Everything Else

Game #75 – Canucks vs. Hawks Spotlight: The Canucks And Their Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Trade Deadline

By Sam Fels 1735 0

There’s little question that the Vancouver Canucks have been floating in a fowl, still body of water for a few years now. They may be heavily deluded by the playoff appearance of 2015 that they somehow spasmed out of nowhere, but the two seasons after that hasn’t seen them clear 75 points and they’re certainly going to get nowhere near that this season. Anyone with half-decent eyesight and at least five functioning neurons upstairs could see this team needs big changes. It has one player it can build around in Brock Boeser, and maybe a decent piece in Bo Horvat, Troy Stetcher, and Ben Hutton. Maybe. Clearly, there’s a long way to go.

The Canucks had some things that they might have been able to move along for at least additional draft picks, and the more spins at the draft wheel you get the better chance you have of landing something meaningful.

Erik Gudbranson, who uncategorically sucks and that’s not even a phrase, was heading into free agency this summer. Thomas Vanek was another. Alex Edler might be starting to have old man stink, but he’s only got one year after this left on his deal and if the Canucks ate just a touch of his money due, they might have been able to convince some idiot that he can be a puck-moving bum-slayer. Chris Tanev has two more years after this one, and would have been harder to move, but given that he’s 28 and can actually still play, that might have been worth kicking the tires on too. And kicking this season into the can as hard as possible raises the odds of Rasmus Dahlin landing in town, which is a real start. Hell, maybe even flogging Lisa Ann’s favorite defenseman Michael Del Zotto would have been worth inspection.

The Canucks did… none of this.

They only made two trades. One was of Philip Holm, a young d-man who couldn’t crack their lineup, to Vegas for reclamation project Brendan Leipsic. Like, ok, maybe the Canucks can get Leipsic to the heights of a third line player. So…fine. And they did move Thomas Vanek…

…for Jussi Jokinen and Tyler Motte.

HUH?!

The Canucks tried to claim that there was no picks available for Vanek. But he got a third round pick at the deadline just last year. Surely a lower pick could have been had. And what the fuck are the Canucks going to do with Jokinen and Motte other than have other jerseys to make? Jokinen will play for all 31 NHL teams by 2020 at this ace, and Fifth Feather called Tyler Motte an ECHL all-star upon one viewing of him in preseason. Are they really selling that a player on his third organization by 24 is going to be a piece?

Not only that, they re-signed Gudbranson for another four years. He’s a big, dumb d-man in a league that’s getting smaller and faster. This deal is going to look awful…well, now. They didn’t move Edler, who is only going to lose value now, and they didn’t move Tanev. Tanev still has use but will he at 31 or 32 when the Canucks are good again? Assuming they do everything right, which they won’t.

The Canucks will spend $23.2 million next year on Gudbranson, Brandon Sutter, Sam Gagner, Loui Eriksson, and Bo Horvat. Only Horvat isn’t a synonym for “millstone” at the moment, and only just barely away from that. And remember, they might not get to 65 points this year.

Sure, Adam Gaudette and Kole Lind are in the pipeline already. But look at how much more the Nucks need? This was a whiff.

 

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Live From The Five Hole

Live From The Five Hole – Jack Of All Trades

By 1395

As we were recording, there were actual trades going on in the NHL, and Cieslak was somewhere over the Atlantic, as he is being extradited to The Hague for his various war crimes. Sam has escaped from the maw of the Internet Monster to actually be able to engage in the conversation. Of course, by the time this posts, half of what we discussed could be irrelevant, but isn’t that always the case anyway? And the title is interpreted at the reader’s discretion. Audio after the jump.

Everything Else

Now That The Dust Has Settled

By 1585

There is something slightly futile about trying to project playoff matchups and outcomes even in January and the beginning of February, because sometimes rosters look nothing like what they do when March begins. Or are altered in some way at least. Just look at the Hawks. A week ago they didn’t really have a bottom six, even when Kruger returns, and had a huge, gaping hole dripping gravy on the blue line (might still have that one). Now they might have the deepest forward group in the West.

