Canucks News, Rumours, and & Fantasy GM | Some Like it Hot

[Vector]

Here’s my spreadsheet for upcoming UFAs, each team’s cap situation, and a trade tracker. I update the spreadsheet daily. I use CapFriendly to create this list and AFP Analytics for the contract projections.

Edit: Spreadsheet has been updated with AFP's latest projections and I added a new section for RFAs.

Spoiler: UFAs By Position

Top-6 Forwards
Sam Reinhart	RW	28	8y/10.25m
Jake Guentzel	W	29	6y/7.94m
Steven Stamkos	LW/C	34	3y/6.30m
Jonathan Marchessault	W	33	3y/6.25m
Joe Pavelski	RW	39	1y/3.94m
Matt Duchene	RW/C	33	3y/6.46m
Sean Monahan	FW	29	3y/2.87m
Tyler Toffoli	W	32	5y/6.53m
Jonathan Drouin	W	29	4y/4.46m
Teuvo Teravainen	W	29	5y/6.13m
Vladimir Tarasenko	RW	32	3y/5.64m
Adam Henrique	LW/C	34	2y/4.60m
Chandler Stephenson	C/LW	30	5y/5.77m
Max Domi	C/RW	29	3y/4.17m
Patrick Kane	RW	35	2y/5.51m
Elias Lindholm	C/RW	29	7y/8.04m
Anthony Mantha	W	29	3y/4.40m
Daniel Sprong	W	27	3y/3.89m
Jake DeBrusk	W	27	5y/5.92m
David Perron	W	36	2y/2.80m
Tyler Bertuzzi	W	29	5y/6.00m
Anthony Duclair	W	28	3y/3.22m
Jason Zucker	W	32	3y/5.46m
Jack Roslovic	C/RW	27	3y/3.11m
Max Pacioretty	LW	35
Alexander Barabanov	W	30	3y/3.03m

Top-4 Defecemen
Shayne Gostisbehere	LD/RD	31	3y/4.38m
Brady Skjei	LD	30	6y/7.39m
Noah Hanifin	LD	27	7y/7.69m
Brandon Montour	RD	30	7y/8.71m
Oliver Ekman-Larsson	LD	32	3y/3.67m
Dylan DeMelo	RD	31	4y/5.07m
Sean Walker	LD/RD	29	4y/4.87m
Matt Roy	RD	29	4y/5.58m
TJ Brodie	LD/RD	34	3y/4.91m
Brenden Dillon	LD	33	2y/3.91m
Alexandre Carrier	RD	27	3y/3.57m
Nikita Zadorov	LD/RD	29	4y/5.10m
Chris Tanev	RD	34	3y/4.68m
Brett Pesce	RD	29	6y/6.72m
Matt Grzelcyk	LD	30	3y/4.07m
Oliver Kylington	LD/RD	27

Bottom-6 Forwards
James van Riemsdyk	W	35	1y/1.50m
Warren Foegele	W	28	4y/3.58m
Stefan Noesen	W	31	2y/3.23m
Danton Heinen	W	28
Tyler Johnson	FW	33
Alexander Wennberg	C	29	4y/4.21m
Jordan Martinook	W	31	2y/2.79m
Dakota Joshua	LW	28	3y/3.00m
Michael Amadio	W	28
Teddy Blueger	C/LW	29	2y/2.56m
Sam Lafferty	FW	29	2y/1.72m
Kiefer Sherwood	W	29
Mike Hoffman	LW	34	1y/1.86m
Tomas Tatar	W	33	1y/2.21m
Kyle Okposo	RW	36	1y/1.96m
Kasperi Kapanen	RW	27
Andrew Cogliano	LW	37
Jakob Silfverberg	W	33	2y/2.78m
Cal Clutterbuck	RW	36
Corey Perry	RW	39
Patrick Maroon	W	36
Yakov Trenin	LW/C	27	3y/3.33m
Dominik Kubalik	W	28	2y/1.34m
Anthony Beauvillier	W	27
Sam Carrick	C/RW	32
Tanner Pearson	LW	31
Zemgus Girgensons	LW/C	30	2y/1.74m
Colin Blackwell	C/RW	31
Brandon Duhaime	W	27
Nick Cousins	LW/C	30
Connor Brown	W	30
Joel Kiviranta	W	28
William Carrier	LW	29	3y/2.68m
Tyler Motte	W	29	3y/2.55m
Samuel Blais	W	28	1y/0.94m
Tyson Jost	C	26

