Jeremy Hronek

5 hours ago, Breadnbutta said:

Trying to emulate one of, if not, the most successful franchise of the last 20 years, I'm down.

I'm calling it.  We're getting Crosby or Malkin when one of them turns 39/40.  :-o.  (I'm kidding..........sort of)

24 minutes ago, Nucker67 said:

Draft is fine. They need to change the Lottery.

Unfortunately, this would likely put teams like Chicago, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and the Rangers at a disadvantage and so I'm not sure if Bettman would be on board with this.  

2 hours ago, IBatch said:

It is for sure two games.  But they do have to pick a lane.   And it does need to happen next year at the latest.     

This is a really good point.  Our window with our current core is a lot shorter than people might think.

-Pettersson is an RFA at the end of the season. What he decides to do at year end, we don't know.

-Demko has 3 years left (Can Silovs be an adequate replacement?)

-Kuzmenko = 2 years

-Boeser = 2 years

-Peak Miller before age related decline = 3 years

-Although Hughes, American born, has four years left, his younger brothers both play on the same team and they have a VERY tight-knit family.  American players aren't exactly inclined to sticking around in Canada (although there are exceptions obviously).   Both Jack and Luke have already indirectly engaged in tampering to which the league has chosen to ignore.  

And to add further complication, we have peak OEL buyout cap penalty 2 and 3 years from now.  

My gut feeling and thoughts on the above is as follows:

1) Pettersson will re-sign with us with the Dahlin contract.

2) We will walk from Demko at or before 3 years with Silovs successfully taking the reigns.

3) Podkolzin will be a bust but Hoglander will surprisingly figure it out and become a Mason Raymond type player for us.....maybe even more.  

4) Both Kuzmenko and Boeser will be gone at contract expiration.  

5) Raty will be our Puis Suter replacement at some point.  

6)I *think* we will be successful in re-signing Quinn Hughes (knock on wood) but I'm being biased here.   

9 hours ago, Elias Pettersson said:

 

I'd do that deal for Carlo and Trent Frederic.  

I'd do it as well, but why would Boston at this point?   Has Boston announced that they intend to go the rebuild route?   

7 hours ago, Elias Pettersson said:

We just beat one of the Stanley Cup favourites in back to back games.  Our team looks good.  Our team defence looks great.  Our goaltending looks all worldly.  We are still missing Mikheyev, Blueger and Soucy.  Add those 3 players to the lineup and we are 100% a playoff team.

 

So, the question becomes how far can we go with this current team?  Can we win a round in the playoffs?  With our goaltending and team defence I would say yes.  So, how far do we really want to go?  Can we actually improve our team enough this year to win it all?

 

I look at this team and see two complete lines:

 

Kuzmenko    Pettersson     Mikheyev

Joshua         Blueger          Lafferty

 

I wouldn’t touch those lines.  1st line and 4th line are complete.  Our second line looks good too:

 

PDG     Miller    Boeser 

 

I like PDG and we usually need to have an Italian in the lineup.  However, in order to win it all we probably need an upgrade on him.

 

Our 3rd line is the biggest problem:

 

Beauvillier/Höglander    Suter     Garland

 

Our 3rd line is too small to be a powerful checking line and not good enough to be a true scoring line.  I like Suter, he is fine as a 3C but we need to upgrade the wingers.  Garland and Beauviller take up $9.1 million in cap space.  Oh my. That’s insane.  Imagine what we could get for $9.1 million?

 

How about our defence?  Hughes and Hronek are elite.  Ian Cole is very good defensively. Soucy is big and strong and will be great on the 3rd pairing in the playoffs.  That leaves Myers and Juulsen.  Juulsen is not an NHL defenceman. Myers is frustrating to watch but has the tools to be effective if he wants to be.

 

Hughes    Hronek

Cole         Myers

Soucy      Juulsen

 

In order to be a cup contender we definitely have to upgrade on Juulsen.  

 

And finally the goalies.  Yes, our backup goalie would be the starter in Edmonton.  We are good to go with the goalies.  We could win the cup with them.

 

Demko    DeSmith

 

So, do we go all in?  If so, what do we upgrade and how would that work?

