Loui Eriksson opened the scoring for the Canucks against his former team and the goals kept coming on Chinese New Year night presented by Tim Hortons. RECAP
VANCOUVER – On the night the Vancouver Canucks celebrated Chinese New Year – the year of the dog – they beat the Boston Bruins 6-1.
Probably just a coincidence. Still, gung hay fat choy.
Rogers Arena was all dragons and drums Saturday night. And that was just the Canucks, who scored four times in the first period to easily beat the Bruins and create the happiest night of the National Hockey League season in Vancouver. And the best part? Chinese New Year lasts another week – almost until next Monday’s trade deadline.
Actually, the best part was that Canucks defenceman Erik Gudbranson launched into the boards Bruins’ Brad Marchand, the low-bridger of Sami Salo, speed-bagger of Daniel Sedin, lifter of the Stanley Cup on this ice nearly seven years ago. Year of the dog, not night of the rat.
General manager Jim Benning confirmed on Hockey Night in Canada that he is still in contract discussions with Gudbranson, who is eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer and, thus, will be re-signed or traded by the Canucks before the Feb. 26 deadline.
We’re not sure Gudbranson is worth the $4-5-million salary he will command on his next contract, but we do know Benning has a far better chance to sell that deal in Vancouver after Gudbranson’s hit. He can play 18 minutes a night in a defensive role, as long as he smokes Brad Marchand once a year in Vancouver.
“I didn’t really even hit him,” Gudbranson said. “He was a little off-balance and I just kind of clipped him. If I’d really tried to hit him, I’d have been suspended for five games because he had his head down, facing the boards.”
Yes, so?
Do unto Marchand as the rat would do unto you?
Well, perhaps not. Regardless of for whom Gudbranson is playing next week, the Canucks need him in the lineup this week. The Colorado Avalanche visit on Tuesday.
“I’m not going to say I hated him, but I wasn’t a fan of him,” Canucks defenceman Troy Stecher said of Marchand, whom he remembers from the 2011 final when Stecher was cheering for the Canucks like everyone else who grew up in Metro Vancouver. “You come out for warmup and you can already feel the buzz and the atmosphere. I think it’s always going to be that way when the Bruins come here. It was a great first period and we just kind of rode the wave after that.”
The Bruins, who were 20-2-4 since Dec. 14, were lit up after travelling across the continent on Friday, then practising. Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy also ordered up a full morning skate on Saturday. The Boston player who looked most tired was goalie Tuukka Rask, who allowed the four first-period goals on just eight shots as Vancouver built its 4-0 lead despite being outshot 18-8.
The game was only two minutes old when former Bruin Loui Eriksson made it 1-0, converting Daniel Sedin’s goalmouth pass by sliding the puck under Rask’s arm. Thomas Vanek’s terrific pass left Sedin with a semi-open net that he deftly hit from a sharp angle to double the lead at 10:54. And just 56 seconds later, Canucks centre Bo Horvat embarrassed rookie defenceman Charlie McAvoy and roofed a shot on Rask to make it 3-0.
The fourth goal said everything you needed to know about the first period. Rask made a good pad save on Sven Baertschi on a 3-on-2. Horvat overskated the sharp rebound, but the puck was cleared by a Bruin off Canucks winger Brock Boeser and bounced into the net at 18:39.
Yes, it would be nice if the Canucks could ration their fortunate bounces for a game when they’re needed. But after a pile of bleak winter nights at Rogers Arena, no one in the festive sellout crowd of 18,865 was complaining.
Nic Dowd’s rebound goal after a terrific, power move to the net by Jake Virtanen made it 5-0 at 2:44 of the second and Eriksson, who was pointless in his previous seven games, scored his second of the night shorthanded in the third period.
Tim Schaller, at 2:57 of the third, was the only Bruin to get a puck past Canucks goalie Anders Nilsson, who got the chance to start due to Jacob Markstrom’s flu or cold and delivered his first victory in nine starts since Nov. 30.
Nilsson finished with 44 saves and enjoyed more goal support in one night than the Canucks had given him in his last five starts.
“It feels great to be able to contribute to two points,” Nilsson said. “We have to be honest: we had some bounces on our side. I think they had three shots (off the post) in the first period, so the puck was definitely bouncing our way tonight. It’s nice to have that on our side.
“It’s always nice to stand back there and see the guys play a really good game in front of you. It’s also nice to stand back there and see them score some goals.”