Bottom-Pairing Defencemen
Erik Gustafsson	LD	32	3y/4.99m
Tyler Myers	RD	34	2y/2.67m
Justin Schultz	RD	33	2y/3.81m
Kevin Shattenkirk	RD	35	1y/1.37m
Jalen Chatfield	RD	28	3y/2.77m
Mike Reilly	LD	30	1y/1.24m
Dmitry Kulikov	LD/RD	33
Alec Martinez	LD	36	1y/1.7m
Tyson Barrie	RD	32	2y/3.72m
Jani Hakanpaa	RD	32	2y/2.38m
Vincent Desharnais	RD	28	2y/1.41m
Ian Cole	LD/RD	35	2y/3.09m
Matt Dumba	RD	29	3y/3.73m
Colin Miller	RD	31
Mark Giordano	LD	40	1y/3.11m
Marco Scandella	LD	34
Calvin De Haan	LD/RD	33
Josh Brown	RD	30
Ilya Lyubushkin	RD	30	1y/1.31m
Joel Edmundson	LD/RD	31
Troy Stecher	RD	30
Derek Forbort	LD	32
Erik Johnson	RD	36	1y/1.13m

Forward Depth
Christian Fischer	W	27
Craig Smith	RW	34
Victor Olofsson	W	28
Trevor Lewis	RW/C	37
Justin Bailey	RW	29
Kevin Stenlund	C/RW	27
Jeff Carter	RW/C	39
Ryan Carpenter	RW/C	33
Nicolas Aube-Kubel	RW	28	2y/1.53m
AJ Greer	W	27
Liam O'Brien	W	29
Chris Tierney	C	30
Mattias Janmark	W	31
Sam Gagner	RW/C	34
Brendan Smith	LD/RD	35
Eric Robinson	LW	29
Zach Parise	LW	39
Kevin Labanc	W	28	2y/1.94m
Fredrik Olofsson	C/LW	28
Alex Barre-Boulet	W	27
Matt Martin	W	35
Radim Zohorna	W	28
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare	C/LW	39
Tyler Pitlick	RW	32
Austin Watson	W	32
Tomas Nosek	LW/C	31
Jansen Harkins	LW	27
Rourke Chartier	C	28
Steven Lorentz	FW	28

Defensive Depth
Jack Johnson	LD	37
Vincent Desharnais	RD	28	2y/1.41m
Anthony Deangelo	RD	28	2y/1.80m
Jarred Tinordi	LD	32
Sebastian Aho	LD	28
Dakota Mermis	LD/RD	30
Jacob MacDonald	LD/RD	31
Dennis Gilbert	LD	27
Nikita Zaitsev	RD	32
Nick DeSimone	RD	29
Travis Dermott	LD/RD	27
Caleb Jones	LD/RD	27
Chad Ruhwedel	RD	34
William Lageson	LD/RD	28

Goaltenders
Cam Talbot	G	36	1y/1.89m
Ilya Samsonov	G	27	2y/3.26m
Alex Nedeljkovic	G	28	2y/2.00m
Kaapo Kahkonen	G	27	2y/2.93m
Scott Wedgewood	G	31	2y/1.57m
Casey DeSmith	G	32	1y/2.02m
Anthony Stolarz	G	30	2y/1.91m
James Reimar	G	36
Antti Raanta	G	35	1y/1.31m
David Rittich	G	31
Kevin Lankinen	G	29	1y/1.58m
Laurent Brossoit	G	31	2y/1.95m
Calvin Pickard	G	32
Martin Jones	G	34

Click to read more...

