That NYI trade is tough man. I'd hate to let Hoglander go. But end of the day I think NYI rejects. They need young D

If RHD is a problem with the Canucks, maybe the first answer would be to fire Benning. Signing Myers seems to be a mistake. Lucky they were able to rid themselves of long term Schmidt but then then overpaid for Poolman.
Non playoff teams should not be at the cap.

Ya I was wondering the same thing. I think it could make sense for Vancouver but not as sure about NYI. Hoglander would look real nice along side Barzel though.
I like proposing tough trades even if they get rejected, tends to start more interesting discussions.

If there was a "Fire GM" option on CapFriendly you can bet all of my AGM's would have utilized that option!

Ew Dobson is sick no

Since you used the words "Ew" and Sick", I'm guessing you haven't seen Hoglander play. The kids the definition of "Sick", check out his goals of the year highlights in the SHL for two years running.

I can assure you he isn't "Ewwy" but is very "Sick", now that's a weird sentence...

If you don't believe it's a good fit or that the value isn't fair, then that's different.

I agree the right side D is still the weakness on the team. But with a better, deeper forward group, improvement from the young core players and (hopefully) some solid play from OEL, this is a better team overall that should be in playoff range. You just have to hope that they can find some chemistry with the D pairings where the right side guys can make the simple plays and don’t drag down the talent on the left side.

I don’t think NSH would be interested in Rathbone — they already have Josi running the PP for years to come, and they have their own LHD prospect, Farrance, that fills the spot Rathbone would take otherwise. So the fit just doesn’t really make sense to me, regardless of value. NSH has a lot of LHD prospects as it is already.

Agree that poolman should be a 7th D but as long as benning is out there handing out contracts like candy that’s not gonna be the case. No idea who he was bidding against to give that kind of deal out but not a surprise with his track record.

I agree that the overall defense should be better with an overall improved team. I personally don't think the Canucks should have went "All in" this year, but since they have I feel they still need to upgrade the RD position, f they do they can possibly win a couple of rounds this year. If they don't win at least a couple of rounds, giving up the assets and cap space that they did will have been a horrendous move by JB as it will likely have long term negative impacts on this team.

I was listening to an insider on local sports radio the other day, they were saying they had spoken with another team who had been interested in signing Pollman. Only thing was the other team were only interested in him on a one year two way deal for around a million. Yikes!

That's fair, I am not familiar with NASH prospects.

Isles decline

I see you've dealt Hoglander in a separate deal, but would you consider keeping him and trading Podkolzin? NSH would definitely be interested in getting some young Russian players for when Askarov comes to town. I would think Fabbro+ probably -- he may be close to untouchable though.

Isles easily reject

Hmm surprised to hear it being an "easy" rejection. Hoglander is a 20 year old proven second line winger. Not only is he good offensively (he had one of the highest 5vs5 point totals per 60 minutes) but he's defensibly responsible as well. Projections are he will become a be a solid first line winger that can play either side.
Correct me if I am wrong but Dobson was a bottom pair defenseman last season (averaged 16:24 of ice time) who projects as a first pairing defenseman. I'm not saying NYI accept, but I am surprised its an "easy" rejection instead of just a rejection, unless it doesn't fit team need.

Out of curiosity, what value do you place on Dobson?

If it were me I would never say never, however it would take a different player than Fabbro to pry either of those two player. The player returning would have to young enough to fit the core, address a need and help them compete now. For me that would be a young RD who is NHL ready and projects as top pair, value from Vancouver's end wouldn't warrant a projected #1 but I think a top pair would be fair with maybe some minor tweaking.

It’s not that the value isn’t correct here but the Islanders are trying to win a cup THIS year and Dobson is a blossoming young puck moving defenseman. The Islanders already lost their other puck moving defenseman in Leddy and cannot afford to lose Dobson. To replace what Dobson brings is going to cost a lot more than his cap hit which is commodity the islanders do not have. Also it takes some time especially for defenseman to learn Trotz’s system.

Again, your value is fine it just doesn’t mesh with what the islanders are trying to do.

Congratulations you lost Rathbone, Hoglander and a 1st round pick and our defense is no better next season. Fabbro is not a top pairing guy. Dobson will eventually get there. But for now our team just got significantly worse with these moves.

I disagree with your assessment.

Currently Vancouver has 3 bottom pair RD, 1 who many question whether or not he is best suited a 7th D, so let’s compare that to the changes I made for next season.

Fabbro is currently more experienced and would likely have a bigger impact than Rathbone, especially considering he is defensively responsible which would make him a beneficial partner for either Hughes or OEL (team need). Just to clarify on Fabbro, I don’t consider him a top pair D, he is slotted in that position because Vancouver doesn’t have a top pair D on the right side.

Dobson is an upgrade on Poolman, and by the end of the year could be a significant upgrade on him.

Forward Group is unquestionably worse without Hoglander, however their forward group is currently a position of strength. Without an adjustment their right side D could very well be exploited next season.

That was for next season, now let’s look at a few seasons down the road. If you look forward, the Canucks currently have 3 bottom pair RD, 2 of whom are 30+ and are already in decline, 1 that is 28 and haven’t had much of an impact in the NHL. If current projections turn out to be correct (Dobson = top pair, Fabbro = 2nd pair) this team could be very well balanced, possibly as soon as 2022-2023.

Personally I could care less about next season (although I still think this team is more balanced for next year), I want to be a cup contender, not just a playoff team. If the playoffs are all you want to shoot for then you don’t need to make adjustments, because with the current defence locked up to their current contracts, that’s all the team is going to be.

The issue with our defense last season was that they couldn't defend. With Hughes, OEL and Myers on our roster we absolutely need guys that can play a tough shutdown role like Poolman and Schenn, not more offense-orientated guys like Dobson and Fabbro. It is a bit rich calling Poolman a 3rd pairing guy since he spent most of last season playing on top pairing 5v5 with Morrissey. I'm also not arguing that Poolman will be a better player than Dobson, but Poolman has been signed to be a shutdown Dman and play the PK for VAN. Last season Poolman's shorthanded on ice goals against per 60 mins was 3.4 goals, Dobson's shorthanded oiGA/60 were 10.7. Fabbro's shorthanded oiGA/60 were 9.5. Schenn's SH oiGA/60 were 4.6. DEFENSE. It's what we need to win a cup.