(upbeat music) We're back on Canucks Central in the KinTech Studio. Get your thoughts on the Dumbbar Lumber text message inbox. We'll react to those throughout the course of the program. Guest wise, we've got Don Taylor coming up at 4.30. After five o'clock, we're gonna touch base with Ty Anderson out of Boston because the Canucks just decided they were gonna sign a bunch of Bruins today. - Yeah, they did. - Jake Dabrask, Dantan Heine and Derek Forbert all coming out from Beantown. And the trade goes, Dabrask, Heine and Forbert to Vancouver, headed to Boston, Elislyn Holman, Nikita Zadora. - Yeah, the Canucks gained cap space in the trade. - The Canucks gained cap space in the trade, yes. Quite a bit of cap space as well. Boston make it a couple of big bets on those two Vancouver players. And we alluded to it last week with, once we found out that Zadora was leaving Vancouver, we had both heard that Boston was going to be hot on the seals. - Yeah, and that was always kind of the destination at the deadline thereafter. I mean, the last year with Calgary, they were sniffing around Linholm too. So it was a four-gall conclusion. The question was, would he get his money? And boy, did he ever get his money. And listen, it wasn't the, you know, there was a time where there was talk of him getting eight by eight. - Yeah, Linholm? - Yeah, so that would have been what, 60, 64 million bucks? - Yeah, some people thought Calgary might have even gone all the way up to close to nine, like in the 70 million range. - Yeah, I'm not sure that there's been some points. Like let's just for argument six, say 64, but yeah, potentially 70 million even two, right? But 54 is not bad. - Mm-hmm. - 54 million dollars isn't bad, right? - It's pretty good to be able to come back and still be able to get 54 million from the Lost in Bruce. - Wasn't quite John Klingberg saying no to, was it 50 some million and then essentially getting, what, 13 million out of it at the end? - Yeah. - Which I mean, hey, 13 million is a lot of money, but-- - Boston kind of views, it seems like Boston views Linholm as a Bergeron replacement of some kind. - I mean, you put him with Pasternak, he'll probably, you know, have at least 60, 70 points. - Yeah, he's probably gonna have a good season in Boston. But probably a contract I would not have loved if the Canucks had done it. Now, I'm not gonna lie to you, Sat, and I said this in the opening segment, but when I first saw the Jake DeBrosk deal, seven by five and a half at, what's that, 37 and a half million dollars? I, yeah, I did have a bit of a moment of sticker shock, like, oh, wow, it cost that much. It gave, it cost that kind of term to get Jake DeBrosk to Vancouver. And then you start seeing some of the other deals that are getting signed today, and you look into it a little bit more as far as, okay, how did they come to this price for Jake DeBrosk? And why do they think it's a good bet? It's one thing for me to think that it isn't, but why did the Vancouver Canucks actually think this is a good bet to make? And one comp I came up with is Zach Hyman's contract from 2021 with the Edmonton Oilers. Now, when Hyman signed that contract, I don't think there was too many people out there being, like, wow, he's gonna massively bring, like, he's gonna bring tons of value on this deal for the Edmonton Oilers. Like, Zach Hyman is just scratching the surface of the player that he can be, and now he's going to find another level with Conor McDavid and company in Edmonton. Nobody saw Zach Hyman as being a guy who could score 50 goals as he now has with the Edmonton Oilers as part of his resume. And it looks like a steal of a deal at five and a half million dollars per season. Now, I'm not sitting here and saying that Jake DeBrosk is going to all of a sudden become a 50 goal scorer over the next couple of years with the Vancouver Canucks. That would be, of course, the most optimistic and blissful outcome possible for the Vancouver Canucks. But because he is 27, because he does have a really strong scoring profile, one that is similar, if not better, than what Zach Hyman showed in Toronto before signing with the Edmonton Oilers, it does feel like a bet that is a decent bet that the Canucks are making. This player can at least continue to bring this kind of value, five and a half million dollars. And there is a world where he starts to bring seven million dollars of value over the next couple of years. I mean, yeah, and like you said, he's not necessarily going to be Zach Hyman and score 50, whatever goals, right? Like, I don't see... That would be very unlikely. Yeah, I'm not sitting here saying that. I know, exactly. And I don't think that's going to happen. That's going to happen. But can you get pushed into being a 30 goal scorer? Yeah. Like 35 even. I mean, he scored at those places with Boston. Prior to this season, he scored at those places with Boston. He did. But can you do it and be healthy for a full year or two? Yeah. Get through the year, play 82 games and have 35, 37 goals. Like to me, that would be... If you score 35 plus, 30 plus, you're a seven million dollar plus player. Yeah. You're right. So can you become that in Vancouver? And part of him becoming that is also on Elias Patterson, to some extent. Mm-hmm. Now, you can't force players who don't fit together sometimes. Mm-hmm. Right. And we'll see how the fit goes. I don't think, stylistically, they're opposed. I think there is a way for it to work because, you know, he likes to shoot the puck. He goes to the net. He's fast. He forwards checks. He gets in there. And I think, you know, he's a smart player. And I think those things with Patterson are going to work. And if it works, can Patterson a player we've seen now last year he had his struggles? And how many chances did he set up for Mikayev? We just couldn't score. Yep. Can he convert those? And can you get Patterson to take another level here? And get the most out of a player. Patterson's an economist, David. Mm-hmm. He's not going to turn, I don't think, Jake DeBrusque into a 50-goal score the way Mick David has done. But can he help him become a 30-35 goal scorer? And if he can do that, well, and hey, he's going to be more productive. And then that's one of the reasons why you pay guys like Patterson, that type of money. They can elevate their line mates. And now they've given him a legitimate top six line mate, and can Patterson elevate him too? Well, for as much as I have been a Mikayev Stan, and I know our listeners will never let me live that down. So I'm going to own up to it. Like even I know that Mikayev was never going to be much more than a 20-ish goal scorer. Like that's Mikayev's ceiling as a player. That's where it is. He did it once in his career. There's probably like maybe a best-case scenario Mikayev could have seen a 25-goal season, but he blew up his knee and things went real haywire here in Vancouver, as we know. And now he's off to the Chicago Blackhawks. But Jake de Brest does have realistically 30-goal upside. I mean, it's very clear to see in his scoring profile. 