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Monday Mailbag: The Draft, Trade Value, and Condiments
Vancouver Canucks mailbag
Photo credit: Matthew Henderson
Apr 30, 2018, 14:48 EDT
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Before we get into this week’s questions, I have a brief announcement: I’ll be taking over the mailbag from J.D. Burke for the entirety of May. J.D. has a crazy month ahead of him and I always enjoy taking your questions, so hopefully he isn’t too sorely missed over the next four or five weeks.
I think you’re on the right track insofar as Carolina should be a team the Canucks target as a potential trade partner, and I also like the idea of looking at Linholm as a potential returning piece. However, I just don’t see Gudbranson as a player the Hurricanes would have interest in. Carolina doesn’t get the attention of Arizona or Florida, but they land firmly in the pro-analytics camp. I’m not sure how much sway he has within the organization, but imagine Eric Tulsky would be vocal in his skepticism towards Erik Gudbranson. They also have a fairly strong defense group and are a budget team, so you can consider them out on a potential Gudbranson trade.
I’ve always believed that one of the best thought experiments you can conduct when reviewing someone’s performance, whether it’s in sports, politics, or any other managerial position, is to ask what would have happened if the person you’re reviewing had just done nothing at all. So you could say I have a lot of time for this question.
The Canucks aren’t completely incapable of inking a player to a good deal. Even last summer they could have done much worse. But if the choice is between standing pat or making a panic deal to overpay a veteran centre, then yes, they’d be better off hiding their phones on July 1.
This result is fine. They avoid any potential landmines in the top five, all the strongest players go out east, and they can target a defenseman without looking foolish if they choose. Perhaps more importantly, it doesn’t give this management group a get out of jail free card. We’ve seen how far drafting Connor McDavid has gone with regards to saving Peter Chiarelli’s job. Maybe this saves the Canucks from themselves in the long run.
This is such a difficult question. I like all three of Bouchard, Boqvist, and Dobson fairly equally but for different reasons. What I can say for sure is that I think Quinn Hughes is a cut above the other three. This is subject to change before the draft, but I think my current order is Hughes, Boqvist, Bouchard, Dobson. It’s very close.
James Neal is a very good hockey player and I think he would improve almost any line the Canucks would put him on, but he’s not a player I would target. He’s going to cash in this summer in terms of both money and term, and the Canucks would be wise to avoid making that type of mistake again
I’m so glad you asked this question, because it’s something I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about over the past day or so. There are a few situations I could see unfolding, but this is the most likely scenario for how the top 7 unfolds:
  1. Dahlin
  2. Svechnikov
  3. Zadina
  4. Tkachuk
  5. Hughes
  6. Boqvist
  7. Dobson
The only picks I hesitate to lock in are 4 and 6, which I think could get flipped. I’m pretty confident all three of Tkachuk, Boqvist, and Hughes will be gone by 7.
Ketchup is for children, so it’s completely out. Sour cream is the classic choice, but really only good if you also take your perogies with fried onions. Dijon is good on basically anything so it’s my choice out of the three. I personally go with Sriracha on most occasions.
It’s a boring answer but it depends on who’s available. No way I’m trading the 7th overall if Hughes is still available. If he isn’t, I’d be willing to trade down as low as 13-14, but I’d want to have a pretty good idea of who the teams below me are looking at.
I must admit, I regret characterizing Bouchard’s skating as “pretty bad” in last week’s mailbag. It’s the most obvious weakness in his game, and a step below the other defensemen in his range. Ten years ago it wouldn’t be nearly as much of a concern but the game is changing so much that you have to consider it. Is it bad enough to be disqualifying? Not at all, especially considering he led a fairly unimpressive London Knights team in points as a draft-year defenseman.  The biggest concern would be that his effectiveness could be more limited at the NHL level than many of his peers.
Dahlin, by a razor-thin margin. I think teams would still go for the premium position.
We decided to take it down because it was attracting a lot of negative attention. I can’t speak for Jeremy, but my understanding was that the focus of the article was on precise age and the tidbit about the Svechnikov rumours drew so much attention that the original didactic element of his piece went almost completely unnoticed.
At the end of the day, they were just rumours. Completely unsubstantiated, but coming from more than one trustworthy source. The people I’ve heard from freely admit they have no way to prove the veracity of the rumours, so it was probably not the best move to report on it when no one else had.  It wasn’t something any of us had conjured out of thin air but a lot of people got really upset so we decided it was better to just take it down.
Yes. You can blame the NHL, anyone who ever complained about tanking, and the Edmonton Oilers.
I believe it was Jason Botchford who said recently that the Canucks don’t just need one prospect, they need an army. The Canucks aren’t in a position to draft for positional need. They don’t have enough talent to be worried about that. Wahlstrom would be a great pick at 7, not only because they have just as much need for a centre but also because he’s one of the best players available in the 7-10 range.
At the time he was drafted, I would have said Olli Juolevi had the higher ceiling. Now I would say Dobson. A year or two of development makes all the difference.
If Ryan Hartman is worth a late first, than I’d imagine Baertschi should be in the same ballpark. I don’t think Granlund has any value whatsoever after his disappointing season.
Dahlin makes a huge difference. They just addressed their biggest weakness, so I could see Buffalo in the playoffs as soon as next season. Eichel and Dahlin on a first unit PP could be enough for them to squeak in.
We got a lot of questions this week, so stay tuned for round two, which should be up this evening.

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