 

[Diversification]

My problem with signing Lindholm and shifting Petey to wing is... why tf did we just pay 11.6 for a winger? That almost never works out favourably.

It’s because it buys you flexibility. Petey can anchor his own line as needed or you can have a great faceoff line on both sides of the ice as needed. And who knows? Maybe Lekkerimaki graduates later on next season and then you have even more expanded options. Think of it less as 11.6 M winger and more as 3 top6 centers with options.

 

[ManVanFan]

Lol obviously he’s not Hughes. He brings an element that allows players like Hughes (Willander) to excel. You want JT to drop the gloves when someone takes a run at Hughes?

It's an element that is a luxury and great when you don't have to pay extra for it.

 

[Vector]

Is there a list for what RFA's would project to get?

Not a separate list but under Team Analysis, I have the significant RFAs for each team. I may add a new tab for RFAs if I have some time tomorrow.

 

[CanucksSayEh]

It’s because it buys you flexibility. Petey can anchor his own line as needed or you can have a great faceoff line on both sides of the ice as needed. And who knows? Maybe Lekkerimaki graduates later on next season and then you have even more expanded options. Think of it less as 11.6 M winger and more as 3 top6 centers with options.

May as well have kept Horvat, at least then someone could gain the damn zone on the PP. Ill tell ya that for free.

 

[Vector]

Fully updated the spreadsheet. AFP contract projections are now there for every UFA. If there's anyone I missed or you'd like to see added, feel free to request.

 

[Bertuzzzi44]

It's an element that is a luxury and great when you don't have to pay extra for it.

Definitely, 5M Max.

 

[Bertuzzzi44]

Should the Canucks rest their top players in the 2nd half of the regular season and take advantage of LTIR? Can squeeze in a good player at the deadline and rest their top players for a deep playoff run.

 

[Diversification]

May as well have kept Horvat, at least then someone could gain the damn zone on the PP. Ill tell ya that for free.

Dealing Horvat when they did was the right move. Needed a culture reset and it helped bolster the defense. What’s more, dude was skating in quicksand and was doing so this year as well for the Islanders.

As for gaining the zone, what about Horvat’s game would suggest that he helped with that? Bumper position on the PP, sure.

 

[ManVanFan]

Not a separate list but under Team Analysis, I have the significant RFAs for each team. I may add a new tab for RFAs if I have some time tomorrow.

Ok thanks.
Yeah I was thinking some of the lower end cheaper guys.
Kaedan Korczak
Boris Katchouk
Arthur Kaliyev
Philip Tomasino
Barrett Hayton
Change of scenery might spark something.

 

[krutovsdonut]

i don't envy the job canucks brass have in order not to take a step back while making sure they get better longterm.

they are going to need to be ruthlessly unsentimental to wade through all the decisions they will have to make. which probably means they have to be a little sentimental to keep the current group happy.

can't speak for the off ice glue guy factor, but these are predictions based on on-ice stuff

-joshua gets signed for a price that makes us nervous
-boston will sign lindholm but we will have gone hard for him.
-hronek gets the bag if we miss on lindholm but is traded if we don't.
-zadorov walks unless his price is no more than $5mx3
-myers gets around $3.5m for a year
-they will gamble on mikhayev bouncing back next year.
-lafferty, cole, friedman and desmith walk
-blueger maybe gets two years at around $2m but they also might let him walk
-they will buy out poolman

 

[alternate]

Going to be a fun offaeason (hopefully). When you consider the unexpected jump the team took + the sheer amount of expiring contracts, this is arguably one of the biggest offseasons in this franchise's history. Will shape whether the next few years are a legit contention window, or just spinning wheels.

