Canucks Blockbuster coming up soon?
Posted 8:51 PM ET | Comments 10
There are several reasons I believe why the Canucks won't have a blockbuster this year.
1. Cap Space.....yes the Canucks cap space is tight. According to nhlnumbers.com, the Canucks DO HAVE and ONLY 5.367 mil to play around with. Don't forget, in the site, they only has 20 players signed. You need about 22 to 23. So with 2-3 more players, we can assume they are small contracts worth about 600k(?) So thats 1.2-1.8 mil max. Also, Nonis has to save 1.5 mil in cap space for trades or moves during the season. So if you take 5.367 minus 1.5 and 1.8, we will have 2.067 mil.
2.067 mil to deal for a top 6 winger whose salary is 5+ mil? This leads us to my second reason.
2. Can Canucks afford to trade away Ohlund to dump salary? To redirect the question, I will have to ask, will Ohlund waive his NTC (No Trade Clause). The answer is.....not likely.....or very unlikely (He's been a Canucks for a long time, why would he want to leave?)
3. So if Canucks can't trade away Ohlund who else can be traded? Bieska? I wouldn't trade away Bieska....who led the team in scoring for defensemen with 42.....42!!! Thats 1 point every 2 games....very impressive for a sophomore in the NHL. And to add to that, they just signed him to an extension.
So if the Canucks want to trade for Elias......
Mo + Ohlund + extras for Elias + extras
Not happening for reasons above regarding Ohlund.
So in that very same case, (....the recent rumour....) cap wise the Canucks are ABLE to afford St.Louis from Tampa. St. Louis' cap hit is only 5.250....for 4 more years(!) and Ohlund is 3.5.....for 2 years.
On second thought, would it be a good trade for both the Canucks and Tampa Bay on their own standpoint? Can Ohlund withstand the speedy Eastern Conference, or can St. Louis handle the tough and gritty Western Conference?
It is only who they are that made them successful in the very Conference that they are in.
Not that Im just talking about Ohlund for St. Louis....the Canucks will probably have to add in a tad more salary and some blue chip prospect....most likely Corey Schnieder....which once again leads to a question...
How much is Corey worth? Canucks CAN afford to let Corey play one year in the AHL....and if he shines....he'd be worth more than just ONE FIRST ROUNDER aka top 3 foward! What if he slumps? Who knows....
So that trade is also very unlikely.
In many trade proposals....there are always mentions of Morrison to be traded away.....do we have to trade Morrison? He is a very reliable Canucks player...very underrated last year because of his point production, but in the defensive aspect of the game, he has met expectations. Anyways, he does have one more year in his contract....which lowers his value...so the Canucks cannot get a top 6 winger from him unless they pay more.
I know I might be a bit negative that the Canucks won't be able to make any blockbuster deals....but I do hope Im wrong.
But in reality, in a Salary Cap world, any team must IMPROVE FROM WITHIN.
Think about it, we have Edler, Bourdon, Hansen, Grabner, White, Shannon, Balej, Simek, Raymond, Shirokov, Ellington, Rahimi...and the list goes on. There's some pretty decent talent there.....if any of 2-3 of them steps up within the next 24 months, the Canucks are in for a serious cup run.
In any case, any blockbuster deal will alter a team's chemistry.....and puts the GM on the block. Do you want to change the Canucks' chemistry after the season they put up last year?
If Nonis does make a blockbuster deal in the remaining days before training camp....and it goes wrong during the season (like Bertuzzi and Florida). The Canucks will have a very large problem in getting into the playoffs, or at least sticking around after Round 1.
Ron
In response to some of the comments I have received: I definately agree the Canucks need O....but they don't need to get O in the form of a blockbuster deal. Medium sized deals could also get the job done.....and keep the 6 def they have right now while getting more O would be what possibly makes the Canucks shine this year.
1. Cap Space.....yes the Canucks cap space is tight. According to nhlnumbers.com, the Canucks DO HAVE and ONLY 5.367 mil to play around with. Don't forget, in the site, they only has 20 players signed. You need about 22 to 23. So with 2-3 more players, we can assume they are small contracts worth about 600k(?) So thats 1.2-1.8 mil max. Also, Nonis has to save 1.5 mil in cap space for trades or moves during the season. So if you take 5.367 minus 1.5 and 1.8, we will have 2.067 mil.
2.067 mil to deal for a top 6 winger whose salary is 5+ mil? This leads us to my second reason.
2. Can Canucks afford to trade away Ohlund to dump salary? To redirect the question, I will have to ask, will Ohlund waive his NTC (No Trade Clause). The answer is.....not likely.....or very unlikely (He's been a Canucks for a long time, why would he want to leave?)
3. So if Canucks can't trade away Ohlund who else can be traded? Bieska? I wouldn't trade away Bieska....who led the team in scoring for defensemen with 42.....42!!! Thats 1 point every 2 games....very impressive for a sophomore in the NHL. And to add to that, they just signed him to an extension.
So if the Canucks want to trade for Elias......
Mo + Ohlund + extras for Elias + extras
Not happening for reasons above regarding Ohlund.
