Today I give my opinion on some recent signings, an update on some more Waiver and PTO news and how this Vancouver Canucks team looks eerily similar to the 2021-22 Blackhawks team.
The Canucks are winless in their first seven games and that got me thinking because there is a lot of similarities could this years Canucks team be the equivalent of last season’s Blackhawks team.
So the Canucks have a 7 games losing streak to start the season and are the only winless team in the NHL and are not playing too well right now and they made a ton of moves to be a better team this year and in my eyes at least this team is very similar to the Blackhawks of last year.
So last year the Blackhawks were coming off just missing the playoffs in the remade divisions in the shortened season and were trying to get better and become a playoff team so in the 2021 offseason they brought in good depth forwards like Gaudette and Khaira as well as signed top 4 D-Men McCabe to a 4 year deal, acquired Marc Andre Fleury and Tyler Johnson via trade for nothing, brought in Caleb Jones from Edmonton and made a blockbuster trade acquiring his brother Seth from Columbus and also sent Zadorov to Calgary due to the blueline additions and were able to sign Seth Jones to a mammoth extension a year before he became a UFA and with the over haul on defence and their bottom six upgraded and some young players in the mix and a better tandem a lot of people had the Blackhawks making the playoffs last year including myself.
But the Blackhawks got off to a awful start last year losing their first nine games going 0-7-2 and were 7-11-2 in their first 20 and could never get out of there hole as acquisitions like Jones and Fleury got off to rocky starts and along with the off ice problems with the Blackhawks and all of the Management changes the Blackhawks went in a hole new direction and wound up going full rebuild as they have now moved on from, since the calendar turned to 2022, Hagel who was a good young forward as well as pending UFA’s Carpenter and Fleury at the deadline, then moved on from DeBrincat and Dach at the draft, let Lankinen, Strome and Kubalik go as UFA’s and rook on added money by acquiring Mrazek from Toronto and Dickinson from Vancouver and now this team looks astonishingly different then it did last year as they have more players like Athanasiou and Domi both offseason acquisitions as well as long time Blackhawks Toews and Kane all in the last year of their contracts and will most likely be moved by this years trade deadline and after all of these moves the Blackhawks are now in full on rebuild mode and are looking to get a high pick in this years deep draft and I think that the Canucks look eerily similar to the Blackhawks of last year.
The Canucks went out and following a season where they finished just a handful of points out of a playoff spot went to try and upgrade the team. They brought back Boudreau on a 1 year contract to remain head coach, went out in free agency and added to a already deep forward group forwards Kuzmenko and Mikheyev, and also got a few depth pieces in Joshua and Lazar in free agency, signed Miller to a max 8 year contract extension a full year before he would’ve been a UFA and also got money and some more defence by moving Dickinson off of a corded forward group to the Blackhawks in exchange for Stillman. Now the Canucks definitely didn’t upgrade as much as Chicago did the year before as the Canucks didn’t swing a blockbuster trade and already have a elite level goalie in Demko but they did make a lot of moves to be a competitive team this year and a lot of people had the Canucks being in the playoff conversation this year including me although I had them missing by a minuscule amount and being ninth in the West but almost identical to the Blackhawks last year the Canucks are the only winless team and have lost 7 in a row and if they lost their next two games in regulation then they will have the exact 0-7-2 record the Hawks opened with last year. Now I think there is still time for Vancouver to turn their season around but if they lose anymore it could be too deep of a hole to come out of but this team looks eerily similar to last seasons Blackhawks and if they can’t turn things around I could see a major overhaul this year and maybe trying to get a pick as low as they can to get Bedard as that was one of the things Chicago didn’t have and that is their own 1RD pick but I would definitely keep my eye on Vancouver because if things get much worse they will probably be forced to make some kind of a change and it could end up being a significant trade possibly or a coaching change but a interesting team to keep your eye on over the next few weeks no doubt.
Here is what has happened with the waiver wire over the past few days.
Cleared Waivers
Minnesota
Andrej Sustr RD (1 year left $.750 Thousand dollars)
Analysis: I am not overly surprised that Sustr wasn’t taken by any teams as he is a good player and can be a solid 3rd pair defensemen but he isn’t the best and I didn’t think he was going to get picked up even though there was probably a small chance he did so I think he should be able to remain in Minnesota and still compete for a roster spot with the Wild either at the NHL or AHL level and continue to be a good depth defensemen for the Wild and he cleared on Saturday and since them there have been crickets on the waiver wire as no one has been placed on Waivers in the last 4 days and we may have to wait a tiny bit longer for more players to be placed on Waivers.
And the there was one.
One of the final two players on a PTO has converted it into a NHL deal and now there is only 1 PTO left.
Center Eric Staal has impressed enough in training camp that he was able to work out a 1 year contract with the Florida Panthers who he went to camp with and the deal will carry a AAV of $.750 Thousand dollars this year and the deal is 1 way. Now this took a little bit longer to get done because of Florida’s cap problems but they were finally able to get Stall under contract as he isn’t the player he used to be and didn’t even play in the NHL last season but he can still be a good bottom six forward for the Panthers especially with their depth lacking and should get into some but not all of the Panthers games and being on the same team as his brother Marc is also great for him and being on a cup contender and I think he will fit in nicely with the Panthers.
With Staal now signed only Anisimov with the Flyers is on a PTO still and that situation should be cleared up soon.
Here is a list of all the NHL signings that have happened between OCT 16th and OCT 20th.
Metro
Atlantic
Pacific
Calgary
Goalie Dan Vladar and the Calgary Flames have agreed to a 2 year contract extension that will carry a AAV of $2.2 Million dollars and the deal is 1 way. Vladar is a good backup for the Flames but plays like an amazing 1A goalie. Vladar is coming off a fantastic season last year where he had a 2.75 GAA and a .906 SV% in 23 games and showed that he could be a solid NHL backup but also looks like he could be a starter in some NHL markets so I think that if he can continue to grow and show he is more of a tandem goalie then a backup then I think this deal will become a great value pickup from the Flames and Vladar should continue to push for more starts and be a great goalie behind Markstrom with the Flames.
Central
Minnesota
Left Winger Michael Milne
who was a 3RD pick in the 2022 draft by the Minnesota Wild has come to terms on his 3 year entry level contract with the Wild that will carry a AAV of $.861 Thousand dollars and the deal is two way. Milne seems like a good prospect and definitely showed that he could be a good NHL player but he is still going to be a few seasons away from making the NHL as he is coming off a 81 point season in 68 games in the WHL next year and while it sounds like he will turn pro this year I still think that he needs a 1 or 2 to develop in the minors but in 2-3 years time I think he could be a good middle six winger for the Wild.
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