That's gonna be a hard pass from Vancouver..

Future goalie, 23yo 20-goal scorer & 2nd for 28yo 3rd liner, a D prospect with attitude problems so bad his CHL team didn't want him back, and a 3rd.

lol Vancouver takes this and runs

Why?

Are you not planning on signing Markstrom then? Cause if not then I see your point on Demko, but Markstrom was absolutely incredible this year and you have DiPietro in the system. If you do sign Markstrom then I cant imagine how you can fit in Virtanen as well while still preparing for Hughes and Elias.

I'd love it if the team resigned Markstrom, but as it's going they can't afford him. One way that can happen is by using Demko & Virtanen in separate trades to unload bad contracts.

I don't follow the Sharks close enough to know how their cap situation looks in the next few years but imo they could have Demko for a 7th if they take on Eriksson

Merkley's a stud

averaged over a point in his draft year in the OHL as a defenseman and there's been reports his attitude is better and his defensive game has definitely improved

will probably be a solid 2nd pairing defenseman at only 21

Bad take.

Get rid of the picks and the Canucks should be all over this. Hell even with the picks they should still be looking into it real close.

Demko is likely gone in the expansion draft if we don’t deal him

There's no questioning his offensive ability, but that's an expensive project for the Canucks to take on. Demko is the goalie of the future if Markstrom doesn't resign, and if he does Demko can be used to oust some bad contracts.

Sorensen honestly just clutters the bottom 6. I'm not saying he wouldn't be better than what the team has right now, but GMJB need to purge the 19mil that's taking up those spots before adding more players

Glad to see I wasn't crazy here, based on almost every Canucks fan Ive talked to this seems like exactly the type of trade the Canucks should be looking at so thats nice to hear

Expensive project? Im not sure I understand, Merkley hasn't touched the NHL yet so he won't be any kind of a cap hit for years and worst case situation if you cant afford him at that time you have a young RHD to flip for quality picks. Surely you see the massive value there, and Sorenson was just thrown in as a cheap roster player to fill Virtanens spot for you next year

he's not a project

When the Sharks picked him in 2018 I would have definitely considered him a project but not anymore. He'll be in the AHL next season and should be NHL ready the season after that!

I know Demko is NHL ready now, but isn't DiPietro looking to be okay?

If you want us to keep Sorensen, no problem! We'll just trade him to another team for a late pick.

I agree with @ItsBlowTime , I don't think Merkley moves the needle enough for us. We need RHD prospects, but two-way or defensive ones not offensive ones. We already have Hughes as our PP1 and offensive defensemen for the next 15 years, so Merkley wouldn't be in a position to be maximized here.

If the Sharks want Demko and/or Virtanen, a deal involving a cap dump (likely Eriksson) would be the way to go.

Too many Canucks fans think we have to dump every single bad contract we have this off season to stay compliant. They see Demko as a possible sweetener (which makes sense) so they’re afraid to trade him away for anything else.

In reality, we probably only need to dump one, maybe two bad contracts, and the Canucks have plenty other sweetener options. Merkley would be a huge add and would be a top 4 player on an ELC, further reducing our cap problems.

Seems like a no brainer, however I would prefer they find a way to keep the swings rounder.

I think a swap of just the players would be fair

Having an offensive RHD on the 2nd pairing is nothing but an asset for the Canucks. Quinn hughes is still the #1, but the Canucks can have a solid second unit as well.

Plus, Merkley will be on an ELC, so he saves the Canucks in cap space simply by being cheaper than carrying DeMelo or some other random FA instead

We already have Edler/Myers for PP2 currently and Juolevi/Rathbone for PP2 in the future. Using our young assets to improve a secondary unit isn't the best idea when we have other, more pressing needs.

The Canucks would be looking for a Dobson-type defenseman. Someone who could be partnered with Hughes in the future.

I certainly would consider him offensive as well, but the dude was a +20 last year so its hard to look at that as anything but a two way guy. The fact of the matter is most people are considering him to be one of the top RHD prospects around, we already have Burns and Karlsson there but if thats a hole you're trying to fill he seems well worth the risk. Sharks are in no position to take on a cap dump and with the cap staying flat theres probably only a couple that are, so that might be a bit of wishful thinking in the current market

@Dave31 @Canucks33 @The_Rocket @JumboJoe

I'll see if I can explain myself adequately here..

