Confirmed Signing with Link: [VAN] Tucker Poolman signs with the Canucks (4 years, $2.5M AAV)

[Boreal]

Of course they are glad. They have Schmidt and Dillion why do they need Poolman? He’s a good #4/#5 at worst, 2.5 is fair for a right handed dman of his caliber.

That might be optimistic. Poolman is a good dude. Has some tools that might suggest he's a #4/5 d-man but he's not a heady defender. He's an okay (average to perhaps slightly below average) bottom pairing d-man. I think the potential for Poolman to hit would be an above-average to solid #5/6 d-man. I wish him well, and I hope it works out. He'll compete his ass off, that's for certain. He won't bug you (wild puck slings up the ice with no human within 20 feet not withstanding), he'll do his job, he's just not an up-the-lineup kind of guy.

 

[bossram]

You’re acting like we paid the man 4 million plus

He got 2.5 million…less than what Ceci or Forbort just got…that’s literally market value for a UFA RHD of his caliber. My God people.

It's cap league. Every contract counts. Overpaying a marginal player by $1.5M x 4 years, on a club with no cap flexibility, and needing to extend their entire core of Petterson, Hughes, Boeser, Horvat, and Miller in the coming seasons, is idiotic. Full stop.

I'm not saying the Ceci or Forbort contracts are good. They're not. They're dumb too. But at least Ceci had a decent year in Pittsburgh in a top-four role. You can't say the same about Poolman.

This is just another instance of Benning overpaying (in dollars and term) a marginal player that hamstrings the club's cap flexibility later on. It's functionally the same as extending Dorsett, Sbisa, Gudbranson, Sutter, Beagle, Rousell. Look at how all those deals turned out. And myself, and the other people criticizing those deals, were proven right in every instance. And we will be again this time.

I know Benning won't learn, but I would think some of the more informed fans would finally learn after 7 years. I guess not.

 

[Sinistril]

We were 6th in GA last year (and only did that well in large part due to Demko's play) and were arguably one of, if not the, worst defensive team in the league. Our defense just lost their 2 best ES defenders in Schmidt and Edler and replaced them with OEL (a player I hope bounces back but who has been atrocious defensively for several years now)...and Poolman lol.

I think one could make a strong case we currently have the worst defense in the league. Demko will stop us from being dead last in GA like he did last season but man it's looking ugly. I don't think we make the playoffs specifically because of the defense. Hope I'm wrong but all signs point to the opposite.

6th in GA with a brutal backup, a condensed schedule beyond any other teams, playing against teams that the Canucks were expected to do poorly against given their prior history (a lot of Canucks fans just didn't do their due diligence before last season and overrated them), with an even worse forward group (forwards do account for GA).... Schmidt didn't fit in and Edler had his worst season ever (slow and old). There were a lot more reasons the Canucks were bad last season but you should take it with a grain of salt. It was a weird season.

 

[wpgallday1960]

I love it. Poolman is Tanev lite, huge fan of him. A little long at 4 years but AAV is good.

You’ll come to love him the way you love Myers. Ok bottom pair guy but double AAV what he’s worth. Term seems a little long too.

 

[BigZ65]

Off topic, but why do some people keep saying the bolded so confidently? Aren't there new TV deals coming and, even with COVID-19 coming back somewhat now, aren't there more butts getting into seats as compared with before? I'm not saying it's not possible, I just want to understand where this is coming from.

Because the PA now has to balance out revenue from the losses for owners of the past two seasons and it will take years, at least 3. Insiders like Friedman have spelled this out clearly.

 

[bossram]

Halak is both a bargain basement backup and a legit partner for Demko. It's not like Demko needs a 1a/1b situation. The Canucks just needed someone who's not a giant sieve to play 1/3 of the games. And giving Hughes 1.5 extra would be a mistake right now. Both Hughes and the Canucks need a bridge. Hughes to reach his full potential and the Canucks to be confident he can reach his full potential.

Poolman is probably not 1.5m overpaid anyways. Maybe 500k. The problem people have with this deal is term moreso than caphit. As it stands, the Canucks have plenty of money to sign their remaining RFAs and they might have some pocket change after for a couple depth energy players or a move at the TDL. That's fine.

