Blockbuster trades, June 29th, 2016

3 blockbuster moves have occurred today. The first, and most shocking, is the signing of Steven Stamkos by... Tampa Bay. He had 68 points in 77 games with the Bolts.
This ends any of the rumours, and leaves Maple Leafs fans in shock, although there was a lot of doubt concerning Stamkos coming to Toronto.
In other blockbuster moves, the New Jersey Devils acquire forward Taylor Hall from Edmonton for Adam Larsson. Hall had 62 points in a full 82 game season, while Larsson had 18 points in the same amount of games played.
Also in the news, all-star defenceman PK Subban has been traded to Nashville for Shea Weber. Subban had 51 points in 68 games, while Weber had the same amount of points, but in 78 games.

Higgins waived by Canucks, expected to be bought out

As predicted, the Vancouver Canucks have waived 33-year old veteran Christopher Higgins. Higgins had 4 points in 33 games with the Canucks, but also played his share of games with the Utica Comets in the AHL

https://youtu.be/4H0WZM4nlVQ

Canuck Rumors: Burrows staying, Higgins to be bought out.

An intriguing tweet that I found HockeyBuzz.com tells rumours that Burrows will be staying, whilst Higgins shall be bought out.
Both have 1 year left on their contracts, Burrows earning 2 million dollars more them Higgins, who had only a ridiculous 4 points in 33 games. It seems like the smart move for the Canucks. The buy-out would be 1,666,667 dolars spread in 2 seasons. Therefore, the Canucks will only receive a cap hit of 833,333 dollars for next year, when it comes to Higgins.
https://mobile.twitter.com/mattsekeres/status/747100975438102528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

By the Numbers: 2016 NHL Draft

The NHL Public Relations tweeted this out on yesterday. A by the Numbers look at how many players were drafted, country-wise.
https://mobile.twitter.com/PR_NHL/status/746765370313293824

Where the picks are now: McCann, Gudbranson trade

  With the 94th pick they received, the Florida Panthers selected Jonathan Ang. Ang had 21 goals and 49 points in 68 games with Peterborough.
   With the 140th draft pick, the Vancouver Canucks selected Cole Candella. Candella had 4 goals and 20 points in 37 games.
    As I have mentioned in a previous post, the Panthers traded the 33th pick to Buffalo. They selected Rasmus Asplund, who had 12 points on the season.

The Epilogue of the McCann- Gudbranson trade

   For those who have not read my Tyler Benson post, it is recommended that you do so before reading this post

    In my previous post, I finished the conclusion that Tyler Benson would never have been a Canuck. The McCann trade was a WIN for the Canucks, especially looking at who the SABRES drafted.

    Rasmus Asplund, 18, was the draftee of the Buffalo Sabres, who took him 33rd overall, the pick they received from a  trade with Florida. This pick originally belonged to Vancouver, however they traded it for Gudbranson. His numbers are ridiculous in a poor fashion. 4 goals, 12 points in 46 games. Nowhere near Benson's numbers (28 points in 30 games played). However, this may be contributed to the fact he (Asplund) is a good two-way player with good sense. Nonetheless, the  Sabres do receive something of a gift,   a player who can play the games in both ways. Is it a win? The jury's still out currently. We'll have to wait to see what both of these players accomplish.

Fans need to calm down: Benson would have never been a Canuck.

   When Vancouver traded their 33rd overall pick to Florida in the McCann, Gudbranson trade, fans were shocked. Gudbranson was not a very good point scorer, yet still being a top 3 draft pick. Vancouver also realized they were trading away a good draft pick, what could have been the key to nabbing Tyler Benson, in exchange for Gudbranson and a fifth round pick. Also sent to Florida was a fourth round pick.
   Fans were saying this was a poor trade result by the Canucks, saying that the prospect could have been a player that should have been drafted in the late first round. So fans grumbled on day two, waiting for the Panthers to put the salt in the wound, the insult to injury, by nabbing Benson.
   But suddenly, it was Edmonton's turn to draft. And with the 32nd pick, they selected... Tyler Benson.
   It was a surprise for everyone watching. The 18 year old Benson, once projected to be a top 10 draft pick at the start of the season, finished with 28 points on the season. A very surprising pick, considering there were also players who had more points then him. However, Benson dealt through many injuries, and only played 30 games. Had he played over 60, he would have surely eclipsed the 50 point margin, and might have been going on 60 and 70.
   So there you have it, Canucks fans. You shouldn't be mad at Benning for this. You should be mad at him for skipping 60 point scorer Ty Ronning in the seventh round for someone who had 6 less points then him (Brett McKenzie). You should be mad at him for his whole tampering scandal. And for those who want to get the record straight, with the 33rd overall pick, the Buffalo Sabres selected, Rasmus Asplund?

Benning's Bluff: How Benning fanned out on a possible draft steal.