 

For me, IF we want to go all in, we need at least 3 guys.  2 wingers and a Dman.  Guys I would target are as follows:

 

Lawson Crouse - perfect player to compliment Miller and Boeser and a major upgrade on PDG

Andrew Peeke - defensive Dman who can play up and down the lineup.  Massive upgrade on Juulsen

 

Other players I’d look at:

 

Trent Frederic

Brandon Carlo

Yakov Trenin

Alexis Lafreniere 

Nico Sturm

Garnet Hathaway

Kasperi Kapanen

Robert Bortuzzo

Mason Appleton

Dylan Demelo

 

What would it take to get some of these guys?  Would you give up the 2024 1st, Vasili Podkolzin, Nils Höglander?  

 

IMO, Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Tom Willander are untouchable.  Everyone else however could be on the table depending on the offer…

One other thought - Lafreniere could be a good Kuzmenko replacement in a couple of seasons if we eventually walk from Kuzmenko (age).   

Does Myers, 2024 1st, Podkolzin, and Hoglander get you Carlo?  Carlo would be a significant upgrade on Myers and would also come in at a lower cap hit.  Carlo would be a more ideal fit for Hughes than Hronek (although Hughes-Hronek have looked really good together), while Hronek would probably be a better stylistic fit with Cole or Soucy. 

On the flip side - I actually like the fact that we've got some legitimately good prospects cooking on the farm (i.e. Raty, Podkolzin, Lekkerimaki, etc.).   We will need a lot of these ELC contracts to become impact players when OEL's cap penalty reaches its peak.  

4 hours ago, Elias Pettersson said:

We just beat one of the Stanley Cup favourites in back to back games.  Our team looks good.  Our team defence looks great.  Our goaltending looks all worldly.  We are still missing Mikheyev, Blueger and Soucy.  Add those 3 players to the lineup and we are 100% a playoff team.

 

So, the question becomes how far can we go with this current team?  Can we win a round in the playoffs?  With our goaltending and team defence I would say yes.  So, how far do we really want to go?  Can we actually improve our team enough this year to win it all?

 

I look at this team and see two complete lines:

 

Kuzmenko    Pettersson     Mikheyev

Joshua         Blueger          Lafferty

 

I wouldn’t touch those lines.  1st line and 4th line are complete.  Our second line looks good too:

 

PDG     Miller    Boeser 

 

I like PDG and we usually need to have an Italian in the lineup.  However, in order to win it all we probably need an upgrade on him.

 

Our 3rd line is the biggest problem:

 

Beauvillier/Höglander    Suter     Garland

 

Our 3rd line is too small to be a powerful checking line and not good enough to be a true scoring line.  I like Suter, he is fine as a 3C but we need to upgrade the wingers.  Garland and Beauviller take up $9.1 million in cap space.  Oh my. That’s insane.  Imagine what we could get for $9.1 million?

 

How about our defence?  Hughes and Hronek are elite.  Ian Cole is very good defensively. Soucy is big and strong and will be great on the 3rd pairing in the playoffs.  That leaves Myers and Juulsen.  Juulsen is not an NHL defenceman. Myers is frustrating to watch but has the tools to be effective if he wants to be.

 

Hughes    Hronek

Cole         Myers

Soucy      Juulsen

 

In order to be a cup contender we definitely have to upgrade on Juulsen.  

 

And finally the goalies.  Yes, our backup goalie would be the starter in Edmonton.  We are good to go with the goalies.  We could win the cup with them.

 

Demko    DeSmith

 

So, do we go all in?  If so, what do we upgrade and how would that work?

 

For me, IF we want to go all in, we need at least 3 guys.  2 wingers and a Dman.  Guys I would target are as follows:

 

Lawson Crouse - perfect player to compliment Miller and Boeser and a major upgrade on PDG

Andrew Peeke - defensive Dman who can play up and down the lineup.  Massive upgrade on Juulsen

 

Other players I’d look at:

 

Trent Frederic

Brandon Carlo

Yakov Trenin

Alexis Lafreniere 

Nico Sturm

Garnet Hathaway

Kasperi Kapanen

Robert Bortuzzo

Mason Appleton

Dylan Demelo

 

What would it take to get some of these guys?  Would you give up the 2024 1st, Vasili Podkolzin, Nils Höglander?  

 

IMO, Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Tom Willander are untouchable.  Everyone else however could be on the table depending on the offer…

Still *way* too early to entertain these thoughts.  It would be like if I began a marathon and was ahead of a few guys from Nigeria or Kenya after 600 meters and started having "fantasies" about qualifying for the Boston Marathon. 

