Monday Mailbag Part 2: Management, College Hockey, and “Why?”

There’s always a chance, but it seems unlikely given the fact that Hughes would have to spend another three years in college before he’d be able to hit free agency. Taking the Jimmy Vesey route really only makes sense for players who don’t see a clear route to the NHL with the club that drafted them. Hughes doesn’t have that problem. He’ll be on the NHL squad in 2019-20.

I know this was asked mostly in jest but by all accounts, Brian Burke is done with being an executive. He’s a broadcaster now, and seems well-suited for the new gig.

I think out of all the players on the Canucks roster, Markus Granlund has the widest range of possible outcomes for next season. He was not good last year. If he continues to struggle, it’s not outlandish to think he could find himself on waivers to start the season. On the other hand, if he can play the way he did in 2016-17, that’s probably good enough to make him a fixture in the team’s top six. Outside of Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser, how the top end of the Canucks’ 2017-18 lineup is shakes out is anyone’s guess. As far as how I see Markus Granlund’s season going, I’d imagine he ekes out a spot on the team’s fourth line, and maybe sees some time in the middle six if this group struggles to score.

Time for the Lightning Round:

I spoke to J.D. about this and we’re both on the same page about it. We basically answer every question we get on Twitter. If you choose to ask a question via a different medium, there’s a good chance we’ll miss it. We also occasionally get questions after we’ve already published the mailbag. Sometimes they will get rolled over to the next week but they also might occasionally get lost in the shuffle. Other than that, if your question wasn’t answered, it’s for one of the following reasons:

Anything else is fair game. I’ve answered questions about movies, food, weird internet stuff, music, etc., and I’m happy to do so. The mailbag is fun and light and occasionally provides an excuse to talk about things that don’t merit an entire article. I’m happy to keep it that way.

There’s been some speculation that the organization might wait until it’s 50th anniversary but that seems unlikely to me. There’s just no way they can wait another two years to retire the numbers of the hands-down best players in franchise history. I’d imagine it’ll happen sooner rather than later, and yes, a game against the Oilers makes perfect sense.

If you ask me, the answer is three. Elias Pettersson, Olli Juolevi, and Quinn Hughes. Maybe you can add Thatcher Demko if you’re feeling generous. If you ask Jim Benning who the 6-8 prospects he was referring to, I’d imagine it includes the four players I just mentioned, and some combination of Jonathan Dahlen, Adam Gaudette, Kole Lind, and Jett Woo.

I’ll assume you live somewhere near the city of Vancouver, so you want want to go too far out of the Western Hemisphere. That eliminates most if not all of the Eastern Conference. Your prior association with the Canucks also means the Oilers and Flames are out of the question, as is most of the Pacific Division and the old Northwest Division. That means that if you’re looking for a new team, you’d probably look to the Central Division. Chicago’s out of the question, and Dallas and Saint Louis aren’t particularly sexy picks. That basically just leaves Nashville and Winnipeg. Both are teams on the cusp of greatness so I’d jump on that bandwagon if I were you. You can use the fact that Winnipeg is Canadian as a tie-breaker in either direction.

It really depends on how you define being overpaid. In terms of player value, you could make arguments that Loui Eriksson, Erik Gudbranson, Brandon Sutter, Sam Gagner, Michael Del Zotto, Anders Nilsson, Jay Beagle, Antoine Roussel, and Ben Hutton are all playing at a level below their dollar value. If you define “overpaid” as being paid more than what the market dictated, that changes things. Like it or not, players like Loui Eriksson in particular are usually going to make mad bank. That doesn’t mean the market is correct or efficient, it just means it’s harder to decide what qualifies as paying too much. I could tell you what I think that players are worth, but that would be pretty unscientific and frankly a little mean.

Instead, expect an article later this week devoted to the topic using this piece by Andrew Berkshire to establish performance tiers for position, and whatever information I can find on NHL salary averages.

I’m not sure I fully understand this question, but I think there’s a wide range of options for the Canucks to explore. I don’t think they should leave the position vacant for long, though.

I think 30.5 would be a great over/under for games Juolevi plays next season. Personally, I would take the over. The team needs a PR victory.

This is a great question. Its not always clear and seems to vary from team to team. My understanding is that usually the President generally handles the business side of things and takes an advisory role when it comes to personnel decisions. Often, the President lays out the owner’s vision for the team and hires a General Manager to handle the specifics of enacting that vision. Sometimes, the GM and President jobs are combined. In this instance, it doesn’t seem entirely clear what aspects Trevor Linden handled or how much they overlapped with the responsibilities of the General Manager.

The short answer is no. Let’s take the Capitals as an example. Just about everyone in that organization was looked at as a perennial loser who couldn’t get the job done when it mattered until a month and a half ago. Every year, players who have never won a Stanley Cup before win a Stanley Cup, which means the qualities that helped them get there existed before they had the hardware to prove it.

In a vacuum, maybe, but the Canucks are so thin on defense I don’t think you could justify it.

Last I checked he was one of the KHL’s leading scorers.

When you get conflicting reports like this the only real takeaway is that the Canucks lack a sense of organizational symmetry. I don’t know who wanted what or who signed off on which decisions, and I don’t know who to believe or not to believe. What I do know is that the public’s confusion about the team’s direction is justified, because no one in the media or even the organization seems to know what it is either.

From a hockey operations standpoint, it makes more sense than you’d think. Travel on the east coast is a breeze, and it allows the Comets to get more practice time in. From a business standpoint? It should be somewhere on the Lower Mainland. There’s an appetite for it.

Come on. Smokie, obviously. Is this even a debate?

They could probably fetch a mid-to-late pick if they wait until the deadline.

Trevor Linden was a huge part of the reason this team had any good will remaining at all after three awful seasons. His departure doesn’t exactly auger well for the remaining executives.

If anything, Hughes returning to college increases Juolevi’s chances of making the team. Let’s be real here, the defense was awful last season. They could justify sitting or waiving at least three of the defensemen on their active roster. They’ll make room for Juolevi if he can play. It just might not be on opening night.

You’re asking if one of the most beloved players in franchise history abruptly stepping down from his position within the organization in the middle of the summer is a “nothing story”? Really?

Demko will get some starts this year, but they aren’t waiving Nilsson to make it happen.

I still think the best option is to put him on Bo Horvat’s wing, but if he must play centre, I’d like to see him with Loui Eriksson and Sven Baertschi.

My best guess is because they seem to place absurdly high value on low-event players. Brisebois is boring, and boy do the Canucks love boring.

My best guess is we’ll see the organization clean house next summer. New President, new GM, new everything.

Every time the Canucks made a bad move over the last four years, they had had a charismatic, beloved figure to defend it. They don’t have that anymore. Ultimately that’s a good thing. It puts the organization on a short leash.

The team will find a place for them to play. I’m not concerned.