Speculation: Who do we target on D after OEL Buyout?

[theguardianII]

Some names to think about.

Assuming a trade is made before July 1st.

Bruins:
Short Term:
Matt Grzelcyk - LD - 29yo - 1y/3.68m
Derek Forbort - LD - 31yo - 1y/3.0m (8 NTC)
Jakub Zboril - LD/RD - 26yo - 1y/1.14m

Long Term:
Brandon Carlo - RD - 26yo - 4y/4.1m

---

Flames:
Short Term:
Noah Hanifin - LD - 26yo - 4.95m (8 NTC)
Chris Tanev - RD - 33yo - 4.5m (10 NTC)
Nikita Zadorov - LD/RD - 28yo - 3.75m
Oliver Kylington - LD/RD - 26yo - 1.5m

Long Term:
Rasmus Andersson - 26yo - 4.55m

---

Avalanche:
Long Term:
Samuel Girard - LD/RD - 25yo - 4y/5m
Bowen Bryam - LD/RD - 22yo - RFA

---

Blue Jackets:
Long Term:
Andrew Peeke - RD - 25yo - 3y/2.75m
Adam Boqvist - RD - 22yo - 2y/2.6m (RFA)
Jake Bean - LD/RD - 25yo - 1y/2.33m (RFA)

---

Kings:
Short Term:
Matt Roy - RD - 28yo - 1y/3.15m

Long Term:
Sean Durzi - LD/RD - 24yo - 1.7m (RFA)

---

Rangers:
Long Term:
Ryan Lindgrem - LD - 25yo - 1y/3.0m (RFA)
Braden Schneider - RD - 21yo - 1y/0.93m (RFA)
K'Andre Miller - LD - 23yo - RFA

---

Flyers:
Short Term:
Sean Walker - LD/RD - 28yo - 1y/2.65m

Long Term:
Travis Sanheim - LD - 27yo - 8y/6.25m

---

Penguins:
Long Term:
Marcus Pettersson - LD - 27yo - 2y/4.03m
P.O. Joseph - LD - 23yo - 1y/0.83m (RFA)

---

Blues:
Short Term:
Marco Scandella - LD - 33yo - 1y/3.28m (7 NTC)

---

Maple Leafs:
Short Term:
TJ Brodie - LD - 33yo - 1y/5.0m

---

Golden Knights:
Short Term:
Alec Martinez - LD - 35yo - 1y/5.25m (12 NTC)

Long Term:
Zach Whitecloud - RD - 26yo - 5y/2.75m
Nick Hagie - LD - 24yo - 2y/2.29m (RFA)
Kaedan Korczak - RD - 22yo - 1y/0.79m (RFA)

---

Jets:
Short Term:
Brenden Dillon - LD - 32yo - 1y/3.9m
Dylan DeMelo - RD - 30yo - 1y/3.0m (6 NTC)

Long Term:
Neal Pionk - RD - 27yo - 2y/5.86m

Kudos to the work put in to the post.

SIZE MATTERS!!!!!!!

The team should start with 6'1" as the minimum.

Just about every player mentioned is a step forward over this debacle of pygmies on the back end.

Why build JUST for the easy season? Why not build for a playoff run now?

There is no need to spend every dime on the team as it stands, there is nothing wrong with keeping some cap space during the year. Although if the team is going to use LTIR and it seems they still have to, they will need to be near the cap limit to take full advantage of that or it reduces the amount of money/cap to be used for the rest of the season I think.

Even thought there are so many listed the thought behind most proposals is for this season to be a playoff contender instead of build for the future.

Hronek and Bear are damaged goods already and not great board battler's or move a 6'4" guy out from the front of the net.

Some suggestions point out that players already in the league may not be good enough. But for this team they are now counting on players that haven't cracked a line up on teams or are AHL players. Tryamkin has more NHL experience than more than half the defence as it stands now. He won't come here though I am sure due to the persecution and bigotry he has received from this team and market.

