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

[Mr. Canucklehead]

I've heard worse ideas. My main concern is that he seems to be made of glass these days.

He’s definitely injury prone. But of the available centers, I think he’d be worth a flier on a one year, show me (bonus?) deal to see if he can stay healthy and contribute.

 

[oceanchild]

Yes, we need the depth. I am hoping on Dumba on a short term show me contract (doubtful)get lucky in the draft and find a player ready to step in (doubtful), or find a serviceable
Guy with one year left and “help” a team out by taking said player and a second round pick in next years draft.

Do you try for another Miller trade? Lottery protected 1st for a mid-20s player? It’s the exact same reasoning and risk as previous management made.

I would try and trade miller, something like to Detroit for the first and second we gave up. Then take a couple short term cap dumps and get more assets. We need to find two or three high performing ELC to actually win. Plus, I think we could offer ROR like three years at $6.5m and plug him into that spot as the team grows.

 

[Buresflyingelbow]

I like the idea of stop gap players like Cole or targeting Martinez from Vegas. The horses aren’t there this off-season and we need guys who can anchor a PK unit as we run 5 forwards and 1 Dman on each PP (Hughes, Hronek)

Mayfield I’d be happy and Graves but I think they might cost a little too much and with term. We need to weaponize this Cap space and take advantage of teams against it.

Time to be shrewd

 

[Kryten]

I think klingerg is a decent add to our team depending on price though.

Nah, he is going to try and get the bag this summer after his agent screwed him over last year. He is a right handed OEL who doesnt play defense

 

[MarkusNaslund19]

For what it's worth—I'm not trying to play a "gotcha" with anyone or to give myself a parade—but, I think you put too much stock into what was said at the microphone. That may have been their wish, but it certainly was not a guarantee that they wouldn't do it.

The moment you take a step back from the microphone and you look at how much the Canucks have struggled to unload salary on the market, and ownership's predisposition to get out of paying money to bad assets, it was clear as day that OEL was destined to be bought out.

You are one of the few who really deserve credit for your take on this.

I strongly doubted it would happen but you posted repeatedly that you felt sure that it would.

 

[HockeyWooot]

I think the following can be acquired without a crazy price.

Brendan Dillon- trade
Andrew Peeke- trade
Schenn or Soucy (at the right price)- UFA

Hanafin and Tanev in Calgary I'd keep my eye on too. Hanafin probably too expensive to acquire, Tanev would be thrilled to have back.

Pesce if Canes can't afford to keep (he changed representation recently ahead of new contract) would be all over. Cost probably too high though.

Assuming Myers gets moved and Bear we let go of, some combination of the following would be a step up vs last year's opening night dgroup.

Hughes Tanev (Pesce)
Dillon Hronek
Soucy Peeke
Hirose Wolanin


Hughes Bear
OEL Myers
Stillman Schenn
Rathbone Poolman

 

[biturbo19]

He’s definitely injury prone. But of the available centers, I think he’d be worth a flier on a one year, show me (bonus?) deal to see if he can stay healthy and contribute.

Monahan isn't old enough to be eligible for a bonus/incentive-laden contract.

 

[biturbo19]

I think the following can be acquired without a crazy price.

Brendan Dillon- trade
Andrew Peeke- trade
Schenn or Soucy (at the right price)- UFA

Hanafin and Tanev in Calgary I'd keep my eye on too. Hanafin probably too expensive to acquire, Tanev would be thrilled to have back.

Pesce if Canes can't afford to keep (he changed representation recently ahead of new contract) would be all over. Cost probably too high though.

Assuming Myers gets moved and Bear we let go of, some combination of the following would be a step up vs last year's opening night dgroup.

