Thoughts on Friedman’s Thoughts: Willie Desjardins, Vladimir Tkachev and Trades
By J.D. Burke
7 years ago
Photo Credit: James Carey Lauder – USA TODAY Sports
When it comes to NHL insiders, Elliotte Friedman is second to none. When he talks, you listen. When he puts something in print, it’s appointment reading.
So when Friedman publishes his weekly ’30 Thoughts’ column for Sportsnet, I think we owe it to bring any items pertinent to the Vancouver Canucks to your attention. Starting this week, that’s something we’ll be integrating into our weekly schedule.
With that, let’s dive into this, the December 21st edition.
4. Got home from a shoot Tuesday night with enough time to watch the last half of Winnipeg/Vancouver. Have to say, the constant Willie Desjardins watch is ridiculous. To me, one loss here or there shouldn’t determine a coach’s future. It should be about the process, the direction you are going. So, when I read/hear “Desjardins needs a good result this week to keep his job,” two things pop into my head. First, merry Christmas! Second, it shouldn’t be about that.I strongly suspect the Canucks are privately going through a detailed conversation of where they want to go with several important decisions. They are four points out of the playoffs, which is miles ahead of where many of us thought they’d be. Whatever their eventual decision, it shouldn’t be about one or two results. That’s crazy.
I tend to agree with Friedman regarding Desjardins’ future. It absolutely shouldn’t be based on a single result. To the Canucks’ credit, they resisted temptation over nine straight negative results and kept their embattled coach behind the bench. They again resisted temptations when Desjardins returned from a six game Eastern swing with one win in five and an epic third period collapse in Carolina.
If the Canucks are going to fire Desjardins, it’s not going to be about one result. The Canucks are four points removed from eighth, but that’s more a byproduct of the feigned parity afforded teams by the loser point than anything. Only the Arizona Coyotes have fewer regulation or overtime wins than the Canucks. It’s not like Vancouver’s underlying numbers are trending in the right direction, either.
Desjardins is by no stretch of the imagination to blame for the Canucks’ shortcomings this season. He’s low on the totem pole of organizational responsibility for this wreck. There’s a case to be made for his dismissal all the same.
There are some interesting dynamics at work here. Desjardins isn’t Canucks GM Jim Benning’s guy. Trevor Linden, however, is quite keen on Desjardins. Perhaps that goes a way towards explaining why Linden constantly shifts the goal posts for what the organization would determine as a successful season. Maybe he’s just looking out for his guy.
I don’t want to go too far into the notion that Vancouver is alive and in the playoff chase. They’re not. They’re a bad team. They have a higher likelihood of a top 5 pick. Hell, the Canucks aren’t even beating the odds and outperforming expectations.
6. Weird things learned last week: There are two active Russian hockey players named Vladimir Tkachev. Edmonton fans will remember the younger one. After a strong 26-game North American debut with the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats, the Oilers signed him in Sept. 2014, only to have the contract voided as he was still eligible for the draft. He’s now in KHL Vladivostok, averaging almost a point per game near the North Korean border. It’s uncertain if he’ll ever give the NHL another try.Anyway, this came up because there are reports in Russia the Maple Leafs are eyeing the other Vladimir Tkachev. This one, born in 1993, is two years older and plays for Ak-Bars Kazan. A few NHL teams have seen him, and there is a belief he’s got a shot in a depth role. Toronto has a nice piece in Nikita Zaitsev. We’ll see if there’s another worthwhile Russian import to follow.
Friedman doesn’t connect the Canucks to either of the two Vladimir Tkachev’s, but I wonder if that’s an avenue they should explore. Specifically, the younger of the two. He’s no longer draft eligible, which means he’s a free agent ripe for any team’s taking.
It’s not going to happen this season. If it did, Tkachev would have to clear waivers. That’s an experience Canucks AGM John Weisbrod’s already experienced in Calgary with the attempted acquisition of Ryan O’Reilly.
Tkachev’s outproducing Anatoli Golyshev by a fair amount and is the same age. The New York Islanders felt comfortable using a fourth-round selection on Golyshev. There’s context here that a player with Tkachev’s resume could draw NHL interest.
Viewed through the lens of pGPS, Tkachev’s current season carries with it a 25% success rate based on comparable members of his age, stature and production cohort. That’s better than most second round picks.
13. One team we haven’t heard much from is Pittsburgh, but I think that will change. The Penguins are a legit threat to repeat and, at some point, GM Jim Rutherford is going to try and add. Remember his history. He prefers not to wait until the deadline.
If we’re to take the Canucks at their word, there aren’t many trades on the way. At this rate, I doubt any are on the way. I wish they’d reconsider for a number of reasons, but we’ve spilt enough digital ink on that.
There isn’t a trade I want to see more desperately than Jannik Hansen to the Penguins. He fits with their system, is cheap and signed into next season. It just makes so much sense.
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