Western Notes: Canucks Defense, Blues, Voynov
The Vancouver Canucks will have two big holes on offense with the losses of Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin. Having been with the club since 1999, the Sedins have always been a source of offense and even though their skills had begun to deteriorate over the past few years, the two still combined for 105 points this past year at age 37. However, offense may not be the Canucks’ biggest need this season as the team has its biggest troubles on their blueline and might need to focus on that this offseason, according to Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre.
The team has a lot of question marks about the blueline with only Erik Gudbranson locked up for any length of time (three years at $4MM AAV). Top defenseman Alexander Edler is on his last season with the team and is already 32. With the team considering possibly trading veteran Chris Tanev who one of their biggest trade chips, there is little to look forward to on defense.
That isn’t the case on offense. The team might have lost the Sedins, but they have a group of prospects who are ready or close to ready to move into the lineup, including Elias Pettersson, Adam Gaudette, Kole Lind, Jonathan Dahlen and Nikolay Goldobin. However, defensive prospects are few and far between in Vancouver. The team has high hopes that 2015 fifth-overall pick Olli Juolevi might be ready to take on a major role with Vancouver next season. Taken ahead of both Mikhail Sergachev and Charlie McAvoy that year, the team has high expectations for him. The team also has the seventh overall pick in this year’s defensive-heavy draft, which should bring aboard another top defenseman to help the team out, although there is talk of the team moving that pick for a more developed pro-prospect instead, such as the rumors of the team wanting to acquire Carolina’s Noah Hanifin.
One possibility that MacIntyre suggests is instead of Hanifin would be to go out and trade for Colorado’s Tyson Barrie, who could find himself on the trade market with the team’s influx of youth on the blueline.
- After a recent report in which St. Louis Blues general manager spoke about how the team wants to acquire a top center this offseason, St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jeff Gordon writes that offers for John Tavares are likely unrealistic, the free agent pool is few and likely to become too high-priced and prospect Robert Thomas would be better off starting as a third-line center to get his feet wet. Despite that, he writes there are several potential trade options for the team if they really wants a realistic option for a second-line center. He suggests that both Tampa Bay Lightning’s Tyler Johnson and Montreal Canadiens’ Alex Galchenyuk would make for good options, especially the latter as Montreal is in need of defense, which St. Louis has plenty of.
- Former Los Angeles Kings defenseman Slava Voynov, who has expressed interest in returning to the NHL after his contract with the Kings was terminated after pleading no contest to a charge stemming from a domestic dispute, supposedly had gained permission to cross the border to the U.S., according to KHL insider Aivis Kalnins, and look for a job in the NHL this offseason. While he is still looking for work in the NHL, NHL.com’s Igor Eronko reports that Voynov received that permission more than a year ago and traveled to the U.S. last summer. No word on whether any team is considering the former King, who played four seasons for them and the past three with SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL. Eronko adds that July 2 is the first day that Voynov can apply for a U.S. work visa.
Canucks’ Pettersson Out For World Championships With Fractured Thumb
The Vancouver Canucks injuries keep coming. After a season in which the team lost several of their key players for chunks of time, including Brock Boeser, Sven Baertschi, Chris Tanev, Markus Granlund and Erik Gudbranson among others, the Canucks now have learned that 2017 first-round pick Elias Pettersson, who was playing for Sweden at the IIHF World Championships in Denmark, will miss the rest of the tournament after suffering an injured thumb against Switzerland today, according to international correspondent Uffe Bodin.
ESPN’s Chris Peters reports the injury is a fractured thumb. It’s a setback for Pettersson, who many expect to join the Canucks next season after a monster rookie season in the SHL last season. The 19-year-old center scored 24 goals and 32 assists in 44 regular season games with Vaxjo. However, he even outdid himself in the SHL playoffs by putting up 10 goals and nine assists in 13 games. Combined, he put up the best rookie season in the SHL in the history of the league.
Still unsigned by the Canucks, there is no word or timetable on how long the injury will take to heal or whether this changes the Canucks plan to bring him to the U.S. after the tournament. It was believed the team intended to bring the youngster over this year and move him to the wing to acclimate him to the NHL. Pettersson was the fifth-overall pick in the 2017 draft last year. In five games so far at the World Championships, he had a goal and two assists.
