Canucks Army Monday Mailbag: December 19th

Well, that weekend disappeared quickly. Then again, sometimes it feels like they always do. Time flies when you’re having fun, and so on.

And what an eventful weekend it was. The Canucks played host to the Tampa Bay Lightning Friday, and somehow came away with the win. They were considerably less fortunate on Sunday, though, when the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets took the extra point in overtime with a 4-3 victory.

I think you’ve had enough of a stroll through memory lane, though. Onwards to the questions. It’s time to answer a few of those, I reckon.

Erik Gudbranson is, in my estimation, a third pair defenceman. That’s certainly the case on a good team anyways. With that in mind, he should be paid like one.

If I’m the Canucks, I just tender a qualifying offer. That would give Gudbranson a healthy raise from $3.5-million to $3.85-million for next season. If he’s not willing to accept his qualifying offer, just trade him elsewhere. For reasons that escape me, there’s always a market for a player like Gudbranson. Maybe the Canucks can play the role of vulture this time around.

There isn’t any striking a fair extension at this point. Gudbranson is probably making more than he should be as is, and the Canucks haven’t enough leverage to knock him from his perch. Let’s, for argument’s sake, imagine we can start from scratch, though. In that case, I’d be comfortable with Gudbranson making anywhere between $2-million and $2.5-million annually on a contract no longer than three years in length.

They’ve at least seven legitimate NHL defencemen in my humble opinion. I left Philip Larsen out, too. I think more highly of Larsen than most, but I can understand why his inclusion would draw reader ire. Honestly, defence is a point of strength for this franchise.

Well, that’s a loaded question. Seriously, he fit like ten questions in there. That’s getting your money’s worth!

If I’m drawing up the Canucks long-term plan, it involves Nikita Tryamkin occupying the right side on their third pairing. That spot will be made vacant by a Gudbranson trade.

I honestly don’t see the Canucks locking Gudbranson up for anything short of $4.5-million. Even with the terrible start he’s had to his Vancouver career, he just has so much leverage here. That and the grim reality that contract negotiations haven’t necessarily been a position of strength for this regime.

I think it goes without saying at this point that I prefer Tryamkin to Gudbranson. Tryamkin’s legitimately mean in the defensive zone. He’s disruptive and separates the opposition from the puck with a great deal of regularity. Wherein I’m concerned with Tryamkin is his inability to process the game. I don’t think he’s completed a controlled zone exit in months. If he can patch that part of his game up, he’ll be a great second pair defender for the Canucks.

I’d be willing to bet the Canucks could talk anyone out of their no-trade clause at this point. Seriously, these are competitive athletes with a drive to win. That’s just not happening in Vancouver. Not now and probably not for the next few years that follow.

Jannik Hansen would probably be the most willing. It’s not unlikely at this stage that he falls victim to the numbers game and winds up in Las Vegas otherwise. He’s just starting the back nine of his career, so I’d imagine he wants a chance to compete.

I think it was a comment about shot quality, to be honest. Has the stats community addressed shot quality yet? I didn’t think so!

Canucks and Beyond:

Alexander Edler – Troy Stecher

Ben Hutton – Chris Tanev

Luca Sbisa – Nikita Tryamkin

Andrey Pedan – Erik Gudbranson

Philip Larsen

Jordan Subban

Olli Juolevi

Alex Biega

Guillaume Brisebois

Cole Candella

Ashton Sautner

It’s rare that this type of management change-up ever occurs. So I’d find it unlikely in this situation. I’m Willie Desjardins biggest supporter (it seems) and even I wouldn’t argue he’s done enough to make himself indispensable. 

In a follow up to that tweet, John elaborated on Brock Border. Naturally, he meant Brock Boeser.

I have Boeser going about 17th in a redraft. That’s based on a cursory look at the 2015 class. He’s an excellent prospect, but that’s relative to where he was taken and the Canucks’ pool in totality. This city often forgets that there’s a Brock Boeser in almost every team’s pool. Hell, there are often several.