22-23 scored 27 goals in 64 games. The year prior, he scored 25-77. Over that two-year stretch, he was a top 20 goals per 60 player at five on five. Like we're talking amongst scoring the best goals per minute rate of anybody in the league. In the playoffs, this is a player that has scored multiple goals in every single playoff season he has played in. Patrick Levine alluded to his playoff scoring and the way he elevates in the playoffs as a reason to why they were keen on signing this player. There's a legitimate scoring profile here, and he is 27, so you are getting the prime of his career. At least the first half of this contract is the prime years or still the prime years of Jake de Brest's career. Yeah, you're not buying really too many bad years. Like he's going to be a free agent at the age of 34, a long way down. He'll be close to 35, but nonetheless, he'll be 34. So we're talking about if there's a fall-off, usually it comes in that 34-35 range nowadays for players that are decent, they can still be very effective to 33, maybe even 34. So like conceivably, you can get through these seven years, and he doesn't really give you any down years. And by the time you get to seven years, what is 5.5 against a cap going to look like against whatever the salary cap is going to be, then it'll be north of 100 million, right? So like I don't think this is a cap killer contract. As long as he's an everyday player for you, they can score 20 plus goals. And you know, people are saying, you know, he doesn't have to score 40 goals. Like he's a good player too, and yes, it's all true. Like he does a lot of positive things. You need him to earn his money. Good teams get players that give you surplus value. Yes. And what you're alluding to here is there's an avenue for him to be more than just what they're signing him to be. And that's the bet they're making it. And profile-wise, you went through all the analytics on him too. Like analytically, he was one of the one of the better free agent bets. Like all the analytics people love this Jake de Brest's time. I was kind of surprised about that. I'm not going to lie to you today. Yeah, they're like, oh man. Like, you know, just a million dollar player. I'm not oblivious to the underlying metrics, but I do have my doubts about them at times. We've talked about that. I was kind of surprised that the nerds were just in love with Jake de Brest's contract. No, they do. I mean, I get it. And I understand why when you look at that profile, and I quibble with a lot of that stuff too. But and the thing to keep in mind is like one of the reasons why his profile is so good analytically is because he's playing on a really good team and a higher role. Yeah. And like when you're playing with, you know, guys like Pasternak and Marshaan, like you're spending the office most of your time in the office zone. They're great defensively. You have to carry your own weight. Otherwise you don't get a chance to play there. So I'm not taking anything away from him. But there's an environment that has really lifted up those analytics where I'm not expecting those numbers away from the puck to be quite as gaudy in Vancouver. Now you hope that Vancouver elevates to as a team and kind of becomes that as well. And and perhaps it does. But that's the thing I would keep in mind with some of those numbers. But the rates are very promising to your point. Yeah. The other question is, can you stay healthy? He played 80 games last year, but he had a hand issue. Yes. He hasn't been able to get through a full season like that's a huge part of it. Like you can be a great player, but can you stay healthy too? Staying healthy is a skill in the National Hockey League and in professional sports. He's also a bet on Elias Patterson, just to a some extent, right? And Patrick Alvine alluded to it in his earlier media. They'll today that as of now, the plan is yes, to play to brusque with Elias Patterson. But I feel like that is part of the bet a couple of texts coming into the Dunbar lumber text message inbox. Yeah. The brush could score 40 with McDavid. Unfortunately, we do not have Connor McDavid. But don't forget like yes, Connor McDavid is in a class of his own, like when it comes to offensive creation. Nobody anywhere in the hockey world is going to dispute that with you. But the Canucks do have two 100 point centers on their roster that can elevate players around them. Well, that's the bet they're making. Yeah. Right. And then I think when you look at how good JT's been, and now you're giving JT as well, potentially another guy on his line. That's probably better. And to me, Heinen playing alongside Miller and Besser is very interesting. Okay. Okay. I want to get to this because I did put out some potential line combos. Yeah. I know. Look at this guy calling other people nerds and he's making line combos on July 1st. Right. Nerd. Look at July 1st line combos. So I, I have Heinen on the top line, I guess with, with Miller and Besser to start then to Brusk, Pedersen, Hoaglander don't really have a right shot there, but I think you'll try to make it work with those three to at least start the season with the Ford group as it stands. Keep the third line together with Blooger, Joshua and Garland. Maybe you put suitor there. I don't know. But for now we'll go with Blooger in that spot. And then your fourth line is Podkolzen, suitor and Sherwood leaving, Nils Oman and Phil de Giuseppe as the odd man out in this scenario. But is that, could that be a potential forward group for the Canucks next season? Yeah. I mean, I think, I don't