Jeremy Hronek

6 minutes ago, Miss Korea said:

 

A poorly timed comment given the absolute filth he showed the other night.  Höglander is very underrated in terms of skill and physicality.  It's harder to notice because he is technically small, and plays a lot of hockey in a bottom six role.  Do I think he and Mikheyev can thrive as second line wingers?  Hell yes.  At least on paper.  The problem is that Tocchet isn't keen on playing Hogs much.  He almost always has the lowest playing time on the team.  He doesn't kill penalties OR feature on the power play.  I think he should absolutely be getting more minutes.

He had a good game last night but would it be fair to say that he’s looked out of place at times on the 2nd line this season?

Could Hoglander and Mikheyev work as a 2nd line?  Yeah probably. Would this line be an elite second even with someone like Lindholm as their center?  That I’m not sure.

I don’t mind the proposed Anaheim deal.

9 hours ago, Miss Korea said:

You can't put such a strong defensive centre like Pius Suter on the wing.  He is an excellent bottom-six player and any proposal with him on the 2nd line isn't really addressing the needs of this team.

Agreed but Suter mainly left wing in Detroit did he not?  The reason why I mention Suter here is because it would give that line an identity (instead of seeing them as a prototypical second line, think of them as a bottom 6 line on steroids whose sole purpose would be to match-up and shut down the top lines of other teams while occasionally chopping in offense).  
 

Don’t get me wrong - I wouldn’t mind switching Hoglander and Suter in the above scenario

Hoglander-???-Mikheyev

Aman-Suter-Lafferty

but it would change the identity and complexion of that 2nd line. Even with a good center, would this line be able to produce consistent offense at the second line level?  I’m not so sure.  Would a line like this be an elite match-ups line?  I’m not so sure because Hoglander isn’t particularly known for this skill.

Right now, the Aman, Hoglander, and Lafferty line has been a really good 4th line.

On 12/25/2023 at 1:38 PM, Phil_314 said:

I would look at him, and then look to Allvin and thank him for not having anywhere near that bad a contract on our team.  

Trade Kuzmenko to them for all their firsts, plus Andersson, Zary and 50% retention for the remainder of his deal (with 25% on top of that flipped elsewhere).  Then his deal would be... alright?

Huberdeau with Elias Lindholm as a sweetener.  

We give them Kuzmenko, Mikheyev, and Myers.  

I personally wouldn’t do the deal but it’s interesting to ponder.

Pettersson-Miller-Boeser

Huberdeau-Lindholm-Hoglander

Joshua-Bluegar-Garland

Aman-Suter-Lafferty

Oilers and Kraken are going to be very dangerous first round opponents if they make it into the playoffs.  Both teams got off to slow starts to start the season but have been absolute fire ever since.   
 

As happy as I am with how the Canucks have performed this season, Edmonton is not one team that I’d like to play in the first round.

On 11/10/2023 at 3:30 PM, Snoop Hogg said:

I would even argue that this has been the case since 1993.  Outside of some minor playoff upsets against Dallas and Colorado during the late 90’s (the Weight/Arnott era), the Oilers were pretty lackluster through the mid-late 90’s as well.

My guess is that the Canucks will pull a stinker against one of Buffalo or Columbus and will lose one of these games.  
 

Aside from that however, it goes without saying that this has been an outstanding road trip so far.

On 1/9/2024 at 4:27 AM, Hammertime said:

To Arizona Mikhev + 1st

 

To Vancouver

Lawson Crouse +  2nd

 

 

Hog Miller Brock

Crouse Pete Kuzz 

Joshua Teddy Garland

Lafferty Suter PDG/Aman

 

I think it's worth it. Crouse would fit like a glove and he's got 3 more years at 4.3m. I think Mikheyev is decent  net positive player. He's kinda the winger version of B Sutter. Crouse IMO would be a huge upgrade for the money. Our 1st is excellent this year. With guys like Tij, Zether, Mews, Hutson, Boisvert, Hage on the menu. I'd want a late 2nd to sleep at night. 

 

With all the focus on Brock Kuzz. I think Mik's spot is the area where an upgrade would be the most impactful in terms of balancing the roster. 

 

 

No way the Nucks break up the lotto line at this stage.

15 hours ago, Junkyard Dog said:

 

Adding a top 4 D or top 6 forward would push guys down the lineup, create depth and injury insurance.

