What's Next for the Canucks?

They produce at a 7 million dollar pace right now... at least they would in Ottawa.

Neely4Life wrote:They produce at a 7 million dollar pace right now... at least they would in Ottawa.

Hey, Spezza and Heatley were producing more in their contract years. I'll ask again, where were the twins *before* their contract year?

If I was Vancouver, I'd sign and trade the twins to Florida for Nathan Horton and the negotiating rights to Jay Bouwmeester.

And if Bouwmeester doesn't sign with them, I'd chase Marian Gaborik in the off-season and see how much he'd be willing to take to come and play with his pal Pavol Demitra.

wprager wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:They produce at a 7 million dollar pace right now... at least they would in Ottawa.

Hey, Spezza and Heatley were producing more in their contract years. I'll ask again, where were the twins *before* their contract year?

They were always there, they always produced. They are hitting their prime and are playing like it. Right now and for the next few years they are worth every cent of a 5 million dollar deal.

As for Spezza and Heatley, well, having little to no character hurts their cause.

The latest on the Sedins and some Nucks prospects, from the Vancouver Sun:

CANUCKS EXPECT TO START CONTRACT TALKS WITH SEDINS 'SHORTLY'
Elliott Pap, VancouverSun.com/June 3, 2009

The Vancouver Canucks plan to start contract talks with twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin in the next week or two, assistant GM Laurence Gilman said Wednesday.

The twins, who led the Canucks in scoring last season with an identical 82 points, stand to become unrestricted free agents July 1.

"We have a few weeks remaining between now and July 1 and we anticipate that we'll be speaking with them shortly," Gilman said from Winnipeg after he scouted the Manitoba Moose playoff game Tuesday night. "I would say we're going to begin negotiations with them in the next week to two weeks."

Asked if the team intended to wrap things up prior to the June 26-27 entry draft, Gilman could not offer any guarantees.

"Ideally we would," he replied. "If we're going to get them done, we'd like to get them done sooner rather than later. But it is conceivable that we'll get to the draft and they're not done — and it could go down to the wire."

The twins made $3.575 million apiece last season and are believed to be seeking raises to somewhere in the $6-million range.

Meanwhile, Gilman was raving Wednesday about the play of prospect Michael Grabner in the American League's Calder Cup championship series.

Grabner, the Canucks' first pick in the 2006 draft (14th overall), collected an assist and had seven shots on goal in the Moose's 3-1 victory over Hershey. The result evened the best-of-seven final 1-1 with the series switching to Pennsylvania for Games 3, 4 and 5.

Grabner also scored twice in the series opening 5-4 overtime loss to the Bears.

"As a member of the Canucks' management team, to see the progress our young players have made and their level of contribution to this team, is a very satisfactory thing," Gilman said. "Of the young guys, Michael Grabner was exceptional. He played with a tremendous amount of speed, he played the point on the power play and was really one of the top players in the game."

Gilman was also impressed with goalie Cory Schneider — "he had the look of an NHL goaltender" — and 19-year-old Cody Hodgson.

"Cody played a strong game as well," Gilman added. "He's exceptionally strong on the puck and he's got such good hands and hockey sense."

Game 3 in the Moose-Hershey series goes Saturday.
epap@vancouversun.com

Waiting for Sundin again?
Veteran forward not quite sure of return next season

Ben Kuzma, The Vancouver Province, June 22, 2009

Is Mats Sundin sending mixed signals?

The unrestricted free agent centre was quoted in Sunday's web edition of the Swedish newspaper Expressen saying that he wouldn't rule out returning to the Canucks next season. He also said that he won't compete in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, so you have to wonder if he really wants to call GM Place home again.

"Absolutely," he said. "I will think about my future the next couple of weeks. I will make a decision in the summer. I can't say more right now."

At the end of last season, Sundin hinted that his playing days might be over.

