Thoughts in Canucks potentially helping Boston with their Backes contract (yes, assuming Backes agrees). This looks like the type of salary dump that would be good for #canucks to take with assets from Boston. Plus Backes would give them that center and protection for Pettersson.
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CanucksArmy Monday Mailbag: Weaponizing Cap Space, Trades, and of course, the Draft
Photo credit: Matthew Henderson
By J.D. Burke
Jun 18, 2018, 23:31 EDT
Here’s something I’m sure you weren’t expecting to hear: I still think David Backes can contribute to a hockey team at a reasonably high level. Whether I think that level is commensurate with the $6-million that the Boston Bruins owe the two-way centre for the next three seasons is another story entirely. What I’m trying to establish is that Backes isn’t quite dead weight just yet.
At 34-years-old, Backes isn’t likely to get better. It’s possible that he represents a significant value-negative mark on the books. Then again, the term is short enough that it’s not much of a threat. And in the short term, Backes could make sense as a third-line centre. He’s not someone I would surrender an asset for, but definitely worth the trouble to acquire one.
I think there’s some desire within the Canucks front office to ‘weaponize’ their cap space — it’s just not in the sense that we might imagine. To them, weaponizing cap space means acquiring a good player that’s on a contract which is just a little bit rich for the team that’s currently on the hook for it. I wrote about this for The Athletic Vancouver a little while ago.
There’s a reason that insiders have connected the Canucks to Ryan O’Reilly — he’s exactly how they picture weaponizing their cap space.
the closer it gets to the draft, is Benning less like to trade the 7th pick?
I think so, yes.
That’s a loaded question. I think the Canucks should rebuild their franchise without taking any shortcuts. There’s my loaded answer.
Predict how many points Elias Petterson gets.
If Elias Pettersson can put up about 35-40 points, that should be viewed as a successful first season. Anything after that is icing on the cake.
Any of those three players would be perfectly reasonable with the Canucks’ second-round pick, 37th overall. Of those three, I would choose Jonny Tychonick. He’s built to play the modern game and has second-pair upside. If you can find that type of player 37th overall, that’s nothing short of a draft day success.
Should canucks trade for ho sang ? How long would he last before Lou trades him?
I don’t see Lou Lamoriello and Josh Ho-Sang getting along well in Long Island, no. If the Islanders want to part with their eccentric, productive right winger, then the Canucks should be all too eager to take that “problem” off their hands. Ho-Sang can be a top-six winger at the NHL level as soon as next season, and he’s proven that every time he’s had the chance in the big leagues.
Any idea/guess/rumblings on who has piqued #Canucks interest leading up to the draft, other than the Dobson report a few weeks ago? 2 years ago we heard about Dubois/Juolevi, last year we heard about Glass, Makar, and Elias. Haven't heard a lot this time around. Thanks, JD.
The Canucks are big fans of Boston University winger Brady Tkachuk; based on what I’ve heard, they’d just about sprint up to the podium to select him. I’ve heard mixed reports on University of Michigan defenceman Quinn Hughes. That’s about all that I can offer at this time.
I don’t know if I’d trade up in those circumstances, truthfully. It’s usually a value-negative bet. That said, I wouldn’t begrudge the Canucks if they made that decision either. If they’re trying to move up in the draft, then Sven Baertschi makes sense as a chip worth putting in play.
Think the Canucks stick to their “speed and skill” mantra again this year? Definitely seemed like they valued upside/ceiling over certainty/floor. Really makes me wonder where they have Brady Tkachuk on their list.
I do, yes. As for Tkachuk, see one of my earlier answers on the topic of who they’re interested in at the draft. Suffice to say, Tkachuk is quite high on their list.
And question 2 - Should one of Zadina or Tkachuk fall out of that top 4 and somehow make it to the Canucks.. couldn’t you see someone trying to trade up and blow the Canucks’ socks off to do so? What would be asking for if you were Jimbo?
I could see that happening, yes, and I’d hope the Canucks take advantage of that situation if it presents itself. Then again, if Halifax Mooseheads winger Filip Zadina is there for the Canucks at seventh overall and teams aren’t willing to part with the farm for the privilege, then just draft the guy and count your lucky stars that he was available in the first place.
Yeah, I could see that — the Canucks having interest in New York Rangers forward Kevin Hayes. I’ve always been a fan of his game, but I’ve never contemplated the possibility of his joining the Canucks through a trade.
At first glance, I’m intrigued. The Canucks aren’t going to get a two-way, shutdown centre out of Hayes, but perhaps they can get a middle-six forward with positional versatility and size who can produce offence for them. I’m struggling to see a way the Canucks can make this trade happen though — not in a way that doesn’t hurt their rebuild.
Hey J.D. IMO Hughes, Dobson, Wahlstrom will all be gone by 7. Nucks choice between Bouchard, Boqvist, Tkachuck, Kotkaniemi, Smith. Who do u choose? and if Hanafin straight up for 7 is an option do you do that rather than picking?
This is a tough one. I’d want Jesperi Kotkaniemi if I was going to stand pat with the seventh overall pick, but at that point, it’s hard to say if I wouldn’t feel better off with Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Noah Hanifin.
Does the Montreal/Arizona trader indicate there will be a lot of trades leading up to the draft ?
It’s that time of year — expect to hear a lot more about possible trades in the coming days and then actual trades to materialize as we get closer to the draft itself.
Recently Bob McKenzie tweeted about the possibility of Zadina falling out of the top five. Do you think he has a legitimate of falling to the Canucks at 7?
It’s hard to believe, but Zadina falling to seventh is starting to seem like a distinct possibility.
Mckenzie recently stated on the radio that multiple scouts he polled had Zadina falling out of the top 5 (thanks to Kotkeniemi and multiple d-men (ex. Dobson) pushing him out). If that happens does he make it past Wings at 6? Does Van take him at 7? What is his potential?
Zadina shouldn’t make it out of the top five, but it’s seeming more possible with each passing day. If he gets to the Detroit Red Wings and they pass on him at sixth, they’ve made an egregious mistake — unless Oliver Wahlstrom is there, because that might be a justifiable player to take ahead of Zadina. If he’s there for the Canucks at seven, they have to take him if they hold their pick.
I’m confident that Zadina can step into an NHL lineup as soon as next season and make an impact. He’s the type of player that can develop into a consistent 30-goal scorer at the NHL level.
Kotnekami of walstrom? Dobson or Bouchard? Hughes or boqvist?
Wahlstrom.
Dobson.
Hughes.
Let’s assume dahlin, svechy, Zadina, Hughes, tkachuk, Wahlstrom go in that order. Now realistically it’s between Dobson, Bouchard and potentially boqvist, knowing Canucks need D. Let’s weigh out the options assuming tryamkin makes a comeback, juolevi and stecher to improve.
I’m a strong believer in always taking the best player available, so whether or not Nikita Tryamkin returns or Olli Juolevi and Troy Stecher improve, it really doesn’t matter. I’d take Noah Dobson in this scenario, assuming I couldn’t trade down.
I feel like last year you could have reasonably made a case for Hughes to go second or third overall; in the year prior, probably closer to fifth overall; the one before that, fifth overall too.
What is the likelihood given the unpredictability of picks of 3-11 or so the Canucks wind up picking a D man ? If not a D who’s your best guess forward ?
I have no clue, man. They’ve gone on record saying they won’t let positional priority get in the way of taking the best player available to them. It seems like they might be able to get both birds with one stone, but really, it’s hard to say at this stage.
Who is your dark horse late round pick at the draft?
Now that Alexander Polunin is no longer draft-eligible, I’m going to shift gears to Chicoutimi Sagueneens winger Justin Ducharme (formerly of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan). He didn’t put up a tonne of offence this year, but he was playing so far down the Titan lineup for most of the season. Every now and then I’d see these great combinations of speed and power that suggested he has a lot more to offer. I doubt he’ll get drafted this year, but he’ll be an interesting player to follow.
I don’t think it’s fair to characterize Boston University winger Brady Tkachuk as someone with poor analytics. Tkachuk scored at a decent rate in a difficult league despite surrendering a fair amount of developing time compared to most of his peers. We’re not ready to consider Tkachuk a top-five talent in this space, but top-ten seems about right.
The Coyotes obviously make sense because of the family connection, but I’d think that the Canadiens and Senators seem like they might jump the gun on Tkachuk.
Sautner played great down the stretch for the Canucks, do you see him making the team out of camp next year?
There just isn’t room for Ashton Sautner to crack the Canucks’ defence corps next fall barring a major overhaul this offseason. That said, I could see him being the eighth or ninth defenceman on their depth chart, and that almost certainly means he’ll see game action at some point.
Wahlstrom or Hughes if both available at 7?!
Hughes.
If Canucks trade down a few picks and take Ty Smith plus, would you be a fan of this type of move?
Yes.
Montreal seems to be the wild card this draft. predictions on what they end up doing ?
They either overdraft Kotkaniemi or Tkachuk.
Sorry, but I just don’t have access to that type of information.
I’d like to see the Canucks do a complete overhaul of their jerseys. Bring back the stick-in-rink logo as the full-time jersey, and then do something with a similar colour-template to the Utica Comets third jersey. That’s what I want to see, anyway.
Does the Canucks need a forward more than a defenceman? Via this draft in the first round
Definitely not. The back-end of their prospect pool is looking painfully thin.
I heard a rumour that the Rangers might be interested in Tkachuk. If he falls to the nucks, could you envision the canucks trading back a couple picks and if so, what’s your price? One of their later 1sts would be a dream
If the Canucks can even get a second-round pick in this scenario from the New York Rangers, I’d think that it’s worth the trouble.
What do YOU consider a bust? Never playing in the league vs. not living up to your draft position? I find NHL and NFL fans very much at opposites about this.
It’s all relative. To me, a bust is someone who doesn’t live up to what their talent level suggests they should be. That’s why I’ll probably never consider Jake Virtanen a bust. He might not ever perform like a sixth overall pick, but he never should have been one in the first place. If he continues on his current track, he’ll look more or less like the player I expected coming into his draft year.
What are your favourite wines under $20?
I like whites and reds and stuff.
What players in the NHL do you consider valuable to a team despite poor underlying numbers?
I’ve always had a soft spot for San Jose Sharks winger Mikkel Boedker in spite of his uninspiring underlying numbers.
Do you believe the Washington Capitals winning the Stanley cup has a positive, or a negative effect on the future of Olympic participation. With Ovi and Leonsis being very pro olympics, there must be a level of retrospect on how the olympics could have hindered the cup run.
I don’t think this will have any impact whatsoever on the NHL’s participation in the Olympics.
Late submission, but do you think the oilers would trade their 1st round pick for elder? They need D, and they want to win now
I feel like Alex Edler probably isn’t worth a top ten pick in a trade at this stage in his career. Then there’s the matter of having to convince him to leave Vancouver for Edmonton.
Ben Hutton.
I’ll take the Wahlstrom – Lundkvist duo, please and thank you.
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Vancouver CanucksTeam Cap Summary
Cap Summary
2026-27
2027-28
Projected Cap Hit
$88,011,666
$71,329,167
Projected Cap Space
$15,988,334
$42,170,833
Current Cap Space
$15,988,334
$42,170,833
Active Players
23/23
13/23
Draft Picks
Round
'27
'28
1
1
1
2
2
2
3
1
1