Canucks Army Monday Mailbag Part 2: The Mailbagening

I got up to almost 1300 words on part one and didn’t even make it through half the question, which means it’s time for round two.

The Canucks will definitely try to move Ben Hutton this off-season. Whether there’s actually a market for him remains to be seen. I also think they’re more open than ever to a Tanev trade, and may also look to target a player on a bad contract that could be worth a pick or prospect.

I guess the short answer is I’ll get back to you in a couple years. The draft record looks good, but the jury’s still out. They’ve missed some tap-ins in the first round that could come back to bite them in the long run. The drafting in the middle rounds has been good, but it remains to be seen if any of Gaudette, Lind, Gadjovich, Jasek, etc. are game-changers.

The whole “not being very good at hockey” thing is a big one.

In all seriousness, depth scoring and a mobile, two-way defense are two things the contending teams have that the Canucks absolutely do not.

I love Sean Dhooghe, I really do. I thought he was worth taking a swing at on draft day in the seventh round. I also think size is overrated. However, it’s really worth considering in this instance. Dhooghe is tiny. So much so that you can already see it starting to limit his effectiveness. Dhooghe was a standout at every level in his draft year, this season he had just 16 points in 37 games in the NCAA. My hometown Victoria Royals have a similar player in Dante Hannoun: skilled, smart, but really small and already struggling at times because of it. In both instances, you’ve got a player who’s just not quite producing enough to warrant taking on the size-related risk.

It’s absolutely worthy of consideration. To be honest, I’ve been struggling to get a read on Boqvist all season. I don’t think age is enough to explain the difference in production, though.

Elliot suggested Andrew MacDonald in an earlier question, which seems plausible. Marian Hossa’s contract is more in the vein of what you’re talking about, and considering there’s also been talk that the Canucks are interested in Brandon Saad (whose contract is also a bit rich), maybe there’s something there.

This is such a tough question. There’s a good case to be made for all three. Eriksson’s contract is the most onerous; but he’s also the best player of the bunch and bounce-back season still isn’t out of the question. Gudbranson’s contract is ugly and he provides a significant barrier to younger players looking to make the roster; but he also still seems to have value around the league. The same applies to Brandon Sutter.

Because perception matters I think I’ll go with Eriksson. Contracts aside? Gudbranson. I think he’s the worst player of the three.

This is something J.D. and I got into early in hour 2 of Nation Network Radio on Saturday. I really like Evan Bouchard. His production is consistent with a top-five pick. His skating is also pretty bad, although you don’t necessarily need great skating from someone who’s going to play as much as he will on the power play. You can count the Canucks out, though. There’s no way they take him with the premium they’ve placed on speed and skating.

Orlov is a good defenseman. He produces a fair bit of offence at even strength, (a tough feat for defenders,) and he’s been in the black by possession metrics for the vast majority of his career. Blaming Russophobia feels like a crutch but you have to think he’d get more attention if he were Canadian or played in a bigger market.

I would expect some content on the subject this summer.

It’s his crown until someone takes it from him. I can’t think of anyone who’s remotely close at this point in time.

That’s very perceptive of you. The pro scouting department is definitely due for an overhaul, if nothing else. The fact that they don’t have a director of player personnel seems borderline negligent at this point. Jonathan Wall is a bright guy, so I’d love to see the analytics department get more money to play with as well.

If he doesn’t at least get a look on the left wing with Horvat and Boeser that would be absolutely criminal. The fit is just too perfect. As far as a long-term fit, I wouldn’t mind seeing him and Sam Gagner utilized in a sheltered scoring role not unlike what we saw from the Sedins this season. The 2018-19 season ought to be experimental in nature for the Canucks so I’m in favour of seeing him play with anyone who can provide offence.