CanucksArmy Monday Mailbag: January 29th – Part Deux

In some ways, Bo Horvat is already a first line centre. Certainly, his production puts him in that company. Is Horvat the type of first line centre with which a contending team can win a Stanley Cup? I have my doubts. But Horvat is probably one of the league’s 31 best centres, and that makes him a 1C.

I’d consider that deal if I were the Vancouver Canucks just because Dion Phaneuf’s contract is far easier to buy-out than Loui Eriksson’s. And it’s one fewer season of commitment for the team with Phaneuf’s contract, too.

For Thomas Vanek, I’d start the negotiations asking for a second-round pick and see where it goes from there. With Erik Gudbranson, it’s hard to say. His value shouldn’t be high, and a lot of what I’ve heard suggests that it isn’t at the moment. There are just so many better defencemen on the market. I’d probably start the bargaining asking for a second-round pick and maybe a C-prospect.

As for the second-overall pick, I’m still undecided between Filip Zadina and Andrei Svechnikov. I know that’s a bit of a cop-out, but I’ll also add that I’d give Quinn Hughes consideration in that spot, too.

If the Canucks find a way to hold two first-round draft picks in this year’s draft, there’s no way they leave it without at least one defenceman. If they’re picking in the top three, they’ll likely go best player available. But their prospect depth on the blue line is just dire, so one has to think they’d find a way to get a defenceman, too.

Not only is this not a question, but I’m not sure I agree with the premise. Of all the things to worry about right now, minor things like Brock Boeser’s bonuses and future contracts shouldn’t register for this franchise.

I wouldn’t lose sleep over it. Jaromir Jagr is just way too slow to play in today’s NHL, though, he still might be an upgrade on some of the players currently in the Canucks lineup.

For posterity’s sake, I’m going to walk back my comments on an Alexander Edler buyout. Upon further reflection and having some of the CanucksArmy staff challenge that train of thought, I’m starting to realize it doesn’t make as much sense as I might have at once thought.

As for Edler’s next contract, if the Canucks want to re-sign him, then it can’t be for more than $4-million annually on a very short-term deal — think one or two years.

It’s a bit early to tell.

Yes.

I have a hard time seeing the Winnipeg Jets having any interest in Erik Gudbranson. For starters, Jacob Trouba isn’t going to be out that long. In fact, he’ll probably be back in time for the playoffs. At that point, what use do the Jets have for Gudbranson? On which Jets defenceman is Erik Gudbranson a marked improvement?

As for Chris Tanev, I could see him being an upgrade on, say, Tyler Myers, but that means for a trade to work out, the Canucks have to take Myers back, or it’s a complete non-starter. The Jets don’t view Myers as a throw-in type of player, so that would be a big part of the return, too. At that point, I wonder what’s in it for the Canucks? They take on the worse defenceman of the two and he costs more at that, and maybe they get Marko Dano or Brendan Lemieux for the trouble? That seems like a lot of trouble for very little return for Tanev.

I don’t see that happening — nor do I want to see that happen! Let Henrik Sedin retire in his rightful place as the team’s captain. It’s not like giving someone else the ‘C’ will have a marked improvement on the team’s performance — it will just be an ugly mark on the Sedins amazing legacy with this team and this city.