Hughes Tanev (Pesce)
Dillon Hronek
Soucy Peeke
Hirose Wolanin


Hughes Bear
OEL Myers
Stillman Schenn
Rathbone Poolman

I don't know why so many people seem to think Peeke is going to be so cheap/expendable in Columbus. They signed Severson to that massive deal, but they still only really have 4 NHL caliber RHD and between Boqvist/RealGud/Peeke...there's no reason they wouldn't want to just rotate those 3 guys through the 2 spots behind Severson. None of them are real locked in studs and Blankenburg is the sort of guy you can easily just send down the minors as depth.

If Peeke really were available, i'd be into that. I just don't see Columbus being in any kind of rush to sell off depth. Especially after the hilarious run of injuries they encountered over the last season.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Monahan isn't old enough to be eligible for a bonus/incentive-laden contract.

He just signed a 1 year extension with the Habs for $1.985M anyway. Solid bargain bet, I think.

 

[biturbo19]

He just signed a 1 year extension with the Habs for $1.985M anyway. Solid bargain bet, I think.

Yeah. I kind of figured that was more or less a foregone conclusion. He seemed to really enjoy his fresh start with the Habs and it's a good situation for him to get some opportunity, without a huge amount of pressure. That wasn't something Vancouver ever would've been able to offer. Plus, if he can stay healthy, he's got a real good chance at being moved to a playoff team at the deadline to bolster their depth.

Just wanted to point out the technical impossibility of giving him a performance bonus carrying gamble contract. Had to be done the way the Habs did it. Just a cheap 1-year deal that can be really easy to move.

 

[Lupuls Grit]

I like the idea of stop gap players like Cole or targeting Martinez from Vegas. The horses aren’t there this off-season and we need guys who can anchor a PK unit as we run 5 forwards and 1 Dman on each PP (Hughes, Hronek)

Mayfield I’d be happy and Graves but I think they might cost a little too much and with term. We need to weaponize this Cap space and take advantage of teams against it.

Time to be shrewd

Martinez? Yup, sounds great! Cole? No way. The guy is an epic douche.

 

[kcunac]

Sign Soucy and Schenn for around 4 million combined as well as Boroughs and Juulsen and then wait until another quality top 4 is made available. Hopefully we can trade Myers after his bonus is paid, and if not then at the deadline. Hronek/Soucy in and OEL/Myers out is a huge improvement and not making a mistake in UFA leaves the door open to further improvement. Myers may also surprise in his UFA year. I absolutely would not pay assets to get rid of him as we can probably get an asset at the deadline.

 

[sting101]

I don't know why so many people seem to think Peeke is going to be so cheap/expendable in Columbus. They signed Severson to that massive deal, but they still only really have 4 NHL caliber RHD and between Boqvist/RealGud/Peeke...there's no reason they wouldn't want to just rotate those 3 guys through the 2 spots behind Severson. None of them are real locked in studs and Blankenburg is the sort of guy you can easily just send down the minors as depth.

If Peeke really were available, i'd be into that. I just don't see Columbus being in any kind of rush to sell off depth. Especially after the hilarious run of injuries they encountered over the last season.

You missed Jiricek. Guy is a future all situations #1 and will be on the team showing why this year.

Peeke or Boqvist are very much trade chips with the massive investment in Severson and Gudbranson is going nowhere with that contract

 

[biturbo19]

You missed Jiricek. Guy is a future all situations #1 and will be on the team showing why this year.

Peeke or Boqvist are very much trade chips with the massive investment in Severson and Gudbranson is going nowhere with that contract

I just don't see any reason that the Jackets have to be in any rush to move Peeke/Boqvist. Jiricek is the future, but they don't need to hurry him to the roster. They've made moves so that they can afford to let him marinate for a minute.

If we're getting ready to break camp and Jiricek has forced his way onto that Columbus roster...sure, i think one of Peeke or Boqvist become available then. But even in that scenario, i think it's more likely Boqvist is the guy they'd prefer to move. At his best, he's more like a 3rd pairing PP specialist. If he's being forced out by Jiricek...i think that'd give them a smorgasbord of functional powerplay guys with Jiricek, Werenski, Provorov, and Bean who projected as a real offensive/PP specialist himself.