When I said expensive project I meant there's still a lot of work to be done on the defensive side of his game for what the team gives up. Offensively he's a wizard and would definitely be an asset to Van seeing as the only RHD prospect they've got is Jett Woo (I'm not sold on Rafferty tbh), but it will be interesting to see defensively/attitude-wise what happens when he hits the AHL and competes against men/former NHLers. If the Canucks give up Virtanen, Demko, and a 2nd, that feels like a lot for a player who isn't a lock to be impactful in the big leagues on all ends of the ice, not to mention a lot to give up without shedding any salary that will inhibit their ability to sign Pettersson and Hughes to long-term contracts.

As for DiPietro, the only issue I see with him is if the team trades away Demko and Markstrom falters in the next 2 or 3 years either through injury or natural regression of skills, then all of a sudden the team rushes DiPietro to the bigs to try and capitalize on the prime ages of the core before he's ready. There have been countless young goalies rushed up and overworked at a young age.

Alternatively, GMJB might instead go to free agency and sign a 35yo career backup to a 7x7 deal for "leadership and playoff experience" and I think that would just push me over the edge.

TLDR; The looming cap hell the Canucks have and the concerns over Merkley's attitude and defensive game makes the risk of the trade too much for Van to take imo.

If Merkley went to VAN they'd ruin him and all his progress, then blame him claiming that the "project didn't work out"...

VAN will sell us Virtanen if we want him, and will keep with their tradition of destroying their prospects requiring development until they fire that dumba$$, Travis Green, and completely overhaul their Utica AHL coaching and development staff.

mmm we seem to be years ahead of the sharks.its the sharks that missed the playoffs so i would say its back to the drawing board troll.

We've missed two Playoffs in two decades, and we went to the Conference Finals last year. VAN isn't even in the Playoffs yet, they're just in the Post-Season.

Also, you forgot to refute my claim... Because you can't.

have you ever been to the finals......... must be developing our players pretty well your trying to steal one.CLAIM REFUTED

Glad you asked. Yes, we have.

Also, this: https://vancouversun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/patrick-johnston-canucks-patience-runs-out-on-the-project-that-is-jake-virtanen/wcm/042d1261-3215-4c27-85e9-b05a99b4721e/
Which is 100% in line with how VAN mistreated Jonathan Dahlen, Juolevi, and Palmu. Sure, Jake made it to the big leagues, but Green has done nothing but put an artificial ceiling on his potential while putting the blame on him for having "attitude problems".

SJ trading for Jake would be a rescue mission, and I'm happy to be a part of a restoration of good faith.

thanks for your offer to help we will be ok.We will simply keep jake.( the player we have developed perfectly so far) problem solved.

thanks for putting some time into it!

I agree that Merkley use to have attitude problems and a bad defensive game. There's been reports that his attitude has gotten better from Dale Hunter (head coach of the London Knights) that Merkley has really improved his attitude;
here's a short blurb about it on DobberProspects;

Those who questioned his character issues will be happy to hear that London Knights head coach Dale Hunter has been singing Merkley’s praise not only for his on-ice production but for his off-ice leadership as well. Hunter has been quoted saying that Merkley’s humour and attitude in the dressing room are one of the reasons his teammates love him.

As for his defensive game it definitely isn't perfect yet and far from it but he definitely improved it in the past few seasons

For the cap issues I don't think there's a big problem. Merkley still has 2 years left on a sub 900 thousand contract and you could probably get him in the NHL at the age of 21 as a solid top 4 defenseman and he'd only be making 894 thousand. The only big player you have to sign that year is Boeser who yes, he will come with a pretty hefty price tag but that's nothing compared to having to sign Petterson and Hughes.

Merkley's contract isn't the one I'm worried about, it's Beartschi, Beagle, Roussell, Ferland, Myers, or Eriksson (take your pick). Clearing one or two of those (imo) needs to be priority #1 this offseason before exploring trades to improve the team.

Regardless, that's some nice praise coming from a highly regarded hockey personality in Hunter. It's good to see a kid so talented start to figure things out.