IMO the team now needs 4 large NHL defencemen.

Why not play dmen over 6'2" if they are available.

Has not any fans wondered why some of the defence that the Canucks have had over the last few years all been smallish? Or why they have been available to the Canucks. Stecher, small, Hronek, small, Bear, small, Schmidt, small, Poolman, injured, Julesen, large but older and couldn't crack on a losing team that plays lots of young D,

I suggest going after some of the 6'1"+ younger players still under contract control. There are a number of them out there.

That stated I would like NYR Miller or Schneider, maybe Hayden Fleury, Kesserling, Zadorov, Vlasic, Niemelainen, Kovacvic, Xhekja, Stanley you get the idea. Young, large, NHL experience and cheap. With upside potential still in expanded roles.

Or just keep the cap space until the TDL and then decide to go all in or not

 

[Luck 6]

I don’t want any of the UFA defensemen. Not to say they aren’t good, or they aren’t an upgrade, but we need to weaponize this cap space and use it for something smarter than just signing a UFA upgrade.

This season is the last flat cap off-season, we have a bunch of cap space now, we need to be smart about this. We need to target mid twenties players, or at least guys on reasonable contracts, and we need to acquire them for low assets to help teams clear cap. There should be some of that out there, and now we’re in a key position to take advantage.

 

[StickShift]

Let’s make a few assumptions:

1. Myers will be traded/waived somewhere after his bonus is paid out
2. There's no guarantee that Ethan Bear will be qualified or brought back

That leaves us with the following going into next season:

Hughes—???​

???—Hronek​

???—???​

Wolanin​

If I were GM, my priority would be adding 2x defensive defenseman that can handle top-four deployment, can effectively penalty kill, and have enough size to not be pushed around, and at least one bottom-pairing defenseman who can move the puck.

Top-Four RD (next to Hughes):​

• UFA Justin Holl (Premium)
• UFA Carson Soucy (Budget)

Top-Four LD (next to Hronek):​

• UFA Ryan Graves (Premium)
• Trade Derek Forbort (Budget)

Bottom-Pairing Defenseman:​

• Re-sign Ethan Bear (Budget)
• Trade Dante Fabbro
• Trade Andrew Peeke
• Trade Cody Ceci

For the sake of actually pretending to be a GM, let's do the following:

• Sign Justin Holl (2y x $3.5m)
• Trade Jack Rathbone to Boston for Derek Forbort (1y x $3m, UFA)
• Sign Carson Soucy (3y x $3m)
• Trade Anthony Beauvillier+ to Nashville for Dante Fabbro (1y x $2.5, RFA)
• Re-sign Ethan Bear (1y x $1.5m)

Hughes—Holl​

Forbort—Hronek​

Soucy—Fabbro​

Wolanin—Bear​

They definitely aren't star players, but its building depth of reliable defensive partners that will allow Hughes and Hronek to do their thing, while being responsible enough in their own end to significantly improve both PK1 and PK2. And maybe you see what you have in Bear and Fabbro, and if either seems like they could be a legit top-four defenseman it enables you to move on from Hronek before you re-sign him to the big contract that he will ask for.

 

[Canucker]

Kudos to the work put in to the post.

SIZE MATTERS!!!!!!!

The team should start with 6'1" as the minimum.

Just about every player mentioned is a step forward over this debacle of pygmies on the back end.

Why build JUST for the easy season? Why not build for a playoff run now?

There is no need to spend every dime on the team as it stands, there is nothing wrong with keeping some cap space during the year. Although if the team is going to use LTIR and it seems they still have to, they will need to be near the cap limit to take full advantage of that or it reduces the amount of money/cap to be used for the rest of the season I think.

Even thought there are so many listed the thought behind most proposals is for this season to be a playoff contender instead of build for the future.

Hronek and Bear are damaged goods already and not great board battler's or move a 6'4" guy out from the front of the net.

