Vancouver Canucks

Picking Up the Pieces

Ken Holland wanted to lock up Marian Hossa. He couldn’t do that but before he could get started on Tomas Kopecky, he too jumped ship for Chicago. The Canucks got into the action yesterday, picking up 32-year old Swedish winger Mikael Samuelsson on a three-year, $7.5m contract.

Samuelsson’s a shrewd pick-up by Mike Gillis, no doubt another “best bang for your buck” type player. He’s been consistent throughout his years in Detroit, and while he may have to acclimate himself to a lower talent pool in Vancouver, he still has the ability to score 20 goals as well as log significant minutes on the powerplay. He’s versatile forward that has seen some time at centre, and if Alain Vigneault chooses to use Alex Burrows on the third line, Samuelsson, a natural right winger, can jump on the Sedins’ line. If not, he can line up beside Pavol Demitra and Ryan Kesler as well to even out the scoring.

There’s been a much slower flow through free agency the past two days and that’s expected, but there is still some talent out there if Gillis wants to throw the dice. My guess is that he is for the most part done for the summer, and if anything a lot of the moves will come via trade. With Samuelsson, the Canucks still need either a top nine forward, preferably a centre, and two defensemen. The Canucks don’t have enough cap room to acquire a big name forward, but like Kyle Wellwood last year there will be bargain players later on during the summer. There are still some significant RFAs out there and Gillis is no stranger to the offer sheet.

I will be going on vacation for the weekend so hopefully there will be some more good news once I come back.

Names of interest within a reasonable price range:
C/RW Rob Niedermayer
D James Wisniewski (RFA - Anaheim)
RW Colby Armstrong (RFA - Atlanta)
D Nathan Oystrick (RFA - Atlanta)
D Boris Valabik (RFA - Atlanta)
C/LW Clarke MacArthur
RW Drew Stafford (RFA - Buffalo)
C/RW Dustin Boyd (RFA - Calgary)
F Tuomo Ruutu (RFA - Carolina)
D Dennis Seidenberg
C Colin Fraser (RFA - Chicago)
F Kris Versteeg (RFA - Chicago)
F Jason Williams
D Ole-Kristian Tollefsen
F Jiri Hudler (RFA - Detroit)
F Ville Leino (RFA - Detroit)
W Ales Kotalik
D Steve Eminger
D Marc-Andre Bergeron
C Kyle Chipchura (RFA - Montreal)
C Tomas Plekanec (RFA - Montreal)
D Ville Koistinen
F Andy Hilbert
C Blair Betts
C Brandon Dubinsky (RFA - NY Rangers)
W Ryan Callahan (RFA - NY Rangers)
W Nikolai Zherdev (RFA - NY Rangers)
D Paul Mara
F Mike Comrie
D Andrew Alberts
D Lasse Kukkonen
W Scottie Upshall (RFA - Phoenix)
W Miroslav Satan
W Petr Sykora
C Marcel Goc
C Torrey Mitchell (RFA - San Jose)
D Matt Lashoff (RFA - Tampa Bay)
D Cory Murphy
F Jeremy Williams (RFA - Toronto)
F Alexandre Giroux
D Jeff Schultz (RFA - Washington)
D Milan Jurcina (RFA - Washington)
D Shaone Morrisonn (RFA - Washington)

Names of interest that requires salary cap maneuvering:
D Francois Beauchemin
C/RW Phil Kessel (RFA - Boston)
D Cam Barker (RFA - Chicago)
C Joe Sakic
D Jack Johnson (RFA - Los Angeles)
C Saku Koivu
W Alex Tanguay
C Travis Zajac (RFA - New Jersey)
D Mathieu Schneider
D Derek Morris

Still Hope

Brian Gionta left to re-join Scott Gomez in Montreal. Marian Gaborik bolted East to the Rangers. Chuck Fletcher quickly replaced a talented yet oft-injured winger with another one in Martin Havlat. What do all these wingers have in common? They’re not in Vancouver.

