Friday Roundtable: Camp Vrbata

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Radim Vrbata score a pretty one like that, eh? In fact, it’s been nearly a month since he’s scored a goal that counted, period. Beyond a three-in-four game span at the end of October, the 34-year-old winger has been ice cold, to the point where he’s struggling to put assists on the board as well. Sure, the entire team is having a bad time, but more was expected of last year’s team goals leader.

Today, the roundtable takes ponders what the best course of action is involving him. Here are our answers.

The 2016 trade deadline is still the ideal time to deal Radim Vrbata – his current slump only solidifies that notion. 

The return for a 34-year-old sniper making $5 million with 3 goals to his credit is not going to be pretty. Sure, you technically run the risk of it getting worse (what if Vrbata never scores ever again ?!), but the chances of him continuing to convert at 4% until March are astronomically small.

Waiting until the deadline increases the likelihood that Vrbata busts the slump and holds a more respectable goal total. It also reduces how much the trade partner has to pay for Vrbata’s services, with his $5 million pro-rated to just the final 6 weeks of the season. Both of these factors would make Vrbata a much more valuable trade piece at the deadline. If his shooting percentages approaches his career average by then, a first round pick should be the opening asking price. 

Oh, and it shouldn’t need to be said, but not trading him at all and getting nothing in return is an even worse option. Don’t do that.

Vrbata comes with a fairly hefty cap hit for his current performance, and he’s only got a year left on his deal – so keeping him ‘waiting for a resurgence’ is hard to necessarily do from a long-term perspective. 

That being said, he’s a versatile playmaker who doesn’t seem like he’s likely to keep shooting at such a snake-bitten low percentage; the risk of sending him out and watching him start to improve for a diminished return seems like a high risk to take for a team that may actually have a legitimate shot at the post-season this year. Few teams will want to take on Vrbata’s $5M cap hit in full (meaning retained salary for a playoff team, not a move that’s exactly attractive) and with his current point totals, it seems like he’ll get a lower return value while he’s playing poorly. Pending UFA’s fetch higher prices when they’re playing hot; he isn’t. 

With so much youth in the lineup, there’s nothing wrong with using Vrbata as a flexible utility player. That’s what I would do, but who ever listens to me?

Since Vrbata had only a year left on his contract, and the Canucks were clearly going through a rebuilding phase, I was a big proponent of moving Vrbata last summer while he stock was sky high on the heels of his highest point season at the advanced age of 33. 

Fast forward six months and he’s mired in a brutal slump, with only 8 points in 19 games, and scheduled to become an Unrestricted Free Agent in seven and a half months. The best the can hope for is to reunite him with the Sedins once he’s back in the lineup and give as much power play time as he can handle, in hopes of jacking his points and thus his trade value. It’s unlikely they could get as much value as they could have last summer, but at this stage it’s about playing the hand as best they can.

I’m not entirely sure where to start on this one, as it’s such an expansive question. If we’re taking a big picture look at this franchise, every move should be aimed towards achieving the ultimate goal of a Stanley Cup. Obvious, right? As that pertains to Vrbata, is it in the best interests of the club to showcase him in as favourable a scenario as possible. It helps the Canucks to achieve their short term goal of remaining competitive while all the while increasing his value as a trade chip. Should the Canucks opt to go that route, of course. 

At a smaller scale, I would argue that Vrbata has been one of, if not the Canucks best forward thus far. Results aside, of course. As Vrbata has so often alluded to, sometimes you get the bounces and sometimes you don’t. Regression is real though and he will be rewarded for his elite shot rate sooner than later. I see no need for panic here.

Without question you deal Vrbata once the Canucks fall out of contention. In years past we have seen teams overpay for a veteran presence to get them further into the playoffs, and if they can turn a potential UFA into a draft pick or a low end prospect, I don’t see any reason not to. Vrbata is the typical secondary piece to a successful, championship winning team, which the Canucks are far from being at this moment. That being said I fully expect the Canucks to sign him to a 13 year, $100 million contract.