"I think I've enjoyed playing hockey the last five years more than I have in my whole career," he said at the time. "You realize at the end of your career -- you kind of know you're at the end."

Sundin is obviously keeping his NHL options open and clearly has nothing left to accomplish on the international stage. He was captain for his native Sweden when it defeated Finland in the 2006 Olympic final and the Czech Republic in the world championship that same year.

"There will be no Olympics in Vancouver for me next year," confirmed Sundin. "I will not change my mind. I think it's time that the next generation takes over. We have many good players.

"It was the perfect ending of a long career for Sweden, to lead the Swedish team against the best in the world and win Olympic gold for the first time when all teams had their stars playing. I could not have dreamed of a better scenario for my last game."

If the 38-year-old Sundin is willing to take a significant pay cut, he may attract some suitors when free agency opens July 1. He collected just 28 points (9-19) in 41 regular-season games last season -- after agreeing to a $5.626-million-US salary in December -- but had eight points (3-5) in eight postseason games.

Sundin was at his best in the second-round series setback to Chicago. After recovering from a knee injury suffered in Game 2 of the first-round series sweep of St. Louis, the hulking Swede had seven points against the Blackhawks, including four points in the final two series games.

Still, the priority for the Canucks is to resolve a contract impasse with unrestricted free agents Henrik and Daniel Sedin -- they are seeking identical 12-year, $63-million deals -- and general manager Mike Gillis will employ a Plan B if the term cap can't be bridged.

He currently has 13 players signed for next season at a $33.8 million salary cap hit and must also decide how his other five unrestricted and three restricted free agents may work into the roster mix.

Gillis couldn't be reached for comment Sunday.

bkuzma@theprovince.com

There is no way they will sign Sundin again. They mad a mistake, plain and simple. Now that mistake is a year older and slower. If Mats wants to play in the NHL next year he will have to take a large paycut.

EJ Hradek and Robert Vollman conjure up some counterpoint on the Canucks' coming key decisions.

SEDINS SHAPE VANCOUVER'S MOVES
Pending twins' decision, roster requires tweak or teardown
EJ Hradek, Robert Vollman/ESPN INSIDER, June 22, 2009

Plugging Holes - Vancouver Canucks


The Hole: Top-six forward

The Canucks have a lot of free agents, both restricted and unrestricted, including virtually all of their scoring (Mats Sundin, twins Henrik and Daniel Sedin) and all but four of their defensemen. Their scorers were the third worst in the league on the shootout, scoring on only 25 percent of attempts, worse than any team outside the state of Florida. They also took far too many penalties, recording more than any NHL team last season except Philadelphia and Anaheim.

The Fix: Sign F Ales Kotalik (UFA, Oilers)


Kotalik will add a great deal of offensive value, with an offensive GVT of +20.6, without adding to Vancouver's penalty trouble. The Canucks would benefit greatly from having one of the greatest shootout artists in the game today. Kotalik, who was second to Wojtek Wolski in shootout goals in 2008-09, could mean an extra 4-5 points and the difference between capturing the third seed and a first-round playoff exit.

E.J.'s Take: Kotalik could be another piece to the puzzle in Vancouver. Last season, he carried a $2.5M cap hit. As an unrestricted free agent, that number figures to go up. I don't know how much higher I'd want to go for him, though.

He's a big body guy (6-foot-1, 227 pounds), but I'm not sure he's a reliable top-six guy. After scoring a career-best 62 points in 2005-06, he's averaged just 41 points over the past three seasons. Some feel that Kotalik will opt to stay in Edmonton, where he can play with fellow countryman Ales Hemsky. I have to figure money will have something to do with his final decision.

For me, Kotalik makes sense only if the Canucks can keep Henrik and Daniel Sedin. If the twins fly the coop via free agency, Canucks GM Mike Gillis will be faced with a major roster overhaul. In that unfortunate circumstance, Kotalik wouldn't have much value in Vancouver.

Robert Vollman is a writer for Puck Prospectus. E.J. Hradek is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine.

