Just some ideas that popped into my head while listening to the draft on Sportsnet 650 today...
ARIZONA TRADE:
OEL has the leverage. He wants out. It seems as though Boston is out, for now, leaving Vancouver in a prime position to sweep in and get the deal done. Because OEL doesn’t want to remain in Arizona, things could get ugly if he isn’t moved. That has Armstrong with his back against the wall. He’s gonna have to budge from the bounty he wants, and it could work favourably for Vancouver. Arizona adds some muscle to the bottom six acquiring Roussel, who could crash and bang with Fischer, and a veteran presence in the room and bottom 6 in Sutter. They get a 1st for next years draft since they lose their pick from their combine tampering. Rathbone is Vancouvers top D prospect, so Arizona wants that bad!
Vancouver gets OEL who slides into the LD behind Hughes. Garland is flipped right away, while Oesterle on an expiring deal fills the left side, giving Juolevi another year to develop or be used as a 7th D.
I doubt Arizona gives up Garland, as he is a good scorer on a steal of a contract, but hey, it’s an ACGM, one can dream right?
TAMPA BAY TRADE:
Tampa NEEDS to shed cap, and every GM knows why. They aren’t going to help Brisbois for nothing. For that reason, I’ve added a 3rd for Johnson. In return, they get Garland, who could easily score 25 goals on a team like Tampa. This may seem counter intuitive, as Vancouver could just keep Garland for themselves, but next summer, Vancouver can leave Johnson, a Washington native, unprotected in the Seattle expansion. He gets to go home! *sheds happy tear*
ERIKSSON TRADE:
We need him out. Badly! Not because he’s not a good player, but because he isn’t worth $6 million a year! Add Virtanen, a mid six scoring winger, and a good goalie prospect in DiPietro. We retain because I can’t see anyone taking on the full $6 mill.
BENN TRADE:
Serviceable 6-7 defenceman, who might be a touch overpaid. I can see teams calling about him. Might have to retain some $ but I could see a deal getting done.
Markstrom decides to stay since we got OEL, and everyone’s happy.
Turris comes home on a cheap deal, and mentors Gaudette.
Stecher stays too, and takes the hometown discount as he has stated many times that he wants to stay a Canuck and win as a Canuck. Betters offers might come, but he stays put.
FERLAND AND SVEN:
While I very much hope Ferland is healthy and doesn’t have to retire for health reasons, it could be beneficial to the team if he did. I’ve left him in as I hope he is healthy and good to go, but there very well could be an extra $3.5 million in cap to be spent on a FA, such as Leivo. I can’t see Baertschi walking away from $3.6 million, but I also don’t think he wants to ride the bus in the AHL for another year. I’d love to see the BBB line together again, but I feel that his time is done in Vancouver. He’s already asked for a trade and that seems unlikely, so I feel that a mutual termination is more likely. Benning won’t want to buyout and have to carry cap for multiple seasons.
Whatcha think?
Thanks for taking the time to read all this. Hope you enjoy!