2025 Canucks Off-season

[Picker of Cherries]

Depth chart of signed players prior to any UFA signings or trades:

DeBrusk Pettersson Hoglander
Joshua Raty Garland
O’Connor Blugers Sherwood
Karlsson Åman Lekkerimäki

Sasson
Chytil (LTIR)

Hughes Hronek
M. Pettersson Willander
E. Pettersson Myers

Kudryavtsev Mancini

Demko
Lankinen

Off-season priorities:
1. One top six centre to push Raty down to the bottom six.
2. Two top six wingers to push DeBrusk and Hoglander down to the bottom six and Lekkerimaki and Sasson to Abbotsford to cook until they are truly ready.
3. A cheap depth LHD to keep Kudryavtsev cooking in Abbotsford.

[Meds]

Depth chart of signed players prior to any UFA signings or trades:

DeBrusk Pettersson Hoglander
Joshua Raty Garland
O’Connor Blugers Sherwood
Karlsson Åman Lekkerimäki

...

Off-season priorities:
1. One top six centre to push Raty down to the bottom six.
2. Two top six wingers to push DeBrusk and Hoglander down to the bottom six and Lekkerimaki and Sasson to Abbotsford to cook until they are truly ready.
3. A cheap depth LHD to keep Kudryavtsev cooking in Abbotsford.

Hitching our wagon to Pettersson as our 1C going forward is not wise. He should be the piece moved to acquire an actual 1C. Flashes are not enough, and I'd rather have Marner than Pettersson.

DeBrusk is a top-6 winger. He's pushing 25G/50PTs playing on what has been a largely dysfunctional team without a legit top 6 C for most of the season. He's a competent 2nd line winger.

Forbort is fine as a 6/7.

[Hockey Widow]

I think on defence we should be fine. Hronek, Hughes, Pettersson and Myers are the top 4 We have number of youngsters who can step into the bottom pairing. Mancini, Willander, McWard, Pettersson. If anything I think bringing Forbert back is wise. We are a little light on LSD at the moment. If he will sign a 2 year not over 1.8 per I'd bring him back to allow the kids on the left to cook a bit. That still makes room for junior. I'd be moving on from Juulsen. We have 3 guys who can compete and bring what he brings in Mancini, McWard and Willander. Willander in Abbotsford I think is ideal but if he earns a spot out of camp great for us.

Goaltending we should fine but of course that depends upon the health of Demko.

Up front our bottom six is set. Bluger and Sherwood have one year left. Joshua and O'Conner have 2 years left. We have a plethora of players who should be able to fill holes including Garland and Hoglander, Raty and Karrlsson.

Top six goes without saying is where we are in a world of hurt, all starting at centre. Before Chylte got hurt I wasn't sold on him being a top six centre. Now with this last concussion I am even more convinced we should not be relying upon him. We will have to make some hard choices if we want to trade for a true top six centre.

Debrusk has given us everything we wanted and I think is still good for a couple of years. Lekkermaki has shown he will one day be good. Maybe a year too soon but I dont think we have choice but to elevate him next year.

I'd be all for re-signing the Swiss Army knife. Term and cap of course dependent. Boeser I guess if we could get a 5 year term around 7 million I'd be fine with it. I really wanted him traded at the TDD. I don't think the Canucks are hungry to bring him back and as a FA someone will give him 7 years at 8 million. If I was him I'd test FA.

I'd love Marner at under 13 million for 7 years. But he is the prize this off season so I think he will have a ton of suitors. I'd take a chance on Tavares if he would come cheap for 2 years.


I just think that in the trade market we are going to have to give up one of our blue chip prospects to get that elusive centre. Allvin has done a decent job filing the roster with middle 9 type players but not so much in getting us top six. I'm not optimistic.

[Meds]

Debrusk has given us everything we wanted and I think is still good for a couple of years. Lekkermaki has shown he will one day be good. Maybe a year too soon but I dont think we have choice but to elevate him next year.

