[Rumor] Canucks linked to Victor Soderstrom

[Hammertime]

On 7/29/2024 at 10:01 PM, MeanSeanBean said:

I don't think Desharnais is someone who is guaranteed a spot. He's currently penciled in, for now. 

They didn't pay him 4m to sit in the pressbox. He'll play.

 

[MeanSeanBean]

11 hours ago, Hammertime said:

They didn't pay him 4m to sit in the pressbox. He'll play.

 

Of course he'll play. But I don't think he's a lock for 82 games myself. Haven't seen anything in this dudes NHL track record to say he can't be bumped.

[Hammertime]

1 hour ago, MeanSeanBean said:

Of course he'll play. But I don't think he's a lock for 82 games myself. Haven't seen anything in this dudes NHL track record to say he can't be bumped.

Totally agree. People saying he'll play with Hugs I don't see it. He got absolutely roasted playing w Nurse. In more relevant mins. He posted 0 primary assists. Can't see him playing anywhere near top 4 and frankly his defensive metrics don't exactly pop. Guess we will see. Obviously MGMT coaching think they see something there. 

 

If I take my homer glasses off. Looks to me like after losing out on Zad they went and got 2 plugs in hopes to fill the void. 

[Bob Long]

1 minute ago, Hammertime said:

Totally agree. People saying he'll play with Hugs I don't see it. He got absolutely roasted playing w Nurse. In more relevant mins. He posted 0 primary assists. Can't see him playing anywhere near top 4 and frankly his defensive metrics don't exactly pop. Guess we will see. Obviously MGMT coaching think they see something there. 

 

If I take my homer glasses off. Looks to me like after losing out on Zad they went and got 2 plugs in hopes to fill the void. 

 

The way our coaches turned Myers into something decent gives me a lot of hope 

 

I think it's a long shot, but if VD could actually play with Hughes it would really help with forming a better overall d group.

 

Hughes VD

Soucy Hronek

DF Myers 

 

Maybe that's what they will try in camp?

 

[MeanSeanBean]

29 minutes ago, Bob Long said:

 

The way our coaches turned Myers into something decent gives me a lot of hope 

 

I think it's a long shot, but if VD could actually play with Hughes it would really help with forming a better overall d group.

 

Hughes VD

Soucy Hronek

DF Myers 

 

Maybe that's what they will try in camp?

 

Myers has legit high end puck skills for a man his size though, or at least the potential for such. Managements job was to slow him down and get him to become more stable. VD seems like the opposite. I don't know if you can teach a guy to move the puck and play that game as easily as teaching him when not to pinch. Hope I'm wrong though.

[Bob Long]

13 minutes ago, MeanSeanBean said:

Myers has legit high end puck skills for a man his size though, or at least the potential for such. Managements job was to slow him down and get him to become more stable. VD seems like the opposite. I don't know if you can teach a guy to move the puck and play that game as easily as teaching him when not to pinch. Hope I'm wrong though.

 

if the job is feeding the puck to Hughes, maybe? I would think the 2 year deal means they seem him as a project worth putting the time in. 

[MeanSeanBean]

8 minutes ago, Bob Long said:

 

if the job is feeding the puck to Hughes, maybe? I would think the 2 year deal means they seem him as a project worth putting the time in. 

Maybe. The idea of Soderstrom, or a player like him, excites me more then VD with Hughes. We have seen Hughes with stable guys like Schenn and Juulsen. He looks good, but it doesn't unlock his maximum potential like playing with a high end skills guy like Hronek. I would be more interested in our management taking a stab at a young player who hasn't figured out how to play D it yet out with high end talent over a sturdy guy without the offensive or skill potential. 

 

I'm sure VD will at least get some time with Hughes to start, management is always talking about how they want to separate Hughes and Hronek. But I would be very excited with taking a flyer on a potentially higher end guy to try with Hughes, if the price is right.

[Bob Long]

38 minutes ago, MeanSeanBean said:

Maybe. The idea of Soderstrom, or a player like him, excites me more then VD with Hughes. We have seen Hughes with stable guys like Schenn and Juulsen. He looks good, but it doesn't unlock his maximum potential like playing with a high end skills guy like Hronek. I would be more interested in our management taking a stab at a young player who hasn't figured out how to play D it yet out with high end talent over a sturdy guy without the offensive or skill potential. 

 

I'm sure VD will at least get some time with Hughes to start, management is always talking about how they want to separate Hughes and Hronek. But I would be very excited with taking a flyer on a potentially higher end guy to try with Hughes, if the price is right.

 

it'll be interesting to watch for sure. Maybe VD has something, maybe he doesn't, but it's not a bad bet, and really with the cap left that was about all they could do. 