Erik Gudbranson To Undergo Shoulder Surgery
The Vancouver Canucks have announced that Erik Gudbranson is no longer on the active roster, as he is scheduled for shoulder surgery that will end his season. According to the release, Gudbranson first injured the shoulder on November 22nd, and though he has played since will now have surgery to ensure his long-term health.
This news comes just a month after the Canucks committed to Gudbranson for the next three seasons, signing him to a three-year, $12MM contract extension. The team obviously knew of his injury when going into negotiations, but deemed him valuable enough to keep around anyway. Gudbranson was a trade candidate at the deadline, but an injury like this could have scared off some teams and forced Canucks GM Jim Benning to either sign him to an extension or lose him for nothing on the open market.
Gudbranson is a divisive character in the hockey world, as his skills bring praise from a traditional hockey perspective and ire from the analytical side. Though he gives up possession of the puck regularly, he is generally thought of as tough to play against in his own end and a responsible defensive presence. He’ll finish the season with just five points in 52 games, but is a key penalty killer and ranks third on the team in hits.
While there is no indication how long Gudbranson will be out, having the surgery now likely gives him the best chance at opening the 2018-19 season at full health.
Canucks Extend Defenseman Ashton Sautner
Armed with an extension of his own, Vancouver Canucks GM Jim Benning has security in his future and has shifted his attention beyond 2017-18 to the future of his team. He has already signed defensemen Erik Gudbranson and Alex Biega to extensions in the last month, and now adds another blue liner to his plans moving forward. The Canucks announced this evening that Ashton Sautner has agreed to terms on a new two-year, two-way contract with a cap hit of $675K.
Sautner, 23, was undrafted coming out of the WHL, but after back-to-back impressive campaigns with the Edmonton Oil Kings to cap off his junior career, earned a three-year entry-level deal from Vancouver in 2015. Three years later, Sautner has been a reliable member of the AHL’s Utica Comets. While his offensive totals from his junior days have come down considerably in the pros, his defensive game continues to shine through. Sautner has 11 points through 53 games this season, but more importantly has shown his solid play through a team-leading +12 rating.
A leader in Utica and one of the more experienced players on the Comets’ blue line, Sautner is the next man up for the Canucks. He seems extremely likely to make his NHL debut over the course of these next two years of his extension. In the team release, Benning said of Sautner that “Ashton has developed into a good pro and has shown continual growth over the past three seasons… He has provided stability to the defense and played important minutes in Utica. We’re excited to have him in our organization providing further depth to our blue line.” Those kinds of accolades from the man in charge, especially for a team that has had their fair share of struggles on defense, would seem to indicate that Sautner is in line for a role in Vancouver sooner rather than later.
Vancouver Canucks Sign Erik Gudbranson To Three-Year Extension
After early reports that a deal was close, the Vancouver Canucks officially announced that Erik Gudbranson has signed a three-year extension worth a total of $12MM. A cap hit of $4.0MM will be a raise over his current $3.5MM, and delays his unrestricted free agency until after the 2020-21 season. The contract comes without any trade protection, and the salary is broken down as follows:
- 2018-19: $4.4MM
- 2019-20: $4.6MM
- 2020-21: $3.0MM
Gudbranson is a polarizing figure when it comes to scouting the NHL these days. While more and more small skilled defensemen are entering the league, he remains a throwback to a slower, more physical style. The third-overall pick from 2010, Gudbranson has just 53 points in 380 career games but is a big body that can be used on the penalty kill and hold his own in the defensive zone. Analytical critics may point to his bad (and declining) possession metrics as a point against him, but obviously the Canucks felt he was important enough to lock up.
It’s important to note that Gudbranson was set to be one of the youngest defensemen on the free agent market this summer, and likely would have gotten a similar deal from someone else. His draft pedigree and experience are still seen as positives for teams looking to get a bit stronger on the blue line, and there was interest in him from around the league as the deadline approached.
Unfortunately though, this takes away a potential trade asset for the Canucks in the next week. Vancouver is in the beginning stages of something of a rebuild, with Henrik and Daniel Sedin getting closer to retirement and a new wave of young talent coming through the ranks. Gudbranson could have been used to supplement that young talent with even more draft picks or prospects, though GM Jim Benning was clear that he would surround those players with experience to help them develop.
