I'm fine with Ian Cole, Sam Lafferty, and Casey DeSmith going. I'll accept Teddy Bleuger going if the deal is not right for what he brings, but Nikita Zadorov and Dakota Joshua would have to be demanding some pretty absurd numbers for me to say "let them go." They're the physical core of the team, and Joshua may be about to break into a middle or even top 6 role next season, and you definitely do not want a guy like him to be another case of "that great player that got away because we wanted that other guy who's half as good." Same for Zadorov as he may be set to break into the top 4 pairings if he can build upon his playoff run. Though with Hughes and Soucey, that would likely mean either him or Soucey having to switch sides to make it work.
Joshua wants 4+ and Zadorov wants 6+, that’s pretty high for a 3rd liner and a bottom pairing D man. I like what both of them bring for sure- just not at that price. lol I think they priced themselves out on purpose, tbh.
I agree 100%. Their play on the ice is only like 1/3rd of their worth. They make everyone on the team play like they’re 2 feet taller. They give the team that confidence and insurance knowing they won’t be pushed around and they’re great in the locker room and with the guys
I'm guessing you're basing that off how much the Canucks slumped in February while Joshua was out of action following his Gordie Howe Hattrick game? And how they recovered from that slump once Joshua was back in the lineup, in spite of Demko being out by then. If so, I'm in full agreement, the Canucks need to play it by the Book of Joshua next season, without a doubt.
@@Seriously_Unserious I was speaking in a general sense, but now that you mention it, the evidence was right there for everyone to see during that stretch.
@@JH-jw7pu I'd rather we keep both. They're the core of our physical presence between them, Joshua from the front, Big Z from the back. The Canucks still have another 14 and a bit mil in cap space to work with. Joshua for 3.5 and Big Z for 4.5 and that still leaves a few mil for some rookies or bargains to fill out the depth. Move any part of Mikheyev's bad contract and it gets even better, maybe even enough to bring in an extra solid front 6 player to flesh out the top of the roster and allow guys like Suter to settle into the 3rd line where he's best suited to be anyways.
💯Joshua's our best forechecker and the physical core of our forwards. I feel he's at a crossroads, where he has the potential to break into the top 6 at some point this coming season if he keeps up with his rate of development. Other then having to take a coffee break to let his hand heal after his Gordie Howe Hattrick, he just kept getting stronger as the season progressed, and so much of what he does isn't something you can measure with a stat, it's character, and his ability to reverse bad momentum, along with his buddy, Conner Garland, and his ability to get his goals at crucial moments that turn around momentum. So much of what Joshua does, in tandem with Garland, is about shifting that momentum to the Canucks' favour and maintaining it when the Canucks already have their momentum. You can't measure that in a stat, but you can observe it in how a player impacts the game and his team. The Canucks were a much worse team in February with Joshua out of the lineup then they were both before and after Joshua's broken hand, with him in the lineup.
If Zadorov, Myers or Joshua doesn't get signed. I'm deleting my franchise mode for Vancouver I started. They need them for the physical aspect of the game. Hudges will be bullied for being 5' 11" Hronek isn't that guy to protect him. You need players to protect the Elias Petterson's. Also sign Silovs.
I'm fine with signing Zodorov and Joshua but they have to be making the proper money for their roster spot. Translation: Don't pay Joshua top 6 money and play him on the 3rd line. I'd also call Zodorov your #3 D-man on your roster, behind Hughes and Hronek. You can't pay him like a #2 guy. That's how you build a dynasty in a cap world.
If the Canucks are going after Guentzel, I think Joshua would be the perfect winger to be parked with Petey and him to form a second line. He provides the toughness that Petey and Guentzel would desperately need, and I think there is still an offensive upside to his game that would easily make him a 20 - 25 goal scorer. With Hronek signed now, I think the chance of Zadorov coming back has drastically gone down. Let's assume Myers is going to return at 3 mil, and the Canucks manage to sign someone like Brenden Dillon to replace Cole at 2.5 mil (he made 3.9 on his last one, so 2.5 is actually a stretch). Zadorov made 3.75 last year, and savings from Myers and Cole gives the Canucks maybe 3.5 mil savings, but 2.8 of that has gone to give Hronek a raise, which would only allow the Canucks to pay Zadorov 4.4. I don't think Zadorov would even be willing to sign for 5, so things do look pretty gloomy there.
