[Speculation] Canucks maintaining strong interest in free agent Ethan Bear

[N4ZZY]

4 hours ago, RWJC said:

Yep. A few of us in the club have been drooling over the idea of Zaddy in our jersey for a lonnnnng time now. Man, it really seems like it could come to fruition in the offseason at the latest. Will be a great add if so. Truly necessary and such a good fit. We shall be rewarded (fingers crossed)!

 

Zadorov strikes me as another Myers....

 

Is he better than him? 

 

[N4ZZY]

On 10/24/2023 at 5:25 PM, NHL97OneTimer said:

Well that's an out there in left field idea.  Sounds brilliant if Kuz turns into a disaster all of a sudden, but it's a bad shot to the fans and the team at the moment.  Kuz wanted to play in Vancouver.  He chose Vancouver over the other 31 teams.  He shows up grinning ear to ear and entertains the crowd more than most / all other players on the team.  To send a guy like that packing so that you can hopes of having a #2 / #3 D is risky if not simply terrible (sorry).  It also sends a message to NHL players that if they sign in Vancouver as a free agent, they better get a NMC if they want to stay.

 

In 7 months, they will have $6M/yr more in cap space from Myers (and possibly a higher cap ceiling) while having the offensive stars to build around.  Finding a guy like Kuz is not something you take for granted.

 

Kuz is a gem of a player. I think he'll sign long term once his current contract is over. Depending on his point totals, he's probably commanding 7-8M, no? 

 

But I would not agree to trading Kuzmenko. We'll need to find another way to get a Peeke like player. Is Pesce possible this off-season? 

 

[aGENT]

7 hours ago, N4ZZY said:

 

Zadorov strikes me as another Myers....

 

Is he better than him? 

 

Other than size, they're basically the opposite players. Myers is decent offensively but poor defensively and rarely uses his size. Zadorov is very solid defensively, not great offensively, and if anything can be a bit too aggressive with his size at times (penalties). (Though I'd argue the Canucks could use some of that threat to keep teams more honest).

Edited October 27, 2023 by aGENT

[Provost]

We should really hope to improve on him, he is a 3rd pairing guy on a good team.  Maybe as a bandaid for the rest of the year pro-rated and cheap.

 

At this point, it is probably insane to think of breaking up Hughes-Hronek which means we really need a couple 2nd pairing guys (imagine having the cap from Myers/Beauvillier/Garland devoted to two D).

 

Ian Cole is so far our best D outside the top pairing and better than Bear.  He buys us some time to find a longer term solution or see if a prospect turns into a top 4.

 

 

[canuck73_3]

On 10/27/2023 at 12:33 AM, N4ZZY said:

 

Zadorov strikes me as another Myers....

 

Is he better than him? 

 

Much better defensively 

[N4ZZY]

12 hours ago, Provost said:

Ian Cole is so far our best D outside the top pairing and better than Bear.  He buys us some time to find a longer term solution or see if a prospect turns into a top 4.

 

You think Cole can play another 2 years? Would that buy us enough time for any of the prospects to take advantage and earn a spot? 

 

[cripplereh]

1 minute ago, N4ZZY said:

 

You think Cole can play another 2 years? Would that buy us enough time for any of the prospects to take advantage and earn a spot? 

 

Next year or this Hirose will be a regular.

 

McWard same thing.

 

Plus a couple more young D look good.

[N4ZZY]

2 minutes ago, cripplereh said:

McWard same thing.

 

Really? Why do you say that McWard would or could be ready in 1-2 years? 

 

Hirose I think could be ready to take a spot next year. He showed well in limited games near the end of last year. Seems like a Tanev lite kind of defenseman. 

 

 

Edited October 29, 2023 by N4ZZY

[Provost]

15 minutes ago, N4ZZY said:

 

You think Cole can play another 2 years? Would that buy us enough time for any of the prospects to take advantage and earn a spot? 

 

Maybe… I wouldn’t be spending much on Bear as an alternative, or giving him any term.  We just need better, so find cheap veterans like Cole until you can actually fill the roster spot properly.

 

If by some miracle we could move on from Beauvillier and Garland, we could actually be in the market for a couple mid range UFA guys on top of affording the raises we need to out.