What I've seen of Lekkermaki is a guy who a legit 1C could turn into a 25G scorer even next year. Think a Joe Thornton type, big puck controller with silky mitts for passing to finishers. Sushi probably has the skill to be a 30 or 40 goal guy in a few years with such a centerman. Pettersson is not that centerman.

I'd be all for re-signing the Swiss Army knife. Term and cap of course dependent. Boeser I guess if we could get a 5 year term around 7 million I'd be fine with it. I really wanted him traded at the TDD. I don't think the Canucks are hungry to bring him back and as a FA someone will give him 7 years at 8 million. If I was him I'd test FA.

I'm starting to think that Boeser's value is not as high as anyone thought. The lack of offers at the TDL. The fact that Pius Suter is a center who will likely score 25G and almost 50PTs could see him more sought after than Brock at this point in free agency. A 3rd line center who can spot up in a pinch and plays 200 feet? They don't grow on trees. I can see someone offering him $4.5M, and it might be us, which will be overpayment, but we don't have a better center in the lineup.

Brock has been playing well, but he doesn't produce points at more than a 55-60 point rate without a legit top-2 middleman.

I'd love Marner at under 13 million for 7 years. But he is the prize this off season so I think he will have a ton of suitors. I'd take a chance on Tavares if he would come cheap for 2 years.

I just think that in the trade market we are going to have to give up one of our blue chip prospects to get that elusive centre. Allvin has done a decent job filing the roster with middle 9 type players but not so much in getting us top six. I'm not optimistic.

Marner has really turned himself into a very effective 200 foot winger who can score. His only question mark is in the post-season, his numbers are Sedin-like really in the way they drop in the post-season. Not crazy bad, just not great.

Ideally the SKYO thread (iirc) idea of Pettersson to Anaheim for McTavish is the unlikely pipe that gets smoked in real life and then Marner is brought in and Brock reasonably retained.

[Picker of Cherries]

DeBrusk gets goals in front of the net and grinds a bit along the wall. He doesn’t pass or carry the puck well. He doesn’t have playmaking vision, so I’d like to see an upgrade in the top six. He is still valuable on the PP in front of the net tipping and jamming pucks but 5 on 5 he is an average grinder. Joshua, especially when he is working his chemistry with Garland, is a better playmaker, and better choice for the top six.

I agree Lekkerimäki has top line upside. He is just relatively very weak and of average speed right now. I think he will become an above average skater maybe next season or the season after, but I’d like to see him win his top six spot than be forced into it because there is no other option.

I think they are going to be keeping Pettersson. Ideally they upgrade two top six winger spots, but yes they could keep DeBrusk, Hoglander or Lekkerimäki (if he earns it) in the top six. Hoglander took steps this season, but he still needs to improve his scoring to be a legitimate top six winger, but he is better at playmaking with others than DeBrusk.

Ideally the forwards end up something like:

TOUGHGUY Pettersson SKILLGUY
Joshua LEGIT2CGUY Garland
DeBrusk Raty Hoglander
O’Connor Blugers Sherwood
Spares: Karlsson Aman

Cooking: Lekkerimäki Sasson

TOUGHGUY: Bennett, Marchant, Benn, Jeannot
SKILLGUY: Marner, Ehlers, Kane, Boeser
LEGIT2CGUY: Tavares, Nelson, Toews, Gourde

Impossible, but best case top six scenario:

Bennet Pettersson Marner
Joshua Tavares Garland

What we should be actually expecting:

DeBrusk Pettersson Lekkerimäki
Joshua Gourde Garland

[Cousin Strawberry]

Is Chytil done? He showed some much needed speed carrying pucks into the zone before getting his bell ring

I think he could still be our 2C freeing up $$$ to add some size and strength to the wings

[Picker of Cherries]

Is Chytil done? He showed some much needed speed carrying pucks into the zone before getting his bell ring

I think he could still be our 2C freeing up $$$ to add some size and strength to the wings

When he was traded, posters on the NYRs boards were saying he was one hit away from being forced to retire. I wouldn’t pencil him in the line-up. It would be great if he could come back and play a full season without a concussion issue, but for roster building discussions, I’d put him in the same category as Poolman or Ferland - hope for the best but expect the worst.

