Coconuts

I think so, I think they're better than they've looked this season and they've only missed the playoffs once since 2011-2012 Their start has them in tough to make it this season but they've been consistently competitive for a while I'm not sure Anaheim's there yet, they'd be smart to be patient with their youth movement, they have too much top end talent not to be good eventually, but they ain't making the playoffs this season or likely next I reckon they'll sell Gibson

It's hard to see, one more season after this one and their dead cap drops from 14.7M to 1.6M, Ek is signed at 5.25 for another 5 seasons If anything I see Minny trying to revamp things once their dead cap is freed up, pair that with cap increases and they should be fine going forward A surefire playoff team? No, but they should have the flexibility to make themselves better I'm also not interested in giving up any of those pieces, I'm not all in on this season the way some folks are, keep the prospects and futures and keep building the pipeline

Ek would be great, but he's also a pipe dream and one of the last players Minny is likely to move if they plan on competing regularly Monahan could be interesting but he'll probs cost too much

A glass jar

The caveat to this is he's also a player who seemed to be elevated by Gaudreau and Tkachuk, the real dynamic offensive talents on that line Reckon his numbers could see a bump if placed with more talented linemates I think Lindholm to Washington makes a lot of sense, it'd take some work though

Lindholm would be interesting, gotta figure the Flames would much rather ship him elsewhere though I reckon he ends up a UFA one way or another anyway

Agreed, he's a bit of a Swiss army knife who can play up and down the roster in a number of roles

I read the same earlier, I think someone will end up signing him, he's demonstrated the past few seasons that he can still be effective in a bottom six role He'll come cheap, could see contenders sniffing around, he'd fit nicely on any number of New York, Colorado, Dallas, and Vegas Could even end up back in Tampa It's not as if he was playing poorly for the Hawks

At the end if the day we don't know what went down, but it likely wasn't illegal and it wasn't egregious enough that he wasn't allowed back If you're actually confident in this management group you'd be confident enough in their ability to vet him properly

He'd be great on the fourth line, would come cheap, add playoff experience and some sandpaper to a roster that could use more Yeah, I'd give him a shot

I'd be pleased with Hronek at 7, but if he puts up 50-60+ points alongside Hughes I could see it being more, 34 points in 41 right now so I wouldn't be surprised if him and his agent wait til the offseason for the dust to settle Particularly if he wants more of a longer term deal Is he a benefactor of playing with Hughes? Absolutely, but if he produces he'll get paid, one could argue that Hughes is also benefitting as well I'm less sold on Kuzmenko because he was always due for some regression given his shooting percentage last season, I think what we've seen is probably closer to what we should expect but I'm open to being wrong, I think there's a good chance he's traded The rest I agree with

Vegas is a bit of a wildcard in that they've been a contender since their inception, and they just won a cup, that sells guys on taking less. Not only that, but they have a tax advantage the Canucks don't. Vegas has also demonstrated a willingness to be more ruthless, which isn't something we've really seen from Canucks management in years past. The closest one could point to is paying to dump Dickinson after one season (a mistake imo) and our selling from a position of strength when trading Horvat. Rangers are in a similar scenario, New York is a destination that also sells itself. Not only that, but one can disappear in New York as a player and live a relatively normal life even with the athlete spotlight, hockey is big there but it's not the biggest sport. Rangers also benefitted from timing, signing Kreider to his current deal on Feb 20th, 2020, before he went on be more than the 30's-high 40's point producer he had been. Zibanejad as a tidy piece of work, they signed him to his current deal on October 10th, 2021, after 74 and 75 point seasons and then a 50 in 56 season. Before he went on to put up 81 and 91 point seasons. Canucks are a bit of a different animal, playing in hockey rabid Vancouver where there's a spotlight on you at all times. We don't get the tax benefits of Vegas, Dallas, Florida, and Tampa and we don't have the selling power of New York. I don't think it's farfetched to say that most NHL players would rather play for the Rangers in New York than for the Canucks in Vancouver given a choice, being able to step away from the game and just live life is huge. The one thing that has gone well for the Canucks is they've shown this season that they can compete, that should draw some interest from players. I don't necessarily think it's about overpaying, it's that teams aren't always going to get away with paying less than market value for their players. Most top end guys do not take discounts, and I think the fans across the league who expect their stars to do so set themselves up for disappointment. Both Hughes and Pettersson sat out last time they negotiated their deals, neither player took a discount, I don't expect Pettersson or Hughes will next go round either. Every team wants to have an advantageous cap scenario, but it's not necessarily an easy thing to accomplish. Allvin and co have done well to slot guys who fit capwise thus far, but they're competing with every other management group and every move or signing isn't going to be a win.