 

 

Edited August 6 by Bob Long

[JeremyCuddles]

1 hour ago, Hammertime said:

Totally agree. People saying he'll play with Hugs I don't see it. He got absolutely roasted playing w Nurse. In more relevant mins. He posted 0 primary assists. Can't see him playing anywhere near top 4 and frankly his defensive metrics don't exactly pop. Guess we will see. Obviously MGMT coaching think they see something there. 

 

If I take my homer glasses off. Looks to me like after losing out on Zad they went and got 2 plugs in hopes to fill the void. 

Darnell Nurse is 22/23 Tyler Myers. Nurse brings down everyone he plays with, but Desharnais was oddly enough Nurse's best partner if I remember correctly. Or at least Edmonton fans said that was the best pair to keep Nurse out of trouble. With that said, I agree. Having Desharnais with Huggy is akin to having Schenner with Huggy. It can work, but it's not ideal if you want to actually be a good playoff team.

[HarbularyBattery]

3 hours ago, Bob Long said:

 

The way our coaches turned Myers into something decent gives me a lot of hope 

 

I think it's a long shot, but if VD could actually play with Hughes it would really help with forming a better overall d group.

 

Hughes VD

Soucy Hronek

DF Myers 

 

Maybe that's what they will try in camp?

 

agreed. i think thats what they brought him in for.

 

hughes also really struggled in the playoffs with his puck retrievals. VD can go take the abuse in the corner and get the puck to hughes. 

 

soucy can do the same for hronek on the second pair

[Alflives]

1 minute ago, HarbularyBattery said:

agreed. i think thats what they brought him in for.

 

hughes also really struggled in the playoffs with his puck retrievals. VD can go take the abuse in the corner and get the puck to hughes. 

 

soucy can do the same for hronek on the second pair

Hughes did not struggle with puck retrievals. Hughes is a phenom. We win the Cup with a healthy Demko. 

[Bob Long]

Just now, Alflives said:

Hughes did not struggle with puck retrievals. Hughes is a phenom. We win the Cup with a healthy Demko. 

 

Nashville did pound him pretty good tho, having a big partner could help.

[higgyfan]

Are people just looking at his offensive stats?  That is certainly not what he was contracted

to do. He brings a very physical game and will make the team tougher to play against.

I can't see Juulsen replacing him unless there's an injury, but he is a cheap option as a

backup guy.  The peeps that like Juulsen's physical game are going to love Desharnais'

monster size and very heavy physical game.

 

Scouting Report 

"The massive shutdown defenseman has no hesitation about hitting opponents, especially if it means giving his goaltender a better look at incoming shots. His punishing style makes life uncomfortable for opposing forwards. Improved skating has made him a useful penalty killer who can play a lot of minutes, despite not contributing a lot offensively."

https://sportsforecaster.com/nhl/p/20628/Vincent_Desharnais

 

Here's an interesting article if you want a broader spectrum of what he can do for our team...

https://canucksarmy.com/news/vincent-desharnais-big-presence-big-price-canucks-blueline

 

He will be working with an exclusive coaching staff that will bring his best out of him; just as

they did for Zad.  No, he is not as good as Zad and his contract indicates that, but he will have

a permanent spot on the 3rd pairing and has been known to play with more talented dmen

for limited toi.  He is exactly what the team needs.

[HarbularyBattery]

1 minute ago, Alflives said:

Hughes did not struggle with puck retrievals. Hughes is a phenom. We win the Cup with a healthy Demko. 

he did but it wasnt his fault, he got targeted. 

 

forecheckers put a target on his back and the moment he would touch the puck in a corner he would get plastered

 

retrievals also shouldn't be his job. nor should it be hroneks. thats the problem with them together in the playoffs. you need someone big who can take all the abuse in the corner. then hughes can skate it out. 

[HarbularyBattery]

2 minutes ago, Bob Long said:

 

Nashville did pound him pretty good tho, having a big partner could help.

im really impressed hughes didnt sustain a major injury through it all. it was brutal to witness.

[Alflives]

1 minute ago, Bob Long said:

 

Nashville did pound him pretty good tho, having a big partner could help.

Good point. If VD can free up picks for Hughes that’s a plus. But when Hughes is on the ice we dominate possession and the puck is most often in the other club’s zone. Not too sure how VD helps in the 70% of the time that’s happening with Quinn on the ice. 

 

2 minutes ago, HarbularyBattery said:

he did but it wasnt his fault, he got targeted. 