really have much of a problem with anything you put out there. I think the question we're going to find out in camp, who's going to play with Blooger and, I'm sorry, with Joshua and Garland, we expect Blooger because hey, they were together. But suitor is the better offensive player. Yes. And that was actually how the line originated when Blooger was out of the lineup and suitor was playing with Joshua and Garland before suitor ended up getting hurt and Blooger took that spot. Yeah. So, and it worked really well while suitor was playing there also. So you have options there, but either way, we don't need to quibble about that point too much. But the rest, like I agree, because I like to have Heinen with Miller and Besser, I think he fits the type of role that you need on that line. You can forecheck well. He's got some speed. He's got some sides. He can play well along the wall. He's got a good shot too, right? Go to the middle of the ice that really plays the identity of that line. And then I think having Hoaglander alongside Patterson and now Dubresque, this is Hoaglander's big chance. Mm-hmm. Now, listen, the Canucks are always open to trades too, and we'll see what happens over the course of the summer. But I think Hoaglander in that spot, that's going to be his chance to like, hey, now Patterson's playing with this guy that can maybe score goals and they find some chemistry. Can he really find a level there? Because if he doesn't, can I have some options now? Yeah. Maybe Joshua, because of chance there, right? Maybe Sherwood gets a look in the top six because Dubresque is a left winger, Sherwood's a right handed shot. Like, these are the types of things that they have to consider, you know? And I think that's where it's a really big spot for Hoaglander. And if he can seize that role, and Heinen can work with Miller and Besser, like you might have a real legit top six, right? And then you look at the rest of your roster, you feel pretty good about Sherwood being on your fourth line, right? Whether it's with, it's with Blueger or whether it's with Souter, and then we know what Garland and Joshua can do together. Danton Heinen, 17 goals this past year in 21, 22, we had 18 goals with the Pittsburgh Penguins. So there is a little bit of a scoring profile. I know it's not something that screams, "Oh wow, that's a bonafide top-top line in the league." But when you look at a third guy on a line, sometimes you're looking for a player with traits that are going to help the actual duo on that line elevate. That's more of what you're looking, sort of like how Phil Digisepa did it for a time at first with Miller and Besser. And once it started to fade, they needed to find other options. Souter ended up being that best option for much of the end of the season and in the playoffs, but they're still looking for that third guy on a line type. It doesn't mean you can't upgrade on that when it comes to end season towards deadline season, but who's going to be that guy to start the season? And that's where Heinen fits in. For sure, and to Austin and Langley's other people's points too, now that you're paying Joshua 3.25. And we'll talk about where the Canucks rank with their salary cap picture all of a sudden and the bets they made before free agency, how they're aging. And spoiler alert, the Joshua one is already looking pretty good in relation. Now he has to pick up, he has to hold up his end of the bargain and have a good season and be worth the money. But the bet, compared to what else was out there, looks like a sound one. I think, as much as you like Garland and Joshua together, I think in training camp, you should explore the idea of, can you get a bit more out of Joshua, can you put him in a different situation? Like if you're giving him this contract, that means you think there is more there. Yeah. Don't you have to explore that? Do you explore it in training camp? Do you explore it later in the season after he gets his groove back or whatever? Like, I'm interested to see if and when they go to it, but should you not maybe explore that in camp? Give him an opportunity to really even make more of himself now that you've got him locked into a longer term deal. And the flip side of that is, and I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth here, but the flip side of that is, do you want to put a lot of pressure on him too, right at a camp after he got the contract? Like, you know what I mean? There's a couple things you have to weigh in there. So I'm really fascinated about the timing on that, but I do think at some point you should explore if there's more in Joshua after you made the commitment you made to him. I know a lot of our textures at 650, 650 were wondering about Jeff Skinner. Could he still be an option for the Vancouver Canucks? Looks like he is coming off the board and is headed to the beautiful city of Edmonton. Sources say, Jeff Skinner heading to the Oilers. That is from Frank Sarah Valley. No word on term of the deal, but Jeff Skinner bought out by the Buffalo Sabres and headed to Edmonton who had already signed Victor Arvidson today. They brought back Corey Perry on a one year deal. So Edmonton doing a couple of things today to round out their forward group and certainly bringing an extra level of scoring with Jeff Skinner coming into the fold. Yeah. And I think he's a player. Sorry, just for the terms, it's one year three million, according to Sarah Valley. Yeah, three million, hey. Okay. Well, it wouldn't have made sense in Vancouver. So I thought of Vancouver could be looking at a player like him because of the relation with Rutherford as well, you know, Rutherford drafted after Carolina and everything, right? So perhaps there was something there kicking some tires and I wouldn't be surprised if the Canucks did at least check in at some point, but three million was never going to be a number that the Canucks were willing to do the role he's going to play. And honestly, I feel like if you look at their cap space, not something that they really can do. I mean, I guess they could, but not really something they'd want to do. And the funny thing here is when you look at the amount of money that Skinner's already made and after the buyout and everything, like he's going to have made well over $100 million already. And I thought, hey, would he