[Chef Boi RD]

Kudos to Cherries for the truest assessment of DeBrusk and Lekkerimaki while others continue to wander the yellow brick road on those two. Our top 6 is a shit show to say the least, let’s be bloody honest here. Boeser comes and goes like a cheap escort at Blobbees adobe. Petey, fuck that’s a complete mystery. Allvin butchered the top 6 to fix the defence, in a weird fashion and gets obsessed with bottom to middle 6 forwards. You win with your horses and we have nothing but pony’s in the top 6. Chytil, who is one hit away from LTIR, is more sizzle than steak, can’t finish. Not a big time top 6 centre. Passable for a 3rd line centre. Optimistic? No. The mushy middle is the reality here.

[Lancer]

Kudos to Cherries for the truest assessment of DeBrusk and Lekkerimaki while others continue to wander the yellow brick road on those two. Our top 6 is a shit show to say the least, let’s be bloody honest here. Boeser comes and goes like a cheap escort at Blobbees adobe. Petey, fuck that’s a complete mystery. Allvin butchered the top 6 to fix the defence, in a weird fashion and gets obsessed with bottom to middle 6 forwards. You win with your horses and we have nothing but pony’s in the top 6. Chytil, who is one hit away from LTIR, is more sizzle than steak, can’t finish. Not a big time top 6 centre. Passable for a 3rd line centre. Optimistic? No. The mushy middle is the reality here.

Both Boeser and DeBrusk are finishers who need someone to get them the puck in a position to score. Management did a good job assembling finishers in the top-6, but there are no play-drivers in the mix. When Petey's on, he's a play driver - gaining the O-zone with control and setting up the play - but he really hasn't been on this season. The only real play-driver on the team is Quinn.

Chtyil could be a play driver; he has the speed and puck control. What he haven't seen is his hockey IQ and playmaking - and we may never see it if his career is done. At this point, his greatest value is in the LTIR space his contract provides. If he experiences a miracle when the playoffs hit, that's gravy. Otherwise, Chytil is a non-option moving forward. The Miller trade is looking more like Miller for MP3 and spare parts. Were it not for MP3's solid play in the top-4, the trade would look ugly.

I suspect management is looking for their next Miller - a guy in his mid-20s who hasn't lit up the league yet but might. Remember he never scored more than 56 points in a season before coming to Vancouver. Somebody like Morgan Frost? Zegras? Glass? Does Montreal let Dach go for a price?

[Chef Boi RD]

MPete, has been “Okay”. IMO, Hughes, Hronek, Soucey, Myers, DPete, Forbert and Mancini with Willander on route were good enough to hold down the fort. There are better options on defence come July 1st than there are centres and MPete was a July 1st option. The NYR pick could’ve been used as a sweetener in a trade involving Boeser to land a top 2 centre like Norris or Cozens. You don’t trade both Horvat and Miller and not get a “legit” centre in return,,especially with Petey struggling since last years all-star game. The whole thing is weird.

[JelloPuddingPop]

What I've seen of Lekkermaki is a guy who a legit 1C could turn into a 25G scorer even next year. Think a Joe Thornton type, big puck controller with silky mitts for passing to finishers. Sushi probably has the skill to be a 30 or 40 goal guy in a few years with such a centerman. Pettersson is not that centerman.

I like this viewpoint - and I would love to see a big, skilled puck distributing centre be brought in. But who is that guy? And what would he cost? I don't see any UFAs that fit this mold. Marner certainly is a great passer - but not big. And no Jumbo in the playoffs.

It really seems Van lacks so much depth, that trading from one position, will only weaken it - just moving pieces around instead of solving problems. Trade a D, for a C - D suddenly looks suspect. Trade Cs for Ds, fixed defense, caused a huge hold in the top 6.

