Offseason Planning - regardless of outcome

[flat land fish]

2 hours ago, stawns said:

 

Hogz scored 24 goals........you don't think that's a top 6 fwd?

I think he's a bit like Garland where his best work is a play driver on a line where he's the guy with the puck on his stick.  Probably 3rd line play driver is ideal for him.

[Blue]

Just now, flat land fish said:

I think he's a bit like Garland where his best work is a play driver on a line where he's the guy with the puck on his stick.  Probably 3rd line play driver is ideal for him.

Hogs equalled Mcdavids even strength goals 

[Blue]

1 hour ago, stawns said:

 

I don't think it's even remotely realistic to have Lek in the lineup, especially when you have guys in Abby who had good years.

 

I know people are writing off Bains, but very few mid season call ups do much other than maintain, he's still in the mix imo.  Further to that Raty is coming off a 52 point season as a 21 year old, he'll be much higher up the depth chart than Lek.

If Bains got a few games , Lek should get a few games just for kicks 

[stawns]

14 minutes ago, Ghostsof1915 said:

Because when he was up to Vancouver for a cup of coffee, he had wheels, but he couldn't finish.

Once again, maybe a good fitness routine, and work in the offseason could change things.

A lot of young players need to take a next step at training camp. It's great to have options.

 

I don't think you can judge a player, especially a player like Bains, on a mid season call up.  I've seen a lot of him over the last two years and he makes everyone around him better.  If he gets a chance to be in the lineup in an extended stay, he'll surprise people

[stawns]

4 minutes ago, flat land fish said:

I think he's a bit like Garland where his best work is a play driver on a line where he's the guy with the puck on his stick.  Probably 3rd line play driver is ideal for him.

 

So we want top 6 fwds, but a 24 goal guy isn't good enough?  I don't think they'rs going to do better than that on the open market, imo

[stawns]

50 minutes ago, DrJockitch said:

Raty is looking like a 3rd-4th line LW with a nasty attitude. 
‘Does look like we have bottom 6 wing options but not really much else coming soon. 

 

That's not the Raty I've watched.  He can play both C and W and is a great 200 ft player.......a great playmaker with a great shot a high IQ and though he doesn't shy away from physical play, I wouldn't say hrs nasty at all.

 

In a lot of ways, he's a bigger, more sturdy, but less skilled version of Petey.

[Herberts Vasiljevs]

The boys/girls upstairs are gonna have to get creative, but they have shown over the past that they are willing and have been able to do so, so I am not too worried. In a DREAM world, I would like to see this:

 

 

[stawns]

44 minutes ago, flat land fish said:

I think he's a bit like Garland where his best work is a play driver on a line where he's the guy with the puck on his stick.  Probably 3rd line play driver is ideal for him.

 

I think he'd be a great fit with Petey

[DrJockitch]

1 hour ago, stawns said:

 

That's not the Raty I've watched.  He can play both C and W and is a great 200 ft player.......a great playmaker with a great shot a high IQ and though he doesn't shy away from physical play, I wouldn't say hrs nasty at all.

 

In a lot of ways, he's a bigger, more sturdy, but less skilled version of Petey.

He is so young it is really quite hard to say if he will be able to translate his AHL offence to the NHL.  He may be able to provide middle six wing support.  

From limited time in preseason he does seem to have that stereotypical Finnish chippiness.

They do seem to have used him less and less in the middle though I don't have the opportunity to watch Abby.

Should be room for a Bains or Raty next season and likely a need.

[steviewonder20]

4 hours ago, BC_Hawk said:

Great Summary, though I think the #1 move that needs to happen ASAP once the trade freeze is lifted is to jettison Mikheyev. If we have to attach a 1st to get it done, so be it. He is the anchor that will holdup actually making the team better. Essentially, it could be Blueger Cap + Mik Cap -> Guentzel.

I’d prefer not to give up a 1st next year as we have no 1st or 2nd this year and still need to upgrade our pipeline of prospects. Better to try and add him to a bigger deal.

[stawns]

57 minutes ago, DrJockitch said:

He is so young it is really quite hard to say if he will be able to translate his AHL offence to the NHL.  He may be able to provide middle six wing support.  

From limited time in preseason he does seem to have that stereotypical Finnish chippiness.

They do seem to have used him less and less in the middle though I don't have the opportunity to watch Abby.

Should be room for a Bains or Raty next season and likely a need.