be willing to play for like a million, a million and a half? It's like, no, man, he wants at least three million, man. Hey, man. Some guys are just like, I'm not, I'm not faulting him. I was wondering, I'm like, like, how hungry is he for the playoffs? Yeah. Right. Is he a guy that's like, you know what? I've made money. I haven't been in the playoffs my entire career over a thousand games. Like, how great would it be for me to go somewhere and be cheap and help that team win? And I'm not saying like three, like he probably could have got more. He's going to the Stanley Cup runners up. He is. Like he is, right? But three million. Like he got some money for it too. He did get some money for it. Good for him. He made the Oilers pay more than anybody else. Yeah. Well, I think, yeah, or, or at least, you know, yeah, hey, I'm not playing for cheap, right? Like, that's kind of what it was. Because I think if Vancouver, if Vancouver was interested, I think it would have had to be like, not, not everybody's Sam Reinhardt and willing to take far less than market value to, uh, to stay in a comfortable situation. Yeah. Okay. Not even, didn't even get nine. No. Honestly, like it's not even the tax haven thing. Okay. To me, it's not. Why did Sam Reinhardt sign for what he signed in Florida? He's comfortable where he is. Yeah. There's no other reason. It's not like Stephen Stankos was like, you know what? I want to stay in, uh, in South Florida. I'm standing with Tampa. I love the tax haven there. And he signed for a tax haven team anyways, but he got as much as he could at his age. Yeah. It's just, you know, NHL players are like that where they're just willing to take less money because they're in a situation that they like 100%. Now Jeff Skinner did make it clear. He wanted the player for a legit cup contender and he signed with one of the, you know, the, like you said, the Stanley Cup runner up, right? Now is it a guarantee he finally makes the playoffs or is he bringing a cursed admin? And they missed the playoffs. Like, which avenue is this going to be? What a joy. That would be. Could you imagine? Poor guy. Like, I mean, I mean, like I'd feel bad for him, but also of all the teams that it could happen to. Yeah. I just, I would be the funniest. I can't wait for, uh, I can't wait for the, uh, the Oilers to miss the playoffs. And Jeff Skinner still misses out of what it's like to play in the postseason. That would be a ridiculous outcome. And then you must feel cursed at that point. Uh, so that's some of the thoughts of what the Canucks forward group looks like now. And of course, uh, also a thought on Jeff Skinner signing with the Edmonton Oilers. Yeah. Um, and you know, we can talk when we Swiss, we still have like two hours to go on the show. We'll talk about this, but like Sherwood's a really nice addition. So okay. We'll, we'll talk about this on the other side, um, of the bets that the Canucks made, which one is. Do you like the best your, yeah, which one do you like the best of the bets that the Canucks made today? And also talk about how they went about filling out their defense core, because we talked about the forward group now, Vinny day, Harnay, they signed Derek forward as well. Tyler Myers is pretty much locked into a top four role on this squad. How do we feel about the way the Canucks went about building out their defense core after Nikita Zadorov went out the door, any in call for that matter. It's Dan Rachow, Satyar Shah, Canucks central continues on sports net 650. Get your daily dose of Canucks talk with us weekdays from 12 to two on sports net 650 or catch up on demand through your favorite podcast app. We're back on Canucks central Dan Rachow, Satyar Shah. We're in the kin tech studio. It is signing season July 1st. Most of the business is done, Jeff Skinner, one of the latest names off the board. There are always, and even this year is no exception for as much as over a billion dollars was spent today. There's always going to be a few intriguing names that are left over in the free agent market. Still some guys like Vlad Tarasenko, Adam Henryk, Daniel Sprong, who's been a pretty reliable score for a couple of years is still out there and available. Eli Tolvenin with the Seattle Kraken as well, though I think he might be in RFA. So there's a couple of names out there that are still intriguing on the UFA markets, but the Canucks did a lot of their work already today. They did. I mean, they're not done because this team is never done. They're always looking for ways to get better. And technically they still have cap space, like actual cap space, not just like LTIR space. You know, for a moment, let's illuminate what their cap picture truly looks like. Sure. People are going to want to know this. Yeah, because if you actually go to cap friendly or any other sites, they have 24 players in the roster, which they can't have. So it has to be 23 players maximum. So that would give the Canucks at least 1.3 million in cap space. And that's sending a league minimum player down. If it's a player making more potentially slightly more than league minimum, it's more cap space than that. But they essentially have 1.3 million in cap space. Plus 2.5 million in LTIR space, which is 3.8 million in functional cap space if you wish to use it. It's not insignificant. No. Not insignificant at all. 3.8. You can add a decent player worth 3.8 million. The thing is, you look at the market right now, there really isn't anybody you want to spend that type of money on, I don't think. So I think it's best used via trade if need be. And if you're making an addition, that 3.8 actually becomes 4.5 because you have to subtract somebody from the roster, even a league minimum player, so the Canucks can add a player making up to 4.5 million. And where is the need most pressing at the moment? It's probably on defense. Yeah. So the Canucks made a couple of additions to their decor today. And the first was Derek Forbort, 32 years old, 6'4 coming off a pretty significant injury, but is already into his off-season training program, was with the Boston Bruins for the last three seasons. 1.5 million is fairly cheap considering what other players were getting. But profiles as a big defenseman, depth kind of guy, going to play third pair of minutes and help out your PK. The other was Vincent de Harnay, who the Canucks saw quite a bit of in the playoffs with the Edmonton Oilers. Right shot, 2 years, 4 million total on that, so 2 million on the average annual value. And a player that I, like honestly, for what right shot defensemen were getting and you needing to fill a third pair role, I mean, it's a totally fine contract to give Vincent de Harnay. Yeah. You know, and he's bigger, like a 6-7, right, like so, and the contract's not so bad that I think it's tradable if you need at some point after the trade, I mean, after Christmas next season, if you had to go down that road, for instance, not to say that you would, and even if you go to- 6-7, right shot defensemen with NHL experience at 28 years old, tend to be easily tradable. Yeah. And even if it's not this year, next year, like, so even if it doesn't work out the way you want, it's not an anchor at all. You know, like, I think it's a very easily workable contract and considering, to your point, what defensemen are getting paid, righty defensemen too, like it's- I mean, Alex Carrier got close to $16 million with the national predators today. Yeah. You know, like, we're talking about big contracts, Oliver Ekman Larson signed a four-year deal with Toronto. Ilya Labushkin got 10 million from the Dallas Stars, like, is that something you want to pay for a third pair, right shot guy? No. So Hakmpah got less. You got 1.5. Now he's in his 30s, a little bit older, Dejarnay is a younger player, right? So that obviously- and I'd say Dejarnay, because of his youth, because of his lack of experience, I think there is some- your pre-reprojecting, he'll be better. Now to be honest, like, I think he's, you know, he's not a great- like, he hasn't been a great defensemen. He's a player who's showing some promise, like, you're paying for a guy that you think can be better. And- I mean, he got saddled with Darnell Nurse. What do you expect from that? Yeah. I mean, it's not his fault, right? He played 16 playoff games for a team that went to the Stanley Cup final, like, you know, he was a service with a player for them. And considering how this coaching staff has shown an ability to get the best versions out of guys- Yeah. And getting a player like Noah Juleson. Now Noah Juleson has been on his reclamation project before Tockett took over, like, he was here before he worked in Abbessford, like, so he was well on his way before. But clearly, they got him to a level where he was more than just a call-off, like, you're like, man, this guy can be your number seven. And if the connects have to start this season with Juleson as your number six, you can live with it. Now it's a battle between him and Deharnay. Can they get more out of Deharnay the way they got more out of Juleson? I think I would say there's potential for that to happen. You know, like Juleson's a nice player, but quite clearly they don't want to just have him as their number one third pair option. No. They wanted to have a couple of guys in that spot. Now, you know, like, on one hand, I want to see more. Like I'd like to have more talent in this decor here, Sat, at the same time, I don't know if I wanted to get into, like, I'd prefer this option compared to getting into the bidding wars for some of these, you know, still flawed players that ended up getting quite a bit of money today. Well, here's the thing. Deharnay is a guy that may not play all 82 games, but like he's a guy that gives you depth. Same thing with Juleson. He's there for depth. And even Derek Foreborn. Like I think Foreborn's a guy that could potentially, if he's healthy, play every game for you and be good on the PK, but he might be a number six. Yeah. He's making 1.5. Like, you know, that's not, you know, even number five money, like the money's very indicative of where he is considering the injuries, but he has strengths. Like he's big, he's strong, he's really good on the PK, it has generally a really good peak has been, right, and he's really good defensively to, right, and I think he's a player that's probably better in the playoffs for you than the regular season because of how the game changes. And I see people texting in and they're not wrong, they need a puck move around the blue line. Yeah. The thing I was wondering about was instead of signing a, you know, the Deharnay potentially, were they going to sign a Branstrom for potentially or Bocquist potentially, right? A guy, now Bocquist, because he can play the right side now. Would they sign or no? He's a left unit. Are you looking at somebody who can move the puck a little bit? But clearly those guys don't have the confidence of their coaching staffs, right? No. Because like those guys, don't get in and out of the lineup and considering how this team wants to play, how this coaching staff is, how likely is it if they have an option between a puck moving diminutive defenseman who's a six, seven guy in Noah Juleson, who do you think is going to play more games? Probably, probably Noah Juleson, right. And I'm not saying the connects don't need a puck mover, but I'm wondering if you're looking at signing depth puck movers, is it, is it worth like you doing that even, right? If they're not going to get a chance because the guys they need and I think the guys they would trust are players that are legit four or five guys that can move the puck. You know what I mean? Like if they can get a guy like that, I think they'd be all for it. A higher caliber player, but if you're talking to depth guys, that's what I wonder about. That's kind of why I think they didn't do that instead. Left shots that are still remaining on the market, filtered by the amounts of points they scored last year, TJ Brody is top of the list, leaving Toronto had a really tough finish to the season is more suited for a third pair role at this point, but interesting name right there. Eric Branstrom is next on the list. Yeah, and he just signed, right? I guess he did. Did he sign? I think he just signed. I would have missed that. I think literally just like minutes ago. Okay. Well, as you check that, I'll keep rolling through the list. Ryan Souter at 39 years old, Jack Johnson, Nate Schmidt, who we know is not coming to Vancouver. Orjo Vacanainen is also on this list. Pierre Olivier Joseph might be somebody that they have at least the front office has experience with from