Drafting, and keeping prospects would have been a better way to go - but that baby was thrown out with the bathwater. Hopefully Alvin has a bit of magic up his sleeve.

[Tciso]

It really seems Van lacks so much depth, that trading from one position, will only weaken it - just moving pieces around instead of solving problems. Trade a D, for a C - D suddenly looks suspect. Trade Cs for Ds, fixed defense, caused a huge hold in the top 6.

Every team has this problem. But, we make it worse by trading away too many prospects. Personally, I hope we hang onto all of our true prospects (D-Pete, Mancini, Willander,, Kudrytsev, Mynio, Raty, Lekkerimaki), and our draft picks this summer. If hockey trades open up, take them, but we can't afford to trade 2 or 3 prospects for pieces anymore.

From my perspective, we have just over $14 million (CapWages says $13.3, but they have 3 goalies) to fill in for Forbert, Suter, and Boeser. I'd love to get Forbert back for $1.5x2, and Suter for sub$4 x4. That leaves about $8.5 for Boeser, or the New Boeser/Center, and either Chytl or another $4.4 winger/center depending on his status.

No matter how we slice it, we are short. Outside of EP40, who is being overpaid? The answer is really nobody (OEL <cough>). But, we need to fill out the roster with ELCs ands cheap 2nd contracts, instead of trading them away.

[dangler]

A 1st line center has got to be job number one for Allvin this off-season. I suspect it'll take one of the top prospects and a 1st rd pick to get it done.
I'm ok with that if it's for a legit JT Miller type. No more Chytlls, no half measures. If he can't find said player, hang onto the pick. No more reclamation projects, we've seen how that works out too many times in the last decade.

[Meds]

If we are looking for a 1C then it is Pettersson who has to go.

A 1C is what he is being paid as. We don’t have room for two such salaries on our books, and even if somehow Allvin managed to pry a younger 1C out of another team for picks and prospects, then we’re really in a bind when that guy needs to get paid and we don’t have the option of trading Pettersson to 31 destinations because of his NMC that kicks in July 1.

Cap going up? Great. But so do salary asks from EVERY player, not just the stars.

[Lancer]

It really seems Van lacks so much depth, that trading from one position, will only weaken it - just moving pieces around instead of solving problems. Trade a D, for a C - D suddenly looks suspect. Trade Cs for Ds, fixed defense, caused a huge hold in the top 6.

Drafting, and keeping prospects would have been a better way to go - but that baby was thrown out with the bathwater. Hopefully Alvin has a bit of magic up his sleeve.

The real fly in the ointment was the Miller-Petey thing. If they got along and Miller wasn't 'bad' Miller - even if he suffered a similar production drop as Petey - I don't think the team finds itself in the position of robbing Peter to pay Paul like they are now..

I think management would have gone fishing for a top-4 D with their 1st-rounder. Maybe they don't get the right RHD at the right price and try for the playoffs this year without MP3 or someone similar. Maybe they are okay with waiting until the offseason or seeing of Willander can step in the bottom pairing and move his way up.

Miller going the way he did forced management's hand. Evidently they weren't going to get a replacement for him in trade this season. Folks talking about getting Cozens or Norris need only look at that trade to figure what both sides were looking for in a trade involving either player - and management had nothing of the like to offer. I don't mind that they fixed the blueline with the return on the Miller trade.

Now that the blueline is sorted, with some replacements already in the wings with Willander, Mancini and D-Petey I would argue they're now a little fat. Does management then look to use someone like Hronek, Myers or MP3 as a chip to get that 2C? It goes without saying that the likes of Willander AND D-Petey both have to show they are ready to take those minutes and responsibilities in the top-4 and top-6 respectively before management makes such a move. That said, they could get there by next October with the kids.

Can they wait that long?

Why am I all of a sudden wondering why I even care what kid is available in the 14-16 OA range? The pick likely won't even be Vancouver's by that time.