With the belief that the Sedins signed in Vancouver at less than market value, the idea was that Mike Gillis would have enough cap space to make another run at a scoring winger to provide the Canucks with another scoring option. So far that hasn’t materialized and unless the Canucks trade or make offer sheets, it seems very unlikely that they’ll solve that problem through free agency. The organization is of course counting on Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows to build on their great seasons, but I think it’s a reach to expect anything more than 50 goals combined from those two. Despite their production I think they’d be mis-used and mis-labeled as second liners and will not be able to shoulder some of the offensive load. Cody Hodgson, despite all the praise and skill set, can only do so much as a rookie.

I can’t say I was too pleased with how the first day went, but there’s still time left. It’s never reported which other teams were in contention for a certain player’s services, but I felt we could have made as good a run, if not better, than the Habs did for Mike Cammalleri or Brian Gionta. There are plenty of RFAs that remain unsigned, but I really question whether or not Gillis can fill the offensive void left by Mats Sundin. Despite the drop-off in production, Sundin was still a valuable player and while his half-a-point-per-game pace could be easily replaced, I’m not sure his presence can. Opposing defenses often had to decide whether or not they had to check the Sedin line or the Sundin line, and without a formidable presence on the second line I fail to see how the Sedins can capitalize on second or third pairing defensemen.

While I can’t say that a lot of the contracts (Gaborik, Havlat) are good ones, the Wild, Canadiens, and Rangers realized that there’s always a certain amount of risk in free agents. However, the respective franchises showed that they’re not afraid to take risks that could really pay off big time. Ultimately, barring any kind of injury, these are the teams that are going to improve the most. If Gillis has shied away from these players because he has deemed those players aren’t worth the contracts they’ve signed, I agree, but for far too long in the Canucks’ franchise history the organization has opted to go the safe route. As the saying goes, “nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

I’m disappointed in the fact that for the first time in so long, the Canucks have cap space to really go hard after some players for offensive help. The team has not improved for the past couple of seasons and all the moves they’ve made have been lateral. The team doesn’t look any better right now than it did last year and that’s simply not good enough. No matter how you slice it, the Sedins are simply not enough. Whether you believe they’re good first-liners who don’t have nearly enough secondary support, or if you believe they’re great second-liners and that the team lacks a superstar, the conclusion is still the same: this team needs more. The Wild added Havlat and may very well add Saku Koivu as well, while Calgary and Edmonton made improvements in certain areas. This was the season that we showed Roberto Luongo and Canucks fans that we were committed to winning now. So far, Gillis hasn’t sent that message but like I said, there’s still time left.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that the Canucks signed Lawrence Nycholat for a second tour of duty, signed Matt Pope to an entry-level contract, and re-signed Nolan Baumgartner.

Winners and Losers

What financial crisis? More than 30 players signed on the dotted line today, including the Habs who spent more than $80m on the market. Some moves were surprises, others not so much. Here’s a look at who won and who lost, but more importantly, how it affects our beloved Canucks.

For the time being, the Chicago Blackhawks walked away from July 1 hauling in the best forward in Marian Hossa on a monstrous 12-year, $62m contract. Taking a page from Hossa’s “if you can’t beat ‘em…” book, the Hawks dipped into the Detroit roster by signing the big forward as well as Tomas Kopecky. Never mind that the Hawks have to juggle salary next year with Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Duncan Keith are all due for big raises next year, Dale Tallon has assembled a team full of talent that can score goals in a hurry. They’ll be looking good for the 2009-10 season, but who knows what’s going to happen after that. The Hawks are in a salary cap bind but for the moment they look as if they could unseat the Wings from atop the Central Division. I have my doubts about Tallon’s managerial abilities, especially concerning the salary cap, but no doubt the guy can bring in talent in a hurry. The Hawks have plenty of BC boys the Canucks may be more than willing to poach.

The Calgary Flames lost some firepower in Mike Cammalleri, but they got Jay Bouwmeester under wraps which gives them the best defense in the West, bar none. They’ll be tough to play against but they’re up against the cap and missing a top six winger. Like most teams they’re not quite done yet but Darryl Sutter rolled the dice on Bouwmeester and hit the jackpot.

