Latest on notable Canucks such as Dan Hamhuis and Ryan Miller plus more speculation on how the Oilers will address their blueline needs.
What next for the Canucks?
Will Dan Hamhuis and Ryan Miller return with the Canucks next season?
VANCOUVER SUN: Iain MacIntyre reported there was little actual news to come out of the Canucks’ recent post-mortem press conference. Of the 11 Canucks eligible for some form of free agency on July 1, half probably won’t be back.Those include right wing Radim Vrbata and defenseman Dan Hamhuis. Starter Ryan Miller will be back, though his age (36) and contract (one year remaining at $6 million) make him a logical trade candidate.
MacIntyre expects winger Chris Higgins and possibly Alex Burrows might be bought out of the final year of their contracts, though Burrows’ strong finish and leadership value could give management second thoughts about parting ways with him.
THE PROVINCE: Ben Kuzma reports Canucks pending UFA Dan Hamhuis isn’t ruling out a possible contract extension. While admitting he could sign with another club via free agency, Hamhuis acknowledged his deep roots in the Vancouver community. However, he also wants to ensure he can find the right fit for his services.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Miller’s desire to play as close to Los Angeles and his wife (actress Noureen DeWulf) limits any potential trade options for the Canucks. I daresay they’ll try shopping him toward next year’s trade deadline.
Vrbata’s a goner and Higgins will be bought out of the final year of his deal. As MacIntyre observed, a buyout of Burrows seems less certain than it did a month from now. However, if there’s a need to free up more cap space to add a free agent like, say, Loui Eriksson, I believe they’ll dump him in a heartbeat.
Hamhuis, on the other hand, could stay with the Canucks. I expect he could test the market first and see if the Canucks will match the best offer. I can also see them offering up a three-year deal for around $4 million annually to keep him.
Latest on the Oilers.
EDMONTON JOURNAL: Jonathan Willis responded to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman’s recent comment wondering if Calgary Flames defenseman Dennis Wideman would be a good fit with the Oilers. He feels Wideman could be a power-play specialist who could add a right-handed shot to their lower defense hierarchy.
Jason Gregor believes the Oilers should add a right-handed defenseman without subtracting a left-handed shot from their blueline. “I’d do it moving out some of the skilled forwards instead of moving out some of the young left-shot defenders”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: I don’t see Wideman-to-Edmonton happening for several reasons. He’s 33, has one year left on his contract with a $5.25 million cap hit, carries a full no-movement clause and currently skates for the Flames, the Oilers’ arch-rival. I don’t believe he’s the type of blue-line help the Oilers have in mind. They will almost certainly ship out one of their skilled young forwards not named Connor McDavid, Taylor Hall or Leon Draisaitl for a top-pairing, right-shooting defenseman.
I can’t believe there’s not more chatter on Shattenkirk to EDM. He would easily be their #1 D and form a pretty decent top 5 with Nurse, Klefbom and Reinhart maturing and Sekera already there albeit declining now a litte with age.
It will be tough to pry Shattenkirk out of St. Louis but maybe a RNH + a 2nd?
He is one year away from UFA where he is due for a big raise. The cost of getting him wouldn’t be worth the risk of losing him in a year.
The contract issue could be overcome at the point of trade possibly in numerous ways. That said I’m not certain Shattenkirk would accept a trade to Edmonton. He has no NTC or NMC but being a UFA in 1 year essentially gives him some control, or worse case scenario a team that trades for him only gets a 1 year return or less should they realize he won’t sign & he’s moved at next years trade deadline. That limits his trade value for StL unless he’s traded to the team or teams he’s willing to play for.
I don’t see Edmonton giving up RNH unless the can get him signed at point of trade & I don’t see Shattenkirk doing that. No slight to Edm but it is 1 of the least desirable destinations for players. The future is bright but that’s still down the road. Edmonton isn’t going from being the 2nd worst team in the league to cup contender in 1 off season. Just possibly being a playoff contender next season would be a huge step & why would Shattenkirk want to go to a team still in a full scale rebuild & dysfunctional
The oilers will NOT trade RNH. Eberle, yakupov, our first Round Draft pick this year are more likely to be on the trade block. RNH has potential to be one of the best 2 way centres in the game, has longer left on his contract and is younger than Eberle.