 

He's young, I agree, but he does play a pretty mature game and he can slot in anywhere in the lineup.  That said, I think he'll likely spend another year in Abby as their main guy there as they'll definitely be wanting him as a top 6 guy.........hopefully he'll play with Lek

[canuck73_3]

Must sign

Lindholm (closer to 7-7.5 the better incredible playoff performer)

Zadorov (I'm happy up to 5-5.5 beast of a player)

Hronek (Caveat to this one I'm good up to 7.5, 8+ is too rich imo although I don't know of many teams that can or will pay that premium) 

 

Defence held up well and these three were a huge part of that

 

If We can afford them 

Myers - Would love him back at a reduced cap hit but it's arguable he deserves close to what he make now 

Joshua - May have priced himself out of here would love to keep him

Blueger - Same as Joshua 

 

Expendable  

Cole (loved his game for the most part but time to see if Brisebois/Woo/Juulsen can be a full time 6/7 option and save while we're at it) 

Mikheyev (Trade unlikely but good buyout option if needed, wouldn't oppose to giving him one more shot if possible with cap compliance) 

DeSmith (Silovs proved he can handle himself pretty well under pressure he's earned a shot) 

Lafferty - Replacelable player can find these all day long 

Edited May 24 by canuck73_3

[canuck73_3]

5 hours ago, stawns said:

 

That's not the Raty I've watched.  He can play both C and W and is a great 200 ft player.......a great playmaker with a great shot a high IQ and though he doesn't shy away from physical play, I wouldn't say hrs nasty at all.

 

In a lot of ways, he's a bigger, more sturdy, but less skilled version of Petey.

You have a tendency to vastly overrate your pet players while sandbagging ones you don't like see your years of claiming Virtanen>Boeser takes and now Hronek is in your dog house. 

Edited May 23 by canuck73_3

[Goose]

Daily Faceoff / FP Analytics projecting Lindholm 5 x 6.7

 

That’s really interesting.

[canuck73_3]

2 hours ago, Goose said:

Daily Faceoff / FP Analytics projecting Lindholm 5 x 6.7

 

That’s really interesting.

Sign him yesterday if that can get done 

[R3aL]

9 hours ago, spook007 said:

The advantage of keeping Hronek for 1 year would obviously be they think Tom will be ready in another year... it's a gamble, would keep money around instead of the big numbers being thrown around. 

 

If they trade Hronek, they have to find another RHD instead, and if the keep him ($8M), somebody else gives it up...

 

And yes I also expect Myers on a 2-3 year deal to give Willander extra time to develop, but again it depends on the numbers...

I just don’t see management doing that from an asset management POV

 

but maybe there is a way to make it work that way where we don’t just lose Hronek for nothing after walking him to UFA

[Dr. Crossbar]

3 hours ago, canuck73_3 said:

Must sign

Lindholm (closer to 7-7.5 the better incredible playoff performer)

Zadorov (I'm happy up to 5-5.5 beast of a player)

Hronek (Caveat to this one I'm good up to 7.5, 8+ is too rich imo although I don't know of many teams that can or will pay that premium) 

 

Defence held up well and these three were a huge part of that

 

If We can afford them 

Myers - Would love him back at a reduced cap hit but it's arguable he deserves close to what he make now 

Joshua - May have priced himself out of here would love to keep him

Blueger - Same as Joshua 

 

Expendable  

Cole (loved his game for the most part but time to see if Brisebois/Woo/Juulsen can be a full time 6/7 option and save while we're at it) 

Mikheyev (Trade unlikely but good buyout option if needed, wouldn't oppose to giving him one more shot if possible with cap compliance) 

DeSmith (Silovs proved he can handle himself pretty well under pressure he's earned a shot) 

Lafferty - Replacelable player can find these all day long 

 

Nice post. Well said. Mainly where I sir on e everything as well. There is a way to make it work as long as some are reasonable. 

[Devron]

3 hours ago, canuck73_3 said:

Must sign

Lindholm (closer to 7-7.5 the better incredible playoff performer)

Zadorov (I'm happy up to 5-5.5 beast of a player)

Hronek (Caveat to this one I'm good up to 7.5, 8+ is too rich imo although I don't know of many teams that can or will pay that premium) 

 

Defence held up well and these three were a huge part of that

 

If We can afford them 

Myers - Would love him back at a reduced cap hit but it's arguable he deserves close to what he make now 

Joshua - May have priced himself out of here would love to keep him

Blueger - Same as Joshua 

 

Expendable  

Cole (loved his game for the most part but time to see if Brisebois/Woo/Juulsen can be a full time 6/7 option and save while we're at it) 

Mikheyev (Trade unlikely but good buyout option if needed, wouldn't oppose to giving him one more shot if possible with cap compliance) 

DeSmith (Silovs proved he can handle himself pretty well under pressure he's earned a shot) 

Lafferty - Replacelable player can find these all day long 

Always speaking my language 73

 

I think Allvin referred Joshua as his staff need to find more players like him. I think he’s referring to guys on league minimum type deals just needing a little push to break out. 50/50 we keep Joshua due to contract. Hope we do but I can see us not coming to terms 

[Alflives]

6 hours ago, stawns said:

 

He's young, I agree, but he does play a pretty mature game and he can slot in anywhere in the lineup.  That said, I think he'll likely spend another year in Abby as their main guy there as they'll definitely be wanting him as a top 6 guy.........hopefully he'll play with Lek

Lekkerimaki will not see any time in Abby. He’s obviously already an NHL player. 

