Monday Mailbag: Trent Cull, Offer Sheets, and Tax Breaks for Sunbelt Teams

It’s a very complicated situation with a lot of moving parts. Overall, the fanbase seems united in their distaste for Cull, but he has his fair share of supporters in hockey circles. Personally, I’m as skeptical as you are, but the fact that enough smart people are willing to stick their necks out for him is enough to give me pause.

The truth is that this is really the first year the Comets really had a high volume of talented young prospects in their lineup. Obviously Lind, Gadjovich, and co. all had disappointing seasons but it’s possible that some fans may be putting the cart before the horse in this instance. I like a lot of the prospects the Canucks had in Utica, but they were by no means can’t-miss players, and one has to consider the possibility that the issue goes beyond coaching. Cull was given the unenviable task of trying to find spots for six rookie wingers to fill eight spots.

Overall, my sense is that the Canucks are a bit behind the rest of the league when it comes to adapting to changes in player development. Many complaints people have had this year about Cull are very similar to concerns I had about Travis Green a few years ago, and I happen to think Green is at the very least a decent coach at the NHL level.

Overall, I think it’s a good thing that the Canucks’ brass are getting heat for the way Utica’s season went, and that Cull is on the hot seat. Anything less would reek of complacency from the market. That having been said, because neither you or I were privy to how things went down behind the scenes, it’s impossible to know if Cull’s second chance is deserved. Either way, Jim Benning has planted his flag, and the success of the organization next year is likely to determine their respective futures. If things don’t significantly improve, I don’t see either of Cull or Benning returning for the 2020-2021 season.

It depends on how next season goes, I guess. If the team has success and it leads to a Benning extension then I’d see it as an overreaction, but if it’s another season of the organization spinning its wheels I’d have a hard time faulting you. Personally, I think getting to watch Elias Pettersson 82 times a year makes it worth it, but I understand your frustration.

The closest thing to a sleeper at 10th overall would probably be… Alex Newhook? He was a superstar by BCHL standards and is remarkably complete player for his age, but I’m not completely convinced he has first-line upside. Considering the Canucks have more need on the wing and defense than at centre I would be surprised if they took him, though. I’m hearing a lot of talk about the Canucks’ interest in Victor Soderstrom, and I would argue he definitely qualifies as a sleeper. There didn’t seem to be much hype surrounding him until the last few weeks or so.

I could see it being a talking point at the next round of GM meetings, but I think it’s a tough sell. Ultimately, every NHL city is going to have different advantages and disadvantages. Should the Tampa Bay Lightning get some sort of compensation because Steve Yzerman wanted to  be close to his family? Should the Islanders be compensated for Tavares’ desire to return to the province he grew up in? At some point, you just have to accept that every city is going to have it’s own unique strengths and weaknesses and that you can’t control every aspect of the free agent courting process. Ultimately, if the tax breaks were that much of a competitive advantage, the Panthers would have made the playoffs this year.

Does it even qualify as a rumour? It was a hot topic on twitter and local radio for about five seconds and seemed to stem entirely from a trade rumour website that deals mostly in idle speculation. Ultimately, it seems to me that it was a slow news day, and some people just like to find reasons to be mad. It’s not going to even come close to happening.

To be honest, since the early aughts it seems like the distinction between having a GM/President and having a GM and President changes at the drop of a hat. I’m not privy to to inner workings of NHL front offices, but it seems to me that the extra position serves mostly to obscure who is responsible for which decisions the organization is undertaking. In many instances, the position of President of Hockey Operations seems to basically be the middle-man between the owner and General Manager, and act as a human shield for any owner who wishes to interfere in front office matters. That may be an overly cynical analysis, but there’s a fair share of evidence to support it, especially in recent Canucks history.

Ultimately, I’m not going to judge a team’s front office based on whether or not they combine the roles of GM and PoHO. Teams should be judged first and foremost on process and results. For the most part, I would say it’s better to have more voices in your front office than less, but I don’t think the titles really matter all that much.

The compensation is a bit rich for me, and that’s ultimately why offer sheets are relatively rare in the NHL. If the compensation is low enough to be worth it, teams are likely to match. If it’s too high, teams are more likely to test the trade market. In Vancouver’s case, I’m unconvinced that they’re far enough along in their rebuild to justify giving up their first round pick in next year’s draft.

For my money, the best player to target for an offer sheet is Kasperi Kapanen. He’s 22 and coming off a 44-point season, which means he’s likely to be worth a second round pick and 4.2 million dollar salary. The leafs are in a tight spot, they need to sign Mitch Marner and he’s likely to command a cap hit north of 10 million dollars. I feel like the Leafs will find a way to wiggle out of the mess they’re in, but at the moment, they’re ripe for the picking.

If recent history is any indication, you just need to get a large enough group of people outside Rogers Arena advocating for his removal, and maybe start an in-game chant. That was enough to get it done last time.