Something to consider with the Zadorov situation is that he did start to see shifts with Hughes (QH on the right). If the coaches liked what they saw there, that could make an overpayment more palatable. I'd also be looking to use term to bring down the AAV if possible. If Zadorov wants 6x6, maybe 4.5x8 gets the deal done. Same total dollar figure, make it front loaded with signing bonuses, and the last couple of years easy to buy out.

I'd prefer to get Hronek re-signed, but it needs to be around $7m. Can't afford 8, and he's not worth it. If Z and Hr can be re-signed for a combined $11.5, I'd be happy. Skeptical, but possible. A d-core of:

Zadorov-Hughes
Soucy-Hronek
Dhillon-Myers
Juulsen

Would be pretty solid. Not sure what Dhillon and Myers would cost. This year they were a combined $9.9m. Both should be taking pay cuts at their age. Dhillon @ $2m, Myers @ $3.5m?

If all 4 signed at those numbers, that's using $18m of the ~$25m we have available (without dumping Mikheyev).

Can we do it for cheaper while maintaining quality and depth on the blueline? Maybe a money puck signing or two, but even this year the bargain signings were still north of $3m, so I think we're going to need to spend a big chunk or our currently available cap space to rebuild the blueline, regardless who the specific targets are. Just don't think you can cheap out in this area, unless you have 3-4 studs to fill in around (we don't).

For forwards, Lindholm should be the top priority. Just complements Petey and Miller perfectly. No idea if we will be able to afford him, but he let's us go top 9 or load the top 6. Miller might need to move to wing in a year or two, Petey can play wing, so it can work.

Whether it's Lindholm or someone else, getting more speed and skill in the top 6 especially is vital. I'd be fine with Suter and Aman + Blueger or similar "bounce back" contract anchoring the bottom 6. But Petey needs legit talent to play with. Elite players don't thrive playing with scrubs.

Hopefully the forward depth will be filled in with cheap contracts already in the organization. And hopefully Brock is back and healthy, and can have a productive offseason.

So my priorities are 1, rebuild the blueline. Hard to do anything before that because it's going to take a lot of cap space.

And 2, build a top 6 that has two high-end lines with enough flexibility to be a strong top 9 when the coaches want to go that way.

Can Allvin make this happen? Looking forward to finding out.

 

[TruGr1t]

 

[ManVanFan]

Some of those up there are just insane. Yakov Trenin. 3 years 3.33 for a player who has 82 points in 300 games. He's never had more than 25 in a year. The NHL couldn't afford all of those contracts. About 5 years ago, I looked where if I took the 100k per point for every player on a team. Believe it was TB I did and the cap would have been around 110M and the cap at that time was 79. Everybody deserves to be paid but it's got to give somewhere.

 

[rypper]

Hronek isn't getting 8 from anyone.

 

[TruGr1t]

Hronek isn't getting 8 from anyone.

It won't be for a good team, but I bet someone will do it.

 

[Donuts]

8 is not gonna happen hronek

Prepare to get traded

 

[Vector]

Ok thanks.
Yeah I was thinking some of the lower end cheaper guys.
Kaedan Korczak
Boris Katchouk
Arthur Kaliyev
Philip Tomasino
Barrett Hayton
Change of scenery might spark something.

They are all there but I only have their cap hits. I’ll try to carve out time to make a sortable RFA list tomorrow.

 

[TruGr1t]

In my opinion, Hronek asking for $8M basically assures Myers is back. I'd also take a shot on Alex Carrier.

 

[wonton15]

Hronek asking for $8m and standing by it is the best case scenario. It ensures that Allvin doesn’t sign that and will trade him.

 

[alternate]

Hronek asking for $8m and standing by it is the best case scenario. It ensures that Allvin doesn’t sign that and will trade him.

And what's his value going to be when everyone knows we are trading him because he wants $8m? Yay we got a 2nd foe our 1RD!

Hate to see your worst case scenario...

 

[biturbo19]

Going to be a fun offaeason (hopefully). When you consider the unexpected jump the team took + the sheer amount of expiring contracts, this is arguably one of the biggest offseasons in this franchise's history. Will shape whether the next few years are a legit contention window, or just spinning wheels.