Added Canucks captain Henrik Sedin: “Before the game you look up and see how many people were here. I told someone on the bench, ‘It’s been a while since we had this buzz in the building.’ I think all the guys enjoyed it tonight. It was an atmosphere that was the best in a long time. It was fun.”
Hopefully the start of a new year for the Canucks.
While the big defensive fish being dangled ahead of the NHL’s 2018 trade deadline are offensive dynamos like Erik Karlsson and Mike Green, the Vancouver Canucks have seen interest continue to rise on one of their own rearguards as Feb. 26 draws near.
General managers around the league continue to inquire about Vancouver’s Chris Tanev, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, though it appears the Canucks aren’t keen on moving the 28-year-old for anything less than a significant return.
“He’s hurt right now, which could potentially complicate matters, but what I’ve been told is that the Canucks have told teams — including, I believe, Toronto — ‘If you’re serious, it’s going to take a special offer to do this,’” Friedman said during the Headlines segment of Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday.
“I think the Canucks realize still that even though they are rebuilding, you want to give your young players a chance. And you’ve got to be serious, really serious, if you want to get Tanev out [of Vancouver].”
After finishing with the second-worst record in the league last season, the Canucks have enjoyed a modest revival of sorts in 2017-18. While team-wide success continues to elude them, Vancouver has seen rookie Brock Boeser emerge as one of the most promising goal-scorers in the game, positioning himself as a Calder Trophy favourite with 27 tallies to his name thus far.
Tanev has followed suit with a modest improvement of his own, posting 11 points through 38 games this season after putting up 10 points through 53 games in 2016-17. Though that sum isn’t putting Tanev in the running for a Norris Trophy, it is enough to match the best points-per-game pace of the eight-year veteran’s career.
The long-time Canuck has two more seasons left on his five-year deal, carrying a cap hit of $4.45 million and a modified no-trade clause, according to CapFriendly.
Vancouver Canucks fans are excited by Adam Gaudette’s spectacular season. Many are already assuming he will sign with the team this year, but the young centre will have multiple options to choose from. I wouldn’t assume anything just yet.
With another Vancouver Canucks season already in the toilet, we get to once again look forward to the draft and impending game of suffering known as the Draft Lottery. Perhaps this is the year when the Canucks draft first overall. But that is still a couple of months away. The Canucks won’t be very active at this year’s Trade Deadline, so let’s check in with one of the team’s most exciting prospects.
Currently, Adam Gaudette leads the NCAA in scoring and set a Northeastern record for most power play goals in their NCAA career. You can learn more about his performance in the prospect report tomorrow. I want to take a different approach with Gaudette. Canucks are salivating at the chance to see him play with the team during the final stretch of games left in the season.
The NCAA uses single-game elimination matches as opposed to the longer, multi-game playoffs we see in other leagues. They do a good job explaining how the tournament works in their Road to the Championship when you look for information about the Frozen Four. To sum it up, 16 teams make the tournament. Six are the champions of each division and the next 10 are picked by a special committee.
However, the uncertainty around the NCAA D1 Ice Hockey Tournament will make it difficult to know when exactly Gaudette can join the team. We can discuss the different windows he will be available to sign in broad and more specific scenarios.
Scenario 1: Northeastern does not qualify for the tournament
Northeastern has three more games to play before their regular season conludes on February 24. I am writing this before their game against Vermont on the Saturday, but the team is currently ranked 3rd in the Hockey East Division. They will have a bye going into the Hockey East Tournament. If they win that, they go straight to the big NCAA D1 tournament.
Even if they don’t win the division, there is still a good chance of being selected by the committee. After all, Gaudette and his teammate Dylan Sikura are sitting on top of the NCAA stats page. Additionally, winning this year’s Beanpot Tournament could be another factor in their favour.
For the purpose of this scenario, let’s say Northeastern does not qualify. The earliest Gaudette would be available is after the NCAA unveils the championship on March 18. He could choose to sign with the Canucks and have up to 10 remaining NHL games to play in. This entry-level contract (ELC) would be three years long due to Article 9.1 of the CBA (Gaudette is in his 21-year-old season).
His amount of playing time is dependent on Travis Green, but with that many games left, he should definitely play in a few of them in this scenario. Regardless of how many games he plays in, Gaudette would burn the first year of his contract much like Brock Boeser did last season.