Agreed, and if the Canucks regress a bit next season this could be part of the why. The cost of success without a championship is having to pay your players more anyway, we should see guys like Joshua, Lafferty, and maybe Bluegar get raises in the bottom six, respectable raises. Myers will go, maybe Cole too, some of this cap will be reallocated. Hronek and Zadorov will need raises, Zadorov's shouldn't be huge but Hronek is more of a wildcard imo. Could see him going up to 8M, one could argue he shouldn't make more than Hughes but Hughes's deal was also signed back in 2021 and doesn't reflect today's reality, or the prospect of a sizeable cap jump. Hellebyk just signed an 8.5M deal as an elite starter, if Demko keeps it up he'll likely get more than that when you factor in three offseason's worth of cap increases. All in all it's an interesting chart but I do think the numbers and cap percentages allocated to top players will be larger. One significant wrinkle is RFA's getting paid much sooner than they used to be, which likely skews cap comparisons a bit. As players in Pettersson, Boeser, Hughes, and Demko get their next deals sooner than later more pressure will be put on management's ability to integrate RFA's and cost effective players on ELC's. Consistently getting surplus value out of a player in regards to their cap hit isn't an easy thing for any management group to do.

Could lose him the Calder, here's hoping Hawks don't deserve a Calder winner

They def stumbled down the stretch last season, looked like a top team and somehow fumbled their way in, and just barely. But they've been a playoff team for a while throughout some ups and downs, wonder if shipping a couple guys out might end up having been better for their team culture. It was messy, I hope things end up being better, maybe some stability would draw fans in. I was a bit surprised they brought Scheifele back, but top guys can be hard to find. I'm more surprised Helle stayed. I dunno, I like Winnipeg and I've liked how they've been built prior to the past couple seasons. They looked like a top team, just couldn't get it done. Big, skilled, but not overly dirty. I don't disagree with you, Canucks fans can be annoying, and I am a Canucks fan. I don't like the Leafs or the Oilers, they're my two least favourite teams, but I'm willing to recognize and acknowledge skill. I won't cheer for either team, but I'm not going to whine about them either for the most part. Do I expect either team to win a cup any time soon? No. But I don't expect us to win one either. Playoff disappointments or not, at least they've made the playoffs while we spun our wheels in mediocrity as a capped out team. Some folks absolutely let their hatred kind of mess with their lens so to speak. We are a top heavy team to this day, all one has to do is look at our point production. Difference is this year Demko's been better and we have a management group that's actually placed some emphasis on defense. We have something resembling depth too, but we're still top heavy. There's quite a drop off after Hughes, Hronek, Boeser, Miller, and Pettersson. Not sure Tochett will be a long-term coach or whether we'll be a consistent top team, but coaches are hired to be fired and at least we've seemingly taken a step forward. Making the playoffs alone is a success given the past decade, but I fully expect us to be bounced in the first or second round. That ain't me being a pessimist, it's just unlikely we'll return to the playoffs and waltz straight to a conference or cup final, most teams have to beat their heads against the playoff wall before getting that far. Mind you, I also take a less Canuck-centric view than some folks. Used to be a diehard homer but it got old, I've actually enjoyed hockey more as I've paid more attention to other teams around the league over the years. This coincided with time where the Canucks were mediocre at best, but it is what it is. The Canucks are my team but that doesn't mean I have to hate everyone else or view everything through blue tinted glasses.

Wild how most of the division is hanging around the playoff bar or better Arizona keeps on trucking too, lot of teams looking to grab a spot

If it makes you feel better this is likely a nothing rumour, they'd be selling low

It'd be funny if we did it, if only to watch people fuss and flip their opinions

Everything doesn't have to be complicated

Our prospect depth looks better than it has in years, agreed Hoping management continues to make a habit of using their first round picks to select players at the draft, the best way to acquire top end talent is to draft and develop it

Sure, they have worked But again, top talent looks better with other top talent, there's a reason why most teams around the league play their top end guys together Kuzmenko hasn't looked top end this season but both him and Mikheyev have been serviceable It's not a coincidence that Boeser, Miller, Hughes, and Pettersson often put up points together, give Pettersson a better winger than Kuzmenko and our top six depth likely looks better If there's any truth to the Canucks sniffing around Guentzel it's likely because they likely think the same thing

Yup, we need more blue chip D prospects, not less Been yelling about management not drafting enough D high for years, I'd be pissed if we moved Willander Now if only we'd begin drafting D in the 2nd round again

His having a healthy offseason, and a healthy next season, would likely go a long way He's had some tough luck here, but that's Canuck luck