There is also an argument to be made that Gudbranson still has another level that he’s been kept from due to injury. He’s never been able to complete a full season without facing some injury, and played just 30 games in 2016-17. There are plenty of examples of defensemen taking a step forward in their mid to late twenties, and Gudbranson has only just turned 26. The deal is far from cost prohibitive for the Canucks, especially as it is front loaded and contains zero trade protection.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Erik Gudbranson “Getting Closer” To Extension With Canucks
Tuesday: Bob McKenzie of TSN tweets that the two sides are on track to complete the deal this week, explaining it will be a multi-year contract. McKenzie speculates that the deal will be around three years and $4MM per season, though the exact numbers are still being hammered out.
Monday: Though there has been trade speculation swirling around Vancouver Canucks defenseman Erik Gudbranson for much of the season, GM Jim Benning has also been clear that he would explore an extension with the pending unrestricted free agent. Rick Dhaliwal of News 1130 now reports that those negotiations are going well, stating that they are “getting closer” to signing an extension.
The 26-year old is scheduled to be one of the youngest players on the open market this summer, but has several questions surrounding his game moving forward. While the league continues to get smaller, faster and more skilled, Gudbranson remains as a throwback of sorts to a more physical brand of hockey. The defensive defenseman has just 53 points in 380 career NHL games, but is a force on the ice and is a key penalty killer for the Canucks.
With rumors surrounding Chris Tanev‘s future in Vancouver, the Canucks could be looking for Gudbranson to stay on as that defensive presence. Even if Tanev isn’t traded, the team is clearly happy with the contribution Gudbranson can make, and don’t want to just give him away at the deadline.
Deadline Primer: Vancouver Canucks
With the trade deadline fast approaching, we will be taking a closer look at the situation for each team. Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs? Next up are the Vancouver Canucks.
The Vancouver Canucks found themselves trying to rebuild while continuing to hold onto some of their veteran forwards, namely Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin. The team hoped it could rebuild on the fly this year with new head coach Travis Green and early on, the Canucks started strong, but injuries to key players such as Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi prevented the team from continuing their success. Instead, the Canucks have dropped in the standings and find themselves ready to rebuild for another year.
Record
21-24-6, tied for 6th in Pacific Division
Deadline Status
Seller
Deadline Cap Space
$4.7MM – full-season cap hit, 2/3 retained salary transactions, 45/50 contracts per CapFriendly
Draft Picks
2018: VAN 1st, VAN 2nd, VAN 3rd, VAN 5th, VAN 6th, VAN 7th
2019: VAN 1st, VAN 2nd, VAN 3rd, VAN 4th, VAN 5th, VAN 6th, VAN 7th
Trade Chips
The Canucks have two key trade chips in defenseman Erik Gudbranson and veteran winger Thomas Vanek, but whether the team will move them is unknown. One issue that confuses things is the Sedin twins potential interest in returning for another season next year. If the twins want to come back, the team may be more willing to hang on to their veterans to give the Sedins another year with the potential of making the playoffs.
The team has said they are considering extending Gudbranson, but rumors are that no negotiations have begun, which suggests that Gudbanson is very likely to move to another team unless they start negotiating now. A solid, but unspectacular defenseman, he will never live up to being the third-overall pick in 2010. He would be a quality addition to a team that needs help in that area. If the team wants to move Vanek, they shouldn’t have too much trouble as the 34-year-old Vanek is putting up solid numbers and already has 14 goals. He could be valuable to a team in need of a veteran scorer. In neither case would they be likely
Five Players To Watch For: D Alexander Edler, C Sam Gagner, D Erik Gudbranson, D Christopher Tanev, LW Thomas Vanek
Team Needs
1) Offensive Defensemen: The team truly lacks any offensive defenseman and it shows. Edler, the team’s top scoring defenseman is only the ninth leading scorer on the team. Their power play has little, if any support from their defenseman and the team has few defensive prospects that can put points on the board. A prospect with a good shot and the ability to put the puck in the net might be exactly what the team needs.
2) Prospects/Picks: What Vancouver wants more than anything else is future talent. Vancouver actually has quite a bit of young talent already coming through the system and wouldn’t mind even more. Last year, the team picked up several prospects including Jonathan Dahlen, Nikolay Goldobin and a conditional pick in moving out Alexandre Burrows and Jannik Hansen. If the team can add some picks or another prospect whether it’s an offensive defenseman or more wing help, the team should be better prepared for the future.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Trade Candidate: Erik Gudbranson
With the trade deadline approaching, we will be profiling several players in the weeks ahead that have a good chance to be dealt by February 26th.