    The Vancouver Canucks almost had it all. They had the 194th draft pick of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, and they were looking to get a steal. There were many players available, including the son of former NHLer Cliff Ronning, Ty. With their draft pick, the Vancouver Canucks selected, from the OHL's North Bay Battalion, Brett McKenzie.
     If you thought Buffalo was surprised by the Canucks drafting Juolevi over Tkachuk, then they should have been even more surprised if they knew that (Ty) Ronning was still available in the draft. Ronning, 18, finished the season with 31 goals and 59 points with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL.
     The Canucks missed out on a 60 point scorer. If we also mention he accomplished this in only 67 points, you might be wondering why the Canucks fanned out on him like that. Ronning could definitely have been drafted higher, and it makes you wonder why he was such a late pick.
    (Brett) McKenzie, 19, finished with 26 goals and 53 points, 6 less then Ronning. It may have been the +/- difference. McKenzie had a +1, while Ronning was a -7. Still, this was not a huge difference, and would have surely been irrelevant of the decision.
    Benning is not a poor drafter. He did draft players like Virtanen, Boeser and Demko, as well as this year's first rounder, Juolevi. He does make the occasional bluff. It is his decisions as a manager that ruin his managing career. He can make the occasional mistake, and sometimes, those mistakes may come from drafting. Tonight was one of them.
     Ronning was drafted 201st overall by the New York Rangers. If, in the end, McKenzie becomes an irrelevant player who spends the majority of his career in the AHL as a first liner or a NHL fourth liner, while Ronning is posting 40 point seasons annually and has become one of the best second line wingers in the NHL, then you know who to blame.

Off-season goaltending: The voodoo of the Canucks

From 2013 to 2015, in consecutive seasons, the Vancouver Canucks have traded a goaltender during the off-season. I need not tell you about who they were. If you are a true fan, you should know who they are.
So the question remains. Will Vancouver trade away one of their goaltenders this off-season? They have 6 goaltenders so far, including (Michael) Garteig and (Thatcher) Demko, recently inked to contracts. They have 2 choices. Addition by subtraction or Addition by doing nothing.
ADDITION BY SUBTRACTION
Miller had a losing record during the season, with a good .916 save percentage and a poor 2.70 GAA. He is far past his peak, and is no longer the former Olympic hero he used to be. Markstrom, on the other hand, had a wins record just below .500, a good .915 save percentage, but a very unacceptable 2.73 GAA. This is one suggestion, to trade away a NHL goaltender for something else, and give someone, such as Bachman or Cannata, a chance. However, we could also trade one of the AHL goalies.
ADDITION BY DOING NOTHING
Actually, the Canucks have no need of making of move, The maximum goaltenders in a team is 4. So, we could have 3 goalies on each team. That ways, we spread it equally. Or we could have an ECHL team, and have Demko and Garteig play there.
NHL Free Agency starts July 1st

The future of the Canucks defensive corps: An overlook of the D-men for free agency

3 defencemen are UFAs for the Vancouver Canucks. They are: Yannick Weber, Matt Bartkowski and Dan Hamhuis.
Hamhuis has sparked a lot of debate. The Canucks did not trade him during the trade deadline. He finished with 3 goals and 13 points on the season. Most people believe the Canucks will not sign Hamhuis to another contract. It seems likely.
Bartkowski and Weber's futures are still in the air. Weber was scoreless through the season, and he was waived once this season. Bartkowski was rather irrelevant throughout the year.

What is going to happen during the off-season for Vancouver's forwards?

The Vancouver Canucks have 2 RFAs and 2 UFAs. RFAs include Emerson Etem and Linden Vey. UFAs include Brandon Prust and Radim Vrbata. Next year, Alexandre Burrows and Chris Higgins are UFAs, while Bo Horvat is a RFA.
The 2 players most people have debated about their futures with Vancouver are Burrows and Vrbata. After a lackluster effort this season, posting 13 goals and 27 points, a huge difference from last season's 31 goals and 63 points, Vrbata went from being the only representative of Vancouver at the all-star game to not making the game at all, being replaced by Daniel Sedin. Not to mention his -30 +/-. His 2 year, 10 million dollar contract was a huge cap hit for the Canucks, so unless Vrbata and Benning negotiate a new contract that has a lower pay, we could say adieu to Vrbata.
Burrows is a different story. He still has a year left on his 4 year, 18 million dollar contract.  This season he had 9 goals, 22 points, and a poor -13 +/-. The only way of getting rid of him is trading him, or buying out his contract (Which seems unlikely).

As for the other players, things may seem interesting. With Dorsett pegged for a few more years, the Canucks have no use of seasoned vet Brandon Prust. Etem and Vey are likely to re-sign to 1 way deals with the team. NHL Free Agency begins July 1st.

Olli Juolevi drafted by Canucks: My thoughts

The Vancouver Canucks have drafted Olli Juolevi fifth overall at the 2016 NHL draft on Friday, in Buffalo.
Juolevi, 18, was the first defenceman and (London) Knight drafted this year. He posted 9 goals, 33 assists and 42 points in 57 games for London.
This selection was both a surprise and not. Juolevi was the top defenceman available, and the Canucks needed a major upgrade on defence, especially if Hamhuis will leave the organization during the off-season. (Ben) Hutton & (Nikita) Tryamkin could get along well with the Fin, the third drafted during the first round.
However, this pick was met with some criticism. The Columbus Blue Jackets selected Pierre-Luc Dubois 3rd overall, letting the 4th overall Oilers take Jesse Puuljujarvi. This leaves Matthew Tkachuk available to be drafted.  Therefore, it was interesting for the Canucks to pass on Tkachuk, who had 107 points on the season, and scored the game - winning goal in the (Mastercard) Memorial Cup Final in Red Deer. Fans in the stands were shocked,  and they didn't hide their opinion.
So, did the Canucks win or lose on this selection? It's a simple yes, they won. Even if Tkachuk would become a skilled player, Juolevi is a good 2 way player and has good playmaking skills. He was, arguably, the best defenceman in the draft. The Canucks have themselves a very solid prospect in their hands.