[cripplereh]

4 hours ago, Alflives said:

Lekkerimaki will not see any time in Abby. He’s obviously already an NHL player. 

Will be nice to see what he has at the NHL level, plus want to see EPD as he is 6'4" with bite.

[Goose]

Brandon Duhaime  27 RW 3 x 1.8 (Duhaime + Podz = bash bros)

 

Michael Amadio 28 C 3 x 3.1 (3c) 

 

 

Edited May 25 by Goose

[highandinside]

If it's between Lindholm and Zadorov I would rather keep Z. Give him the term he wants and I would even go 8 years between 5 and 6 million and I think that contract would age well. Zadorov is durable enough.  

 

I think Joshua is also a big priority and I would also be willing to do like 6 or 8 years to lock in the cap rate. 

 

Try to deal Mik if it's even possible. 

 

If Hronek will sign for a reasonable deal then keep him otherwise ship him out for hopefully a decent return and use his salary on the free agent market for a guy who can be a stop gap until our younger prospects are ready

[stawns]

1 hour ago, highandinside said:

If it's between Lindholm and Zadorov I would rather keep Z. Give him the term he wants and I would even go 8 years between 5 and 6 million and I think that contract would age well. Zadorov is durable enough.  

 

I think Joshua is also a big priority and I would also be willing to do like 6 or 8 years to lock in the cap rate. 

 

Try to deal Mik if it's even possible. 

 

If Hronek will sign for a reasonable deal then keep him otherwise ship him out for hopefully a decent return and use his salary on the free agent market for a guy who can be a stop gap until our younger prospects are ready

 

Joshua was less than a half point a game, let's be realistic here

[DrJockitch]

16 hours ago, Alflives said:

Lekkerimaki will not see any time in Abby. He’s obviously already an NHL player. 

Obvious to who?  He got a taste in Abby and was fine. We don’t have JB anymore, we aren’t throwing this kid to the wolves 

He will get a chance to ripen and mature. 
I like that he has developed a bit of a chippiness to his game. Would expect games this year but not the regular lineup. 
‘Very realistically may see Willander, EP2.0 and Lekk in Abby after Willander’s college season  is done next season.

[Rip The Mesh]

On 5/22/2024 at 7:39 PM, R3aL said:

With all the media analyzing everything and what they've shared it is sounding to me like:

 

Priority 1: Will be Lindholm. But there will be a cap to what we can offer him and I believe that is in the 6.5-7.5M Range. I would think maybe even the Kadri deal would be the max. There will be teams like Boston that will offer more money so it will come down to what he wants, how much he liked it here, how the playoff atmosphere impacted him and what his family thinks.

 

Priority 2: Targeting Guentzel. Could argue this is Priority 1 too. But I think they will be targeting Guentzel on July 1st. We could bring back everyone from last year and still our team would only be better if we had internal improvement. The ceiling of the team needs to be raised and Guentzel does that. It would also give our PP a legit boost and he fits our exact PP need. Plus gives Petey a pretty ideal linemate going forward.

 

Priority 3: Dakota Joshua. Outside of Garland Joshua is our most unique top 9 winger package. In the sense he has the physicality and edge. He is a PKer and he does have a developing goal scoring touch potentially. He showed up big in the playoffs for some special moments, and could have been better in other. He is no doubt due a raise but it would be a mistake / gamble to lock in on a market / overpayment. He provided us surplus value on his contract this year and we do need to create and find that elsewhere. If we cannot sign him and he signs a big contract elsewhere it is a good sign for other players who could identify vancouver as a good spot to sign a short term deal to elevate the worth. I believe he ultimately walks and signs the biggest contract of his life.

 

Priority 4: BIG Z. Similar to DJ. Unique skill set for a dman. And really a physical unicorn. Depending on our other signings, BIG Z appetite to stay here and the role he sees for himself I think as much as he would love to stay here there are some teams around the NHL ready to roll up a Brinks truck to him and Millstein to get him there and try him in an elevated top 4 role. Media is rumouring that Nashville and Toronto are two teams very interested in his services and there could be more. He could be the sticker shock signing of the summer and could land a deal $6-7M. Where even us giving him $5M would have been very difficult to do. I think he will be moving on.