If we are still killing it after 20-25 games, THEN I would start "warming up the boner" so to speak.  

p.s. - As far as your package goes, would a guy like Tom Wilson fit the bill?  (assuming that Washington starts shitting the bed and choose to rebuild).  Brandon Carlo would also be of interest to me but would Boston part ways with him?  

Maybe this regime targets Paul Coffey?  

Gonna be completely honest.

I didn't see us winning today (well....Saturday night for most of you).

Glad we pulled it off.

This Canucks team looks a lot tighter and more cohesive on the ice and even the Rogers announcers pointed this out.  Their gap control and attention to detail is on a different level than what we're usually accustomed to seeing.  

On 10/11/2023 at 7:56 PM, Alflives said:

Got to dumperoo Garland. New Beau has trade value, especially as we get closer to the TDL so we don’t need to retain now. Get rid of Garden Gnome. But not for Peeke. Get Guddy back. 

I'd rather eat Hippopotamus shit than have Erik Gudbranson back.  

On 10/11/2023 at 5:46 AM, Chickenspear said:

Jake has both the work ethic and brains of a stump, though.

It's too bad with Virtanen.

Say what you will about him but the guy netted 18 goals and 18 assists during the 2019/2020 season with mainly 3rd line minutes and very little PP time.  

15-20 years from now when hockey pundits look back on it, Virtanen's 100 point NHL production will likely qualify him as a being a 3rd round calibre hockey player.  So - a bust yes, but not a complete ball sniffer like Olli Juolevi per se.

It's extremely unfortunate that his game took a complete 180  during the covid lockdown but it's the way she goes I guess.  

31 minutes ago, Alflives said:

Sure looks like Hronek is our much needed top pairing partner for Hughes. What an incredible steal of a trade by Allvin. 

Although these guys aren't a good fit on paper, I hope they make it work.  Having any combination of Cole, Myers, and Soucy as a 2nd pairing isn't completely ideal, but it's somewhat passable (probably a 2nd and a half pairing calibre as opposed to a 2nd pairing calibre).  But still - this above set-up is much better than having any one of Soucy, Myers, or Cole playing with Hughes on a top pairing.  

Bure is still my favourite but after last night's game, I think Elias Pettersson has definitely entered the conversation.

Head says Henrik, Heart says Bure,.........inner groin says Petey?  Who knows......

On 10/10/2023 at 11:50 PM, Hogs and Podz said:

So there have been a number of comments relating to the amount of previous Penguins management and players now being canucks.  Some of you aren't to happy about this for various reasons.  Some have countered "well, it's better than being the Vancouver Flames!!!!".  

 

 

 

 

If we truly are destined to become "The Vancouver Penguins," then who knows.......maybe one of Crosby or Malkin signs with us as a 39/40 year old?  

On 10/7/2023 at 3:00 AM, higgyfan said:

 

Losing Kuzy would likely have a negative effect on the team scoring.   Boeser is not a replacement

for Kuzy and the Miller line is not really a 2nd line anymore with Hogs/Miller/Garland.

 

 

 

I know it's just a one-game sample, but what if we truly have seen the return of elite Brock Boeser? 

Kuzmenko's value is sky-high right now given his production last year.  

Would I trade Kuzmenko right now?  Probably not but the idea is intriguing......to me at least.  

What defenseman out there could you get for Kuzmenko?   

Would Kuzmenko + Myers in "a hockey deal" warrant some interest?  (obviously, we'd have to take cap back our way).   

Seems like a pointless move to me.  

Trading an underachieving winger for another one.

Look at Columbus' Andrew Peeke if you're entertaining thoughts on moving Garland.  (Would probably take Garland++)

Hopes:  We duplicate the 2014/2015 season where all/most of our players still healthy and we make the playoffs.

Expectations:   Fighting for a wildcard spot

Realities:  Fighting for a wildcard spot but a lot of our success will depend on the overall health of our team.  Ethan Bear coming back could help us.  

3 minutes ago, Ghostsof1915 said:

My boss is an Oiler fan. I guess I have to keep quiet tomorrow.

Don't be quiet.  Rub his nose in it.  That would be an alpha move and he'll actually respect you more for doing so.  

On 10/10/2023 at 11:21 AM, RWJC said:

"To be very to the point: the changes that we made, we have a playoff team if everything goes right."

Everything going right will rest on the performances of new captain Quinn Hughes and a retooled defence.

 

 

An understatement if I've ever seen one.

-Can Demko stay healthy for all/most of the year?   Has his career track record suggested this for the most part?

