Vancouver Canucks Announce Multi-Year Extension For GM Jim Benning
The Vancouver Canucks have announced a multi-year extension—expected to be three seasons—for GM Jim Benning, keeping the executive in charge for the foreseeable future. In a release, Canucks’ President of Hockey Operations Trevor Linden explained his confidence in Benning:
With Jim’s guidance and leadership we have put the building blocks in place for a bright future. We have strong internal alignment and I am excited to continue working towards our ultimate goal of bringing a Stanley Cup to Vancouver.
Benning has been at the helm for Vancouver since 2014, and has gone down several different paths the last few years. First trading away some established names like Ryan Kesler and Kevin Bieksa, before making some questionable additions like Erik Gudbranson and Loui Eriksson. While his tenure has certainly not been accepted by all parts of the fan base, the start of a sort of rebuild over the last 12 months has Vancouver headed in the right direction.
Last trade deadline, the team dealt Jannik Hansen and Alex Burrows for a pair of interesting prospects, and now they seem poised to have a similar sell-off. Thomas Vanek, Michael Del Zotto and others could be on their way out, as suggested by Linden in a letter to season ticket holders today, when he states that they will be adding some prospects and building towards the future over the next few months.
Moving forward, the next several months will be important as we add even more prospects to our pool and build on the positive steps we have seen this year. We still need to be patient, but I am excited about our journey ahead together.
The Canucks have an exciting pair of young players in Brock Boeser and Bo Horvat, and a supporting cast of solid developing talent. For now, the plan will stay in place with the same man at the wheel, guiding Vancouver through the next part of their rebuild.
Markus Granlund Out Up To Two Months
The injuries keep coming for the Vancouver Canucks, who have lost Sam Gagner, Brendan Gaunce and Chris Tanev recently and dealt with injuries to Bo Horvat and Brandon Sutter earlier in the year—not to mention Derek Dorsett‘s career-ending diagnosis. Now, Rick Dhaliwal of News 1130 reports that Markus Granlund will undergo a surgery on his ankle and is out for seven to eight weeks.
Granlund has been relegated to a checking role for much of the season in Vancouver, and has seen his offensive numbers plummet because of it. The 24-year old forward has just 12 points on the season, a far cry from his 19-goal output a year ago. Interestingly, that may actually benefit the Canucks in the long run.
Vancouver heads into the summer with several restricted free agents—including Granlund—to negotiate with, and will really be deciding the shape of the core going forward. With Granlund eligible for arbitration, another year like 2016-17 would have put him in prime position to demand a hefty long-term deal. Now, coming off a disastrous season, the two sides will likely come together on something more reasonable. Eight weeks would put Granlund out for the remainder of the regular season, and even if he does return for a few games there is little he can do to improve his case.
Minor Transactions: 02/13/18
A busy night in the NHL, with 12 games on tap for tonight. Among them are some huge divisional matchups between St. Louis-Nashville and Philadelphia-New Jersey. Both games could have huge implications on the playoffs, with each team trying to take two points in regulation.
- The St. Louis Blues have recalled Oskar Sundqvist from his conditioning stint ahead of their game. Sundqvist had been a healthy scratch for some time, so was loaned to the San Antonio Rampage to get into some game action. In six games with the AHL club this year, the 23-year old center has six points.
- According to Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers, the Cleveland Monsters have loaned Andre Benoit to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers for the remainder of the season. The veteran defenseman returned from Sweden to play in the AHL this season, where he has five points in 31 games.
- The Colorado Avalanche have sent Andrei Mironov to the AHL, bringing up Duncan Siemens in his spot. Siemens has played just four NHL games so far in his career, despite his high draft position at 11th-overall in 2011. In 45 games with the San Antonio Rampage this season, he has seven points.
- With the Canucks dealing with several injuries, including one to defenseman Chris Tanev, the team has recalled Philip Holm from the minor leagues. Holm was signed last May out of the Swedish Hockey League, and has found immediate success in the AHL with the Utica Comets.
- Marcus Pettersson has been given his first NHL recall, brought up by the Anaheim Ducks in place of the waived Korbinian Holzer. Pettersson, a second-round pick from 2014, is in his first season in North America. In 44 games with the San Diego Gulls, the 6’4″ rangy defenseman has 14 points.