 

Priority 5: Teddy Blueger. If we cannot sign Lindholm the need to sign Blueger grows a little. Especially considering for our PK. There aren't a lot of Cs on the market this UFA season similar to Blueger and he could get an overpay from a desperate team. But if Teddy could stay for a reasonable deal again perhaps it could work. I am having a hard time seeing it work out though as I am hoping we by some miracle land Guentzel + Lindholm. If we cannot sign Teddy, or Lindy and our bottom 6 C depth is Suter / Aman I do think this becomes a high priority as I am not sure if our C depth is strong enough especially when considering C PK duties.

 

Priority 6: Hronek Contract + Trade or Sign Long Term. I am thinking Hronek is going to be moved for a roster player with a small salary or for a 1st and a prospect. I just dont see Management signing him for $7.5M+. I understand Hronek was overall a huge upgrade on our right side from years past, I understand he caddy Hughes to his first likely Norris Win and the first Norris Nominee in our history. I understand injuries could have impacted him potentially down the stretch or in the playoffs. But any time he played with any dmen other than Hughes he wasn't good enough in my opinion. I truly think 6-6.5M is more of the contract hes worth and perhaps one in the 7s ages okay with the cap going up. But once you hit the 8 I am out. Even the optics of him making more than Miller and Hughes I am just out on it. I believe Willander is the future partner for Hughes too so Hronek being able to carry a pairing on his own was important for me to see this year and in limited opportunities I wasn't convinced. 

 

Priority 7: Mikehyev. Can he be moved without taking any money back? Or do we bank on him rebounding and can we make the money work? I would expect management to try and trade him especially if we were able to sign both Guentzel and Lindholm.

 

Priority 8: Signing a top pairing RHD to replace Hronek for Hughes. There are some potential Value guys here that could fit the bill and budget: Tanev / Demelo / Roy those would probably be my top 3 out of all the UFA RHD on the market. Tanev is the only one with ties to us of the three so if he could be had at a slight discount to make the numbers and fit work that would be a no brainer. But with his current playoff run his stock has never been higher considering his age.

 

Priority 9: Deciding on a Vet back up and taking advantage of Silovs waiver status to give us 3 solid goal tenders? I doubt desmith comes back after losing his position in the playoffs to a minor injury. But do we sign another Vet to be a back up so that we have 3 NHL Goalies? What are the cap implications. We clearly need to manage Demos starts even better next year to with his playing style and injuries we need to keep him healthy.

 

Priority 10: BIG Z replacement if he goes elsewhere. My number 1 target would be Dillon. If we could sign him to a deal like Soucy/Cole that would be super ideal. As a Bottom pairing LHD he provides a lot of what Big Z did for us tools wise. I think he would fit our system great and really flourish.

 

Priority 11: Myers. Can we resign him for much less than people think? He does not want to move, he has made his money and he likes it here. Moving for him would be a very big inconvenience. Could he be signed for Sub 3 M on a 2 year deal I truly believe so. He wants to be here, he wants to win, he doesn't want to move, and the difference in money he could make by going elsewhere might not be worth it for him. He could also enjoy having the opposite contract feeling where he goes from being overpaid and whipped on to being a team folk hero providing surplus value. I think a 2 year $5M dollar deal is very possible.

 

Priority 12: Bottom pairing RHD. I think Juulsen is more suited for a 7 still. A guy who can play like a 6 for long stretches but ultimately really is a 7. Guys I would consider targeting for value contracts are Justin Schultz and Nick Blankenburg. Yes Schultz is getting older but he cant still move the puck, has a long active stick  and partnered with a guy like Dillon I think they would be an exceptional bottom pairing. Where he could cover PP2 and situationally play with Hughes in offensive scenarios. Blankenburg is super small and  know outside of Hughes its not managements MO. But he could be had for cheap and I do think he could be a surplus value kinda signing. He could also be quite effective with a Dillon on the bottom pairing. Hes position flexible and he could also fair well potentially situationally with Hughes as he can move the puck. Schultz also has history with our management and is a local guy who sounds like hes on his way out from Seattle And of course if there's another super duper value find available thats better than these then thats the move!

 

Priority 13: AHL Coach. Figure out JC and if hes gone who's the replacement staff.

 

Priority 14: Determine what AHL / Role players project to make the team: Podkolzin, Raty, Bains, Sassons, Karlsson and make value depth acquisitions according

 

Priority 15: Challenge the team to have a big offseason training and prepare themselves for a competitive camp

Priority 7: Mikehyev. Can he be moved without taking any money back? Or do we bank on him rebounding and can we make the money work? I would expect management

 

He was coming on at the end of the season and that may have been noticed, so I think you could find a team to take him on for one that suits the way we like to play.

It's possible.