I think the hawks want *just a touch* more value because we are taking on Holtby. I think add in a 5th next year and we have a deal.

Ya I would do that no problem. I think a Holtby Zadorov trade makes sense for both sides. Obviously other pieces involved. But Holtby gives Lakinen a veteran presence for a year to learn from and Vancouver gets a big physical dman.

I wouldn’t do it even with the 5th added. Zadorov likely snags a 2nd, so it’s not like Holtby has to be part of the deal to get a 2nd. And there are 5+ goalies in UFA the hawks could get that have been better than Holtby the past few years. Cheaper too.

The appealing thing to me is that the 2nd is in 2021, meaning we can get a decently high end prospect.

You can trade Zadorov on his own to get that. You don’t need to take Holtby with it to acquire that pick.

I disagree, but if we could do that I’d be all for it.

Zadorov on his own likely doesn't get you a high 2nd round pick though. Maybe a late 2nd or a 3rd. The thing with Zadorov that hurts his value a bit is he's an RFA on the verge of being a UFA and his contract is already a little bit high in terms of salary. So it he wants into the 4m range then the acquiring team might only get a year out of him on a QO.

I know I signed him at 3x3.25m here but I really think he would look for closer to 4m

So even if he doesn’t quite get a 2nd, he’s just about right there. You can add a below average player/prospect to get there. Or add in a late round pick to get that 2nd. Taking on that big of a cap dump is an over adjustment to acquire the 2nd.

I don't think that would entice a team to move it up to a 2nd. 2nds are valuable picks and not trying to sound like an a** but it's not like EA NHL where you just toss in a nobody and a 5th to boost it.

Well if this isn’t EA NHL, why are you dumping Holtby for practically nothing and signing Zadorov to a contract when you even said yourself he will get more?

Being hopeful on the Zadorov contract but that would be the QO amount. Moving Roussell to the minors and I could bump it up to 4m though so I left space.

I don't see it as a pure dump. I think Holtby would be a good target for Chicago to tandem and allow Lankinen to learn from a guy who has been at the pinnacle of the league. Also I believe that the 41st OA pick is quite a bit more value than Zadorov will be able to get in a straight up trade for a pick. 41st OA in this draft has good potential to get a guy that your team had ranked around 20.

Couple
Of things from a realistic Vancouver perspective…

1. Why are you buying out Loui? That move saves .885m this year at a cost of 1m next year. It’s smarter to just eat this year and be 100% clear of him next year. If anything, retaining 50% of his cap after his bonus and finding a trade partner would be the best scenario. It would cost the Canucks a $3mil hit this year, with a total cash outlay of 2.5m, but the acquiring team would get a 3mil hit for only 1.5mil of actual cash… might be able to move him for near zero cost at that point for any teams looking to make the cap floor.

2. Stylistically, Larson is not a good fit with Hughes. I’d prefer Hamonic at ½ the price. If the Canucks can convince Seattle to take Myers for Lind, Gadj, Woo and a 2022 3rd, I think Larson could be a good fit beside Rathbone and then you could do Hamonic at 2-2.5mx3yrs to play with Hughes and suddenly that is a much improved back end. Myers is and will always be the weakest link/limitation in that group with his current contract.

3. JT should stay on the top line and Dzingle can Center the 3rd line between Foegle and Podz.

4. Beags should be on LTIR.

5. Rooster will be bought out, traded @ 50% retained or buried in the minors with Loui.



As far as your other moves, I think Subban in your Zadorov trade is a useless add in. There are better options on the market for the same or slightly more and I’d prefer Dipietro backing up Demko over Subban, even though Dips probably still needs at least 1 more year in the AHL.

I unfortunately see it as a pure dump when there are 5+ goalies on the market who have been better and will be cheaper than Holtby. Other guys Lankinen can learn from, not like Holtby is the only vet out there. Even cap hit aside, Holtby's performance has not been good for a few seasons now. It would make a lot more sense to sign a UFA who has been better of late, no? I will agree that I do not think Zadorov is worth 41st overall. But if he is capable of fetching a late 2nd or 3rd (your words), taking a 4.3 mil cap hit to move up about 20 spots, if he does get that late 2nd, doesn't make sense to me. Like I said before, it as an over adjustment when you can add in players/picks instead of taking on cap like that. You're already adding in Subban, you're really already almost there. You can add in another prospect/pick to get there if need be. "Boosting" the trade happens all the time. Look at the Janmark trade just from this past deadline. Teams upgrade their picks all the time. Van can say they don't want to make the trade if Holtby doesn't go with it, but the hawks can also say no if they don't want Holtby. So it can come down to, does Van want Zadorov? And here's the thing, if Van still wants Zadorov but doesn't want to give up their 2nd, Van has other ways of making the trade work. Just like the hawks have other ways of acquiring the 2nd.

1. & 4. & 5. I bought out Loui simply because it's the easiest way to gain enough cap space without burying guys which i think is most realistic to assume as I'm not sure they will bury Roussell in the minors. I kept Beagle in because there have been no confirming reports that he will be LTIRetire so I'd rather create teams with the assumption that they will still have his cap hit. Ideally he stays LTIR and then they can just bury Loui.

2. I disagree on your Larsson point. He had some of the best defensive metrics in the league last season and is a tough defensive dman. I think he would make for a great partner for Hughes next season and then if we can make an upgrade there the following year he could move to Rathbones partner. I'm not a big fan of Hamonic, I'd be fine bringing him back on a 1 or 2 yr deal that is max 2million but I think he's going to be looking for more money than that.

3. I agree that Miller should stay on the wing in the top 6 but most of the speculation is that they will play him at C so that's why I put him there. Dzingel is listed as W and C but he has only taken 86 faceoffs in his 6yr career so I don't think it's reasonable to play him at C.

Id want to see the 2nd and 3rd minimum come back from VAN with Holtby's cap dump and in return you receive Z and Subban.

Fair enough. If they have to spend that much to move Holtby I would rather see him just be bought out. Could still target Zadorov in a different trade or go after a cheaper option.

Yeah I think Z could be a target for you, perhaps a 2nd or 3rd for him does the deal. Subban as a replacement for Holtby isn't bad for you guys either if you wanted to package them up for the 2nd and then I feel the 3rd is value for taking on Holtby. I can see your point of view if you don't like to do that deal.