Trade Kovacevic for Joshua’s signing rights Vancouver gets a cheap very serviceable RD big body, good passer, strong, Pk, good zone exiting player. Habs get a middle six big body, speedy winger with grit / sandpaper, PK maybe PP2 net front, with scoring touch and can take some faceoffs If Joshua is going to walk, why not get something for him…? Vancouver needs a decent RD and Kovy could log some second pair minutes if needed Trade size for size or maybe an early second round pick.
The Canucks need size and letting Z walk will be a massive mistake! They will never get past the 1st round as they will be decimated by the likes of Colorado, Vegas, Dallas, Florida, etc. Even if the Canucks sign Guentzel they won't be able to retain him when Hronek's contract kicks in.
With Hronek signed, a young top RHD defenseman that is currently difficult to find in the league, Zadorov is no longer a necessity. Full focus should shift to Joshua.
It would be great to keep them both. But push comes to shove I would keep Zadorov.. He is a guy you can't replace. Our defense got us there. They opened the door for the offense. I don't really have a total picture of our cap so I don't know how much we can spend. He said he is still getting better.. Pretty sure Cole is gone. To many smaller guys up front.
This sounds like the opinion of someone who did not watch the regular season. Do not forget that you need to first make the playoffs in order to perform in them
Did you see the difference in how the team slumped when Joshua was out of action most of February following his Gordie Howe Hattrick game's broken hand? And how quickly they recovered when Joshua returned in spite of Demko now being out by then? If nothing else shows how important the Book of Joshua is to the team, that does. I love Big Z and really want him to stay too, but Joshua is the must keep of our middle 6 capable players. I could see him and Garland moving up to the become Pettersson's wing mates and give him that legit pair of wingers who can get it done and good luck anybody trying to push our Pettey around with the Book of Joshua ready to slam them down hard if they try, while also being able to get both those pretty and gritty goals in tight. Garland makes the plays, Joshua makes the space, and Pettersson uses his talent to make it all work, with 2 skilled wingers who can complement his skills as both Joshua and Garland can feed the legendary Pettey 1 timer and Joshua can also provide the screens and back door options to keep the D guessing when Pettey winds up.
@@JH-jw7pu I watched all the games. This team would not have made it as far as it did without defense. Still thought we needed two more forwards that would be a bit more physical. Michaev was not good. Don't want to call him a bum, because I do not know his total circumstance.. And Demko going out did not help. But when the Jets came to town they beat our guys pretty good. Or Philly. Did not play well against a more physical opponent.. And Petey was left on his own. Had no one to play with. Over all we did super with what we had.
Myers seems to be set to go for the 2-3 mil range, which is fair value for what he brings, and for me, I've never really hated Myers as a bad player, except for his disastrous 22-23 season with OEL and the horrible first half of October he had last season. For me it was always just the 6 mil AAV that I felt was double what he was worth. Had Benning signed the guy for 3-4 mil AAV, I'd have been happy with the guy, and the need to bring in OEL to dump other cap problems and replace guys like Tanev lost to bad cap management on deals like Myers, I doubt he'd have even had that bad year at all. That was mostly a build up of low morale and infighting within the team stemming from the fallout of the 2020 off season and so many heart and soul players having to leave.
With still about 17 mil in cap space left, and only 1 big contract and 2 medium contract spots left to fill, and a cap dump move for Mikheyev on the table to free up an additional up to 4.75, no reason why the Canucks can't keep both Joshua and Zedorov, and find bargain replacements for Lafferty and Cole either on the market or from their own system by giving some rookies a chance for the depth players. Could probably even swing keeping Bleuger around if the contract's right.
@@roffew.1065 Yes, but the Canucks do have an advantage. The other teams can't even start talking with him until after July 1, and by then, the Canucks may have already locked him up for the next few years.
The Hronek contract is fine and will probably look better as the cap goes up in then next few years. There is still more than enough money to sign at least one of Joshua or Zadorov (and then Myers, who'll be relatively cheap compared to his previous deal).
Hronek's also ONLY 26 and not even at his prime yet. He's got the talent to get better and work on improving his consistency. Same goes for Pettersson who did all he did with no wingers other then for a bit Hoglander, and one bad knee from about February on so he could no longer carry the dead weight of Mikheyev. Put ANYONE on a line with a guy in the midst of scoring just 1 goal in 61 games, even prime Wayne Greatzky, and you'll see a drop off in production, it's inevitable. That's a bad team building thing, not a Pettersson thing
@@Statsy10 Not to mention Hronek's still only 26 years old and not done improving yet. This deal means the Canucks have Hronek through his prime and into his early veteran years.
