Mailbag Part Two: Jack Rathbone, Cap Trouble, and Playoff Hopes

It’s unlikely the Canucks would trade a big piece if they’re in a playoff spot, even if it’s a pending UFA. This is a team that didn’t even really consider Shawn Matthias the last time they were in such a position, and Edler has been a much more important part of this Canucks team that Matthias ever was. Then again, that was a long time ago, and it’s possible their M.O. has changed given the mandate has changed a fair bit over the past three years.

He’s off to an impressive start, but unfortunately I can’t comment too much on his play since I’ve yet to see Harvard play this season. His numbers so far certainly would suggest that he has considerable upside, though.

What I will say is this: I don’t think you pick a relatively unknown player out of high school in today’s day and age unless you feel pretty confident there’s something there. The Canucks have made some counter-intuitive selections out of the U.S. before that seem to be working out, although Rathbone is the only high school player they’ve selected so far. I’m hoping to get a closer look at him over the course of the season (it’s just a matter of finding the time), but I’m very intrigued based on his hot start in the NCAA.

It’s not that size doesn’t matter so much as that there are probably a dozen or so attributes that matter a lot more. Elite NHL players are able to think the game two steps ahead of the competition, have high-end puck skills, and can skate like the wind. Occasionally, they might also happen to be built like a truck, but those players are rare.

I think the reason we’re seeing less emphasis on size in the modern NHL is that it’s nearly impossible to find a player who checks every box and size ends up being an area teams are willing to sacrifice for the right player. It will always be a factor, but I expect the days of NHL GMs fixating on Jarred Tinordi-types are probably a thing of the past.

By my count, their are about ten defenders getting serious first-round buzz so far, and eight of them are left-handed. The two exceptions are Victor Soderstrom and Anttoni Honka. Both look like very good prospects, but so far it may be shaping up to be a very thin draft when it comes to right-handed defensemen. I suspect we’ll get a better idea of who some other options could be as the season progresses.

If they continue to struggle I don’t see him getting re-upped at the end of the season. That’s a team that desperately needs to shake things up and Willie Desjardins just isn’t really that kind of coach. It’s not that I don’t think he could be an NHL-calibre coach under the right circumstances, it’s just that at this stage of their life cycle the L.A. Kings look like a bad fit.

I’m not sure if I agree with your assessment. I haven’t been able to catch many Utica Comets games this season but Cory Hergott assured me that to the extent that Juolevi has struggled, it can mostly be attributed to getting used to the AHL game. Every time I’ve watched Juolevi in person, I’ve always been impressed by how poised he is, and I think he can be a good two-way defender at the NHL level. I don’t think he’s going to be as good as some of his peers from the 2016 draft, but I suspect he’ll have a long NHL career nonetheless.

The Canucks are another Elias Pettersson injury away from being possibly the worst team in hockey so I don’t think so. I think the world of Quinn Hughes, but they need more help on defense, and unless all of Jonathan Dahlen, Jonah Gadjovich, and Kole Lind all hit their ceilings, they’ll probably need some help on the wing, too.

Also, can you ever have enough talent? I can’t imagine many teams in the league would turn down an opportunity to draft a skilled player.

I don’t think we’ll see him continue to get that kind of ice time. He’s feeling it right now, and Travis Green is making adjustments accordingly (to his credit). 22 minutes a game is probably overplaying him, but it’s still way to early to jump to conclusions.

Any ceremony honouring the Sedins would obviously have to include Markus Naslund, Matthias Ohlund, and Alex Burrows. I would love to see some lesser known guys like Jason King and Trent Klatt get an invitation too, but it would have to be up to the team. As far as execs go, Brian Burke would be the obvious candidate, but I think you could make a strong case that Mike Gillis and Alain Vigneault should be there as well, although that might be difficult to pull off.

As far as Linden is concerned, I think everyone involved can suck it up for one night, if only for the twins’ sake.

That’s a pretty big if (although he’s built himself a nice cushion so far), but it would likely depend on whether or not the Canucks make the playoffs. It’s pretty silly to consider team performance for an individual award, but historically it’s been something the PHWA takes into account. If somehow Elias Pettersson can put up a 70+ point season and the Canucks can make the playoffs, then I’d say it’s definitely possible. I’m not sure how likely a scenario it is, though. Given he’s only nine games in to his career, it may be tad early to award him the Hart Trophy, but stranger things have happened.