Trade Candidate: Thomas Vanek
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.
New coach, new expectations, but in the end, the Vancouver Canucks don’t look that much different. Vancouver finds themselves in seventh place in the Pacific Division, once again not competing for a playoff spot. The Canucks had higher expectations this year when they decided to add some veteran depth to the team in hopes it might spark their young core to play at a higher level. The team does have hope as they have a large amount of talented young prospects that aren’t too far away from joining the team over the next few years, but they must answer the question if they want to move out veteran scorer Thomas Vanek.
Contract
Vanek is currently finishing up the one-year contract he signed this offseason with Vancouver at $2MM. He will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
2017-18
At age 34, many teams believed that Vanek’s game may have passed him by and many of those teams chose to look elsewhere this offseason. He wasn’t signed until Sept. 1 by Vancouver, but he continues to prove that he can score in this league. He currently has 16 goals in 56 games and has impressed management to the point that they are considering re-signing him to an extension.
While Vanek has been fortunate enough to play on a line with rookie sensation Brock Boeser, the veteran has shown he can still score clutch goals and set up his teammates as well. He is quite versatile and is capable of playing anywhere in the lineup if needed. His lack of speed, however, doesn’t help him.
Season Stats
55 GP, 15 goals, 22 assists, 37 points, -15 rating, 24 PIM, 102 shots, 13:59 ATOI, 44.7 CF%
Potential Suitors
Vanek could have a number of suitors, because of the fact that he won’t be very costly. The Detroit Red Wings, who traded away Vanek at the trade deadline a year ago, only received an average prospect and a third-round pick from the Florida Panthers. So, many teams that are short on salary cap space and picks may find Vanek to be an interesting option, ranging from the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Nashville Predators.
One possibility could be the Boston Bruins, who are desperate for depth on the wings. Vanek might be a good fit to join the Bruins second or even third line and provide even more offense during a playoff run. His penalty killing skills might also be helpful for Boston as well.
Likelihood Of A Trade
It’s more of a 50-50 proposition. The team could easily find a take for Vanek, but will the Canucks get true value for him? Perhaps if the team can get a second-rounder for Vanek, then it might be worth it, but at the same time, there are rumors that Daniel Sedin and his brother Henrik Sedin are considering returning for another year next season. The question then is, should they keep Vanek around for another year.
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Minor Transactions: 2/11/18
With the NFL season over, the NHL seems to have increased their Sunday games from just a handful to a nine-game set today. With a busy weekend, there should be quite a bit of movement on many NHL rosters today.
- The Vancouver Canucks announced they have recalled forward Nikolay Goldobin from the Utica Comets of the AHL. He returns almost a month after he was sent down. The 22-year-old 2014 first-round pick has nine goals and leads the Comets in assists with 21 assists. He has played 14 games for the Canucks this season. He has two goals and two assists, but has averaged just 12:01 of ice time for the NHL club so far this year.
- After losing backup goaltender Malcolm Subban to injury, the Vegas Golden Knights have officially recalled goaltender Manny Lagace from the Chicago Wolves of the AHL, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen. Lagace had his moments earlier this season while starting for Vegas, while both Subban and Marc-Andre Fleury were out. Lagace was 6-6-1 in 14 games. He had his ups and downs as he carries a 3.79 GAA and a .872 save percentage during that time. He has a 2.65 GAA and a .907 save percentage in Chicago.
- The San Jose Sharks made a couple of moves as they have recalled defenseman Tim Heed and Rudolfs Balcers from the San Jose Barracuda. For Heed, this is one of many moves over the last few days. He was sent to the Barracuda on Wednesday, recalled the following day and then sent back to the Barracuda Friday. He played one game for the Barracuda. For the Sharks, the 27-year-old offensive defenseman played in just 27 games this season and has three goals and eight assists. Balcers gets his first call-up to the Sharks. The 20-year-old wing has 12 goals and 31 points this season for the Barracuda.
