Canucks Army Monday Mailbag: May 15th

In general, I think the Canucks’ best options for cheap depth, or career resurrection, type deals lie in net. With the likes of Jonathan Bernier, Steve Mason and Darcy Kuemper all set to hit unrestricted free agency, a plethora of goaltenders with starting experience are going to be available for naught but the cost of their contract. I could see any of these goaltenders recapturing their game and working their way to the top of a team’s depth chart if they ever get the chance.

If the Canucks want to find a few players that fit this mould from outside the crease, though, there are a few intriguing options. Full marks for bringing Jordan Weal into the conversation — he’s at the top of my list. I like Dylan McIlrath and Jordan Oesterle, too.

I don’t think any of these players — the goalies especially — have the chance to turn into a 30-goal scorer overnight. They can develop into useful middle of the lineup pieces, though. That counts for something.

I wish I could provide a definitive answer to this question. Goaltenders are, in general, something of a blind spot for yours truly. That’s why you’ll note I don’t talk them up a tonne when I get into my draft coverage. I’ll say this much: I don’t hate the idea of Thatcher Demko getting a game or two this season.

Why do the Canucks have to follow any one specific blueprint? The NHL is constantly changing. What worked one year is obsolete the next depending on who you talk to and when the discussion takes place. I remember when the Canucks needed to get bigger and tougher to match up with the Boston Bruins and Los Angeles Kings. How’s that strategy look now?

I don’t care which position they prioritize, truthfully, as long as they’re all taken care of in due time. When you start to prioritize positional needs, that’s when you get into trouble. That leads teams down a dangerous road, where they pass on the best player available to fill a positional weakness that might not exist by the time that player’s developed into an NHL’er.

I touched on this topic this week, writing about the Canucks unique situation and how they can leverage that to secure future assets by relieving the Stars of one of their netminders. I lean towards Kari Lehtonen, while we’re on the topic — he’s better than Niemi and more expensive, too, which works in the Canucks’ favour. That’s what the Canucks should do to deal with their goalie situation.

Will they do that? I highly doubt it. It just doesn’t fit their modus operandi. Expecting them to take on close to $6-million in a year’s salary for a future asset which may or may not pan out is a tall ask, too. I want them to make that trade, but I could certainly understand why they wouldn’t. It’s not my money they’re spending.

Assuming they don’t take on a bad Stars’ contract, I would go with what I said earlier and target one of the many young goaltenders with starting experience on the open market. Of those goaltenders, I most prefer Bernier. I’d be more into Mason, if not for the fact that he’s adamant about not wanting to split starts, and that’s a distinct likelihood with Jacob Markstrom already in Vancouver.

Draft rankings aside, I’m not a huge fan of doing rankings, if for no other reason than I always seem to forget someone and regret their exclusion almost immediately as an article goes live. With that said, I’m going to provide my list of the five best defencemen outside of Erik Karlsson, P.K. Subban and Victor Hedman territory

In no particular order, here are the next five best defencemen in my estimation: Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Mattias Ekholm, Drew Doughty, Oskar Klefbom and Jacob Trouba.

I think I’ve made clear my stance on splitting up the Sedin twins in previous instances, but again, for posterity, I think it’s a silly idea in the mould of doing something different for the sake of doing something differently. The sum is better than the whole of its parts with these two. It always has been and always will be. Why would anyone mess with that?

The job of a coach is to get the most out of his team. I don’t see how splitting the Sedin twins helps in that regard. Maybe if the Canucks are #TeamTank? That said, I could definitely see Travis Green doing something along those lines. I just hope he doesn’t.

It’s even money that the Vegas Golden Knights ice a roster as good or better than the Canucks. This Canucks team is so bad; I have serious doubts about anyone being bad enough to negatively impact their ability to tank their way into a bottom-three finish.

If I’m trading Chris Tanev, which I think the Canucks should, then I take the best offer available in whatever form it is available to me. This team can’t be picky right now. Their prospect pool isn’t nearly rich enough at the high-end and not nearly deep enough in aggregate. Take help for the future in whatever way it’s available.

Should the Canucks decide to prioritize any of these future assets, though, I lean towards draft picks. As a player gets older, it becomes less likely that they can break out and really shatter expectations. Start with 18-year-olds and see what happens.

Losing Dan Hamhuis was probably more significant a loss than anyone gave credit. It might not seem like it, but Hamhuis put in work for the Stars this season. That loss alone probably puts last year’s defence ahead, if only so slightly — Ben Hutton taking a step back doesn’t help, either.

I watched a lot of London Knights games this season, and that means I was exposed to a fair amount of Olli Juolevi. In my estimation, he would be better than a handful of defencemen the Canucks played this season. If he doesn’t make the roster next season, in some capacity, I don’t think it will be by virtue of readiness.

Jordan Subban probably won’t get one game. He should, but he probably won’t.