Basically...the same reason we'd have interest in Peeke...is the reason Columbus would probably want to hang onto him over Boqvist if it comes to that. But they're just really not in a position to force anything immediately.

 

[Nick Lang]

I think the following can be acquired without a crazy price.

Brendan Dillon- trade
Andrew Peeke- trade
Schenn or Soucy (at the right price)- UFA

Hanafin and Tanev in Calgary I'd keep my eye on too. Hanafin probably too expensive to acquire, Tanev would be thrilled to have back.

Pesce if Canes can't afford to keep (he changed representation recently ahead of new contract) would be all over. Cost probably too high though.

Assuming Myers gets moved and Bear we let go of, some combination of the following would be a step up vs last year's opening night dgroup.

Hughes Tanev (Pesce)
Dillon Hronek
Soucy Peeke
Hirose Wolanin


Hughes Bear
OEL Myers
Stillman Schenn
Rathbone Poolman

lol now that's how you remake a defence ... 5 new faces in the starting line-up, well 4 1/2 if Tanev is back

 

[Lackhalak]

Sign Soucy and Schenn for around 4 million combined as well as Boroughs and Juulsen and then wait until another quality top 4 is made available. Hopefully we can trade Myers after his bonus is paid, and if not then at the deadline. Hronek/Soucy in and OEL/Myers out is a huge improvement and not making a mistake in UFA leaves the door open to further improvement. Myers may also surprise in his UFA year. I absolutely would not pay assets to get rid of him as we can probably get an asset at the deadline.

Soucy is the right idea, but I would go with Nikko Mikkola. I know there is more to it than numbers, but Mikkola recorded about the same amount of hits, block shots, and PK time. I bet Mikkola will cost half the price.

 

[kcunac]

Soucy is the right idea, but I would go with Nikko Mikkola. I know there is more to it than numbers, but Mikkola recorded about the same amount of hits, block shots, and PK time. I bet Mikkola will cost half the price.

I don't know as much about Mikkola but this article has some nice arguments for Soucy, including " Two different Kraken defensive pairings with Soucy — one alongside Justin Schultz and one alongside Will Borgen — ranked in the top 40 league-wide across pairings with at least 450 5-on-5 minutes in goals against per sixty minutes." Unlike the Graves-Marino paring, I think Soucy is the main influence on the excellent defensive results. He was the top SEA defender in terms of SA/60 and GA/60.

Why Carson Soucy should be the Vancouver Canucks’ top free agent target this summer

The Vancouver Canucks enter this offseason in an awkward position. The...

canucksarmy.com

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

I don't know as much about Mikkola but this article has some nice arguments for Soucy, including " Two different Kraken defensive pairings with Soucy — one alongside Justin Schultz and one alongside Will Borgen — ranked in the top 40 league-wide across pairings with at least 450 5-on-5 minutes in goals against per sixty minutes." Unlike the Graves-Marino paring, I think Soucy is the main influence on the excellent defensive results. He was the top SEA defender in terms of SA/60 and GA/60.

Why Carson Soucy should be the Vancouver Canucks’ top free agent target this summer

The Vancouver Canucks enter this offseason in an awkward position. The...

canucksarmy.com

Soucy looks like he could be a fine addition..My worry is that with the thin selection of D men (mostly over 30) on the market this year...It could start a bidding war, and drive this players price tag to an absurd level.

I'm sure that there's probably 8-10 other teams with their eye on him.

 

[kcunac]

I am more worried about the centre they may sign then the D.

Soucy looks like he could be a fine addition..My worry is that with the thin selection of D men (mostly over 30) on the market this year...It could start a bidding war, and drive this players price tag to an absurd level.

I'm sure that there's probably 8-10 other teams with their eye on him.