- The Vegas Golden Knights made a second move for the day as they have recalled forward Paul Thompson, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen. This will be the first time the 29-year-old has been recalled for Vegas as he’s spent the whole season in Chicago of the AHL. In 48 games with the Wolves, Thompson has 14 goals, 26 points and 82 penalty minutes. He did play 21 games with the Florida Panthers last year and had three assists.
- The Minnesota Wild announced they recalled defenseman Nick Seeler from the Iowa Wild of the AHL. The team also announced the have assigned forward Viktor Loov to Iowa. Seeler, 24, has played 49 games for Iowa and has two goals and 10 assists on the year. If he plays Tuesday, it would be his NHL debut. Loov, was just picked up Thursday in a minor trade from New Jersey. The 25-year-old did not get into a Wild game, however. Loov had five goals and 12 assists in 36 games for the Binghampton Devils of the AHL before the trade.
Injury Notes: Granlund, Hendricks, Hutchinson, Elliott
The Vancouver Canucks took another injury hit when they announced that forward Markus Granlund will be out for a month with an ankle injury, which he suffered Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He landed awkwardly on his ankle after being bumped on the boards by Ryan Callahan.
The 24-year-old Granlund was expected to be a big contributor this season after a breakout season last year when he scored 19 goals. However, that hasn’t been the case this year. He has eight goals so far this year in 53 games and has seen less average ice time as he’s seeing almost a minute less than last year.
As reported earlier, the Canucks recalled Nikolay Goldobin from the Utica Comets of the AHL.
- The Winnipeg Jets announced they have activated veteran center Matt Hendricks off of injured reserve and placed goaltender Michael Hutchinson on injured reserve to make room for him. Hendricks, who was signed to a one-year deal this offseason, was out with an upper body injury and has missed the past two games. The team’s fourth-line center, Hendricks has put up a solid season with four goals and eight assists. Hutchinson was placed on IR, retroactive to Feb. 6. He was called up to replace backup Steve Mason, who went down with a concussion. However, Hutchinson himself suffered a concussion in a pre-game skate on that date. Eric Comrie is filling in as an emergency backup.
- The Philadelphia Flyers might be without starting goaltender Brian Elliott again after he had to leave Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury, according to Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi. He actually left the game after the overtime period against Arizona and was replaced by Michal Neuvirth for the shootout. The team only just got Elliott back on Monday from a lower-body injury. Carchidi suspects that the veteran pulled a groin muscle before going down. He will be re-evaluated after tonight’s game against Vegas. The team announced they have recalled Alex Lyons from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to serve as the backup.
Canucks Looking To Move Anders Nilsson
- Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province notes that the Canucks have been looking to move goaltender Anders Nilsson. However, he has had quite the rough season, posting a 3.50 GAA and a .903 SV% in 17 appearances this season and has another year left on his deal with a $2.5MM cap hit. Even though there were four other teams that had interest in him during the summer, it’s hard to imagine those teams will still want him now with the season he is having.
- Botchford also adds that the Predators might be a team to watch for when it comes to winger Thomas Vanek. He reports that Nashville showed interest in him during the summer and that Vanek’s decision may very well have come between them and the Canucks. It’s widely expected that Vancouver will be moving the 34-year-old and he would fit in nicely in a bottom-six role with the Predators if they can reach an agreement on a move.
Canucks Sign Darren Archibald; Call Him Up From AHL
The Vancouver Canucks have rewarded one of their minor league contributors with an NHL contract. The team announced this afternoon that they have signed 27-year-old Darren Archibald to a minimum deal for the remainder of the season. On top of that, they have recalled Archibald from the AHL’s Utica Comets and he may soon make the return to an NHL lineup that few saw coming.
It has been a long, strange path for Archibald, but one that shows that loyalty and hard work pay off. The big, 6’3″ Canadian winger was undrafted out of the OHL, but signed an entry-level contract with Vancouver in 2010. After three years spent mostly back in junior, with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, and with the ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings, Archibald re-upped with the Canucks in 2013-14 and finally got to make his NHL debut. Archibald skated in 16 games with Vancouver that season, an made an impression with his physical play, but failed to make much of a dent on the score sheet with just three points. Archibald spent most of the season and all of the following season down in the minors with the Comets, but then in 2015, he didn’t receive an extension offer from the Canucks. Rather than bolting overseas, Archibald remained committed to Utica and has played on a minor-league deal with the team for each of the past three seasons.