Do they have a top defense in the league? No. Do they have a bottom 5 defense like many are claiming? Not even close. You need to look at the other defenses out there. The Canucks are in good company. And they should also have a bit more defensive help from their forwards this year. Benning was not going to make this team a contender overnight but they're greatly improved from last year. They might even be top 5 in the west (of course, that's given how terrible the west looks....).

Even if your evaluation of Poolman is correct, the term is extremely bad. The Canucks need to re-sign Boeser/Miller/Horvat in the coming years. Voluntarily adding inefficient long-term contracts is not going to help a club that already has little cap flexibility. The specific upgrade examples aren't the point. The point is that Benning continually goes out of his way to destroy any cap flexibility he has, by overpaying marginal players. It's happened so many times before. Like, they just got rid of Beagle/Roussell/Eriksson and we want to add more bad contracts?

The defence is still terrible. They're going to be a bottom-five xGA and SCA team. Book it.

 

[Grantham]

Does Jimbo have any clue how to evaluate defensemen?

Stupid signing. The Garland signing was brilliant but there is no justification of this even from the biggest homers

 

[Siludin]

If NHL teams were perfectly equitable and decided to pay every player $3.54m ($81.5m cap divided by 23 man roster), Tucker Poolman is still making lower-class wages. Lower-middle class at best..

 

[Diamonddog01]

Even if your evaluation of Poolman is correct, the term is extremely bad. The Canucks need to re-sign Boeser/Miller/Horvat in the coming years. Voluntarily adding inefficient long-term contracts is not going to help a club that already has little cap flexibility. The specific upgrade examples aren't the point. The point is that Benning continually goes out of his way to destroy any cap flexibility he has, by overpaying marginal players. It's happened so many times before. Like, they just got rid of Beagle/Roussell/Eriksson and we want to add more bad contracts?

The defence is still terrible. They're going to be a bottom-five xGA and SCA team. Book it.

Yup. Too many addicted to hopium who can't look at things clearly. This team will a dumpster fire on the backend.

 

[Sinistril]

Even if your evaluation of Poolman is correct, the term is extremely bad. The Canucks need to re-sign Boeser/Miller/Horvat in the coming years. Voluntarily adding inefficient long-term contracts is not going to help a club that already has little cap flexibility. The specific upgrade examples aren't the point. The point is that Benning continually goes out of his way to destroy any cap flexibility he has, by overpaying marginal players. It's happened so many times before. Like, they just got rid of Beagle/Roussell/Eriksson and we want to add more bad contracts?

The defence is still terrible. They're going to be a bottom-five xGA and SCA team. Book it.

The term is bad yes. But resigning Boeser/Miller/Horvat isn't as big of a deal as some make it out to be. Luongo's recapture being off the books next year will make that much easier. I don't think the Canucks have a good defense but they're not as bad as you suggest if you look at what is going on with other teams.... But we'll agree to see what next season brings on that front

 

[ffh]

He's ok as a bottom pairing D-man. We got absolutely caved this year because Maurice thought he could play top pair with Morrissey. Newsflash: he can't.

Y'all better hope the AAV is under $1.5M.

Edit: pfffft, he's not a 4x2.5 kind of guy. This one is going to hurt.

Who should Maurice have played there. Niku. Well worth that contract.

 

[Tasteless Beaver]

Who should Maurice have played there. Niku. Well worth that contract.

We'll sell him to Vancouver for a 3rd, too.

 

[TheUnusedCrayon]

Off topic, but why do some people keep saying the bolded so confidently? Aren't there new TV deals coming and, even with COVID-19 coming back somewhat now, aren't there more butts getting into seats as compared with before? I'm not saying it's not possible, I just want to understand where this is coming from.

Reports from all media states that over the next several years the NHL is wanting a flat cap to recoup costs.

 

[Zirakzigil]

Solid player, slight over payment.

 

[bossram]

The term is bad yes. But resigning Boeser/Miller/Horvat isn't as big of a deal as some make it out to be. Luongo's recapture being off the books next year will make that much easier. I don't think the Canucks have a good defense but they're not as bad as you suggest if you look at what is going on with other teams.... But we'll agree to see what next season brings on that front

Each of those three will need raises. It's not going to be easy to juggle the cap (especially if Benning is still around to bring in other marginal players on inefficient contracts). And I forgot Hoglander will also need a new deal too.