Not to be outdone, the Edmonton Oilers locked up the durable Nikolai Khabibulin for four years at a very reasonable $3.75m per year. He’s an upgrade over Dwayne Roloson and Jeff Deslauriers isn’t quite ready for full-time duty yet, but Steve Tambellini addressed the Oilers’ most pressing issue swiftly and decisively. Now if only the Dany Heatley trade can fall through… Regardless, the Canadian content in the Northwest just got much, much tougher.

The Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t make too much noise on the trade market asides from dealing Pavel Kubina, but you gotta love what Brian Burke is doing slowly. He’s added a lot of size with Mike Komisarek and Garnet Exelby, both physically imposing defensemen with very manageable contracts. He didn’t quite make a splash on the offensive front, but things look pretty good in Toronto, asides from the Colton Orr signing. If they trade away Tomas Kaberle, however, I think it would be a mistake because the Leafs don’t look too mobile right now on the back end. Mike Van Ryn may not be the same after that Milan Lucic hit and Jonas Frogren and Jeff Finger can’t be counted on to make that stretch pass. Kaberle’s name continues to be linked to the Canucks, but I doubt very much we’ll be giving up anything substantial, let alone anything close to the Chris Pronger package.

The most underrated pick-up might have been Washington with Mike Knuble. They missed out on Bill Guerin at the deadline who spurned them for Pittsburgh, but Knuble’s younger and a better skater. Chris Clark managed to pot 30 goals playing alongside Alexander Ovechkin - my bet is that Knuble can do better. His grit and tenacity will give Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom tons of room to operate. I have always hoped that Knuble could come out west. The other under-the-radar move is Minnesota grabbing Greg Zanon, who was third in the league in blocked shots and will make life for Niklas Backstrom much, much easier. I think he’s one of the more underrated defensemen in the league, much better than, say, Johnny Oduya, who many hockey pundits were fawning over. I honestly think Oduya’s skill set was boosted by New Jersey’s system.

The Lightning don’t make a lot of rational moves, but they finally addressed their blueline problem by adding the tough as nails Matt Walker and the dependable Mattias Ohlund to a 7-year contract worth $3.75m per season. Good for Ohlund - while I do disagree with the length of the deal, he has earned it and I’m glad to see he’s getting rewarded after being under appreciated for so long. It’s sad to see this guy go, but the salary cap demanded it and it was inevitable. He will no doubt be a great mentor to Victor Hedman. Best of luck to Mattias.

I’m not sure what Bob Gainey has in mind. First, I was completely dumbstruck by the Scott Gomez trade - he’s a small, play-making centre with limited upside and a humongous contract. He then opts to replace Komisarek by signing the aging Jaroslav Spacek (2009 Jeff Finger Award) and the immobile Hal Gill. I appreciate the need for veteran presence on the blueline and grit and size, but where’s the mobility? Adding Mike Cammalleri doesn’t hurt, but he can’t carry a team and the rest of the roster needs filling out. That’ll be difficult to do since Gainey’s already got $13m+ tied up in two questionable forwards. Don’t forget that the Habs are still only one season removed from finishing tops in the East. Apparently, Gainey thinks its time for a complete roster overhaul. So far, I don’t like what I’m seeing. I still would’ve liked to see Vincent Lecavalier in a Habs jersey. With that Gomez trade you can sure bet that Lecavalier’s salary and contract was not a deterrent in negotiations with Tampa.

The Canucks made a splash by re-signing the Sedins to very affordable 5-year, $30.5m contracts. It’s a shade more than what was previously rumoured and at $6.1m it’s a little on the high side, but the fact that the Sedins took less years outweighs the bad. At that type of money it’s quite a good deal for point-per-game, consistent, and durable players. I still have my doubts about whether the twins can carry the team, but at least Mike Gillis will have the opportunity to hit the reset button five years down the road as opposed to twelve. I’m not sure if the Canucks ever targeted Cammalleri, but I have to say I was a little disappointed when the Habs nabbed him. The Canucks did make a minor splash by signing former Blue Jacket Aaron Rome, but he’s purely for depth purposes and most likely won’t see any regular playing time. There’s still some good names out there worth pursuing so it’s not quite over yet. Marian Gaborik and Brian Gionta remain names of interest.