Last year, Archibald found his scoring touch and set a franchise record (albeit for a young franchise) in goals in a season with 23. He entered the year already holding the second-place spot in career games played, goals, and points for Utica and was most penalized Comet in team history. Back when he re-signed with team this summer, we posited that another strong season could earn him another shot at the NHL. With 16 points in 25 contests thus far and a continued physical dominance of the AHL-level – and in some preseason NHL action – that has come to fruition. As much as this could be a kind act by the Canucks towards a loyal veteran player, it is also fairly easy to see Archibald playing a reliable checking line role for the team down the stretch. If the Comets’ alternate captain continues to work hard at the next level, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he could start next season with an NHL contract.
All Options Still Open For Thomas Vanek
When the Vancouver Canucks signed Thomas Vanek late into the offseason, most believed it was a move designed for the trade deadline. Vanek could be given ample opportunity on the rebuilding Canucks, and be sold off to the highest bidder like the previous season. Recently though, there have been rumblings about a potential extension instead, as Vanek has fit in very well in Vancouver and taken on a sort of mentor role with young Brock Boeser. When Rick Dhaliwal of News 1130 caught up with Vanek’s agent he wouldn’t rule any possibility out:
All options are on the table including being traded by Vancouver and re-signing with the Canucks in the summer.
That would seem to be the best option for the Canucks as they continue to try and build up a core for head coach Travis Green to take to the next level. Though Vanek has obviously found chemistry with some of the younger players, his value on the trade market likely outweighs any influence he’d have on them down the stretch.
Vanek was dealt last season for a third-round pick after a similar impressive start to the season with the Detroit Red Wings, only to find a little less room to operate for the Florida Panthers. The 34-year old is making even less money this season and could be added to a team looking for some powerplay help down the stretch, but there is still quite a few red flags in his game.
Never one to be referred to as an elite competitor, Vanek has been called out in the past for a perceived lack of effort at times. Though he’s not a defensive stalwart, 15 goals and 37 points is nothing to overlook. Any acquiring team will have to admit his flaws as well as recognize his strengths, but nothing he’s done in Vancouver has hurt his stock.
Vancouver Canucks Receiving Interest In Ben Hutton
Wednesday: Dhaliwal now reports that the Boston Bruins are one of the teams with interest in Hutton, and that the club had a scout watching the Canucks in Florida last night.
Tuesday: For Vancouver Canucks fans excited by the team’s early season success, the trade deadline will come as a bitter reminder at how far the organization still has to climb. After injuries broke a streak of success in the first few months of the season, Vancouver now finds themselves 28th in the league only ahead of Ottawa, Buffalo and Arizona. They’re obvious sellers as they continue their rebuild and hope to win one of the lottery spots.
Now though they’ll need to decide where the cutoff is for assets that can help them down the road. Can a 24-year old defenseman signed for a reasonable amount next season help them more than another prospect or package of draft picks? That’s the question surrounding Ben Hutton, who according to Rick Dhaliwal of News 1130, is generating a fair amount of interest around the league. Dhaliwal reports that the Canucks are certainly not shopping their young defenseman, but are willing to listen.
Hutton, a fifth-round pick of the Canucks in 2012, has developed into a relatively effective two-way option for the club. Though his career-high of 25 points set as a rookie looks like it might be near the top end of his offensive potential, logging 19-20 solid-if-unspectacular minutes is no small feat.
The decision though is whether Hutton, who is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2019-20 season if he isn’t signed long-term, is a piece to build around on the back end or an asset to flip at some point. Turning 25 in April, there is certainly time for him to contribute to the squad as they try to turn from rebuilding to contending, but if that value can be used more effectively right now he could easily be on the move.
Vancouver has more obvious trade deadline bait in players like Thomas Vanek and Michael Del Zotto, but as teams around the league move away from rentals or short-term options, players like Hutton become even more valuable in trade. If someone out there believes he can improve their blue line right away and for the next few years, the Canucks could decide to pull the trigger. There is certainly enough interest.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images