Note: A mainstay of Puck Prospectus's metrics is "Goals Versus Threshold" (GVT). The stat blends an array of offensive and defensive figures to measure the value, in terms of goals, a player contributes above what the marginal player would over the course of the season. A marginal player is one that could be replaced with a player of equivalent skill, e.g. from the minors. For instance, Evgeni Malkin had an offensive GVT of +18.9, a defensive GVT of +4.5 and a total GVT of +23.4 for the 2008-9 regular season, meaning that Malkin was worth 23.4 goals more than a marginal player over the course of the season, or worth about 0.3 additional goals per game. In the team context, GVT refers to performance above an NHL average team. For the regular season, the Detroit Red Wings had a +30.8 offensive GVT, a +15.1 defensive GVT, a -21.5 goaltending GVT, for a +24.4 total GVT. Therefore, at even strength, Detroit was 24.4 goals better than the average team

wprager wrote:There is no way they will sign Sundin again. They mad a mistake, plain and simple. Now that mistake is a year older and slower. If Mats wants to play in the NHL next year he will have to take a large paycut.

He can come here for 3 million. I'm not even kidding, I would love to have him here. Hmmm....

http://twitter.com/BotchonCanucks

Jason Botchford - some kind of beat writer I presume, says that Gaborik has bought a house in Vancouver, leading many to believe he'll sign there.

How good is the source? I have no idea.

Well, if that is actually true, Heatley's value just went up.

Neely4Life wrote:Well, if that is actually true, Heatley's value just went up.

Indeed. Meanwhile, Hossa won't be returning to the Wings apparently. So round and round we go.

He might be going to Vancouver too... I know for sure that was an option last year.

The Sedin's may very well be signing else where so Hossa and Gaborik might be coming in together.

SpezDispenser wrote:

wprager wrote:There is no way they will sign Sundin again. They mad a mistake, plain and simple. Now that mistake is a year older and slower. If Mats wants to play in the NHL next year he will have to take a large paycut.

He can come here for 3 million. I'm not even kidding, I would love to have him here. Hmmm....

$3 million for 1/2 a season? Or a full one? Who knows when he'll decide whether or not to play.

Neely4Life wrote:He might be going to Vancouver too... I know for sure that was an option last year.

The Sedin's may very well be signing else where so Hossa and Gaborik might be coming in together.

Sedin's to the Leafs then like Burke seems to be wet dreaming about? The leafs will be attached to every major UFA this off season much like the Rangers usually are.

SpezDispenser wrote:

wprager wrote:There is no way they will sign Sundin again. They mad a mistake, plain and simple. Now that mistake is a year older and slower. If Mats wants to play in the NHL next year he will have to take a large paycut.

He can come here for 3 million. I'm not even kidding, I would love to have him here. Hmmm....

Really? He's a shadow of his former self. Poker must be hard on a 37-year-old body. All that betting abd bluffing, the late hours, wearing shades at night. No thank you, not even at $3M. Theonly way he stays injury free is if he doesn't push himself, and then he's just a big, slow body to get in the way of exciting prospects. I'd rather give Comrie $2.5M than have Sundin and his stupid gap-toothed face here, being cheered on by the Laffs fans for *41* games each season instead of six. And while they are cheering on Sundin, you can bet some of them would be booing Alfie.

No. Thank. You!

Lucky Day wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

wprager wrote:There is no way they will sign Sundin again. They mad a mistake, plain and simple. Now that mistake is a year older and slower. If Mats wants to play in the NHL next year he will have to take a large paycut.

He can come here for 3 million. I'm not even kidding, I would love to have him here. Hmmm....

$3 million for 1/2 a season? Or a full one? Who knows when he'll decide whether or not to play.

He'll play a half season whether it's due to poker or injuries.

Schroeder is being compared to Phil Kessel, but the RDS panel is somewhat skeptical of his potential effectiveness in the playoffs.