Fallout

Scott Gomez going to Montreal pretty much ensures that Bob Gainey won’t be pursuing the twins via free agency. He won’t be able to fit all three under the cap and flesh out the rest of his defensive corps. He needs to bring Mike Komisarek back and add some more affordable size to his lineup. That cuts the Sedins’ potential suitors down. The twins won’t have as many options as they think. I imagine Mike Gillis’ latest 5-year, $30m offer is going to sound sweeter and sweeter as free agency progresses.

Jay Bouwmeester was one of the few free agents I wouldn’t have mind the Canucks throwing some big money at, but that’s no longer a viable option now that he has signed with Calgary long-term. The Flames will still have to dump some salary no matter what Darryl Sutter says, but I don’t think it’ll be Dion Phaneuf or Robyn Regehr. Or maybe the Flames just plan on playing the season with 16 skaters again. Either way, the Flames blueline just got tougher to play against.

If the rumours that Dany Heatley going to the Oilers are true, the Northwest Division is going to be tough, especially the Canadian content. The Wild have a lot of holes to fill and the Avs are re-building. The proposed deal has Heatley going to Edmonton for Andrew Cogliano, Dustin Penner, and Ladislav Smid. If the Sens take that put one up for Steve Tambellini. Questions about Heatley’s character aside, he’s a premier sniper who will benefit greatly from playing with Shawn Horcoff and Ales Hemsky. The Sens get a great depth player in Cogliano and a serviceable defenseman in Smid, but Penner’s an absolute liability with his awful work ethic. Bryan Murray must be desperate to not pay Heatley’s $4m bonus to take on Penner and his ridiculous contract. Credit Tambellini for rectifying Kevin Lowe’s big mistake.

Also, congratulations to Ryan Kesler for being named (unsurprisingly) to the US’ Olympic camp roster. I think he’s a lock to make the squad.

Hey-ey-ey, Goodbye?

As July 1 slowly approaches, the Canucks are still not close to re-signing the Sedins. Both JP Barry and Mike Gillis headed to Stockholm to resume contract talks after the draft, but ended up bumping into each other at the airport in perhaps one of the most awkward moments.

Either way, it seems as though Gillis needs to move on to Plan B - that is, replacing the Sedins’ production via free agency or trades, which seems less likely considering the few trade pieces the Canucks possess. There is lots of talk about Marian Gaborik coming to Vancouver, although the possibility of the Sedins walking and then signing the oft-injured Gaborik have incensed some a few observers. Iain MacIntyre makes the Sedins’ imminent departure seem apocalyptic, but personally I don’t share the same view.

There is the belief that to remain competitive, the Canucks would have to replace all of the Sedins’ production this summer. I disagree. There’s no denying that without the Sedins the Canucks would be worse, in part because the odds of replacing their production via free agency is quite low. Gaborik, Marian Hossa, and Mike Cammalleri will all have multiple suitors. Gillis has promised he would be aggressive once again on the market, but Hossa and Gaborik have already turned down very lucrative offers in the past. The crop of free agents this year just isn’t that good, especially if you consider that re-signing the Sedins post-July 1 is unlikely. Right away, that knocks off two of this year’s top 15 free agent forwards.

But before we push the panic button, we should consider the fact that the Sedins took four NHL seasons and one in the SEL to get to where they are. Even if the Canucks fall a bit this upcoming year, they will have a chance to continue to dip into the free agent market in 2010 provided that they leave enough room this year for next year. I don’t believe there should be a hurry to immediately replace all of the Sedins’ 160 points. Rushing into free agency never did any teams any good. There is no simple, short-term fix for the Sedins, but if Gillis does this right, targets the right players for the right price, we could all be better off in the long run.