-Can all 6 of our current defensemen stay healthy for all/most of the year?  If not, how many #5 calibre and below defensemen will be playing on our top two pairings?

-Will Kuzmenko be able to produce like he did last year under Tocchet's more structured system?  

I hope we're able to make the playoffs but I'm still seeing too many question marks on defense. 

6 hours ago, xMagnus said:

Why does this have to be released on the eve of our season.

 

Just another distraction.

Exactly.  This is one thing that I do not like about our current management.  

They have a tendency to make these 'weird announcements' and/or let this kind of crap go public which potentially leads to distractions within the lockerroom.  

We all saw what happened last season.  

I also don't understand this Garland hate.  The guy is a good hockey player that just needs to play in a structured system.  He was good in Arizona (under Tocchet), and was good under Travis Green.   

If Philly is looking to take on salary, Boeser or Myers is the guy you move.  

No to Guddy.  

Too expensive and not enough value for that contract. 

If the Canucks are looking to address their toughness issue (or lack thereof), why not just claim Ross Johnston on waivers?

~edit, never mind, Ducks claimed him.  

On 10/6/2023 at 5:11 AM, Blue said:

Just curious. Because there's a theory out there that forums are for 30+ year olds and the young bucks don't even know what they are. Plus I think this will show that the mods are doing the right thing by allowing some cursing and swearing. Just don't over-do it. Sports and swearing go hand in hand. 

 

15,618 days as of October 9 2023

18 hours ago, Trebreh said:

Oof contract but happy for the jets that they kept their core players.

It's the reality of a Canadian market not named Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal.   

It will be difficult to retain core players unless you overpay on both term and money.  

Teams like Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg don't bring out the knee pads and lipstick because they're stupid.  It's because the GM's of these teams understand the realities of the Canadian market and player retention.  

14 hours ago, Canuckfanforlife82 said:

I am just wondering if people would be willing to do this trade?

Victor Soderstrom: 

I would but the Rangers wouldn't.  If you want Lafrenniere, it would cost you Podkolzin AND ???? at minimum in my opinion.  There's only so much Jesus Juice available at Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch so to speak.  

Laf *might* be a decent replacement for Kuzmenko in two years if/when Kuzmenko departs for a contender.  

I do have another thought:  If we're thinking about exchanging reclamation projects, then why not take a flier on Victor Soderstrom?  Would the Coyotes be willing to move him for Podz? (a.k.a. the poor man's Artem Chubarov)

19 hours ago, IBatch said:

Think the coaches were trying to see how well things would work with QHs and McWard because he's that good. 

 

We can't afford an injury as things are right now.    Not a big one anyways.   Lumme managed fine with Glynn when Murzyn went down ... think that's the reasoning behind trying guys out in practice and McWard with QHs this pre-season.   Is he good enough to carry a top pairing mostly on his own?    Not sure how things will go, but it's sure better then when Edler or Tanev went down,  and Stecher or Del Zotto or Hutton or whomever had to step up too.  Baby steps.   Adding Myers and Miller was enough Sedin post one.     Hopefully the bandaids, Soucy and Hronek will be enough this year. 

That's been one of my biggest pet peeves with this team since the post 2020 bubble off-season.  Instead of saying, "lets put a solid d-man beside Hughes and make this pairing our version of Keith-Seabrook," the Canucks seem more content to be putting plugs beside Hughes since Hughes is good enough to carry them (which would then allow is to artificially create the appearance of having depth on the back-end).   

I like Soucy and Cole but they shouldn't be playing with Hughes.  Neither should McWard.  And the scary thing is that this is under full health to our D!  One injury to any of our current Top 4 d-men and the Canucks will literally have a #5 calibre or below d-man playing with Hughes or Hronek.  :puke:

9 hours ago, Hogs and Podz said:

Who was our third best defenseman last year?... And the year before that.... And the year before that?  

 

I

If you had added one more "the year before that" comment, my answer would have been Hughes, Edler, and Tanev........which unsurprisingly, was the last time we made the playoffs.  

Canucks still need another 2B/3 calibre defenseman otherwise a lot of things will need to go right just to make the playoffs.  

1. Hughes

2. Hronek

3. MIA

4. Soucy

5. Cole

5B/6.  Myers, McWard, Hirose, Wolanin, etc., etc.  

Hughes-MIA

Soucy-Hronek

Cole-Myers

Is what our defense should look like.   Cole nor Soucy should be playing with Hughes.