Plus if the oilers part way with a goal scorer in Eberle, there’s always free agency to fill that need. ie. Stamkos
Interesting view. I think most people see Draisatl best used as a C, which means 2C in EDM and 3C for RNH – a luxury when the team has dire needs to address elsewhere.
Eberle it seems would remain with McDavid given the chemistry. It’s easy to think anyone would have chemistry with a star like him, but that hasn’t been the case with Crosby.
Yakupov is irrelevant, but that 1st will be a valuable piece.
@Douggy P-That’s a strong”WILL NOT” considering its common knowledge oilers offered up RNH for Seth Jones.
Yeah Edmonton will merely sign the most saught after free agent because luring elite free agents is what they do best lol
I think everyone needs to make sure they factor expansion in to the equation. We all know the ground rules except for players with NMC’s which really only goes 1 way or the other. They can be exposed or need to be protected as part of your 7F, 3D & 1 G or 8 skaters & 1G.
Edm currently has 3 keepers at D in Sekera, Klefbom & Reinhart. If they trade for a #2 Dman this off season are they then only protecting 4 forwards & 4 D or are the exposing Reinhart a player they just gave up the 16th & 33rd picks in last seasons draft?
Going to be an interesting summer.
Yea Adam is right and to just expand a little, Shattenkirk is not going to resign in Edm as a UFA, he will be looking to go out east, closer to his home state of Connecticut.
It will be a colossal mistake to trade anything for him for the Oilers.
He’s from New Rochelle NY, Which is only 20 minutes away from NYR’s practice facility…..Hey, everyone else here can dream big…..so can I! Did I mention he grew up a Ranger fan?
with that being said no way he signs anywhere else NYR! lol
Does that only work on Canadian born players? Lol
lol
I think both Higgin’s & Burrows will be bought out saving 4 million on the cap. Leaving Vancouver with 16 players signed & 20.8 mil in cap space. All 4 RFA forwards will be resigned, Vey, Baertschi, Etem & Granlund. Only Baertschi will be seeing a significant raise. The remaining 3 will have to take their qualifying offers a raise of 10% as all make below the league average.
Baertschi probably gets in or around 2, maybe 2.5 on a 2 or 3 year deal & the remainder all come in at or near a million. I’d like to see Hamhuis retained & would be happy to see him paid the 4.5 he was making on his last deal for 3 years, 4 tops. That would get the roster to 21 players with about 10 mil to spend.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Vancouver give Eriksson a 5 year deal at 6 mil per & I think he’d be quite happy to come in & play with the Sedin’s. That would leave 4 million to add 1 depth Dman. That may be former NHL Dman Larsson, who was traded for but yet to sign or possibly Stecher who was signed yesterday, a college UFA Dman.
The rebuild is in full effect & even if Vancouver secures Eriksson Vancouver will be 1 of the worst teams in the NHL next season.
Sorry Larsen; Philip, not Larsson. Haha
The Canuck management have dropped enough hints in recent days that they would like to sign Eriksson, but I think it is unlikely he will sign with Vancouver even with Striker’s proposed deal. Hamhuis will only get a three year deal if the cap hit is less than $4 million. Baertschi will get a raise, but I would not be surprised if it is a bridge deal to see if his second half improvement stays in place. I don’t think Etem and Vey get qualifying offers – even with concerns about asset management. Both have showed little, and I think there are options in Utica that are worth looking at. Granlund will be kept. MacIntyre is close to Vancouver management. He has been suggesting Burrows is likely to stay both in the Sun and on radio. It makes some sense, as Burrows started the season at much less than 100% and his second half improvement is directly related to getting back his conditioning. He is good in the room. And buying him out at two thirds for two years, rather than paying him out @ $3 million without bonus(4.5 cap hit) for one year does not seem like a really good idea. And yes the Canucks will be cellar dwellers next year.