Draft Review

Mike Gillis stated in an interview that he’d like to add some draft picks and although the Canucks didn’t make any major moves during the weekend, they did make a minor swap with Phoenix for their 187th pick by sending minor leaguer Shaun Heshka packing. The Canucks had a total of seven picks in this year’s draft and selected three forwards, three defensemen, and a goalie, evenly stockpiling the cupboard. Three (four, if you count Price) were taken from the NCAA, two from Sweden, and only one from the CHL.

1st round, 22nd overall: Jordan Schroeder, C - Minnesota, WCHA
- He was ranked 5th among NA skaters at the draft but kept falling and falling due to his small stature at 5′8″. At 175 lbs. he’s quite got a stocky frame which will help him in the NHL, but what impresses scouts the most is his offensive prowess. The Minnesota native is a product of the US Development Program and in his freshmen year was second in scoring for the Golden Gophers with 45 points in 35 games, one less than team leader Ryan Stoa, a senior, who was picked in the second round in 2005 by Colorado. Along with Hodgson, he is one of a handful of forwards Canucks fans can really get excited about and look forward to. Schroeder is the teammate of another Canucks draft pick, Patrick White, selected 25th overall last year.

2nd round, 53rd overall: Anton Rodin, F - Brynas, Swedish Junior
- Ranked 15th among European skaters, the first thing scouts will tell you about Rodin is his skating ability. I have to admit that I don’t konw much about Rodin, other than the fact that we can probably expect to see him on the Swedish squad at the World Junior tournament. Rodin absolutely tore it up in the Swedish junior league, with 29 goals in 37 games. He finished the year with Oskarshamn with the Swedish Tier II league, a step below the SEL. The Canucks have an excellent track record with Swedes and this one could be no different. As a general rule the Swedes do not come over to North America right away, so expect Rodin to make his North American debut further down the road after a couple more years in Sweden.

3rd round, 83rd overall: Kevin Connauton, D - Western Michigan, CCHA
- You may have some trouble finding Connauton in any draft guide, but that’s okay, because the Canucks went off the board with this one and took the smooth-skating defenseman who was ranked 202nd among North American skaters. Obviously the Canucks saw enough in Connauton to take him this high, who is considered one of the best ten freshmen in NCAA hockey after receiving honourable mention to the CCHA All-Rookie team. Connauton is a regular in the Broncos lineup, a rarity consider the seniority in NCAA hockey, and logs anywhere from 20-30 minutes per game.

4th round, 113rd overall: Jeremy Price, D - Nepean, CJHL
- At only 19 but standing 6′1″ and 205 lbs., it seems as though Price is physically mature than his peers. The Canucks took another mobile defenseman from Milton, Ontario, who collected 41 points in 55 games this year. Price is committed to Colgate University next year and we shall get a better view of who this player is. Price was ranked 113th among North American skaters.

5th round, 143 overall: Peter Andersson, D - Frolunda, Swedish Junior
- Like Rodin, Andersson hails from the Swedish junior league. At 6′3″, he’s the tallest Canucks draft pick this year and he could be considered a steal since Andersson is ranked 48th among European skaters. Andersson remained in the junior league this year despite playing one game with Frolunda of the SEL, collecting 8 points in 35 games with 42 PIMs. He is known to be a tad flashy in his own zone and as a result makes some mistakes, but that should be corrected with time, especially for a big defenseman that some scouts note has good offensive instincts.

6th round, 173rd overall: Joe Cannata, G - Merrimack, Hockey East
- Ranked 15th among NA goaltenders, Cannata is the starter for the Merrimack Warriors in the Hockey East division of the NCAA, arguably the toughest, with powerhouses like Boston U, Boston College, UMaine, UNH, and Vermont. Despite posting a losing record of 7-11-4, Cannata was named Merrimack’s Defensive Player of the Year and his goals against of 2.35 and save percentage of 0.918 all rank in the top 25 in the entire NCAA. From scouting reports, Cannata is a technically sound goalie who doesn’t get fazed easily when he lets in a bad goal. He’s great with angles with his big size and very strong at 215 lbs.

