WWYDW Part Deux: More Thoughts On Loui Eriksson’s Departure

Carrying on from yesterday’s WWYDW, here are more of your answers to the question:

 

Feel free to chime in on this week’s question below, too:

Barring a miracle where we are able to trade Loui in the off-season, Benning should send him down to Utica at the beginning of next season. At that point, Loui will have collected the vast majority of the cash from his contract and will hopefully choose to not report and have his contract terminated. I have to imagine that either resigning with another club for a league-minimum contract, or going back to play in Sweden, is more appealing than riding the bus and grinding it out in the AHL for an extra few million dollars.

 

Eriksson could be a solid defensive forward for a rebuilding team at a very reasonable cost over the last two years of his contract. After the signing bonus is paid this July there is $5 million remaining on the contract of which $4 mil is salary. The Canucks can retain $2 mil of that amount so Eriksson could only cost $1.5 mil per year. I’m not certain but I think it is only the actual amount of retained salary that would count against the Vancouver cap hit. If this is true the cap hit on Vancouver would be $500k in 20/21 and $1.5 mil in 21/22. That cap savings is definitely worth throwing in a draft pick for. There have been some reports Loui’s agent is also working to find such a trade. If you could trade Sutter for a 2nd or 3rd round pick and throw it in to close the Eriksson deal you will have just cleared over $9 mil in cap space. Even if you have to retain some of Sutter’s salary, the savings are very substantial.

Although plausibly finding a team to absorb a huge cap hit for the likes of Loui is unlikely. Ideally, Loui will decide to retire or to accept a contract termination, take his $3 mil next July, land with another team, go play in Europe, take a scouting job or just spend time with his family. These conversations may have already happened.

Sending Loui to Utica is a last resort. It only saves a $1 mil in cap space and just seems messy. Moving on from Eriksson is a necessity, so if it comes to it Eriksson should become a resident of upstate NY.

 

I don’t see any way to get out from under this albatross for Benning. If he is ever fired from his position in the organization this will be exhibit ‘A’. It remains to be seen what exhibit ‘B’ would be, but my money is on Beagle.

If it was me, I would have parked him in Utica this year and crossed my fingers for him to not report. Greasy? Yes. More palatable than having the $6 million man take a roster spot from someone (anyone!) down on the farm? For my money, yes! I think there are a number of players in Utica that could provide what Eriksson has this season, but with a hope of upside. I think even an AHL under performer like Gadjovich wouldn’t be far off from what we’ve gotten from Loui. I’m sure he can score on an empty net as well.

 

The move to sign LE seemed to make a lot of sense on the onset. This was a player coming off a 70+-point year with an opportunity to play with the Sedins. How could we lose?

In 20/20 hindsight, we see this as a swing and a miss, this is common in the NHL as not all signings work out – but Benning has to eventually admit that this isn’t working and find a plan to move on.

To move on I would approach the player and let him know that he is no longer wanted in Vancouver. Benning could go on to waive him and make him available to other teams, but certainly no one will bite. In a perfect world, Loui would want to do what he could to get back in the NHL, and the best way would be through allowing either a contract termination or restructuring, then proving himself in Europe for a couple seasons.

Then again if Loui just wants the money and says “screw you” to Benning, we really don’t have many options.

 

JP Barry was interviewed last July 11th. It was made clear at that time that the Canucks and Barry tried to find him a new home (but failed to do so). At that point in time, Travis and Jim would have dictated to JP what would happen going forward.

They honored his contract and played him this year. Now we see if LE retires or is shipped to Utica if he refuses to retire.

 

Offer him a scouting position at the location of his choice at the same salary he is owed under his current contract. He may want to have it spread out over several years to minimize taxes. He may jump at that instead of playing in Utica.

 

Name one player that has walked away from $18 million because they got demoted to the AHL…and go!

 

Its possible he still loves playing hockey and will accept a demotion to Utica. A lot of people think he’s not trying anymore, but I think they are mistaking the fading of his hands and foot speed for lack of effort. He still does everything other than score really well.

 

Likely ,Eriksson’s situation will be solved this summer as well as some other players – we will soon see. The much-anticipated increase in the cap may not happen if there are more teams that have crowd restrictions, as it would bring revenue down dramatically. Beagle will come back another year or retire and become a coach. As much as Edler and Tanev have stayed healthy, I believe the defense is playing through injuries in the top-four. The one thing for sure is it will definitely be exciting to the end.

 

Both JB and Greener will likely keep their jobs for next season; as this season is currently suspended and most likely cancelled.

Not one good option, or should I say realistic suggestion, given with regards to how to move Loui Eriksson and his contract.

 

After he collects his July 1 bonus, Loui and the team will agree to a contract termination.

Loui can avoid going to Utica. He won’t have a spot on the big team.

Then Loui can pick a city and a league or just retire. All very honourable.

 

I was hoping for some playoffs to see how JV18 performed when it matters. I’m anticipating he’ll be a beast and we’ll want to keep him! But if he plays just as lazy and lackadaisical as a regular season game, package him with Eriksson and move him out. Otherwise JB should see what else we can offer as a sweetener to have someone else take LE’s contract.

Shame that Sutter and Myers are both overpaid and thus also have negative trade value, but a good performance in the playoffs from either could boost their short-term value for a summer 2020 trade.

Outside of a gift from the league (extra buyout!) or LE himself (voluntarily on IR to collect salary), I just don’t see any non-painful way out of this. If he can’t be traded, then send him to Utica. It’s only a minor cap savings, but it sends a message to UFAs – we expect you to perform to your contract – and honestly he’s below replacement level at this point, so it’s addition by subtraction. Try to move a slightly-less-painful contract like Sutter’s instead.