The Canuck Way Mailbag: Schmidt, Virtanen, free agency, more
The Vancouver Canucks finally made a move and brought in Nate Schmidt. They clearly need to do more, which was the focus of this week’s mailbag.
The Vancouver Canucks finally made a move to mitigate the losses they incurred in free agency by bringing in defenceman Nate Schmidt via trade from the Vegas Golden Knights. They only gave up a 2022 third-round pick in the deal, so no real assets left the farm on this one.
General manager Jim Benning still needs to do more to fill the hole left by Tyler Toffoli when he signed with the Montreal Canadiens, but he did improve the defence with Schmidt.
Now that he’s added $5.95 million to the salary cap, the need to clear money has increased ten-fold. He can’t go after any high-priced free agents or even submit an offer sheet until that is done.
The offseason has not been overly kind to the Canucks so far, apart from the Schmidt and Braden Holtby additions. Questions still remain about what this team will look like come opening night. So with that said, let’s take a look at a few of them in this week’s edition of The Canuck Way mailbag.
What are some of the big differences in playing styles between Nate Schmidt and Chris Tanev? Does he improve the defence more than Tanev would have?
— PP1 PODCAST (@ThePP1Podcast) October 16, 2020
Schmidt is definitely more of a two-way defenceman than Chris Tanev. He is also more mobile, can play on both special teams, and most of all is not injury-prone. As much as I love Tanev and what he brought to the Canucks over the years, Schmidt is a massive upgrade to the top-four.
When you compare analytics, Tanev had a 46.2 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) while Schmidt had a 52.9 CF%. He is a play driver from the backend, which is what the Canucks need more of if they hope to succeed in the future, especially with all the young offensive talent they have coming up.
The Canucks will miss Tanev’s penalty-killing prowess, but Schmidt is no slouch in that department either, especially when it comes to the art of shot-blocking. He has eclipsed the 100-mark three times in his career and probably would have done it a fourth time if the season was allowed to finish with its usual 82 games. Overall, Schmidt is going to play a bigger role in their success moving forward than Tanev would have.
Zedeno Chara is available, would you think @Canucks would like to sign him?
— Jess Tabag (@mctabs) October 17, 2020
Zdeno Chara is still a top-four defenceman at 43-years-old and probably will remain that way for a while. His fitness regimen is insane, and he never stops working to stay relevant in the NHL. His offensive production isn’t where it used to be, but he can still be a dominant force on the blueline. That being said, I think the Canucks have a few better options out there before they should start thinking about bringing him aboard.
Benning knows what Chara brings to the table, as he was assistant GM with the Boston Bruins for seven of the 14 seasons he was with the team. Knowing his propensity to sign players he is familiar with, I would not be surprised to learn that he was kicking the tires on the idea.
Chara probably can’t demand a lot of money in free agency, so he could represent a low-risk gamble to mentor some of the young defencemen on the Canucks. Also, I’m not going to lie, it would be fun to see a 6-foot-9 Chara and a 6-foot-8 Tyler Myers pairing patrolling the blue line at some point next season. You can’t tell me that thought didn’t cross your mind when you read this question.
Would Madison Bowey be worth looking into for a third-pairing right-shot defender?
— Adam Dane (@AdamDane7) October 16, 2020
Even with the addition of Schmidt, Benning should not be done poking around the free agency or trade markets. Unless he has supreme confidence in Jack Rathbone, Olli Juolevi, or Brogan Rafferty to adequately anchor a third-pairing alongside Jordie Benn for an entire season, they still need to replace what Troy Stecher brought to the blue line over the past few seasons.
Madison Bowey is a great skater that can be used on the power play and has shown a propensity to put up points in the past. He hasn’t put it all together in the NHL yet, but he did post back-to-back 60-point seasons with the Kelowna Rockets in junior after he was drafted in the second round by the Capitals in 2013. So he does know how to generate points.
However, Bowey’s defensive play can be suspect at times, and that’s where the idea of him being a replacement for Stecher should end. If you look at the Goals Above Replacement (GAR) advanced stat from Evolving Hockey, he was amongst the worst in the NHL at minus-3. Stecher, on the other hand, was at the opposite end of the spectrum with an impressive GAR of 5.4. So if you’re looking for offence, Bowey is good, but when it comes to defence, he still needs a lot of work.
So to answer your question, I don’t think Bowey is the right choice to solidify the bottom pairing. I see him as a Derrick Pouliot at this point in his development, and that’s not what the Canucks need on their blueline right now. If given the choice between him and Benn, I would much rather have Juolevi and Benn as a pairing instead.
Virtanen, Gaudette, Leivo
Will Jake Virtanen get a real opportunity inside the top six? And will he be a better fit on the first or second line?
— Brayden Ursel (@bkursel23) October 16, 2020
If the Canucks do not add someone to replace Toffoli, Jake Virtanen will be given a chance to take that coveted top-six winger spot. He definitely has the skills to succeed in that role, but given his bouts of inconsistency and overall inability to shift his work ethic into another gear, head coach Travis Green won’t have the patience to give him a real opportunity there.