One important thing to note is that any scenario of Gaudette signing is after the trade deadline. This means that if signs with the Canucks, he can’t be sent down to Utica for any potential playoff games. Utica is currently holding a spot in the playoffs. They have a good shot at staying there.
There is the argument for him to sign a tryout with Utica and get the chance to play more minutes in more games, including playoffs. It could be a better option for his development and he can sign with the Canucks at the end of Utica’s season. I just don’t know if Gaudette’s camp would be receptive to the AHL because they don’t burn a year off of the ELC.
Scenario 2: Northeastern participates
Regional games for this tournament take place on March 23-25. This is a similar situation to the first scenario, except there are only 7 NHL games left on the Canucks schedule at this point in time.
I am sure the Canucks would be thrilled if Gaudette joined Utica down the stretch, but it is clear he wants to play in the NHL. Burning that first year of his entry level deal gets him closer to his next NHL contract more quickly, taking some of the financial control from the team.
If a team is smart with how they manage the cap, this should not be a problem. Getting to that new contract quickly is a double-edged sword. The common pro of this choice is getting a larger payday earlier. ELC’s are maxed out at $925 000 per season, plus any performance/signing bonuses. Most new players won’t make significantly more money until after that three-year waiting period.
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However, there are some shortcomings when trying to expedite the process. One fewer year on your ELC gives you less time to prove to the team that you deserve a significant raise. If you are spending that ELC in the AHL, you won’t have much of an argument to earn more than your qualifying offer. Couple that with the fact that this player would not have any RFA arbitration rights, the team would have all the leverage in negotiations.
A smart team should know how to maintain this leverage, even if a particular player is exceptional. That’s were agents come in. These people are good at what they do. Compare contracts around the league. It feels like they understand the CBA better than some NHL General Managers.
Agents can only do the job so well. It will take negotiating with a gullible GM to reward an underwhelming performance. Gaudette’s camp could always use the risk of returning to the NCAA for his senior year, but I don’t think that is likely during this window. However, I am sure they will make it clear that Gaudette wants to play in the NHL this season.
Scenario 3: Northeastern makes the Frozen Four
If Northeastern can manage to win their regional semi-final and final game, they will advance to the coveted Frozen Four. Should this happen, there is little to no chance that you see Gaudette in a Canucks uniform this year.
Those games take place on April 5 and 7, which coincide with the Canucks final games of the season. Even if Northeastern lost the first game, Gaudette would have to fly from Minnesota to Vancouver, rest one day and play on the Saturday. I don’t think Travis Green is going to play him, given how he has treated young players this year. However, it’s the final game of the season, so I guess anything can happen since the Canucks will be in the basement regardless.
In my opinion, if Gaudette is playing in the Frozen Four, I don’t think we will see him this year. He would have two options after qualifying for the finals. First, he could head to Utica to finish the AHL season and hopefully play in the postseason. Second, he could return to Northeastern for his senior year and plan to join the Canucks at the end of that season.
Read this carefully before you panic
The NCAA often has players joining the league in their early 20’s as opposed to 18 or 19. Education is an important aspect, which is why few players forego their scholarships after the first year at college.
By going with option two, Gaudette could complete his degree during a regular school year and not have to take summer courses like Thatcher Demko. Gaudette would also be 22 according to the CBA and would receive a two-year ELC instead of three years. By joining the team in the following season, he would burn off the first year, leaving one year left.
There are the same pros and cons as listed in Scenario 2. I would say there is a lot of risk going down this route. If Gaudette is not as ready for the NHL as he believes, he will be locked down with a bridge deal and miss out on his first big contract. Secondly, Canucks fans are going to have a panic attack. Hockey fans are not the most patient group and Canucks fans are no exception. If anything, they are more volatile.
People will fear that Gaudette is going to screw over his drafted team, just like Jimmy Vesey, Justin Schultz, Alex Kerfoot and Will Butcher. If you are in this camp, I suggest you calm down. Gaudette has said multiple times that he plans on staying with the team that drafted him.
All I am saying is that I can understand why he would choose to return for his fourth year if Northeastern makes the Frozen Four. He is choosing what is best for him. It would make sense if he is thinking about his career in the NHL and after it. Gaudette is a smart guy. He won’t make these decisions with malicious intent. And don’t panic because he grew up a Bruins fan. Brock Boeser grew up as a Blackhawks fan and still signed with this team.