Some suggestions point out that players already in the league may not be good enough. But for this team they are now counting on players that haven't cracked a line up on teams or are AHL players. Tryamkin has more NHL experience than more than half the defence as it stands now. He won't come here though I am sure due to the persecution and bigotry he has received from this team and market.

IMO the team now needs 4 large NHL defencemen.

Why not play dmen over 6'2" if they are available.

Has not any fans wondered why some of the defence that the Canucks have had over the last few years all been smallish? Or why they have been available to the Canucks. Stecher, small, Hronek, small, Bear, small, Schmidt, small, Poolman, injured, Julesen, large but older and couldn't crack on a losing team that plays lots of young D,

I suggest going after some of the 6'1"+ younger players still under contract control. There are a number of them out there.

That stated I would like NYR Miller or Schneider, maybe Hayden Fleury, Kesserling, Zadorov, Vlasic, Niemelainen, Kovacvic, Xhekja, Stanley you get the idea. Young, large, NHL experience and cheap. With upside potential still in expanded roles.

Or just keep the cap space until the TDL and then decide to go all in or not

For me, size is one of the last characteristics I'm looking for, its nice but not a necessity. Smart, positionally sound defensemen win for me every time over big strong defenders...Give me Jared Spurgeon over Erik Gudbranson any day of the week.

 

[theguardianII]

For me, size is one of the last characteristics I'm looking for, its nice but not a necessity. Smart, positionally sound defensemen win for me every time over big strong defenders...Give me Jared Spurgeon over Erik Gudbranson any day of the week.

Give me Dahlin, Pietrangelo, Hedman, Hague, Hamilton anyday over Spurgeon.
Big and smart every day.

5'9" and smart vs 6'3" and smart. Not a contest.

Even Minny traded for size from November on, to get bigger for a playoff run.

 

[Canucker]

Give me Dahlin, Pietrangelo, Hedman, Hague, Hamilton anyday over Spurgeon.
Big and smart every day.

5'9" and smart vs 6'3" and smart. Not a contest.

Even Minny traded for size from November on, to get bigger for a playoff run.

Well sure...if you can get bigger defensemen with all the smarts and skills of the smaller defenseman, take the bigger defenseman....but the idea of imposing a "minimum 6'1" height" requirement is pretty arbitrary and makes no real sense IMO.

 

[brock hughes007]

Let’s make a few assumptions:

1. Myers will be traded/waived somewhere after his bonus is paid out
2. There's no guarantee that Ethan Bear will be qualified or brought back

That leaves us with the following going into next season:

Hughes—???​

???—Hronek​

???—???​

Wolanin​

If I were GM, my priority would be adding 2x defensive defenseman that can handle top-four deployment, can effectively penalty kill, and have enough size to not be pushed around, and at least one bottom-pairing defenseman who can move the puck.

Top-Four RD (next to Hughes):​

• UFA Justin Holl (Premium)
• UFA Carson Soucy (Budget)

Top-Four LD (next to Hronek):​

• UFA Ryan Graves (Premium)
• Trade Derek Forbort (Budget)

Bottom-Pairing Defenseman:​

• Re-sign Ethan Bear (Budget)
• Trade Dante Fabbro
• Trade Andrew Peeke
• Trade Cody Ceci

For the sake of actually pretending to be a GM, let's do the following:

• Sign Justin Holl (2y x $3.5m)
• Trade Jack Rathbone to Boston for Derek Forbort (1y x $3m, UFA)
• Sign Carson Soucy (3y x $3m)
• Trade Anthony Beauvillier+ to Nashville for Dante Fabbro (1y x $2.5, RFA)
• Re-sign Ethan Bear (1y x $1.5m)

Hughes—Holl​

Forbort—Hronek​

Soucy—Fabbro​

Wolanin—Bear​

They definitely aren't star players, but its building depth of reliable defensive partners that will allow Hughes and Hronek to do their thing, while being responsible enough in their own end to significantly improve both PK1 and PK2. And maybe you see what you have in Bear and Fabbro, and if either seems like they could be a legit top-four defenseman it enables you to move on from Hronek before you re-sign him to the big contract that he will ask for.

