A Look At The Unrestricted Free Agent Defencemen

by Sean Zandberg on Jun 28, 2009 2:24 AM PDT in Free Agency Comment 20 comments

There was and still is so much talk about how the Canucks need a quick, puck-moving defencemen. A lot of this talk was fan-media generated. I'm beginning to think that Vancouver already has 2 (sometimes 3) of this type of D-man on their roster already. With Mattias Ohlund leaving, the reins could now be handed to Kevin Bieksa and Alexander Edler. I'd say Sami Salo, but he's not around enough. Bieksa and Edler had career years last season. They are getting better and better.

It's beginning to look like Mike Gillis is not looking very hard for a superstar defenceman anyways. That or he's losing out on the battle. Personally, I think we need the help up front and should spend the bulk of the money there. Regardless, here is a list of the prime defencemen that will most likely become unrestricted free agents in a few days. They are placed in order of previous dollar values. I've put my preferences in italics plus thrown in my "yay's" or "nay's" on each one.

What are your thoughts?

Scott Niedermayer - 35 - $6,750,000: Staying with the Ducks.

Mathieu Schneider - 40 - $5,750,000: Old and expensive.

Sergei Zubov - 38 - $5,350,000: Running into age and health issues. Still has the skill.

Rob Blake - 39 - $5,000,000: Doesn't want to leave California.

Jay Bouwmeester - 25 - $4,875,000: Signing with Calgary?

Adrian Aucoin - 35 - $4,000,000: Just say no.

Derek Morris - 30 - $3,950,000: God no. Too pricey with little offensive upside.

Christian Backman - 29 - $3,400,000: Has not put up the numbers.

Jaroslav Spacek- 35 - $3,300,000: 45 points last year.

Filip Kuba - 32 - $3,000,000: No no no

Nick Boynton - 30 - $2,950,000: Injury prone.

Niclas Havelid - 36 - $2,900,000: err....

Greg de Vries - 36 - $2,750,000: At a million less I would.

Philippe Boucher - 36 - $2,500,000: Major health problems.

Kyle McLaren - $2,500,000: Too pricey.

Darryl Sydor - 37 - $2,500,000: Great experience and smart player.

Rhett Warrener - 33 - $2,500,000: Health issues and no offence.

Karlis Skrastins - 34 - $2,400,000: M'eh.

Denis Gauthier - 32 - $2,200,000: Mean but too goony.

Hal Gill - 34 - $2,100,000: Hmm.. Hated him in Toronto. Liked him in Pitts.

Dmitri Kalinin - 28 - $2,100,000: Go back to Russia.

Paul Mara - 29 - $1,950,000: Ohlund-type. Less points.

Michael Komisarek - 27 - $1,900,000: Another Ohlund-type, less points also. I'd sign him at $2-2.5 million.

Martin Skoula - 29 - $1,900,000: Lumbering..oft-moved. There's a reason for that.

Francis Bouillon - 33 - $1,875,000: Maybe.

Mathieu Dandenault - 33 - $1,750,000: Unsure.

Marc-Andre Bergeron - 28 - $1,691,000: Fast, creative and TOO SMALL.

Francois Beauchemin - 29 - $1,650,000: Oh hell yes.

Anders Eriksson - $1,500,000: No!

Jordan Leopold - 28 - $1,500,000: Will be signed by Florida.

Andrew Alberts - 28 - $1,400,000: Unsure.

Marek Malik - 34 - $1,250,000: Haha! A second tour of duty here? Not a chance.

Sean O'Donnell - 37 - $1,250,000: Always liked this guy.

The rest of the list can be found here.

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Comments

Definitely with you on Beauchemin.

Spacek too. Those would both be fantastic pickups.

Look upon my 62% faceoff win rate, ye mortals, and despair!

by Orion Moony on Jun 28, 2009 4:45 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

We’d have to spend a lot on Beauchemin, he’s the best available free agent D-man and everybody else will have the same idea.

Bring me Stanley. Alive if possible, dead... just as good.

by King Luongshanks on Jun 28, 2009 8:28 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Unfortunately, that’s very true.

Nucks Misconduct

by Sean Zandberg on Jun 28, 2009 1:28 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Beauchemin sucks, but not as bad as Spacek. I’ll pass on every defenceman on that list with the exception of Bouwmeester.
We need offense, a solid veteran pickup at the trade deadline will put us over the top in regards to defense. I wanna see the Sedins signed, and Gaborik comin also.
Sedins with Burrows and Demitra,Gaborik, Kesler playin the 2nd line mins. Now that would be a dangerous team.
Of course Sedins are gonna go to T.O July 1st, and we will be stuck with some dysfunctional Hossa/Cammaleri combo.
Gillis is runnin out of time on retainin the Sedins and my fandom. They walk and so do I. After developin them for 10 years, only an absolute idiot lets them walk over 1,5 mil combined.

by Nuckels on Jun 28, 2009 10:08 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

With Hodgson, Schneider and Schroeder down the road?
Plus Kesler, Edler and Burrows rounding into shape?
Actual Quote: ‘They walk and so do I’

Don’t let the bandwagon door hit you on the ass, Nuckels.

by Sneps-ish on Jun 28, 2009 12:20 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Heck, it’s the first time since I became a fan that the Canucks look capable of competently drafting and developing players! I still miss the MNB funness, but the future is bright in Canucksland!

by NebCanuck on Jun 28, 2009 2:10 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ouch :) Never been called a bandwagoner before. It hurts, it really hurts. Vancouver has been my team from the day I started playing and payin attention to it. I suppose to say that I would walk away is foolish, I can’t leave this team.
I will however be pissed if Gillis screws this up. ROYALLY PISSED.

