Speculation: iMac: Canucks will be "aggressive" on July 1st with regards to second-tier FAs

[MS]

Norwegian media reports that the Canucks are very interested in Mats Zuccarello.

Zuccarello has been a very good player but as a 32 y/o 50-60 point guy he’s the exact definition of players that are pretty much always UFA disasters and fall off a cliff early in their contracts.

Canucks being linked to forward Kevin Hayes....only 27 and fairly decent production over the past couple of seasons....and versatile enough to play both center and wing.

Strikes me that he's the kind of forward the Canucks should go after, who's got size and can play up and down the lineup.

Good target but as a guy from Boston who has spent his entire career in NYC it’s *extremely* unlikely that he leaves the east coast of the US to sign with a bad team in Canada unless we make some sort of ludicrous overpayment.

Also he’s unlikely to get many quality looks at his preferred position at centre on this team.

I'd be very on-board with Jeff Skinner. He seems to thrive in creative offences with playmakers, which is exactly what we have with our elite guys. He's relatively young, hungry, and is one of the few guys I'd be interested in throwing term and $$ at.

Skinner is such a weird player. Has a 20-25 game stretch every year where he scores 20 goals and is absolutely all-world. Then gets 10 goals in the other 55 games while being a defensive liability.

There have also been reports he wants to stay in the NY/Ontario area and Buffalo sounds keen to bring him back.

 

[rypper]

Zuccarello just feels like Loui Eriksson 2.0. A guy who's due to fall off a cliff anytime now, next year or in a year or two.

I wonder what Duchene's plan is, to stay in Columbus or if he'd be interested in coming out west.

 

[sting101]

6’8 Aaron Rome without the quality defence or physical play. His most used break out? Off the glass and out and into the other teams possession. He’s awful!

what makes you think he's awful? Can anyone provide something tangible here?

49th in scoring. Thats 1B production and its a pretty standard per year for him
36th in SOG. gets shots through and can run a PP2
89th in ATOI at 20:21
50th in takeaways with 32 ....Gudbranson had 7
is a +25 the last 3 seasons and has a 50% corsi playing with mostly 3rd pair defenseman
His turnover ration is basically the same as Trouba and better than Byfuglien but yes he does have his moments......so does Edler

He's a legit top4 defenseman with some risk. But the big man can still skate just turned 29 (is 4yrs younger than Edler). Most Jet fans would like him back at the same dollar value and if they didnt have to make tough cap allocation decisions.

I certainly dont want a max term deal at ridiculous money but we badly need a top4 and Tanev is useless in a walking boot every year and should be moved on from.

 

[elitepete]

what makes you think he's awful? Can anyone provide something tangible here?

49th in scoring. Thats 1B production and its a pretty standard per year for him
36th in SOG. gets shots through and can run a PP2
89th in ATOI at 20:21
50th in takeaways with 32 ....Gudbranson had 7
is a +25 the last 3 seasons and has a 50% corsi playing with mostly 3rd pair defenseman
His turnover ration is basically the same as Trouba and better than Byfuglien but yes he does have his moments......so does Edler

He's a legit top4 defenseman with some risk. But the big man can still skate just turned 29 (is 4yrs younger than Edler). Most Jet fans would like him back at the same dollar value and if they didnt have to make tough cap allocation decisions.

I certainly dont want a max term deal at ridiculous money but we badly need a top4 and Tanev is useless in a walking boot every year and should be moved on from.

He’s not that good. Hutton is a better player.
The most I would give him is 1-2 years for 4mill. That obviously wouldn’t get it done. So I don’t want him.

 

[sting101]

That would be an awful contract. He's not worth $6M. I'd even be iffy on him at $4M.

LOL 4 million for a 40-50pt player as a UFA??....good luck with that.

The key is term. Almost all wingers crash and burn after 32.......No post 32 yrs.

MoJo for 4.5-5 x 3 would be a palatable contract. I've been impressed by his game lately

 

[y2kcanucks]

LOL 4 million for a 40-50pt player as a UFA??....good luck with that.

The key is term. Almost all wingers crash and burn after 32.......No post 32 yrs.

MoJo for 4.5-5 x 3 would be a palatable contract. I've been impressed by his game lately

I don't fall for recency bias though. 3 goals and 9 points in 14 playoff games isn't bad, but the 1 goal and 3 points in 10 games with Boston in the regular season was bad. 13 goals and 30 points in 58 games this season isn't anything to be excited about either.

I would just avoid Johansson altogether. He'll be 29 at the start of the season, and the Canucks aren't in a spot where they should be overpaying guys like that long-term.

 

[sting101]

The Jets, who had multiple defenceman go down this year, still kept Myers around 4th/5th 5v5 mins. So when they had Trouba or Buff go down, they didn’t even trust to move him up. As he’s a #5 defenceman with draft pedigree and a big frame. Does this not sound familiar? Canucks had to take on a guy who had basically found himself in cap dump territory with 3 years remaining just to move the last guy out

What are you using to substantiate this?