So in that very same case, (....the recent rumour....) cap wise the Canucks are ABLE to afford St.Louis from Tampa. St. Louis' cap hit is only 5.250....for 4 more years(!) and Ohlund is 3.5.....for 2 years.
On second thought, would it be a good trade for both the Canucks and Tampa Bay on their own standpoint? Can Ohlund withstand the speedy Eastern Conference, or can St. Louis handle the tough and gritty Western Conference?
It is only who they are that made them successful in the very Conference that they are in.
Not that Im just talking about Ohlund for St. Louis....the Canucks will probably have to add in a tad more salary and some blue chip prospect....most likely Corey Schnieder....which once again leads to a question...
How much is Corey worth? Canucks CAN afford to let Corey play one year in the AHL....and if he shines....he'd be worth more than just ONE FIRST ROUNDER aka top 3 foward! What if he slumps? Who knows....
So that trade is also very unlikely.
In many trade proposals....there are always mentions of Morrison to be traded away.....do we have to trade Morrison? He is a very reliable Canucks player...very underrated last year because of his point production, but in the defensive aspect of the game, he has met expectations. Anyways, he does have one more year in his contract....which lowers his value...so the Canucks cannot get a top 6 winger from him unless they pay more.
I know I might be a bit negative that the Canucks won't be able to make any blockbuster deals....but I do hope Im wrong.
But in reality, in a Salary Cap world, any team must IMPROVE FROM WITHIN.
Think about it, we have Edler, Bourdon, Hansen, Grabner, White, Shannon, Balej, Simek, Raymond, Shirokov, Ellington, Rahimi...and the list goes on. There's some pretty decent talent there.....if any of 2-3 of them steps up within the next 24 months, the Canucks are in for a serious cup run.
In any case, any blockbuster deal will alter a team's chemistry.....and puts the GM on the block. Do you want to change the Canucks' chemistry after the season they put up last year?
If Nonis does make a blockbuster deal in the remaining days before training camp....and it goes wrong during the season (like Bertuzzi and Florida). The Canucks will have a very large problem in getting into the playoffs, or at least sticking around after Round 1.
Ron
In response to some of the comments I have received: I definately agree the Canucks need O....but they don't need to get O in the form of a blockbuster deal. Medium sized deals could also get the job done.....and keep the 6 def they have right now while getting more O would be what possibly makes the Canucks shine this year.
No matter what they do.... you can rest assured that you can stick a fork in your club for a good long time
Canucks cannot be happy with their top 6 forwards... if they are, they better hope Loungo can play at the top for a LOOOONG time to make any
Chemistry? You don't have a great team right now, you have a great goaltender and defense. You need O big time, and the Lighting needs D. That's where the trade would come in. the Sedins alone don't seem to be enough- they are just 2 players- two really good players, but that's only 2/3 of one line. In order to go all the way you need to have at least 3 lines that can score.
Hey man,You have made some very good points on this blog. Too bad the bone head Wild and Wings fans can't appreciate it. I think the Canucks will need to get a forward, it does not nave to be a superstar but it will need to be a guy who can put the puck in the net; maybe a Michael Ryder type player or something like that. They don't need a superstar like Elias or St Loius but a guy like that is in the 3 or 4 mil range. I have faith in Nonis and I think he will pull through with something....Hek he got Bobby Lou didn't he!! Nice blog way to keep it real!!!!
I like the comments from the guy in Carolina whose team was no where near the playoffs last year and will be no where near the playoffs this year!!! Thank for coming out!!
Just curious - I know they need MORE offense, so this is out of the question, but would they be "allowed" to trade only one Sedin or do you think they are a package deal? Just wondering...
I think the Sedin twins are pretty much together for there career so the way i look at it they will never have huge contracts for that reason,so you would have to package them or they become career players at a discount.
I agree with the above posts. The canucks have solid goaltending and right now solid defence. We all know that alone could potentially win them a cup. If you trade Ohlund for a offensive player then you have above average goaltending, average defence, still would be below average-average offence. Either way it is a lose lose situation for the canucks. I'm an oiler fan but honestly the Av's and Flames are just more complete at the moment. Oilers are looking way better but there are still alot of need to happens for them.
Great blog. I think it really covers the reality of the trade situation in Vancouver right now. With Nonis' philosophy of building from the net out most people don't really understand that the team was improved this off season and yes, we still have some money to spend. We've added some grit which we really needed, we've got an incredible defense with our current top 6 plus prospects able to fill in with the inevitable injuries, and what most people seem to forget is that we were short some key forwards in the playoffs last year (Kesler and Cooke). Going into this season we're a better team than last year, just not dramatically better like other teams in the league. This blockbuster trade talk over St. Louis is total BS if you ask me.
Hey Xpro...you maybe 19 but you are dead on. No major blockbuster is going to happen and if it does, it will have a price that will negate the addition of O. We all know the Canucks need offence but perhaps a Grabner or a Jaffray might get an opportunity to lpay some O minutes....can't be any worse than the current top 6....