WWYDW: With the Fifth Overall Selection…

The Canucks may not have landed the first overall pick, but at least they… secured the fifth overall selection. Nowhere near as earth shattering as the first and the generational talent it would have afforded them, but I wouldn’t rule out the Canucks landing a fine and good piece for the foreseeable future a fifth, either.

It’s not like they won’t have options, either. If Pierre-Luc Dubois is available, there’s that foundational piece this franchise so desperately needs. Matthew Tkachuk, though marked with quantitative red flags as he is, comes with his own high-end offensive ceiling and the potential to develop into a strong first-line winger. Less heralded, but every bit as tantalising is Alexander Nylander (brother of William, son of Michael) of the Mississauga Steelheads. This says nothing of the best defenders in the draft, like Olli Juolevi, Mikhail Sergachyov and Jakob Chychrun – to name a few.

All this is to say that the Canucks have plenty of options here in the five hole. Which of the bunch is the most appealing to you, though, and why?

Last week I asked: We’ve already touched on Lucic as a free agent option in this space, and whether there are better alternatives. But today I’m looking to find out how you would react to a Lucic signing, in a vacuum. Do you approve? Are there conditions on your approval, like, say, term and annual average value? Let your voice be heard.

Is Lucic any more likely than Ladd or Erikkson?

In any case, I suppose if the contract on any of these three was in the 5 year $25 million range it would be fine.

But that’s not going to happen.

These three players are going to be declining by the time the Canucks are good again.

I would be more inclined to consider trade options depending on where the Canucks end up in the draft.

I see a number of potentially good players in the system but nobody that projects as a first liner to take over for the Sedins in the near future.

If the Canucks were to end up with Matthews, do they consider swapping someone like Horvat for Drouin?

Matthews & Drouin playing behind the Sedins for a year or two is the kind of succession plan this team desperately needs.

I’m not inherently against Lucic the player, but I still don’t like the concept of him becoming a Canuck right now because

1) It reeks of signing messier after losing to the Rangers in 1994

2) It seems more like pandering to the fanbase than addressing an actual organizational need

3) The guy is ferociously competitive, so how will he react to playing on a rebuilding team that could quite easily miss the playoffs? My guess is “with much frustration”, and he’s clearly demonstrated that he doesn’t handle frustration well.

4) He’s at an age where he’ll want a long term deal, but he plays a game that probably won’t allow him the longevity that other players enjoy, leaving us with a Dustin Brown-type contract dilemma down the road.

Lucic is still a useful player, but not to a rebuilding team. He doesn’t strike me as a Dan Hamhuis who is content to be a hometown hero in a losing environment. Plus he comes with a lot more question marks with regards to long term durability.

So no, I don’t think it’s a good bet for the Canucks, even if we don’t sign any other big name UFA.

What’s the effect Lucic is going to have on our roster?

On the pro side: Is he going to have a positive influence and provide mentorship towards our younger roster players. Is he going to be a solid contributor and set the bar with physical play, with competitiveness, with leadership? If so then this is a signing worth considering, without question.

On the con side: Is he going to cost us too much in term and cap space going forward? Is he going to take the roster spot of a developing young talent and replace it with deteriorating play? Is it possible he can be on the same plane as Ryan Miller? Is he really going to be impactful for the entire length of the contract that he’s seeking? If so then this is a signing worth avoiding, without question.

The Canucks are in a really enviable spot in that they have loads of cap space, they are void of “albatross” contracts, and can readily bury one or two in the minors with the right predatory trade towards teams in tight cap positions. Sacrificing this for a player that everyone would have loved to have had 3-4 years ago seems incredibly risky, and you have to tread very, very carefully here. Lucic would have to sign here at significantly less term and money than he’d get elsewhere to make it worth it for us.

There is no upside to signing Lucic except to the posers planning a parade.

If he can’t get the Kings past the first round, what will he do in Vancouver?

The reality is some team will pay him way more than he is worth and that’s their problem.

Three years ago Lucic would have been a dream to sign — today and tomorrow he is eating salary on a team no where ready to compete at a level where he might really contribute.

One other note — the Canucks are already heavily penalized just because of reputation — Lucic has already been tossed from a couple games … What’s that going to look like when he dons a Canucks jersey? Suspensions? More penalties for ghost infractions?

Concentrate on building depth and getting a core ready to compete in a few years — who knows who would be available then that could be worth Lucic salary but with a whole lot more compete left in him..

Obviously the contract makes all the difference here. If they, like, blackmailed him into a two-year deal at the league minimum then, ya, sure. In real life, though, I expect that any plausible deal (not that I believe there are any to be had) will not be worth it, whether on the basis of dollars or term. So I can’t ever imagine being happy about it.

If you took the identical player to Lucic in every way but personality/personal history, I would be more intrigued, even though I believe that virtually all power-forwards are overrated. But as it is, I think he would spell nothing but trouble in a Vancouver uniform. Even without looking at the “why?” of a rebuilding team signing a big-name UFA in its developmental trough.