[RUMOUR] Vancouver may be pursuing Jake Guentzel

[King Heffy]

22 minutes ago, aGENT said:

 

Have to think Kuzmenko+ would be going the other way.

 

This could make a lot of sense for PIT... Kuz is locked in for the same time frame as Crosby. They get a replacement scoring winger (plus), without having to lock in to long term cap risk...

 

The Canucks in return get a clear top 6 upgrade.

 

This could have legit legs.

Might be able to convince them to take Garland instead.  Remember that Pittsburgh's GM isn't qualified to work in hockey ops.

[Master Mind]

21 minutes ago, N4ZZY said:

 

not as a UFA, and how would we get a defenseman in the off-season as well. Can we afford players like Guentzel and Pesce (if we're needing another top four?). A part of me says we likely don't have cap room, as we struggle as is. 

 

 

Very little chance of upgrading the defense. Instead, the defense would likely get worse as we'd have to downgrade it to afford Guentzel.

 

I highly doubt PIT considers moving him anyway. Even if they're out of the playoff race by deadline, they'll want him for next year as they continue to try and compete with Crosby and Malkin.

[DrJockitch]

I think we have been involved in about as many deals this season as the rest of the league combined. 
So any rumour that has our name in it is reasonable especially Penguins. 
 

[aGENT]

9 minutes ago, Coconuts said:

 

Not only that, but the cost would be hefty even if he were available 

 

Hard to imagine him being moved and a top prospect+ not going the other way

 

He's also due for a sizeable raise

 

It's also hard to see the Pens packing it in while Crosby etc al. are still present, they'll be wanting competitive pieces 

 

Kuzy+ makes a LOT of sense for both clubs.

 

They get a replacement winger locked in the exact same term as Crosby without having to commit to a 6-8 year deal on Guentzel, well past Crosby and Malkin's deals. Plus a piece or two for their inevitable rebuild.

 

We get an upgrade at top 6 wing.

[Breadnbutta]

50 minutes ago, Mando27 said:

I dunno feel like this isn't the year to go all in and pick up a rental.

This is 100% the year.

 

Petey is getting a raise, Hronek is getting a raise, OEL buyout raise kicks in next year. This is the season where we have the most cap space to play with and we happen to be at or near the top of the league.

 

This is the year. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

[RichterBelmont]

2 hours ago, Ghostsof1915 said:

Rather call up Podz or even give Bains a shot.

Don't know why Bains hasn't gotten a shot with the big club. I really want to see what he can do in the big league.

[aGENT]

41 minutes ago, N4ZZY said:

 

not as a UFA, and how would we get a defenseman in the off-season as well. Can we afford players like Guentzel and Pesce (if we're needing another top four?). A part of me says we likely don't have cap room, as we struggle as is. 

 

 

Pesce might be a stretch at $5m+ but IMO we could extend Guentzel and still maybe get a Tanev/Larsson/Zub/Lyubushkin/Hakanpaa etc for $4m or under via UFA/trade. But it would almost certainly mean also moving Garland and replacing him with a kid/cheap vet.

[Coconuts]

13 minutes ago, aGENT said:

 

Kuzy+ makes a LOT of sense for both clubs.

 

They get a replacement winger locked in the exact same term as Crosby without having to commit to a 6-8 year deal on Guentzel, well past Crosby and Malkin's deals. Plus a piece or two for their inevitable rebuild.

 

We get an upgrade at top 6 wing.

 

Perhaps, but Guentzel is the better player and he's proven whereas Kuzmenko's one big season was done on the back of an unsustainable shooting percentage 

 

Pens will be rebuilding post-Crosby/Malkin/Letang, I'm not sure they'll care 

 

Not saying it couldn't happen, but it'd really matter what the + is

 

Pens are in the mix for the playoffs too, not all that sure they look to shift things up front all that much given the seasons Crosby and Malkin are having

 

Guentzel also leads a Penguins team that is 20th in goals scored in points and is one of their primary goal scorers thus far, trailing only Crosby

 

I just don't see the Pens moving him if their goal is the playoffs, Guentzel for Kuzmenko+ is likely a step back for them this season

Edited January 4 by Coconuts

[Nucker67]

15 minutes ago, Breadnbutta said:

This is 100% the year.

 

Petey is getting a raise, Hronek is getting a raise, OEL buyout raise kicks in next year. This is the season where we have the most cap space to play with and we happen to be at or near the top of the league.

