WHO should the Canucks get with their freed-up cap space?
Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 3:22 pm
WHO should the Canucks get with their freed-up cap space?
Happy Holidays everyone. Hope all is well with all. Anyway - let's get down to business:
Even with the Sundin signing, the Canucks will still have about 6 million in cap space (pro-rated) around the trade deadline if I understand correctly. With that in mind, who do you think the Canucks should target?....and why? Here are some players that I thought of:
Tomas Kaberle: Good friend of Sundin and can help quarterback our Power Play (especially in light of the fact that Salo's body is made of glass and hardly plays as result). Kaberle hasn't been played up to his level over the past year and a half or so, but perhaps this would change if he came to a playoff bound team.
Brendan Shanahan: Shanahan would only cost us $$$$. Along with that, Shanahan brings a wealth of playoff experience along with leadership. Shanahan might be a shell of his former self but if used correctly (think: Jeremy Roenick - San Jose) might prove to be invaluable. Shanahan might skate like a slug, but the guy can still shoot with the best of em'.
Michael Peca: Peca is another guy that really "steps up" come playoff time. He might be a joke in the regular season, but the guy is a completely different player in the playoffs. His tenure in Edmonton is an example of that. Come crunch time, Peca is one of the best shut down centers and PK'ers out there. Peca's physical player and checking ability is also amongst the league's best. With Sundin (and if by miracle, if Salo and Bieksa are both healthy at the same time ), the Canucks power play should be pretty top notch. Could a guy like Peca make take our PK to that next level?...or atleast the level that it was during 06/07? If Peca came to Vancouver, would this give Veenyo the option to play Kesler on our top 6?
Josh Green: Is this guy still around in the NHL? If so - why not bring him back? Green played a major role in allowing the Canucks to have some an awesome PK back in 06/07. Green might be useless for the most part, but the guy is a proven PK'er...and was a damn good one for us.
Keith Tkachuk: Like Sundin, Tkachuk is another excellent hockey player that has never won the cup. If Tkachuk goes to a team that has a "promising" (highly debatable by the way) chance of winning the cup, then who else would be more motivated than this guy? Tkachuk would bring major size and toughness to our team....along with scoring ability. Perhaps I'm wrong on this, but I don't think the Canucks would have to give up as much for Tkachuk as Atlanta did 2 years ago.
Nikolai Khabibulin: This will raise a few eyebrows but let's face it: Groin injuries are a bitch. Even IF Luongo comes back in a month or so, it's not farfetched to believe that he could get injured again. Period. Schneider is clearly not ready to play in the NHL, while Sanford is an 'average' goalie at best. Only a team like Detroit can get away with 'average' goaltending. Even with Sundin, the Canucks are not Detroit. So with that in mind, would Khabibulin be a smart option? Only Khabibulin is a shell, the guy is a proven playoff performer....and has won a Stanley Cup. Khabibulin may not be the best option, but he's a helluva lot better than Sanford and Dan Cloutier. Khabibulin probably won't carry the Canucks (nor would he have to), but he wouldn't be a sieve either (like Cloutier unfortunately was....although I did like the guy as a person).
Anyway - those are some of the players that I had in mind. What about you?
Few more things:
1) Maybe this is just my opinion, but I believe that THIS is the best chance the Canucks have at winning the cup. Period. With the salary cap destined to go down next year (and I truly believe that the economy is going to get MUCH MUCH worse), this could be the only time we have ALL of Sundin, Ohlund, and respectable depth. In my opinion, the Canucks are at their peak NOW.
2) Although I'm probably in the minority here, I still believe that Raymond is excellent trade bait. Yes - he has a significant amount of talent, but this is also why other teams will be interested in him. Hell - if a guy like Raymond helps us unload a cripple like Salo (assuming he'd waive his NTC), then I'm all for it. Ideally - a guy like Pyatt could be traded but he won't fetch us anything.
3) I do not advocate "selling the farm", but I do believe that an aggressive approach (i.e. some long term sacrifice for short term advantage) is key. Raymond and a 1st is a package that I'd be willing to part with.
