I want to preface this by asking for respect in this thread. This means two things:
1) No talk about the riot. There are a couple of threads for you to voice such opinions.
2) No anti-Canuck people in here to derail the thread. Most Canuck fans have been good about not being total douches in the Flames thread and I request the same respect returned.
This will be a long post. If you don't want to read it, then don't.
Last season was certainly one to remember. Or maybe one to forget. The Canucks were strong enough to get to the final, but showed up intermittently. Part of our inability to win the cup was due to injury, but it also showed some weaknesses in our lineups.
The difficulty, as I see it, is that Boston is a pretty hard, physical team. Do you tailor next year's team to a team better to compete against Boston (ie: tougher), or better to play against most other NHL teams (ie: more skill).
And really, I think the answer is that Gillis has to do both. We might very well face Boston again in the finals next year. And even if we faced another team, a tougher team is always a good thing. Then, of course, there is the matter of a bunch of good teams to make it through to get to the finals in the first place.
Keep the Core
The majority of the required core is still locked up:
The Sedins, Kesler, Burrows, Edler, Malhotra, Hamhuis, Luongo.
There are also other prominent players locked up which I believe to be potential question marks which I will discuss later:
Hodgson, Samuelsson, Raymond, Ballard, Schneider.
Resigning
There are, however, also players who are up for contract renewal:
Ehrhoff: Had a great regular reason, but didn't have the best playoffs in the world. At -13, he was the worst on the team in that regard. With this said, it was revealled he did have a bum shoulder which may require surgery. I think the Canucks should attempt to re-sign him. Having had the best year of his career, and at only 28, he is going to be worth a fair amount on the free market though and I don't think the Canucks would be willing to sign him unless he takes a discount. He made 3.4 million this past year and is obviously due for a raise. I think a salary of 4.5 million would be good for both parties - even though I realize he could probably get 5 or more on the open market.
Maxim Lapierre:
New to the team, I think he did his job very well. People hate to play against him, and he *can* be a little cheap at times. But he plays hard and really scored some clutch goals for us in the playoffs. He made 900k last year and being that he was bounced around and he probably wants to stay with a cup contender, a tiny increase to an even 1 million should be sufficient to keep him here.
Jannik Hansen:
Here's a guy that we really want to keep. I have a very difficult time figuring how much he should be paid. Blessed with good speed and a great work ethic, he is someone we should not let walk - and is clearly worth more than the 825k he was paid last year. But how much more remains to be seen. I'd like to see a contract around 1.2 million if he would be willing to take it.
Chris Higgins:
Actually played ok for us during the playoffs. I wouldn't mind seeing him back, but not sure how much he will want. He actually took a step back in pay at 1.6 million last year. I think we could snag him for under 2m.... maybe even at the same 1.6m.
Raffi Torres: Resign him. Yes, he makes some stupid plays sometimes but he *can* score, has scored in the past, and generated great energy for the 3rd line. I think he could be resigned for 1m again, and I'd drop him to the 4th line.
Kevin Bieksa: Like many Canucks fans, I've flip flopped on Bieksa more than any other player. I loved him initially, then he started sucking really bad. But then he retooled his game and was perhaps our best d-man in the playoffs. There are indications he is happy to stay without a huge raise. 4.25m maybe?
Sami Salo: Have heard nothing as to whether he intends to play again this season, but says he likes it here. Oft injured, his value is way less than the 3.5m he made recently. When healthy, he is still a very good d-man. And yes, he is injured a lot and *is* slowing down, but still has a good shot and would be a great addition for the right price. I'm slotting him in at 1.5m. I still think he can make more elsewhere.
Andrew Alberts: Had an off and on season. Maybe more off than anything, but was much better than when first aquired. Big guy with some good hitting ability, but really not the smartest player. Could be useful as a 6th d-man, but depends on how much he wants. I'd keep him around at 1m, but nothing more than that. Not factored into my lineups below.
Tanner Glass: I liked Tanner in the season at times, but he really didn't come to play in the playoffs. At 525k he comes cheap and could be resigned as a reserve winger only. I did not factor him into my team lineups either.
Jeff Tambellini: Could also be resigned as a reserve winger. Would be a shame to completely kick him to the curb given his speed and the thought that he just might break out one year.
The Question Marks
I think the core of the team is just fine as is. We just need to change up a few of the pieces to compliment the ones we have.
