Confirmed with Link: Canucks sign UFA D Cam Barker to 1-Year, $700K Deal

[Bougieman]

Can you imagine this thread if Barker did good with us?

It's going to be funny, because I personally think he's gonna stick with the team. He's worked REALLY hard to get back to this point. The stats don't tell the whole story with this guy.

The Canucks know what they're doing, you guys. Have a little faith. Chris Higgins wasn't wanted by anyone either when he came here, and now look at him. Solid part of the team.

 

[Intoewsables]

let's see if this signing either pans out or is a bust. gillis loves to have reclaimination projects and having players reviving their careers.

There's nothing to revive. He's always been horrible.

Though, maybe if we acquire Toews, Kane, Sharp and Keith and stick him on the PP with them...

 

[The Optimist]

Though, maybe if we acquire Toews, Kane, Sharp and Keith and stick him on the PP with them...

I'd rather have Sedins, Edler and Kesler when it comes to the PP.

 

[me2]

My understanding of the new CBA is, there are no waivers. We can recall him whenever necessary and since his cap is under 900k, there is zero penalty to the Canucks.

I believe there are still down waivers just no longer recall waivers.

 

[Tiranis]

It's going to be funny, because I personally think he's gonna stick with the team. He's worked REALLY hard to get back to this point. The stats don't tell the whole story with this guy.

He really hasn't. He sucked in the AHL — avoided contact and played with no heart, I would hardly call that working hard. I'll be happy if this works out but there's been a lot of dubious arguments pro Barker in this thread.

 

[maroon 6]

It's going to be funny, because I personally think he's gonna stick with the team. He's worked REALLY hard to get back to this point. The stats don't tell the whole story with this guy.

The Canucks know what they're doing, you guys. Have a little faith. Chris Higgins wasn't wanted by anyone either when he came here, and now look at him. Solid part of the team.

Or he can turn into Marco Sturm...

 

[Pseudonymous*]

Or he can turn into Marco Sturm...

I dont think people would have cared much about Marco sturm not working out if his salary was 700k

 

[Lonny Bohonos]

Or he can turn into Marco Sturm...

And be flipped for something? Cool.

 

[Lonny Bohonos]

He really hasn't. He sucked in the AHL — avoided contact and played with no heart, I would hardly call that working hard. I'll be happy if this works out but there's been a lot of dubious arguments pro Barker in this thread.

I dont think anyone is expecting big things from him. In fact most people probably expect him to fail. But MG always has some angle.

Maybe Barker plays well enough it convinces another team desperate for a offensive Dman to give up a 3rd or a 4th.

Theres your 3rd or 4th you bought for $700,000(pro rata).

Unless hes taking up valuable space to me this is near enough a non-issue.

 

[Reign Nateo]

So what exactly is the risk for a 'Cup or bust' team? That he singlehandedly costs us the Cup? Because outside if that, I don't see what harm he can really do. Give Edmonton fans ammo? They'll find something to latch onto anyway. Seems pretty far fetched to me, is that the risk we're talking about? Because I really don't see how else this hurts the Canucks. Cup is all that matters, so unless Barker gets in the way of that, who really cares?

 

[putridgasbag]

They've made some questionable decisions. That GA has more to do with having 2 outstanding goaltenders. They stood on their heads many nights.

So the teams above them didn't have the same thing?

 

[putridgasbag]

Even though Canucks is one of the richest teams in the league, they must have a limit on their budget. I don't know how much you earn but $700,000 is a lot of money.

With that money, I'm sure they could arrange at least a few more trips to see more prospects before wasting draft picks on garbage players. (I hope they did'nt make those garbage picks that they made in the past even after seeing them in person. )

You do realize that the team does need a guy to sit in the press box and be that 8th dman and he is required to be paid at least the league minimum?

Holy overblown reactions to signing a depth defenceman.

 

[y2kcanucks]

You do realize that the team does need a guy to sit in the press box and be that 8th dman and he is required to be paid at least the league minimum?

Holy overblown reactions to signing a depth defenceman.

Maybe we should have one of our top defenseman prospects rotting away in our press box instead? Totally agree. The hate going on in this thread is ridiculous.

 

[Proto]

Chris Higgins wasn't wanted by anyone either when he came here, and now look at him. Solid part of the team.

AV, is that you?

I'd love to hear anything other similarity between Higgins and Barker than "both played for lots of teams" -- because there aren't any.

 

[Proto]

I dont think anyone is expecting big things from him. In fact most people probably expect him to fail. But MG always has some angle.

Maybe Barker plays well enough it convinces another team desperate for a offensive Dman to give up a 3rd or a 4th.

Theres your 3rd or 4th you bought for $700,000(pro rata).

Unless hes taking up valuable space to me this is near enough a non-issue.

Considering there's about a 12-15% chance of a 3rd round pick having any sort of career in the NHL, I don't think a 3rd round pick is worth $500,000 or whatever the cost of that is. And considering there's probably only a 1 in 5 chance of Barker even playing that well (that's being really charitable, but for argument's sake I'll give you 20%), you're looking at a 2.5 million dollar "risk" for a 3rd round pick? I don't see it.

I think it's just bad scouting.

 

[Tiranis]

You do realize that the team does need a guy to sit in the press box and be that 8th dman and he is required to be paid at least the league minimum?

Holy overblown reactions to signing a depth defenceman.