The Vancouver Canucks have been a fun story this year, thanks to the emergence of Brock Boeser as a legitimate star in his rookie season. Brand new head coach Travis Green had the team off to a good start before an injury to Bo Horvat seemed to suck all the energy out of his group, who now sit 14th in the Western Conference and in danger of falling completely out of the playoff race. Erik Gudbranson is scheduled to hit free agency as one of the youngest players on the market, meaning the Canucks have a big decision to make in the next few weeks on whether his time is up in Vancouver.
Contract
Gudbranson is on a one-year, $3.5MM contract. He will be a UFA in July, and holds no trade protection.
2017-18
After missing 52 games last season due to wrist surgery, Gudbranson has returned this year to a diminished role. His minutes have been limited, trailing newcomers Michael Del Zotto and Derrick Pouliot in terms of ice time, and has lost his role as one of the teams few key penalty killers.
He was one of the last players in the league to record a point this season, not getting on the scoresheet until December 19th. Lately, he’s been taken out of the lineup thanks to back spasms, not playing since the middle of January.
Still, his rough and tumble game has been well-liked by some in the organization, with GM Jim Benning coming out recently saying that he plays a different—but still necessary—style of game than many of the Canucks other defensemen. The Canucks are still trying to get Gudbranson under contract going forward, meaning despite his offensive struggles he’s clearly not on thin ice with the organization.
Season Stats
32 GP, 1 goals, 2 assists, 3 points, -2 rating, 31 PIM, 29 shots, 17:44 ATOI, 43.0 CF%
Potential Suitors
The market for Gudbranson is difficult to gauge, because it relies heavily on personal opinions about his play style and value to an organization. In almost every front office in the league there will be an analytics department telling the team not to acquire him, but deadline acquisitions are often more about depth and physicality to prepare for the playoffs.
Toronto is often listed as the most likely destination for the defenseman, mostly due to their perceived lack of depth at the position. The team might be changing that notion with the impressive debuts of some young players, and they still have right-handed Roman Polak to fill a similar role.
One interesting possibility, though it most likely won’t come at the trade deadline, is a return to the Florida Panthers. It’s clear that GM Dale Tallon wasn’t pleased with the team trading Gudbranson to Vancouver while he wasn’t in charge, and even tried to get him back in a deal that was eventually blocked by Jason Demers‘ no-trade clause. Though it might take free agency to get him back, the Panthers likely remain one of his biggest fans.
Likelihood Of A Trade
Despite wanting to keep him in Vancouver, the two sides reportedly haven’t begun conversations on an extension yet. Benning has admitted that if a deal can’t be reached by the deadline, he’ll have to seriously consider selling him to the highest bidder, making this a simple time crunch that seems destined for a resolution through trade.
Where Gudbranson ends up is still anyone’s guess, but signing him long-term in Vancouver seems like a mistake as the team continues their rebuild. Even for a modest return, a team as far out of the playoffs as the Canucks will seriously consider moving him to collect another asset, just like the ones they gathered from moving Jannik Hansen and Alex Burrows last year.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Canucks Prefer To Re-Sign Erik Gudbranson
The Vancouver Canucks were in a strange situation this past summer when it came to extending restricted free agent defenseman Erik Gudbranson. After trading away Jared McCann and a pair of draft picks to the Florida Panthers to acquire Gudbranson the off-season prior, the big rearguard was held to just 30 games in 2016-17 due to injury. Still unsure of what kind of player Gudbranson could be in Vancouver but cognizant of what it took to get him, the Canucks gave the 2010 #3 overall pick an identical contract to the one inherited from Florida: one year and $3.5MM. Fast-forward to today, and the situation is still unclear for the Canucks. Gudbranson will now be an unrestricted free agent this off-season and the struggling squad faces pressure to get what they can for him by the trade deadline. However, even in another limited season – having missed 17 games due to injury and suspension – Gudbranson has shown his capable defensive game and, at 26, still has room to grow. So what do they do?
Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre has an idea. MacIntyre spoke to GM Jim Benning, who made it clear that they would like to extend Gudbranson if possible. “I know he’s had some ups and downs, but until he got hurt he was playing well for us. As long as a player can play in today’s game, you’re always going to need a defencemen who can play physical, especially in our division. There’s always going to be room for a guy like that”, Benning stated, summing up the value that Gudbranson brings.
However, an extension is not done yet and the clock is ticking toward the February 26th NHL Trade Deadline. If a deal cannot be struck, the rebuilding Canucks have no choice but to trade Gudbranson and hope that they get a good return for him. Gudbranson’s agent, Mark Guy, said as much in talking to Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal, ackowledging that the season will likely either end with an extension or with a trade. Benning knows that his job may be on the line and needs to get whatever he can for Vancouver’s impending UFA’s. A trade also wouldn’t rule out the team simply bringing Gudbranson back in free agency too, perhaps adding to the intrigue of shipping him out in the next month. Benning may prefer to re-sign Gudbranson, but it still seems like all signs point to a trade.
Western Notes: Sedins, Doughty, Golden Knights, Hyka
Recent comments from Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin suggest the twin brothers are hoping for another year in Vancouver. Already 37 and trending downwards in their career, the struggling Canucks were considered to be sellers at the trade deadline. However, the Sedin twins return also might throw a wrench into general manager Jim Benning‘s deadline plans.
While the team has several key trade chips to move, including veteran scorer Thomas Vanek and defenseman Erik Gudbranson, Benning might be more likely to retain or extend them to surround the Sedin twins with veteran players, according to J.D. Burke of The Athletic (subscription required). The scribe begins by pointing out that the Sedin’s decision will have major implications to the salary cap and the look of the team. The cost to retain both soon-to-be 38-year-old forwards will be about $10MM, estimates Burke, who adds the team would have to make a decision whether to keep Vanek with the team.
If the Sedin’s stay, will Benning look for assets that might benefit the veteran Sedins, rather than focus on the team’s need to rebuild. Benning has often preferred to acquire players, rather than trade for picks. The team has a lot of prospects coming through the system already, but not trading their assets at the deadline could hurt the future of the team down the road as well. No one is saying the Sedin twins shouldn’t come back. They have been with the franchise since they started their careers and should be welcomed, but not at the expense of the team’s future.
- Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty spoke to the media today at the all-star’s media day. According to Los Angeles’ Times writer Helene Elliott, Doughty said that money and term aren’t the only factor in the way he will approach free agency in 2018-19. “I don’t know if a lot of people think our future looks bright but I think our future does as the L.A. Kings organization,” Doughty said. “We’ve got some young guys that aren’t with us yet that will make a difference in a couple years. We still have that core group of guys. I think we’re trending in the right direction and getting back to hopefully where we were a few years back.”
- Yahoo Sports’ Ryan Lambert writes that while the praise that goes towards Vegas Golden Knights general manager George McPhee is well earned, he believes that Vegas’ unbelievable success should fall on the shoulder of all the other teams’ general managers. The scribe writes that if other general managers had done a better job managing their own rosters, the Golden Knights wouldn’t have been able to get better quality players and picks in order to pad their roster in the initial first year. The expansion draft should net expansion team with back-end forwards and defensemen and No. 2 goalies. However, Florida Panther general manager Dave Talon just handed two top-six forwards to Vegas to get rid of the contract of Reilly Smith, while they opted to move on from Jonathan Marchessault because they didn’t believe he could repeat his 30-goal season from last year. The same can be said for the Minnesota Wild, who gave Vegas forward Alex Tuch and Erik Haula in exchange for draft considerations. There were so many draft considerations from plenty of other teams such as the New York Islanders, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Tampa Bay Lightning. Had general managers made better decisions, perhaps the Golden Knights wouldn’t be the top team in the West. Lambert also adds that the team still has 10 draft picks that will fall in the first two rounds over the next three years. Doesn’t look like Vegas is going anywhere.
- Still with the Golden Knights, SinBinVegas tweets that prospect Tomas Hyka, who was scheduled to play in the AHL All-Star game on Jan. 29, has been replaced with T.J. Tynan as Hyka is now listed as “unavailable for the game.” Vegas plays its first game after the all-star break on Jan. 30, suggesting Hyka might get called up instead. The 24-year-old wing, who signed out of the Czech. Republic, has 12 goals and 31 points in 32 games with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves.