Vancouver Canucks preseason: Top 5 players too risky to put on waivers
The Vancouver Canucks have experimented with the waivers before and have learned a costly lesson not to risk losing young assets via the waiver wire.
The beginning of the 2017-18 NHL season for the Vancouver Canucks means that it has been two years since the infamous incident that cost the club prospect defenceman Frank Corrado to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Canucks did not trade Corrado to the Leafs. Vancouver did not get anything in return. Corrado was lost for naught. That’s the power of the waiver wire. The blackhole that can make nothing out of something.
The Canucks also lost forward Emerson Etem to the Anaheim Ducks a similar way this time last season, only months after spending former first-round pick Nicklas Jensen and a fifth-round pick to pry him away from the New York Rangers.
Not all was bad for Vancouver on the waiver front last season, however, as the club picked up forwards Joseph Cramarossa and Reid Boucher, deciding to re-sign the latter for the upcoming season.
Preseason is heating up and that means that the competition is heating up. The first round of cuts was announced yesterday, as the club sent six players down to their junior teams so they can join their teammates in CHL camp/preseason.
This means that the remaining 26 forwards, 18 defencemen and 4 netminders will be playing for the Canucks, the AHL’s Utica Comets, the ECHL Kalamazoo Wings or overseas.
All players reporting to the AHL or the ECHL will have to go through the waivers, at which time all 30 other NHL clubs will be able to pick them up for free of charge.
Now with the basic waivers rules down, let’s get to how they affect the Vancouver Canucks this season. Here are the five players the Canucks cannot risk losing on waivers this season.
No.5 D Andrey Pedan
Though the Canucks did sign Andrey Pedan to a one-year, one-way contract for this season, there is absolutely no chance that Pedan makes the Canucks as a top-seven defenceman on opening night.
As things stand today, this is how the top six looks, with newcomer Patrick Wiercioch as the seventh defenceman.
Alexander Edler – Troy Stecher
Ben Hutton – Chris Tanev
Michael Del Zotto – Erik Gudbranson
Pedan can provide size and grit on the ice but with the return of Gudbranson from his injury and the addition of feisty blueliner Del Zotto, Pedan is becoming slightly expendable from the NHL roster.
He, however, is pretty essential for the Utica Comets. After a poor showing by the entire blueline in preseason game number two against the Vegas Golden Knights, Pedan’s presence on the Utica blueline as an experienced and physical player is absolutely mandatory.
I understand that I may be contradicting myself here. I am saying he is needed more in Utica than he is in Vancouver, which essentially is a way to say that he should be on the waivers. My main point is that because he is such an invaluable asset for the Comets now, it will be a huge risk putting him on waivers, regardless of whether he should or should not be.
No. 4 D Alex Biega
It was evident towards the end of last season that Alex Biega was the perfect depth player, regardless of what position he plays. Both the “Bulldog” and the “Hound” were great looks by Biega last season and the Canucks would love that flexibility.
With the emergence of Brock Boeser, Jake Virtanen and Nikolay Goldobin, it is becoming more and more evident that the Canucks might have to carry 14 forwards instead of 8 defencemen.
The Canucks need to be flexible with their roster spots and make sure that these three aforementioned players get ice time. Biega as a depth player offers that flexibility the Canucks need.
There is an argument to make that Biega has actually improved as a smart and offensive player this offseason and that he is ready for a full-time role, whether it be as a top-six defender or a fourth-line winger. Just look at this play.
Looking at his stat lines from his 17:27 of ice time against the Los Angeles Kings, we can see that Biega led all Canucks defencemen in hits (3) and was the only one credited with a takeaway in the two preseason games.
Biega is the perfect depth option as he isn’t a young player who needs a lot of TOI to develop, either.
No. 3 Reid Boucher
Reid Boucher got off to a shaky start last year with the Canucks after being claimed off the waivers. He and Coach Willie Desjardins did not get along, mainly due to the belief that Boucher was not fit enough to play.
Boucher has admitted that he has worked on his fitness and stamina big time during the offseason. He is eager to come back to Vancouver and prove that his shot is special and is unique on a Canucks lineup that lacks pure snipers.
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Until Brock Boeser showed up, that is. Boeser does everything Boucher can do, and do it better.Both can play a somewhat physical game, both can shoot the puck, and both can work the right side of the wing. Both see skating as their biggest downfall in their respective games.
Both can play a somewhat physical game, both can shoot the puck, and both can work the right side of the wing. Both see skating as their biggest downfall in their respective games.
The Canucks did give Boucher a new deal in the summer. It is time for them to let Boucher gel into the system and see how much of the strength and conditioning work will pay off.
Boucher has the potential to be a middle-six winger who can capitalize on the powerplay with his heavy shot. Give him time, give him good linemates.
After being on waivers multiple times and being picked up multiple times by different teams, it is obvious that teams in the NHL see Boucher’s NHL upside. The Canucks will most likely lose Boucher on waivers if they send him down as the clubs last year did before Vancouver.
No. 2 F Anton Rodin
Last season was a disappointment for Anton Rodin, who is now one year removed from an MVP year in the Swedish Hockey League. The forward is a smaller-sized scorer who has all the skill to make the NHL. But he has yet to prove himself ready physically for the NHL.
The Canucks may be looking at a potential top-six calibre talent who will surely help on the powerplay as long as he gets the ice time. It is true that the offseason so far does not look good for Rodin but the potential there is something that is too risky to put on waivers.
At 26 years of age, he is among the younger players who are eligible for the waivers. Plus, his contract runs out at the end of the season so teams may feel that he is a rental option.
As the Swedish league’s MVP “Golden Helmet” winner, Rodin is a high-profile name in the hockey world and he will most surely be picked up if he is put on waivers. The result may be him finding a new top-six gig with another team and the Canucks kicking themselves in the foot for not giving Rodin more chances.
After all, Rodin has barely played any hockey since his knee flared up again this time last year. It is hard to judge him after just one preseason game that was very disoriented due to the split-squad, back-to-back nature.
He will be under the microscope for the rest of the preseason on whether he can meet the demands of the NHL and get back to his pre-injury form.
No. 1 Evan McEneny
He’s not outstanding in any way, but he does everything that is asked of him. He managed to leapfrog Jordan Subban on the Canucks blueline prospects depth and ended the year as the most reliable blueliner in Utica last season.
Evan McEneny is almost ready to be an NHL player and everyone who was in Utica last year knows it.
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After time with the ECHL, McEneny has worked so hard to revive his career. Now as a 23-year-old who is signed to a two-year deal at under $700k per, he ideally should spend a full season in Utica as the club’s top defenceman.
I don’t know about you, but if I am the GM of an NHL team looking for blueline depth, I am picking McEneny up from the waivers nine times out of ten.
Because he was signed as an undrafted free agent and played tons of games in the ECHL/AHL level, the 23-year-old would be one of the youngest names available on the waiver at this time of the year.
A team could look at this season as a learning year for McEneny as a cheap seventh defenceman and use him as a very cheap third-pairing guy next season because he is already signed through the 2018-19 season.
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I don’t have the answers on what to do with these players. Will some of these players end up on waivers? Most certainly. It could be all of them. For now, it’s up to these players to prove themselves ready for the NHL.