CanucksArmy Monday Mailbag: Adam Gaudette, Chris Tanev and Analytics!

Yes, I think Reid Boucher can be something at the NHL level. I’m just not certain what that something is. My pet theory is that with ample support and in the right situation, Boucher can contribute offence at about a third-line rate in the NHL. We saw flashes of that last season when Boucher was on a line with Bo Horvat, so there’s proof of concept.

At the low end, I think we can at least say that Boucher is a 13th forward already. I’d love to see him get an opportunity in a good situation and prove that he’s more than that though. Look at what he did in 2015-16 with the Devils, as Boucher contributed 19 points.

It’s way, way too early to tell. Here’s my probably useless answer given that fact: the first line will be Bo Horvat, Sven Baertschi and Brock Boeser and the second line will be Brandon Sutter, Loui Eriksson and Markus Granlund. That’s probably not the answer you were hoping for, but that’s the best I’ve got at the moment.

As an aside, the Sedins haven’t been top-six players this year. Canucks head coach Travis Green has mostly used them as fourth-liners at 5-on-5.

Their defence is just awful, and their goaltending has been suspect. It’s really that simple. If they ever fix that blue line, the Sabres could make some noise.

The Canucks haven’t exactly earned the benefit of the doubt in this regard. I’ve heard they’ll have interest in James Neal and Evander Kane this off-season, among others, so fear away.

Those first 15 games seem so long ago. No, this team does not have the most depth of any team that Canucks general manager Jim Benning has built in Vancouver. That honour, such as it is, is owed to the 2014-15 Canucks.

If I could choose for Adam Gaudette what the next steps will be in his hockey career, I’d want him to join the Utica Comets for the end of the season on an amateur tryout and finish the year there getting big minutes and playoff hockey experience.

I don’t think that’s how this is going to play out, though. Gaudette probably wants to cash in an NHL paycheque and get the experience of playing a couple of games in the majors, and I’m sure the Canucks are eager to accommodate that goal.

I think what you’re referencing are forward and defencemen ageing curves. Based on most of the reading I’ve done and the conversations I’ve had with experts on the matter, goalies peak in their late-20s. So I’m not worried about it from a performance perspective in terms of the Canucks cashing in on Demko’s best years.

You have something of a point with the value aspect, though, as Demko will be getting into his unrestricted free agent years relatively early in his NHL career at this pace. I just don’t think it’s critical to maximize that value if Demko isn’t ready next season. If he is, then ship Anders Nilsson to another team or the AHL and give him his shot.

Yes, and I’ll be writing on this matter soon.

No. My answer is no.

In all seriousness, I like that Green is putting Troy Stecher back with Alex Edler. In a handful of games with Michael Del Zotto, Stecher really struggled. That’s par for the course, but I’d rather young, developing players didn’t get thrown to the wolves in that sense.

I’d bet that most NHL teams have an analytics department or at least someone within their front office that is dedicated to that aspect of the sport. And yes, the Toronto Maple Leafs do have one of the larger analytics teams in the NHL. The Florida Panthers, Arizona Coyotes, Carolina Hurricanes and Minnesota Wild also have fairly sizeable analytics departments too if memory serves.

For whatever it’s worth, the Canucks don’t just have John Wall in their analytics department. I know of at least one more person who works closely with Wall in that department and based on an interview on TSN’s Hockey Analytics podcast, they’re also working with StatTrack.

Honestly, I think the bigger issue is the Canucks’ investment in pro-scouting. They have one of the smallest front offices in the Pacific Division in that regard. They’re one of only a handful of teams without a Director of Player Personnel. That’s where I want to see the Canucks invest more heavily. Of course, I’m amenable to them adding more resources to their analytics department; or taking analytics more seriously in their decision making, for that matter.

Not a chance. I’m honestly getting concerned about whether Will Lockwood has much of a hockey career left in him period after all the damage he’s done to his shoulder these last two seasons, and he’s returning to the University of Michigan next year. Petrus Palmu is signed with TPS Turku for next season, and even if he wasn’t, there’s no way he’d make the Canucks.

General managers sometimes tank, but coaches and players don’t.

On this team, no, Jake Virtanen’s low ice-time probably isn’t justifiable. I’d like to see Green expand his role to close out the season. On the bright side, in yesterday’s win over the Dallas Stars, Virtanen was on the first unit power play and played close to 14 minutes in total. It feels like Green is trying to give him a little more leeway to close out the year.

It would be silly to assume that Chris Tanev’s lengthy injury history that seems to grow with each passing day isn’t going to have a negative impact on his trade value. I don’t know if the Canucks are at a point where they’d have to take pennies on the dollar in a Tanev trade, but they’re not getting now what they might have been able to get a year ago.

It’s hard to say whether riding out the contract or taking a “meh” return is more worthwhile for the Canucks. That depends on what constitutes a “meh” return. I’d suspect they could still get a prospect and a first-round pick, though I could be wrong.

A reasonable ceiling for Gaudette is probably that of a good, two-way second line centre. I can’t put a number on how many points Gaudette will have with the Canucks or what his two-way impact will be because the sample is so small and the team he’s joining is so checked out it seems. Just be sure to temper your expectations accordingly, I guess.

Sure, why not?

I’m not sure if I’ve done any groundbreaking research or offered anything that could change the fortunes of this franchise, so I’m not sure. I’d maybe suggest they read my article on The Athletic Vancouver on Brady Tkachuk depending on where they sit after the NHL Entry Draft Lottery.

Here’s a cheat answer: I’d want them to read every article in former CanucksArmy writer and current member of the Florida Panthers Cameron Lawrence’s series on building a contender.