 

(you can insert whatever similar level veteran names you want)

 

Hughes-Hronek

Soucy-Zadorov

Cole-Tanev

 

Not exactly elite, but certainly not as weak as the past several years.

 

It also has a couple older guys that can lose minutes in the case guys like Petterson/Hirose/Willander are ready in a couple years.

 

Easier to fill the two winger spots for cheaper with guys like Hoglander/Podkolzin/Lekkerimaki/etc.

 

Edited October 29, 2023 by Provost

[J-23]

On 10/27/2023 at 12:38 AM, N4ZZY said:

 

Is Pesce possible this off-season? 

 

He will likely get traded if he can’t get a contract.

 

It will probably be something like a 1st, Garland, + for the Canucks. 
 

45 minutes ago, cripplereh said:

Next year or this Hirose will be a regular.

 

McWard same thing.

 

Plus a couple more young D look good.

 

I don’t see him making the team unless there are improvements in the AHL and off-season.

 

49 minutes ago, N4ZZY said:

 

You think Cole can play another 2 years? Would that buy us enough time for any of the prospects to take advantage and earn a spot? 

 

I think he will be on the team for next season at least.

[cripplereh]

1 hour ago, N4ZZY said:

 

Really? Why do you say that McWard would or could be ready in 1-2 years? 

 

Hirose I think could be ready to take a spot next year. He showed well in limited games near the end of last year. Seems like a Tanev lite kind of defenseman. 

 

 

Pre season he looked better then most of our D.Onlt one game three penalties against and most here thought they were horrible calls.Rest he was great.

 

I think if McWard gets a shot this year he sticks.

[Hairy Kneel]

What about Myers on the 4th line if we trade Garland. We'd need to move Hogs up to 3rd. Like 7d

[aGENT]

7 hours ago, J-23 said:

He will likely get traded if he can’t get a contract.

 

If Carolina is in a playoff position (likely), there's very little chance they move him IMO. They'll consider him an "own rental" and do what they can before July 1 to extend him.

[Alflives]

3 minutes ago, aGENT said:

 

If Carolina is in a playoff position (likely), there's very little chance they move him IMO. They'll consider him an "own rental" and do what they can before July 1 to extend him.

Yup. And teams will be lining up to sign him July 1. There will be clubs, who think they can sign him, bid on trading for his rights before July 1 too. Canes will fetch at least a third, and maybe more. 

[Huggy Bear]

I’d like to see Cole back on 1 year contracts as needed until prospects are ready, and expect at least one of Hirose or McWard to be regulars next year.

 

We’ll still need another top 4 D, and should have the cap to afford one.

[Provost]

6 hours ago, Hairy Kneel said:

What about Myers on the 4th line if we trade Garland. We'd need to move Hogs up to 3rd. Like 7d

I actually suggested this in the game thread last night.

 

Have him play a power forward winger role and that lends to his strengths and avoids his weaknesses.

 

You have the benefit of having a spare D in case of injury in a game.

 

It isn’t ideal,  it maybe worth an experiment for a stretch during the season

[BabychStache]

1 hour ago, Provost said:

I actually suggested this in the game thread last night.

 

Have him play a power forward winger role and that lends to his strengths and avoids his weaknesses.

 

You have the benefit of having a spare D in case of injury in a game.

 

It isn’t ideal,  it maybe worth an experiment for a stretch during the season

This is a great idea. 
 

Perhaps PP2 as net front as well. 

[J-23]

12 hours ago, aGENT said:

 

If Carolina is in a playoff position (likely), there's very little chance they move him IMO. They'll consider him an "own rental" and do what they can before July 1 to extend him.

I hope that happens.

[Hairy Kneel]

10 hours ago, Provost said:

I actually suggested this in the game thread last night.

 

Have him play a power forward winger role and that lends to his strengths and avoids his weaknesses.

 

You have the benefit of having a spare D in case of injury in a game.

 

It isn’t ideal,  it maybe worth an experiment for a stretch during the season

Exactly! He loves to rush it into the zone. And at his size and speed on the FC it's Exactly what's needed. He's fast enough to come back and help 

[N4ZZY]

23 hours ago, Provost said:

Maybe… I wouldn’t be spending much on Bear as an alternative, or giving him any term.  We just need better, so find cheap veterans like Cole until you can actually fill the roster spot properly.

