Mailbag Part 2: Tyler Madden, Free Agency, and Fashion Advice for Dan Murphy

The Canucks have drafted a few late bloomers out of the USHL who have gone on to impress in their draft+1 seasons and I see them all as having similar upside, albeit for different reasons. When asked this question in the past about Adam Gaudette and Will Lockwood, I said they likely topped out as high-end third line players who could play up the lineup when called upon. I’m tempted to put Madden in the same box, but to be honest based on what I’ve seen from him at the World Juniors and in the NCAA I think he has better offensive instincts. If everything goes right, maybe the Canucks have a future second-line winger in Madden. Maybe.

I don’t think there’s anything Woo could have done to make that team. The roster is just so stacked this year. Canada’s right side boasts two first-round picks in Evan Bouchard and Noah Dobson and their third right-handed defenseman, Josh Brook, is no slouch either. I don’t think there are any deficiencies in his game that kept him off the roster. Those three players are just better.

This is such a hard question. It really depends on how Olli Juolevi and Cody Glass work out.

If you look at the four players involved I think you can make a pretty strong case that it shakes out like this:

Pettersson>Glass

Boeser>Konecny

Tkachuk>Juolevi

Nylander>Virtanen

You’re being cute if you try to make an argument any other way. Sure, players can always take a leap in their development and surprise you, but the only player in this group that’s a totally unknown quantity at the pro level is Cody Glass, so if anything the Canucks are getting the advantage here by having their two best players already in the NHL.

I see Boeser/Konecny and Nylander/Virtanen as basically a wash, so it essentially comes down to how much better Pettersson is than Glass, and what kind of player Olli Juolevi turns out to be. If Juolevi can be a second-pairing defenseman for them for a long time, Pettersson’s superiority over Glass can probably make up for the value lost in taking Juolevi over Tkachuk. If I’m going in blind, my instinct is that the Canucks’ group is probably worth less than the other group, but it’s close.

I have a bad habit of getting to these questions just as they become irrelevant. I’m genuinely surprised they were able to move Nilsson. I thought they were going to have to just ride that one out. It’s far from a big move but getting a 6th and being able to call up Thatcher Demko is a win for them.

I’ll be surprised if the team doesn’t take a run at Tyler Myers. The defense needs a shake up and he seems like exactly the type of defender Jim Benning would covet. As far as who they should be looking at, there isn’t really anyone that pops out at me that isn’t going to get a massive payday. There are going to be plenty of good players hitting free agency this year including Mark Stone, Jeff Skinner, Matt Duchene, and Jake Gardiner, and some intriguing mid-tier guys like Jordan Eberle, Gustav Nyqvist, Kevin Hayes, Anders Lee, Brock Nelson, Ryan Dzingel, Jakob Silfverberg, Joonas Donskoi, Micheal Ferland, etc. that I could potentially be interested in at the right price, but overall what I’d really like to see is the team’s front office just put their phones away on July 1. That won’t happen, though.

I think we should honour their countries of origin. So, when Roussel (France) or Goldobin (Russia) scores, we can celebrate their history by overthrowing the ruling class and celebrate when Eriksson (Sweden) scores by replacing them with a peaceful social democracy. I will not be reading the comments and so I can only assume no one will get mad at me for this.

As I addressed in the previous mailbag, I don’t think the Canucks will trade Sutter this season. I think there’s a good chance it happens before the end of his contract, though, and he could fetch a decent return if he can stay healthy. Obviously the market changes every year but I would think his trade value would be similar to that of Jannik Hansen and Alex Burrows a couple of seasons ago. You’re not getting a first-round pick or a blue-chip prospect, but you could get a second-rounder and/or a good prospect.

I’m not a huge fan of the idea, to be honest. Gaudette projects as a player who could bring real value to the Canucks but only if he’s playing down the middle, and he’s not going to develop at that position if he’s playing on the wing. If he’s used on the wing sparingly when Travis Green desperately needs a faceoff win I’m not going to complain but I don’t want to see him there with any regularity.

Tearaway pants were a popular answer with a lot of our mutuals, and I can definitely see the logic in that. The best bet, I would think, is to leave room in your carry-on and layer up. I’ve only been to Edmonton a handful of times, but as long as it’s not snowing, the dry cold can usually let you get away with a simple T-shirt-long sleeve shirt-hoodie-jacket combo, and then you can strip away the layers at your discretion when you get to Tampa.

I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t point out that a few extra trips to In-N-Out with Cheech and Shorty might give you the padding you need to keep warm in the Alberta cold.