Not trying to date myself but does anyone remember the Tom Lysiak fall-out after he laid hands on an on-ice official?
The hawks were scruitzed much closer and seemed to just cause a lot more infractions in the eyes of the refs for the next 6 months.
So…I have to wonder if any team signing Wideman brings along extra calls?
Maybe I imagined it…nah…it HAPPENED.
Biased officiating aside, who would want Wideman on their team?
The play itself was pathetic but his behavior afterwards was thoroughly class-less.
“Classy” is an overused adjective until an incident like this occurs and you realize just how someone without class behaves. Maybe I should give him the benefit of the doubt and just conclude that he’s just not very bright. Either way, wouldn’t want him on my team.
Why Wideman wasn’t sent for the concussion protocol after he returned to the bench is disturbing but he was diagnosed with 1 after the fact & the NHL has accepted such in his original appeal to Bettman. How that may or may not have effected his mental state is very hard to determine & the circumstances surrounding the hit are cloudy at best. An independent arbitrator has determined intent can’t be proven & subsequently his suspension was reduced.
Wideman has a clean history & wears an A in Calgary, which lends to his leadership ability. He just turned 33 & will be playing in the NHL for probably 5 more years if so inclined. Like numerous other Dman he is semi 1 dimensional leaning way more to offence than defense. There are tons of teams in the NHL that don’t have what Wideman brings to the rink. A player that can man the point on a #1 PP.
Julien’s staying in Boston. I’m all good with that. Stability is a good thing & keeps everything on course with out all the young players having to adapt to a new coach & potentially system. I just hope that he starts to allow the young D a little more rope to play.
It is, what it is. I’ll give Sweeney credit for saying it on him to provide better players; however it’s on Claude to adapt his coaching strategies and allow the young d to develop and learn, not to vanish them to the press box. As long as they don’t resign K.Miller I’m good. My only dislike of k isn’t k at all but how Claude treated him.
Discouraged, frustrated, embittered, exasperated… all words that come to mind and how I feel following that press conference today from the Bruins management (Sweeney and Julien). I certainly don’t think it’s the right decision for the longevity and continued rebuild of this organization. I felt Claude Julien did a fantastic job, we as fans owe him a lot of support and he deserves credit but I think it was his time to move on. Time for another voice, style, direction, or whatever else you want to throw in there… especially if this team is to place its commitment into rebuilding this team and making the Bruins great again. Caper said it best, it is what it is.
What’s worse than bringing Julien back, which at this point I could get over… is the comment Don Sweeney made about this roster. To think that he feels this roster doesn’t need any type of overhaul or that they felt the roster wasn’t that bad is being absolutely BLIND to your organization’s issues… as a fan I’m inclined to disagree and hopefully GM Don Sweeney is just throwing some fluff out there before making some big deals. The defense needs a ton of work, but I think there are still other areas that’ll need some fixing as well. Once Eriksson walks they’ll need to replace him, his production, and hopefully with a player that’ll be here a long time (not Stempniak). I have no problem bringing Stempniak back if it’s in a 3rd line role.. but this team needs work. Good luck Sweeney/Neely. Better hope this plan of keeping Claude and not overhauling the roster pays out for you next season otherwise the fan base will be beating down the doors with pitchforks and angry slurs.
As I stated many times. Very little change is coming. Eriksson walks most likely, he gets replaced from with in & Boston signs Vesey. K. Miller is allowed to walk & Boston signs Yandle possibly even Demers if Yandle can’t be had.
All other roster additions come from with in. Vatrano, Khokhlachev, Griffith, C. Miller, etc.
I honestly believe that Vesey & Yandle will be Bruins next season & if not Boston may not do anything.
Lets hope for the sake of the Bruins next season that this isn’t their only plan/direction…
Letting go:
L. Eriksson
K. Miller
C. Kelly
Adding:
K. Yandle
J. Vesey
Although the later I have no issues with (Yandle, Vesey)… I’d personally like to see them bring in a more established defensive first/shutdown guy between ages 24-30 that can be a top 4. Yandle is a great addition to help the puck transition and add another offensive defenseman but they still need some shutdown guys. They’re lacking in that area. Z. Chara looked old, slow, and a step behind most of the year. He failed to clear guys out from the front of the net (2 season in a row now), couldn’t dig pucks out of the corner, took way to long to wind up and hit a slap shot (usually caused a turnover), and struggled to keep the puck in at the points.. unsure why that was but it was often and D. Seidenberg only showed some flashes from time to time that he could body players off the puck and play that shutdown defensive style that he’s known for… but lets be honest with ourselves, Seidenberg is nowhere near the player he was even a few seasons ago. Kevan Miller, according to Sweeney had a great season. Watch them resign him to some contract that’ll have everyone shaking their heads. McQuaid and Miller both I felt had average years at best… Sweeney seemed to anoint them as saints for whatever reason. This team has major issues, more than just bringing in Yandle and Vesey… and filling the rest from within.
Julian returning means same old thing. Might as well trade Marchand and Pastrnak now.
Kelly will be resigned now.
Marchand will want out after getting no respect and being off the top pp unit. Pastrnak will never learn to back check.
Connolly and Hayes will be our top ice time leaders and be on the pp. yeah can’t wait.
Dave,
Could be. I’ll be pissed if Marchand isn’t on the top PP all season and Pastrnak isn’t solidified on the 2nd… no excuses for that. I hope C. Kelly isn’t resigned, that contract originalIy I thought was based on 1 good season with the Bruins… that’s an example of when they could’ve brought in a younger player from within the organization and began grooming instead… nope they signed him, when basically everyone on the team had outstanding seasons. I can see Sweeney now, breaking news, press conference:
“Today we’ve signed on of our defenseman that we feel going forward is the core of the blue line, had a great season in 15-16 and we feel he’ll continue to grow and build upon. Kevan Miller has been resigned to a 4 year $11m contract. We felt it was in line with Adam McQuaid who we think so highly of as well”
Get ready Bruins fans… it’s coming
Well than you are going to be disappointed. I don’t share your view on Chara as you know except that he is getting older & isn’t the Dman he was 4 years ago but he’s still a soft #1 or solid #2. No he’s not 1 of the 5 best Dman in the game any longer, he hasn’t been since Krug arrived & took his PP spot on the #1 unit. He had the 2nd best plus minus on the team at D logging the most minutes & the most difficult minutes. He finished 32nd in D scoring although he only averaged 1:33 per game on the 2nd unit. Not 1 Dman above him in scoring got such little average PP time per game, not even close?
He gave the puck away 87 times, 10 less than Doughty. He had 9 more hits, 18 more blocked shots & 13 more take aways than Doughty. He finished 20th in the league in TOI/GP for Dman.
Stop comparing him to a younger version of himself & be happy with what you have.
Striker,
I’ll only be happy if the Bruins decided to keep him on the 2nd pairing and bump Seidenberg down to the 3rd if they can’t move him. The rest needs to be rounded out and changed significantly but I know we differ on those opinions and that’s okay =)
I for one, will not be watching this team again till they get rid of some of the driftwood ( Hayes-Connolly-Rask Rinaldo etc. Rather than say Sweeney’s worked the phones all year he’d better pull a rabbit out of ass this time or I’m done and I’m not alone on this!
Rick W Murray,
I definitely understand where you’re coming from, although I would likely never stop watching the Bruins regardless of how bad they were… still, I do understand your point. Sweeney needs to have an outstanding off season, the type that makes the rest of the league look pitiful in order to earn a lot of the fan bases trust that what they’re doing is right for the organization and long term goals of competing for a cup again. I think at this point all they’ve shown is that management is slightly delusional, or blind to the major issues. Not saying this team needs any type of overhaul is insulting. Rearranging or rebuilding the defense is considered an overhaul of sorts, add in the RW they’ll need to acquire after Eriksson walks away… this team will need some form of overhaul this offseason to make a big difference next season. Otherwise, this will be the same type of team, similar results, with a few different names involved. Not good enough Neely, Sweeney, and good luck to Julien he has his work cut out for him again.
You need not worry about Rinadlo he will be gone. Connolly, Hayes & Rask aren’t going any where, Connolly or Hayes could be lost in the expansion draft or moved out in the future but not this off season. Connolly is just a kid & Hayes although older has very little NHL experience. Both have several more years of growth & development. If they don’t turn the corner start making significant progress next season then they will be waved or traded eventually but obviously not fast enough for you. Certainly not this summer or before expansion.
Boston just missed the playoff’s icing 1/2 a roster of kids. If that makes you unhappy, goodbye enjoy your new favorite team.
Striker it’s not the kids, it’s the defense. Unfortunately the kids on D didn’t get a realistic chance. Yandle isn’t the answer. Seabrook or a Byfuglien would of been. But that dream is gone.
I agree caper. Every time I see someone suggest Yandle to the Bruins, I’m scratching my head.
Striker,
I don’t see both Connelly and Hayes back next season. With the youth behind them, especially some that have been performing in Providence and the unknown of some of those prospects taken in last draft, one of them could very well crack the lineup with a good camp. Both players were VERY disappointing this season and they’re easily replaceable internally or through free agency. Hayes I feel they’d likely keep over Connelly at this point, plus he’s under contract. I agree, Rask isn’t going anywhere… if they were committing to a full rebuild or overhaul I’d think differently but that doesn’t appear to be there plan at the moment. The Bruins are very much looking at patching the problems (defense) and hoping the chips fall there way next season and slip into the playoffs as a #7-8 seed.
I agree yandle doesn’t make sense to me for boston they had no trouble scoring goals it was keeping them out of the net that was the problem. yandle is good offensively but lacks in his own end
bigbear,
See above, just posted something about Yandle similar… saying he’s not a bad player offensively but we need a more established defensive minded shutdown defenseman… ect. ect. ect.
ya I agree chad
Well we’ll know soon enough. July 1st is a little over 2 months away. It doesn’t really matter as baring trades, which in Boston’s situation I don’t see happening until after expansion.
It’s April 14th & most of these questions will be resolved by July 1st. Yandle moves Chara & Sedenberg down the line up reducing Chara’s offensive minutes & total TOI/GP. He & Krug are the offensive Dman today, Chara, McQuad & Sedenberg the defensive Dman. The kids rotate in & out continuing their development. There will be injuries allowing for any or all to play greater roles as they happen.
In total TOI/GP should Yandle be signed it would look like this barring a trade. Yandle, Krug, Chara, Mcquad, Sedenberg, Morrow/Trotman; depends upon competition, C. Miller. The difference in total TOI/GP between Yandle, Krug & Chara will be nominal. With in a minute of 1 & other may be a minute 30 tops.
If your expecting Sweeney to move Connolly & Hayes this summer you will be disappointed. Today’s NHL is as much about business dynamics as a players skills. Boston’s roster is virtually set for next season & really there is only room for 2 players. 1 at forward & 1 at D.
Trading Connolly or Hayes from a position of weakness doesn’t make sense. I would also argue that although Connolly didn’t have a ton of points. His linemates; Bergeron & Marchand, who he spent a significant amount of time with played well when he was on that line!
Striker,
I disagree about Connelly and Hayes… they can easily be exchanged with a kid from Providence and likely will have the same season if not better, or at least bring a different aspect. example: Acciari I still don’t think you’ll see both of them still here, one of them yes, but I think one leaves. Plenty of months to speculate though. The draft is much closer, and more intriguing IMO. Bruins with 2 draft picks, as low as 14, and the other may be quite close as well depending on SJS in the playoffs. Some great players around mid round. I think the Bruins could take a reach again, Taylor Raddysh is an interesting name for anyone that cares to look him up. Canadian player, 6’2 (I believe) and just about 200 pounds. Put up over 70 points in OHL this year. High upside, top 6 style winger. Big and has good hands and vision on the ice.