OK,so what are you doing with Myers,Dermot,Hirose,Mcward..these guys are still on the team and your bringing in 4 more.

 

[David Bruce Banner]

Hopefully they now have the opportunity to make a hockey trade without having their hands tied.
My fear is that they are going to blow it all on another diminishing UFA. UFA's have been like crack to Vancouver GM's for the last while. I wish we could just chain management in the basement until all the stupid contracts have already been signed.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Also, just a hunch - I think the Canucks are going to take a long look at Matthew Dumba.

 

[timw33]

I would really hope that we're looking at Marcus Pettersson in Pitsburgh. Gets great results in tough minutes (20TOI last year too), excellent penalty killer.

Two years at 4MM left. If we were going to do a winger for a D move, this is where I would be looking.

Also like Soucy, but only at the right price. Graves will get too much money after playing on two elite teams in a row.

Now that OEL has been bought out it has brought legitimate interested back to this offseason as things feel possible again.

 

[Breakers]

Does it really matter for next season?

I mean honestly, whoever they get has to play with Tyler Myers

There is not a single defenceman in the league who wouldn’t look like shit playing with him.

Cale Makar would turn into Jack Johnson if he was forced to play with that giant fence-post on skates.

 

[MS]

Hopefully they now have the opportunity to make a hockey trade without having their hands tied.
My fear is that they are going to blow it all on another diminishing UFA. UFA's have been like crack to Vancouver GM's for the last while. I wish we could just chain management in the basement until all the stupid contracts have already been signed.

I mean, the oldest player this regime has acquired is 27. Worrying about overspending on 30+ UFAs seems more like post-Benning trauma than anything.

 

[Vector]

Also, just a hunch - I think the Canucks are going to take a long look at Matthew Dumba.

Gross.

 

[Vector]

I would really hope that we're looking at Marcus Pettersson in Pitsburgh. Gets great results in tough minutes (20TOI last year too), excellent penalty killer.

Two years at 4MM left. If we were going to do a winger for a D move, this is where I would be looking.

Also like Soucy, but only at the right price. Graves will get too much money after playing on two elite teams in a row.

Now that OEL has been bought out it has brought legitimate interested back to this offseason as things feel possible again.

He’s such an obvious target. No idea what his value is or how Dubas views him. Penguins are a complete wild card. Main thing that doesn’t work as March is the Penguins terrible defense is paper thin already.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Gross.

Yeah, I’m not advocating it in any way - just a hunch.

 

[Vector]

Yeah, I’m not advocating it in any way - just a hunch.

I’m going to blame you and @Canucks LB if this happens.

 

[canuckking1]

Does it really matter for next season?

I mean honestly, whoever they get has to play with Tyler Myers

There is not a single defenceman in the league who wouldn’t look like shit playing with him.

Cale Makar would turn into Jack Johnson if he was forced to play with that giant fence-post on skates.

If the Canucks are serious about making the playoffs, they’ll have to get rid of Tyler Myers. The fact that Hughes could perform with Noah Juulsen but couldn’t perform with Myers should tell the Canucks all they need to know.

 

[MarkMM]

OK,so what are you doing with Myers,Dermot,Hirose,Mcward..these guys are still on the team and your bringing in 4 more.

He said the assumption is that Myers is going to be traded.

Dermott isn't signed, and given his injury issues and lack of being anything special even when he could play, I'd move on from him.

Hirose showed some promise but assuming a guy who's had a handful of games is ready for regular duty is asking for trouble, all accounts the expectation is that he should spend some time in the AHL.

McWard I don't think anyone is sensibly thinking he'd be playing a regular shift in the NHL this year, we're going to see how he develops in the AHL.

