Mailbag Part 2: Brock Boeser, Buying out Loui Eriksson, and the Sedins’ All-Time Best Games

It’s a deal that could potentially make sense for both teams, but I’m not sure Honka’s stock has fallen enough for Nikolay Goldobin to be considered a sufficient return. I think it’s more likely the stars would package Honka in a trade for a more established player.

It’s an open secret that players heights and weights are often embellished on team websites. As far as why or how that happens in spite of measurements that occur at the draft combine, I’d imagine there are just too many factors that make it difficult to test the accuracy of listed NHL height and weight. Every year, the combine is a story for about a week, and afterwards its quickly forgotten. After that, information on combine measurements become harder to find, and besides, players can add weight or even grow an inch or two in the aftermath.

Another factor worth considering is how often our eyes deceive us. We may think we have a good idea of what 6″ looks like, but other factors play tricks on us all the time. Things like distance from the person were measuring and that individuals surroundings can make us believe they’re taller our shorter than they really are. For example, my friend and I are exactly the same height (5’10”), but we both have disparate body types. He’s often described as tall, whereas I’m rarely if ever described that way.

You can mark it down as yet another reason why size is overemphasized in the modern NHL.

I can’t make heads or tails of anything the Senators are doing these days. I can’t imagine that was the best possible deal they could get for arguably the best defenseman of his generation.

But hey, at least they’re a team.

When watching the team last season and looking over the data, the only thing that really stood out to me about the Canucks was how extreme Travis Green’s zone start splits were for many of his players. Whether that had anything to do with the team’s questionable defense is anyone’s guess. The Canucks were significantly below league average in shot-generation at evens last year, and were slightly above average in shots allowed, so it’s possible Green favoured low-event hockey at even-strength because of his lack of faith in his defensemen. It’s tough to say.

These games are meaningless, Boeser’s spot on the team is secure, and he’s returning to play after a pretty significant injury. It’s early to start sounding alarms. That being said, don’t be surprised if it takes awhile for the old Boeser to emerge. Everything is going to be harder this year than it was for him as a rookie. Opponents will be keying in on him, he won’t have Henrik and Daniel to play with when the Horvat well runs dry, and barring the possibility that he’s literally the best shooter in modern NHL history, his shooting percentage is bound to regress by at least a couple points.

If we strip away all context and just look at who received the better assets (and not what the teams did with those assets once acquiring them), the Cam Neely trade wins hands down. The Ballard, Kesler, and Luongo trades merit consideration as well, but none were even remotely as lopsided.

He looked fine in a couple of games last season, but Ashton Sautner is an afterthought when it comes to the Canucks long-term plans on defense. I’m not convinced the Canucks have much in Derrick Pouliot either, but it’s worth exploring for the time being.

Olli Juolevi doesn’t look ready for NHL action. I don’t normally like to criticize a player’s work ethic because it’s a purely speculative exercise, but he just looks very disengaged. At this stage, I wouldn’t want to reward him with a spot on the team.

Yes, but the Leafs wouldn’t.

The Canucks have shown a tendency to target players they’re familiar with, so it’s possible that’s how they keyed in to Petrus Palmu’s value early on. I’d imagine that happens with a lot of teams. They send scouts to look at a specific player, but come away having been equally impressed by their teammate. I absolutely think that’s what happened with Pettersson. I’d hesitate to say their familiarity with Jonathan Dahlen is the primary reason they drafted Petersson, but I’m almost certain it influenced their decision.

(If you’re as confused I was, he’s referring to Jake Virtanen and Jonah Gadjovich.)

I think it depends on how Gadjovich develops. At times, he flashes the offensive instincts to be a top-six player, but he may never make the necessary adjustments and improvements to realize that potential. There’s a very good chance both players could top out as fourth-line guys, in which case the pairing would make a lot of sense.

Lind and DiPietro have the best shot of the four of making the NHL, but Lind looks like he needs some serious AHL seasoning, and DiPietro is years away from getting an NHL start. On the flip side, Chatfield an Palmu are older and already have a year of pro experience. I’d say the two of them are more liekly to earn a call-up in the near future, but Lind has the inside track on earning a full-time job when he gets his chance.

(Sautner was reassigned almost immediately after Cameron posed this question.)

I like Sautner as much as anyone else, but he falls into the same category as many prospects we’ve seen in the past: Evan McEneny, Andrey Pedan, Alex Grenier, Alex Friesen, etc., etc. If he can play well enough to earn a call-up and and look competent in spot-duty with the big club, that’s great. I wouldn’t expect much more than that.

Eriksson’s contract is so bonus-laden that it’s essentially buyout-proof. Even if the Canucks were to terminate his contract, they’d stand to save very little against the cap.

Nobody saw it coming.

Grab a drink and settle in, you may be here for awhile.

March 13, 2009 Henrik Sedin scores on a spin-o-rama in a 4-2 win against the LA Kings:

February 19, 2011 The twins combine for three goals in a 4-2 win over the Dallas Stars, including this famous tic-tac-toe goal with Alex Burrows:

May 18, 2011 the Twins combine for 5 points in a dominant 7-3 win over the San Jose Sharks in game 2 of the Western Conference Final:

January 20, 2017 Henrik scores his 1000th point on a goal against his old teammate, Roberto Luongo:

November 30, 2017 Daniel Sedin scores his 1000th point in a 5-3 win over the Nashville Predators:

April 11, 2007 Henrik Sedin scores a quadruple overtime winner against the Dallas Stars in game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinal:

April 10, 2010 Daniel Sedin registers a hat trick to clinch the Art Ross Trophy for his brother:

April 5, 2018 The Sedins go out on top in the final home game of their careers: