On today’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal discussed a fan poll based on confidence in the Vancouver Canucks’ front office and shared their own grades and thoughts.
The Canucks ranked 5th overall on The Athletic’s poll, a stark improvement from the previous year, when they ranked 30th.
Roster Building:
Quads: A-
Harm: A
“The only things that hurt this management regime are the Kuzmenko extension, the Ilya Mikheyev contract in free agency, and the Jack Studnicka trade, which is so insignificant, but when you look at things you don’t like from this regime, the list starts with these,” Quads began.
“If you want to be harsh, you could say spending just over $5 million between Myers and Desharnais on the right side isn’t the best, most efficient use of cap space, but you can live with it,” added Harm.
Cap Management:
Quads: B+
Harm: A-
“I gave them extra credit because they’ve shown an ability to get out of bad contracts,” said Harm. “Getting off Mikheyev was relatively painless considering the price they paid, including Kuzmenko as part of the Lindholm trade, Anthony Beauvillier mid-season, and Tanner Pearson is a big one that I don’t think we talk about enough. To unload him as part of the Casey DeSmith trade and, in one fell swoop, upgrade the backup goalie position and get rid of a player that isn’t in your plans was pretty smart. Dickinson was a hefty price to pay, which isn’t as impressive of a maneuver, but I give them credit for getting off inefficient contracts in those other cases.”
Drafting and Developing:
Both: N/A
“The jury is still out on the drafting,” said Quads. “Let’s see what Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Tom Willander turn into. I like what they’ve done with Lekkerimaki’s development and got him out to Abbotsford, where it seems like he’ll either play in the NHL’s top 6 or, more likely, in Abbotsford’s top 6 until he’s ready for the NHL. There hasn’t been anybody that’s been drafted and developed by them, and you can’t blame them for Podkolzin.”
“There’s nothing to judge yet; it’s too early to look at the results from the draft classes they’re responsible for,” noted Harm. “The 2022 draft, the first one they had, saw Lekkerimaki picked at 15, and he’s trending well. He’s a player that was originally slotted to go higher in the draft. I was a fan of the pick at the time, but a year ago it didn’t look as if it were trending the best. It was a banner year for him last year, though, and you like the trajectory as of right now. Elias Pettersson, their third-round pick that year, is trending well too. In 2023, I don’t know if I would’ve taken Tom Willander at 11, but it’s still too early to say. I would’ve loved Zach Benson there, but I’m not going to judge them on that only one year later.”
Free Agency:
Quads: A-
Harm: A-
“You signed Jake DeBrusk on July 1st, and I think that’s the best free-agent signing made this free-agent period,” Quads asserted.
“Last summer they batted 100%; Soucy, Blueger, Cole, Suter—were all hits, which is rare when you’re in that secondary tier of shopping for mid-range free agents,” Harm added. “I docked points this offseason for the Mikheyev signing, which, of course, didn’t work out.”
Vision:
Quads: A+
Harm: B+
“They arrived here, they said, ‘This is what needs to happen,’ and they made the necessary changes,” said Quads. “They brought in a guy in Rick Tocchet who they thought would turn it around, and they nailed it. You can’t look at their vision and say it’s anything but an A+.”
“My only concern with the state of the Canucks is whether they’ll be able to get to that next level,” Harm questioned. “They’re a really good team now; they have the ability to win a round or two, but can they get to the point where they can realistically win a Stanley Cup with this core? That’s still going to be a significant challenge. You’ve got three more years of Quinn Hughes at under $8 million, which is a tight window to get it done, and they need a lot of things to go right to take that leap from one of the top 5 teams in the West to one of the top 5 contenders in the whole league.”
Overall:
Quads: A-
Harm: A-
Not much was said on the overall grade from the guys, but you can watch the full segment in the video below!
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