Offseason plans, The Blues had a bad year which lead them to moving their pending UFA’s at the draft, but they have a good young team and if they can fix a few things and move a top 4 defender, they should be right back in the playoff conversation, while Vancouver is currently above the cap for next year, so they will need to move salary in the offseason and rework the blueline, but if they do that and have a good start I see no reason as to why they shouldn’t compete for a playoff spot next year.
St.Louis Blues
Significant Pending UFA:
RW T.Pitlick 7-9-16 61GP
RW/LW J.Leivo 4-12-16 51GP
RW M.Frk 0-0-0 0GP
LW,RW M.Highmore 0-0-0 2GP
RD S.Santini 0-1-1 4GP
G T.Greiss 7-10-1 REC 3.64 GAA .895 SV%
Significant Pending RFA:
C,LW L.Brown 2-4-6 30GP
LW,RW A.Toropchenko 10-9-19 69GP
C,RW A.Gaudette 0-0-0 0GP
LD S.Perunovich 0-0-0 0GP
LD D.Samorukov 0-0-0 2GP
LD/RD T.Tucker 1-3-4 26GP
Current draft capital for Blues in 2023: 9
1RD ST.L, DAL, TOR
3RD ST.L, OTT
4RD ST.L
5RD ST.L
6RD ST.L
7RD ST.L
Why did the Blues miss the playoffs: the Blues came into the season with high expectations and most people including myself thought that they would probably be a top 3 team this year and easily make the playoffs, but they would up finishing bottom 10 in the NHL this year and traded a lot of their pending UFA’s at the deadline, and I would definitely say there are a few reasons I think as to why the Blues not only missed the playoffs, but why they finished so close to the bottom.
So first I would say one of the reasons they didn’t make the playoffs would be because of the Blues slow start to the season, as after opening the season with 3 straight wins the team fell 5 games under .500 after a 8 game losing streak and even though they closed the gap a little bit they were still three games under .500 at the 28 game mark being 12-15-1 at that point and they never really recovered from that awful start as they were able to reduce the game they were under .500 by the end of the season to a measly 1 game under .500 as they only finished the season 37-38-7 for 81 points but I think had they not had that bad of a start and maybe went 3-5 in that 8 game losing streak or played better later and maybe had a bit more confidence early in the season I think they could’ve maybe overcame the slow start, but just with the 8 game losing streak I think that took a ton of confidence out of the team and they were never really able to overcome that defect at the start of the year and was definitely one of the reasons the team missed the playoffs.
Next up would be the fact that the Blues did have a couple of injuries that were challenging for them to overcome throughout the season. Now the Blues had injuries to start the season as both Perunovich and Scandella who were supposed to be good defenders and help that defence by good this year both sustained long term injuries before training camp and were out for most of the season, as Perunovich finished the season in the AHL after recovering from his injury and it wasn’t a great season from him, while Scandella who is a good 3rd pair defensemen only played in 20 games after recovering from his injury, and those weren’t the only injuries, as Krug missed 19 games in the middle of the season due to a injury and that really hurt their defence for a bit, on the forward group key forwards Thomas and Buchnevich missed 9 and 19 games respectively which did hurt their offense a bit, before being traded both O’Reilly and Tarasenko missed time as O’Reilly only played 40 games and Tarasenko 38 games before those two were moved, and they also had a couple of other injuries to some other players as well and with all of the injuries it really did hurt the team as the team was one of the worst teams in the NHL defensively this season and I think a big reason as to why they didn’t do to well defensively was due to the fact that solid defenders in Scandella and Perunovich missed the first 3/4 of the season and when a guy like Krug went down that depth was just depleted and I don’t think they really were able to overcome that as well as the injuries that key forwards suffered so I definitely feel that the injuries that happened to the Blues were another reason the team wasn’t able to make the playoffs this year and why they did so bad defensively.
And the final reason I don’t think they did too well this year would be the fact that they never really replaced to key free agent loses in the offseason. Now the Blues didn’t go to the cup final last year but were able to make it to round two and give Colorado a run for their money, but they wound up losing two key pieces of that team in the offseason and they never really replaced them and that is another reason I think they didn’t do well this year. Now first was David Perron, now Perron was a extremely good middle six forward in St.Louis, as he had been there for a few years now and helped them win the cup in 2019 and had 3 consecutive 55+ point seasons with the team before leaving and was a really underrated piece on the Blues and they never really replaced him, (only bringing in a couple of bottom six forwards), and I think the loss of Perron really hurt the team as his production last year wasn’t replaced this year, and he played with O’Reilly the past couple of seasons and this year O’Reilly didn’t have a good offensive season, so I think the loss of Perron hurt this team
As well as Husso, now Husso was another horrible loss in the offseason for the Blues, as Husso was a UFA and they didn’t have enough money to bring him back so they moved him to Detroit for a 3rd round pick and brought in Griess, and I think Husso was definitely missing from the team this year as even though they had some defensive issues this year, I think with Husso they would’ve been okay, but instead of last year when the team was able to play Husso and Binnington in a tandem and give Binnington some nights off, they wound up playing Binnington more nights then Griess as Griess is more of a backup, and I think playing more this year instead of being in a tandem really didn’t work well for Binnington this year and was why he played so poorly this season, so instead of splitting time with Husso like last year, Binnington got a majority of the starts and I don’t think Binnington Ivan play well unless he gets some nights off, and while Griess is going to be gone they have young Hofer coming in next year who will most likely be backup next year as well, so with Binnington not having a player like Husso this year to take some weight off of his shoulders, and the Blues depth scoring drying up a bit with the loss of Perron, those two things are the other reason I don’t think the Blues did good this year and I think that is why Bonn was awful in Net and the blues were one of the worst defensive teams, and why they had to rely on guys like Kyrou, Thomas and Buchnevich so much for their offense.
