Welcome back to WWYDW, the only hockey column on the internet that actually encourages you to argue in the comment section.

And on that note, we’ve got a doozy for you this week!

Now that the Canucks fanbase has switched from mourning the loss of the 2019/20 season to Preparing for the Wild (check out our preview series, if you haven’t already!) an interesting debate has sprung up that, truly, could not have occurred in any other season:

If the Canucks were to win it all in the upcoming 24-team “COVID Cup,” would it really count?

For a franchise that has yet to win a Stanley Cup, the question holds greater significance that it does for other organizations. For some, a Cup is a Cup and they’ll take it any way they can get it. For others, to have the Canucks’ first championship come in a season destined to be asterisked just wouldn’t be the same – exciting, sure, but perhaps not fulfilling.

In other words, this week it is less WWYDW and more HWYFW, as in:

Last week, we asked:

Your responses are below! (And let it be noted: Your grammar and spelling were on point this week!)

Full disclosure: I really liked Tryamkin when he was in Vancouver and was sad to see him leave. That being said, he hasn’t exactly been lighting up the KHL during his time there. I think it would be foolish for him to expect more than $2M based on his performance and past history (and apparently current stance) of refusing any time in the AHL. I mean, the man is a monster but where does the entitlement stem from? If he gives his head a shake and takes a deal that makes sense for his body of work and excludes the option to run back to Russia if he needs to be sent down to Utica, then I’d take him back. Otherwise, let him be someone else’s headache.

Trade him.

This is a tough one but if you could trade Benn’s $2 mil salary then I would bring him in to compete with Rafferty for third pairing D-man. He said he wouldn’t go to Utica, will he sit in the press box if he doesn’t play well? It’s worth the gamble on a big guy that can skate.

His attitude sucks, his sense of entitlement is worse. I want that attitude nowhere near Brock, Bo, Petey, and Hughes, let alone him being Podz’ only Russian influence.

First team to make me a decent offer wins. Ship him for the best pick or young dman you get.

Situations like this are where managers earn their pay. I would first put out feelers to other NHL clubs who might want to buy Tryamkin’s NHL rights. There might be an inviting offer with fewer complications.

Assuming there aren’t, his Russian career doesn’t blow me away. 11 points in 58 KHL games does not scream “steal of the century.” Clearly, he is not the premier defenseman for the Yekaterinburg Automobilist. I would offer Tryamkin a three-year deal at $2.5 million a year. I would allow a one-way contract (same salary whether he is sent down or not), but no protection against being sent down. That’s just not possible for a player with so many question marks.

I would try to trade his rights, and if that didn’t work I would release him. I don’t think he is anything special at the NHL level, I don’t feel he looked that good in Van when he was here, and I don’t think he played that impressively in Russia. His stance on the AHL doesn’t give the GM any wiggle room if he is not up to snuff. So, personally as a GM I would not let a player dictate stuff like that. In addition the Canucks are not in a position to have any more dead contracts and Tryamkin is not a sure thing.

I would sign him. We need defensemen and he can play a premier position on the right side. I believe it would cost more to find an equivalent player to Tryamkin on the market.

As Killer Marmot says, three years at  $2.5 million per. Have him fight it out for bottom pairing.

The one thing I would never do is send him to Utica. I don’t want Tryamkin taking valuable development time from prospect defensemen that we are going to need in the near future.

If it comes down to it, there is always trade value for a D-man of his attributes signed to an NHL contract (we DID trade Gudbranson).

Both Chara and Parayko took time to emerge. I think Chara took like six years from his draft to become a good NHL player and he went on to become a dominant force and Hall of Famer. A guy like Myers was pretty much at his best shortly after he was drafted. I think there is something to the idea bigger players take a bit longer to develop, though.

Tryamkin has the physical tools to be very effective. His problem seems to be between his ears. If he comes in focused and more mature it could all come together and he could take a big step in the next season or two. Don’t get me wrong, his ceiling is a very effective and physical shutdown guy. He’s not going to magically find offense, creativity, etc.

