With a murky salary cap situation and a glut of forwards ready and able to play in the NHL next season, the Vancouver Canucks should not be considered done with their lineup tweaking leading into training camp this September. Patrick Johnston of The Province agrees with that narrative, indicating that the Cancuks appear forced to move out a winger before the season begins.
Taking into account the probable return of forward Tanner Pearson, Johnston argues that Vancouver has five wingers set to fill three spots in the lineup. With Pearson, the Canucks have Vasily Podkolzin, Conor Garland, Brock Boeser, and Nils Hoglander set to fill three open spots on the wing for Vancouver. The team does have some flexibility with Pearson, however; if he is not ready for NHL minutes after the conclusion of training camp, the team could waive him and assign him to the AHL, as it is unlikely that another team would put in a claim.
It’s never a problem to have too much depth in the NHL, and the Canucks may wait out training camp before making a significant move to thin out their roster, but they have put themselves in a territory to make a move regardless. Boeser has been the one name most oft-mentioned in trade rumors over the last several years, as well as Garland more recently, but the two may provide too much on-ice value to Vancouver to have them seriously consider a trade that far in advance of the trade deadline.
Other notes:
- This summer, the Washington Capitals and their General Manager, Brian MacLellan, have been adamant about adding some forward depth to the lineup. Having this in mind, Sammi Silber of The Hockey News asserts that the Capitals should entertain the idea of bringing in free agent Jesse Puljujarvi on a professional tryout for training camp. Throughout his time in the NHL, Puljujarvi has not lived up to being the fourth-overall selection of the 2016 NHL Draft. However, as Silber points out in her article, the new Capitals head coach, Spencer Carbery, has excelled throughout his career in getting the most out of up-and-coming players and may be exactly what Puljujarvi needs to turn his career around.
- Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers is reporting that the Pittsburgh Penguins have hired Cam Charron as a Hockey Research and Development Analyst. Charron had previously held a similar title with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the previous eight seasons and will join the new President of Hockey Operations, Kyle Dubas, in his transition to Pittsburgh.
Fwiw THN’s Sammi Silber is a woman. I guess that should read “her” article not “his”.
Did Puljujarvi not just have double hip surgery. Will he really be ready for training camp?
@Joe Carters walkoff – According to another site’s article, he was reported to have had the surgery. The date on that report was 06/29/23. JP would not be a very good choice for the Caps to go after, as he has demonstrated poor hockey I.Q., and just a strange lack of spatial awareness on NHL-sized ice. If he isn’t running into his own teammates, he’s plowing into random linesmen. Can you imagine if he did that with Alex on the ice and caused a stupid injury?
Honestly, i believe someone will give him one more chance in the NHL. However i think hes ultimately destined for a career in Europe. Whether thats KHL or back home to Finland i dont know. Like you say, he just doesn’t seem to have the mental chops for the smaller ice surface.
yeah, I think JP is closer to being toast then a valuable contributor for the upcoming season.
Dubas is hiring anyone who has ever worked for him in Toronto, right do,we to the beer vendors and ushers.
Yeah VAN, trade Boeser. I’m sure you won’t miss him when you’re relying on busts like Höglander and Podkolzin.
@DarkSide830 – It sure seems like the Canucks need Boeser more than he needs them. Maybe they’ve forgotten the off-ice losses of family and friends in recent years. And Höglander’s situation is a little strange, in that early on, he seemed to be on a promising upward trajectory, only to end up in the ditch for reasons unknown. At the rate he’s going, he’s going to be starring in Abbotsford, instead of at Rogers Arena. Podkolzin’s similar, in that they don’t seem to know whether to keep him with the big club, or send him down. Maybe those are signs of an organization that’s treading wet cement.
Capitals don’t need another guy coming off hip surgery. They need to start using the kids they have, get younger and faster. If a retool on the fly doesn’t work, then they’re headed for a full on rebuild, post-Ovi. But Puljujarvi is someone they don’t need.