7th round, 187th overall: Steven Anthony, LW - Saint John, QMJHL
- Ranked 184th among NA skaters in the final rankings, Anthony was actually ranked 92nd in January. Still only 18, Anthony made the Sea Dogs roster last year and scored 14 points, but made his presence known this year when he made a 34 point improvement. He finished third in scoring with the Sea Dogs after Chris DiDomenico was traded away but Anthony is still a long way from the NHL. Scouts have cautioned against his questionable work ethic and his defensive play, who finished a team-worst -18 this year.

Updates, Updates

So many things to talk about…

Jay Bouwmeester was dealt to Calgary this morning for impending UFA Jordan Leopold and a third rounder. That caught me off guard - it wasn’t much to give up for Bouwmeester’s negotiating rights and at the price I imagine it’s because Gillis didn’t part with any of the four current defensemen under contract. However, all is not lost. Bouwmeester’s agent has announced that Bouwmeester will test the market on July 1, however Calgary will have first dibs in contract talks. The fact that Calgary didn’t shed significant salary to sign Bouwmeester means that Sutter isn’t confident that he’ll be able to get him under contract. If the Flames do sign him, they’ll have to shed even more salary, and that also means that a few key forwards, perhaps Bertuzzi and Cammalleri, won’t be returning. The Pronger trade obviously had its effect, as the Flyers were out of the running for his services once that trade went through, which, by the way, was a hell of a deal for Anaheim.

A lot of scouts saw Jordan Schroeder’s 5′8″ frame as a major setback and that obviously showed at the draft, after the highly touted scoring dynamo dropped to 22. I did not expect Schroeder to drop this far, although in Gillis’ brief interview with James Duthie (ugh), I was right in that the Canucks would be taking a forward. Stefan Elliott dropped to the second round, while Dmitry Kulikov was taking 14th and John Moore was taking right before the Canucks. Schroeder was one of the US’ best forwards at the World Juniors this year and along with Colin Wilson anchored the American offense. He’s got great puck-handling ability and has some great finish. He may be a little too small to play centre in the NHL, but he’s very comfortable playing either wing. The Canucks got a little lucky in this one but hey, I’m not complaining. Carter Ashton and Landon Ferraro, my two guesses, went 29th to Tampa and 32nd to Detroit, respectively.

That Luongo made the draft announcement, despite mispronouncing Schroeder’s name (Shro-der instead of Shray-der), is a sign that he may stay. Negotiations on an extension are in the works, and in the Gillis’ words, they’re going “great.” The Canucks will remain mum on the subject until July 1 when they can announce it, but expect Oh Captain, My Captain to be back in the fold long-term. Luongo received a thunderous applause at the draft from Montreal fans.

No surprises at the draft with Tavares, Hedman, and Duchene going 1-2-3. The Isles sure made a splash and the franchise finally has something to be excited about, although I think Snow and Co. got caught up in the moment and made a trade up to grab Calvin de Haan, which I felt was unnecessary. With 15 000+ packed at the Coliseum, you can’t not make some more noise after the first fifteen minutes of the draft, I guess.

No news coming out of the Sedins negotiations, although it’s been reported that the Sedins have stayed away from the negotiations and it’s mostly JP Barry that has been doing most of the talking. Montreal’s papers are indicating that the Sedins may very well sign with the Habs if nothing gets done, although that would not happen if the Habs deal for Vincent Lecavalier. The package the Habs are offering is reportedly Jaroslav Halak and Chris Higgins… no doubt the Lightning haven’t accepted yet, considering the package Anaheim got for Chris Pronger.

There’s been lots of rumours about goaltending movement in the Northwest, and it’s believed that JS Giguere has submitted a list of teams to Bob Murray that he is willing to be dealt to, and Toronto is on that list, which would re-unite him with Burke and Nonis, although that would mean Toskala would have to be on the move again. Martin Biron has the Avs as his number one destination and the Avs should take him - if they can finally get their minds around the fact that Peter Budaj is not starting material.

Ryane Clowe is still on the block, and the latest rumour has him heading to the Wild, who are expected to lose Marian Gaborik via free agency.