It's just a stupid allocation of money. There's no excuse.

The blueline is bad. Maybe it's better than Edmonton's? That's not exactly a high bar to clear. Vancouver does not have a single capable shot/chance suppressing defenseman. Demko is going to be under siege.

 

[CherryToke]

8.5 mil for Myers and Poolman

 

[sandwichbird2023]

You're right, it's not an Eriksson or Myers level mistake - it's a Roussel or Beagle level mistake.

Good, then in 3 years we'll just attach another good 1st round pick to dump this contract too, just like the Beagle and Roussel ones.

 

[Regal]

It's cap league. Every contract counts. Overpaying a marginal player by $1.5M x 4 years, on a club with no cap flexibility, and needing to extend their entire core of Petterson, Hughes, Boeser, Horvat, and Miller in the coming seasons, is idiotic. Full stop.

I'm not saying the Ceci or Forbort contracts are good. They're not. They're dumb too. But at least Ceci had a decent year in Pittsburgh in a top-four role. You can't say the same about Poolman.

This is just another instance of Benning overpaying (in dollars and term) a marginal player that hamstrings the club's cap flexibility later on. It's functionally the same as extending Dorsett, Sbisa, Gudbranson, Sutter, Beagle, Rousell. Look at how all those deals turned out. And myself, and the other people criticizing those deals, were proven right in every instance. And we will be again this time.

I know Benning won't learn, but I would think some of the more informed fans would finally learn after 7 years. I guess not.

Great post. It's baffling that after just seeing what happened to the Canucks with long term deals to marginal players that anyone would support this deal.

 

[bossram]

8.5 mil for Myers and Poolman

$15.7M between OEL, Myers, and Poolman.

You could get better defensive performance by signing Pysyk, Bogosian, and Merrill for like a combined $3M. It's pretty comical.

 

[John Johnson]

Man some of you should be GMs I bet you guys would be haggling players so well and getting awesome contracts everytime. Touch grass people.

 

[Sinistril]

$15.7M between OEL, Myers, and Poolman.

You could get better defensive performance by signing Pysyk, Bogosian, and Merrill for like a combined $3M. It's pretty comical.

Uhh

 

[CloutierForVezina]

Good, then in 3 years we'll just attach another good 1st round pick to dump this contract too, just like the Beagle and Roussel ones.

Don't forget the part where we take back another 6 years of a gigantic contract in exchange for 1 year of cap relief

 

[John Johnson]

$15.7M between OEL, Myers, and Poolman.

You could get better defensive performance by signing Pysyk, Bogosian, and Merrill for like a combined $3M. It's pretty comical.

Lol, do you really thing any of those guys would re-sign for their current contracts especially during FA? Not to mention they might be able to play defense but they would all be a black hole on offense. Like literally nothing on offense. Also Bogosian has stated he would not come to Canada before. Theres more going on with these players than just being a robot and taking discounts all the time. If you were GM you would not be signing perfect contracts every time.

 

[Breakers]

Anybody who thinks is a good contract are the same people that liked Roussel and Beagles contracts.

they talk about “their AAV is a small percentage”

newsflash, Vancouver just gave away picks to Arizona to take those trash contracts like 5 days ago because they had too much term.

zero reason for Poolman to get this term

 

[Regal]

Man some of you should be GMs I bet you guys would be haggling players so well and getting awesome contracts everytime. Touch grass people.

It's not about haggling the deal it's about not signing these guys that are in bidding wars at all. Lots of players sign for cheap deals every year. The Canucks signed Benn and Fantenberg the same offseason. Benn for 2 million, Fanta for 850K. Fanta ended up taking Benn's job for half of the season and overall they ended up bringing similar value. If they had signed a similar player to Fantenberg to split time for another 850K, suddenly they free up 1.15 million for the rest of the roster and end up with the same value. Poolman is very similar to Benn in that there's a decent chance that someone could reasonably replicate his performance for under a million.