So in my eyes the Blues poor start at the beginning of the season, their injuries especially to defensive players, and the loss of Perron and Husso in the offseason and not replacing them were 3 key reasons why I think the Blues missed the playoffs and were a bottom 10 team in the NHL and bottom 5 defensively, but they have a good core group there and I think there is a couple of ways for them to improve in the offseason.
5 ways of how the Blues can improve in the offseason.
.1) Move one of their top 4 defenders.
Now before the deadline the Blues made a couple of moves to their forward group, bringing in guys who weren’t doing to well like Kapanen and Vrana and moving out pending UFA’s such as O’Reilly, Tarasenko, Barbashev, Acciari and Mikkola but besides from moving on from Mikkola, they didn’t do anything to their defensive group and the defence was one of their worst positions last year, so a lot of people are expecting the Blues to move on from at least one of their top 4 defensemen.
Now at some points in the offseason there were rumours that the Blues were shopping defender Krug and then before the deadline there were rumours that both Krug and Parayko were both being discussed as possible trade chips for the Blues but neither wound up being moved by the deadline so the Blues really left that defence rather intact while they made plenty of moves at forward around the deadline, but it does make sense they will try to rework that defence in the offseason. Now of their 4 solid top 4 defensemen, I think Faulk is the least likely to be moved as he had a extremely good season this past year putting up a astounding 50 points in 82 games including 11 goals and was a very productive and effective top 4 defender and given the fact that not only will the Blues want to keep some of their defenders around but they also want to compete in the not too distant future, I think holding onto Faulk would be the right move but I do think anyone of the other 3 defenders could be moved.
The easiest one to move would probably be Leddy, who only had a $4 Million dollar cap hit for the next 3 seasons and was still productive last year, but he is also the oldest and doesn’t have as much offensive upside as the other two so while I do think Leddy would be considered to be traded, I would expect him to also probably remain, which would mean that they would most likely move one of Parayko or Krug. Now both are good offensive defensemen who have a really good ability to put up points but didn’t have a good season last year as Parayko had 27 points and Krug had 32 and I think both can do better then that, now they both also make the exact same amount of money as both have a $6.5 Million dollar cap hit but the difference is that Parayko has 7 years on his contract whereas Krug only has 4, Krug is also a smaller and more mobile defender while Parayko is a bigger defensemen and can use his side to his advantage. So I do feel that one of these two defensemen will be moved as I could see them try to get a short term option on the team to help them in the top 4 and long term I think a guy like Scott Perunovich will take a top 4 role on that team, so I think at least one gets moved, and in my opinion I would think Parayko is the more likely as he is cost controlled for the next couple of seasons and I think would instantly upgrade any teams top 4 on the blueline but I could also see Krug getting moved as well, so in my eyes I do think one of Leddy, Krug or Parayko will be moved in the offseason and I would go with Parayko, but I could see either of the other two also be moved and leave a comment stating which of these 3 defenders you think will be moved in the offseason.
.2) Move one of their 1RD picks for a young player.
Now the Blues were able to compile some 1st round draft selections for this years draft after moving on from O’Reilly and Tarasenko, but even though they currently have 3 1st round picks this year, there are a lot of people out there who think the Blues will use one of those draft selections on a young player and trade the first round pick away.
Now around the deadline the Blues new they were going to miss the playoffs and moved some pending UFA’s from the team including bigger names such as Barbashev, Tarasenko and O’Reilly, and in the O’Reilly and Tarasenko trades, they were able to get some 1RD picks in this year deep draft, as they got the Maple Leafs first round pick which is now locked in at 26th and they will also get the Stars first round pick that the Rangers had previously acquired in the Tarasenko trade and that pick will either be 23rd overall if they lose later tonight to the Kraken or if they win then somewhere between the 29th and 32nd pick, so both picks they got in those trades are going to be late 1st round picks, but after acquiring those picks before the trade deadline past there was some speculation that the Blues were using those two picks as trade bait in a attempt to get a good young player like Meier or Chychrun, now they didn’t get either as Ottawa got Chychrun and Meier went to New Jersey, but the reason the Blues wound up trying to move one or both of those picks for young NHL players would be the fact that they have a young core with guys like Kyrou, Buchnevich and Thomas being their core right now, and adding one or two young players to the mix who are around the same age and haven’t hit their prime yet would boost St.Louis odds of making the playoffs soon. So while they didn’t get a young player at the deadline, I could see them use either Toronto’s or Dallas pick to get a young player before the draft passes, and while I do think they could benefit from adding a solid top 6 forward, maybe even a Center, I do wonder if they would try and target someone on the backend to maybe replace that top 4 defender they wind up trading, but I just think this team isn’t to far away from competing for the playoffs again even as early as next year, and using a 1RD pick in this years deep draft to acquire a good young forward who is around Kyrou or Thomas age and could step in next year and help their team long term I think would be a smart move, but comment down below which young player you think they should target.