 

forecheckers put a target on his back and the moment he would touch the puck in a corner he would get plastered

 

retrievals also shouldn't be his job. nor should it be hroneks. thats the problem with them together in the playoffs. you need someone big who can take all the abuse in the corner. then hughes can skate it out. 

Hughes passes the puck to move it up the ice. He uses his skating to create time and space to pass. We have the puck 70% of the time Hughes is on the ice. VD will be on our third pairing. 

[King Heffy]

2 hours ago, MeanSeanBean said:

Maybe. The idea of Soderstrom, or a player like him, excites me more then VD with Hughes. We have seen Hughes with stable guys like Schenn and Juulsen. He looks good, but it doesn't unlock his maximum potential like playing with a high end skills guy like Hronek. I would be more interested in our management taking a stab at a young player who hasn't figured out how to play D it yet out with high end talent over a sturdy guy without the offensive or skill potential. 

 

I'm sure VD will at least get some time with Hughes to start, management is always talking about how they want to separate Hughes and Hronek. But I would be very excited with taking a flyer on a potentially higher end guy to try with Hughes, if the price is right.

The NHL isn't the right place to teach a guy to play D though.  We need to learn from mistakes like Weber, Larsen, Pouliot, and Hunt.  Defencemen who can't play defence don't belong in the NHL.  Anyone fitting that profile needs to be in the AHL until their play in their own end reaches an acceptable standard.

[IBatch]

On 7/30/2024 at 1:27 PM, Provost said:

Yep, I think folks are forgetting how Cole was by far our third best D for a good part of the season and then when injuries hit just started failing with too many hard minutes required of him at his age, and then injuries.

 

Cole is a 4/5 and ultra reliable.  Desharnais is solidly only a 3rd pairing or depth guy depending on how good the rest of your D core is.

 

The only guy on our roster outside Hughes-Hronek that you could really rely on as a top four is Soucy.

 

Myers, Forbort, Desharnais, Juulsen, Friedman are all 3rd pairing players at best.

 

I think we should all remember how much harder it is to play 22+ minutes a night of hard matchups as a 2nf pairing guy… compared with 15-16 minutes a night in sheltered roles against weaker competition.  Seeing Myers play in both situations should be lesson enough.  Excellent 3rd pairing guy… terrible 2nd pairing guy.

Cole wasn't very reliable in the second half and in the playoffs where his ass seemed to score a couple goals against on his own.   How does 2 goals and 11 points, plus 10 playing 18:41,  equal reliable 4-5?   I think that the start of last season pulled the wool over the eyes of some posters.   When he was with PIT on those cup winning teams, he was a second pairing D.   I watched those games, and well he was a lot better then, then he is now.   Myers had a good season, 29 points, 18:57, plus 16.    Tocchet played them both fairly evenly.    Not sure what you were watching last season, the only thing i'd give Cole some credit for, is playing with some donkey's at times.    Didn't find his stay at home style particularly fun to watch or not fun to watch, meh maybe.   4/5 is also a stretch for Cole at this stage in the game, felt Myers line could have been leaned on more.   So if Cole's a 4/5 so then, is Myers.   His choas sure seems to have quieted down.  

 

Desharnais is a wild card/unknown.   Big guys take time, Tocchet seems to like what he's seen.  Part of EDM all time best playoff PK unit.  On paper it's not very flattering.   Source Myers at 18-19 is fine, worked great last season.   See Forbot Desharnais PKing to allow more minutes up the lineup.    QHs and Hronek, likely have to get used to increased ice time.   Can't see Desharnais playing more than 17 minutes a night, and won't be shocked to see them at least try QHs with him.   Why?  Because well Hronek provided zero back-up and once he lost some of his regular season go to moves, seemed to have forgotten how to take the puck out of his own zone rather then just to quickly move it over to QHs to break out. 

Edited August 8 by IBatch

[IBatch]

On 8/6/2024 at 2:52 PM, Alflives said:

Good point. If VD can free up picks for Hughes that’s a plus. But when Hughes is on the ice we dominate possession and the puck is most often in the other club’s zone. Not too sure how VD helps in the 70% of the time that’s happening with Quinn on the ice. 

 

Hughes passes the puck to move it up the ice. He uses his skating to create time and space to pass. We have the puck 70% of the time Hughes is on the ice. VD will be on our third pairing. 

Good points.   Maybe he can lie down on the blue line, with his stick out and cover his side of the ice.   Joking aside, EK was taking the league by storm with Mark Methot as his sidekick at the same age.   So it's not like QHs needs Hronek.   If you look at the difference before and after the all-star break, it's concerning.   Not a 100, or 90 or an 80 point pace.   Might be wise to split them up.    Go for a more balanced approach where each pairing has something.    Not sure.  It's either that or play QHs and Hronek close to 30 minutes a game. 