So basically we shouldn't expect ANY of those to be on the team this year (with the possible exception of Myers if we can't move his contract), so we desperately need to be bringing in new bodies. The ones that might be back would be Bear, Juulsen and Bouroughs if re-signed, and Bear we'll need to factor in that he'll be missing for a good chunk of the season.

 

[canuckking1]

Let’s make a few assumptions:

1. Myers will be traded/waived somewhere after his bonus is paid out
2. There's no guarantee that Ethan Bear will be qualified or brought back

That leaves us with the following going into next season:

Hughes—???​

???—Hronek​

???—???​

Wolanin​

If I were GM, my priority would be adding 2x defensive defenseman that can handle top-four deployment, can effectively penalty kill, and have enough size to not be pushed around, and at least one bottom-pairing defenseman who can move the puck.

Top-Four RD (next to Hughes):​

• UFA Justin Holl (Premium)
• UFA Carson Soucy (Budget)

Top-Four LD (next to Hronek):​

• UFA Ryan Graves (Premium)
• Trade Derek Forbort (Budget)

Bottom-Pairing Defenseman:​

• Re-sign Ethan Bear (Budget)
• Trade Dante Fabbro
• Trade Andrew Peeke
• Trade Cody Ceci

For the sake of actually pretending to be a GM, let's do the following:

• Sign Justin Holl (2y x $3.5m)
• Trade Jack Rathbone to Boston for Derek Forbort (1y x $3m, UFA)
• Sign Carson Soucy (3y x $3m)
• Trade Anthony Beauvillier+ to Nashville for Dante Fabbro (1y x $2.5, RFA)
• Re-sign Ethan Bear (1y x $1.5m)

Hughes—Holl​

Forbort—Hronek​

Soucy—Fabbro​

Wolanin—Bear​

They definitely aren't star players, but its building depth of reliable defensive partners that will allow Hughes and Hronek to do their thing, while being responsible enough in their own end to significantly improve both PK1 and PK2. And maybe you see what you have in Bear and Fabbro, and if either seems like they could be a legit top-four defenseman it enables you to move on from Hronek before you re-sign him to the big contract that he will ask for.

Holl is a terrible fit for Hughes. Hughes never does well with players like Holl, who have massive brainfarts and are trigger happy when it comes to pinching.

 

[Nucker101]

Klingberg
Dumoulin
Brannstrom
POJ (pit)
Sandin Pelican

 

[Vector]

He said the assumption is that Myers is going to be traded.

Dermott isn't signed, and given his injury issues and lack of being anything special even when he could play, I'd move on from him.

Hirose showed some promise but assuming a guy who's had a handful of games is ready for regular duty is asking for trouble, all accounts the expectation is that he should spend some time in the AHL.

McWard I don't think anyone is sensibly thinking he'd be playing a regular shift in the NHL this year, we're going to see how he develops in the AHL.

So basically we shouldn't expect ANY of those to be on the team this year (with the possible exception of Myers if we can't move his contract), so we desperately need to be bringing in new bodies. The ones that might be back would be Bear, Juulsen and Bouroughs if re-signed, and Bear we'll need to factor in that he'll be missing for a good chunk of the season.

I actually expect Hirose to be given every chance to make the team. His age and contract status both point to him needing to make an immediate contribution. A big thing will be if he can effectively play both sides to allow him to get regular playing time.

 

[arttk]

I mean, it has to be Gudbranson and his 4 million/yr contract for another 3 years, right?

A big RHD that can skate and beat the tar out of anyone who even looks in Quinn’s direction…

I shouldn’t even joke about that knowing JR loves him.

How Canuck would it be to buy out OEL only to use the cap savings to turn around and make that trade?

Gtfo

 

[nucksflailtogether]

Mayfield?

 

[HelloCookie]

Yeah, I’m not advocating it in any way - just a hunch.

 

[Vector]

Mayfield?

I’ve said before but Mayfield’s value was tied up in being one of the best contracts in the NHL. Paying fair market value to a 31 year old non-dynamic defensemen makes no sense to me.