Without another option, Green probably will put a player like Tyler Motte or Zack MacEwen up there instead, which would be a mistake. Despite how much value both of them have on the roster, they are not proven top-six forwards. Heck, Virtanen is not a proven commodity there either. If it was me, I would try Nils Hoglander in the top-six if he didn’t work out, but I digress.
If Virtanen is going to succeed at the top of the lineup, he has to play with Pettersson and Miller. At times, he’s looked good with Horvat, but as Chris Faber of Canucks Army has mentioned in the past, he just plays better and generates more offence on the top line than anywhere else. In fact, he actually drags the second line down when he plays there.
Do you think Gaudette would be more suited to play 3RW and bring in a more defensively responsible 3C (if cap room can be made)
— brennen poole (@brennenpoole) October 16, 2020
I have been a big proponent in the past of bringing in a third-line center to play with Adam Gaudette. However, for the Canucks to be a perennial playoff contender, he has to learn how to play in the NHL as a centreman, not a winger.
That being said, I think it’s a good investment to find someone for him like J.T. Miller is for Pettersson on the top line. Someone that can take faceoffs and then retreat to the wing afterward. His line would have the puck more often and could spend a lot more time dictating the play rather than chasing it around the ice.
Related Story. The Canucks need Virtanen to be a top-six forward. light
Since the most ideal candidate is off the board in Mikko Koivu, I would like the Canucks to bring in Erik Haula, Mikael Granlund or Dominik Kahun to fill that role. They all have relatively good faceoff numbers and can generate offence as well. They also should be motivated to bounce back from mediocre 2019-20 seasons with their respective teams.
Does Josh Leivo sign?
— Pete Edwards (@pete_gas) October 16, 2020
The only concern I have about Josh Leivo re-signing with the Canucks is the uncertainty surrounding his injury. He has not played since Dec. 19 of last year, and by the time the 2020-21 season begins, it will be over a year since he last played an NHL game. We also don’t know how much his speed has been affected as a result of the injury.
Though if Leivo is healthy and has no adverse effects from the surgery to repair his broken knee cap, he would be a great addition to the lineup. The Canucks clearly missed him in the playoffs on the third line with Gaudette and Virtanen, and if there are no further top-six additions, he could even play on the second line with Horvat.
Before the injury, he was playing quite well with him posting five points in his past seven games. He’s a solid play driver with a career 52.1 CF% and has shown the ability to score goals too. More importantly, he’s a proven commodity and could be had for a budget-friendly contract.
Free agency and moving salary
I see the Canucks making at least one more move to augment their top-six. Losing Toffoli was a huge blow there, and they need someone to fill his role. He was only part of the team for 17 games but made a huge impact on the team regardless. For them to be successful in the rumoured all-Canadian division in 2020-21, they will need a strong forward group to win games. That’s why they need to make a move to replace him.
In an ideal world Benning would also trade for David Savard of the Columbus Blue Jackets or Erik Cernak of the Tampa Bay Lightning to further strengthen the defence core, but given his inability to move out salary so far, I don’t see that happening anytime soon. But the offseason is a long one, so I look forward to the day that I am proven wrong.
If those things do not happen, two of Rathbone, Juolevi, Rafferty, Jalen Chatfield or Ashton Sautner will be pressed into action as minute munchers on the bottom pairing, and the top-six role will be given to one of Virtanen, Hoglander, Kole Lind or even Sven Baertschi if he comes to camp with a chip on his shoulder. Those options aren’t horrible, but there are a lot more questions than answers in that group.
What are the most likely scenarios for JB moving out salary? Would any of these scenarios bring back a 3RD to pair with OJ/Rathbone, or a 3C to mentor Gaudette?
— DSto (@DSto2) October 16, 2020
As I mentioned earlier, despite his best efforts, Benning has not moved out any salary this offseason. But he’s not alone, as no one except Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen has been able to move out significant money so far. Despite all that, I still believe he will be able to strike a deal with someone before the 2020-21 season begins.
I still believe Baertschi, Brandon Sutter or Loui Eriksson will be moved out in the next couple of months. Sutter and Eriksson are still useful players in the bottom-six and with a change of scenery, Baertschi could be a bounce-back candidate on a team with a lack of depth on offence. I just find it hard to believe that no teams would be willing to take on at least one of them to be a veteran presence in their lineup.
As for what they would bring back, I don’t see anything significant unless the Canucks throw in a sweetener like a draft pick or mid-range prospect. If that happens, I really want them to target the Ottawa Senators, who have a ridiculous amount of cap space right now.
Chris Tierney is a restricted free agent (RFA) that could be a perfect fit on the third line with Gaudette. He can win faceoffs, play on both special teams, and chip in with the occasional goal. He also fits with the current core group of forwards at only 26 years of age.
Next. Canucks: Mike Hoffman could be the missing piece. dark
That brings us to the end of another mailbag here at The Canuck Way. For all your Canucks news and analysis, follow us on Twitter @FSTheCanuckWay and look out for the tweet announcing the next one!