 

This is the year. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

 

I think so too. They might have a very short window, like this year, because after this season, some players will get big raises, some will leave, the OEL cap hit, etc.

 

Canucks might need cheaper players next season. I'm not sure how effective Podkolzin, Raty, Klimovich and Woo will be.

 

[Blitz-Pix]

16 minutes ago, DrJockitch said:

I think we have been involved in about as many deals this season as the rest of the league combined. 
So any rumour that has our name in it is reasonable especially Penguins. 
 

 

We're being tied to alot of trades...we're begining to sound like the Toronto Maple Leafs, LOL

 

However when you have Trader Jim at the helm nothing is off the table, the man loves to make moves. 

So far, so good though. I'm not a fan of trading for JG...no need to mortgage our future (yet) IMO.

Great player with playoff experience but it would be a hefty price to pay for a couple of months.

 

I believe the plan was to look for a younger player with some term left (a year or 2).

I'd be open to trading SOME of our assests in that senario.    

 

[aGENT]

3 minutes ago, Coconuts said:

Guentzel for Kuzmenko+ is likely a step back for them this season

 

Slightly yes... Somewhat depending on the "+", and if they can make use of the added cap space swapping G & K gives them.

 

But if they can't/won't extend Guentzel, it does give them a better chance next year, and more cap space and pieces to play with.

 

A lot likely depends heavily on how they feel their chances/willingness of extending him before the TDL are. They can't allow him to just walk this summer. And they're unlikely to get a much better, under contract replacement than Kuzy as the return from any other playoff teams.

[Provost]

Well our brass does know Pittsburgh players, so they have more info than us as to how he might fit.

 

Does flipping Kuz for him make us significantly better?  We would have to move him or equivalent out to make the money work.  If they don’t think Kuz is a long term fit, maybe getting out from his contract liability helps us add a piece this summer even if we don’t plan on Re-signing Guentzel.

 

Not sure if he is the player I want to expend our trade chips on.  I think we still need a bigger “brute” in the top six.

 

I think a player like Lawson Crouse would be more of a fit.  The guy has never been on a real team, is a power forward who is solid defensively.  He is in the right age range and signed to a team friendly contract with term.

I think there is lots of upside if you put him in a top six with talented players.  Net front, opening space for the high skill guys, winning board battles.  We don’t need another play driver on a Petterson line, as Petterson does all that himself… I think a power forward would give Petey the chance to play to his strengths more.

 

[Tower102]

I don't see the need here with how much the team is scoring, I would rather the big move be for a number 3 defenseman. 

 

I would be open to considering it if it was Kuz and a B level prospect or mid round pick for him and we were able to extend him at a similar mark to his current contract. I think I would rather just keep working with Kuzmenko though.

[Blitz-Pix]

What we need is to pull off a Tampa Bay / Vegas move and circumvent the cap. 

 

We need Myers to conviently get injured (in about a month's time) and placed on LTIR until the end of the season.

We can then use his cap space to go out and trade for whatever we need, Of course he will miraculously recover in time for the 1st round of the playoffs.

We can keep Julsson in the linup until Myers fortuidous return. Haha

 

Just watch, you know some team will do it this year, may as well be us.

  

Edited January 4 by Blitz-Pix

[Nucker67]

Guentzel - Miller - Boeser

Hoglander - Pettersson - Mikheyev

 

Looks good to me, let's win a Cup 

[Hammertime]

57 minutes ago, aGENT said:

 

Guentzel is a pretty sizeable upgrade on Kuzmenko, who despite his size, knows how to play the "right way". He's also faster and plays LW, not RW like Brock.

 

Kuzmenko would also almost certainly be going the other way. So no, not 3 guys vying for the same spot.

Seems lateral. 

 

Would much rather move Kuzz or Brock for assets to then flip for for a player who plays a different role. Preferably a pwf or D signed to a cost controlled contract 

[BC_Hawk]

2 hours ago, canuck73 said:

And I keep forgetting we have Podkolzin marinating in the AHL...

Problem with Podz is was a T-Bone; shouldn't have required more marinating given his early success in 2021. I don't know what happened to him, but it has gone far beyond the sophomore slump scenario. He was so consistent in play in 2021.

[aGENT]

3 minutes ago, Hammertime said:

Seems lateral. 