their time in Pittsburgh. So that could be a name that might be interesting just to add into the defense mix because like on the left side, you probably still want another guy, at least one other guy, however much upside they may have or what they're going to cost. I think you're just at the very least you're looking to add another guy into the mix on the left side of your defense. And that's what I think is probably going to be the motivation of the front office as maybe the summer goes on. Yeah. He's finding another left shot guy, potentially with some puck moving ability. But you're right. Like it's not somebody that they staple into the lineup for 82 games. I think it's kind of one of those things like maybe depending on matchup or how it goes, like it's between that guy and foreburt as to who gets in. Exactly, right? And I think when I look at this blue line, to me, it looks like the same blue line that the connects had last season with more depth when they headed into the season. So instead of having Ian Cole, they have foreburt. Now I think Cole's probably a little bit better. I mean, Ian Cole got $3.1 million. Right. You know, the pay cut that Vancouver was hoping they'd be able to get him on wasn't going to happen. He got a raise. Yeah. He got a little bit of a raise. He did. Good for him, right? Yeah. And so there weren't any cheap options available for you. So I think what the connects did instead, and this makes sense, you go into next season kind of like you did this past year, and then you have the flexibility to add a player who becomes available. Who's the next team that blows up next year like Calgary did? Right. They have a player that needs to get moved. An up team that struggles or a team that needs to shed cap or a team that needs to do something. Now the connects, if they hold on to their trade assets, which they've had, like I know the trade it picks, but they haven't traded all their prospects. They have a little cap space. Like next season now, instead of moving to Vivilia, they have the money to just go and make the trade. Yeah. To acquire a player. Yeah. And that's what I would bet on. If they don't add a player throughout the off season, I'm sure they'll do it at some point in the season. It'll be a guy that can move the puck and be better than just a big physical defense man, right? So I think that's how I view the way they're going, going to go about it. We posed a question to Alvin and he essentially didn't say yes, but yeah, I said, yeah, like we're always looking to improve and if something comes available, we'll look at it. But yeah, like, you know, you don't have to solve all the issues today. And this front office has shown an ability to find answers during the season. The way they're, uh, they're selling it right now is they can go into the season, a crew cap space and that gives them options as the season goes on. But they also have flexibility in that it, you know, if they, if a, an opportunity arises to add a piece that they think helps their group, they can get in on that and start spending into LTIR as the season begins, much like they did and have been doing for the last couple of years. Like last year, the, the cap space issue was big for them. Like when you got to the deadline after you had made the Zadorov move and after you made the Lindholl move, you had no cap space and you didn't have obvious candidates to send out in order to create more cap space. So why do they miss out on guys like to Foley and, you know, some other things like they, they had, they had to either move out cap space where they had to get the trading team to retain some of the salary in order to get the, or make the deal possible. And those were things that were just too much of a bridge for other teams to come back on when there was other teams that didn't require them to do so. And that became an issue for Vancouver, you, you don't want to end up in that same sort of an issue at next year's deadline, assuming you're in a similar contending position. Yeah. You want to have some flexibility potentially, right? So I think this is something they have now. But clearly, like as much as this team has improved, it's not a finished product. Like we're looking at this roster and saying, okay, there are things they can still do to get better. But it's a good starting point. Like I don't think they're worse than last year. I think so you look- I think they're probably better. They're going to be better at the start of next year than they were at the start of last season. Yeah. Like so- Like Akido Orose was in the opening line. You're right. Colman Ward playing. They have more depth. They have more depth. And like we said, like, so Kuzmekko was coming up at 39 goal season. Yeah. They were with Jake DeBrus. Now, Kuzmekko didn't have that same season of Vancouver and got traded, right? Mikayev and Heinen, you know, and your guy, you talk about guys that score goals at similar rates kind of. Yeah. If you go a bit based on last year at least, like it was at 17-18 goals for a dance in Heinen. But he's a player who's probably more effective than Mikayev because he doesn't have a bum knee the way Mikayev had last season and then sure would replaces Lafferty. Right. But Lafferty had a great first half of the season, incredible first half of the season, right? So I mean, is that an upgrade? It might be an upgrade over the course of the year. It's an upgrade to start the season. You can say it's a push with the way Lafferty played, right? But I think Heinen is going to give you more on the PK and give you a more identity than Mikayev gave you. And DeBrusk fits in better than Kuzmekko did. So you don't have this kind of awkward wheel thing going on here, clunky wheel, like you had with Kuzmekko who was kind of like not working out here. Like you don't have that. But the back end is not better without Zodorov, right? Yeah. Or without Cole. Or without Cole either. They have more depth, but they're not better on the blue line. The Ford group may not be better in terms of overall talent, but I think functionality, they're better. But they have room to improve still, right? Like they lost Lindholm too. I mean, that was at the end of the season. Yeah. But I'm saying like, yeah, you're right. But like in terms of like what they were at the end of the season and what they