 

If by some miracle we could move on from Beauvillier and Garland, we could actually be in the market for a couple mid range UFA guys on top of affording the raises we need to out.

 

(you can insert whatever similar level veteran names you want)

 

Hughes-Hronek

Soucy-Zadorov

Cole-Tanev

 

Not exactly elite, but certainly not as weak as the past several years.

 

It also has a couple older guys that can lose minutes in the case guys like Petterson/Hirose/Willander are ready in a couple years.

 

Easier to fill the two winger spots for cheaper with guys like Hoglander/Podkolzin/Lekkerimaki/etc.

 

 

Isn't Beau a free agent this summer? His contract's up this offseason isn't it? 

 

Garland will be tougher to move, since he's under contract for another 3 years. That OEL/Garland trade is one of the worse. Had to buy out OEL, and his cap hit will be on the team for another couple of years, so even after Garland's contract is over (assuming we can't move him), OEL's cap hit will still be on the team. Benning is an absolute idiot.

 

Don't think we get both Tanev and Zadorov, maybe one of them, but not both. Cap issues, and Tanev couldn't stay healthy, he's going to want at least what he's getting in Calgary, and that might be too expensive for an aging defenseman who's injury prone. 

[DownUndaCanuck]

Tanev would surely come back and just end up on LTIR for half the season. I'd take Zadorov if the price is right, say 4M at the very most. Myers is playing 16 minutes right now, Zadorov 18 minutes. It'd be a 1-for-1 swap and really beefs up our defence and gets us 2M in cap relief. There's not too many other solid guys who can play on the right side in UFA apart from Pesce and he's surely not coming here. Then we have to make a decision about Cole too.

The easy answer would be to re-sign Cole to a cheaper contract (say 2M?), sign Zadorov to a 4M deal, re-sign Hronek (he's probably going to want 6M), get Petey locked up (big 11M), keep DeSmith on a similar 1.5-2M deal, keep Blueger, Lafferty and Joshua to similar deals (they haven't done enough to earn a rise) and let Beauvillier's 4M walk.

 

With OEL's buyout going up, that leaves us around 1M over the cap which we can surely fiddle with.

[RWJC]

Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston relays that free agent defenseman Ethan Bear appears to be on track from his recovery from shoulder surgery and should be ready to play next month. The 26-year-old was injured playing at the Worlds back in May which played a role in him being non-tendered by Vancouver a month later.  While a reunion with them could make sense, they’d need to find a way to open up cap space over the next few weeks for that to happen.
 

https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2023/11/injury-updates-brown-mcdonagh-kastelic-bear.html#ref=home

[DeNiro]

2 hours ago, RWJC said:

Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston relays that free agent defenseman Ethan Bear appears to be on track from his recovery from shoulder surgery and should be ready to play next month. The 26-year-old was injured playing at the Worlds back in May which played a role in him being non-tendered by Vancouver a month later.  While a reunion with them could make sense, they’d need to find a way to open up cap space over the next few weeks for that to happen.
 

https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2023/11/injury-updates-brown-mcdonagh-kastelic-bear.html#ref=home

Why would he get anything more than a mil after coming back from a major injury?

 

Teams gonna be lining up to give him 2 mil? Somehow I doubt it.

[Elias Pettersson]

Friedman looks good out there.  IMO he can do what Bear does.  If Bear comes in after being away for a 8-9 months, then he is probably a 6/7 Dman.

 

I would sign him to a $1 million deal to replace Juulsen.  

[Hammertime]

On 10/28/2023 at 11:57 AM, Provost said:

We should really hope to improve on him, he is a 3rd pairing guy on a good team.  Maybe as a bandaid for the rest of the year pro-rated and cheap.

 

At this point, it is probably insane to think of breaking up Hughes-Hronek which means we really need a couple 2nd pairing guys (imagine having the cap from Myers/Beauvillier/Garland devoted to two D).

 

Ian Cole is so far our best D outside the top pairing and better than Bear.  He buys us some time to find a longer term solution or see if a prospect turns into a top 4.

 

 

on expiring deals or we won't have to imagine not having enough cap to re sign Pete, Hronek.