James Guillory USA Today Sports
.3) Figure out if Binnington is their long term goalie or if Hofer is.
Now another area the Blues will need to figure out in the offseason would be there goaltending, as the team needs to have some clarity on who they are going with moving forward.
Now Binnington has been the Blues starting goalie for the past few seasons, ever since he helped the team get out of the Western Confrence basement and help them win the Stanley Cup back in the 18-19 season, but ever since the amazing play and that cup run, Binnington’s numbers have slowly started to decline. Now following the Stanley Cup Winning season in 19, Binnington followed that up with two solid seasons afterwards, and while they weren’t to the level of his first year, they were still quite productive averaging a .911 SV% and a 2.61 GAA in 92 games over those two seasons and the Blues were willing to give him a long term extension with a $6 Million dollar AAV, but in the past couple of years his play has dropped, as in 37 games last year he did alright, putting up a 3.13 GAA and a .901 SV% and lost the starting job to Husso who was his tandem partner last year before retaking the role in the playoffs, but Husso really saved the Blues, and then after losing Husso in free agency last year, the Blues brought in a more natural backup in Griess and Binnington played a majority of the game getting into 61 games but only had a 3.31 GAA and a .894 SV% and looked really distracted at times this year, and now I wonder if they view him as a NHL starter at this point.
Now Binnington still has 4 years left on his contract and I think it would be extremely hard to move it, so for the time being I would think he remains, and they have young Joel Hofer signed for a couple of season and looks to be the goalie of the future in St.Louis after having some really phenomenal seasons in the AHL over the past few seasons. So in my eyes they would most likely role with a Binnington-Hofer tandem next year and hope that Hofer can challenge Binnington to do well just like Husso did last year, and hope that this push is exactly what Binnington needs, but I also wouldn’t be shocked if the team was listening on Binnington and willing to entertain a deal for the high priced goalie, so in my eyes I think Binnington stays in St.Louis one more season to play with Hofer, but i think he could definitely be moved in the next year or two and it would be surprise me if they might consider moving him this year, but I think Hofer is the starter in a few years time they will have him be starter going forward.
.4) Maybe bring in a few more reclamation projects.
Now before the deadline past the Blues brought in two good forwards who were not doing the best with their current teams, and that was Kapanen in Pittsburgh and Vrana in Detroit, and after being added to St.Louis this two both popped off, and I think with how well this two did the Blues should try and find some more reclamation projects in the offseason.
Now I think it is safe to say that both Vrana and Kapanen had benefited from the fresh start in St.Louis, as both were able to fit in well in the top 9 for the Blues and after being acquired really showed their offensive potential, as after going through the NHLPA assistance program and spilling some time between the NHL and AHL and only having 2 points in 5 NHL games, Vrana went to St.Louis and put up 10 goals and 14 points in 20 games and showed his goal scoring ability in St.Louis, while Kapanen had not fit in well on the 3rd line in Pittsburgh and the Blues claimed him off of waivers, and after having 20 points in 43 games with the Penguins, he really flipped his game around with St.Louis getting one more goal with St.Louis then he did his entire time with Pittsburgh this year, getting 8 goals and 14 points in 23 games this past year, and really fit in well with the Blues, and I think after both these guys fit in so well after the deadline, the team should try to acquire one or two more reclamation projects in the offseason. Now I don’t have any specific players here (if you have any who you think would fit in well with St.Louis comment it down below), but I could see them maybe being in a player in free agency who had a down year this season and wouldn’t cost much to sign and maybe bring him in, or if there is a player with another team who seems like he could benefit from a fresh start, then I think St.Louis should definitely be interested in acquiring them and I wouldn’t be surprised if they looked at both the defensive and forward market, but I think with Kapanen and Vrana benefiting a to. From the change of scenery in St.Louis, I think the Blues should continue to look out for other reclamation projects they can nab in the offseason.
.5) Give young guys like Neighbours, Bolduc and Perunovich more NHL playing time.
Now the Blues were supposed to have some of their younger players come in and replace some of the players they lost in free agency such as Perron and Husso, but Hofer got some much needed development time in the AHL, Neighbours bounced between the NHL and AHL, and Perunovich was injured for most of the season, but I think all 3 of these players plus maybe even some other prospects are going to have to take the next step and play consistent NHL minutes next year.