 

Would much rather move Kuzz or Brock for assets to then flip for for a player who plays a different role. Preferably a pwf or D signed to a cost controlled contract 

 

Guentzel is a sizeable upgrade on Kuz.

[BC_Hawk]

17 minutes ago, Tower102 said:

I don't see the need here with how much the team is scoring, I would rather the big move be for a number 3 defenseman. 

 

I would be open to considering it if it was Kuz and a B level prospect or mid round pick for him and we were able to extend him at a similar mark to his current contract. I think I would rather just keep working with Kuzmenko though.

Between Suter and Blueger, I am quite happy with our Centers at this time. The problem with our current lineup is no real longterm answer in the top 6; we are a player short! PDG, Hogs, etc are just plaeholders getting rotated through. IF you could get that Top6 guy (even on rental), it would push more talent down and create 4 very dynamic lines....think of a 4th line of Hogs/Mik-Suter-Lafferty for example.

[BC_Hawk]

31 minutes ago, Provost said:

Well our brass does know Pittsburgh players, so they have more info than us as to how he might fit.

 

Does flipping Kuz for him make us significantly better?  We would have to move him or equivalent out to make the money work.  If they don’t think Kuz is a long term fit, maybe getting out from his contract liability helps us add a piece this summer even if we don’t plan on Re-signing Guentzel.

 

Not sure if he is the player I want to expend our trade chips on.  I think we still need a bigger “brute” in the top six.

 

I think a player like Lawson Crouse would be more of a fit.  The guy has never been on a real team, is a power forward who is solid defensively.  He is in the right age range and signed to a team friendly contract with term.

I think there is lots of upside if you put him in a top six with talented players.  Net front, opening space for the high skill guys, winning board battles.  We don’t need another play driver on a Petterson line, as Petterson does all that himself… I think a power forward would give Petey the chance to play to his strengths more.

 

I tend to agree. Crouse on either top line would be equivalent to Dakotas influence on the 3rd. His size would provide the room for the talent to skate (ala Garland) and provide net presence. Having said this, I really don't think he is available.

 

With regards to Guentzel, it is all about how he would fit in Tocchet's model. Though there are better options, I'd be more willing to pay a guy that gets to play Top6 minutes vs what Kuz is doing currently. Not sure he saw the ice in the 3rd period against Sens; that's a problem, especially when we were already down a fwd (PDG).

[aGENT]

38 minutes ago, Provost said:

I think a player like Lawson Crouse would be more of a fit.  The guy has never been on a real team, is a power forward who is solid defensively.  He is in the right age range and signed to a team friendly contract with term.

 

Problem being, due to his (expiring) contract, Guentzel may be available. Crouse almost certainly, is not.

Edited January 4 by aGENT

[DrJockitch]

15 minutes ago, BC_Hawk said:

Problem with Podz is was a T-Bone; shouldn't have required more marinating given his early success in 2021. I don't know what happened to him, but it has gone far beyond the sophomore slump scenario. He was so consistent in play in 2021.

He never should have been in the league then. The guy needs minutes in all situations and the NHL is not a developmental league. 
Benning didn’t ever have the organizational depth to not rush pics so that’s what he did. 

[BC_Hawk]

55 minutes ago, aGENT said:

 

Pesce might be a stretch at $5m+ but IMO we could extend Guentzel and still maybe get a Tanev/Larsson/Zub/Lyubushkin/Hakanpaa etc for $4m or under via UFA/trade. But it would almost certainly mean also moving Garland and replacing him with a kid/cheap vet.

That's the key, and on a short-term contract. WE don't want to box out Petterson nor Willander's natural progression. That might mean that we over play a guy at #2 RHD so as to slot them into the 3rd role in more shelterd minutes. A guy like Cole, Tanev, Myers on a 2 year deal is ideal.

[Provost]

3 minutes ago, aGENT said:

 

Problem being, due to his (expiring) contract, Guentzel may be available. Crouse almost certainly, is not.

Not until the Coyotes fall out of the playoff picture at least…

[BC_Hawk]

3 minutes ago, DrJockitch said:

He never should have been in the league then. The guy needs minutes in all situations and the NHL is not a developmental league. 
Benning didn’t ever have the organizational depth to not rush pics so that’s what he did. 

I agree, but the results from then do agree with your logic; he excelled in all aspects if I remember correctly. He was not Hogs, whom had holes in his game. The only growing pain I remember is him getting comfortable in using his size without being intimidated.

Edited January 4 by BC_Hawk