Post Byfuglien injury game reports had him top3 every game in icetime with 5-9 14pts in 25 games post injury and a few of those he played hurt and missed a couple of games because of it.

 

[DonnyNucker]

He’s not that good. Hutton is a better player.
The most I would give him is 1-2 years for 4mill. That obviously wouldn’t get it done. So I don’t want him.

Hutton is better ? Wow. I like you, you are hilarious!

 

[y2kcanucks]

Hutton is better ? Wow. I like you, you are hilarious!

Tyler Myers is a bottom pairing defenseman.

 

[elitepete]

Hutton is better ? Wow. I like you, you are hilarious!

You’re awful at assessing defensemen.

 

[MS]

what makes you think he's awful? Can anyone provide something tangible here?

49th in scoring. Thats 1B production and its a pretty standard per year for him
36th in SOG. gets shots through and can run a PP2
89th in ATOI at 20:21
50th in takeaways with 32 ....Gudbranson had 7
is a +25 the last 3 seasons and has a 50% corsi playing with mostly 3rd pair defenseman
His turnover ration is basically the same as Trouba and better than Byfuglien but yes he does have his moments......so does Edler

He's a legit top4 defenseman with some risk. But the big man can still skate just turned 29 (is 4yrs younger than Edler). Most Jet fans would like him back at the same dollar value and if they didnt have to make tough cap allocation decisions.

I certainly dont want a max term deal at ridiculous money but we badly need a top4 and Tanev is useless in a walking boot every year and should be moved on from.

He’s still a decent 4-5 guy. In year one of the contract. I don’t think anyone is saying he’s a total bum right now.

The first problem is that a decent 4-5 guy shouldn’t be getting the 7-year, $50 million contract that Myers probably will.

The second problem is that he can’t still skate, or at the very least it’s declining alarmingly. His footwork is getting really wobbly and slow and he’s getting turnstiled a lot. And the thought of what that will look like in 3-5 years makes me a bit ill.

 

[DonnyNucker]

Tyler Myers is a bottom pairing defenseman.

You believe he is worse than Hutton?

 

[elitepete]

Tyler Myers is a bottom pairing defenseman.

I’d say he’s a fringe #4 whereas Hutton is a good #4.

 

[sting101]

I don't fall for recency bias though. 3 goals and 9 points in 14 playoff games isn't bad, but the 1 goal and 3 points in 10 games with Boston in the regular season was bad. 13 goals and 30 points in 58 games this season isn't anything to be excited about either.

I would just avoid Johansson altogether. He'll be 29 at the start of the season, and the Canucks aren't in a spot where they should be overpaying guys like that long-term.

thats fine im not a superfan of Johansson but he has utility and can produce anywhere in the top9 and has enough jamb to play in tough ares as well as good defensively. Feel like he would compliment EP40 and Boeser nicely and because he doesnt have the sexy numbers the last couple seasons he may be better value and term

As i said the key for the inevitable signing has to be term.

 

[MS]

thats fine im not a superfan of Johansson but he has utility and can produce anywhere in the top9 and has enough jamb to play in tough ares as well as good defensively. Feel like he would compliment EP40 and Boeser nicely and because he doesnt have the sexy numbers the last couple seasons he may be better value and term

As i said the key for the inevitable signing has to be term.

Johansson is absolutely not good defensively.

He’s a guy I wouldn’t touch with a 10 foot pole. Gross injury history, not a great skater, long stretches of poor production outside of a stretch getting 20 minutes/game on NJ’s top line.

 

[Cancuks]

Johansson is absolutely not good defensively.

He’s a guy I wouldn’t touch with a 10 foot pole. Gross injury history, not a great skater, long stretches of poor production outside of a stretch getting 20 minutes/game on NJ’s top line.

Sounds exactly like Baertschi.

 

[DonnyNucker]

I’d say he’s a fringe #4 whereas Hutton is a good #4.

Blind homerism. Hutton isn’t top 4 on the Canucks and he is a good top 4 league wide? We arguably have the worst D in the entire league!

 

[sting101]

He’s still a decent 4-5 guy. In year one of the contract. I don’t think anyone is saying he’s a total bum right now.

The first problem is that a decent 4-5 guy shouldn’t be getting the 7-year, $50 million contract that Myers probably will.

The second problem is that he can’t still skate, or at the very least it’s declining alarmingly. His footwork is getting really wobbly and slow and he’s getting turnstiled a lot. And the thought of what that will look like in 3-5 years makes me a bit ill.

Thats fine. I really only seen him about 5 times reg season this year and 1 of those games i could see what your saying regarding the footwork. Thought he was really good in last years playoffs and solid enough this year though and he is only 29 playing defense. Its not like he skates remotely like Schenn or Alzner but his quickness is a problem if it drops noticeably.