Now this year Neighbours and Perunovich were supposed to take strides to becoming regular NHL players, but Perunovich suffered a shoulder injury and missed 3/4 of the season due to it, and was then sent to the AHL where he had 2 goals and a solid 20 points in 22 games to finish the season and he looked really good, and for Neighbours he did deal with a couple of injuries too, but not as much as Perunovich had, and he still got into quite a few NHL games last year playing in 43 games and putting up 6 goals and 10 points which is a far cry from helping replace Perron’s production, but I think both of these guys will be NHL players next year, as I think Perunovich, who will need a new contract in the offseason being a RFA should start next year on the 3rd pair and maybe play with a guy like Bortuzzo to start the season and I wouldn’t be surprised if by the end of the year he is a solid top 4 defender with the Blues putting up points, while I expect Neighbours to take those next strides and remain in the NHL the entire season next year and even though I don’t think he will be able to replace the production that Perron had with the team over the past few years, I still think he could be a really good depth scorer for the Blues, so in my eyes I see Perunovich starting on the 3rd pair and Neighbours on the 3rd line as good young players and it wouldn’t surprise me if they moved up in the lineup by the end of the year.
As for Hofer I think he benefited dearly from playing in the minors this year and not only was he able to earn a cheap 2 year contract extension with St.Louis, but he looked brilliant in the AHL and looks like he is NHL ready and should play with Binnington next season either as a tandem goalie or the backup and eventually should be able to take the starting job from Binnington. And then the Blues also have two young Center’s who I think they should at least consider bringing in to play on the roster in training camp. Now both Zach Dean and Zachary Bolduc are the best prospects the Blues have right now signed to their team and they both look like they could eventually be top 6 Center’s for the Blues. Now both were coming off of stellar seasons in the QMJHL with Dean having 70 and Bolduc having 110 points and I think both have a shot to make the team this year, both were 1st round picks back in 2021, Bolduc was taken 17th overall and Dean was selected 30th by Vegas and then dealt to St.Louis in the Barbashev trade, and both look really good, but I would expect one to make the team maybe as the 3rd line Center while I would think the other continues his development in the AHL and if I had to guess I would think that Bolduc is the one to make the NHL this year, but I could also Dean make it as well. So I think giving calme more playing time to their young players would help the Blues a lot, and guys like Neighbours, Perunovich, Hofer and one of Dean/Bolduc should play consistent NHL minutes this year.
So in my eyes they will need to move a top 4 defensemen whether it be Parayko, Leddy or Krug, use one of their low end 1RD picks to acquire a good young player who fits in with the core group, most likely run with a Binnington-Hofer tandem in net next year and Binnington could possibly be moved, they should also continue to find reclamation projects just like they did with Kapanen and Vrana, and they should also give younger players more playing time such as Perunovich and Neighbours, and I think if the Blues were to do this and make a few important changes in the offseason, I could definitely see them making the playoffs next year again, so they had a bad season this year but with a few changes they should be a playoff team.
If you liked this blog post, then check out my YouTube video on the Blues offseason here. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q3lTq5sdRE8
Vancouver Canucks
Significant Pending UFA:
C,LW J.Dowling 0-0-0 0GP
LD/RD K.Burroughs 2-3-5 48GP
RD N.Juulsen 0-0-0 12GP
G C.Delia 10-6-0 REC 3.28 GAA .882 SV%
Significant Pending RFA:
LW,RW N.Hoglander 3-6-9 25GP
LW,RW V.Kravtsov 4-4-8 44GP
RD E.Bear 3-13-16 61GP
LD/RD T.Dermott 1-0-1 11GP
LD A.Hirose 0-3-3 7GP
RD J.Woo 0-0-0 0GP
Current draft capital for the Canucks in 2023: 7
1RD VAN
3RD VAN, TOR
4RD DET, VAN, NYR
6RD VAN
Why did the Canucks miss the playoffs: the Canucks were a team I had missing the playoffs before the season started but just barely and I think a couple of people even had them making the playoffs this year, but things took a turn for the worst early in the season that led them to firing their coach and trading their captain and had them finishing 6th lowest in the west and 11th lowest in the league and if not for a strong push towards the end of the year they would have finished much lower in the standings then 11th overall, and there were definitely some big reasons I think as to why the Canucks season finished so poorly and went askew so quickly.
Now the first problem I would say would be the poor defensive play they had this season. Now the Canucks wound up finishing in the bottom 0 at 9th lowest in the goals against department and if not for better play toward the end of the season the team would have for sure been in the bottom 5 of the league to finish the season, now first would be the goaltender as Demko played in the first quarter of the season but was nowhere close to the level of play he had the prior year as his numbers were awful and then he got injured and would missed the middle of the season due to injuries, and their other three goaltenders in Martin, Delia and Silovs did well but were not able to help stabilize the team like we know Demko can do so not having their starting goaltender for the middle of the season coupled with Demko’s bad start had the Canucks not getting the key saves they needed to get wins this year, and then on defence while they did have some good play from some of their defenders such as Hughes, Schenn before he was dealt and Bear, as well as the young guys who got a late look in Hirose and McWard, but there were other players who didn’t play well this year such as Myers who didn’t have a good season, OEL also didn’t play too well in his 2nd season with the Canucks before he suffered a season ending injury, and then good defender Rathbone could only get into 11 NHL games this year and solid 3rd pair defender Travis Dermott also only played 11 games this year due to some injuries he suffered in season, so due to injuries and poor play, the Canucks defence didn’t play to the best of their abilities and if not for Demko coming back and playing well toward the seasons end and if those young players didn’t do well in their late season stint, this team would’ve most likely been a bottom 5 defensive team, so the poor start by Demko followed by his long term injury and the bad defensive play especially from guys like Myers and OEL and the injuries to OEL and Dermott were one of the reasons why the Canucks were awful defensively and one of the reasons the team missed the playoffs.