Edited August 8 by IBatch

[BTueyCanucksFan]

14 hours ago, IBatch said:

Good points.   Maybe he can lie down on the blue line, with his stick out and cover his side of the ice.   Joking aside, EK was taking the league by storm with Mark Methot as his sidekick at the same age.   So it's not like QHs needs Hronek.   If you look at the difference before and after the all-star break, it's concerning.   Not a 100, or 90 or an 80 point pace.   Might be wise to split them up.    Go for a more balanced approach where each pairing has something.    Not sure.  It's either that or play QHs and Hronek close to 30 minutes a game. 

I agree with this. Having a more balanced approach to our defense will make it harder for other teams to match up against us. The difficulty I find,  based on last season, is whether Desharnais is a better option than Myers on QH's pairing at this point. Based on last season's numbers it looks more like a lateral move at this point, and neither is an upgrade on Hronek in that role. 

[VegasCanuck]

16 hours ago, IBatch said:

Cole wasn't very reliable in the second half and in the playoffs where his ass seemed to score a couple goals against on his own.   How does 2 goals and 11 points, plus 10 playing 18:41,  equal reliable 4-5?   I think that the start of last season pulled the wool over the eyes of some posters.   When he was with PIT on those cup winning teams, he was a second pairing D.   I watched those games, and well he was a lot better then, then he is now.   Myers had a good season, 29 points, 18:57, plus 16.    Tocchet played them both fairly evenly.    Not sure what you were watching last season, the only thing i'd give Cole some credit for, is playing with some donkey's at times.    Didn't find his stay at home style particularly fun to watch or not fun to watch, meh maybe.   4/5 is also a stretch for Cole at this stage in the game, felt Myers line could have been leaned on more.   So if Cole's a 4/5 so then, is Myers.   His choas sure seems to have quieted down.  

 

Desharnais is a wild card/unknown.   Big guys take time, Tocchet seems to like what he's seen.  Part of EDM all time best playoff PK unit.  On paper it's not very flattering.   Source Myers at 18-19 is fine, worked great last season.   See Forbot Desharnais PKing to allow more minutes up the lineup.    QHs and Hronek, likely have to get used to increased ice time.   Can't see Desharnais playing more than 17 minutes a night, and won't be shocked to see them at least try QHs with him.   Why?  Because well Hronek provided zero back-up and once he lost some of his regular season go to moves, seemed to have forgotten how to take the puck out of his own zone rather then just to quickly move it over to QHs to break out. 

Really interested to see what Foote and Gonchar can do with this guy. Obviously, Canucks saw something they liked and our current coaching team did a LOT to turn around the game of a certain other giraffe on our blueline.

 

Maybe they think that they can turn him into Zadorov 2.0, but as a natural RD and at a lot lower pricetag.

 

[AnthonyG]

On 8/6/2024 at 10:45 AM, JeremyCuddles said:

Darnell Nurse is 22/23 Tyler Myers. Nurse brings down everyone he plays with, but Desharnais was oddly enough Nurse's best partner if I remember correctly. Or at least Edmonton fans said that was the best pair to keep Nurse out of trouble. With that said, I agree. Having Desharnais with Huggy is akin to having Schenner with Huggy. It can work, but it's not ideal if you want to actually be a good playoff team.

2 players in a pair. 
playing with OEL who had a high ankle sprain. His 2nd highest pairing partner was Stillman who was an absolute fucking nightmare on ice. Not  only that our goaltending was the shits, league worst in 2022-23. Lidstrom would have looked bad. 47% of Myers TOI was with an injured partner or Stillman. 

 

 

 

[fuzzy]

I think Desharnais will surprise people this year and I believe he can and will play with Hughes. Kid is a late bloomer imo.

 

I remember watching him make lots of smart and subtle little plays during the season. There could be a nice player there

Edited August 8 by fuzzy

[Boudrias]

13 hours ago, fuzzy said:

I think Desharnais will surprise people this year and I believe he can and will play with Hughes. Kid is a late bloomer imo.

 

I remember watching him make lots of smart and subtle little plays during the season. There could be a nice player there

How do we accurately evaluate Desharnais potential? The Oiler d-game was a disaster for most of the season. The Rutherford caveat of ' no structure' applied in spades. If Van coaches think there is a upside for him I am all for the attempt. 

[I.AM.THE.WALRUS]

On 8/6/2024 at 11:47 AM, Bob Long said:

 

Nashville did pound him pretty good tho, having a big partner could help.

Hughes def needs a big dude on the opposite side…