I think JB should try to move out Benn and replace him and his contract with Tryamkin. He just has too much upside to pass on. If he doesn’t work out, OK bye. Benn was done after next season anyways. They may be passing up on the next Fantenberg to make room for Tryamkin, but that’s not much of a risk in the big picture.

Sign Tryamkin for $2 million and find a new home for Benn, IMO

They could get a 2nd rounder for him.

He’s an asset. Further,he is a rare organisational depth right-side D with size,strength, and proven defensive abilities.

He will provide insurance if Tanev or Stecher can’t be lowballed or they have decided to move on from one or the other.

The club knows what his abilities are and where they want him to play.Sign him as long as the club can trade him if Nik isn’t working out.

Tryamkin sounds like an attitude case. He skipped town when he thought he wasn’t getting enough ice time, was lacklustre in the KHL, and refuses to play in the AHL. He’s also left-handed, and the Canucks already have a lot of left-handed defensemen. Oh, and he even complained that people in Vancouver smoke too much pot. Unless there’s a compelling reason to think he’s going to become the next Zdeno Chara, I would leave him in Russia.

I’d throw him a one year, $2.5 million deal. Looks like he’s an RFA still, so it’s not like he really has leverage, so if he wants it badly enough to come back and would decline any demotion to the minors I’d only offer a “show-me” deal to see if his play has improved. He can get more term if he proves to be consistent over an entire season.

A writer on another site just did an excellent article on Tryamkin and presented strong evidence that he will only ever be a borderline NHL defenceman. IF he agrees to a contract that allows him to be sent to the AHL, where he can learn what he should have in his first go-around with the Canucks, then, sure, sign him. If he insists he will only play in the NHL, then trade him or let him go. The Canucks have several young defencemen working hard to make the team, give them the opportunity they’ve earned.

He has struggled in the KHL, so why expect he will be better here? If JB is still going to bring him here, please be no more than a one-year show me contract.

So many fans get or are fooled by media opinions.

It was never Tryamkin’s fault that Benning gave him a contract that stated he did not have to go to Utica, this was a management mistake especially when they leaked that THEY, management, wanted to not honor that contract.

Fans now hear so many “opinions” that they are in a fog with regards to his value on the ice. At the end of the KHL season, he was their most valuable defenseman getting the most minutes by a considerable margin and having the best +/- on the team.

Scouts reported he now skates better and is a better shutdown defenseman than when he was a rookie here. That’s right, he was a rookie, didn’t speak the language and admittedly was not coached very well. At that he was a top-two defenseman in that year, in +/-. He killed penalties, had top matchups, and played left and right sides with a different defenseman almost game-to-game.

Sign him, he can be no worse than Gudbranson, he was better back then already. As far as Utica, who cares, is this some obscure domination issue? “You will perform and you will enjoy!”, “Do as I say or else?”, “I AM THE BOSS!” This is the way the NHL was, not now, it used to be they were indentured slaves.

Already the Bruins have sniffed around, so have five or six other clubs.

All this negativity is just creasing the skids for him to be traded to try to recoup draft picks and prospects foolishly traded.

Stop following and start seeing for yourself, there are highlights, game sheets and also there are POSITIVE comments from Benning, Linden, and his teammates.

He plays and Petersson and Hughes will get more room, he was easily the toughest, hardest hitting player on the team sticking up for his teammates more than any other player still to this day.

Finding players this big that can play make them added value players and we already know he can play as good or better than Edler, Stecher, Benn, and maybe better than Myers. He is a good cheap replacement for a rebuilding team and this team has another two years to go, possibly it will take another GM to get there and more pain.

Can’t afford the chance that he might be a top-pairing, and is what the Canucks need if they ever want a chance at the Cup. There’s no other way to get a top-pairing (we won’t be drafting high, and have no top prospects) except for overpaying in free agents, and we all know where our cap is at. Attitude or not, at least one year is the only option.