Next up I would say is the fact that the Canucks never were able to overcome a atrocious start to their season. Now the Canucks were not able to over come a poor start to the 2021-22 season that had them miss the playoffs by just a few points that season, and it would be the same script in the 22-23 season as they were the last team in the NHL to get a win this season as they began the season 5 games under .500 at a 0-5-2 record, but surprisingly unlikely the Blues the Canucks were actually able to overcome their very poor start, as after a couple months of work and some really great games even without Demko at times the Canucks were able to go 16-10-1 over their next 27 games and on December 27th just after the Christmas break the Canucks were surprisingly 1 games above .500 with a 16-15-3 record at that point, and had they continue to climb and play well I think they could’ve challenged for a playoff spot, but being the streaky team that they are, instead of running with that success and trying to build upon it, they feel flat, as they would wind up losing 16 of their next 20 games including 15 of them in regulation and on February 15th the team was down to a 21-30-4 record and well out of contention of the playoffs, and it took a extremely well played finally few games to overcome that poor play streak and get themselves back a game over .500 to finish the season, so in my eyes, if the Canucks had one 2 or 3 of those first 7 games, or kept up their momentum after getting back over .500 in December, I think this team could’ve challenged for a playoff spot and with how poorly teams like Winnipeg and Calgary finished the season, I think they could’ve made it as well. So in my eyes another big reason as to why the Canucks missed the playoffs and didn’t play well this year was due to the fact that they didn’t win a game in their first 7 and after coming back and getting over .500 by game 27 they feel flat and lost a majority of the next 20 and the poor start and inability to keep playing well consistently in the middle of the season was another reason as to why the team didn’t do too well this year.
And lastly would be the injuries that hurt the Canucks throughout the season this year. Now as we looked at in the first reason I feel the Canucks missed the playoffs, Vancouver lost Demko for quite a while to to his injury, and even though he didn’t start overly well this year for the Canucks, he is still a pretty good starting goalie and losing him was a big blow to the team as with Demko not in net to stop the pucks and makeup for the Canucks defensive mistakes, the Canucks did awful and were a atrocious defensive team and losing Demko from December 1st to February 27th was a big loss to the team, on the defensive side, Travis Dermott who was a good 3rd pair defensemen only got into 11 games this year due to multiple injuries, and OEL who is the Canucks high paid defensemen who didn’t play well this year missed most of the second half of the season and only got into 54 games this year, and deadline acquisition Filip Hronek who is supposed to help their defence long term only got into 4 of the Canucks final 21 games after the deadline due to a injury and didn’t get much of a look with Vancouver, so for the Canucks I think these three injuries on the blueline hurt the team as not having Dermott depleted their depth and not having OEL or Hronek who are two solid top 4 defensemen in the lineup for a majority of the 2nd half of the year really did hurt the Canucks defensive play, and even on the forward group, Mikheyev only played in 46 games in his first year with Vancouver before suffering a season ending injury, Pearson had only played 14 games this season before he was placed on IR and later found out that he had multiple hand surgeries, and then even forwards like Boeser, Studnicka and Poskolzin missed a few games due to injuries, so the injury bug was a very important reason as to why the Canucks missed the playoffs, as the loss of guys like Mikheyev and Pearson really depleted their depth throughout the year, their defence was not great and some of the blame was due to injuries suffered by Dermott, OEL and Hronek and even some other defensemen were in and out of the lineup due to injuries, but I do think the biggest injury the team had this year was the Demko injury, as I think without him for a couple of months the team couldn’t get the save they need to win games and wound up losing a lot of them, so in my eyes the Canucks injury troubles especially in Net were another reason they are not in the postseason right now.
So once again to recap, I think the Canucks poor start losing 7 straight games and after getting back above .500 not having enough killer instincts to continue to push, the lack of a good defensive game all season long coupled with the injuries suffered to goalie Demko as well as some key defensemen and a couple of forwards had them being one of the worst defensive teams in the league at 9th and did deplete their offense a little, and I think if they were a bit healthier, had some better defensive games and had more killer instinct in the season they could’ve made the playoffs instead of finishing 11th lowest in the NHL, but even though they don’t have much money to work with in the offseason, I think there are a few ways the Canucks can improve for next year.
How the Canucks can improve in the offseason.
Bob Frid USA Today Sports
.1) Move out 2 or 3 big contracts.
Now to start off with is the Canucks major cap problems they currently have at this point in time, as they have not made any moves for the offseason at this point in time and the Canucks are currently a Million dollars over the cap for next year, they haven’t resigned RFA’s or brought in players and they are already over the cap, so they need to move a couple of big ticket contracts to get out of cap jail and give them some wiggle room in the offseason.
