First off Mitts has been a sub par player until his season. He has been moved to the wing and has had better results. The Canucks don't need another 3rd line wing that doesn't really produce and is having a career year with 28 points. Jokiharju would be a decent add, but he has averaged under 20 minutes a night over his time in buffalo, a defensive starved team until this season. He's still young and I wouldn't be angry with him on the Canucks but he isn't really a minute eater as you say. In fact I don't know if he is an upgrade on Ethan Bear. If the Canucks are trading Demko, at least one piece coming back should have the potential to be a valuable piece, not more of what we already have, and clearly what we have hasn't been very successful.
Sabres fan from BC who watches a lot of both teams here.
Jokiharju is a good young, right-handed defenceman on an affordable contract who is not big, but very mobile and surprisingly good defending one-on-one. He breaks up a lot of offence with an excellent stick and is strong in both offensive and defensive transition.
He will engage but is not punishing by any means and will get overpowered in situations he can’t win in a quick strike fashion. He has some skill offensively because he is confident with the puckbut will never be leaned on for that on a good team.
He’s aggressive by nature - not in the sandpaper sense, or the all-offence sense, but in the sense that he’s always moving toward the play, closing gaps or trying to fire pucks through them. It often results in good breakouts and breakups, but it can also get him into trouble.
Dont let his career totals fool you, he’s capable of a lot of minutes and has piled up 20-24 minutes without wearing down on many occasions over the past 2 years. He kills penalties and you don’t have to shelter him. He’s a comfortable fit as a #4 on most good teams and has performed well in that role this year for the Sabres. He played a lot of first pairing minutes last year and got exposed at times, which, added to a lack of muscle or flash, made him a bit of a whipping boy for some Sabres fans. But he is a pretty good fit for the way the game is played today.
I’m pretty confident he fills quite a few needs for the Canucks - transition, modern defending, contract, position - and would probably be their best RH, although that’s not where you’d want to slot him. However, I think Demko is a legit #1 and would be hoping to get more than a 2nd-pairing D in return If I was shopping him. Besides, I have heard no indication that Jokiharju is available. We aren’t deep on D beyond the top 4 and Granato seems to love him.