His size is a tantalizing factor in this, so I suggest he be offered a two-way show-me contract and hope he makes the team out of camp. He hasn’t done anything since leaving the team that tells me that he can walk into a top-four role. He seems to carry a sense of entitlement that doesn’t fit, given his play in the KHL where he didn’t exactly light it up in his home country. Fail to see that he has much leverage, either, so no big term or dollars, please.

I would trade Tryamkin’s rights as soon as possible. I believe he is a cancer that can be avoided. Some RHD will be let loose due to this mess. Cheaper $1 mil players will be available that will work harder. Tree is big, but his game is slow. He won’t get quicker skating and his hands won’t get quicker. I would ship him out and bring Rafferty up, sign a cheap RD, and hope that Juolevi, Brisebois, or Woo can move up soon. Mebbe Rathbone.

Tryamkin is not the type of player who will make or break the Canucks’ defensive core next season. With or without him, they still need a lot of work in that area. His RFA potential to act as a sweetener to help get out from under an unattractive contract (say, in the $3-3.5mil range) could outweigh his impact on the ice. Who’s to say one of Rafferty, Sautner, or Brisebois couldn’t do his job on the third pairing if they were actually given an extended look with the big club?

Sign him to a show-me contract, then string him along during training camp/preseason just to demote him to ECHL on the last day of cuts. That’ll teach him, nobody messes with Jim Benning!

I lean towards no, partly due to his poor play and troubling attitude, but mostly because he shouldn’t be signed before the club has the chance to try to re-sign Markstrom, Toffoli, Virtanen, Stecher, and Leivo. Tryamkin is leftovers and should be treated as such. Squeeze him in under the cap in the fall if you can. If it’s too late then, no big deal!

If the guy can contribute then why not? However, since he played here when Willie was coach the league has become exponentially faster and speed is not Tryamkin’s forte. They’ll find out soon enough. 

You sign him to a one way (like he wants) two-year, $2M per deal then trade Benn to offset the money. Benn might be better right now but he is at the tail-end of his career and Tryamkin may be worth the roll of the dice.

Tryamkin is a player that has struggled with consistency in Russia and is a guy who makes his demands known. Unfortunately, those demands can be selfish and irrational. He has demonstrated that he has no interest in playing in the AHL, even if that would help his game develop and he is a high flight risk back to mother Russia.

My feeling is that this kind of attitude bodes poorly with the makeup of this Canucks team, made up of guys who put the teams first and need to be all in to win.

So what would I do? I would trade his rights at the draft, this should garner a third at least…maybe a second or am I dreaming?

Plan B is to sign and trade. Either way, I really don’t want him on this team if he is going to continue to be the high-maintenance player that he has already proven to be.

Tryamkin still seems to have an attitude of entitlement; that he should just be given an NHL position and receive good money without having earned either of those things. He refuses to play in Utica and earn a place on the team. Let’s assume that he does make it directly to the team. How long will it be before he starts whining about ice-time again. I like Tryamkin and think he could be a legitimate NHL player, I just don’t like his sense of entitlement. I don’t think he is a team player. The team doesn’t need another Cody Hogdson player and all the drama that comes with it.

Canucks should trade his rights to someone else and recoup a draft pick for this season. Better yet, package him in a trade as a sweetener for offloading Sutter or Eriksson if possible.

Groot has been playing in a second-tier league for three years now and not exactly setting it on fire. So, best case scenario he’s a probably a 6th or 7th defender in the NHL. Given the cap situation, the Canucks fortuitously are likely to have two such spots available. If the BFG is willing to be paid as such ($1.5M or less), then signing him isn’t entirely reasonable. If not, trade his rights for a third or fourth-round pick and “Brogan Raffery, come on down! You’re the next contestant …”