Happy Holidays everyone.
Happy Holidays everyone. Hope all is well with all. Anyway - let's get down to business:
Even with the Sundin signing, the Canucks will still have about 6 million in cap space (pro-rated) around the trade deadline if I understand correctly. With that in mind, who do you think the Canucks should target?....and why? Here are some players that I thought of:
Tomas Kaberle: Good friend of Sundin and can help quarterback our Power Play (especially in light of the fact that Salo's body is made of glass and hardly plays as result). Kaberle hasn't been played up to his level over the past year and a half or so, but perhaps this would change if he came to a playoff bound team.
Brendan Shanahan: Shanahan would only cost us $$$$. Along with that, Shanahan brings a wealth of playoff experience along with leadership. Shanahan might be a shell of his former self but if used correctly (think: Jeremy Roenick - San Jose) might prove to be invaluable. Shanahan might skate like a slug, but the guy can still shoot with the best of em'.
Michael Peca: Peca is another guy that really "steps up" come playoff time. He might be a joke in the regular season, but the guy is a completely different player in the playoffs. His tenure in Edmonton is an example of that. Come crunch time, Peca is one of the best shut down centers and PK'ers out there. Peca's physical player and checking ability is also amongst the league's best. With Sundin (and if by miracle, if Salo and Bieksa are both healthy at the same time ), the Canucks power play should be pretty top notch. Could a guy like Peca make take our PK to that next level?...or atleast the level that it was during 06/07? If Peca came to Vancouver, would this give Veenyo the option to play Kesler on our top 6?
Josh Green: Is this guy still around in the NHL? If so - why not bring him back? Green played a major role in allowing the Canucks to have some an awesome PK back in 06/07. Green might be useless for the most part, but the guy is a proven PK'er...and was a damn good one for us.
Keith Tkachuk: Like Sundin, Tkachuk is another excellent hockey player that has never won the cup. If Tkachuk goes to a team that has a "promising" (highly debatable by the way) chance of winning the cup, then who else would be more motivated than this guy? Tkachuk would bring major size and toughness to our team....along with scoring ability. Perhaps I'm wrong on this, but I don't think the Canucks would have to give up as much for Tkachuk as Atlanta did 2 years ago.
Nikolai Khabibulin: This will raise a few eyebrows but let's face it: Groin injuries are a bitch. Even IF Luongo comes back in a month or so, it's not farfetched to believe that he could get injured again. Period. Schneider is clearly not ready to play in the NHL, while Sanford is an 'average' goalie at best. Only a team like Detroit can get away with 'average' goaltending. Even with Sundin, the Canucks are not Detroit. So with that in mind, would Khabibulin be a smart option? Only Khabibulin is a shell, the guy is a proven playoff performer....and has won a Stanley Cup. Khabibulin may not be the best option, but he's a helluva lot better than Sanford and Dan Cloutier. Khabibulin probably won't carry the Canucks (nor would he have to), but he wouldn't be a sieve either (like Cloutier unfortunately was....although I did like the guy as a person).
Anyway - those are some of the players that I had in mind. What about you?
Few more things:
1) Maybe this is just my opinion, but I believe that THIS is the best chance the Canucks have at winning the cup. Period. With the salary cap destined to go down next year (and I truly believe that the economy is going to get MUCH MUCH worse), this could be the only time we have ALL of Sundin, Ohlund, and respectable depth. In my opinion, the Canucks are at their peak NOW.
2) Although I'm probably in the minority here, I still believe that Raymond is excellent trade bait. Yes - he has a significant amount of talent, but this is also why other teams will be interested in him. Hell - if a guy like Raymond helps us unload a cripple like Salo (assuming he'd waive his NTC), then I'm all for it. Ideally - a guy like Pyatt could be traded but he won't fetch us anything.
3) I do not advocate "selling the farm", but I do believe that an aggressive approach (i.e. some long term sacrifice for short term advantage) is key. Raymond and a 1st is a package that I'd be willing to part with.
Happy Holidays everyone.