Maybe. He only played like 16-17 mins a night and does not have a lot of offence. So hard to see him getting 4 million. But year its possible. The Severson contract was ridiculous but that is a very different player.

 

[andora]

Mikkola would be a nice target.. he does the good things can skate decently and wi likely be 50to70 cheaper than some

 

[StickShift]

Soucy looks like he could be a fine addition..My worry is that with the thin selection of D men (mostly over 30) on the market this year...It could start a bidding war, and drive this players price tag to an absurd level.

I'm sure that there's probably 8-10 other teams with their eye on him.

Given that most of Dhaliwal's information comes from the agent, and not the team itself—I am going to go out on a limb here and say that the connection to Vancouver is something that Soucy's camp is probably pushing.

I'm sure Soucy's camp sees plum top-four roles available next to either Hughes or Hronek as ideal landing spots, rather than joining to be another #5/6 defenseman somewhere else in the league. It's also why I am more optimistic than most that he might be willing to sign for only 2-3 years—because they believe they can slingshot his future AAV into another stratosphere.

 

[Nick Lang]

Given that most of Dhaliwal's information comes from the agent, and not the team itself—I am going to go out on a limb here and say that the connection to Vancouver is something that Soucy's camp is probably pushing.

I'm sure Soucy's camp sees plum top-four roles available next to either Hughes or Hronek as ideal landing spots, rather than joining to be another #5/6 defenseman somewhere else in the league. It's also why I am more optimistic than most that he might be willing to sign for only 2-3 years—because they believe they can slingshot his future AAV into another stratosphere.

Soucy is a LD, he wouldn't be playing with Hughes, or is he known for playing his offside?

 

[timw33]

Soucy is a LD, he wouldn't be playing with Hughes, or is he known for playing his offside?

He can play RD.

 

[StreetHawk]

If we're getting ready to break camp and Jiricek has forced his way onto that Columbus roster...sure, i think one of Peeke or Boqvist become available then. But even in that scenario, i think it's more likely Boqvist is the guy they'd prefer to move. At his best, he's more like a 3rd pairing PP specialist. If he's being forced out by Jiricek...i think that'd give them a smorgasbord of functional powerplay guys with Jiricek, Werenski, Provorov, and Bean who projected as a real offensive/PP specialist himself.

I recall in 2018, Boqvist was the guy I was most worried about the Canucks taking. RHD, but small and had a concussion in his draft year. If Hughes was off the board, Dobson was the guy I wanted. As tall as Bouchard, but needed to add the weight over time, but had the frame to do it, but was a much better skater. No bomb from the point for PP points, but a better all around defender. But, the skating is what put him ahead of Bouchard.

Man, has Boqvist fallen.

 

[biturbo19]

I recall in 2018, Boqvist was the guy I was most worried about the Canucks taking. RHD, but small and had a concussion in his draft year. If Hughes was off the board, Dobson was the guy I wanted. As tall as Bouchard, but needed to add the weight over time, but had the frame to do it, but was a much better skater. No bomb from the point for PP points, but a better all around defender. But, the skating is what put him ahead of Bouchard.

Man, has Boqvist fallen.

Heck, i pretty firmly wanted Dobson, even over Hughes at the time. Still think there's an argument to be made there if he continues on his current development track, but Hughes has continued to excel from the hop in a way that's hard to deny.

With Bouchard also really finding his footing, especially with Ekholm beside him now...it's really Boqvist that stands out as the swing and a miss from that draft. What a group of defencemen though. 5 guys who are already solid Top-3/Top-pairing caliber defencemen just out of the first round. Plus a few other decent guys tracking as players, some with Top-4 upside still.

What a bunk group of forwards though. So many total busts and huge disappointments.


Guys like Boqvist and Brannstrom are definitely a component of why i'm not very keen on ASP in this year's draft. Feels like that same process of overestimating the value of a smooth powerplay producer over the size and two-way even strength ability to tilt the ice that way.