Now the first two and most likely candidates I would expect to be dealt by the Canucks in the offseason would be Boeser and Garland. Now both are solid middle six wingers and bring a lot to a team, for Boeser he has 2 years left on his contract at a pretty steep cap hit of $6.65 Million dollars and hasn’t played overly well the past few seasons, but after some down years and a couple years removed from his near 30 goal season, even though he didn’t have the best season last year he actually turned into quite the playmaker, as he had 18 goals and 55 points last year and was a mere 2 points away from getting a new career high, but I think the problem the Canucks ran into in trying to deal him at the deadline was the fact that he isn’t really producing to the extent of his contract, but with more wiggle room in the offseason to work with I think Boeser would be a serious option of being traded and could seriously benefit from a fresh start, as for Garland he has 3 years left on his contract at a AAV of just under $5 Million dollars, and he has actually been a very productive middle six forward with Vancouver, as after showing promise with Arizona and putting up some solid seasons, he has had his two best seasons in his career point wise with Vancouver, as he had 52 points in 77 games last year with the Canucks which wound up being his new career high for points, and then had a bit of a worse season this year only having 46 points in 81 games this year. Now I think for Garland it was hard moving him before the deadline due to his cap hit, but just like Boeser, I think there would be a lot of interest in Garland in the offseason as he is a player who could put up around 60 points in the right situation and is cost controlled at just under $5 Million for the next 3 seasons, and with the Canucks having a abundance of winger including young guys like Hoglander, Podkolzin and Lekkerimaki, I don’t think they would be opposed to moving either one of or both of Boeser and Garland.
Two other players I could also see the team moving would Miller and Myers as I think both could be cap dumps as well. Now for Miller he is currently their 2nd line Center, and has been a very impressive offensive force for the Canucks since arriving there, as he has been over a point per game pace in 3 of his 4 seasons there, including hitting 99 points a couple seasons ago and this past season hitting 82 points in 81 games, now the reason the Canucks would consider moving him is the fact that they signed him to a 8 year contract extension last offseason that has a AAV of $8 Million dollars, but Miller didn’t play all too well to start the season and was a off ice distraction for most of the season as well, now instead of back dating his NMC that they gave him on his new deal, they wound up keeping the No Movement Clause off of his contract for the rest of this year which means that the team can move him without having to have his consent if they were to do it before the NMC kicks in on July 1st, and there are definitely some who think that he will be moved to a team around the draft, now they would need to find a solution to their 2nd line Center problem if they move him, but I do think they regret signing Miller to that extension and if they can get a decent return for Miller who is still a really good offensive player I think they should do that.
And finally on the defensive end who have Tyler Myers. Now Myers showed some offensive promise with the Jets when he was finishing his career there, but since signing with Vancouver hasn’t been all to productive offensively, as he had 21 points in his first two seasons with the Canucks, but in the past two hasn’t even broken 20 points including this past year when he only had 17 points in 78 games, now there was some talk about moving him at the deadline but with the lack of top 4 right shot defensemen in Vancouver and the fact that other teams didn’t want to take on Myers $6 Million dollar AAV he wasn’t moved at the deadline, but he is paid a bonus on July 1st which means after that the actually money he is owed isn’t that much and given the Canucks now have Hronek on the right side and Myers will be in the final year of his deal, if the Canucks were to retain $1-2 Million dollars on his deal I see no reason as to why they wouldn’t be able to move him, because with Myers being a solid top 4 defender with some offensive abilities and being a pretty big defender, I think there would be a ton of teams who would have some level of interest in him and I would think Myers would be another strong candidate to be dealt. So in my eyes I think the Canucks will definitely move some contract of their books this year to have enough wiggle room to sign RFA’s Bear, Dermott, Kravtsov and Hoglander and possibly improve the team a bit as well, and I think with the abundance of wingers, Garland and Boeser would be likely candidates to be moved, Myers would be another one if Vancouver retains some salary and if it is after his bonus is paid, and with all the off ice distractions he caused this year and his big ticket extension for the next 7 years about to kick in on July 1st, it is quite possible they try and trade him before July 1st when his NMC kicks in, and I think there is a strong possibility that at least two of Miller, Boeser, Garland or Myers are not with the Canucks beyond this offseason.
.2) Rework the defence including possibly adding another defensemen.
Now the defence was probably the weakest spot on the team this past season, and could definitely use some retooling in the offseason, and if they can find the cap space maybe they try and bring in one more defender to help stabilize this team.