need to be to win a Stanley Cup, they need a little more. And I think they're aware of that, but you don't have to answer all those things today. You still have time to figure some of those things out. But like I see a roster though that's a legitimate playoff-contending roster. Like I don't look at this team be like, oh man, they're going to fall out of the playoff race now. Like they're still going to be a competitive team in their division. And if a couple of things break, like if Hoglander pops, Debrusque pops, one of the defenseman emerge, right? Like maybe internally they take that step and they do what the Dallas Stars did, right? Like that could happen. Yeah. But if not, like you're close enough that you might be one move away. Yeah. And that's ultimately like what they did last year, they pounced on their hot start and added pieces to help keep that hot start going. But I think their starting point this year is more stable than it was a year ago. And you're still going to go into the season knowing that you're going to have to pounce on some opportunities when they do come available to you. So of the signings that they've made, Jake Debrusque was obviously the biggest commitment at seven years, 5.5 million per Dantan Heine and two years, four and a half million total key for Sherwood, two years, three million total Vincent de Harnay, four million over two years and Derek Forbert at one by one point five million, which is the best bet or which is the favorite of the bets that they've made today for you, Seth. For me, it's key for Sherwood. Okay. And hey, it's an easy one because it's so cheap, right? It's 1.5 million for two seasons. But I think there's so many factors that I love about this, like he's a legitimate gritty player in your face type, constantly chirps, constantly chirps, and I think they're missing that with Zadorov leaving as a guy that's always talking. And listen, I'm not saying his shirt would replace his forward, but in terms of the room being a guy that chirps and a guy that like, you know, keeps things going and is a pain to play against. Like I think it brings an element that that locker room needs. And I think he's a sneaky, good hockey player, man, like every time I watch him, he's really aggressive. He forechecks like an absolute demon. He's got a nice little shot, you know, like he's always creating chances. He's always in the mix with things like, I think there's more there. Like I wouldn't be surprised that this coaching staff, they take all their players under their wings, but that pocket pulls him aside. And he's like, like, there's more there. Like now we did with Joshua and he's like, Hey, Mike, you can do more because he's got a good shot. And I wouldn't be surprised if whether he's manifesting it or not, but like, I wouldn't be surprised with talking like gets in his ear and he's like, you can score 20, man. Yeah. And I'm not saying he's going to, but I'm saying that maybe gets him to like 14 goals, 15 goals, you know what I mean? Like that they get as much out of him as possible because I think he fits exactly what this team wants and that mole of the player with the four check and with the speed. And then you have an actual trade offensively and that's a shot, you know, and to me, that's like really interesting bottom six player, really nice bottom six player that can maybe become a guy. You can move up and down your lineup at times for a spell. One of the things that I love about Sherwood is he hits everything that moves. And for as much as like Lafferty had that at points last year where he was really aggressive on the four check and would use his size. It really faded as the year went on. Mechaia for a guy that has a ton of sizes, he throwing his weight around as much as you would like him to absolutely not. That wasn't the case. Key for sure would his motor never seems to let up. And as Patrick Colvin mentioned today, you know, Quinn Hughes is maybe one of the happiest guys as far as us signing key for Sherwood today. Yeah. And the Canucks are getting a little bit younger too, right? Because like they have, Cole was a bit older, but you're getting a guy like Sherwood is a little bit younger too. Like you get Dabrasco's 27 years old, Deharne is only 27, like you're getting a bit more youthful exuberance to which I think is good in terms of the mix. But I love what Sherwood can bring in terms of just the overall feiciness this group needs that. Because when you look at this four group now, adding him and adding Hyman and Deharne is like, don't they look more like a Rick Talkett forward group? It does. You know, like how long has Talkett been talking about getting more four checkers into this lineup? Yeah. All three of the guys they added to the four group today add to their ability to four check more effectively. You can get a little bit more out of Sherwood, can you become the Kickstarter spark plug where every once in a while when you need that in your top six, you throw them up there and you go and cause us havoc? You don't need JT Miller to start the game as the guy who starts the engine. Right. Exactly, right? Or you know, not so much about dragging them into the fight so to speak, but a guy who brings something, right? And that's what I'm really curious about because if they can get more out of what he's shown so far, that's going to be a player worth more than 1.5. Who is the best bet that the Canucks made today? You can answer yours at 65650 on the Dunbar Lumber text message inbox like I, I've kind of sold myself on the, on the Jake Dabrowsk bet. It is the highest risk, highest reward bet, but it is one that I think can make a lot of sense. Again, this is a player that if you really dig into his numbers, the scoring rates are really strong. He's earned a big PK role in Boston over the last couple of years, really started to earn his stripes as a two-way player, Patrick Levine, gloated about his two-way ability and all around game when he spoke with us earlier today on the show. Like I do think this is a bet that they have found or have signed a player that has more to give and can bring them value on the five and a half million they're spending each year. He is just 27. So as far as free agents go, he is on the younger end of things and that's part of this bet too. But that for me is one of the reasons I