Let's talk first about the five players that *are* under contract, which I think we should look at potentially moving:
Hodgson, Samuelsson, Raymond, Ballard, Schneider
Hodgson: This guy is really slow to develop. And even if he did become the player we wanted, he is more of a 2nd line player rather than a physical 4th line player. We already have Henrik, Kesler, and Malhotra on the top 3 lines so there is really no place for Hodgson - even if he did meet his potential. As such, I think he should be used as trade bait.
Samuelsson: Canuck fans really don't seem to like this guy. I actually do. Is he good enough for a 2nd line role? Well, with 50 points in only 72 games, I think so. He did make some bad plays sometimes and went cold for stretches, but can still contribute. I could see him staying or going.
Raymond: I really do like this kid and he has amazing speed, but he simply isn't strong enough to keep puck posession while entering the zone. I think another team would be willing to give him a shot. Like Grabner, he might be "the one that got away" but if the return is right....
Ballard: Never really fit in, gets paid a lot, and was misused and abused by management. He is a work in progress which might not end up working out - so the consideration of moving him must be explored. The question is: Is he really worth much to another team with a 4.2m salary? Is that too big a question mark to get a reasonable return?
Schneider: I love this kid. And honestly, if there was a way to offload Luongo to another team and make him our #1 (and save a ton in the process), I would. But the fact is that Luongo is our #1, and either we keep Schneider as a backup, or trade him off to be #1 elsewhere. I think the latter is a much better option. I think the league has now seen what this kid can do, and I think he will get us a reasonable return.
What we need:
Only one thing, actually. I think we need a big player to play with the Sedins. One who both has skill, but can also protect them from getting manhandled like in the Boston series. I think Kesler needs at least one better winger. And we need to maintain the best d (on paper anyway) in the league.
The first two can be solved by bringing in one player. A player like Backes, Doan, Byfuglien, Stewart, Clowe, maybe Hartnell. A player like this could play on both the top or 2nd line. If he gels with the Sedins, then you drop Burrows down to the 2nd to play with Kesler. (They've already proven Chemistry). And if not, Burrows is ok on the 1st, but you don't get the "protection" that would be useful on the 1st. (Although that is better than putting a tough player with the Sedins who can't score or make plays)
With the cap going up, I think we will have the room to add a player of the calibre I'm hoping for.
My proposed movement
Trade Schneider, Raymond, Cody Hodgson and a conditional pick in 2013 to Phoenix for Doan and Labarbera. (Condition based on whether Doan resigns after next year). We give up a lot, but Doan is a talented Canadian player with size, and is used to playing in BC with Kamloops in Jr. hockey. I think he would work well with the Sedins, at a reasonable cap hit.
Re-sign Higgins, Hansen, Torres, Lapierre, Bieksa, Ehrhoff, Salo.
Bring in either Montador or Babchuk from the free agent pool for 1.5-2.5m. (Unsure how much Babchuk would sign for). Perhaps Eric Boulton for the 4th line - a big tough guy with limited offensive upside.
Final Lineups
Here's what I would like to see:
FORWARDS
Sedin ($6.1m) / Sedin ($6.1m) / Doan (4.55$m)
Samuelsson ($2.5m) / Kesler ($5m) / Burrows ($2m)
Higgins ($1.6m) / Malhotra ($2.5m) / Hansen ($1.2m)
Torres ($1m) / Lapierre ($1m) / Oreskovich ($.6m)
Eric Boulton (UFA) ($0.650m) or Tambellini ($0.500m)
DEFENSEMEN
Dan Hamhuis ($4.5m) / Kevin Bieksa ($4.25m)
Alexander Edler ($3.250m) / Christian Ehrhoff ($4.5m)
Montador/Babchuk (1.5-2.5m) / Sami Salo ($1.5m)
Aaron Rome ($0.750m) / Chris Tanev ($0.900m)
GOALTENDERS
Roberto Luongo ($5.333m) / Labarbara (UFA) ($1.200m)
Total Salary: About 63-64m.
All four forward lines are better than last year. Sedins get a better and tougher winger. Kesler gets to play with Burrows again. Higgins provides the 3rd line with more scoring. Torres improves the 4th line. Defense doesn't change much, except for the rarely used Ballard leaving. Tanev should be good for a 6th/7th role next year. Goaltending stays about the same - paying slightly more for Labarbara (who is a pretty good backup) in favour of getting a return for Schneider.