The draft is now in the fifth round, and to recap the Canucks’ picks:

2nd - 53rd - Anton Rodin, Brynas IF Gavle, Swedish Junior League
3rd - 83rd - Kevin Connautron, Western Michigan, NCAA

Notables:

F Landon Ferraro, Red Deer, WHL - 32nd overall, Detroit
F Ryan O’Reilly, Erie, OHL - 33rd, Colorado
F Carl Klingberg, Vastra Frolunda, Swedish Junior - 34th, Atlanta
F Chris Brown, USNDP - 36th, Phoenix
F Drew Shore, USNDP - 44th, Florida
F Jeremy Morin, USNDP - 45th, Atlanta
D Stefan Elliott, Saskatoon, WHL - 49th, Colorado
F Kenny Ryan, USNDP - 50th, Toronto

More on the picks tomorrow.

EDIT: Perhaps I spoke too soon about Bouwmeester, the Flames just re-acquired Brandon Prust from Phoenix in exchange for Jim Vandermeer. Also, there’s some talk about the Canucks wishing to move Schroeder from the NCAA to Everett, who holds his rights. I don’t see why though? Schroeder competes with bigger, stronger, and more mature players in the NCAA and he’s been tearing it up in Minnesota. The only motivation behind this from what I can see is so that management can keep a closer eye on Schroeder.

Skip to My Bobby Lou

Fear not Canucks fans, despite the uncertainty of the Canucks’ future, Roberto Luongo (Oh Captain! My Captain!) looks like he’s going to stay after all.

There was a lot of speculation this summer over Luongo’s plans next summer when he is going to be the most sought after free agent, but it looks like the big payday is going to be some other fortunate individual… but not so fast. Luongo’s new asking price is in the neighbourhood of $8m per year, making him the highest paid goalie in the league, over at least five years. Luongo is looking to be compensated accordingly to his status as the best (arguably) goalie in the league. With the new deal, he would be out-earning the next highest paid goalie (Henrik Lundqvist) by $1.125m. Now in the grand scheme of things, it’s not a huge difference, but $1.125m can also buy you a great third-liner, say, a Max Talbot ($1.05m). It’s even more confounding when Luongo’s agent, Gilles Lupien, wants to make sure the Canucks have cap space to ice a decent team. And how, exactly, Mr. Lupien, will the Canucks do that if they have $8m locked in Luongo? Assuming the Sedins are resigned at their current asking price, that’s already close to $20m locked up in three players. Tack on Alex Burrows and Alex Edler (both re-signed past the 2010-11 season), that’s roughly $25m. A similar amount to that will be required to fill out the rest of the roster which includes at least nine more forwards, five more defensemen, and one backup. That’s assuming the cap doesn’t fall.

I think the price is a little on the high side, and even if Luongo takes another 500k less, it actually makes the cap much more bearable. Hell, even if he took $7m he’d still be the highest paid goalie in the league. If he takes $7m, that would set the benchmark for all future elite goalies, and I don’t think it’s outrageous to suggest that the other 28 GMs and two “cowboys” are hoping Gillis can knock down that number a little bit.

There are also reports that if Luongo agrees to an extension (he can’t officially do so until July 1, same with Kesler), then Cory Schneider is on the block (again). Gillis has made it known that he would like to add some more picks and Schneider can fetch at least a late second rounder. Schneider didn’t improve his stock any when he was called up for a brief period, but he was dynamite in the AHL this year and lead the Moose to the Calder Cup final. If Schneider is moved (there seems to be a lot of rumours about player movement tonight, I’m excited), then it’s likely that Burnaby native Jason LaBarbera will return to back-up Luongo. San Jose is reportedly looking for some goaltending help, although I imagine their need isn’t immediate considering that they still have Evgeni Nabokov, but it’s rumoured that Ryane Clowe is on the block. I’m intrigued - a big winger who can skate and put the puck in the net. I like his game. Why not offer Schneider and a pick for Clowe? I can’t see Pyatt coming back and Clowe is a big, big step up.

