cleaning up what some goalie coaches around the league believe is Miller’s sloppy technique.

Word from St. Louis is that a similar process did not go over well when its goalie coach Corey Hirsch tried to tweak Miller’s game with similar alterations.

It seems, Miller cited those changes behind the scenes as one of the reasons he struggled with the Blues. By the way, Hirsch is no longer the Blues goalie coach, fired after his relationship with Miller.

I’m open to being coached but I’m a little bit more stubborn in that you’re going to have to really explain to me why it’s going to work for me,†Miller said. “I’m going to push back. If they are a good teacher, they’re going to push back and ... we’re going to have a great relationship"

Should be interesting to watch how this plays out going forward.

I called this like a week ago. Melanson isn't a cookie-cutter coach, that's why Luongo ended up with a mix of what Melanson was teaching and what Allaire was giving him in the off-seasons.

It should be fine, but I'm sure Melanson would prefer the goalies to be as compliant as Lack and Markstrom. That's why Schneider was so successful - he just soaked everything up.

 

[Verviticus]

That's the point. Even though his big moves had reasoning behind them and they looked like good gambles to take, so many turned out to be complete disasters.

It's why I'm willing to take a wait and see approach and hope Benning's eye for talent is better than those who proceeded him. If nothing else, Benning was known to be a quality talent evaluator during his time in Buffalo. We desperately need some of that, as I'm not sold on the Canucks pro and amateur scouts.

the point im making is - i forgive gillis for some of his mistakes (not on, say, signing ****ing marco sturm, but he erased it), but if benning's **** turns out, all i'm going to think is 'man, its a good thing he's lucky instead of smart'

 

[Ubik]

Love this deal. Miller could have gotten 5/6 years at as high as 6.5m from some clubs.

3yrs at 6m is just the perfect number for the Canucks. Miller has always put up pretty great numbers on average Sabres teams. SV% consistently around .920

The NMC upsets people, but the fact is Benning did wonders with a 2 team list moving Kesler, he will be fine if Miller needs to be moved with a 5 team list, down the road.