I get the feeling he's a bit of a whipping boy due to being inferior to Trouba and Byfuglien though and that he gets crap defensive partners but i digress and respect your opinion if you've watched him a bunch. I honestly cant see anyway we get him on a respectable contract anyway so i would prefer we get Stralman for 2yrs at overpayment instead and then just ride Tanev and whoever until hopefully Jet Woo becomes a player.

He's still a good NHLer though a good 4/5 guy but not worth putting into your top 6 or 7 paid players which is why Winnipeg is walking away

 

[y2kcanucks]

You believe he is worse than Hutton?

That's a tough one. I think Hutton is actually overrated and his perceived value is higher than his actual production. I wouldn't be upset at all if neither are Canucks.

I do think Myers, with his expected contract, is worse than Hutton.

I’d say he’s a fringe #4 whereas Hutton is a good #4.

Very, very, very fringe number 4. I really think he's more of a bottom pair guy. He performed well in that role in Winnipeg. He wouldn't be signed to play that role here...this would be the Eriksson/Gudbranson situation all over again.

thats fine im not a superfan of Johansson but he has utility and can produce anywhere in the top9 and has enough jamb to play in tough ares as well as good defensively. Feel like he would compliment EP40 and Boeser nicely and because he doesnt have the sexy numbers the last couple seasons he may be better value and term

As i said the key for the inevitable signing has to be term.

I would stay completely away from UFA's like Johansson who will be overpaid and won't be worth the contract. Either go all in and sign a legit top star like Panarin, or stay away completely and search for those cheap 1-year deals where you try to extract value at the deadline.

 

[DonnyNucker]

That's a tough one. I think Hutton is actually overrated and his perceived value is higher than his actual production. I wouldn't be upset at all if neither are Canucks.

I do think Myers, with his expected contract, is worse than Hutton.



Very, very, very fringe number 4. I really think he's more of a bottom pair guy. He performed well in that role in Winnipeg. He wouldn't be signed to play that role here...this would be the Eriksson/Gudbranson situation all over again.



I would stay completely away from UFA's like Johansson who will be overpaid and won't be worth the contract. Either go all in and sign a legit top star like Panarin, or stay away completely and search for those cheap 1-year deals where you try to extract value at the deadline.

I want Hutton off this team. I’m not advocating for Myers, or any UFA for that matter, but I do think he would upgrade our D. His contract would be ugly

 

[y2kcanucks]

I want Hutton off this team. I’m not advocating for Myers, or any UFA for that matter, but I do think he would upgrade our D. His contract would be ugly

Hutton is likely to ask for $4M, and if it goes to arbitration I don't see how he wouldn't get that. He's not worth $4M. I'd be happy with Hutton retained at $2M but I don't see him signing that nor do I see an arbitrator awarding him that (especially when he can point to the other contracts Benning has given out). This is another reason why Benning giving out bad contracts hurts. But I digress.

I do agree with you that we should be exploring trade options for Hutton to see if we can get a draft pick for him.

 

[4Twenty]

Sounds exactly like Baertschi.

Or Spooner, or Granlund or Goldobin.

Is the team trying to corner the market on soft ass sub 6ft middle 6 tweeners who really have no stand out qualities other than sometimes being able to ride true talents coattails?

 

[TruGr1t]

All the names mentioned (Myers, Zuc, Johansson, etc.) are already declining and likely won't have even a sniff of value associated with their "retirement" contracts. These are exactly the types of FAs you shouldn't be targeting unless they're putting you over the top to be a Cup contender in the next 1-2 years. Why do we continue to be the NHL's retirement home? I don't even think these are necessarily bad players, but why would you pay an absolute fortune in premiums for guys that aren't even going to move the needle that much and are effectively depth players (i.e. 2nd/3rd liners, 4/5 d-men).

Are the Canucks absolutely against finding any sort of value in free agency? Like philosophically opposed? It's like they purposefully target players that are going to bring the least utility per contract dollar paid.

The worst is we're going to sign some of these guys and the idiots in management are going to try to convince the fan base they've signed first liners or top-pairing d-men.

 

[Hit the post]

Blind homerism. Hutton isn’t top 4 on the Canucks and he is a good top 4 league wide? We arguably have the worst D in the entire league!

Actually in terms of minutes per game Button was at least a #4 on the Canucks this past season. (2nd in terms of minutes per game). That's more an indictment of Barney Fife the GM than Huttons ability.

It's fine to want an upgrade over him but do you seriously think he'll be able to do that via trade or free agency which he failed to do so in the past FIVE years.

I consider Stecher more of the solid amateur work under this regime.

 

[elitepete]

Blind homerism. Hutton isn’t top 4 on the Canucks and he is a good top 4 league wide? We arguably have the worst D in the entire league!

Hutton plays on our 2nd pairing and is our 3rd best defensemen.