 

If Hughes/Hronek go down we don't have any insurance. Same if we lose Miller/Petey at C. Who we have don't come close to replacing them but acquiring another quality player would be closer than what we have already.

 

And in a healthy lineup, we would be that much stronger by adding a quality player.

 

Also, we are gonna need a quality C if we want to be able to run the Lotto Line and maintain solid C depth.

 

Maybe there's no major urgency at the moment but that would probably be because of the cap and figuring out what to do with Kuzmenko. If he's dealt then you can expect a player to be brought in with his cap, whether in the same deal or another. 

This is an excellent point about Hughes/Hronek.  So far, we are lucky that we haven’t had any injuries to either of these two.  The gap between Hronek and our 3rd best defenseman (Soucy?) is quite significant since the Canucks really have a #3 calibre defenseman.

1. Hughes

2. Hronek

3. MIA

4. Soucy

4B. Zadorov
5. Cole

5A. Myers 

The Canucks still might need that #2A/#3 calibre dman that can realistically play with Hughes on a top pairing and still be considered an elite pairing as a while.  Zadorov and Soucy, god bless them, I don’t think fit that bill.

18 hours ago, Hammertime said:

Pete and Hronek are gonna get paid plus the OEL buyout. This is the best deepest version of this team we will see. 

 
very true…….unless one or more of Raty, Podkolzin, Lekkerimaki, Willander, Silovs, and Hirose can take significant leaps during their ELC time period.

7 minutes ago, Jester13 said:

Kuzy, 1st, and Lekk for Ek. Lfg!

It would cost more than that I think.  EK has one of the best contracts in the entire league.  I don’t think Minnesota will ever part ways with him but he’s exactly who I’d want on this team.

Buying low on Pierre Luc Dubois perhaps? (Something around Kuzmenko+ and PLD).   
 

(edit - nevermind, it wouldn’t work from a cap perspective.  Not realistic).

59 minutes ago, RichterBelmont said:

A few people have mentioned Erikson Ek (spelling?) and I think he would be perfect.

 I would love Eriksson EK but I think he’d cost an arm and a leg. Would love to be wrong though.

2 minutes ago, HKSR said:

Lol, I don't actually know.  Lemme go dig a bit and see if I can find something that makes sense for both teams...

I proposed Leo Carlsson for a similar package the other day btw.  

Just now, HKSR said:

I think that's the reason a lot of us are eyeing Lindholm.  His defensive ability is what makes him highly coveted, because offensively, he's actually trending down from his career year a couple years ago.

Never forget.....I started the Lindholm thing on here.  :-p.  

But yes - Suter-Lindholm-Mikheyev would have the makings to be a phenomenal shut down line even if they couldn't necessarily produce consistent offense.  Get them in a match-ups role, and then have Petey and Garland's line rip up the rest of the competition. The 4th line as well.  

3 minutes ago, HKSR said:

I agree with Rasmus Andersson and the Lames.  They can't afford to lose anybody of quality right now lol

 

As for Eriksson Ek, I view him as a 2C.  He has never cracked more than 61 points his entire career and is currently on pace for about 54 points.  If he's your 1C, you're likely not getting anywhere in terms of being a contender lol

 

ANA has 4 young centres, wouldn't be surprised to see either one of them moved to wing, or one of them traded for some help in other areas.  Probably why we see rumours of Zegras on the block.

 

Blackhawks have Korchinski, Reichel, Moore, and Nazar in their pipelines.  Not sure I'd move Lekkerimaki for any of those guys.

I'd love to get Eriksson EK but I just can't see it ever happening.  I'd be wary of Zegras......there's rumours out there that he's a bit of a lockkeroom cancer.  

7 minutes ago, HKSR said:

Kuzmenko, Lekkerimaki, and a 1st is worth a lot more than a Lindholm or Hertl.  My proposal for Lindholm has always been Kuz, Raty, and a 1st.  Gotta remember Lindholm is a pending UFA.  Lowers his value a bit. 

Who do you have in mind exactly with that type of proposal?     Matty Berniers?

I'll try and differentiate this thread from the other dozens of "let's get **** as our 2nd line guy!"