Something to consider with the Zadorov situation is that he did start to see shifts with Hughes (QH on the right). If the coaches liked what they saw there, that could make an overpayment more palatable. I'd also be looking to use term to bring down the AAV if possible. If Zadorov wants 6x6, maybe 4.5x8 gets the deal done. Same total dollar figure, make it front loaded with signing bonuses, and the last couple of years easy to buy out.

I'd prefer to get Hronek re-signed, but it needs to be around $7m. Can't afford 8, and he's not worth it. If Z and Hr can be re-signed for a combined $11.5, I'd be happy. Skeptical, but possible. A d-core of:

Zadorov-Hughes
Soucy-Hronek
Dhillon-Myers
Juulsen

Would be pretty solid. Not sure what Dhillon and Myers would cost. This year they were a combined $9.9m. Both should be taking pay cuts at their age. Dhillon @ $2m, Myers @ $3.5m?

If all 4 signed at those numbers, that's using $18m of the ~$25m we have available (without dumping Mikheyev).

Can we do it for cheaper while maintaining quality and depth on the blueline? Maybe a money puck signing or two, but even this year the bargain signings were still north of $3m, so I think we're going to need to spend a big chunk or our currently available cap space to rebuild the blueline, regardless who the specific targets are. Just don't think you can cheap out in this area, unless you have 3-4 studs to fill in around (we don't).

For forwards, Lindholm should be the top priority. Just complements Petey and Miller perfectly. No idea if we will be able to afford him, but he let's us go top 9 or load the top 6. Miller might need to move to wing in a year or two, Petey can play wing, so it can work.

Whether it's Lindholm or someone else, getting more speed and skill in the top 6 especially is vital. I'd be fine with Suter and Aman + Blueger or similar "bounce back" contract anchoring the bottom 6. But Petey needs legit talent to play with. Elite players don't thrive playing with scrubs.

Hopefully the forward depth will be filled in with cheap contracts already in the organization. And hopefully Brock is back and healthy, and can have a productive offseason.

So my priorities are 1, rebuild the blueline. Hard to do anything before that because it's going to take a lot of cap space.

And 2, build a top 6 that has two high-end lines with enough flexibility to be a strong top 9 when the coaches want to go that way.

Can Allvin make this happen? Looking forward to finding out.

The bolded is definitely something that got a few wheels in my brain turning as well.

I don't necessarily know if it was that they "liked what they're seeing" with Zaddy+Hughes, so much as just...they were literally double-shifting the Captain desperately trying to generate some offense. Quin was out there every second shift for a ton of the last two games in particular. Just so happened that Zadorov was also really "going" and if you're going, you're going and they're going to want you out there.


But it was definitely one of those developments that makes you go...hmm...

If they think that's something sustainable, it definitely makes Zadorov's contract easier to justify.



For reference for the skeptics and stathletes who weren't paying attention...it's not just an anecdotal observation. Hughes played 11.4% of his entire even strength playoff minutes with Zadorov. That's more than anyone else not named Hronek. And the percentage would be a lot higher in the Oilers series as that's where they really started going to that combo.



But i'm still just not sure that you can ask your Norris caliber captain to play enough on his off side to justify what Zadorov is reportedly asking for (and likely to get). It's a tricky question...

 

[ManVanFan]

They are all there but I only have their cap hits. I’ll try to carve out time to make a sortable RFA list tomorrow.

I see what you mean now. I was just looking in all the wrong places. lol.

 

[TruGr1t]

I pretty much expect this because it sounds like everyone is after some mega dollars. I do find it incredibly dangerous to proceed this way following a 109-point season with a barren pool of trade assets and no impact prospects, but I don't think they have much of a choice due to the cap situation. You could quite easily go back to missing the playoffs next season.

 

[ManVanFan]

Hughes and Zadorov together for 28 minutes.

 

[mriswith]

Both of those contract demands are 1.5-2 mil too high. Gross.