Now the Canucks have a good core player to work around in Quinn Hughes who is a elite level defensemen and is one of the best defensemen in the league, but the support for Hughes has to be better. Now I feel the team got a really good player in Bear, who they acquired from Carolina in season and actually worked out extremely well in their top 4 and being a RFA I would think the team would like to sign him and keep him in the fold for the next few seasons, and I think he would require a 2-4 year contract extension with Vancouver with a cap hit around $2.5-4 Million dollars per year, and I think they would be willing to sign him to that type of extension, but I think they would like to keep Bear, they also have Dermott who is a good 3rd pair defensemen and I think they would want to keep, and he is a RFA as well so they would need to figure out a way to resign him, but he is a really good 3rd pair defender and I think keeping him around would be smart, then they brought in Hronek before the deadline who still has a year away from before being a RFA, and I think that was a really smart move by the Canucks as Hronek is going to drastically improve the Canucks defence, is coming off of a career season and is a really good offensive defensemen and I think would fit in fantastically on the Canucks 2nd pair behind Hughes, then they have OEL who hasn’t done well in the two seasons since joining the Canucks and I think the Canucks would rather move on from him this offseason, but given he has 4 more seasons on the books at a pretty high $7.26 Million dollar cap hit, I don’t think there would be any teams interested in acquiring him at that dollar value given he hasn’t played to the level of that contract, and even though I think the team would at least consider a buyout in the summer it would only help them for the next two seasons and would also add a extra $2 Million dollars to their cap for the following four seasons after his contract would’ve expired, so as much as they want to move on from him I think they will be pretty much stuck with him for now
So if they have Bear, Dermott, OEL, Hughes and Hronek that is a pretty solid D-Corp in my opinion but they could do some more as well. They have to figure out if Rathbone, who is a good defensive player who hasn’t been able to crack the NHL roster so far has a long term future with the team or not, because if they don’t view him as a long term fit then I would think he gets traded in the offseason yo another team, do the Canucks view one of the young defenders they brought in before the season ended in Hirose or McWard as solid NHL defenders as early as next year or do the Canucks see them being minor league defenders next year, and if they clear enough cap space such as moving Myers in the offseason, will they go after another defensive option via free agency, as I think they could benefit from brining in a defensive defensemen such as Dumoulin from Pittsburgh, Graves from New Jersey or Cole from Tampa, and I think if they can figure out those questions they should be a much more sound defensive team next year. So I feel they have a good defence right now with guys like Hughes and Hronek, but I think they need to sign Dermott and Bear to extensions, they may be stuck with OEL for the next year, Myers and Rathbone should be traded, and then they either bring up a young guy like Hirose to round out the defence or they go to free agency or trade and bring in a defender that way and I think if they were to do this and just rework the defence a bit, they may be able to become a much more sound defensive team next season.
.3) Figure out if Demko remains, and if so who is his backup.
Now with Demko having a bad start to the season, around the deadline there were a lot of rumours saying that he would be dealt to another team for a haul, but he wasn’t and played a lot better to finish out the season, so I think they need to figure out if Demko will be their goalie going forward and if so who do they have as their backup as guys like Delia are now pending UFA’s.
Now the Canucks have been running with Demko over the past few seasons, and he had been a really good goalie and I don’t think these rumours would’ve come up if not for the poor start to the season that Demko had this year, but after starting out with a sub .900 SV% in his first 15 games before getting injured, there was a lot of concern about if the Canucks were to go down the road of a rebuild that Demko wouldn’t want to stay and would it really make sense for the Canucks who would be a rebuilding team to keep a guy like Demko and a lot of people thought they were going down that road after they moved Horvat for a futures based package, but then closer to the deadline they kept their players and would up using the pick they got in the Horvat deal to get Hronek, which gave the impression that they wanted to go down the road of a retool rather then a rebuild, so they didn’t move Demko and now most people think with the Canucks trying to make the playoffs again next year that Demko is now going anywhere. Now I do agree with that take as Demko is a legit number one goalie and showed it toward the end of the season after recovering from his injury, and I think the only way that they would move Demko is if they could get a immediate upgrade in net, and use the picks they got from trading Demko to acquire a guy like Hart in Philly or Gibson in Anaheim, so given that is unlikely I do think he remains with the Canucks this year, but then the question becomes who is the teams backup next year.
Delia finished the season as the Canucks backup and didn’t do half bad but I don’t expect him to resign with Vancouver and in my eyes he is more of a 3rd string goalie then a backup, Spencer Martin who came into last season as the Canucks backup didn’t do too well and had actually lost 10 straight games at one point and was sent to the minors to make room for Delia and wound up finishing in the AHL and I would expect him to still be a minor goalie next year, and then Silovs I think could be a backup or tandem goalie in the future but I think he could benefit from another year or two in the minors, so that leaves the Canucks needing a backup for next year, and I think there are a couple good free agent options such as guys like Reimer in San Jose, Jones in Seattle or Brossoit in Vegas and I think one of the reasons this team didn’t do too well this year is when Demko went down with the injury they didn’t have a capable backup on the team who could make the key saves they needed with Demko out, so getting a goalie who may be a tad more expensive but has experience being a NHL tandem goalie I think would make a ton of sense for the Canucks and may help them push for the playoffs next year if Demko can get a night off here and there. So in my opinion I don’t see Demko being moved as the Canucks want to go and try and get a playoff spot and they would need a starting goalie to do it, and unless they are able to use the assets they get for Demko to acquire another starting goalie like Carter Hart which I don’t think would happen they aren’t moving Demko, and then I think getting a more experienced backup like Reimer or Brossoit will help this team not only give Demko some nights off but also would help them in the case of Demko being injured again and I think if they did that, it would also help improve their defensive game for next year.
Bob Frid USA Today Sports
.4) Let young guys like Hoglander, Podkolzin, Raty and Kravtsov play consistently in the NHL.
Now the Canucks were supposed to have some of their younger players step into bigger roles this past season and help that team continue to do well offensively, but guys like Hoglander and Rathbone were sent to the minors after only a couple of games, and even Podkolzin didn’t play in too many games this year with Vancouver, and I think with the team maybe moving some wingers to free up cap space, they will have to call upon those younger players to step up and help produce next year.
Now last year I was expecting a lot of the Canucks young players to take the next step forward in their development and become regulars in the NHL, as in the 21-22 season Podkolzin in his rookie year had 26 points in 79 games, Hoglander had 18 points in 60 games in his sophomore season, and Rathbone only got into 9 NHL games, and I thought all three of these players would take the next step this year, but they all wound up splitting time between the NHL and AHL, with Hoglander only getting 9 points in 25 NHL games, Rathbone had 2 points in 11 games at the NHL level, and Podkolzin played in less then half of the NHL season only getting into 39 games and putting up 7 points, so after the three played in a combined for 148 games in 21-22 and putting up 44 points, they only played 75 games this past year and put up 18 points, so they did worse then last year, so with guys like Boeser and Garland most likely gone due to cap reasons in the offseason they are going to need Podkolzin and Hoglander to step up as I would expect them to be consistent middle six winger’s next year and if those two can step up and produce well next year I think they could help the Canucks be a bit more competitive next year, but I think there are other young players who could play in the NHL next year. Rathbone I think will either be a consistent NHL player next year or the Canucks will trade him, as I do think he is now a NHL level defender, and then the Canucks signed a couple of players who I think will play in the minors next year but I wouldn’t be surprised if they made the team, and that is McDonagh, Hirose, McWard, and former 1st round pick Jonathan Lekkerimaki, as I think Lekkerimaki could be a 3rd line winger next year, McDonagh could challenge for the 3rd line Center role, and both Hirose and McWard could challenge for a 3rd pair spot next year but it wouldn’t really surprise me if the Canucks wanted them to develop another year and all of them remained in the AHL for a year. So in my eyes Podkolzin and Hoglander need to take steps next year to be productive NHL wingers with Vancouver possibly moving on from some wingers, then Rathbone will either play on the 3rd pair for the Canucks or be dealt in my opinion, and then possibly Lekkerimaki, McDonagh, Hirose or McWard could all make the NHL next year and I think the Canucks will need some of these guys on cheap deals to step up next year with their backs against the cap.
.5) Have a better start then they have in the past two seasons.
And lastly here is not really something they can improve on in the offseason, but something they will need to be better at next year if they are going to have any shot at making the playoffs, and that is the fact that they can not have another slow starts to the season as it has killed their playoff chances in each of the past two seasons and if they want to be better next year and make the playoffs, they will need a good start.
Now the Canucks had high expectations in the 21-22 season to take strides after missing the playoffs in the shortened season, and they had a awful start to the season, having a record of 6-14-2 to start the season and even though they would push hard and battle back after that horrendous start to the season, they still finished a handful of points back of the Predators for the last spot in the playoffs, and then they had high expectations for this year as well with a new coach and some work they did last offseason and once again they had a awful start, losing 7 straight to open the season 0-5-2, and were 4-9-3 after their first 16 games and they were only able to get just above .500 this year at the end of the season, so as much as they have had different reasons for missing the playoffs over the past couple of years, poor starts to the season have really weighed this team down the past couple of years and we’re major factors as too why they didn’t make the playoffs these past two years. So in my opinion if the team can get a somewhat better start to the season this upcoming year then they have in the past, I think this team should definitely be challenging for at least a playoffs spot next year.
So in my opinion, if the Canucks are able to move, at least one contract, whether it is Myers, Miller, Boeser or Garland, and are able to move out at least two of them, then they should have enough cap space to resign some of their RFA’s like Bear and Höglander, then if they can rework their defence a little bit, they’ll probably be stuck with OEL for the next little while, but they have some good players such as Hughes and Hronek and if they can get Dermott and Bear under contract, I think they would have a pretty good core and if they can have either Rathbone or Hirose be on the third pair, or go out and acquire a different 3rd pair defender via free agency I think that team will be able to have a better structure defensively, and I don’t expect Demko to be moved anymore now that this team is looking to go one a quick retool and I would expect them to try and get a more experienced back up whether it be a guy like Reimer or Brossoit, and then maybe also have some of their young forward such as guys like Podkolzin and Höglander take some top nine spots next year and maybe even have guys like Lekkerimaki, Hirose and McDonagh challenge for roster spots next year, and finally if they have a better start than they have had in the past couple of seasons at the beginning of the year, I think the Canucks could definitely challenge for the playoffs maybe not make the playoffs as this is pretty tall task to do when they were such a bad team last year, but I thinkthey should at least be able to challenge. So I think if they have a little bit of a better defensive system, move some big contracts like Miller and Myers, and get a better back up goaltender and not have as bad of a start as they did last year this should be a really good Canucks team going forward, and leave a comment below if you have any input on what else the Canucks should do in the offseason.
And if you like this blog post, then check out my YouTube video about Vancouver’s offseason right here. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=evuQimRkO-g
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