Here is our current line-up:

Pettersson-Miller-Boeser

Mikheyev-Suter-Kuzmenko 

Joshua-Bluegar-Garland

Hoglander-Aman-Lafferty

PDG

Hughes-Hronek

Zadorov-Myers

Cole-Soucy

Juulsen

Demko

DeSmith

Now, the general consensus on this board seems to be that we should package Kuzmenko, 2024 1st, + ??? for that coveted 2nd line Center (the ??? has significant variation and so I won't go into detail here as to what that would entail). So basically, 

Pettersson-Miller-Boeser

Suter-????-Mikheyev 

Joshua-Bluegar-Garland

Hoglander-Aman-Lafferty

PDG

Hughes-Hronek

Zadorov-Myers

Cole-Soucy

Juulsen

Demko

DeSmith

Now here's my thought - Instead of viewing things through the lens of, "We need a good, offensively talented, 2nd line Center that can provide significant 2nd line scoring playing alongside 2/3 of Suter, Mikheyev, or Hoglander, why not view things through the following lens?  

"While Suter and Mikheyev know how to put the puck in the net, their greatest strengths as forwards lies in their superb defensive play.........so why not bring in a 2nd line Center that is just as brilliant defensively (while still decent offensively), and can form a formidable shut down line that can go against the top lines of the opposition? (which can free up Pettersson's line for more offensive deployment, while the Garland line can continue to throat-pump other 3rd lines).  

Would a Suter-Lindholm-Mikheyev line be extremely formidable from a match-ups/shut down perspective?   What about Suter-Couture-Mikheyev? Suter-O'Reilly-Mikheyev?   Think Tocchet would feel comfortable throwing those guys out on the ice to defend leads?  

This 2nd line Center that we get........he should be an "alpha" on the PK.  We've already got enough talent on our PP.  Let this new 2nd line C come in and be our top PK'er.  

Because let's face it.  With 2 of Suter, Mikheyev, or Hoglander as wingers on this new 2nd line, prolific offence isn't going to be a strength of this line no matter who the Center is..........but this line would have the potential to be the best shut down line in the league with Suter and Mikheyev as the Wingers.

Maybe it's just me but Lindholm, Ryan O'Reilly, and Couture are. three guys that are coming to mind for me.  What say you?

54 minutes ago, oregon.duck said:

Vancouver Sends:

2024 2nd

2025 1st

Tyler Myers

Jonathan Lekkerimaki

 

Pittsburgh Sends:

Sydney Crosby (35% Retained)

 

 

Pipe Dream, but there’s a second line center made for the playoffs 

Crosby will retire a Penguin.  

There's a 0.0000001% chance that one could get Malkin however.  

4 hours ago, HKSR said:

We know these 2 are nearly untouchable, but are there any players that could be possibly acquired for either of them?

 

Are there any players in particular that you would be willing to trade either one for? 

 

Clearly Bedard, McDavid, Matthews, Makar, Fox, etc. would never be traded right now, so any others in mind?

 

Personally, I'd never trade Willander.  Top blue chip RHD are WAY too difficult to acquire.  Simply can't afford to trade one away when it's arguably the most difficult position to fill.

 

I'd be willing to move Lekkerimaki for certain players...

 

Mason McTavish -- with Gauthier added, maybe ANA would be willing to part with one of their centres (Zegras, McTavish, Carlsson, and Gauthier all down the middle)

Joel Eriksson Ek -- 26yo, 50 to 60 point 2C, but extremely effective defensively.  Locked in long term on an extremely good cap hit - $5.25M AAV.

Rasmus Andersson -- 26yo, top pairing RHD still locked into a fantastic contract - $4.55M AAV.

Nemec or Jiricek -- unlikely to happen, but with Drysdale moved for Gauthier, you never know.

 

That's really about it for me.  Other players are either highly unlikely to be traded or simply untouchable, whereas anything less than this, I wouldn't be willing to move JL.

 

I can't see Calgary or Minnesota moving Andersson or Eriksson Ek respectively.  In Calgary's, they will likely lose Tanev (RD) in the off-season and so they'll need to keep Rasmus.  With Weegar, Huberdeau, and Kadri all in Calgary (signed to long term immovable contracts), I don't think Calgary will have a choice to rebuild.  They'll need to keep throwing money and smelling urethra so to speak.  Hence, they'll keep Andersson.  

As for Minnesota, I can't see them moving EK either since he's a 1st line calibre center that's being paid like a 2nd liner......for a LONG time.  Eriksson EK would probably cost the Canucks BOTH Lekkerimaki and Willander at minimum if the Canucks went that route.  