Now that we know pretty much what everyone is going to look like when the playoffs begin, we can get a much better idea of the path the Hawks have to (and likely will) walk. I’ve written all season that even though the Hawks were not the team they were last year, there really hadn’t been a team that stepped into the gap that I thought for sure were a major threat. The Stars are fun but totally flawed, the Blues have remained the Blues, the Kings had some questions, and the Ducks couldn’t get out of their own way. Has any of that changed now?

Everything Else

Oh Stan-ny Stan-ny! Made The Calls And Brought In The Lot

By 1416

After the acquisition of Andrew Ladd, I figured the Hawks didn’t have room for much else. Shows what my math skills are. That’s why I work here and not there, right? Yeah, that’s it. Stan followed that up yesterday with the acquisition of Christian Ehrhoff which McClure already walked you through. Then last night Stan really pushed the chips into the middle  by saving Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann from the great sinking ship known as the Montreal Canadiens for the not insignificant price of Phillip Danault and a 2nd round pick in 2018 (because the Hawks aren’t going to give up any pick in 2017 when they host the draft that they don’t have to, which is a bit weird).

Essentially, Stan looked at his forward depth, and conclude he needed a whole new line. Which he did. And he got one.

Everything Else

Ladd Of The People

By 1599

In Stan Bowman’s first few seasons as GM, there was an aversion to “the big splash.” 2010’s big move was the now deceased Kim Johnsson. The following season saw Michael Frolik and Chris Campoli come aboard, and neither were anywhere near the hottest items on the board. After that Johnny Oduya was the acquisition, and again he wasn’t the big prize at the deadline (though Frolik and Oduya went on to play pretty big roles).

Even in free agency, Stan started out taking the more functional than revolutionary choices, like Montador, Brunnette, Carcillo, and other names that went on to just about nothing for the Hawks.

However, after two first-round exits there was little question Stan was facing just a bit of heat from upstairs. While it didn’t immediately result in bigger splashes, the Hawks certainly made it clear to everyone who would listen that they went after Zach Parise in free agency in the summer of 2012. That was certainly the biggest fish Stan had ever chased.

Everything Else

All Lost In The Trade Market

By 1408

With the Hawks having lost four of six (which constitutes a real streak for them), and their lack of depth in both the blue line and at forward getting exposed by the better teams in the West, the volume of calls for trades, any trades, is certainly getting to crescendo-levels. While the emotion certainly is understandable, the Hawks and their fans are going to find two problems. 1) Thanks to their cap situation, and Artemi Panarin’s 1.75m bonus for finishing among the top-10 in scoring among forwards, the Hawks aren’t going to be able to solve all their problems at the deadline and 2) There really aren’t any perfect solutions out there for even one of their problems. Let’s go through them, shall we?

Everything Else

Turn The TV On It Looks Just Like A Window

By 1444

As the Hawks and specifically Stan Bowman barrel into trade deadline week, we here at the lab are not only discussing names and proposals but how it fits in with the overall window of the Hawks. It becomes a more and more philosophical discussion, as well as trying to figure out what the actual length is. I’m sure it’s a discussion Bowman and assistants and scouts are having every day, just how much do you shorten the window on the back end for this chance this year?

Last year’s championship basically puts the Hawks on house money. As first-hockey-world problem as it might sound. two Cups wouldn’t have sounded like enough when we look back in 10 or 20 years (though ask Bears fans what a second championship would have felt like in the 80s). A third though puts the Hawks in rarified air, even if they don’t compare to what came before. In my lifetime, only three teams have bunched three Cups or more together, the Oilers, the Devils, and the Wings. Even the Avs in the late 90s, as stacked as they were, only managed two. So even if the Hawks didn’t win again in the Daydream Nation era, three in six basically lives forever.