I’ll lump these two questions together since they’re very similar. One of the biggest reasons I’ve been critical of the Canucks’ UFA signings is because they’re going to need lots of money to lock up their young core long-term. It’s perceived by many as being negative, but it’s really not. I fully expected Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser to be good NHL players almost immediately, and I expect the same for Quinn Hughes. If they’re all as good as I think they’re going to be, they’re going to command a lot of money, and I don’t want to see some of the Canucks other young players on the block because they can’t unload Loui Eriksson or Jay Beagle’s contract.

They’ve got awhile before they end up where Toronto is, but it’s not too early to keep an eye on the situation. If you have good young players your cap space disappears quickly.

I have absolutely no idea. My guess would be that the only time players get too bent out of shape about the salaries of other players is in contract negotiations.

The Toronto Maple Leafs.

I don’t mind it. I think the team needs to make getting out from under that contract a priority and the best way to get his totals back to the realm of respectability is to put him on the power play with some guys who can generate rebounds. There are other players I’d rather see there, but if they can use the opportunity to get him going and eventually get a trade done (with some salary retained, obviously), then I can get behind it.

I’d love to see the team make the playoffs this year if only because of how fun it would be to see Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser in some postseason action, but I actually think it would be bad for their rebuild in the long run if they do. They might be good enough to sneak into the playoffs, but unless something changes, they aren’t yet good enough to deserve to make the playoffs. If you look at what happened to the 2014 Colorado Avalanche, you’ll understand why that’s a concern. Sometimes when teams overachieve it gives them a false sense of security. The Canucks still need pieces, and unless their underlying numbers improve significantly over the course of the season it will be too early to declare the rebuild over, even if they can secure a postseason berth.

You’ll have to take that up with the owner. He’s very active on twitter now, you can follow him here.

I don’t think Artemi Panarin is going to be coming to Vancouver any time soon, but the Canucks will have some money to work with in free agency next summer and may look at a group of relatively young wingers that includes Mark Stone, Jeff Skinner, Micheal Ferland, and Ryan Dzingel, among others. They could also look to the draft, which has a forward-heavy first round this year. It’s hard to know where their pick will be come late June, but if they end up with a pick in the mid-to-late top ten as they have for most of their recent history, Vasilli Podkolzin, Peyton Krebs, Cole Caufield, and Raphael Lavoie all project as skilled wingers that could be available when they select.

There’s also the trade market, but it’s still early in the season to speculate and the Canucks don’t really have the pieces to get a deal done for an established scorer. Maybe they could pry Jesse Puljujarvi from the Oilers and hope he finally breaks out, but I don’t see the Oilers giving up on him so quickly.

Are you trying to get me in trouble?

I’m assuming your question has something to do with his comments on Elias Pettersson from the other night:

Let’s just say that maybe he has an interest in slowing down the Pettersson hype train.

I feel pretty confident the Canucks will come back down to earth eventually, but unlike in years past they finally have the talent to make things interesting. I still feel pretty confident with my prediction that they’ll finish the season somewhere in the mid-twenties, but the Pacific Division is really soft this year and I wouldn’t be completely shocked if they snuck in.

Harman Dayal wrote an excellent piece on what the Canucks would have to do make the playoffs that explores this topic a bit more deeply, for those interested.

I’d argue the opposite. The fact that the Canucks are blocking as many shots as they are is a symptom of the fact that when Pettersson’s not on the ice, they’re spending way too much time in their own zone. I’m not sure how much Brendan Leipsic would help in that regard, but I do feel confident that he’d be more helpful than some of their other options.

A wise man once said, “There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.”

Okay, maybe not “wise”, but you get the idea. You’re not crazy. I think there have been a few nights so far this year where Erik Gudbranson has looked as good as we’ve ever seen him, but given his age and prior history, I don’t think he’s suddenly found a new gear. If anything, I think it has more to do with the fact that Erik Gudbranson has spent much of his career stapled to Ben Hutton, and until recently, that arrangement was working poorly for both players. Now, Hutton seems to be finally putting things together and looks like he could be an everyday NHL player. I think the good games we’ve seen have more to do with his improvement than anything Gudbranson is doing. You could take the charitable view and say that Gudbranson is playing a more confident style now that he can trust his partner, or the cynical one, and say that Hutton is carrying him. Either way, both players are looking better than they have in some time and we might as well enjoy it while it lasts.