like the bet and two, you know, if you sign a, let's say they signed Jake Genssel, I think that was still best outcome possible for this free agency period. That would have been the real needle mover they needed. It didn't happen, but you signed Jake Genssel, it's probably a safe bet to say that Brock Besser is leaving Vancouver. Now that you haven't done that and you've signed Jake to Bruske long term, if he works out, I think the door is still open to keep Brock Besser as a Vancouver Canucks for the next number of years. And this is not a contract that's prohibitive to extending Brock Besser. Yeah. You know, and I think if anything, it makes it more comfortable to do. And if Besser has a good year, you probably feel like you need to, because then you look at the free agent market. Again, you saw how hard it was to find guys and how much you got to pay for guys. And what you're doing with Nebraska is projecting, right? You're saying 5.5, but he can become a guy that, you know, is 4.30. 5.5, we're happy if he remains a 25 goal guy and plays in different situations for us. But then like has to take the next step because if he was a 30 plus guy, you're paying him 8 million. Yeah. 7.5 million. Yeah. Marshall so what do you got, right? But he's 33, but let alone a guy who's 27. Yeah. You know, but if, and if the Bess was scoring 30 goals, he would have been re-signed by Boston anyways. Not to say that he can't become that, but that's always interesting too, because they let the guy go. You can look at it and say, well, they know more about the player, but it was always kind of awkward there for him. You know, there was a while that maybe he had, there was a trade request, maybe, or they're trying to trade him and didn't happen. Like it wasn't always the most comfortable fit in Boston. And it seemed like just as he was kind of figuring out in terms of being the player they want him to be, they weren't ready to extend him. Yeah. Are they making a mistake? Were they too close to it or did they know more than anybody else, right? And that's kind of the question I've had with him is just like, how much more is there truly there with him? And that's why he wasn't super high on my list of players to go after here in free agency. But like everything you mentioned is true in terms of the upside on it. Really in free agency, you're paying for past performance. And yeah, the Canucks are paying for Dubruss past performance here. But there is a chance and there is a world where there is better future performance from Jake Dubruss. And that's one of the reasons I do like this bet from Vancouver's end, of course, in the context of what else was out there and what else was signed in free agency. Like your backup bets for left shot guys to help fill these kinds of roles. Jason Zucker signed for five million today, you know, like it was just, it was an expensive day. Yeah. A lot of free agents got paid today, man. Very expensive. The league really took advantage of the cap going up. They did. And now that's the way it was going to be. Right. And you know, we talked about this a lot when the Canucks signed Myers, they signed Dakota Joshua. I mean, Teddy Blueger, we knew right away, like 1.8 and you see, there's no centers on the market. Anyways, Stendland, how much did he get two million per year? Yeah. Stendland's not a better player than the Blueger, man. No, he's not. He's not. To me, he shows you the Blueger deal came in at a really nice number two. All the deals the Canucks signed earlier this week, the Blueger, Myers, Joshua deals, or sorry, towards mid of last week, like they all look better today than they did after initial signing. And I agree. Like, I don't feel like Myers is the top four solution for a cup winning team. Like I agree with that, but you're paying him three million. Yeah. And ideally for me, like, do you get to a point at some stage next season when you're adding a defenseman who can push him down there? Yeah. Then to me, it's like, okay. All right. You know, like, and I'm okay with Myers as long as he's playing well, I have no issues with it. And I think three million is fine. And considering when you look at what the market was like, like they're like, Dejarnay got two per year, for instance, and Dejarnay is nowhere near what Myers is. Now he's far younger, right? I get it. But if you wanted a player like Myers and free agency, Edmondson, four million over four years, four million, three, eight, seven over four years, and he's not that good. Like I like him defensively in the playoffs and on the PK, but regular season, like he's like, if you think forward has issues, like Edmondson is in a lot, but like, I think Edmondson and four bird to me were very similar. And like I was kind of gobsmacked to see what Edmondson got. And then there's Kristan of six years at four and a half per and he signed the biggest total value contract today at 34 years old that he did at any point of his career. Insane. Yeah. And for him, he was fantastic in the playoffs. It would have been a great signing for the Vancouver Canucks to get like in a vacuum. Yeah. Yeah. Santa have added to this roster would have been a perfect great fit, but it's too expensive. There's no way you could justify. Yeah. I mean, I don't know how Brad Trulevings doing it, but yeah, Godspeed, you know, like, and I think it'll be fine for a couple of years, but it's a lot, right? And then like the Joshua one too, like you saw Jakob Trenen now, I know he can play center, but he played wing mostly, right? And I'd say very comparable players, but Joshua a little bit different. Like he got what? 3.5, 3.7, like seven, five, whatever it was, or like the Canucks did well with their own free agents. Yeah. I do want to note maybe to watch on the Maple Leafs a little bit and what they currently are going to do because they have nine defensemen on their roster over 25 million bucks. They are over the projected cap right now as well with just 11 forwards on the roster. So Maple Leafs are probably going to be up to something with their decor as time goes on after signing. All of Rekman, Larsen, Chris Tanniff and Janney, Hawkenpaw today. All right. Dan Reicho, Satyarsha, coming up, Don Taylor is going to join us his take on Canucks free agency. What they did, what they didn't do. That's coming up next on Sports at 650.