Our 8th D-man saw quite a bit of action the past two years. I would say it's smart to have somebody reliable in that role. Cam Barker is not "somebody reliable."

 

[Proto]

So what exactly is the risk for a 'Cup or bust' team? That he singlehandedly costs us the Cup? Because outside if that, I don't see what harm he can really do. Give Edmonton fans ammo? They'll find something to latch onto anyway. Seems pretty far fetched to me, is that the risk we're talking about? Because I really don't see how else this hurts the Canucks. Cup is all that matters, so unless Barker gets in the way of that, who really cares?

I don't understand this argument. When you look at recent history, there's a decent chance the Canucks will end up playing a significant number of defensemen this season. You don't have to go back far -- to both the 2010 and 2011 post-season -- to see what happens when defensemen play far out of their depth: a decent safe 6-7 guy like Aaron Rome starts to be a liability; a slightly less decent 6-7 guy like Shane O'Brien gets crushed; your better defensemen that are still playing (or injured) start to look a lot worse; your really questionable 6-7 guys like Alberts look awful and start costing the team games. Cam Barker is demonstrably worse than all of these players. If he ends up in the line-up because "lol #3 pick", the team will be worse for it.

In more than 2000 EV minutes over recent seasons, Andrew Alberts has outscored Cam Barker. So there's that.

 

[Turrican*]

God help you all if he gets a chance to play in your top 6

 

[y2kcanucks]

Our 8th D-man saw quite a bit of action the past two years. I would say it's smart to have somebody reliable in that role. Cam Barker is not "somebody reliable."

Cam Barker has the toolbox of a PMD, whereas someone like Jim Vandermeer is a pure mucker with no offensive skill. Considering our lack of offensive options on the back end, if someone like Edler goes down to injury we would be stuck replacing him with Andrew Alberts. Not ideal. Whether or not Barker has any tools in his toolbox remains to be seen, but it's really not a bad gamble.

 

[Tiranis]

Cam Barker has the toolbox of a PMD, whereas someone like Jim Vandermeer is a pure mucker with no offensive skill. Considering our lack of offensive options on the back end, if someone like Edler goes down to injury we would be stuck replacing him with Andrew Alberts. Not ideal. Whether or not Barker has any tools in his toolbox remains to be seen, but it's really not a bad gamble.

Why is it relevant that he's a PMD if he's completely brutal in his own zone? He won't be able to take shifts with the Sedins or the 2nd line to provide that puck movement due to the difficult match-ups they face. He's certainly not going to be out there with the 3rd line. So that leaves the 4th line where his puck moving skills are worthless.

Not to mention that he showed very little of his supposed skills in the AHL. He was at best a #4 in the AHL and showed nothing offensively.

 

[Barney Gumble]

Chris Higgins wasn't wanted by anyone either when he came here, and now look at him. Solid part of the team.

Incorrect. The Flames wanted to re-sign him but due to their cap problems - they couldn't afford to offer him anything more than the min. cap hit. His offense continued to struggle in Calgary but he was a more than a respectable defensive forward.

 

[y2kcanucks]

Why is it relevant that he's a PMD if he's completely brutal in his own zone? Not to mention that he showed very little of his supposed skills in the AHL.

Why does it matter if Vandermeer is competent in his own zone if he's completely brutal in the offensive zone? Our team relies on offense coming from the back end, so if one of our PMD's gets hurt we could be screwed, that's why.

And like I said, we will see if he's able to actually play that role if need be. In Chicago he didn't do too bad, while elsewhere he was terrible. As a 7th or 8th defenseman he isn't a bad gamble.

 

[craigcaulks*]

God help you all if he gets a chance to play in your top 6

Not playing on the worst team in the NHL will automatically make him look a little better.

 

[Proto]

Cam Barker has the toolbox of a PMD, whereas someone like Jim Vandermeer is a pure mucker with no offensive skill. Considering our lack of offensive options on the back end, if someone like Edler goes down to injury we would be stuck replacing him with Andrew Alberts. Not ideal. Whether or not Barker has any tools in his toolbox remains to be seen, but it's really not a bad gamble.

In his last 2000+ 5 on 5 minutes, Andrew Alberts has outscored Cam Barker 5 to 3 while only being SLIGHTLY AWFUL™ in his own end, rather than SUBLIMELY AWFUL™.

Barker's defense is so bad I sometimes wonder if it's actually post-moderm performance art. Is he desconstructing our notion of reality?

 

[Proto]

And like I said, we will see if he's able to actually play that role if need be. In Chicago he didn't do too bad, while elsewhere he was terrible. As a 7th or 8th defenseman he isn't a bad gamble.

I'd say his numbers in Chicago while surrounded with a great cast of players were quite bad when you consider that he had 60% offensize zone starts in his "good" year. Just a mirage. Like when K. Foster got a big payday for putting up 40 points on the Lightning PP.

Why does it matter if Vandermeer is competent in his own zone if he's completely brutal in the offensive zone? Our team relies on offense coming from the back end, so if one of our PMD's gets hurt we could be screwed, that's why.

And like I said, we will see if he's able to actually play that role if need be. In Chicago he didn't do too bad, while elsewhere he was terrible. As a 7th or 8th defenseman he isn't a bad gamble.

At least Vandermeer plays respectable hockey at one end of the rink. Barker doesn't play it at either.