Anaheim needs more guys like McTavish (young budding superstars) and so I can't see them moving him either.  Carlsson and McTavish as a 1-2 combo is going to be fucking dangerous.  

If the Canucks are dangling Lekkerimaki like Michael Jackson dangled that baby from the balcony one time, then Chicago might be a good fit.  The Hawks will need some snipers to play with Bedard and JL would definitely fit that bill (although outside of Bedard, I don't really know anyone on the Hawks......looking at their line combos, I just see a whole bunch of ex Canuck retards, lol).  

46 minutes ago, Alflives said:

Lekkerimaki is for sure a Tocchet type of player. He’s very responsible with and without the puck. He’s smart as heck too, and hyper competitive. Tocchet wants guys to play smart hockey. 

Thank you for clarifying that.  

Alright, then it's settled.  Kuzmenko, 2024 1st, and Hunter B for some alpha male 2nd line center.  

1 hour ago, HKSR said:

Wow, either of those packages would be worth a ton.  Don't even know who we would target with so much value in a single package lol

Tomas Hertl?  Elias Lindholm?

That's what I've been thinking about these past few days and so I've been exploring different scenarios out loud. 

On one hand, we could offer only a 2024 1st...........and where that would take us.

On the other extreme, we could offer Willander, Lekkerimaki, 2024 1st, etc............and see where that would take us (I'm not recommending this by the way, just highlighting the other extreme).  

I guess I'm just trying to find an appropriate package that would give us significant help for the short term while also bearing the future in mind.  

I mention Hunter B because we already have Willander in our system, and we'll also likely be able to re-sign Hronek for the long term.  Lekkerimaki also comes to mind because as talented as he is, I'm not sure if he's going to fit Tocchet's system.  Lekkerimaki is talented as fuck, but he has the upper body strength or Drew Barrymore and may not be willing to "blow other men into the boards" on the forecheck a la "Tocchy hockey."  I love Rick Tocchet and what he's done for this team, but he definitely wants certain types of players on this team.  I'm not sure if JL will fit RT's mold.

2 hours ago, HKSR said:

I might be in the minority here, but I'd actually rather keep Myers over Kuzmenko right now.  He gives us the depth we need on the back end for the playoffs, plus he has the size and strength to endure a long playoff run.  I think there's a reason Allvin/JR have gone out and made our back end a group of physical monsters.

You know it's funny.....after I made that initial post and then logged off.  I was walking around and came to the same realization. Defensive depth will be absolutely KEY come playoff time.  I also came to the conclusion that I would not like to see Podkolzin get traded.  The guy seems to be finally "getting it," and he seems like a Tocchet type player.  Another thought that came to mind - as much as Jonathan Lekkerimaki impresses me, will he be a Rick Tocchet kind of player?

So - given the above, I'm now wondering the following:

Kuzmenko, a 2024 1st, and Hunter B gets you...........................?

Kuzmenko, a 2024 1st, and Jonathan Lekkerimaki gets you.....................?

On 1/10/2024 at 7:24 PM, HOCKEYGOD77 said:

LETS ALL BE RESPECTFUL AROUND THE CITY AND REST OF B.C...ENJOY THE SEASON WITH ALL THE HIGHS AND SOME BASIC LOWS..BUT AS A FAN ID LIKE TO SAY THE HOCKEY GODS ARE VERY MUCH IN VANCOUVER THIS SEASON AND FANS NEED TO STAY COOL AND SHOW CLASS WHEN THEY WIN AND JUST ENJOY..PAST RIOTS AND AND JUST VERY POOR IN SOME FANS WHO REALLY DONT RESPRESENT THE MAJORITY...STAY HOME IF YOUR NOT MENTALLY ABLE TO HAVE RESPECTFUL FUN..

FANS NEED 2 STAY COOL LIKE HOCKEYGOD77

On 1/6/2024 at 3:37 AM, Miss Korea said:

 

Thank you Jim

Meh.

It is what it is.  

With respect to Jim Benning, he's not relevant to the Vancouver Canucks' organization in 2024.  

We have a chance to do something really special in 2024 and so let the ghosts of the past be buried there.  

1982

1994

2011

2024

12 - 12 - 17 - [within range?]

I've never been more confident in a President-GM-Coaching staff as I am now.  The Canucks are due for a run here within next 4 years in my opinion, and I'm confident that our current powers-that-be will lead us there.