Blue Jay

A quick web-surfing of hockey related rumours have suggested that Jay Bouwmeester is headed towards three destinations: Calgary, Vancouver, or Philadelphia. All of them present interesting scenarios but Vancouver has the best shot. They have the cap space and the ice-time for the minutes eater and 2010 candidate.

Calgary has too much salary locked up on defense and I’m assuming that one of either Regehr, Sarich, Vandermeer, or Phaneuf would have to go to Miami. I have a hard time believing it’s either Phaneuf or Regehr, but with Bouwmeester able to command up to $6m, I’m assuming both Sarich and Vandermeer could be part of the package. Philadelphia is pressed up against the cap and they can’t even afford a cheaper Martin Biron, so once again they’d have to part with a key roster player, most likely Joffrey Lupul who has 3 years remaining at $4.25m. The Flyers can go over the cap but dumping salary is easier said than done. Vancouver might have to part with a player, and if it is a defenseman then it’s only one of either Bieksa, Salo, or Edler. Wellwood, Hansen, and O’Brien are the Canucks’ RFAs and they could be included.

I have my doubts as to whether or not Bouwmeester can anchor a defense. Like I’ve said before, he’s always been a secondary player on his team and he lacks the leadership ability. Obviously that isn’t a problem now with Mitchell and Bieksa anchoring the Canucks’ defense, but sooner or later Bouwmeester has to realize that he can’t play 30 minutes and not be a leader on his team. He needs to step up his game - that being said, I like having Bouwmeester on defense because he’s a bona fide defenseman, truly underrated and if he played in a better hockey market he’d get the recognition he deserves. No disrespect to Phaneuf, but even though Bouwmeester may not have as intimidating a skill set, his hockey IQ is much, much better. This is key for all elite defensemen in the NHL.

And who can ever forget the Canucks’ transaction record with Florida?

Mike Babcock’s recently announced coaching staff, Lindy Ruff, Jacques Lemaire, and Ken Hitchcock, will make damn sure Canada’s defensemen remain accountable in their own end and motivated enough to leave everything on the ice. Good news for Luongo.

Housing Markets

In local Vancouver papers today it was reported that Roberto Luongo is building a new home near Merritt, BC, while another non-Canuck NHLer has purchased a home in the Vancouver area. The mystery guest is none other than Marian Gaborik.

I normally don’t put a lot of stock in these things, but it’s not always a sign that can be ignored. Last summer Markus Naslund put up his house for sale, leading to speculation that he was leaving via free agency despite his claims that he was only taking advantage of the housing market.

That Luongo is building a home is encouraging, but it doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll stay. Merritt is some distance from Vancouver, in the Interior just south of Kamloops. Commuting to Vancouver would be time-consuming, so maybe it’s just a summer home? Just pure speculation on my part, of course, but there are plenty of NHLers who make their off-season homes in BC.

However, perhaps the more interesting piece of news is Gaborik’s move to Vancouver. This is not entirely new - there was much speculation last year that Pavol Demitra would sign with Vancouver after given a tour by a couple of the Canucks, which led to more speculation about whether or not it was a preemptive move to lure Gaborik to Vancouver once his contract expires. So far it sure seems that way. It’s common knowledge that Demitra and Gaborik are close friends, and both were dynamite together in Minnesota. Demitra may have lost a step, but remains a skilled offensive forward and Gaborik can only compliment his game. Both come with significant injury risks, but when healthy Gaborik is one of the top forwards in the league.

It’s hard to see Gaborik in a Canucks uniform if the Sedins are re-signed. All signs are pointing towards the Sedins leaving - no contract news have come up after the Sedins’ proposed 12-year offer and the Canucks remain linked to Gaborik, Jay Bouwmeester, and Dany Heatley (who, by the way, named the Canucks as one of the teams he would like to be dealt to - division rivals Edmonton and Minnesota appear to be of no interest to him).

EDIT June 25: Pavol Demitra is denying rumours that Gaborik has bought a house in Vancouver… See? Never put too much stock in this kind of stuff.

EDIT June 26: Luongo looks like he may stay after all…