@ Sneps-ish I havn’t noticed you before on this blog, but welcome on my behalf. I’ve found a great home here, and I love checkin out the various comments. I think your Beauchemin stance comes from watchin him a few years ago. He has taken a step back since then, and he isn’t the same defender as he was in 2005-2006. I would take him, but I think his skillset is duplicated by SOB with the right coaching.

by Nuckels on Jun 28, 2009 3:04 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

But he was the go-to guy back then. Then they brought in Nieds and Pronger and Beauchemin took a back seat. He’s meant to be the top 2 guy. He flourishes in that role.

Nucks Misconduct

by Sean Zandberg on Jun 28, 2009 3:28 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

BTW Snepsish is a funny chap I must say.

Nucks Misconduct

by Sean Zandberg on Jun 28, 2009 3:28 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

(pounds chest with hands)
We cool, Nuckles, we cool.
My Beauchemin stance mostly comes from a desire for the Nucks to add a few guys
with Stanley Cup experience who can ease the tension in the Playoffs(a la the Chicago fiasco).
It helps to have a Guerin or Kunitz in the room who can turn to the rattled youngin’
and them about ‘1995 Stanley Cup’ this and ‘2006 Stanley Cup that’.
Beauchemin’s a glue guy on the 3-4th D line, and we’re in dire need of that.

by Sneps-ish on Jun 29, 2009 3:23 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree on Beauchemin and that the high end crop of UFA D-men this year is pretty thin gruel. Two guys who I think might be able to help in the 6-7 role and who would come at lower cost are:

Ville Koistinen 27 NAS $700,000
Assets
Is a very good puck-mover and is also extremely mobile along the blueline. Has the ability to produce points on the power play.

Flaws
Is undersized for the defense position at the NHL level, so he must add more strength to better handle big forwards.

Career potential
Top six defenseman.

Johnny Oduya 27 NJ $600,000
Assets
Is a great skater with persistence and aggression in the defensive zone. Owns an infectious attitude and is a solid teammate.

Flaws
Isn’t big by NHL defenseman standards. Needs to limit his mistakes in the defensive zone and make better decisions in the offensive zone.

Career potential
Top six defenseman.

They are at least as good as some of the higer priced guys, but still young enough to larn. The way the Canucks D is structured, they don’t need a high dollar guy. They need one or two guys who can replace Ohlund’s minutes. You have to figure SOB will be back and ready for a bigger role this year. And then there are those persistent rumors that LA wants to part with Jack Johnson. That’s a player I would love for Gillis to target.

by DeafNotDumb on Jun 28, 2009 11:16 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Well, pfft…it looks like Oduya won’t hit the market after all:

Aftonbladet: Johnny Oduya Re-Signed by New Jersey Devils? (Unconfirmed so far)
http://www.inlouwetrust.com/2009/6/28/928266/aftonbladet-johnny-oduya-re-signed

by DeafNotDumb on Jun 28, 2009 11:43 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hey! Another guy that reads Swedish papers like me!

Nucks Misconduct

by Sean Zandberg on Jun 28, 2009 1:27 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

But do you read Swedish?

by Nuckels on Jun 28, 2009 3:05 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

No not at all. Only French and English for me.

Nucks Misconduct

by Sean Zandberg on Jun 28, 2009 3:26 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Francois Beauchemin

Folks, you know how I stand on Beachemin, which is on a mountaintop,
screaming his name. Like Scuderi was dubbed with Pittsburgh this month,
he is ‘The Piece’.
Hopefully not ‘….of Shit’ if we do sign him.

And I like the cut of that Johnny Oduya’s gib as well while we’re at it.

by Sneps-ish on Jun 28, 2009 12:16 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Well I think we’re all getting ahead of ourselves here. We really need to wait and see how the Sedin situation, and then the apparent Gaborik situation, works out before we can think about what would be optimal in terms of a d-man. It’s all about cap space. Once we know the space we got, there’s no point leaving much on the board. So it’s worth it to overpay for a good d-man than to pay market for an average d-man if you’ve got leftover cap space. In this day and age, you really got to think “what team do I want to have when the playoffs come around” right on July 1st, because with the cap so tight there really isn’t much room for trades come deadline.

by Beantown Canuck on Jun 28, 2009 3:53 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Well I think we’re all getting ahead of ourselves here.

Nah, just speculating mostly. These days of waiting around until July 1st are killer. Just keeping an open dialogue is all.
We are waiting for the Sedins yes, and perhaps even a Luongo extension which can and will change everything as far as free agent acquisitions go.

Nucks Misconduct

by Sean Zandberg on Jun 28, 2009 4:10 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs