It's not homerism, Podkolzin was ranked in the top handful of players most of his draft year, was drafted at 10, and is steadily tracking to be a top 6 player. The Canucks would love to have his size and playing style in the lineup next season at 19 if he was available to them.Mëds wrote: ↑Fri Sep 11, 2020 6:59 pmClassic homerism. Podkolzin hasn't played a single game in the NHL. We like what we've seen in junior and the KHL, but far to early to count our chickens there. Remember everyone salivating over the coming of Tree? We all know how that worked out. For every superstar Russian in the NHL there are at least 2 who come highly touted but completely bust.Curmudgeon wrote: ↑Fri Sep 11, 2020 10:51 amI was looking at it from a top six and bottom six perspective and even though RW is a position of strength for them, there's still plenty of uncertainty.Doyle Hargraves wrote: ↑Fri Sep 11, 2020 6:52 am Yeah... do you want 24 year old elite skater Jake scoring 20/20 playing 13 min a night making 2.5 million? Or 28 year old Toffoli lumbering around at 5.5 million on a long term deal barely cracking 50 points?
Savings of 3 million to improve the roster in other areas.
Toffoli, Boeser, and Podkolzin are top six players but as you say, Toffoli is 28 and already not the greatest skater and could very well bolt back to LA as a UFA anyway, Boeser isn't worth his qualifying offer if it was due today, and Podkolzin isn't coming for another season. Now, can they get Virtenen to consistently perform in the top six in the event they lose Toffoli and/or move Boeser before they have to qualify him?
Virtanen, MacEwen, and Motte as of today are the bottom six choices with Virtanen being a 5 year pro and still not having his shit together, MacEwen appearing ready for full-time 3rd line duty providing the pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence the team is sorely lacking, and Motte is an RFA but a key one IMO. Then there's Lind developing decently in Utica. To me MacEwen and Motte are ideal for those bottom six spots, especially if Virtanen can't get his act together and learn to be better defensively and hopefully kill penalties. Plus Virtanen does have value around the league if they move on from him or he's a sweetener.
Why would you use Tryamkin, of all guys, as a comparable? Different position and was almost 20 when drafted in the 3rd round after being completely passed over in a previous draft. I'm a Tryamkin fan and think he can comfortably play bottom pairing and kill penalties for the Canucks and that's a big win for a 3rd round pick but not at all a reasonable comparable to Podkolzin.