I think a trade to Edmonton for Wideman makes sense. He was a big reason Calgary made the playoffs (and won a round) after Giordano went down. He’s got experience, which is the opposite of what the Edmonton D have now. It appears they could fit his cap hit in while still trading a 6mil forward for another top pairing D (Striker, step in here). I also think his expiring contract makes him more attractive and he’d be cheap to acquire. Also would be a nice gesture after the steaming heap of smid the Oilers unloaded on the flames.
I disagree wideman should not be what the oilers are looking for
If they Flames are desperate to unload him I don’t see why Edmonton would be an issue. The rivalry isn’t what it used to be, these 2 teams haven’t played meaningful games against each in how long 25-30 years?
They have made trades before, I could see him maybe going for a 2nd or something along those lines. And if he likes Alberta he might resign there.
Oilers need all the help they can get,
dino I agree oilers need help but imo wideman isn’t the answer a lot of younger dmen that would bring the same as wideman for less money.
If Calgary ate about 1 to 1.5 mil Wideman might make a decent stop gap for 1 year & the cost would really be nominal. Calgary would be happy to just get his cap hit off the books; 3rd or 4th round pick less if Calgary eats salary.
I assume Chiarelli has other plans so I wouldn’t fret it. Chances of it happening are slim to non existent but if a solid #2 can’t be found anything is possible & they do need help on the PP at the point. I think Edmonton may target Goligoski as a UFA & he may be open to signing as a UFA in Edmonton.
@Big Bear
I agree I was just saying it could happen, there are better options. I was looking at it from a Flames fans perspective.
@Striker
I doubt Calgary eats salary he is UFA at the end of the year I said 2nd figuring BT would push for value in any trade with the Oilers.
Goligoski is interesting but then again if we are taking expansion into account do you really anything next season that you would have to protect without moving something out?
oh ok I get ya dino ya from a flames perspective yes
Dino.
I agree. Although if they moved RNH for a decent #2 they could make the 8 skater option work protecting 4D as part of that group.
They could potentially take a player as a UFA like Goligoski protect 4F, Hall, Eberle, RNH & Draisaitl, exposing Pouliot & Yakupov.
Unless Calgary wants to carry Wideman’s cap hit & salary to the trade deadline next season they will be hard prest to find any takers at a cap hit of 5.25 & an actual salsry of 6 even for 1 year.
With Datsyuk retiring….if DET can trade his contract…what would it take for them to get RNH from EDM, without giving up the farm so to speak….. ?
RNH would be the ideal 2 C going forward…behind Zet
Big issue = “if DET can trade his contract”
It can be done but they’ll likely have to absorb a portion or package the contract with some value for a team. Columbus was able to move Nathan Horton’s contract but they had to take back Clarkson a wildly overpaid bust… Bruins were able to accomplish a similar feat but at the expense of Reilly Smith. Bruins did get back Jimmy Hayes, who they had to resign and turned out to not be a non factor this season.
Moving Datsyuk’s contract to a team with no cap issue’s offering up a B grade propspect/younger player; Pulkinen, Jurco, or 2nd round pick shouldn’t be all that difficult.
The team acquiring him won’t actually have to pay a dime. They mutually agree to contract termination & are simply stuck with the cap hit.
Still giving up assets. 2nd round picks according to all these GM’s this year or writers reporting from what GM’s said are like gold.
How about Girardi to Edm. , RH shot and a defensive defenseman .
I saw some stats somewhere on giradi. Maybe on Yahoo fantasy hockey. Basically proving he was the worst 5 on 5 defenseman in the game based on his contract…
His numbers were really really bad it was quite shocking. So that wouldn’t really make sense.
As for the above comment about the flames oilers rivalry… I could not agree more… It’s more of an “ok let’s show up and get this game over with”
It’s a darn shame